Watch as Marcus Mussa hustles his 1965 McLaren-Chevrolet M1B around Goodwood!
The 72nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting looked like one for the books – rarely have we spotted so many brilliant pieces of historic racing machinery in one place, at one time! Of course the main attraction of the weekend for most is the racing, and this piece of onboard captured during the ‘Surtees Trophy’ is the best we’ve seen yet. Enjoy.
Flamboyant Irishman Eddie Irvine on route to winning the first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix in Malaysia. It would be the last of Irvine’s four Grand Prix wins, all of which came in 1999.
Ferrari have built a truly astounding volume of very special race cars throughout the years.
This collection of videos sets out to capture the magic of the Maranello Museum – a place where some of the finest Ferraris are stored.
Jim Clark was Formula 1 World Champion in both 1963 and 1965 – this is the story of ’64. This pair of videos by Peter Windsor recounts the story of Formula 1 legend Jim Clark’s 1964 season – starting from the winter following the racing season, during which Clark was busy writing his book, creating a range of driving gloves and making countless public appearances.
Brilliant in-house production by Porsche brings 1970 Le Mans winner Richard Attwood together with 2014 Porsche factory driver Mark Webber.
Shot at the Porsche Experience Centre, Silverstone, this video uses a crisp production of Porsche’s 2014 919 LMP1 machine in action alongside archive footage of Richard Attwood’s 1970 Le Mans winning effort whilst driving the timeless 917. Attwood talks of Le Mans in his day compared to today whilst sitting with Mark Webber, Porsche factory driver for 2014. The most interesting part (aside from the killer footage of both cars), is hearing the pair talk of the fears they would have should they be asked to drive each others cars. A great little video by Porsche, well worth watching.
Deep underground in a California basement, there’s a huge stash of very special Japanese cars…
The basement in question rests below Mazda’s North American R&D offices in Irvine, and it’s packed full of amazing pieces of historic Japanese racing hardware. Don’t take our word for it though, take a look at these snaps.
Period tool transport vehicle for quick trackside repairs
Don Sherman’s legendary IMSA RX-2
Logbooks galore
The only left hand drive Spirt-R RX-7 ever built. Constructed for an American Mazda executive at the time
Mazda 757, last seen at the 1987 Le Mans 24hr.
Many cars undergoing repairs and race-prep, such as this completely wild MX-6 racer.
Of course the 787B is the star. This one is kept in a complete race-ready state and is driven by Robert Davis of Mazda North America. This very car finished 8th in the 1991 24hrs of Le Mans.
Jenson Button lined up on the grid and started his 250th F1 Grand Prix in Bahrain this week, joining an elite club of just five men to achieve the milestone.
Until the race on Sunday Rubens Barichello, Michael Schumacher, Riccardo Patrese and Jarno Trulli were the only four men to have raced at 250 Grand Prix events or more. Now, after having driven for Williams, Renault, BAR-Honda, McLaren and Brawn – Jenson Button has joined the club.
The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix marked the passing of the milestone for Button, who began his Formula 1 career as a 20 year old way back in 2000. He ran in 113 Grands Prix before finally taking the elusive first spot at the 2006 Hungarian GP, before going on to win the World Championship three years later.
From his debut season in 2000 to present day, here are 17 photos celebrating the career of Jenson Button.
Two time Formula 1 World Champion Jim Clark was nothing short of a legend, achieving much in his 32 short years. This video celebrates his incredible life.
On this day in 1968, Jim Clark lost his life at the Hockenheimring in Germany. This video by Inside Racing looks back at Jim Clark as not only as a fantastic racer, F1 champion and Indy 500 winner, but a character too. An appropriate day to reflect on the life of a true legend.
Strap yourself in for a full-tilt ride through the streets aboard the Audi quattro S1. Watch in awe as the landscape transforms from that of the town to the country, and then from the country into some kind of high speed green blur. Enjoy.
Built as Jackie Stewart’s backup car for 1971, and raced successfully in Can-Am in ’72, ’73 and ’74, this Can-Am monster has the racing history to back up that towering stack, and is heading to auction at RM Auctions’ upcoming Monaco Sale.
