Carlos Sainz using his 555 Subaru Impreza to get in touch with the fans during the 1995 Rallye Catalunya.
Relive the event here:
Photo of the Day: Safety First is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
The staggering 214g impact that should have killed Kenny Brack.
Watch as Kenny Brack‘s IndyCar catches air in 2003 whilst racing in Texas, the result being a terrifying high speed crash which is said to have resulted in the highest g-force impact of it’s kind on record. The incident left Brack seriously injured however it is considered to be an incredible stroke of luck that the massive steel pole with which his car collided didn’t kill him. We’re glad it didn’t!
Check out Kenny Brack getting sideways years later in a GT40 HERE.
Video: Kenny Brack’s HUGE stack (2003) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
This is what happens when an incredibly talented artist turns their attention to the golden years of racing.
What you can see here is the amazing work of Miha Furlan, a gifted artist dedicated to bringing great moments of motorsport history back to life through crayons, markers, watercolor, acrylics and graphite. There are so many fantastic pieces available from this artist that we’ve decided to break them up and run a handful of collections, the first being a celebration of Porsche racing icons.
We’ve included a short description of each picture as dictated directly by the artist. Enjoy.
Miha says: “Porsche 917/30 was a totally dominant car in 1973 can-am season and won every, but one race that it entered”
Miha says: “Racing version of the legendary Porsche 959, 961 took part in two Le Mans 24 hour races and showed quite some pace.”
Miha says: “Gulf Porsche 917K speeding down the Mulsanne straight, on it’s way to second place finish in the 1971 Le Mans 24 hours race. Drivers were Herbert Muller and Richard Attwood”
Miha says: [At the time of creation - 2012] “This year at the time of creation is the 30th anniversary of Villeneuve’s death, so it’s only appropriate to make a little tribute drawing.” 
Miha says: “One of the nicest liveries ever” 
Miha says: “The Porsche 917 LH was the pinnacle of Porsche’s efforts to make their cars as fast as possible on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans. Highest top speed recorded was 385 km/h. In 1971 this Wyer team entered car lead the race comprehensively until the 12th hour of the race, from then on mechanical issues forced it to retire.”
Miha says: “Yellowbird – The most famous tuned Porsche 911 ever.”
Miha says: “In 1974 Porsche came to lemans 24 hour race with a 500 hp supercar, in the end it was good enough for the second place”
Miha says: “Porsche 917-10k – This is the first Porsche Can Am championship winning car from 1972, 5 liter turbocharged engine produced in exes of 1000 HP, and Mclaren couldn’t find an engine big enough to stay competitive”
Miha says: “Porsche 956 – Legendary rothmans livery and perhaps the best endurance driver ever are the main reasons for making this drawing”
Epic artwork recreates moments in Porsche motorsport history is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Image: Canepa
The first NASCAR racer to record a race lap at over 200 miles per hour, this Daytona veteran may not have the modern mastery that could take you to a win in this weekend’s race, but it’s way cooler than the cars which could!
In an effort to swing the balance of power back from Ford, for 1970 Chrysler developed a set of radical aerodynamics and one of the most distinctive shapes in NASCAR: the Dodge Daytona/Plymouth Super Bird. And it worked.
Spectacularly.
The Dodge Charger Daytona’s wedge nose and tall rear wing provided excellent aerodynamics, and the cars’ 426CID Hemis put out somewhere north of 475 horsepower, helping them reach massive speeds on the typically elliptical NASCAR circuits. The cars weren’t bad on the street circuits either, dominating the field and winning 38 of 48 races in 1970.
In fact, they may have been a little too fast, and the winged beasts were tied down with a 305 cubic inch engine size limit thanks to rule changes in ’71.
This car is part of that legend, and was run by Cotton Owens and the legendary Buddy Baker in 1970. Its race history includes that one-off over 200 mile per hour record lap, a win at the Darlington Southern 500 and second in the Firecracker 400.
Buddy Baker crashed out of his final race in the car at Charlotte. Having sustained just minor sheet metal damage it was repaired by the Owens team crew and, in 1971, displayed by Dodge at Cobo Hall in Detroit, then moved to the NASCAR museum at Darlington. In 2005 the museum gave the car back to Cotton Owens.
