Motorsports Trivia Thread!

[Dotini]

This Stein-Porsche Twin failed to qualify for the 1966 Indianapolis 500. Bill Cheesbourg drove the oddity, built by a reluctant Joe Huffaker.

Trivia question: List as many 4WD cars as you can that did qualify and race in the 500. Extra credit for photos or cutaways.
Identify the car, driver and year.

Most importantly, what was the highest finish by a 4WD at Indy?

 

[Liquid]

The first 4WD car I think appeared around 1937. It was blue and possibly had two engines, each powering the two anterior and posterior wheels. The Miller Special, I think. Couldn't tell you where it finished though.

Did Lotus field an experimental 4WD car at Indy? I'm probably just getting confused with their 4WD F1 car.

 

[Pete05]

This Stein-Porsche Twin failed to qualify for the 1966 Indianapolis 500. Bill Cheesbourg drove the oddity, built by a reluctant Joe Huffaker.

Trivia question: List as many 4WD cars as you can that did qualify and race in the 500. Extra credit for photos or cutaways.
Identify the car, driver and year.

Most importantly, what was the highest finish by a 4WD at Indy?

I'm with Joe Huffaker. That was never going to work

 

[Dotini]

The first 4WD car I think appeared around 1937. It was blue and possibly had two engines, each powering the two anterior and posterior wheels. The Miller Special, I think. Couldn't tell you where it finished though.

Did Lotus field an experimental 4WD car at Indy? I'm probably just getting confused with their 4WD F1 car.

You're a little hazy, but headed in the right directions.

From 1932 to 1969, there were approximately two dozen occasions of qualified and raced 4WD cars at Indy. Some had two engines, some had four rear wheels. Builders included the genius Harry Miller, Lou Fageol, Frank Kurtis, Colin Chapman and Eric Broadley. They've been on pole and led the race convincingly on occasion, but the best finishes were 4th in '36 and 3rd in '69. Like turbines, high wings, 6 wheels and fan-driven downforce, they were legislated out of existence.

Failing more entries on this supremely trivial question, I'll provide pix and more details in a later post.

@Pete05

Joe had some exceptionally beautiful and successful sports and formula cars, often marketed under the name "Genie".


This very lithe and useful Huffaker built Indy car ran under the name MG Liquid Suspension Special.

Pedro Rodriguez, June, 1963 Laguna Seca
The car is a Huffaker Genie Mk VIII-Olds

 

[Liquid]

I have an idea for a fun little activity question, when the opportunity is available.

 

[Dotini]

I have an idea for a fun little activity question, when the opportunity is available.

There is no time like the present. We are only here for a short time.

Genie Mk 5

1962 Genie Mk 5 - available with assortment of small bore engines.


#137 is a Genie with - wait for it - a flat 6 air-cooled Corvair engine!

Dan Gurney, Riverside 1963
Genie Mk8-Ford

 

[Liquid]

Teammate Tracer

An idea I thought bordered on having its own thread but it can otherwise just pass some time and fill some space in here. The idea is like the classic Wikipedia game where the idea is to get from one page to another. This one is based on motorsports and trying to trace or otherwise link two drivers based on their mutual teammates.

For example, let's say you were set Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button.

Michael Schumacher was teammates with Rubens Barrichello. Rubens Barrichello was teammates with Jenson Button. Thusly, the teammate trace would be:

Michael Schumacher -> Rubens Barrichello -> Jenson Button

It can be as many mutual teammates in as many disciplines as you want, as long as the drivers in the trace were teammates at some point. Let's say you were set Alain Menu and Juha Kankkunen.

Alain Menu was once a teammate of Colin McRae when McRae raced a BMW in the BTCC. Colin McRae was a teammate of Carlos Sainz at Subaru. Carlos Sainz was Juha Kankkunen's teammate at Ford. Thusly, this particular trace would be:

Alain Menu -> Colin McRae -> Carlos Sainz -> Juha Kankkunen

There is no right or wrong answer in terms of length. It's qualitative. The more interesting, the better. Once particular associations come to light, it will become easier to bridge the gap between young and old drivers; i.e. seasoned drivers such as Riccardo Patrese, Dan Gurney or Derek Bell had many teammates and therefore the ways in which you can go forward or backwards from them makes it easier.

