Classic Motorsport Photos

[Pete05]

1990 United States Grand Prix

Pierluigi Martini also gave Minardi its only front row start; back in the era of two qualifying days, a washout on Saturday saw the grid decided by Friday's topsy-turvy times.

If you look back at Minardi & Martini's debut season in 1985, you never would have imagined the combination would get these runs on the board.
Murray Walker even comments after another incident that "Martini has done what he usually does & that is to say recorded yet another retirement."

 

[TheCracker]

Porsche 935s to the fore at the start of the 1978 6 Hours of Silverstone. Mass/Ickx in #1, the 1978 model, ahead of Fitzpatrick/Hezemans in #6 from the previous year:

I think you mean "A metalic brown Rover SD1 to the fore, trailed by Porche 935s at the start of the 1978...."

 

[Liquid]

If you look back at Minardi & Martini's debut season in 1985, you never would have imagined the combination would get these runs on the board.
Murray Walker even comments after another incident that "Martini has done what he usually does & that is to say recorded yet another retirement."

Martini is inseperably linked with Minardi. Except for a one-off DNQ for Toleman on his debut and his 1992 switch to Scuderia Italia, he spent his entire eight-year career with them. He single-handedly put the team on the map and secured all of their most notable results pretty much himself:

First Race: 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix
First points: 6th, 1988 Detroit Grand Prix
Best Qualifying: 2nd, 1990 United States Grand Prix
Best Race Position: 1st, 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix
Best Finish: 4th, 1991 Sammarinese & Portuguese Grands Prix
Most Grands Prix: 107 (102 starts)
Most Team Points: 16 points

In general, he frequently had the Minardi in positions much higher up the order than where it should have been. Although he did get a reputation for being a blue-flag ignorer, I think as backmarkers go he deserves way more credit for what he did with what team and for how long.

 

[toastet]

Toyota GT-One presentation 3x racecar + 1x streetcar (1998 Le Mans)

 

[Liquid]

Modern Classic

 

[Liquid]

 

[MagpieRacer]

This just came up on my Facebook feed. Had no idea Richard Burns tested BTCC machinery.

 

[Liquid]

Troublesome 1995-spec car is quite an understatement.

 

[Liquid]

1934 French Grand Prix

 

[Pete05]

1934 French Grand Prix

Front row starters Hans Stuck in the Auto Union and Archille Varzi's Alfa Romeo in what was a significant race in Grand Prix history.

This was the first race outside of Germany that saw the Auto Union & Mercedes Benz teams in competition.

The race was won by Louis Chiron driving an Alfa Romeo.

 

[Liquid]

1992 Nürburgring 24 Hours

Driver: Jo Winkelhock DEU

Safety cars during this race lasted hours due to heavy rainfall. At one point during the multiple safety car periods, Winkelhock pulled over and asked a marshall to light a cigarette and pass it to him. He then continued to cruise behind the safety car whilst enjoying a cigarette.

 

[Pete05]

1992 Nürburgring 24 Hours

Driver: Jo Winkelhock DEU

Safety cars during this race lasted hours due to heavy rainfall. At one point during the multiple safety car periods, Winkelhock pulled over and asked a marshall to light a cigarette and pass it to him. He then continued to cruise behind the safety car whilst enjoying a cigarette.

As a smoker, I'm totally on board with this.

When he was racing at speed it wouldn't have bothered him not to have a ciggie. As soon as his 100% focus wasn't required droning around behind the SC, that's when the cravings would have hit him.

This isn't a first for me as I have heard of drivers taking their packet or a few with them during the Bathurst endurance race back in the 60s, 70s & 80s.

 

[Clark]

BTCC Birmingham 1989

Rob Gravett BTCC Birmingham 1990

 

[Roo]

NISMO Festival, Fuji, 1999. A selection of Nissan's racers on parade, including that year's JGTC and BTCC title winning cars.

 

[toastet]

 

[Liquid]

1987 World Touring Car Championship

Car: Holden Commodore VL
Drivers: Allan Moffat AUS / John Harvey AUS

Winners of the season-opening Monza 500. Unregistered for the actual championship, they scored no points despite winning the event.

Car: Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
Drivers: #7 Steve Soper ENG / Pierre Dieudonne BEL, #6 Klaus Niedzwiedz GER / Klaus Ludwig GER

The fastest car throughout the season, the Sierra was disqualified from Monza for non-homologated engine parts. Ludwig and Niedzwidz won a plurality of the races but missed out on the title by one point.

Car: BMW M3 Evolution
Driver: Roberto Ravaglia ITA

The overall winner of the championship due to the class structure of Group A. Ravaglia was also disqualified from Monza, along with all works BMWs, after the M3s were found to be 50kg underweight compared to the independent BMWs. Despite this, Ravaglia won the title by a single point.

The series was not continued into 1988 because of the numerous cheating accusations as well as prohibitive promotion tactics and registration wrangles thanks to Bernie Ecclestone.

 

[TheCracker]

1987 World Touring Car Championship





Car: Ford Sierra RS500
Drivers: #7 Steve Soper ENG / Pierre Dieudonne BEL, #6 Klaus Niedzwiedz GER / Klaus Ludwig GER

The fastest car throughout the season, the Sierra was disqualified from Monza for non-homologated engine parts. Ludwig and Niedzwidz won a plurality of the races but missed out on the title by one point.

