Classic Motorsport Photos

[Grand Prix]

@Jtheripper Jim Clark could 4 wheel drift as well:

Silverstone, 1967

Although Clark did it quite smoothly. From what I can tell both Clark and Villeneuve had a very keen sense for their available grip, that is what allowed both of them to be so fast.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

While we're on the topic of Jim Clark, here's an excellent article breaking down his driving style and what makes him so fast:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...-made-him-so-good.6DXkoAanL2yMIyYE8AsauQ.html

As for Gilles, I read somewhere that he started out racing snowmobiles and ice racing, so he developed a keen sense of grip in slippery conditions. I always find it fascinating to read about the driving techniques of older drivers. In that era you really have to "drive". No downforce or high grip to save you, or a team of engineers telling you which buttons and switches to press to optimise your lap. It's pure competition between drivers. As much as I respect modern F1 for its engineering feat, that purity of driver vs driver competition is now lost (or at least massively diluted by other factors).

 

[Roo]

TIL Motley Crue's Vince Neil ran 4 races in Indy Lights in 1992 (here at Phoenix), with a best result of 10th. (He eventually finished 12th at Phoenix, 3 laps down, out of 16 drivers on his debut.)

 

[-Fred-]

It's kind of ironic to see the "Say no to drugs" logo on that car, considering his bandmates' history of substance abuse.

 

[Roo]

No details with this one. Can't say much for the loading of no.2 though...

Edit to add: Danny Ongais at Long Beach in 1978, spectacularly failing to pre-qualify a privateer Shadow DN9.

Second edit to add another photo with no details other than it's Pikes Peak:

 

[Roo]

Classic motosport ad:

 

[Dotini]

Classic motosport ad:

That's a very rare car - ran only one race!

Mercedes-Benz and Roger Penske exploited a loophole in the rules by designing, building and developing a hi-tech pushrod engine to take advantage of the extra displacement allowed for stock block pushrod engines such as the classic small block Chevy (dating from the 1950's) and Fords (sometimes run by Dan Gurney) then allowed in the rules.

 

[TheCracker]

Second edit to add another photo with no details other than it's Pikes Peak:

From Twitter: Louis Unser hanging it all out in a Chevy Impala, Pikes Peak, 1961. He broke the record by 33 seconds. Photo: Artemis

 

[Liquid]

1992 Drivers Photo

 

[Pete05]

1992 Drivers Photo

27 drivers & no Nigel.

 

[-Fred-]

I don't remember about 30% of them, especially the last row (apart from Herbert, Hakkinen and McCarthy) and a few of the 2nd row.

 

[Liquid]

I love the informality of it with the drivers not all standing to attention like military drones.

 

[MrCrynox]

I like the look on Senna's face, completely different to the rest of the class.

 

[Roo]

The start of round 17 of the 1978 USAC Championship Car series, at Brands Hatch, on what became known as the Indy circuit. 16 US drivers came for a UK double header in October '78, featuring races at Silverstone and Brands, a week apart. AJ Foyt won at Silverstone, Rick Mears at Brands Hatch, but Danny Ongais was the fastest at both before retiring from both races. Tom Sneva (5th in shot below) would go on to win the title with 7 poles and 10 podiums, but no victories.

"Shortly after the start eventual winner Rick Mears leads in a Penske -Cosworth from Gordon Johncock (Wildcat-Drake), Danny Ongais (Parnelli-Cosworth), Bobby Unser (Lightning-Cosworth), Tom Sneva (Penske-Cosworth), Al Unser (Lola-Cosworth) and Tom Bagley (Watson-Offenhauser)"

1978 USAC Indy Trophy (Brands Hatch) by John Millar, on Flickr

Edit: keep looking through this guy's Flickr, he's got some great colour photos from the '78 British GP at Brands too.

