Front Downforce?
Now that’s what I call a nose. When the Lola T610 is not actually racing it could moonlight for the local council clearing the streets, not even Charlie Sheen could shift as much snow as this. Ah the heady days of 1982 and Brands Hatch.
John Brooks, January 2011
Even without the flying antics, the Mercedes Benz CLR was an attention grabber. The low lines, the purity of the livery, the whole Mercedes Benzness of it all.
Permission to Land?
The disaster of the 1999 Le Mans meant the end of the sportscar programme for the company. Imagine how things might have turned out for the ALMS if Mercedes, Porsche and Toyota had joined BMW and Audi in North America in 1999 and 2000. Even NASCAR might have been worried.
John Brooks, January 2011
Thundering Herd
Another chapter closes, the FIA GT Championship ran between 1997 and 2009. I was at Hockenheim to witness the birth of this Brave New World back in the last century, so I thought that a visit to Zolder to pay respects to the final round was appropriate.
The duel was between Maserati and Corvette with the Italian SuperCar coming out on top.
Next stop would the FIA GT1 World Championship, same result though.
John Brooks, January 2011
Those of you who enjoyed David Blumlein’s excellent piece on the Armstrong Siddeley Special will relish Wouter’s latest post on The UltimateCarPage.
It features the Invicta S-Type, a very civilised and very fast car, second British overall winner of the Monte Carlo Rally (Donald Healey in 1931 after the Hon. Victor Bruce took his AC 2 litre to victory in 1926).
Arguably one of the best examples is up for auction soon.
The full article can be seen HERE
John Brooks, January 2011
30’s Elegance
Today’s offering dates back nearly 30 years to October 1982. One of my first media passes at an endurance event was for the 1000kms of Brands Hatch, part of the World Endurance Championship for Drivers.
935 at Druids
John Fitzpatrick (driving) and David Hobbs took third place overall in this Kremer copy of the legendary Porsche 935-78.
Of course the titanic struggle at the front between Rothmans Porsche and Martini Lancia overshadowed this fine effort.
No matter, the 935 in this final evolution still looks the dog’s bollocks, even allowing for the passage of time.
John Brooks, January 2011
We all have websites that we visit frequently, favourites if you like. Some are new to the digital era, some continue on the analogue world that preceeded the world of screen and keyboards.
For those with an interest in Formula One the site http://www.GrandPrix.com and the sister blog http://joesaward.wordpress.com/ are required reading. Any place that has the combined talents of Joe Saward, David Tremayne and Maurice Hamilton should be top of the list, if F1 is your bag.
Mr. Hamilton’s recent post cost me an hour or two of my life transporting me back the early 70’s, like a motorsport edition of The Sweeney. He commended a film shot in 1973 of the Grand Prix circus by Columbia Pictures. Of course not only is the story spellbinding, the quality of the Hollywood production values are amazing. Be warned once you start to watch, you will be reluctant to stop, so clear a window in your diary for something really important.
The film can be seen here
John Brooks, January 2011