Lola built two cars for L&M’s 1971 Can-Am campaign to dethrone the dominant McLaren, and delivered them to Carl Haas Racing, who had just signed Jackie Stewart for the season. The first car, T260-HU1, was so consistent that this car, T260-HU2, the backup car, wasn’t needed and remained unraced until 1972.
Its racing career heated up in 1972, when it moved on from L&M into the hands of Tom Heyser, and finally hit the track in anger with Heyser and John Gunn at the wheel, and a cameo by Formula 1 racer Reine Wisell.
1974 was its most successful season, claiming 5th at Road Atlanta and third overall in the final round at Elkhart Lake to take John Gunn to 5th in the drivers’ championship.
Bucking Lola’s traditionally-lovely lines with its stub-nosed design, the T260 was designed to slip gracefully through the air, but retain high speed stability using the rounded nose filled with small round holes.
To help it get to those high speeds it has a 750+ horsepower 496 cubic inch overehead-valve Lucas-injected Chev V8, with independent front and rear suspension with Bilstein dampers and coil springs keeping it stable there, and everywhere inbetween.
After its racing career it was acquired by German collector Peter Kaus, who restored it to its original L&M/Jackie Stewart livery and exhibited it in the Rosso-Bianco Museum. In 2006 it was bought by Andrew Hauck, who raced it in historics until it was purchased by its current owner in 2009.
It has been well maintained and documented and includes an impressive file full of period photographs, correspondence, articles and service records. It is offered with an extensive spare part collection, including spare BBS wheels, original Goodyear rain tyres, original rear suspension and more. The winning bidder will also be offered the opportunity to purchase the completely rebuilt original engine from the historic sister car.
To be true blue is one of the greatest honours an Australian can hope for, and its one which Dick Johnson and his ‘Tru-Blu’ XD Falcon truly earned. It’s also one which nearly didn’t come to be.
In 1980 Ford Australia had no intention to race or homologate its new XD Falcon, and Dick Johnson had just collided with a huge rock which had tumbled onto the track while he was leading the Bathurst 1000, wiping out his home-built XD Falcon. So the story of how it did is a classic.
Nothing short of frightening – Frenchman Simon Pagenaud manhandles his Honda-powered IndyCar around the St. Petersburg street circuit.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place around a 1.8-mile street circuit. That means plenty of walls, fences and chicanes to give drivers a real sense of how insanely fast they are traveling as they rush past the scenery. This piece of onboard video was shot using the latest visor-cam being used by top tier videomakers – it’s so thrilling it actually reminds us of the crazy days of old. Enjoy.
Bahrain was the 900th Formula 1 Grand Prix – let’s wind the clock back 64 years and take a look at the first!
The very first official Formula 1 Grand Prix was held on the May 13th, 1950. The track was Silverstone, and although there had already been Grands Prix held at the venue, this was of course the first to count towards the World Drivers’ Championship.
Giuseppe Farina won the event in an Alfa Romeo 158. He’d go on to win two more rounds that year – enough to secure him the inaugural world title.
Sit back and relax, we’ve hand-picked the races you’ll enjoy most.
The 72nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting looked like just about the best historic racing event we’ve ever seen. Run by the Goodwood Road Racing Club exclusively for their members and guests, the event featured an incredible number of very special vintage racing machines being driven in anger against the stunning backdrop of Goodwood on a perfect spring weekend. The GRRC were kind enough to point us in the direction of these videos, so be sure to take a look at their website and Facebook page for even more!
Bahrain marked the 900th Formula 1 Grand Prix. Lets take a look back at the history of F1, 100 races at a time.
Formula 1 kicked off officially way back in 1950, and since then to date exactly 900 races have been run as part of official championships. Here’s a quick history we’ve put together breaking down the story of F1 into 100 race increments. Enjoy.
The 1st Formula 1 Grand Prix – Silverstone 1950
The British Grand Prix of 1950 marked the first ever official Formula 1 World Championship event. It was won by Giuseppe Farina whilst driving an Alfa Romeo. You can watch it HERE. (Image: Getty).
