Classic Motorsport Photos

[Liquid]

Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße
(AVUS: "Practice Street" For Motor Vehicles & Traffic)

AVUS was opened in 1921 and was Germany's, arguably Europe's, first limited-access dual carriageway road. You might call that a highway, freeway or motorway depending on your local variety of English. It consisted of literally a 6 mile / 9.6 kilometre stretch of road with two turns at either end for a total track length of 12 miles / 19.2 kilometres.

The banking was added at the Nordkehre (North Hairpin) in 1937. At 43° it was the steepest banking ever seen on a racetrack, greater than Daytona (31°) and Indianapolis (11°).

There was no barrier of any kind preventing drivers from flying off the circuit to a horrible crash.

Obviously dangerous, many deaths occurred at the Nordkehre and the banking prohibited F1 from visiting AVUS more than just the once in 1959. It was dismantled in 1968, returning the track to its original, but not its most famous, configuration.

The track was reduced in length by half in the 1980s, then again in the 1990s before it was closed for racing in 1998. Today it remains part of the Autobahn A115, connecting the Berlin inner circular with the Berlin outer circular. The old Mercedes-Benz tower at the Nordkehre is a protected monument but the Südkehre has long been lifted and forgotten.

 

[jontikis]

AVUS, Berlin - 1926

Rudolf Caracciola wins the 1926 German Grand Prix.

1938 Grossglockner Grand Prix

Hans Stuck, Auto Union Type C

1960 French Grand Prix - The start

1969 United States Grand Prix

Jochen Rindt wins the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.

1960 Bo'ness Hillclimb, Scotland

Tony Marsh trying to control the BRM P48.

 

[Liquid]

That's Hans Stuck. His son was Hans-Joachim.

 

[mister dog]

Found this pic where no comment is needed:

Clear pic and from a perspective I haven't seen before. Maybe the last time Ayrton's face was seen.

Oh and this one is quite telling too for what was about to come:

 

[GTP_Nail]

Hi guys just found a roll of film from 1976 Brands Hatch Test day . I'll post them bit by. Bit. I was driving Prodsports in the UK and thus had credentials and the run of the place. Here are some faces from the past. sorry for the exposures but my Nikon's meter had died. This series is from the Tyrrell Pits.

Jody Schecter

P34 Cockpit...note "new pads"

Jody firing up the DFV

Jody in P34 checking mirror waiting for Carlos Pace in the Brabham Alfa to go by.

 

[TDZdave]

Found this pic where no comment is needed:

Clear pic and from a perspective I haven't seen before. Maybe the last time Ayrton's face was seen.

Oh and this one is quite telling too for what was about to come:

I cant believe how many spectators there is, motorsport doesn't fill seats like that anymore,

 

[GTP_Nail]

I cant believe how many spectators there is, motorsport doesn't fill seats like that anymore,

When I started going to races at Watkins Glen in 1966, race tickets for general admission for the GP were around 10 dollars. When I went to Circuit Giles Villeneuve for about 12 years in a row my seat at the hairpin were around 250 bucks in 2000. Today main grandstand tickets at COTA are 633 dollars. Compare that with 95 dollars for 4 day supertickets at either the Petite le mans or the Rolex 24 and you can understand why there are no fannys in F1 seats.

 

[TDZdave]

When I started going to races at Watkins Glen in 1966, race tickets for general admission for the GP were around 10 dollars. When I went to Circuit Giles Villeneuve for about 12 years in a row my seat at the hairpin were around 250 bucks in 2000. Today main grandstand tickets at COTA are 633 dollars. Compare that with 95 dollars for 4 day supertickets at either the Petite le mans or the Rolex 24 and you can understand why there are no fannys in F1 seats.

Wow, that's insanity, I wont go to F1 because its boring, but the cost of the ticket is there abouts the same price to get 2 of us up to Bathurst, track tickets, camping, food, alcohol and home again,

 

[daan]

The banking was added at the Nordkehre (North Hairpin) in 1937. At 43° it was the steepest banking ever seen on a racetrack, greater than Daytona (31°) and Indianapolis (11°).

The Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry has huge banking too but I can't find what angle it's at.

 

[Dotini]

The banking was added at the Nordkehre (North Hairpin) in 1937. At 43° it was the steepest banking ever seen on a racetrack, greater than Daytona (31°) and Indianapolis (11°).

There was no barrier of any kind preventing drivers from flying off the circuit to a horrible crash.

Between 1910 and 1931 a total of 24 wooden speedways were built in the USA, including two-mile ovals at Chicago,Tacoma and Brooklyn.These extremely fast tracks had two straightaways joined by 180 degree curves with as much as 45 degrees banking. According to Speedway Historian Donald Davidson, the Culver City track had banking at 50 degrees or more. In 1926 Leon Duray won a race at the 1.25 mile Culver City Speedway at an average speed of 136mph. At the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Speedway, the pole speed was only 109mph in that same year of 1926. The board tracks were very popular, and drew truly huge crowds. The Great Depression brought an end to this Golden Era of American racing cars, and the board tracks soon rotted away.

