Luigi Villoresi gets an unexpected gasoline bath during a pit stop for the 1939 South African Grand Prix. Villoresi and his 6-cylinder Maserati would recover and go on to victory.

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Five years after Whitney Straight’s historic trip to South Africa to take part in the First South African Grand Prix, motor racing had become an established sport in the country and during the European winters British and Continental drivers escaped the cold to take part in the ‘summer series’ down south. This ensured that expensive racing cars could be used to generate an income instead of being stored on blocks during a time that the wintry European season was closed.

For 1939, the South African Grand Prix was to be a ‘proper’ grand prix for voiturettes of 1.5 liters and for the first time run as a scratch race, no more run on the antiquated handicap system with fields made up of outdated machinery, specials and the modern cars of the visiting European drivers. With FIA approval and in line with the European formula, a top class field including the ‘works’ Maserati team, independent Maserati pilotes and a group of competent English amateurs in ERAs was assembled.

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The Concours of Elegance is introducing a brand new feature to its 2022 edition, designed to celebrate the pioneering women of the automotive world. The new Levitt Concours shines a light on female enthusiasts and their vehicles, with a new one-day driving tour and bespoke showcase feature at Hampton Court Palace on Saturday September 3rd. The tour will begin at the Odney Club, finishing at the Concours of Elegance, featuring a group of 30 rare and exotic women-owned vehicles from Austin Healey 3000s to Ferrari Daytonas.

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The inaugural “Gene Felton Memorial Challenge” will feature a pair of races for HSR Group 8 Historic Stock Cars with the winner determined by total points from the two events. In addition to receiving a special race winner’s trophy, a plaque bearing the driver’s name will be put on The Lanier Technical College Gene Felton Trophy. Based on hardware from Felton’s vast collection, the permanent trophy commemorates the driver’s long association with the Lanier Technical College, where he helped interns in the Motorsports Vehicle Training program get hands-on racing experience.

A former Grand Marshall at The Mitty and a member of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, Felton died in 2020 at the age of 84 from a non-covid related illness.

Felton’s racing achievements were many, including 45 career victories in the professional ranks of IMSA on board production-based cars and four consecutive Kelly American Challenge Series championships. After a horrendous crash during practice for a Trans-Am race at the Riverside International Raceway in California broke his neck in 1984, Felton returned to his car-building roots with Gene Felton Restorations, maintaining vintage NASCAR stock cars and production-based race cars in the garage behind his house in Roswell. He continued to get behind the wheel and won many a vintage race.

“In so many ways, Gene Felton represents everything that HSR is about,” said HSR President David Hinton. “He was a record-setting and tireless competitor that truly lived to race and clearly loved every aspect of the sport that all of us love so much. To be able to have a race in his honor every year at the HSR Mitty is a true privilege.”

Felton’s plaudits include co-driving to victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Terry Labonte and car owner Billy Hagan. After winning the GTO class pole at Le Mans in his first appearance at the famed French 24-hour race in 1982, Felton drove to a second-place finish with Hagan. He launched his pro career with two stunning victories in Camel GT races at the Daytona International Speedway in 1972 and 1973, beating a host of Porsches and Corvettes on board a Camaro he built during spare time from his cosmetics supply business.

The Gene Felton Memorial Challenge will be the focus of a fund-raising effort in support of MVT students. Donations can be made at https://www.laniertechfoundation or by sending checks to the Lanier Technical College Foundation, 2535 Lanier Tech Drive, Gainesville, Georgia 30507. “As long as donors write ‘Gene Felton’ in the memo line of the check or in the comment box online, the funds will be specifically allocated to help MVT program students,” said John M. Leverett, Motorsports Vehicle Technology Program Director and Instructor.

As a teenager, Felton went to the Lakewood Speedway on the south side of Atlanta to watch NASCAR’s earliest heroes of the 1950s, which inspired his own career. In addition to road racing in IMSA and the SCCA, he competed in NASCAR during his early career.