The 100th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Nurburgring Nordschleife 1961
The 100th Formula 1 event came around 11 years later. Landing on the 1961 German Grand Prix, the event was held at Nurburgring Nordschleife and was won by Stirling Moss. It is remembered as an important race as it was to be the last win Moss would ever have whilst driving a Formula 1 car, and one which he earned by squeezing every last bit out of his Lotus and then some to beat the better Ferrari machines in terrible weather conditions. (Image: Cahier)
The 200th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Monaco 1971
It took 10 years for the Formula 1 show to roll through the next 100 races, with the 200th official event being that of Monte-Carlo in 1971. The race was won by non-other than Jackie Stewart on behalf of Tyrell, leading Ronnie Peterson in second. Stewart would go on to win his second Formula 1 World Championship. (Image: Cahier)
The 300th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Kyalami 1978
100 races later it would be Ronnie Peterson’s turn to stand on the top of the podium, at the 1978 South African Grand Prix. He finished ahead of Patrick Depailler, with team mate Mario Andretti back in 7th. Sadly, Peterson would be killed before the season was through – being involved in a fatal accident during the 1978 Italian GP.
The 400th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Osterreichring 1984
By race number 400 Niki Lauda was on a hot streak. Coming into the latter half of the 1984 season, he’d just placed second in Germany, after having won in Great Britain the round prior. The 400th ever F1 GP would be held in Austria, and Lauda’s win there would contribute to his final Formula 1 World Championship victory. The race is remembered by Austrian fans as the first time one of their countrymen won on home soil. (Image: Cahier)
The 500th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Adelaide 1990
The 500th F1 GP would land right in the middle of one of the most controversial times in Formula 1 history. The event was the 1990 season finale in Australia, immediately following the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix during which Ayrton Senna had infamously driven into Alain Prost as soon as the race started – taking both out of the race and earning Senna the title. Piquet would win this final event of 1990. (Image: Sutton Images)
The 600th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Buenos Aires 1997
Seven years later Jacques Villeneuve was in the early stages of making a move for his first Formula 1 World Championship. He’d just won in Brazil, before managing to keep Eddie Irvine in second place to win the 1997 Argentinian Grand Prix – the 600th ever F1 GP. (Image: Cahier)
The 700th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Interlagos 2003
Just six years later came the 700th Formula 1 GP – 2003, Brazil. It was to be the last time the Brazilian Grand Prix would be held early in the season, and the site of a very controversial finish. The race itself saw heavy rainfall and water pooling on the track, which made things extremely difficult for drivers. Eventually the race was abandoned following a very nasty crash by Mark Webber, which saw Fernando Alonso plow into the remains. Initially the winner was said to be Kimi Raikkonen, however a little over one week later the FIA would take the trophy from him and give it to Giancarlo Fisichella after reviewing their own rules. (Image: Cahier)
The 800th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Marina Bay 2008
There was much anticipation ahead of the first ever night time Formula 1 Grand Prix, to be held at the brand new Marina Bay venue in Singapore. The event is well remembered today, however not for the reasons that the event organizers might have hoped. It was to become the scene of the incident best remembered as “Crashgate”, which unfolded a full 12 months after the event when news came to light that Renault had in fact ordered Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash so that the safety car would be brought onto the track, allowing Fernando Alonso a chance to win the race. (Image: Cahier)
The 900th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Bahrain 2014
Held at the Bahrain International Circuit under lights, the most recent round of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship was without a doubt the most exciting the sport has seen so far this year. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg might be team mates under the Mercedes flag, however that didn’t stop them from giving it everything they had whilst going head-to-head for first place. Hamilton would win the race, his second consecutive one this year. (Image: Mercedes AMG Petronas)
Relive the glorious years of Toyota in the World Rally Championship with six of the best machines used by the Japanese giant.
Toyota hasn’t been officially represented in the WRC for 15 years yet the memory of their achievements is so strong that the brand manages to remains synonymous with everything the world loves about rallying. Light, fast and well-engineered, these machines embodied the spirit of rallying across three decades.
Before we start, let’s get revved out by checking out a few videos:
The History of Toyota in rally.
Toyota WRC Tribute.
Now we move onto the six greatest Toyota rally machines ever built. Remember, for more information check out the TTE Europe Facebook page.