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[Liquid]

If I remember, the danger of wooden speedways was that people would be underneath the banking repairing broken panels as the race was going on.

 

[Dolph Drago]

And the fact that some people would stick their heads through the those broken areas in the track to get a crazy view, or so I've read. And if a speedway caught on fire, the whole thing went up. I think a hurricane destroyed one as well.

 

[Dotini]

And the fact that some people would stick their heads through the those broken areas in the track to get a crazy view, or so I've read.

"What's that on the road, a head?"

 

[Obelisk]

"What's that on the road, a head?"

What a way to get ahead of the competition.

 

[Dotini]

...at the murderdrome:

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[Roo]

The Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry has huge banking too but I can't find what angle it's at.

51°, according to Mr Block and co.

 

[Pete05]

What was the angle of the banking at Brooklands in the U.K?

 

[Dotini]

What was the angle of the banking at Brooklands in the U.K?

Brooklands - "the right crowd and no crowding" - a couple of sources say was 30 degrees.

 

[Roo]

What was the angle of the banking at Brooklands in the U.K?

30°

Edit: probably shouldn't leave a thread open whilst I go watch a film...

 

[Liquid]

51°, according to Mr Block and co.

If that is true then like a man in orthopedic shoes, I stand corrected with regards to AVUS.

43° is still pretty steep.

 

[Pete05]

In 1991, I did a course of driving on the Calder Park Thunderdome driving an Australian derivative of a NASCAR called an AUSCAR.
As part of the course, we got the chance to attempt to walk up the 34 degree banking to the outside wall.
Only one made it to the wall & he had to do it on all fours.
It didn't look steep on the TV but standing at the bottom of the banking, you knew it would be a test.

 

[Roo]

43° is still pretty steep.

Having tried walking/climbing to the top of the Brooklands banking, 30° is plenty steep enough - although the hard bit is getting back down without injury.

For the truly ridiculous, the Mercedes test track at Unterturkheim, in Stuttgart:

 

[Dotini]

Wall of Death

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  Globe of Death
  
  
  

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[LMSCorvetteGT2]

That's Hans Stuck. His son was Hans-Joachim.

Great driver too, well renowned VAG factory driver

 

[Liquid]

John Surtees, 1934-2017

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Paul Ricard, 2001

Cars: Toyota TS020 (3.6L Toyota twin-turbo V8) & Toyota TF101 (3.0L Toyota V10)

 

[GTP_Nail]

Another series of pix from the Brands test day in Spring of 1976

Brababham BT45-Alfa unloading Brands test day 1976

Head on BT45

BT 45 rear

BT45 driven to pits from paddock

Carlo Pace in his BT45-Alfa talking with crew chief

 

[TheCracker]

Clark, Hill, Chapman, Eau Rouge.

 

[GTP_Nail]

Clark, Hill, Chapman, Eau Rouge.

View attachment 634085

1967. The only year Clark drove the 49 at Spa. He was one the pole. Guess who won the race?

Dan Gurney in his Eagle-Westlake, followed By Sir Jackie in BRM, and Chris Amon in Ferrari.

 

[Dotini]

1967. The only year Clark drove the 49 at Spa. He was one the pole. Guess who won the race?
View attachment 634180

Dan Gurney in his Eagle-Westlake, followed By Sir Jackie in BRM, and Chris Amon in Ferrari.
View attachment 634181

As I recall, the Cosworth V-8 was unreliable its first season due to vibration problems, fixed with a crankshaft damper. After that, it won most races until it began to be edged out by turbos. But even in '82, it powered the champion, Rosberg. This engine (and the Hewland transaxle) were the best things to ever happen to F1.

 

[GTP_Nail]

As I recall, the Cosworth V-8 was unreliable its first season due to vibration problems, fixed with a crankshaft damper. After that, it won most races until it began to be edged out by turbos. But even in '82, it powered the champion, Rosberg. This engine (and the Hewland transaxle) were the best things to ever happen to F1.

That is why F1 in that era was jokingly called Formula Ford...lol. In that era you were not required to make the entire car, so a team would buy three DFV's (one in the car, one in the truck, and one in rebuild) and add it to their chassis, or buy a chassis from someone else. Even the private teams won races...as did Rob Walker's Team with Jo Siffert at Brands Hatch in 1968. He, in his Lotus49-Cosworth, Held off Chris Amon's and Jacky Ickxx Ferrari 312s for his first GP Win. He was a very fast Porsche Factory Driver as well. I was there....and the crowd went wild!!!!

and here is the Race Poster...one of the best ever IMHO. They were not for sale and I used my American Boy Tourist charm, with no effect, to get the really cute girl in RAC office in London to to give or sell me one.

The car in the poster is one of Bruce Mclaren's M4B-BRM V-12's