Classic Motorsport Photos

[marco89IT]

Le Mans 1969

Jo Siffert (Porsche 908) before the start

The start. Everyone runs towards his car, to leave the grid as quickly as possible. Everyone except the man on the bottom right of the picture. It's Jacky Ickx, which is clearly walking, as slowly as he can. He was protesting against the classic Le Mans start, too dangerous for him.

Despite being a 24 hours race, having a good start was considered crucial. At the point that Porsche decided that the driver should've turned the ignition key (yes, a key) with his left hand, while the right hand was already putting the first gear in. So, from those days onwards, Porsche drivers have to insert the key on the left side of the steering column, instead of the usual right. It's still like that nowadays, to maintain the tradition.


Here, every driver is in his car. But Ickx is still walking, recognizable by his white suit and blue helmet. He eventually sits in his Ford GT40, waits until every single car has left its spot, and only then he starts his race.

John Woolfe was driving a Porsche 917 that year, he was so focused on having a good start that he didn't put on his seatbelt to save time. During the first lap he crashed and died, flying outside his car. That was the last time a 24 Hours of Le Mans had its typical start.


Jacky Ickx together with Jackie Oliver won that race

This is Jacky Ickx. Does someone identify a resemblance with another famous sport celebrity?

 

[Liquid]

Rallying is amazing. It's staggering how there aren't or weren't more spectator deaths.

1985 Portugese Rally

 

[daan]

2 images from Clermont Ferrand.

 

[GTP_Ingram]

This is Jacky Ickx. Does someone identify a resemblance with another famous sport celebrity?

View attachment 370421

Who were you thinking of? My first thought was Marc Marquez.

 

[Liquid]

1903 Gordon Bennett Cup

The Gordon Bennett Cup was a pre-cursor to "Grand Prix" racing, which wouldn't be established by the French Car Club until 1906. It was a race in the conventional sense we would recognise now; laps around a complete circuit as opposed to the first motor races such as Paris-Rouen, which were point-to-point.

The 1903 Cup was the fourth year it was run. Rules dictated that the previous winner hosted the next race and the United Kingdom won the 1902 cup. County Kildare in Ireland was chosen as the venue for the 1903 Cup, which ran seven laps around public roads for a 328 mile / 527 kilometre race.

Details on the photos exactly are sketchy but I believe the first two are of the Mercedes (not a Benz) of Camille Jenatzy (BEL), which won the race for Germany.

This was also the race were "British Racing Green" was officially codified in deference to the race being in Ireland; the British colours of red, white and blue had been taken by the USA, Germany and France respectively. Although everyone forgets that green was already an established colour for British English machinery and locomotives.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Avus, 1937 (but it could be in a galaxy far, far away, such is the aspect of these cars).


Both Mercedes and Auto Union bring their specially streamlined beasts for a race where speed was all that was needed.

Caracciola in the #35 Merc, Rosemeyer in the #31 Auto Union. Mercedes won this battle. I think this picture shows the overtaking before the end. Here again a selected few paragraphs of a comprehensive account of what happened

QUOTING from http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp372.htm (if you want to read about this race and many others just go there, it's worth it!)

The race had started at a low pace to save the tyres with lap times from 5 min. down to 4 min. 40 s but on lap 5 the real race began between Rosemeyer and Caracciola, the latter taking the lead by outbraking Rosemeyer in great style in front of the Nordkurve and the lap times dropped to 4:33. The mass of spectators jumped from their seats in excitement as the streamlined cars passed and re-passed each other up to 5 times per lap using slipstream maneuvers at 380 km/h on the straights, the drivers skillfully balancing their cars through the dangerous Nordschleife at 180 km/h.
During lap 6 the times dropped to 4:27 but von Delius and Seaman were still able to hang on. As the last lap started, the four cars were only 3 seconds apart with Caracciola leading. But then the race was only between Caracciola and Rosemeyer, both driving flat out, leaving the GP cars behind. Rosemeyer gained on Caracciola and into the Nordschliefe they went side by side, the Auto Union low, the Mercedes very high. With the gained momentum Caracciola slung the car over the line 0.7 seconds in front of Rosemeyer.
No driver had made any pitstops during the race, the slow start having saved the tyres.
Rosemeyer's car was running on only 13 cylinders and the driver's goggles were almost unusable due to oil. Even then he had done the last lap on an incredible 4:11.2. With 276.39 km/h (171.78 mph) that is the fastest lap EVER done in a formula race and it would take 34 years before such speeds were seen at INDY 500