Felton’s best result in the NASCAR came in a Grand American race at Road Atlanta in 1971. Like this year’s inaugural Gene Felton Memorial Challenge, the NASCAR event featured a pair of races under a points format. Forced to start at the back of the field in the second race due to an equipment problem, Felton drove his Camaro up to second place at the finish behind Tiny Lund, impressing the former Daytona 500 winner as well as veterans Bobby Allison and Buck Baker, drivers he passed along the way.

A lone entry in NASCAR’s Cup series came at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1976, where Felton finished the 500-mile race while running in 16th place. A frequent winner behind the wheel in vintage events, he was invited to drive a Chevrolet Nova he restored that was previously driven by seven-time Cup series champion Dale Earnhardt at the Goodwood Festival in England in 2009.

This week’s season-opening HSR Spring Fling runs through Friday at Sebring International Raceway. Tickets are available exclusively at the track.

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ED SWART

From Zandvoort to Daytona

60 Years of cars, characters, and the world’s most challenging race tracks

Published by: Coterie Press Ltd.

Author: Ed Swart with Johnnie Tipler

192 Pages

ISBN: 978-1-902351-71-1

Price: $49.95 US

Recently, I visited author Ed Swart and his wife, Sally, at their Southern California home and had the privilege of seeing the files of this book before it went to press. After we took a look at the “galleys” (as we used to call them before the digital takeover) in Ed’s office, he showed me a bookcase with several folders.

I didn’t count them but there were at least 20 of them, maybe more. Ed took a couple out and showed me the contents: he had archived all the results, notes, magazine clips, credentials and miscellaneous materials from … get this dear reader: almost every race he had entered since the first one 60 years ago.

It was as if he was preparing to write this book almost since the beginning of his life.

Perhaps I should’ve detected this fact when I came upon a photo of a child, about 10-years old, smiling, sitting in the driver’s seat of a Gatso sports car at Zandvoort, or those in the paddock with his parents with racing stars of the day like Giuseppe Farina, Maurice Trintignant or Jean Behra.

Autobiographical works deal with the life of the author, but in this case he expands his descriptions to the world of motorsports that he touched and that touched him giving his story a unique ”journalistic” style.

Here, we learn about the politics of racing, the technical aspects of the cars he drove and the cars he competed against, stories about people (such as Carlo Abarth), the different series, the lifestyle of the times (specially the early years), and the circuits.

From Zandvoort to Daytona (as the subtitle of the book proclaims), each is shown in dedicated sidebars with a map, track length, the corners, lap record and a very special “a lap with Ed Swart”.

The book covers his beginnings with Fiat and Abarth (his father was a Fiat distributor in the Hague) racing the little 850 rocket ships of Scuderia Auto Swart (SAS), with interesting side notes such as his sponsorships by Radio Veronica (a pirate radio station that broadcast from a ship off the coast of Holland) and Team Canon.

Further chapters cover the Abarth Sport Prototypes, the FIA 2-L seasons and also the Springbok Series in South Africa, along with the Tasman Cup in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Temporada Internacional races in Argentina.

Ed was at the leading edge of professional racing and among the top privateers being this evident by the company he kept during the early ‘70s in the FIA 2 Liter sport Prototype series, first with Abarth and then with Chevron competing against the likes of Arturo Merzario, Jo Bonnier, Brian Redman (who wrote the book’s Foreword), Dieter Quester, Toine Hazemans, Kurt Ahrens, Vic Elford, Hans Herrmann, Jackie Ickx, Jody Scheckter and many more.

There’s also a section devoted to his marriage to Sally Stokes.

Ed was the racing driver but Sally, who herself is a card-carrying member of the racing community, has been his trusty co-piloto and has a well deserved chapter in the book titled “A Racing Romance”, a charming love story of a couple that have been married to each other, and to the world or racing, for over 50 years…and counting.

In 1972, at the age of 35, Swart decided to stop racing and concentrate on his family business. However, thatdidn’t mean he would leave the racing world. The Dutch Royal Automobile Club (KNAC) asked him to be the Clerk of the Course (Race Director in the US) for the Dutch Formula One Grand Prix, a position he held from 1972 to 1987, and started racing classic cars.

In the early ‘80s, he and Sally moved to the U.S. to start two new businesses, a new life and continue racing in historic events.