It’s unrestored, but detailed and inspected, meaning that it’s just as it was when it came out of the Cotton Owens garage in 1970.
It’s up for sale over at Canepa, and you can check out all the details at their website here.
Via Canepa
Images via Canepa
For sale: This 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Image: Gooding & Company
If you’re looking for a new Porsche to add to the collection, Gooding & Company’s upcoming Amelia Island Auction has you well covered, with three significant race cars heading to the auction block on the 7th of March, 2014.
Your first, and probably the prettiest, choice is the above 1959 Porsche 718 RSK. One of only 35 built, this matching-numbers, original-bodied car was raced in period at Nassau, Riverside, Courtland and Cuba.
It’s exceptionally original and well documented, and that’s reflected in the US$3,250,000-3,750,000 estimate.
If 1959′s a little too classic for you, you can jump forward a decade to the 1968 Porsche 907 Longtail. This car is of an even rarer breed, being one of just seven built and two remaining.
Steeped in motorsport history, it was the first Porsche to win a 24-hour race, leading Porsche’s 1-2-3 Podium lock-out in the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours.
It went on to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times and picked up a career-best class win in 1971. Over the course of its extended racing career it was driven by Vic Elford, Hans Hermann, Jo Siffert, Rolf Stommelen and Jochen Neerspach.
Recently restored to its ’68 Daytona configuration it was part of the 2012 Daytona 50th anniversary celebrations and was voted Most Historically Important Race Car at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegnace in 2011.
It’ll hit the wallet a little harder than the RSK, however, at an estimated US$3,500,000-5,000,000.
We finish at what some would argue is the peak of modern culture – the ’80s. This 1983 March-Porsche 83G GTP was the first Porsche-powered IMSA GTP racer, and it was a dab hand in the category.
Al Holbert raced it to victory in the 1983 IMSA GTP Championship and it went on to win at Daytona in ’84 and secure a phenomenal record of seven wins out of the eighteen races it entered in ’83 and ’84. Quite the resume.
It’s estimated to command somewhere in the range of US$750,000 to $1,000,000.
Image via Gooding & Company
These three thrilling Porsches are up for grabs is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Colin McRae makes a mess whilst chasing down Tommi Makinen during the 1997 Rally of Argentina.
Driving his 555 Impreza WRC, McRae would place second behind Makinen during the event – a result which would eventually be reflected by the overall championship standings at the end of the year.
Video: Legend of Colin McRae HERE.
Learn of the rich racing history if the Impreza WRC HERE.
Photo of the Day: Colin McRae splashdown (1997) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Ultra-rare photos showcase the atmosphere of Mexico’s first F1 event.
Check out these great snaps courtesy of Peter Windsor. 1962 marked the debut of the Mexican Grand Prix as a part of the Formula 1 World Championship, with the first ever Mexican GP of 1962 having been run as a non-championship event. The race was won by Jim Clark, who would go on to drive his Lotus 25 to his first overall F1 World Championship during the season. Jack Brabham would place second, his first podium finish since winning the World Championship whilst driving for Cooper in 1960.
Gallery: The very first Mexican World Championship Grand Prix (1963) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Now this is pretty special.
Master craftsman Malte Dorowski needs nothing more than blocks of LEGO to create stunning tributes to racing machines of yesteryear. You guys absolutely loved his Martini Porsche 935, and so it is with excitement that we bring you his rendition of a racing Porsche a half decade down the track from the ‘Moby Dick‘ – the slightly newer yet absolutely legendary 956/962.
We believe that Malte’s intention was to showcase the 956 and it’s subsequent evolution into the 962. He’s listed the build as being 1982 focused, which would make it one of the earlier 956s. Just as with the 935/78 we showed you earlier, the level of detail is astounding. Just look at those fully functional doors!
The doors aren’t even the half of it however, take a look at the engine compartment! We wonder if Malte wondered what it might be like to drive such a machine whilst he pieced this together – on the track or even on the road. 
If you’d like to see even more retro racecars rebuilt in LEGO, click here!
Gallery: Rothmans 956/962 recreated in LEGO is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Watch as Nigel Mansell tests an IndyCar in the lead up to his legendary 1993 Championship victory.
