How to overtake Ayrton Senna – an eleven second demonstration by none other than Nelson Piquet.

Let’s take a quick look back to the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix, and the daring overtake by Nelson Piquet which won him him the race. It may not have been what many could consider a clean pass, however it certainly was spectacular. Piquet shoots past Senna down the main straight with a rooster-tail of dirt flying out the back of his Williams as he searches for that last inch of sealed surface, before diving around the outside and ending up completely sideways. This is Nelson Piquet demonstrating how to overtake Ayrton Senna. What an awesome moment.

MORE: Ayrton Senna interviewed after winning the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix (video)

MORE: Legends – Nelson Piquet

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It’s easy to see why they called Nigel Mansell Il Leone (The Lion)

Opening Image: The Cahier Archive

Hungaroring 1989, the site of the Hungarian Grand Prix and a track which was supposed to make overtaking nearly impossible. Nigel Mansell starts 12th and obliterates the field, jumping to second place in 51 laps.

At the moment the above image was taken Nigel Mansell was on his 52nd lap and right behind Ayrton Senna. This was a position he’d remain in until lap 58, when he’d sieze the opportunity for an overtake as Senna moved to lap Stefan Johansson with caution. From that moment, it was all Nigel – he blasted into the distance and won the race by more than 25 seconds.

Later Nigel Mansell would be heard describing the race as “maybe the best of my life”.

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Ex British F1 driver Martin Brundle jumps behind the wheel and stick of one of the most loved Grand Prix cars of all time.

Just watching this clip it becomes immediately clear how how magnificent the Masterati 250F would be to drive. In this video, former Formula 1 racer Martin Brundle hustles a beautiful example of the stunning piece of historic racing machinery around Silverstone Motor Racing Circuit in 2008.

We love watching the slender, front engined Maserati slide around corners as if it were the late 1950s all over again. We’re sure you will too. Enjoy!

MORE: The three best Maseratis of 100 years

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Spa. Porsche. 935. Three of the sweetest words known to any racing nut.

Ride along with Marc de Sibenthal in the brutally awesome Porsche 935. The video starts out with stunning shots showcasing the beauty of the historic field at the Spa Classic 2014, before switching to the incar that we’re really waiting for. It may just be the first three laps, but it’s enough to get the heart pumping.

MORE: Porsche 935 – A timeless legend

It’s a fantastic video not only because the Porsche 935 is an awesome machine, but because it perfectly demonstrates the difference between the lightweight Prototypes that Marc Sibenthal is racing against, and the comparatively heavy GT class 935. On the straights, the turbocharged Porsche 935 is a relentless beast, reeling in the opposition – the corners are a totally different story.

MORE: Living the dream, driving the Porsche 935

This race saw the 935 take first place in it’s category (GT). Enjoy.

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“I did not have enough bad ass in me” explains veteran F1 racer Derek Warwick, a fascinating man whom saw out one of the most thrilling decades Formula 1 ever knew.

Opening image: The Cahier Archive

In this fantastic video, former F1 racing driver Derek Warwick takes us on a journey through the raw racing of the 1980s, using his experience in 147 total races to provide fascinating insights and clear conclusions regarding motorsport.

MORE: A spectacular nose grind – Derek Warwick in 1988

Derek Warwick also raced in the 24 hours of Le Mans five times, winning it outright in 1992 whilst simultaneously becoming World Sportscar Champion. He’s also competed in touring cars, spending three full seasons racing BTCC during the 1990s. Today, he’s president of the British Racing Drivers Club and an FIA driver steward, this is a lifelong racer who really has seen it all.

MORE: A Derek Warwick crash that’ll make you wince!

His sheer volume of experience makes him an incredible guy to watch and listen to. We thoroughly enjoyed this video, in which he explains the progression of his career, what held him back and why Ayrton Senna didn’t want to share Lotus with him in 1986. We think you’ll love it too.

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A quick photoshoot of a legendary machine, making its way to a new owner.

Crank & Piston snapped these ripper photos of James Hunt’s 1977 McLaren M26 whilst in Dubai. The story goes that the car had been sold and may have been in the process of making it’s way to the new owner, with these photos being captured just before the beautiful car was whisked away to begin the next chapter of it’s long and impressive life.

MORE: Driving James Hunt’s 1977 McLaren M26

James Hunt wasn’t a huge fan of the M26 to begin with. Successor to the M23 in which he became the 1976 Formula 1 World Champion, it would be some time before Hunt was content with the developing performance of the M26. Hunt went on to win GPs in Britain, The United States and Japan in 1977 driving the M26, however would experience limited success in 1978.

