Motorsports Trivia Thread!

[Obelisk]

1966, Mini Marcos?

Didn't it come in dead last?

 

[Legro]

1966, Mini Marcos?

Didn't it come in dead last?

Both of you are correct.

 

[-Fred-]

Last overall WRC victory by a FWD car, since we're on a bit of a theme as of lately, it seems.

 

[Legro]

Philippe Bugalski won the 1999 Tour de Corse, with an F2 Citroën Xsara.

 

[epic_apri_39]

I would've thought Sebastien Loeb in 2003?

 

[-Fred-]

And that's correct. Bugalski and Puras finished 1-2, some 1 minute before every WRC car... which promptly sent David Richards, Corrado Provera and the other team bosses into a fury.

 

[Obelisk]

^That would make sense.

Do I get a go, too?

 

[TenEightyOne]

Do I get a go, too?

Sadly your previous answer wasn't the answer to the actual question

 

[Legro]

Actually I don't have a good question for this at the moment, so you or anyone with a question can have a go.

 

[Dotini]

What was the first major race won by a forced induction (supercharged or turbocharged) car?

 

[TenEightyOne]

What was the first major race won by a forced induction (supercharged or turbocharged) car?

Must be the first Italian GP with FIAT's supercharger? 1923, I think.

 

[TheBook]

Didn't a supercharged Bugatti win Le Mans in the 1910s? No, because the first race wasn't ran until '23. Silly me.

 

[Dotini]

Must be the first Italian GP with FIAT's supercharger? 1923, I think.

That is an excellent reply, although the race was styled as the European GP. Even though the FIAT was indeed the first to win a GP with a supercharger, unfortunately it is not the correct answer, as there was a prior major race you have not considered.

Hint: It was not the Indy 500.

 

[Liquid]

Gordon Bennett Cup?

 

[Dotini]

Gordon Bennett Cup?

I don't think so.

 

[Liquid]

What about it?

Was one of those races the first to be won with a supercharged engine?

 

[Dotini]

Was one of those races the first to be won with a supercharged engine?

These were very, very early races. The first use of a supercharger in Europe was not until much later, to the best of my information.

The first use of a forced induction device in the USA - or anywhere - was by Willy Haupt in a Chadwick at the Vanderbilt Cup and at the Atlanta GP, 1908. He did not win.

Didn't a supercharged Bugatti win Le Mans in the 1910s? No, because the first race wasn't ran until '23. Silly me.

A Bugatti won a race at Le Mans in 1920, I think....
But was it a major race and did the Bug use a blower? I don't think so.


.
There is an excellent and convincing answer to be had, if you can find it.

 

[TenEightyOne]

There is an excellent and convincing answer to be had, if you can find it.

The first working ones in race cars were, I'd thought, in the FIATs of the early 20s.

I guess cars before that were... just raced... so a very early Benz?

 

[Dotini]

The first working ones in race cars were, I'd thought, in the FIATs of the early 20s.

I guess cars before that were... just raced... so a very early Benz?

A major race in Europe was won, not just raced, by a supercharged car before the FIAT victory of 1923. And it was not by a Benz.

In 1908, the supercharged Chadwick was winning hillclimbs and finishing major races like the Vanderbilt Cup and Atlanta GP.

 

[TenEightyOne]

This took some research, I'll admit, so don't read/accept the spoiler if you consider that cheating:

Spoiler

Fairmount 100, Philadelphia, 1910, Lee Chadwick in the eponymous Chadwick Racer?

 

[Dotini]

Willy Haupt winning Giant's Despair Hillclimb in the supercharged Chadwick.

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=154532

 

[Dotini]

Going by Laurence Pomeroy's The Grand Prix Car and William Court's Power and Glory, I had been under the impression Max Sailor won the 1921 Targa Florio in a supercharged Mercedes 28/95.

In the interim since these tomes were published, this error has been corrected.\:
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1978/52/1921-coppa-florio

In the following reference, it is stated by Mercedes-Benz that the 1922 Targa Forio, production category, was won by Max Sailor in a supercharged Mercedes 28/95.
http://wiki.mercedes-benz-classic.com/index.php/Chronik_1921_-_1930/en

However, in view of the fact that Wikipedia does not clearly confirm this claim of 1922, I am going to award @TenEightyOne as the winner of this question,

What was the first major race won by a forced induction (supercharged or turbocharged) car?

 

[TenEightyOne]

However, in view of the fact that Wikipedia does not clearly confirm this claim of 1922, I am going to award @TenEightyOne as the winner of this question,

More fascinating stuff as ever, @Dotini

I don't have a question ready and will therefore donate my turn to @Obelisk as I sense him champing at the bit

 

[Obelisk]

More fascinating stuff as ever, @Dotini

I don't have a question ready and will therefore donate my turn to @Obelisk as I sense him champing at the bit

Let's see.

I'll take a step back and ask a broader question:

What car had its pedals on the passenger's side?

 

[TenEightyOne]

Let's see.

I'll take a step back and ask a broader question:

What car had its pedals on the passenger's side?

To be clear; the steering wheel at the driver's side but the pedals on the passenger side? This isn't some left-hand/right-hand joke?

 

[Obelisk]

To be clear; the steering wheel at the driver's side but the pedals on the passenger side? This isn't some left-hand/right-hand joke?

Yes. And it is not a joke, this actually happened.

 

[Liquid]

Some kind of one make series which required two drivers per car? One for steering and one for throttle and braking.

 

[Obelisk]

Some kind of one make series which required two drivers per car? One for steering and one for throttle and braking.

You're on the right track, but it isn't a one make car series.

 

[epic_apri_39]

What car had its pedals on the passenger's side?

Ive actually heard about this somewhere, I believe it was a Gillet Vertigo?

 

[Jimlaad43]

Lancia Stratos?