Swart’s distinctive white and orange helmet and his two personal Chevron rides, the F2 and the 2-L Sport Prototype, became iconic in vintage events. Eventually, he also drove other people’s cars; F5000, F1, prototypes and Can-Am.

Starting in 1999, he founded a new vintage racing club, HSR-West, and that meant a daunting list of new tasks that started just after the early drivers’ meeting when he would suit up and drive his Chevrons (and then come back and make sure that the cones have been restored after some hot jockey eliminated the obvious nuisance known as a “chicane”), organize the Friday wine-and-cheese get together, the dinner on Saturday, listen to every complaint from everybody and his/her mother, suit up again, drive and, at the end of the event … make sure that everyone got paid before leaving the track. I was a witness to all that.

In 2012, he sold HSR-West to Tony Parella, a steam-roller promoter that has been building a nationwide racing empire acquiring some other vintage clubs and series (such as Trans-Am) around the country and operating under the SVRA (Sport Vintage Racing Association) banner.

Ed officially retired from racing at the VARA Lucas Oil Big Bore Bash at Willow Springs on November 6^th, 2022, the day of his 84^th birthday, that special day was celebrated with a small but charismatic party after the last race of the weekend at his garage.

The photography in this book (over 300 shots in all) is spectacular with images of some of the lesser known small bore series of the European Touring Car Championships showing swarms of rabid Fiats 850 Abarths fighting for position, along with action scenes at the Nurburgring, at the old banked section of Monza and panoramic shots showing the ambiance at Brands Hatch, Nürburgring, Hockenheim and the Autodromo de Buenos Aires for the 1000 Kms.

My favorite shot in this book is one of Ed flying over a hill at the Nürburgring during the 1970 500 Kms; with all four wheels in the air of his Abarth 2000SP which, for my money, was the best looking car in the series at the time.

Swart has included great photos that his father, Ger Swart, an amateur but accomplished photographer, took at racing events. Action shots and wonderful portraits of drivers such as Farina, Hawthorn, Taruffi, Frere, Landi, Villoresi and many others.

In brief, what we’re looking at here is a multi-faceted book that reflects the multi-faceted life of its author.

I would like to take the opportunity to compliment Ms. Violet Cruz, credited by Coterie Press as the designer of the book, tastefully decorated with vignettes of period posters, credentials, trophies, advertisements and magazine covers which carry the feeling throughout the pages.

The balance between vintage materials and modern graphics and the use of entire pages dedicated to great photos and many small details (like lapel pins and classic pit passes) make for a very attractive package that tells of a fascinating life in motorsports.

For more information and to order go to www.coteriepress.com

Copy courtesy of LACar.com

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The Scuderia Filipinetti Ford GT40 Mk I – driven by Peter Sutcliffe and Dieter Spoerry – from the 1966 24 hours of Le Mans. It failed to finish the race due to an accident on lap 233. A trio of more powerful Mk II GT40s famously won the race that year.

Arthur Schening is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator living in Arlington, VA.

Prints are 19″ wide x 13″ tall. They are printed using an Epson Artisan 1430, 6-color printer, on 65 lb. uncoated cover stock. The cost is $35 per print ((plus $7shipping and handling for the continental U.S., overseas shipping is additional).

http://www.scheningcreative.com/auto-art/

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Built at Bizzarrini’s dedicated facility in the UK, the 5300 GT Corsa Revival is the most authentic interpretation of the 5300 GT available. Built using original blueprints, utilising materials from original suppliers, with the input of experts originally involved in the 5300 GT project, some key improvements have been added with modern safety regulations in mind. The original car’s fuel tanks were located deep in the sills, as well as behind the driver, for example, but now – using advanced 3D scanning – Bizzarrini engineers have created a tank intricately shaped, filling the available void in the chassis to tolerances and accuracy not available to the original designers. The overall fuel capacity is only marginally reduced, at 95 litres, keeping the range within the requirements of a multiple round race series.

