Mercedes-Benz’ incredibly successful first half of the 20th century was going to be a really tough act to follow. Ritter...
On May 18, an impressive demonstration of historic racecars helped kick off the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Classic Days and the Mercedes-Benz...
Walter Hayes Paddy Hopkirk 1 Count Eliot Zborowski is killed in an accident during La Turbie Hillclimb at Nice, France (1903). 4 Andre de Adamich and Henri Pescarolo drive an Alfa Romeo T33/3 to victory in the 1,000 km sports car race at Brands Hatch, England (1971). Become a Member...
A shortish, miserable-looking man with a square moustache strutted into the room, his face non-committal, his uniform vaguely operatic. He...
September 2005 The Amazing Summer of ’55 By Eoin Young There is no logic why 1955 was destined to ring...
Whether or not most of us realize it, a most unusual man is among us. Until the late ’50s, he was one of the very few Americans of international road racing caliber. As you read this, John Fitch is 88 years old. His life is the stuff of legend. Fitch...
Quite a few younger folk seek me out and want to hear about how wonderful sports car racing was during...
In several sections of this month’s issue, you’ll find coverage of just a small sampling of the constellation of events that now make up the week of the Monterey Historics. It seems like every year, in this column, I make some comment on how it couldn’t possibly get any bigger...
January 2007 Sunshine, Speed and a Surprise: The 1959 Grand Prix of the United States By Joel Finn In “Sunshine,...
The noise! It took my breath away. A BMW M12 4-cylinder or Honda V-6 at around 10,000 rpm. Totally ear-splitting...
This son of a German garage owner had never raced a car until May 26, 1935, at the superfast Avus circuit near Berlin. But by the end of 1936, he was the king of all he surveyed—the 1936 European Champion, with six Grand Prix victories to his credit. All scored...
Dark clouds begin to gather in my mind every spring as I park my car in Brescia and walk to...
I have certain fond memories of the first single-seater racing car I drove, which was a Vanwall. Tony Vandervell gave...
Louis Chiron Biography Born in August 1899, the son of a French hotelier in Monaco he became that principalities most famous sportsman. Holding dual citizenship Chiron joined the French army prior to his 18th birthday, serving as an artilleryman during World War I. He later became the personal driver to...
1976 Holden Torana L34 A month or so back, Vintage Racecar interviewed Leo Geoghegan, a true icon of Australian motorsport....
One of the most enjoyable—at least for me—of fifties events was the Pebble Beach Sports Car Road Races. The last one was held during April 1956 and, from then on, races in the area were held at Laguna Seca Raceway. In my May column in this magazine, I remembered the...
One was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, in 1902 and the other in a cramped workshop in Bologna, northern Italy, 35...
Opening in 1921, AVUS (Automobil-Verkehrs-und Übungs-Straße) was devised by the AvD as a motorsport venue and test track for the...
Antonio Brivio Mario Andretti 1 A.J. Foyt wins the USAC Championship race on the dirt track at Sacramento, California (1967). 5 Graeme Bailey and Allan Grice drive a Holden Commodore to victory in the James Hardie 1000 at Mount Panarama in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia (1986). Become a Member...
It took time for me to become enthusiastic about anything German. I have been hit by the blast of a...
On August 4, 2007, an icon of American racing and my dear friend, John Fitch, turned 90 years old! In...
Over the years, Vintage Racecar has been fortunate to have been able to include the work of talented cutaway artist Shin Yoshikawa in numerous features and Racecar Profiles. Japanese-born Yoshikawa began drawing cars when he was 10 years old, and over the past 50 years has come to be known...
It may sound corny, but Dick Seaman’s short life really was the stuff of Hollywood movies. He was tall, handsome,...
On June 7–8, 1958, the Texas Region of the SCCA hosted a weekend of sports car racing 10 miles north of Fort Worth. The organizers laid out a 3-mile course at the National Guard Air Base near Eagle Mountain Lake, where 112 entries showed up to contest 10 scheduled “Sunburn”...
This year’s Monterey Historic Automobile Races marks the 35th running of this classic event. As shown schematically in the Laguna...
I stood back watching, as Monterey feted the Fangio marque. Fangio marque? Yes, Juan Manuel Fangio is the only person,...
Mercedes-Benz rocked Donington Park with its mighty “Silver Arrow” confrontation with Auto Union in 1937 and 1938. Back then, the British crowds were simply stunned by the sight, sound and smell of the mighty racers, and a bit of that magic returned to the same facility when the Vintage Sports...