So here are a few I'd like to see how, or if, you can do.

Nino Farina and Lewis Hamilton

Dale Earnhardt Sr and Juan Pablo Montoya

Jean Alesi and Martin Brundle

If the ball gets rolling, feel free to post some of your own.

 

[Dotini]

Nino Farina and Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton->Alonso->Raikkonen->Coulthard->Hakkinen->Mansell->Andretti->G Hill->Tony Brooks->Stirling Moss->JM Fangio->Farina

Here I have done it through F1 team mates only. There's another slightly shorter way involving sports cars.

 

[Liquid]

Hamilton->Alonso->Raikkonen->Coulthard->Hakkinen->Mansell->Andretti->G Hill->Tony Brooks->Stirling Moss->JM Fangio->Farina

So it takes 10 traces to get from the first Formula One champion to the most recent. I wonder what actually is the shortest possible trace?

Edit: I think it is possible in 5:

Farina -> Fangio -> Moss -> Brundle -> Barrichello -> Button -> Hamilton

Stirling Moss and Martin Brundle were teammates in the 1981 BTCC. They campaigned Audis in Class B.

Moss and Brundle is the biggest non-American, non-father and son shortcut I can think of for any future traces.

 

[Northstar]

Teammate Tracer

Dale Earnhardt Sr and Juan Pablo Montoya

Earnhardt Sr>Johnny O’Connell> Ricky Taylor > JPM

I tried doing it without using the 2001 Daytona 24 Hours and couldn’t make it work.

 

[Roo]

Teammate Tracer

Jean Alesi and Martin Brundle

Jean Alesi -> Mika Hakkinen -> Martin Brundle

Alesi and Hakkinen were teammates at HWA Mercedes during the 2005 DTM season. Hakkinen and Brundle were teammates at McLaren in 1994.

Do test drivers count? For example, could you link Olivier Panis with Coulthard or Hakkinen, as Panis was McLaren test driver in 2000?

Speaking of Coulthard:

David Coulthard and Fabian Coulthard

 

[Dotini]

Using this Teammate Tracer, we have found an unbroken chain going back to the very first GP of the F1 era.

I expect we can also find a similar chain going all the way back, back back to the very first Grand Prix of all, the French Grand Prix of 1906.

Considering the multi-year interludes of wars and economic depression, that's not all that many years and races between 1906 and 1950.

 

[Liquid]

Do test drivers count? For example, could you link Olivier Panis with Coulthard or Hakkinen, as Panis was McLaren test driver in 2000?

Good question. I suppose as long as it is being an actual test driver and not simply being a reserve driver on retainer, it counts; Alesi himself was a McLaren test driver in 2002 so you can link him to Brundle without leaving F1 by going an extra step of Coulthard -> Häkkinen.

David Coulthard and Fabian Coulthard

David Coulthard -> Mark Webber -> Nico Rosberg -> Lewis Hamilton -> Fabian Coulthard

If I'm not mistaken, Webber and Rosberg were Williams teammates in 2006. Fabian Coulthard and Hamilton were Formula Renault teammates.

 

[Roo]

David Coulthard -> Mark Webber -> Nico Rosberg -> Lewis Hamilton -> Fabian Coulthard

If I'm not mistaken, Webber and Rosberg were Williams teammates in 2006. Fabian Coulthard and Hamilton were Formula Renault teammates.

Oooh, very good. 1 shorter than the best I could manage, which was

David Coulthard -> Kimi Raikkonen -> Juan Pablo Montoya -> Craig Lowndes -> Alex Premat -> Fabian Coulthard

 

[Clark]

I have one.

Alain Menu > Michael Schumacher

 

[Liquid]

I have one.

Alain Menu > Michael Schumacher

You say that like you have a nefarious twist up your sleeve. Okay, I'll give it a go.

Alain Menu -> Anthony Reid -> Tiff Needell -> Eric van der Poele -> Riccardo Patrese -> Michael Schumacher

Traced in four.

Menu and Reid drove together at Ford.
Reid and Needell drove together at Nissan (1998 - two rounds).
Needell and van der Poele drove together at Nissan.
van der Poele and Patrese drove together again with Nissan at the 1997 Le Mans 24hrs.
Patrese and Schumacher drove together at Benetton.