The painstaking dedication to authenticity even extends as far as this car’s paintwork. There is a long and complex history surrounding the colour known as Rosso Corsa, with many shades purporting to be the original. To ensure the car looked exactly as it would have in period, the Bizzarrini team tracked down a paint color sample from an original panel, which had been hidden from light since it was first painted, perfectly preserving Bizzarrini Rosso Corsa. This shade was then colour-matched for the Revival to create Rosso Corsa Bizzarrini 222.

First developed as a high-performance variant of the Bizzarrini-engineered Iso Grifo A3C, the 5300 GT Corsa was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro with refinements by Piero Drogo of Carrozzeria Sports Cars. Incorporating a tried and tested V8 engine, the 5300 GT was light, fast and reliable.

Famed for its performance in the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hour Race, perhaps the most legendary 5300 GT is chassis 0222. That summer, French racing drivers Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart took the over 5-liter class win at Le Mans, also finishing ninth overall. Not only did Chassis 0222 run the race at an average speed of 169km/h, Giotto Bizzarrini himself then drove the car back home to Northern Italy immediately after the race. The 5300 GT Revival Corsa prototype takes livery inspiration from this legendary car, encapsulating the spirit of a bygone age of high-performance racecars and the genius behind them.

In radically adapting the Corsa for track driving, Giotto Bizzarrini fitted bespoke independent rear suspension and shifted the front-mounted engine as far back in the chassis as possible. This revolutionary approach to weight distribution proved a key advantage against many contemporary front-heavy cars. In testing the Revival, modern measurements show that each corner of the car carries 25% of its overall weight, illustrating the visionary genius of Giotto Bizzarrini to design a car in 1965 that still delivers perfect balance in 2022.

Each car in the Revival series of 24 vehicles will be hand-built, with a lightweight single piece composite body, over a steel frame. Inside, the two seats are protected by a more comprehensive six-point roll bar and safety fuel cell, meeting FIA Appendix K historic racing regulations. Test drives of the Revival revealed a car that feels subtly more rigid than original examples. Independent rear suspension to Giotto’s Corsa specification and all-round disc brakes are paired with a period-specific 5,300 cubic centimeter V8 with Weber 45 DCOE (Doppio Corpo Orizzontale E) carburetors developing between over 400 horsepower. At just 1250 kg, the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Revival Corsa has excellent power to weight ratio.

One of Giotto Bizzarrini’s most valuable talents was his ability to push the limits of contemporary engineering. The original 5300 GT made extensive use of the strongest lightweight material of its day, glass fibre. “Had it been available, we believe Giotto Bizzarrini would almost certainly have deployed carbon fibre in his racing cars,” said Richard Quinlan COO of Bizzarrini. “As a result, the 5300 GT Revival Corsa will be offered with a full carbon fibre bodyshell as standard for those customers who do not need to conform to Historic Racing regulations.”

The 5300 GT Revival Corsa will be the first model to bear the Bizzarrini name for more than 15 years. After the completion of the development prototype, a total of 24 customer cars will be built, each offered as the most authentic contemporary interpretation of the 1965 Le Mans class-winner. Designed to be driven, each Bizzarrini 5300 GT Revival Corsa can be modified to match its customer’s exact specifications. “The car is of course engineered for racing,” said Richard Quinlan“but we will also be able to satisfy the desire of any customer who wishes to drive this spectacular car on the road.”

Simon Busby, Bizzarrini CMO said, “We have an ambitious long-term vision for the Bizzarrini brand, and the 5300GT Corsa Revival serves as either an introduction or a reminder of the storied heritage of Bizzarrini.  We were thrilled with the car’s performance during endurance testing, delivering the same adrenaline-fueled driving experience as Giotto Bizzarrini’s original design. Now, as we complete the process of building the cars for our customers throughout the world, we are refining the initial engineering and design proposals for our modern supercar. Utilising the very latest technologies, and built with the ethos, passion and values of our founding genius, this will truly be a Bizzarrini for a new generation.”

Giotto Bizzarrini is renowned for his work in building the famous Lamborghini V12 engine, first used on Lamborghini’s debut model, the 350 GT. The engine proved such a compelling design that aspects of this engine were used by Lamborghini right up until 2010. Giotto also played the key role in the development of the iconic Ferrari 250 GTO, and in developing the advanced aerodynamics for the legendary Ferrari 250-based ‘Breadvan’.