 

[Pete05]

The start of round 17 of the 1978 USAC Championship Car series, at Brands Hatch, on what became known as the Indy circuit. 16 US drivers came for a UK double header in October '78, featuring races at Silverstone and Brands, a week apart. AJ Foyt won at Silverstone, Rick Mears at Brands Hatch, but Danny Ongais was the fastest at both before retiring from both races. Tom Sneva (5th in shot below) would go on to win the title with 7 poles and 10 podiums, but no victories.

"Shortly after the start eventual winner Rick Mears leads in a Penske -Cosworth from Gordon Johncock (Wildcat-Drake), Danny Ongais (Parnelli-Cosworth), Bobby Unser (Lightning-Cosworth), Tom Sneva (Penske-Cosworth), Al Unser (Lola-Cosworth) and Tom Bagley (Watson-Offenhauser)"

1978 USAC Indy Trophy (Brands Hatch) by John Millar, on Flickr

Edit: keep looking through this guy's Flickr, he's got some great colour photos from the '78 British GP at Brands too.

What a blessing of variety too. Six different chassis/engine combinations in the top 7.

 

[Liquid]

BTCC 1998, Knockhill

Cars: Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Vectra, Renault Laguna
Drivers: Craig Baird NZL, Derek Warwick ENG, Tommy Rustad NOR
Finished: 13th, 1st, 8th

 

[Roo]

From the 1983 British GP at Silverstone, the early days of in-race refuelling:

"Brabham home-made refuelling rig. Beer barrels and bottles of CO2."

1983 British Grand Prix (Silverstone) by John Millar, on Flickr

"The Lotus home-made refuelling rig copying Brabham with beer barrels highly pressurised with bottles of CO2".

1983 British Grand Prix (Silverstone) by John Millar, on Flickr

 

[05XR8]

Pic from FB. Peter Brock & Colin Bond. Not sure of the circuit.

 

[Pete05]

Pic from FB. Peter Brock & Colin Bond. Not sure of the circuit.

View attachment 955381

It's from the 1977 Australian Touring car Championship.

I can't identify the track from the pic either, however, with a little digging it couldn't be hard to narrow down. My best guess is the final turn at the now-closed Amaroo Park.

You'll notice Brock is driving an L34 Torana prior to the debut of the A9X & that Bondy is in an XB hardtop.

 

[Roo]

Indycar, Vancouver, 1992: Al Unser Jr interlocks wheels with Emerson Fittipaldi whilst fighting for 2nd place early in the race.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Indycar, Vancouver, 1992: Al Unser Jr interlocks wheels with Emerson Fittipaldi whilst fighting for 2nd place early in the race.

Look at the reactions in the crowd!

 

[05XR8]

Indycar, Vancouver, 1992: Al Unser Jr interlocks wheels with Emerson Fittipaldi whilst fighting for 2nd place early in the race.

I remember watching that race.

 

[Pete05]

I remember watching that race.

Same here. It would've been on at some ungodly hour & if I remember correctly, the car came back down on all four wheels and made it to the finish.

 

[JockeP22]

From left to right:
Ralph Firman, Norman Simon - F3
Mika Häkkinen, David Coulthard - F1
Ricardo Zonta, Nicolas Minassian - F3000

And then Wesley Graves and Lewis Hamilton.

 

[Liquid]

I like how Wes Graves' racing suit is sponsored by Psygnosis, the publisher of the classic, first two F1 games on the Playstation.

 

[Pete05]

I like how Wes Graves' racing suit is sponsored by Psygnosis, the publisher of the classic, first two F1 games on the Playstation.

I wonder what he is doing now? I remember all those names except his.

 

[Liquid]

There's definitely a Where is he now? article floating online somewhere. I remember reading it once.

 

[Volksauto]

#9 Chapparal 2D driven by Phil Hill and Jo Bonnier at the pits of the 1966 Le Mans.

 

[Pete05]

#9 Chapparal 2D driven by Phil Hill and Jo Bonnier at the pits of the 1966 Le Mans.
View attachment 961006
View attachment 961007

I love how the car still has its registration plate attached

 

[Liquid]

1971 Brands Hatch 1000KM