 

[Dustone]

1998 Belgian Grand Prix

This wasn't the first race I watched but it was one of my early favourites and one of the first races which really sticks in my mind. So much action and drama. And what a famous race it was!

Have you seen the Jordan documentary from this season? Really interesting and good, covers that race too.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Some Historic pictures of one of the most influential names in motor racing, Sydney Allard whose racing career stretched from 1929 almost until his death in 1966 and spanned nearly every branch of motorsport including rally, drag, trials, hillclimb, circuit and endurance.

Above Brooklands in the 1930's - Sydney won his first race at this track in 1929. Below British Hillclimb champion in 1949 driving his air cooled V8 Steyr-Allard Special (it was fitted with eight Amal motorcycle carbs!).

Below 3rd place in in the 1950 Le Mans 24 hour race driving his Allard J2 Cadillac. Zora Arkus-Duntov (father of the Corvette) and Carroll Shelby (creator of the Shelby Cobra) both raced Allard J2 Cadillac's. Sydney is tall with glasses and dark zippered overall. Tom Cole (co-driver) to his left.

Below 1952 driving an Allard P1, Sydney wins the Monte Carlo Rally narrowly beating Stirling Moss.

Above 1963 winning his class in an Allardette Anglia on the Monte.

Sydney built Europe's first dragster in 1961. Above action from 1963, Dante Duce left v Sydney Allard with Dean Moon flagman (The first Cobra was fitted with its Ford V8 in Dean Moon's hot rod shop).

 

[TheCracker]

Oulton Park Gold Cup - Sept 1963

First outing for the Lotus Cortina. The Cortinas of Jack Sears (79) and Trevor Taylor (82) battled to 3rd and 4th on their debut, beaten only by the Galaxies of Dan Gurney and Graham Hill.

Sebring 12 Hours - March 1964

The same Lotus Cortina that Trevor Taylor drove to 4th place finish 6 months earlier at Oulton Park was driven by Jim Clark and Ray Parsons to 21st place overall.

The Cobra of Ken Miles and John Morton leads the '64 GTO ( 31)of Carlo Mario Abate and Jean Guichet and the 250 GTO LMB (29) of Bob Grossman and Dick Thompson.

The Shelby Daytona of Bob Holbert and Dave MacDonald, that would eventually finish 4th behind a trio of Ferrari 275P's, here leads the Cobras of Harold Keck and Robert Scott (80) and Ed Lowther and George Wintersteen (18)

The Lola Mk6 of Augie Pabst and Walt Hansgen, here Chevy powered, had a troubled event. Not able to set a time in qualifying the engine expired in the race after only 44 laps. The technically advanced Lola Mk6 project had by this time caught the eye of Ford and would eventually lead to what would become the all conquering GT40.

 

[marco89IT]

Brands Hatch, British GP 1966 - Jack Brabham receives 100 bottles of champagne as a prize for setting the fastest lap in qualifying

Spa-Francorchamps 1966 - BRM tried a new engine in practice only, with Jackie Stewart. It was an H16, essentially two flat-eight one above the other. A powerful engine, but heavy and unreliable, so it has never been used in a race. (EDIT: It has been used, as explained further down in this thread)

Zandvoort 1967 - From left to right, Keith Duckworth shows his new creation to Colin Chapman, Jim Clark and Graham Hill. The Lotus 49 has a new engine, the Ford-Cosworth V8. EDIT: While waiting for it, Lotus used the BRM H16 engine showed on the previous picture

Inauguration of the Osterreichring with the 1000 km of Zeltweg, August 1969. That's the start/finish straight of the circuit known today as RedBull Ring.

