Motorsports Trivia Thread!

[Dotini]

That makes it all the more curious.

Fittipaldi was reportedly boiling with self-righteous fury after the race, the poor guy. I met him once at Long Beach. Totally humorless and unfriendly.

If he wanted the win, he should have qualified better and driven faster. The 1973 Italian GP is rated as one of the best of all time, and for good reason.

 

[Liquid]

Out of the twenty International Formula 3000 champions, which three never raced in Formula One?

 

[Kowhai]

Björn Wirdheim is the one that springs to mind for me

 

[Liquid]

Björn Wirdheim is the one that springs to mind for me

Ding!

The 2003 champion did test for Jordan and Jaguar, including as a Friday practice tester, but he never did get a drive.

 

[Liquid]

Still two more to get.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Jorg Muller and Bruno Junquieria

 

[Liquid]

Jorg Muller and Bruno Junquieria

Correct.

1996 champion Müller, who had already been an Arrows and Jordan test driver during his F3000 days, became BMW's official engine tester in partnership with Williams in 1998 and 1999, as well as Michelin's official test driver in 2000 and 2001, but was never offered a race seat.

Bruno Junqueira was lined up to replace Alessandro Zanardi but lost out on the Williams drive in 2000 to Jenson Button. He went on to win the F3000 title that year instead and left Europe for the United States, never again being in contention for a Formula One drive.

 

[Greycap]

If we're getting really technical, Vincenzo Sospiri belongs in that group too. Admittedly he got a F1 seat and drove the car during a race weekend but he actually never raced. First race, did not qualify thanks to the 107% rule, second race, the team withdrew before the first practice session.

 

[Liquid]

If we're getting really technical, Vincenzo Sospiri belongs in that group too. Admittedly he got a F1 seat and drove the car during a race weekend but he actually never raced. First race, did not qualify thanks to the 107% rule, second race, the team withdrew before the first practice session.

He entered one Grand Prix as a designated entrant which is good enough for the record books.

Did You Know?

Michael Schumacher cites Vincenzo Sospiri as one of his biggest motor racing inspirations. Sospiri, only a few years older, had dominated European karting just as Schumacher was getting onto the scene and Schumacher was starstruck with how dominant he had been.

Their careers went in very different directions...

 

[Dotini]

good enough for the record books.

Which GP featured (past, present and future) the following drivers:
6 World Champions
8 Indy 500 winners
4 Can-Am Champions
4 LeMans overall winners
2 World Sports Car Champions
(note: some overlap exists)

 

[Roger the Horse]

The Can-Am part is throwing me off here. Also have to ask, do you mean 6 World Champions as in "6 different drivers who won World Championships" or "the drivers on this grid won 6 World Championships between them"?

Also gonna ask if the intended meaning is one of "won these things as drivers" or if victories as team owners etc. are also counted?

 

[Dotini]

The Can-Am part is throwing me off here. Also have to ask, do you mean 6 World Champions as in "6 different drivers who won World Championships" or "the drivers on this grid won 6 World Championships between them"?

Also gonna ask if the intended meaning is one of "won these things as drivers" or if victories as team owners etc. are also counted?

Yes, six different drivers who won the world championship. The Can-Am was a North American series for big-bore sports cars racing for very high prize money held during the sixties and seventies.

Only drivers victories count, not team owners.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Which GP featured (past, present and future) the following drivers:
6 World Champions
8 Indy 500 winners
4 Can-Am Champions
4 LeMans overall winners
2 World Sports Car Champions
(note: some overlap exists)

Is that 8 Indy 500 winning drivers, or drivers who hold 8 wins between them?

 

[Roger the Horse]

Okay, if only driver victories count then that probably narrows things down a decent amount.

For example the 1961 US Grand Prix had Dan Gurney, Roger Penske, and Jim Hall compete in it; but only counting driver wins removes those names from the Indy 500 pile.

The thing which is throwing me with Can Am is which versions of Can-Am are being counted. Is it just the prime 1966-1974 era or are later iterations or usages of the name also being counted?

 

[Dotini]

Is that 8 Indy 500 winning drivers, or drivers who hold 8 wins between them?

To the best of my memory and ability to count, it is 8 Indy 500 winning drivers.

The thing which is throwing me with Can Am is which versions of Can-Am are being counted. Is it just the prime 1966-1974 era or are later iterations or usages of the name also being counted?

The Can-Am refers to the prime years '66-'74. But the race in question also featured at least one driver who went on to win a later version of the series.

The total number of overall wins at LeMans scored by the drivers in the race numbers well over a dozen.

 

[Roger the Horse]

I assume 4 of the Indy 500 winners are Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, and Emerson Fittipaldi?

If not then presumably Jim Clark must be one of them?

 

[Jimlaad43]

Only 9 Indy 500 winners have raced regularly in F1: Clark, G Hill, Mario Andretti, Donohue, E Fittipaldi, D Sullivan, J Villeneuve, JP Montoya and A Rossi. Getting a combination of 8 of them is impossible to start with, and every other Indy 500 winner from the 50s to 80s either never entered F1 or entered like 1 or 2 US Grand Prix so irregularly they don't match up with enough of the others. It's going to have to be Non-Championship or some wierd Mickey mouse race like the GP Masters or something rather than a full on Championship F1 race.

