In the pantheon of British racing greats, few have attained the near mythical status of Britain’s first Formula One World...
If you ever see a photograph of Philippe Etancelin in action, chances are you will never forget him. Because he’s...
My involve-ment with Audi came directly from my work, as a supplier to Audi, with exhaust systems and catalytic converters. The company I was involved with was Gillet, a West German company where I was head of their research and development department. Audi was a regular customer, and I got...
For many years now, I have been synonymous with sports cars and sports car racing. Of course, when I started...
The FIA sports prototypes were some of the most exciting purpose-built racing cars ever designed. They competed under the regulations...
John Michael “Mike” Hawthorn won the Formula One World Championship in 1958, and in doing so became the first British driver ever to win it. He first appeared at Goodwood in 1952 as a comparatively unknown and amazed everyone by driving this very, very quick Cooper-Bristol, and became a star...
The 2009 edition of Italy’s Mille Miglia Storica attracted its usual mixed bag of royalty, politicians, motor racing icons, and...
Keke Rosberg was a kind of motor racing Cinderella Man. He went from the drudgery of retiring or not even...
Peter Brock Alan Jones 1 Brian Redman finishes 1st and 2nd in the 24 Hours of Daytona when the Gulf Porsche 917K he shared with Jo Siffert finishes behind the Pedro Rodriguez/Leo Kinnunen team car which he also co-drove late in the race (1970). 2 Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons...
Vaso Bill Vukovich Sr. John Cobb 1 John Greenwood drives a Greenwood Corvette to victory in the IMSA sports car...
A few hours before next June’s start of the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the morning...
Like so many great automobiles of our time, the Mercedes-Benz SL series can trace its origins directly to the racetrack. With the rebuilding and recovery of Europe ongoing six years after the end of World War II, Mercedes competition boss Alfred Neubauer was told that the resources for a resumption...
There have been classic races at Le Mans, and races for classics, but the 2002 Le Mans Classic was about...
Mark Donohue Giuseppe Campari 3 Manfred von Brauchitsch drives a Mercedes-Benz W25 to its first victory when he wins the...
May 2017 • Sir Jack Brabham, Australia’s three-time F1 World Champion, is to be honored by his homeland with a special commemorative 50¢ coin struck by the Royal Australian Mint. The coin features a likeness of Sir Jack and the Brabham BT19-Repco with which, in 1966, he became the only...
From the very beginning of the automobile, man built cars to compete, with a passion for speed and technology. These...
Roger Penske Fred Offenhauser 3 Paul Goldsmith drives Smokey Yunick’s Pontiac to victory in the last stock car race on...
In the 1920s and 1930s, British schoolboys devoured every word they could find about their favorite comic book heroes, like Biggles and Dick Barton, Special Agent. In Sir Henry Birkin Bt, however, they had a real live, walking, talking hero and they idolized him all the more. He was passably...
The chaotic scene just after the #88 car of Huhn/Schwarz crashed at the Nürburgring in 1970. Photo: Porsche Werk Motor...
In the days when racing’s regulations were somewhat less restrictive than perhaps they are now, designers occasionally looked beyond current...
As the years pile up, I find myself learning more about people I used to know than I ever appreciated at the time. So it is with Ray Heppenstall, the brusque, raw-edged racer from Pittsburgh, PA. Pete Lyons My first impression of him was a little alarming. It was at...
The 1970 Le Mans 24 hours is immortalized in the the Steve McQueen film Le Mans, with much of the...
1968 Alfa Romeo T33/2 “What goes around comes around.” That, I believe, is a largely English way of referring to...
Dan Gurney’s motor racing career as a driver, car constructor and team owner is just about as star-spangled as his country’s flag. After Phil Hill, he was the second American to win in Formula 1, and is considered the equal of that other American superstar, Mario Andretti. He is also...
Lloyd Ruby was best known as an excellent Indy car driver who nearly won two Indianapolis 500s, but in truth,...
Part II We concluded last month’s opening segment of John Wright’s interview with Bruce Kessler as he was preparing to...
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the race that began as the Daytona Continental in 1962 and evolved into today’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, but not all of those races were run for a full 24 hours. The first two runnings had a three-hour duration, while the next two...
1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB “Comp/61” Inevitably, when the name Ferrari is brought up in conjunction with racing, the first thing that...
It’s time to talk NASCAR. It usually is. NASCAR’s calendar is the longest in racing, so it has the shortest...
From the very beginning of the automobile man built cars to compete with a passion for speed and technology. These innovators are in an elite club with their place in automotive history guaranteed as the creators of a true classic sports car, a genuine thoroughbred. The development of the racing...