These look to be the pre-RS500 Cosworths (no secondary boot spoiler and fog lights - the RS500 had airducts next to the indicators)

It appears that they used both RS500s and regular Group A Cosworths that year, must have been homologated mid-season.

 

[Pete05]

These look to be the pre-RS500 Cosworths (no secondary boot spoiler and fog lights - the RS500 had airducts next to the indicators)

It appears that they used both RS500s and regular Group A Cosworths that year, must have been homologated mid-season.

The Sierra RS Cosworth was homologated 1 March 1987

The RS500 evolution package became available 1 August 1987

 

[Liquid]

These look to be the pre-RS500 Cosworths (no secondary boot spoiler and fog lights - the RS500 had airducts next to the indicators)

It appears that they used both RS500s and regular Group A Cosworths that year, must have been homologated mid-season.

The Sierra RS Cosworth was homologated 1 March 1987

The RS500 evolution package became available 1 August 1987

Noted.

There were protests about Ford's bodywork and engine manifolds both at the opening round in Monza (resulting in an outright disqualification) and the closing round at Suzuka. Whether it was the RS Cosworth or RS500, the sniping contributed to the WTCC's failure either way.

 

[Pete05]

Noted.

There were protests about Ford's bodywork and engine manifolds both at the opening round in Monza (resulting in an outright disqualification) and the closing round at Suzuka. Whether it was the RS Cosworth or RS500, the sniping contributed to the WTCC's failure either way.

The Eggenberger Sierras were also disqualified after finishing 1-2 at Bathurst.

In the lead-up to race day, the Eggenberger crew members were overly nervous whenever someone got too close to the cars, especially the front bodywork. It was only after someone was quick enough to snap a shot with their camera that it became apparent why. The link below explains in great detail why they were thrown out.

michaelwyres.com.au/mwdc/2011/10/dodgy-fuel-or-dodgy-wheel-arches/

The end result was Peter Brock winning his 9th and final Bathurst 1000 in a car Brock, an eternal optimist, didn't expect to finish the race never mind putting in a competitive performance.

The Brock, short on funds following his messy divorce with Holden earlier in the year, had no intentions whatsoever of running two cars at Bathurst. Only when primary backer Mobil pointed out the sponsorship contract required the team to present two cars that they relented. To say they 'swept the floor' finding enough parts to cobble together a second team car is barely stretching the truth.

Why was Brock in the second team car #10? His primary car #05 was out early with engine failure. The #10 started the race with Peter McLeod behind the wheel with Jon Crooke due to take over at the first pitstop. With the #05 car out by then, Brock took over the #10 and used his co-driver from the #05 car, David Parsons, to share driving duties for the remainder of the race. Brock/Parsons/McLeod were credited with the victory with Crooke missing out having never driven a lap during the race.

 

[Roo]

Chip Ganassi (I think) speaks to Sir Frank Williams at Chicago Motor Speedway in August 1999. Juan Pablo Montoya, Ganassi's driver and soon to be under contract to Williams, won.

 

[Liquid]

Give Frank a Burt Reynolds moustache and it's a scene out of Driven.

 

[Fezzik]

Apologies if this has already been posted (working my way through the whole thread) but it seemed appropriate with the latest GT7 addition and this weekend’s F1 race

Senna, MP4/4, Spa, 1988.

Can’t find that exact angle of the section with the latest safety changes, this is close-ish.

 

[Pete05]

Apologies if this has already been posted (working my way through the whole thread) but it seemed appropriate with the latest GT7 addition and this weekend’s F1 race

View attachment 1186398

Senna, MP4/4, Spa, 1988.

Can’t find that exact angle of the section with the latest safety changes, this is close-ish.

View attachment 1186400

It was a REAL challenge in Senna's era...

Now if it can't be taken flat out, the car runs wide, the sensors pick up the transgression and the time is disqualified.

 

[NICKname]

It was a REAL challenge in Senna's era...

Now if it can't be taken flat out, the car runs wide, the sensors pick up the transgression and the time is disqualified.

It was also real dangerous, so thank God they changed it.

 

[Liquid]

Apropos nothing, it's quite remarkable that someone from this photo is still driving in Formula One and will be next year. And the current world champion's dad is in it.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Apropos nothing, it's quite remarkable that someone from this photo is still driving in Formula One and will be next year. And the current world champion's dad is in it.

Plus, the driver two teams are fighting over wasn't even born when this photo was taken!

 

[Liquid]

By going from "Alonso raced with Alesi, Alesi raced with Patrese" you can go from now, 2022, to 1977 in one driver.

 

[NICKname]

By going from "Alonso raced with Alesi, Alesi raced with Patrese" you can go from now, 2022, to 1977 in one driver.

It's also fairly likely that one day we'll be able to go from 204X to 1977 with two drivers.

 

[Roo]

Ron Flockhart spins - sorry, drifts - an Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type:

Frolander/Lundstrom, Austin Healey 100-6, Swedish ‘Rally to The Midnight Sun' in 1956: