Muscle Car
August in Wisconsin, must be Road America at Elkhart Lake. A majestic race track, one of the finest in the world.
Back in 1983 Ford were winning in what was, more or less, their back yard. Klaus Ludwig and Tim Coconis taking the Mustang GTP to victory in the Budweiser 500. It was the high point for the project as persistent engine problems torpedoed any further success.
John Brooks, December 2011
A Classic Scene
1935 and this fabulous shot from Monte Carlo.
The man breaking the Bank that year was Luigi Fagioli in his Mercedes Benz W25B. Here he is about to round the Gasworks Hairpin on his way to victory. Behind him is the Maserati 8CM of Gigi Soffietti.
A classic image.
John Brooks, December 2011
Double Martini
OK, maybe I am not Mel Brooks but you get the drift.
Fishing through the archives I found this shot of the Lancia LC1 pair running away at Silverstone back in 1982. As ever in motor racing controversy was not far behind. The Group C rules were based on a specific fuel allocation per race, at Silverstone it was 600 litres, the standard amount for 1000 Kilometre races. Unfortunately the race at Silverstone was run to a traditional six hour format, that amounted to 1,118 kilometres for the winning Lancia. So despite taking pole position by 1.7 seconds, the sole Rothmans Porsche 956 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell ended up trundling round some ten seconds off the pace in order to save enough fuel to get to the finish. Motor racing it was not.
Rules made by those who do not understand the consequences……………now where have we heard that before?
John Brooks, December 2011
A visit to the Bologna Motor Show last week was full of the usual motoring delights but for me one aspect stood out from the rest. There was a very strong rally presence, hardly surprising given the heritage of Lancia and FIAT over the years.
Of course being easily distracted by a shiny bauble I was fascinated by the Lancia ECV, a prototype developed for the Group S rules, that were supposed to replace the madness of Group B.
After the deaths of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresta in the 1986 Corsican Rally both Group B and Group S regulations were abandoned, so this spectacular machine never saw competition.
Other Lancia favourites were also on hand, I mean who can resist the Stratos, painted up in Alitalia livery?
And it would be rude not to have another Martini………….
Actually let’s turn it into a three Martini lunch, proper Mad Men style
Later in the week the Rally cars would have their time out on the tracks but I had to make do with the static display………….worth the journey to Italy by itself. I’ll have a look round the rest of the Show in the next day or so. Avanti!
John Brooks, December 2011
Allan’s strict new training regime seemed to be paying dividends
It has been a bit quiet at DDC HQ of late. I have been on manoeuvres with The Special Correspondent and the shadowy figure just known as “The Captain”. We have been exploring Italy, from Torino to Bologna, much more on that later.
In the meantime here are some snapshots from the Grand Tour.
The Bologna Motor Show is on this week, so we popped by to discover much to interest. Audi had one of their Le Mans-winning R18 on display, one of many race cars to admire.
I said “Blow the bloody doors off”…………
What do you with a redundant car factory……….bulldoze it and build something glass and chrome? Or preserve the famous structure and recycle the whole sheebang? The latter would seem to be the best answer, at least from the evidence of the project to rescue the Lingotto factory. The former home of FIAT, is now a shopping centre, with hotels, art galleries etc. The famous rooftop test track is still there and we were lucky enough to be allowed a visit.
First Time For Everything
As if that was not enough automotive goodness, just down the strada was the freshly opened Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, celebrating the fantastic contribution of Italy to motoring. A must visit place.
Ciao.
John Brooks, December 2011
Fast Fords
1967 and Le Mans, just prior to the start. Ford have their armada of cars lined up in front of the pits. The rest of the field know that they are in for a long day and night, vainly chasing after the Ford fleet.
Power, grace and performance.
John Brooks, December 2011
1955 Le Mans 24 Hours
16.00 on June 11 1955 and the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The leaders, Castellotti and Maglioli in their Ferraris and the Jaguars of Hawthorn and Beauman are already streaking away up towards the Dunlop Bridge. The Mercedes Benz trio, strangely mired in the mid-field battle, struggle to get up to speed. Fangio has not yet got into motion, jumping into his car after the traditional Le Mans Start he managed to get the gear lever stuck up his trouser leg. He got away last.
Two and half hours later after some intense competition between the Jaguar and Mercedes factory teams, disaster struck as Pierre Levegh’s 300SLR collided with the Austin-Healey of Lance Macklin. The car was pitched onto the safety bank and then flew into the crowded terraces. Levegh and 83 spectators were killed and many more were injured, it was the worst accident in motorsport’s history.
The photo, taken from the excellent Mercedes Benz press site, shows just how narrow the track was at that point and how exposed both the spectators and the pits were.
John Brooks, November 2011
Porsche are not only famous for their excellent cars and ferocious racing teams, they have over the years issued a series of posters that reflect the self image of this premium brand. The message comes across as understated “cool”; it must have been a dream to have Steve McQueen as the poster boy for Porsche.
Enjoy the trip down memory lane.
John Brooks, November, 2011
November is supposed to be like February, a time where little goes on in the motorsport world, a time when those of us who charge around during Spring, Summer and Autumn can catch our breath.