In 1993 Nigel Mansell won the CART season as an IndyCar rookie. Fresh from the ranks of F1 after complexities had arisen surrounding his place on the Williams team, Mansell was winning races and breaking records straight off the bat. He’d go on to win a total of five races and place on the podium during five others, yet none of this legend was written at the time that this video was filmed. Instead this clip captures Mansell jumping behind the wheel of an IndyCar for testing during the lead-up to his debut season.
Of course Nigel would go on to win the 1993 Championship, before unfortunately knocking himself out at the TOCA Shootout.
Video: Nigel Mansell tests for Indy (1993) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Audi uses terrific vintage footage to tell the official story of Quattro.
This week’s Sunday movie comes from Audi, and tells the story of the four rings, commencing with the fascinating Auto Union machines.
Sunday Movie: The Story of Quattro is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Amazing incar footage shows the cabin of this maniac RX-3 lighting up as the monster three-rotor engine breathes FIRE.
Mark Maloney has got to be just a little bit nuts – he’s built a featherweight ’73 RX-3, crammed a 787B-like three rotor engine into it, and drives like an absolute madman all over the Caribbean. The sound of this machine is utterly incredible, as is the pace with which it revs. We like his aggressive racing style and we hope you do too. Enjoy.
Video: Ride onboard the flame-spitting RX-3 from Barbados is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
What happens when two of the greatest driving talents of all time go head to head?
The coming together of two legendary drivers, each who became a master of their respective eras. In 1993 Michael Schumacher was a young up-and-comer part way through his second full season of Formula 1, whilst Ayrton Senna was the highly revered three-time world champion who could seemingly do anything. Part way through the 1993 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, the two met and began to duel. This video was the result.
(please note the above photo is taken from the 1993 Brazilian GP)
Images: TheCahierArchive©
Video: Senna vs Schumacher, 1993 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
As we close in on the final moments of the 2014 Daytona 500, let’s remember the most thrilling finishes of all.
1998 – Dale Earnhardt gets the win
On his 20th attempt, ‘The Intimidator’ finally breaks his two-decade dry spell to win the Daytona 500.
In what has to have been one of the great NASCAR moments, the entire pit lane population lines the track to congratulate Earnhardt as he returns from victory.
1976 – Synchronized spinning
The 1976 Daytona 500 finished with a bang.
Richard Petty and David Pearson finished a door handle-to-door handle race with a simultaneous pirouette. One ended up in the wall, the other ended up on the grass – glorious. This has been called by many, the best Daytona finish of all time.
1979 – Fistfights and crashes
Three years later and this time it was Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison side by side in the closing laps of the race.
They came together heavily as they fought and ended up on the grass in the infield. Richard Petty went ahead to take victory, and was celebrating his 6th Daytona 500 win whilst the others got back to the business of fighting.
1959 – Photo finish (cover image)
A finish so close it took NASCAR thee days to make a ruling on the winner.
Having just moved to the new 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, the first running of the Daytona 500 didn’t disappoint. Coming across the finish line after 500 miles of true endurance, Lee Petty, Johnny Beauchamp and Joe Weatherly (a lap down) were so close together that it took three days for NASCAR to make a ruling on the winner.
1988 – Father vs Son
You won’t see this in a Formula 1 race!
A father versus son duel made up the closing laps of the 1988 Daytona 500 – the first race featuring restrictor plates. No love was lost between them as they battled for victory, with Bobby Allison eventually taking the win, becoming the first person to win the race over the age of 50 and securing his third Daytona 500 victory.
1993 – Family values
Speaking of father and son NASCAR teams, this is why the conclusion of the 1993 Daytona 500 was a particularly special one.
After an exciting, back and forth race, Dale Jarrett passed Dale Earnhardt, who had lead more than a hundred of the race’s two hundred laps, as they passed the white flag. With Ned Jarrett commenting, his fellow presenters went quiet and left him to call the last lap as his son fought off Dale Earnhardt to take the win.
1960 – The birth of drafting
Junior Johnson didn’t have the power of the lead cars, and hadn’t even planned to run the race until days prior.