Giotto’s work at Ferrari came to an unexpected end, during one of the most damaging moments in Ferrari’s history, informally known as the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ or ‘The Palace Revolt’. As the story goes four of Ferrari’s top engineers, including Giotto, revolted against Enzo Ferrari’s running of the business, and the sacking of commercial director Girolami Gardini. Il Commendatore responded by firing them too. For Giotto, it was partly a desire to settle the score with Ferrari that led him to take his creation to Le Mans in 1965, where it won its class.

The first customer deliveries of the 5300 GT Revival Corsa are already scheduled for handover to global clients from May 2022.

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“Alex Zanardi and Bill Auberlen are icons in the auto racing world, and it is a privilege to honor them this way in our Motorsports Walk of Fame,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

The 16th annual ceremony, open to the public, will take place at 11 a.m. on South Pine Avenue in front of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center as part of the festivities surrounding the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Alex Zanardi is an Italian racing legend who won the 1997 and 1998 Grands Prix of Long Beach, the same years he also won the CART Championship. A 15-time winner in Indy cars, Zanardi also had two stints driving in Formula One and is credited as being the first driver in American racing to do the now-familiar “victory donuts” after his first race win in Long Beach. In 2001, Zanardi was involved in a major crash at the CART American Memorial at Eurospeedway Laustiz in Germany, resulting in the amputation of his legs. Less than two years later, he returned to racing and later scored four wins in the World Touring Car Championship between 2005-09 driving a car with hand controls. Zanardi went on to become a Paralympic champion in handcycling, ultimately winning a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. He is currently recuperating from an accident suffered in Italy in 2020 while continuing his handcycling training program. Zanardi’s former teammate Jimmy Vasser will accept the honor on his behalf at the ceremony.

Auberlen, a native and resident of Redondo Beach, is the International Motor Sport Association’s (IMSA) all-time winningest driver, with 63 sports car wins and counting. At Long Beach, Auberlen was a class winner in 2013 (GT) and 2015 (GTLM) and has a total of nine top-five finishes in 14 starts dating back to 1990. He has been a class winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona twice (1997, ’98) and finished in the top five twice at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A six-time professional auto racing champion, Auberlen currently drives the #96 BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsport in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“With their records here in Long Beach and elsewhere, Alex and Bill are very deserving to be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame,” said Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian. “Their contributions to the sport of racing around the world are undeniable and we’re pleased to acknowledge their outstanding careers with this honor.”

After the ceremony, Auberlen and Vasser will sign autographs for those in attendance. The Walk of Fame medallions include renditions of the racers’ iconic cars, as well as descriptions of their major achievements in motorsports. For more information, visit www.lbmotorsportswof.com.

The induction ceremony kicks off the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend, which brought more than 180,000 people to Downtown Long Beach in 2021. For more information, visit gplb.com

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This alpine fringed city is steeped in automotive style being home to the legendary automotive design houses of Ghia, Vignale, Bertone and Pininfarina. Turin’s tree-lined boulevards and piazzas with their Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings are a perfect display case for 100 years of motorsport and rally cars that will take part in the event, vehicles that are conceived as real works of contemporary art.

Consisting of F1, Endurance and Rally, 100 cars will be displayed throughout the city center giving visitors the opportunity stroll along Turin’s boulevards to view motorsport’s most stylish history. Exhibits are being drawn from around the world using private collections and museums as the source. During the day and evenings, piazzas will stage dynamic displays letting some of the exhibits ‘stretch their legs’. Accompanying the displays will be photographic panels and cutaway drawings of all the cars. Autolook has been timed to coincide with the Italian Grand Prix and help celebrate the Centenary of Monza circuit, as well as being an auto festival in the heart of Italy’s capital for car design.

Emphasizing the concept of racing cars as an art form, for the first time in the world, a series of prizes will be awarded to teams and sponsors who have been able to create the best coordinated image (car livery, team clothing, motorhome set-up, hospitality, advertising, website, social media) and turned modern-day racing cars into palettes with which to create messages, making them vehicles of artistic advertising.