 

[Liquid]

Is it an official Formula One World Championship Grand Prix or another race with a GP designation?

I can only think of the 1958 Race Of Two Worlds having the capacity to have such credible entrants, alongside something like a random Untied States Grand Prix that had a lot of local entrants or, in the other direction, a random British Grand Prix that had a few sportscar drivers like Derek Bell in it.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Got it:
1971 Questor Grand Prix at Ontario Speedway

Formula 1
Andretti
Stewart
Hulme
Fittipaldi
G Hill
(Stewart was entered twice)

Indy 500
G Hill
Andretti
Fittipaldi
AJ Foyt
Al Unser
B Unser

Can Am
Ickx
Donohue
Follmer
Hulme

Le Mans
Pescarolo
G Hill
Ickx
D Bell
Amon
P Rodriguez

WSC
D Bell
J Ickx

https://www.statsf1.com/en/1971-hc/grand-prix-269.aspx

 

[Dotini]

 

[Roger the Horse]

Oh yeah, should've thought of that one. I think it came up in this thread before?

 

[Jimlaad43]

I count 5 F1 champs, 6 Indy 500 winners, 6 Le Mans winners. Can-Am and WSC seems right though.

 

[Roger the Horse]

I count 7 Indy 500 Winners? Andretti, Donohue, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Fittipaldi, Foyt, and Hill.

 

[Dotini]

Got it:
1971 Questor Grand Prix at Ontario Speedway

Formula 1
Andretti
Stewart
Hulme
Fittipaldi
G Hill
(Stewart was entered twice)

Indy 500
G Hill
Andretti
Fittipaldi
AJ Foyt
Al Unser
B Unser

Can Am
Ickx
Donohue
Follmer
Hulme

Le Mans
Pescarolo
G Hill
Ickx
D Bell
Amon
P Rodriguez

WSC
D Bell
J Ickx

https://www.statsf1.com/en/1971-hc/grand-prix-269.aspx

Surtees, a World Champion, was entered but did not race. He was also a Can-Am champion.

He entered one Grand Prix as a designated entrant which is good enough for the record books.

Donohue was the other Indy winner. I had miscounted Revson as an Indy winner. Alas, he only got pole and 2nd.

Also, Foyt was a LeMans winner.

Mark Donohue was able to haul his Penske entered Lola T192-Chevy briefly into 3rd, here leading Andretti's F1 Ferrari.

So,
1971 Questor Grand Prix at Ontario Speedway

Formula 1 - 6
Andretti
Stewart
Hulme
Fittipaldi
G Hill
Surtees

Indy 500 -7
G Hill
Andretti
Fittipaldi
AJ Foyt
Al Unser
B Unser
Donohue

Can Am - 4
Donohue
Follmer
Hulme
Surtees

Le Mans - 7
Pescarolo
G Hill
Ickx
D Bell
Amon
P Rodriguez
Foyt

WSC - 2
D Bell
J Ickx

 

[Pete05]

What a great concept & race held at a great track that unfortunately, no longer exists.

Something I can't see happening any time in the future. Too many egos & dollars involved these days.

 

[Dotini]

What a great concept & race held at a great track that unfortunately, no longer exists.

Something I can't see happening any time in the future. Too many egos & dollars involved these days.

I agree completely. The purse of this great race was reportedly only $279,000, yet in the day enough to attract the greatest drivers and teams on the planet. Maybe it was kind of like the racing version of the Apollo moon landing of its day, a fantastic achievement of vision and spirit not repeated since. But many of those folks also simply liked coming to Southern California back in those days of surfing and fun in the Autumn sun.

I have the greatest respect for the Formula A cars, now known to us as F5000. But their heavy cast iron engines hindered them greatly getting into the corners, and they never could quite equal the order-of-magnitude more expensive and sophisticated F1 cars.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Here's an odd historic race car. Please tell me as much as you can about it below. I'm looking for the name and a little bit of backstory. Good luck.

 

[TenEightyOne]

View attachment 916735

Here's an odd historic race car. Please tell me as much as you can about it below. I'm looking for the name and a little bit of backstory. Good luck.

All I can say is that this looks like every car I've ever tried to draw.

 

[Dotini]

View attachment 916735

Here's an odd historic race car. Please tell me as much as you can about it below. I'm looking for the name and a little bit of backstory. Good luck.

It's a 1950 Cadillac Series 61, Cunningham Le Mans “LeMonstre”.

• Serial No. 506112964

• Eight-cylinder, 90 degree vee engine, overhead valves, 331 cubic inches, 160 hp at 3800 rpm.

It finished 11th to its standard bodied sister entry's 10th, and would have finished higher but had to be dug from a sandbank by hand. Foolishly, no shovel was standard equipment. It was almost 100% stock under the body, and was 13mph faster due to the custom bodywork.

The sister car:

-------

Another year, this 1952 Cunningham C-4RK led the race and set fastest lap.

• 

• 

• 
• 
  

 

[Jimlaad43]

Yep, the Le Monstre! Here's my full, unedited photos. Unfortunately, this was just a replica, but it is still an unusual machine.