Who were you thinking of? My first thought was Marc Marquez.

Exactly.

 

[Liquid]

Spa-Francorchamps 1966 - BRM tried a new engine in practice only, with Jackie Stewart. It was an H16, essentially two flat-eight one above the other. A powerful engine, but heavy and unreliable, so it has never been used in a race.

View attachment 370671

The BRM P83 had the H16 and was used in 1966 and 1967, albeit not very successfully.

The H16 was suited to Spa's long straights and Stewart secured its only podium.

1967 Belgian Grand Prix

Inauguration of the Osterreichring with the 1000 km of Zeltweg, August 1969. That's the start/finish straight of the circuit known today as RedBull Ring.
View attachment 370675

Steeper than I realised! Did they move the pits further down the straight when it was converted into the A1 Ring? I don't remember the run down to (the new) turn one and the gravel behind it being that steep.

 

[Dotini]

The BRM P83 had the H16 and was used in 1966 and 1967, albeit not very successfully.
The H16 was suited to Spa's long straights and Stewart secured its only podium.

The Lotus 43, powered by BRM H16, scored one GP victory at Watkins Glen, 1966, Clark driving.


43/1 - 2013 Goodwood Revival

 

[Liquid]

@Dotini Did not know that Lotus sampled the BRM engine. Looks like it was during the transition from 1.5L to 3.0L engines, they tried to use the BRM H16 with its grunt and power but it didn't work out. So instead they found this nifty little eight cylinder designed by two blokes called Costin and Duckworth...

Thanks for that very much! Some quick research photos...

1966 United States Grand Prix

 

[TheCracker]

Steeper than I realised! Did they move the pits further down the straight when it was converted into the A1 Ring? I don't remember the run down to (the new) turn one and the gravel behind it being that steep.

When shown on TV the camera was always pointing back down the start/finish straight from the outside of turn 1. I'd guess that from that angle the hill was flattened somewhat visually.

It certainly was still that way in the 80's:

 

[Liquid]

Here's Alonso in 2003. As he exits the last corner, it does look steep but as he approaches the first corner, it just doesn't seem that way. Those old Österreichring videos have a sharp increase even straight after the pits. I think it was flattened. But then again, when you think about it, it had to be if they put a right angled corner and gravel trap halfway up a hill.

 

[Dotini]

@Dotini Did not know that Lotus sampled the BRM engine. Looks like it was during the transition from 1.5L to 3.0L engines, they tried to use the BRM H16 with its grunt and power but it didn't work out. So instead they found this nifty little eight cylinder designed by two blokes called Costin and Duckworth...

Thanks for that very much!

My recollection is that Chapman instigated the Cosworth V8 project, the Sistine Chapel of racing engines, by arranging a meeting between Keith Duckworth (genius designer) and Ford (money.)

I also recall the H16 as Tony Rudd's greatest mistake. Those clowns who ran BRM wanted to use up their inventory of 1.5 liter V-8 pistons and rods, so ordered Rudd to use them in a 3.0 16 cylinder mill. The silly thing had inherently self-destructive harmonic vibrations, and tried to destroy its geared-together crankshafts each time it ran. As a rule, BRM = POS.



The classic DFV engine – Hewland gearbox combination, mounted in the rear of a 1978 Tyrrell 008.

 

[Bo]

The one and only Ferrari 312T8, possibly the greatest (and most ludicrous) motorsport media lie ever told.

 

[Liquid]

How have I forgotten the classic motorsport photo? Where is @Grand Prix when you need him?