The Autolook Awards have been set up to emphasize the concept of racing cars as a refined communication tool , assigning a series of awards that go beyond sports results to teams and sponsors who have distinguished themselves in the field of communications. The liveries that have become famous, the commercials, the advertising campaigns, the major initiatives carried out by the manufacturers that have participated in all the world motoring championships over the years will be judged by a committee of professionals, designers, experts in communication and marketing, institutions, media and photo agencies.

The award ceremony will take place at a gala presentation on the Wednesday evening hosted by SKY TV journalist Federica Masolin.

The categories are:

RACING AUTOLOOK 2022

• FORMULA 1 best look (car, team, and hospitality)
• WRC best look (car, team, hospitality)
• WEC best look (car, team, hospitality)

AUTOLOOK HALL OF FAME 2022

To the team, to the sponsor which over the years, with its image and commitment has contributed to the success of motorsport.

2022 AUTOLOOK SPOT

To the commercial that has been able to translate into images the spirit and the intimate essence of motorsport or helped to revive it in the Covid period

2022 AUTO & LOOK

Award dedicated to the sponsor – team that has been able to match the image of the standard product with its racing commitments

MOTORSPORT COLLECTION

Award dedicated to the best collection of objects linked to a sponsor – team

2022 AUTOLOOK EVOLUTION

Award dedicated to the team – sponsor which has been able to renew its image over time

AUTOLOOK AWARD 2022

The most important award, dedicated to the best coordinated image in the 2021-22 period, which evaluates the look of the car – of the team – of the hospitality – communication – images – tools provided to the media – social media activity – merchandising

The post Turin to Host Autolook Week Before Grand Prix appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

1
The Mercedes 450 SLC is homologated into Group 4 for rallying (1979).

2
Tom Sneva wins the USAC Texas 200 Indy car race at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas, driving a McLaren M24-Cosworth for Penske Racing (1977).

4
The Opel Ascona 400 of Ari Vatanen and Terry Harryman wins the Safari Rally in Africa (1983).

5
Bobby Rahal drives a Team Rahal Lola T92/00-Chevrolet to victory in the CART Indy Car Phoenix 200 on the Phoenix International Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona (1992).

6
The CART Indy Car Australian 300K in Surfers Paradise, Australia, is won by Patrick Racing’s Scott Pruett driving a Ford/Cosworth-powered Reynard 97I (1997).

7
James Hunt drives a Hesketh 308-Ford to victory in the non-championship Daily Express International Trophy Race at Silverstone, England (1974).

12
Racing great Sir Stirling Moss dies after a long illness (2020).

13
Mario Andretti, driving for STP/Granatelli Racing, wins the USAC California 200, at Hanford Motor Speedway in Hanford, California, driving a Brawner/Hawk-Ford (1969).

14
Jochen Mass and Jackie Ickx win the 1000 KM of Mugello driving a Porsche 962C (1985).

17
Allan Moffat wins the Australian Touring Car Championship race at Sandown, Australia (1977).

18
Posthumous 1970 F1 World Champion Jochen Rindt born (1942).

19
Jim Clark wins the Lavant Cup at Goodwood, England, driving a Lotus 30 (1965).

21
The Porsche 962 LM GT-1 is presented to the ACO for approval to race at Le Mans. Although “not in the spirit” of the regulations, it is eventually approved (1994).

22
Doug Chivas and Margaret Halliday win the Grand Prix of Mount Panarama for 1000cc motorcycle sidecars. Halliday becomes the first woman in the world to win a national motorsport Grand Prix (1984).

23
Ian Scott-Watson, who will provide Jim Clark with cars to race in club level events in Scotland, is born (1930).

25
Mike Mosley drives a Watson-Ford to victory in the USAC Championship race at the New Jersey State Fairgrounds in Trenton, New Jersey (1971).

26
The Monza 1000 km race is won by a Porsche 935 K3 driven by Edgar Dören, Jürgen Lässig, and Gerhard Holup (1981).

28
Marc Surer and Manfred Winkelhock drive a C1 Kremer Porsche 962C to victory in the Monza 1000 KM World Endurance Championship race (1985).