MORE: Eight reasons we wish we were James Hunt

Of course it wasn’t only James Hunt who would drive the Ford V8 powered McLaren M26 in Formula 1 competition – Jochen Mass and Patrick Tambay could be found behind it’s wheel at different times too.

For now however, let’s enjoy Hunt’s ’77 machine in full Marlboro livery, as striking as the day it last raced.

Check out the rest of our highlights gallery here:

If you want to see the photoshoot in it’s entirety, head over to Crank & Piston.

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How does a 2014 M3 compare to a full tilt BMW M3 DTM race car from 1992? Let’s find out.

In this killer video, Sport Auto journalist Christian Gebhardt puts BMW’s latest M3 F80 to the test against a piece of the real deal from DTM’s past. The FINA sponsored BMW M3 DTM is of course, is the ex-Johnny Cecotto German Touring car monster that placed fourth overall in 1992.

MORE: Pure Intentions, Pure Handling, Pure Sound – The legend of the BMW M3

Cecotto raced at Le Mans, in Moto GP, BTCC and even Formula 1, however right now it’s the awesome Fina Simtek BMW M3 DTM that we’re most interested in. Of course pitting a race car against a street car is hardly a fair fight – but then again neither is the 12 year age difference. If nothing else, this is extremely cool. We hope you enjoy it.

MORE: Mental rally driver jumps his M3!

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Rondeau M378 – The only car to ever win at Le Mans driven by the same guy who built it.

..and that’s not the only record it holds! The Rondeau M378 is a very special car indeed, not only did it win the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans outright whilst being driven by it’s creator Jean Rondeau in M379 spec, but it’s also the single Le Mans vehicle with more starts than any other. It’s sat on the grid at ten separate 24 Hour Le Mans races between 1978 and 1988. Just think about the rapidly ongoing development of technology, and stresses placed upon endurance vehicles – that’s a huge deal!

The Rondeau M378 still exists and races today, it’s still powered by a Cosworth DFV and it’s still a 1796lb (816kg) monster. Just watch it being driven in aggression at the most recent Le Mans Classic!

9000rpm, and we’re loving every last one of them. Rondeau M378 – you’re one of our favorites.

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Images thanks to Jayson Fong of Form & Function

Motorsport Retro superphotographer Jayson Fong returns with his Brands Hatch HSCC Historic Superprix supergallery. Check it out!

The Historic Sports Car Club returned to Brands Hatch earlier in July for their celebration of historic single seater, saloon and sportscar racing.

With its flowing curves, elevation changes and lovely setting Brands Hatch provided an atmospheric backdrop to the weekend’s historic racing. And an inspiring location to shoot some motorsport!

Over 350 entries took part in the event, and put on some truly exciting racing. The historic racing machinery in action included everything from road sports cars to single seaters, touring cars and more, and the Super Touring Trophy returned with a grid of ex-works cars from the BTCC’s ’90s golden years.

Enjoy Jayson’s gallery below, and make sure to join him on Facebook here for more.

MORE From Brands Hatch: Video: Onboard in a 1964 AC Cobra at Brands Hatch

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The 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix marked the 100 GP in which Mercedes Silver Arrows have participated. Let’s take a look back.

As of last weekend, Mercedes Benz ‘Silver Arrows’ have raced in 100 Grands Prix. To celebrate, Mercedes AMG Petronas released a huge collection of images via social media, depicting the long and colorful (well, maybe not literally colorful) history of the team. Below, we’ve included a quick selection of our favorites for you guys to enjoy.

MORE: The magic of the Silver Arrows (gallery)

Of course we’re more partial to the early days of Grand Prix racing than we are to the more recent years that Mercedes have been involved in. That being said, it is quite awesome to look at images of modern, high-tech Mercedes Formula 1 machines alongside shots of the brand’s early years prior to F1, and when the sport of Grand Prix racing was still in its infancy.

MORE: Racing the Silver Arrows (video)

Take a look at our selection from their gallery below. For the whopping full collection of images as released by Mercedes AMG Petronas, check out their Facebook page.

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The F-Type might be Jaguar’s latest and greatest, however it owes it’s DNA to a long line of racing bred sportscars. Starting at the Jaguar C-Type and D-Type, let’s go right back…

Jaguar’s latest F-Type comes from a long bloodline of Jaguar sports cars, born during a time when cars were built for racing first, and then converted for road-use later if they were lucky. Starting with the Jaguar C-Type and making it’s way through both the D and E-Types, this video by X-Car lays the Jaguar Sports car ancestry out on the tarmac at once, and explains what makes each such a special piece of Jaguar history.