Raymond Mays, 1924

Losing a rear wheel during a hill climbing event in Caerphilly, Wales.

 

[TheCracker]

Here's Alonso in 2003. As he exits the last corner, it does look steep but as he approaches the first corner, it just doesn't seem that way. Those old Österreichring videos have a sharp increase even straight after the pits. I think it was flattened. But then again, when you think about it, it had to be if they put a right angled corner and gravel trap halfway up a hill.

I'd forgotten that they'd rebuilt it in the '90's when it became the A-1 Ring. 👍

From the mid 70's:

 

[Dotini]

Losing a rear wheel during a hill climbing event in Caerphilly, Wales.

Caerphilly, Wales


Caerphilly Castle and moat

@Liquid, I'd like to know the acceptable pronunciation(s) of the name Caerphilly, please.

 

[Cano]

Sebring 12 Hours - March 1964
The Shelby Daytona of Bob Holbert and Dave MacDonald, that would eventually finish 4th behind a trio of Ferrari 275P's, here leads the Cobras of Harold Keck and Robert Scott (80) and Ed Lowther and George Wintersteen (18)
View attachment 370651

To add to this, that car is CSX2287, the first Cobra Daytona built. You could say it was the prototype for the thing. It was hand made out of hand-beaten aluminum in Shelby's shop with practically spare parts by Pete Brock and the Shelby crew on their free time. When they saw its potential they made the other 5 chassis and had them bodied in Italy by Idon'trememberwhatcompany. When the Dyatonas became obsolete because GT40, the cars went on as pr tools and this very car ended up at Bonneville setting several land speed records with Goodyear sponsorship. It was then sold and ended up lost for 35 years until it resurfaced looking like this:

Yes, that is the super-famous "burning rabbits" Daytona. For anyone interested google "missing cobra daytona coupe" to read it's rather fascinating and impossibly strange tale, as it's too convoluted and long to quote it here from memory. But believe me, it's very much worth perusing it.

 

[daan]

Steeper than I realised! Did they move the pits further down the straight when it was converted into the A1 Ring? I don't remember the run down to (the new) turn one and the gravel behind it being that steep.

The first corner of the Oesterreichring and the first corner of the A1(Red Bull)ring are not in the same place.

 

[Liquid]

That's what I mean. The new turn one is three-quarter way up the old straight. I just hadn't realised how steep the climb up to the old turn one was in reality before they flattened it to accommodate the new turn one and gravel area when the circuit was redesigned.

Also, that green line doesn't quite follow the old track. You can see where the old Gösser- and Rindtkurves were, closer to the trees. The old Rindtkurve was banked, if I remember rightly.

 

[TheCracker]

Oulton Park - Tourist Trophy 1965

Bruce McLaren in his McLaren/Elva Oldsmobile leads Jim Clark in the Lotus 30. Both would drop out with mechanical issues. The race eventually won by Denny Hulme in a Brabham BT8.

What's the current value of this intriguing mix of Elva Mk1, Ferrari 250 LM, Lola T70, Lotus 30, Brabham BT8, 289 Cobras, Daytona Cobras and unusual low-roofed 250 GTO?

Croft - Wills Trophy 1969

Trevor Taylor and Chris Craft battle down the back straight in their Lola T70's. This is the original layout at Croft. This is the Railway Straight and is currently used as a paddock area, but did originally run between Sunny and Hawthorn.

Lotus 47 and porsche 906

Lotus 47 exists final corner onto the old start/finish straight. This is today really classed as the 'back straight' with the new start/finish straight and pit complex running parallel some 100 meters or so away.

 

[Liquid]

God, it would be amazing to see the absolute top drivers in the world race at Oulton Park again. Seeing photos of original Croft is pretty awesome too. Didn't it used to be a triangle shaped track before they added the infieldy bit at Sunny and the hairpin?

 

[marco89IT]

The BRM P83 had the H16 and was used in 1966 and 1967, albeit not very successfully.