This is why I thought this would be a good type of teaser. There is a huge Nissan connection despite the two end drivers having no connection to Nissan.

 

[Clark]

My Route I thought of was:
Menu- Plato- JCB - Wendlinger - MSC

 

[Liquid]

My Route I thought of was:
Menu- Plato- JCB - Wendlinger - MSC

Ooh, even better. 👍

I was thinking along a Wendlinger route but the Plato-Boullion connection just didn't click in my mind.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Here's some to try:
Tom Chilton to Max Chilton
Stig Blomqvist to Tom Blomqvist
Carlos Sainz to Carlos Sainz Jr

 

[Clark]

Carlos Sainz - Colin McRae team mates at Subaru

Colin McRae raced in the BtCC at Knockhill of which Alain Menu was also in the same BMW Team.

Alain Menu was team mate to Yvan Muller at Chevy in WTCC.

Muller was teammate to Lopez in WTCC at Citroen.

Lopez was teammate to Jerome D’Ambrosio in Formula E in 2018(?)

d’Ambrosio was teammate Kimi at Lotus when Romain had a ban.

Kimi was Seb’s teammate who had previously partnered Ricciardo who was Kvyat’s teammate at RB in 2016.

Kvyat was teammate to Carlos Sainz Jr when he was swapped back to STR.


Long winded but I got there.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Stig Blomqvist to Tom Blomqvist

Stig > Walter Röhrl (via Audi Sport WRC) > Hans Joachim Stuck (via Le Mans Porsche Team) > Bill Auberlen (via PTG) > Tom Blomqvist (via BMW Team RLL)

 

[Liquid]

Here's some to try:
Tom Chilton to Max Chilton

Tom Chilton -> Yvan Muller -> Greg Murphy -> Todd Kelly -> Scott Dixon -> Max Chilton

Long-winded, greatly assisted by Yvan Muller and Scott Dixon both guesting at Surfers' Paradise in 2010; Muller, Tom Chilton's WTCC teammate in 2013, partnered Greg Murphy in that race, who had previously codriven with Todd Kelly at the Bathurst 1000. Todd Kelly was a teammate of Scott Dixon at the same 2010 event at Surfers' Paradise and Dixon was Max Chilton's teammate in IndyCar.

This seems to be a bit of fun so let's up the ante a little:

Patrick Watts and Pierluigi Martini

Two midfield runners of the early 1990s in the BTCC and F1 respectively.

 

[Clark]

That ones easy @Liquid

Watts partnered Harvery at Peugeot, Harvey previously partnered Steve Soper in 1992 with Vic Lee Racing. Steve Soper was in the other BMW V12 LMR alongside the winning car, of which one of the drivers was Martini

Watts - Harvey - Soper - Martini

Give me a minute and I’ll think of one.

 

[Liquid]

That ones easy @Liquid

Not quite as easy as you think. Steve Soper was not one of Pierluigi Martini's codrivers in the V12 LMR...

...but his 1993 and 1994 BTCC teammate Jo Winkelhock was.

 

[Clark]

Well he was still a teammate surely?


How about an obscure/hard one?
Justin Bell to Mario Andretti

 

[Liquid]

Well he was still a teammate surely?

True, true. As soon as I posted it I realised how inadvertently easy it was.

 

[MatskiMonk]

I just decided to pick two drivers and see if I could find a connection...

7 time NASCAR Champ Jimmie Johnson -> 4 time BTCC Champ Colin Turkington...

I did it with 4 connecting drivers... took a while.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Justin Bell to Mario Andretti

Perry McCarthy (Oreca Viper '96) -> David Brabham (David Price Panoz '97) -> Mario Andretti (Panoz '00)

 

[Dotini]

How about an obscure/hard one?
Justin Bell to Mario Andretti

Justin Bell->Derek Bell (LeMans '95, McLaren BMW)->Mario Andretti (LeMans '88, Porsche AG 962C)​

 

[Dotini]

Here's one for the ages:

Nino Farina to Ferenc Szisz, winner of the first Grand Prix in 1906

After some old fashioned research, I found a chain of 5 links, all at the GP level. Yes, it's ancient history, and probably not too exciting or relevant to us anymore, I admit. But it's the foundation of the motor racing we enjoy today. Will anyone give this one a whirl?

Ferenc Szisz, 1906 Renault​