Toyota Corolla Levin TE27
In February 1975 the legendary TTE (Toyota Team Europe) was established. Six months later, they’d arrived on the scene with a bang by scoring their first rally win. The event was the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, the driver was local hero Hannu Mikkola and the car was the Toyota Corolla Levin TE27. And so was born a rallying legend.
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo
Juha Kankkunen, who would go on to win 23 WRC events and claim four drivers’ titles, came to the East African Safari – the series’ toughest challenge – for the first time as part of the factory Toyota Team Europe squad in 1985. The young Finn, who turned 26 a few days before the Nairobi-based rally got underway, was making his eighth WRC start in the Celica Twin-Cam Turbo, the ultra-reliable machine that was perfect for the gruelling stages of the three-day event. The boxy, two-wheel-drive Celica was at a distinct disadvantage against the lighter, more powerful Group B, four-wheel-drive supercars from Audi and Peugeot on the shorter championship events, but in Africa, it was the car to have.
Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165
For 1988, Toyota introduced the all-wheel-drive ST165, the first of three Celica derivatives to win at WRC level. It wasn’t until later the following season, in Australia, that the car notched up its first win – with Juha Kankkunen. More success was to follow, with Spaniard Carlos Sainz securing the drivers’ title in 1990.
Carlos Sainz 1990 onboard
Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185
Hot on the heels of Carlos Sainz’s 1990 championship victory came the 1991 season, during which Juha Kankkunen took his revenge on his former team by winning the title for Lancia. But for 1992, TTE were ready and unleashed an even more capable GT-Four Celica, now based on the updated ST185 platform. Toyota recaptured the crown with Sainz and followed it up in ’93 with Kankkunen who’s returned to the Japanese fold. A hat-trick of drivers’ titles was secured in ’94, the ST185′s final year, with Frenchman Didier Auriol.
Celica GT-Four ST205 WRC
The Castrol-sponsored ST205 Celica GT-Four, introduced in late-1994, was the fantasy machine for the Sega computer-game generation. Although it was disqualified from the World Rally Championship in 1995 following a scandal surrounding turbo air restrictors, the car became one of the most universally loved Japanese competition machines yet seen. If you were a car-kid in the 1990s, you knew all about this turbocharged, bewinged, bug-eyed Celica.
Toyota Corolla WRC
The last fully fledged, factory-blessed Toyota WRC machine was the Corolla WRC. It first appeared in Finland in 1997 and would carry Carlos Sainz to within a few hundred yards of a third world title at the end of the following season. Sainz was backed up by fellow former world champion Didier Auriol and the duo secured the manufacturers’ championship for Toyota one final time in 1999. Toyota did not return to the WRC as a works team in 2000, but the Corolla WRC lived on for several more years in the hands of privateers.
May is a cruel month in racing – the list of losses almost unbelievable. One very unsung hero was among those: Elio de Angelis, who died on May 15, 1986. This is his story.
By Andy Hallbery
During his career he had a list of legendary World Champion team-mates, yet was never the obvious number two. He certainly kept Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell on their toes.Elio de Angelis was something of an enigma in F1. In a strange way, his name isn’t first on the lips when mentioned among drivers who made a mark in F1, and had legions of fans. Yet, he held his own as team-mate to Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, and later Ayrton Senna, and none totally overshadowed him. Yet the record books show he won only two Grands Prix, both for Lotus. That was Elio the driver. Maybe he was better known as being in that privileged position of Grand Prix driver due to his family’s wealth. His father ran a very successful construction business, the scale of which meant that Elio had to have security and armoured limousines to ferry him around when in his native Italy, such was the threat of kidnapping and ransom from political extremists. He was also good-looking, laid-back, charming and natural. And, of course, he was a classically trained pianist. Not your average Grand Prix racer.