The H16 was suited to Spa's long straights and Stewart secured its only podium.

That's right. I've been fooled by the fact that all the sources I read don't mention the fact that they're probably talking strictly about the engine at its first stage of development. During 1966 Lotus also used that engine, while they were waiting for the Ford-Cosworth V8 of the Zandvoort '67 picture I posted above. My guess is, being Lotus, they developed it properly, also winning a race with Clark as mentioned by Dotini. Not very suitable to Chapman's "add lightness" philosophy though: reports say, it took 6 men to carry the engine into the Lotus factory. The H16 engine weight was around 250 kgs, without gearbox and clutch. The entire Lotus 49 with the V8 engine weighed 501 kgs!

Steeper than I realised! Did they move the pits further down the straight when it was converted into the A1 Ring? I don't remember the run down to (the new) turn one and the gravel behind it being that steep.

That's because they moved the first corner, way further down the hill. Sorry for posting again the same photo, just to use it as a reference. On the current layout the first corner starts around the second BP signboard on the right of the straight and goes on where there's that couple of yellow Varta advertising banners.

The first corner used to be faster, Donohue in 1975 died there during practice. Also in 1975 Austrian GP, Brambilla's unique win in F1: an hilarious moment when on a soaked circuit he raised his hands to celebrate at the checkered flag, spun at high speed on the main straight and crossed the line still spinning and crashing into barriers.

Also gone is the Bosch-Kurve, here with Carlos Reutemann in 1981, replaced now by the Goesser:

 

[TheCracker]

Seeing photos of original Croft is pretty awesome too. Didn't it used to be a triangle shaped track before they added the infieldy bit at Sunny and the hairpin?

Pretty much a triangle. Must have been a quick circuit back in the day. The new section of corners between Sunny and Clervaux are something you tolerate rather than enjoy.

This is the intriguing 250 GTO i mentioned in my previous post. Was developed by David Piper (hence the 'BP' green which all his cars were painted). Piper sold it (i think) to Peter Sutcliffe, no not that one, who drove it in the Tourist Trophy race i posted. David Piper had by then moved onto the more recent 250 LM also pictured above. Unfortunately the car has since been converted back to it's normal height roof.

To add to this, that car is CSX2287, the first Cobra Daytona built. You could say it was the prototype for the thing. It was hand made out of hand-beaten aluminum in Shelby's shop with practically spare parts by Pete Brock and the Shelby crew on their free time. When they saw its potential they made the other 5 chassis and had them bodied in Italy by Idon'trememberwhatcompany. When the Dyatonas became obsolete because GT40, the cars went on as pr tools and this very car ended up at Bonneville setting several land speed records with Goodyear sponsorship. It was then sold and ended up lost for 35 years until it resurfaced looking like this:

I was at Silverstone last weekend and was lucky enough to watch CSX2602 race. Its still in it's red with white stripes Scuderia Filipinetti colours. I had a good luck around at it in the pits too. 👍

 

[Dotini]

That's what I mean. The new turn one is three-quarter way up the old straight. I just hadn't realised how steep the climb up to the old turn one was in reality before they flattened it to accommodate the new turn one and gravel area when the circuit was redesigned.

Also, that green line doesn't quite follow the old track. You can see where the old Gösser- and Rindtkurves were, closer to the trees. The old Rindtkurve was banked, if I remember rightly.

That "old turn one" I believe is referring to the infamous Hella Licht, one of the fastest and all-time most dangerous turns in racing. One of my heroes, Mark Donohue, a very brave, skilled and intelligent man died there.

 

[daan]

Losing a rear wheel during a hill climbing event in Caerphilly, Wales.

He should have driven more Caerphilly.

Aye thang yoo. I'm here all week. Try the fish.

 

[Bo]

Hubert Hahne, BMW 269, Hockenheim 1970.

Alex Ribeiro, March 782, Nurburgring 1978.