What he did have was a strategy for drafting, one that would ultimately see him win victory. With a year’s experience under their belts, teams attacked the 1960 Daytona with far greater fervour than they had in ’59, putting on a race full of stacks and action as opposed to the completely clean race of the year prior.
1967 – Mario Andretti on the scene
Traditionally NASCAR had always been an all-American affair, so much so that it is said that Italian-born Andretti had to adopt a home town in Pennsylvania to avoid attracting the unwanted attention.
It was worth the effort, with Andretti becoming the first person born outside of the United States to win the Daytona 500 in 1967.
1981 – Richard Petty’s 7th win
Thrills and spills as cars fly airborne!
Richard Petty claims his 7th win, as the field struggles to adapt to setting up the more modern chassis of the time.
2007 – Everyone Crashes
As soon as the white flag drops – it’s on for young and old.
Madness unfolds as a tightly packed field of racers desperately jostle for position coming through the last bends of the 2007 Daytona 500. The slight of the leading pair streaming ahead whilst all in the background crash and burn is an almost too-perfect NASCAR cliche.
Ten greatest Daytona 500 finishes of all time is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
You can’t possibly appreciate how insane motorcycle road racers are until you watch this video.
Helmet cameras were far and in between back in 1997, which makes this ride-along footage from the North West 200 very special. The sense of speed and danger that this angle gives you is quite remarkable, particularly once the bikes begin to battle at higher speed once the road opens up.
This is what a 200mph street circuit looks like from the most dangerous seat in the house.
Video: Onboard the ’97 North West 200 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Memories of Senna flood back as McLaren fire up their championship-winning machine for the first time in over twenty years.
In 1991 Ayrton Senna took seven GP victories to win the Formula 1 World Championship whilst driving the McLaren MP4/6. In that year both he and team mate Gerhard Berger campaigned the chassis, which had been outfitted with Honda’s screaming 3.5L V12.
In this video, McLaren fire up an example of the MP4/6 for the first time in more than 20 years. Time has not robbed the V12 engine of it’s bark by even the slightest fraction.
Video: Firing up the ’91 McLaren F1 MP4/6 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Bob Bondurant and John Surtees line up at the commencement of the 1965 Daytona 2000km.
Bob sits behind the wheel of the #72 Ford GT, with Surtees locking eyes from the open cabin of his Ferrari 330 P2. Surtees was at the time the reigning Formula 1 World Champion, a title which would have made him quite an intimidating figure on the grid – however luck would see his car retire with axle trouble. Bondurant would go on the place third with team mate Richie Ginther, with the other Ford backed GT #73 of Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby winning the race. Jo Schlesser slotted into second place, landing his ride in Formula 1 in the following year.
Read more about the legendary John Surtees here.
Photo of the Day: Surtees & Bondurant at Daytona (1965) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
You’ve probably never heard of a ’27 Oakland before.
The latest video from Petrolicious winds the vintage car clock back nearly 90 years, studying a very cool 1927 Oakland owned by quirky gear-head by the name of Brian Bent. Oakland was a part of General Motors during a bygone era, closing its doors around 1934 as a result of dwindling sales – making this 1927 ‘Racer’ the kind of car most car guys haven’t even heard about. To Brian Bent, the car is everything – and the slick onboard footage featured in this clip perfectly captures the way he feels about his prized machine.
Video: Tale of an Oakland Racer is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Amazing HD video takes us onboard the ’93 Ferrari 412 V12 for high speed thrill ride.
1990s racing nostalgia meets modern technology in this 1080p clip shot from the cabin of Ferrari’s much loved 412. The sights and sounds are absolutely glorious – enjoy.
Video: Onboard the ’94 Ferrari 412 F1 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Markku Alen’s Lancia Delta S4 making tracks during the 1986 Rally New Zealand. Markku would place second during the event, and second overall in the 1986 WRC season.
Photo of the Day: Markku’s Martini (1986) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
The final episode of McLaren’s ‘Tooned’ is undoubtedly the best.
Enjoy the final episode of Tooned 50 as McLaren wrap up the series with a bang. Keep an eye out for Alain Prost, Mika Hakinnen, James Hunt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez – as well as Murray Walker!
Video: Tooned 50 – The Grand Finale is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.