MORE: Onboard the Jaguar C-Type around Monaco (video)

MORE: Photo Gallery – The amazing beauty of the Jaguar D-Type

MORE: For Sale – Lightweight Jaguar E-Type

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Images courtesy RM Auctions by Jamey Price

In 1986 this ex-Bobby Rahal March 86C won both the Indy 500 and the overall CART IndyCar Championship, and come August 15, 2014, it could be yours.

Bobby Rahal was dominant in ’86, winning six of the seventeen races, including the legendary, and in ’86 particularly exciting, Indy 500. And this car, chassis 86C-13, was his weapon of choice for most of those.

Much of the ’86 Indy 500 was a three-man fight for the lead, with Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal, and Kevin Cogan fighting it out for the top spot until the very close of the race. With Cogan in the lead the race was put under caution in the closing laps, and when the green flags came out with two laps to go Rahal was quickest on the throttle, jumping into the lead – where he stayed to take the chequered flag in a neck-and-neck finish. He became the first man to complete the 500-mile race in under three hours and gave March cars a fourth consecutive Indy 500 win.

After the ’86 CART IndyCar season the car was returned to its original Indy 500 specifications with original rear wing, race-winning Cosworth engine, and Indianapolis livery including the ‘Happy Birthday’ sticker affixed to the car for team owner Jim Trueman, who had given driver Bobby Rahal his start in motorsport, just celebrated his 51st birthday and sadly been diagnosed with late-stage cancer.

The car spent a year on a Budweiser promotional tour, before being sold to its one-and-only private owner, who put it on display in a climate-controlled environment.

It hasn’t all been rarefied air and rest for 86C-13, however. The car has been run at very select high profile events such as at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where in 2011 Bobby Rahal and Adrian Newey drove drove it up the Goodwood House driveway, as well as at the Indy Speedway and Amelia Island.

A car such as this in private hands, and offered for sale, is astonishingly rare and represents a magnificent opportunity to acquire an invaluable piece of motorsport history. We hope to see it go to a good home!

Head to RM Auctions’ official site here for more information.

Via RM Auctions

Images courtesy RM Auctions by Jamey Price

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Ok so maybe every Toyota Starlet you see on a daily basis comes from hell. This particular one is evil in a completely different way.

If you were making conversation with a person you’d just met at a party, and they told you they drove a Toyota Starlet, there’s a chance you’d feign a bathroom break and never return. Chances are when somebody says Toyota Starlet, you picture a Westinghouse-white grocery getter, and not a 10,000rpm monster dubbed ‘The WRC Hunter’.

MORE: Six of Toyota’s greatest WRC cars

You’ve got to check this guy out – his car and his driving are absolutely insane. Even his fans are totally mad! If anybody can provide us with further details on this incredible machine, head on over to our Facebook page and let us know!

Fun fact – this is the first time the term ‘Starlet’ has been used on Motorsport Retro.

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The Silverstone Classic is the biggest historic motorsport event in the world. Chances are you missed it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it now!

An enormous crowd of more than 90,000 motorsport enthusiasts descended upon Silverstone for the 2014 Silverstone Classic on the weekend, and whilst that’s a massive number it’s but a drop in the ocean compared to the rest of us that missed it.

Thankfully, modern technology means that having attended or not we don’t have to miss out altogether. Already the videos are flowing in from the event, including a handful of absolute crackers.

We’ve selected our six favorites and dropped them in here for you guys to take a look at. Flick through them all or sit down and really enjoy one, either way it’s a guaranteed good time.

Roaring Lolas in the pits

The on-track action is far from all the Silverstone Classic has to offer. Check out these monsters roaring through the pits and presumably, onto the grid as part of the FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars. Spot the Ferrari 512M!

Six-wheeled drifting!

Watch in awe as James Hanson gets a little bit crossed up driving Tony Smith’s March 2-4-0 as part of the Masters FIA Historic Formula 1 Championship. We love the six-wheeled March!

Crowd Surfing

The Silverstone Classic doesn’t only get packed-out in the stands, things can be chaotic on the track too! Jump onboard with Tom Roche as part of the Mustang Trophy as he gets stuck into it.

Flat out in a Fittipaldi

Ollie Hancock pushing tin, driving the #55 Fittipaldi F5A from pole position. 

Touring car Tussle

 Come for a ride in a 1991 E30 M3 Group A as part of the JET Super Touring Car race! The car is the #29 of Jan Bot and whilst it’s not the fastest machine on the grid, the driver certainly is right in there giving it a red hot go. Watch as the Vauxhall Vectra gets out of shape in the first corner and causes a bit of chaos!

First and Last

A Spice Chevrolet and just the very best bits of this C1 race from the Sunday – The first lap, and the last. This guy really hustles!