But with all that in mind, Elio was emphatically NOT a ‘pay driver’ – he was in Formula 1 on merit. His maiden win, at the ‘old’, equally romantic, Osterreichring in Zeltweg, Austria came in 1982, that calamitous F1 season that cost the lives of Gilles Villeneuve and Riccardo Paletti, and ended the career of championship leader Didier Pironi.The win, in the Lotus-Cosworth, came at a track where the turbos should have walked it. The Italian was chased to the flag by Keke Rosberg, also with Cosworth power in his Williams, and held on – just – to win the side-by-side finish by 0.050s…
That win was significant for many reasons. It was the first in four years since the Andretti/Ronnie Peterson domination of 1978, a barren spell for one of the F1 grid’s stalwart manufacturers. Colin Chapman, founder and patriarch – and the rest of the Lotus team – were almost caught by surprise as the tension built in the closing stages. Out came Chapman’s famous black cap. The cap that in the past had greeted wins by Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson. “The last time my hat flew in the air was at Zandvoort in 1978, when Mario and Ronnie finished 1-2,” Chapman said during the spoils of the latest win. “We’d won again at Monza after that, but Mario had been penalised for jumping the start, so the win didn’t stand. Luckily, Hazel [Chapman’s wife] gave it to me before the finish here, and I’m hoping to throw it up a few more times next year.”
That wasn’t to be. Lotus didn’t win again until 1985 with Senna. And Chapman had died of a heart attack in December 1982, three months after de Angelis’s victory.
Nigel Mansell’s arrival at Lotus back in 1980, then to replace Andretti in 1981, rocked the boat as it often did back then, and de Angelis was a guy who felt he needed to be loved. The Bulldog Brit, in the British team, stole that, and it hurt the Italian’s performances. The team had an unofficial policy of putting the ‘A-Team’ on the quicker car. Mansell bagged that, rightly but also fortuitously. Elio’s desire waned, again, which was something he admitted. “Nigel and I received similar technical and psychological treatment, I think my situation was worse,” he explained . “He had the advantage of being English, which made things better for him, easier to cope with what was happening. And sponsor-wise he had an advantage. He seemed to enjoy his driving, while I admit that I didn’t then.”Respect was a big motivator for de Angelis, and Mansell’s departure, to be replaced by Senna, you would think with 28 years of hindsight, should have crushed the Italian. Far from it. For the majority of the 1985 season, de Angelis headed his illustrious team-mate in the points, having scored in eight races to Senna’s two. They ended the season separated by just five points, fourth and fifth in the standings. It wasn’t lost on him. “Senna has been compared with Villeneuve in Italy, me with Lauda,” he said. “But I could have done two races in 1985 – Imola and Canada – like Senna did, by taking the lead and staying there knowing that there was no hope of the fuel lasting. I am unspectacular in the car because I work out the situation. Senna is more spectacular than I am…”At the end of that season – midway through it in fact – de Angelis knew that Lotus had become Senna’s team, and they spelled it out to Elio by telling him he would not be back for 1986. “Brabham was the only place I wanted to go. If it was not going to be Brabham, it was going to be nobody,” he said. “I am always looking forward: I would never go back. I always had a possibility for many years to go with Brabham, and this year I took it.It was generally felt that the world had not seen the best of de Angelis, and the Brabham – if it was good – would allow him to take on the Sennas, Mansells, Piquets and Prosts of Grand Prix racing. Sadly, that move lasted just a few months, and four races. During testing at Paul Ricard, his radical lay-flat BT55 went out of control, vaulted the barrier and caught fire. With no marshals on hand, it took members of the Brabham team to get to the scene themselves in the team’s rental cars and extract their driver. Effectively, he had few injuries, but having been in the car for so long, had suffocated. He died two days later. It was an unnecessary outcome, and the start of stringent safety rules for test sessions, that included the presence of fire marshals and a medical helicopter.
It had been too little, too late for one of racing’s nice guys.
If you like Formula 1 in any way shape or form, then this trailer will excite you.
We loved almost everything about RUSH, and the general consensus amongst fans is that it may very well have been the greatest racing film ever made. Where Senna was a documentary, RUSH was a film – and a great one at that. This new movie titled “1″ is set to play on a similar side of the fence as Senna, faithfully retelling the tale of a time of heroes, when racing in Formula 1 was rife with danger and charismatic profiles dotted both the grid and pits.
Watch as Marcus Mussa hustles his 1965 McLaren-Chevrolet M1B around Goodwood!
