They drove that car?

[Har1MAS1415]

Similar to the "Celebrities who raced" thread

A thread dedicated to forgotten (or simply lesser-known) rides in certain cars/with certain teams by well known drivers, or perhaps a lesser known driver driving a well-known car and/or for a well known team. The concept of this thread is based on the many fill in drivers that have been seen over the years in all forms of motorsports.

To start off...

Aaron Slight drove a BTCC Honda Accord in the 1996 RAC Tourist Trophy.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

For a better example, Nigel Mansell briefly contesting the 1998 British Touring Car Championship with the works Ford team.

 

[crooky369]

 

[Har1MAS1415]

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A description would help.

I know that's Ayrton Senna in the Penske indycar.

David Coulthard borrowed Michael Schumacher's spare helmet for the 1996 Monaco GP.

 

[crooky369]

A description would help.

I know that's Ayrton Senna in the Penske indycar.

David Coulthard borrowed Michael Schumacher's spare helmet for the 1996 Monaco GP.

Yep you're right

It's...

Senna not in a McLaren, a McLaren with Schumacher in and a McLaren without Schumacher in.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Yep you're right

It's...

Senna not in a McLaren, a McLaren with Schumacher in and a McLaren without Schumacher in.

I guessed the middle one WAS Michael Schumacher but I wasn't sure.

 

[crooky369]

I guessed the middle one WAS Michael Schumacher but I wasn't sure.

Close. It's actually Ralf Schumacher.

Ralf Schumacher to test McLaren; Magnussen to IndyCar

Edit - I didn't know about Jan Magnussen in Indycar either... Wonder if that actually happened. One to look into later

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Close. It's actually Ralf Schumacher.

Ralf Schumacher to test McLaren; Magnussen to IndyCar

Edit - I didn't know about Jan Magnussen in Indycar either... Wonder if that actually happened. One to look into later

That's why it helps to provide a description in the first place.

Jan Magnussen contested 4 rounds of the 1996 CART Season. He did 1 race for Penske and 3 for Hogan Racing.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

The late Greg Moore drove for the works Mercedes team in the American rounds of the 1997 FIA GT Championship at Laguna Seca and Sebring

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Bertrand Gachot (#87) and Johnny Herbert (#88) guesting in the 1987 ESSO MG Metro Turbo Challenge.

This thread basically revolves around drivers making appearances in cars they are otherwise not usually associated with.

 

[RACECAR]

While not starting the race for said team, this is actually the first time Dale Earnhardt Jr Drove a Hendrick Motorsports car. So how did this happen in 2007 despite him being a driver for his dad's team? During the Samsung 500 at Texas Motorspeedway, Tony Stewart had spun in the 20 car and caused multiple cars to scatter. Two such cars that ran into each other in reaction to this were the 8 of Dale Jr and the 5 of Kyle Busch. The 8 was completely destroyed so it wasn't salvageable by the DEI crew but Dale Jr was still around. Meanwhile, the Hendrick crew was actually working on the 5 car and got it to a drivable state to finish the race but Kyle had already left. One thing led to another and before anyone in the stands knew it (as in literally, no one at the track was aware of this until the day after the race), we had the unusual site of Dale Earnhardt Jr driving a Hendrick Motorsports car.

Its surprisingly one that isn't as talked about considering its what many consider to be the catalyst for Dale Jr eventually leaving the only Cup team he ever drove for at that point for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 (Only helped by one of his interviews where he said himself that this wrecked car Drove better than any of his cars that year, which also cemented the decline and rift at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated between him and Teresa Earnhardt).

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Michael Schumacher's one-off debut with Jordan at Spa in 1991 after Bertrand Gachot was jailed for assaulting a London taxi driver with CS gas.

Sebastian Vettel making his race debut with BMW Sauber at Indianapolis in 2007 after Robert Kubica's massive crash in Canada.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Chris Amon and Murray Walker contesting the 2003 Targa New Zealand in a Toyota Camry Sportivo.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Sebastien Loeb, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso.

In what were slightly more than publicity stunts, Sebastien Loeb took the wheel of a Red Bull and Toro Rosso on multiple occasions with a view of having a race drive with Toro Rosso starting in 2009. In his first official test outing ij the winter of 2008 he was classified 8th out of 15 drivers and was less than 2 seconds off the pace of the vastly more F1 experienced Takuma Sato, and in a time before Red Bull had competitive cars.

His F1 debut was scuppered due to the FIA ruling against giving him a Super License, despite being a 5 time WRC champion at that point and having a wealth of sports car experience and Le Mans appearances to his name. Had it been granted he would have debuted at the 2009 Abu Dhabi GP with a contract allegedly lined up for a full campaign in 2010 at Toro Rosso.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Jenson Button testing the Lola B99/50 Formula 3000 car for Fortec Motorsport at the end of the 1999 Season.

He also tested for Supernova and it was likely he would have contested the 2000 International F3000 Season if he hadn't got the Williams F1 seat.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/what-could-have-been-jenson-buttons-f3000-test-25-years-on/10671412/

 

[TheCracker]

Before becoming the 1983 World Rally Champion, Hannu Mikkola tried his hand at circuit racing. Here he is in 1969 competing in the British Saloon Car Championship (Brands Hatch, Round 12).

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Before becoming the 1983 World Rally Champion, Hannu Mikkola tried his hand at circuit racing. Here he is in 1969 competing in the British Saloon Car Championship (Brands Hatch, Round 12).

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The British Saloon Car Championship, of course, evolved into the British Touring Car Championship.

In the 1990 Season, Jimmy McRae had a few outings in an Ecosse BMW M3.

(Having difficulty finding a better image at the moment)

At Knockhill in the 1992 Season, the late Colin McRae drove a Prodrive BMW 318, and infamously took out Matt Neal's M3 in Race 2. He earned himself a disqualification and the wrath of Neal's father Steve.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

The British Saloon Car Championship, of course, evolved into the British Touring Car Championship.

In the 1990 Season, Jimmy McRae had a few outings in an Ecosse BMW M3.

View attachment 1408572
(Having difficulty finding a better image at the moment)

At Knockhill in the 1992 Season, the late Colin McRae drove a Prodrive BMW 318, and infamously took out Matt Neal's M3 in Race 2. He earned himself a disqualification and the wrath of Neal's father Steve.

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Colin McRae had a one-off outing in a Ford Taurus at Rockingham in the 2002 ASCAR Season.

He contested the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Ferrari 550 Maranello, scoring a podium in the GTS class.

Two of his last three WRC outings were in the Skoda Fabia in 2005, he came 7th in the Rally Great Britain.