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Image thanks to the Shannons Club, www.autopics.com.au

In 1974 Sports Car World asserted that you could take your showroom Honda Civic, spend just $1000 on race-preparing it and head to Bathurst to compete on equal terms with Class A front runners.

And they were right!

The little Civic was impressively reliable, efficient, feisty and nimble, and from 1973 to 1976 it contested in some of the fiercest and most entertaining competition that The Mountain has seen.

Civics, and the rest of Class A, brought not only entertainment, but diversity to the competition on the mountain, and when the racing’s good, does it really matter how quickly it’s going by?

Honda Civic: The $1000 Bathurst racer is an enjoyable read which tells a story from the golden age of Australian motorsport, and you can enjoy it at the Shannons Club here.

Via the Shannons Club

Image thanks to the Shannons Club, www.autopics.com.au

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Rally Finland is on this weekend, and that means one thing above all others – jumps! Let’s get in the mood.

We’re pretty excited about Rally Finland this weekend, it’s one WRC round which always delivers. In the lead up, we’re going Rally Finland crazy – we’re seeing visions of off road racing machines flying through the air at breakneck speed as we potter around the roads all the way back here in Sydney Australia.

MORE: Rally Finland 1992 – Colin McRae and the unbreakable Subaru

To quench our thirst for all things Rally Finland, we’re digging back through the archives and revisiting some of our absolute favorite related videos, as well as discovering some new ones! This clip in particular is fantastic, and we hope you enjoy it.

MORE: The most spectacular Rally Finland crashes, ever (video)

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What ever you are doing right now, it can’t be as good as 60 photographs of Linda Vaughn in her element.

With her big smile and larger than life personality, this is one character who sums up just about everything the world came to love about motor racing in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Best known as Miss Hurst, Golden Shifter, she was more than just a pretty face – she was a staple figure of the motorsport world and today remains the icon of an era. Of course, she’s great to look at too.

MORE: Celebrating Miss Hurst, Golden Shifter!

We grabbed this pictures from the awesome LV Facebook fan page. Check it out.

Check out the complete gallery here:

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Let’s go for a full-tap blast in the first car the most dominant F1 driver of all time scored points in – the 1991 Michael Schumacher Benetton.

On the 8th of September 1991, the future seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher won his first ever F1 Grand Prix championship points. The race was of course, the 1991 Italian Grand Prix at Imola, where he placed fifth with Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and winner Nigel Mansell ahead of him.

MORE: Gallery – The best of Michael Schumacher

It was only his second race in Formula 1, after being offered a drive of the Jordan 191 at the Belgian Grand Prix the round prior. The car Schumacher drove to fifth place at the ’91 Italian Grand Prix was the same very Michael Schumacher Benetton F1 machine that you’re about to see having it’s neck wrung around Highlands, NZ. The driver? Highlands owner Tony Quinn.

MORE: Michael Schumacher, by the Cahiers (Gallery)

3.5L, Ford V8 – The Benetton B191 takes us back a number of full eras in Formula 1, as does this awesome video. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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The talent some people possess is truly astounding. These are the best F1 drawings we’ve ever seen.

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the world of Daniel Yates – a place where cameras are discarded, and color not needed. A realm where graphite, charcoal and pencil meet paper, and magic happens.

We stumbled across the incredible work of Daniel Yates via his Facebook page, and knew immediately that we just had to share his talents with our little world. In this collection, he’s taken the time to beautifully sketch seven of the most loved men to ever spend time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 racing car. We can’t pick a favorite.

If you enjoy Daniel’s work, be sure to take a look at a couple of the other retro motorsport related artists we’ve featured on our page in the past, using different mediums altogether!

MORE: Retro Art – Ricardo Santos

MORE: The ravishing retro art of Tom Havlasek

Ayrton Senna – Original photo taken by Getty Images

James Hunt – 1977 Belgian Grand Prix – Original photo by Sutton Images

Jim Clark – 1967 Dutch Grand Prix – Sitting in his Lotus

Graham Hill – Indianapolis 1966 – Original photo by David Friedman

Jackie Stewart – Original photo by David Friedman

Niki Lauda – 1977 Belgian Grand Prix – Original photo by Sutton Images

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My, that’s a big wing  you’ve got there…

There’s nothing quite like a race prepped Porsche 911 with a humungous wing, contributing to one of the most beautiful and intimidating shapes known in Sportscar racing.

Other stories relating to  “Porsche 911″:

MORE: The beautiful Martini RSR rep (gallery)

MORE: Terrifying Porsche 911 crash

MORE: Celebrating 50 years of Porsche in motorsports (video)

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