Let’s Go For A Nice Spin In The Country
But as Burns would have it:
“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men,
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!“
Sign Language
So this year against the run of form, it is frenetic, with PR releases and potential projects flying in from all sides. I should complain.
Lotus Blossom
Poor old DDC has been a bit neglected of late so here is a first look back to an Indian Summer. For a multitude of reasons I was not able to make the annual hike over to Atlanta and Petit Le Mans.
I Pad?
So what could I do with the free weekend? It was suggested that I try the BritCar 24, held at Silverstone. A 24 Hour club race round Silverstone, doesn’t sound that appealing.
Not Mellow Yellow
Shows how wrong I could be, it was great. OK it was not Le Mans and never could be, given the vast gulf in budgets and tradition. However it had the same essential DNA, the struggle to maintain speed and reliability over the length of a whole day. Les Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans back in the 20’s to the 70’s would have looked very familiar territory for the 2011 BritCar 24 field. Not sure I can imagine Bob Berridge as one of the Bentley Boys but the qualities required to race through the night in what are largely road based cars would be the same.
Sunshine Special
I have to admit that the weather helped, warmer and less humid than Road Atlanta, Silverstone at its best. Had I turned up a year previously I might not have been so favourably disposed…23 hours of rain, yuk.
The Lord Chamberlain
The pitlane was full of familiar faces, some almost pleased to see me. I am not sure if it is in the FIA regulations but no 24 Hour race seems complete without Hugh Chamberlain, though he does assure me that he did not attend the 1923 Le Mans.
Fly Like An Eagle
Competitive, yet cordial would be my assessment of the grid, this was meant to seriously enjoyed.
The Short Clan
The press, such as we were, got first class treatment from Steve Wood and his team, keeping us well supplied in updates and coffee.
Star Light
My final conclusion? Rather pleased I went and if the mad schedule of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship does not drag me off to cover the Six Hours of Uranus or some similar God forsaken place, I’ll be back. You should go too, it gets you back to your roots.
John Brooks, November 2011
Toine
Some stories are worth repeating, so this tale of laughter is certainly qualified in that respect. Over 8 years ago I ended up in a hotel bar with Toine and Mike Hezemans…………….
Spa 24 Winner
After another lashing of Schwien-something or other at the dining table, Cotton, Lister and I drifted past, and then back into, the hotel bar. We stumbled upon Mike and Toine Hezemans. Mike is one of the ballsiest drivers in the FIA GT championship, brave to the point of lunacy, commitment being his middle name and also bloody quick.
None of that should come as a surprise to anyone lucky enough to find themselves enjoying a convivial beer or three with his father, Toine. That particular strain of DNA is rare indeed, probably just as well, too much of this concentrated brew would be dangerous………but what the hell? You only live once.
Toine is a larger than life figure in every respect…….as a driver he competed at the highest levels, a multiple champion in sportscars and touring cars. These days as a team owner and manager, he has a reputation for an uncompromising approach. I recalled the first time we had met several years back, oddly enough in another hotel bar in Germany.
My first sportscar race was the 1971 1000Kms of Brands Hatch…….I reminded him of this big moment in my life and his reaction was the same that night as it was at this weekend………
”F##king race, two laps up in the lead and 50kms to go the f**king engine let go”.
Nice to get a consistent view of history. Time certainly is a healer.
Carlo Chiti
Toine was a driver with the Alfa Romeo factory in the late 60’s and early 70’s, a time he recalls with great affection. Although Alfa had a reputation for being a touch chaotic, their approach to testing the touring car programme was more akin to F1 in the modern era, than those freewheeling times.
”We spent a month at Balocco with ten cars, when one broke it would be taken away and another sent out……that way we discovered all the problems and fixed them before the racing began. The title was easy then.”
Alfa Romeo’s competitions department, Autodelta, was run then by the imposing figure of Carlo Chiti…….a man of constant invention and tinkering.
”Chiti was always coming up with something new……sometimes copying shamelessly from others………I was at the factory with Masten Gregory and the boss was very keen to show his new design for a tyre jack…………..very similar to Jim Hall’s Chaparral jack……….but this of course was made of titanium as Alfa had a special forge that had been put in at great expense, so it had to be used at every opportunity.”
”So Chiti was showing off in front of us drivers and put the jack under one of the racecars for a demonstration…….gave a mighty pull and promptly broke the lightweight handle in two and ended up flat on his back. He did not see the funny side, so us roaring our heads off and crying with tears of laughter did not go down well.”
”It was sometimes fantastic to be a works Alfa driver. I was leading the Targa Florio in 1971 (with local hero Nino Vaccarella) and somehow fell off the road on the last lap, within a minute two hundred locals had carried the car back to the tarmac and off I went again.”
Don’t Try This At Home, Kids
”Vic Elford in the leading Porsche had a puncture during the race and while he was round the front of the car some of our fans stole the jack and wheel nuts from the back of the vehicle. They really wanted us to win.”
Nonsense, I said, that just shows the native cunning and good sense of the Sicilians, Porsche spares were always worth more then Alfa bits.
Always good value too is Toine.
John Brooks, November 2011