29
Australian Touring Car legend Dick Johnson is born in Brisbane, Australia (1947).

30
Preston Henn, racer and entrant (T-Bird Swap Shop), dies at age 86 (2017).

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In Italy, a country that’s home to numerous small, specialized companies making exotic sports and racing cars, few can compete with SVA in their combination of obscurity with exotic engineering. Turin’s SVA flourished briefly at the end of the 1940s and produced at maximum two cars and a few more chassis. Yet the dazzling design of one of them, a single-seater, well-deserved its presentation by leading publications around the world.

SVA can best be viewed as a spiritual offshoot of Turin’s Cisitalia. That company, brainchild of industrialist and passionate car enthusiast Piero Dusio, created a sensation with its thrusting initiatives at a time when Italy’s major carmakers were struggling to recover from the privations of the wartime years. With its 1,100-cc single-seaters and sports cars Cisitalia was a shining star, attracting the best drivers of the day including Germany’s Hans Stuck and the unforgettable Tazio Nuvolari.

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This dinner had been postponed twice, in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic, and is now back on schedule for 2022.

Previous RRDC honorees were Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Brian Redman, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, George Follmer, Emerson Fittipaldi, Johnny Rutherford and David Hobbs. These “RRDC Evenings” are acknowledged as one of the highlights of the auto-racing social calendar, drawing fans and luminaries from all forms of motorsports.

The Firestone brand will return as presenting sponsor of the RRDC banquet for the 11th year.

“Having Firestone support the RRDC Long Beach dinner for more than a decade is a true privilege,” said RRDC President Bobby Rahal. “Firestone has an unrivaled heritage in motorsports dating back to the first Indy 500® in 1911. We always welcome Firestone’s support, and salute the brand’s long-standing success and contributions to the sport.”

The dinner’s proceeds will help support the RRDC’s young driver initiatives, including its groundbreaking SAFEisFAST.com program and the Team USA Scholarship, which the RRDC has backed since 1997 and has been providing opportunities for talented young American race-car drivers since 1990. The Mark Donohue Foundation, a 501(C)(3) tax-exempt organization, was formed to further support the SAFEisFAST.com initiative. Information about the Foundation can be found on the RRDC’s website. 

Few drivers have epitomized “The Penske Way” more than Mears during the course of his career with Team Penske, which began in 1978. His 29 INDYCAR wins are tied with Helio Castroneves for the second most by a Team Penske driver, but it was the respectful yet determined way Mears raced and conducted himself that set him apart.

One of four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, Mears also won three INDYCAR SERIES titles with the team in 1979, 1981 and 1982 while becoming an American icon. He remains a valuable member of the team as an advisor and spotter to the current Team Penske contingent competing in the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES.

He was born in 1951 in Wichita, Kan., then relocated with his family at the age of 4 to Bakersfield, Calif. He began his racing career in the 1960s on motorcycles in Southern California before moving on to four-wheeled “sprint buggies.” In 1973 he took seven off-road victories, followed by an overall win at Pikes Peak in 1976. His USAC Championship Car Series debut came with Bill Simpson at Ontario, Calif., that year, after which the car was sold to Art Sugai and Mears failed to qualify the car at the 1977 Indy 500.

Mears met legendary car owner Roger Penske in 1977 and was offered an Indy car ride as a substitute for Mario Andretti in races that conflicted with Andretti’s Formula One schedule. In 1978 he started on the front row in his first Indianapolis 500, was named Indy 500 co-rookie of the year, and scored his first three INDYCAR SERIES victories.

In 1979, Mears won his first Indianapolis 500 from the pole and went on to claim his first INDYCAR SERIES championship in the first year under CART (Championship Auto Racing Team) sanction. His second and third titles came back-to-back in 1981 and ’82, making him the first driver to capture three PPG Cup crowns. The year 1981 also marked the only time an INDYCAR SERIES driver won every road course event in one season when Mears set race records with each victory at Watkins Glen, Mexico City, and Riverside.

Mears also set a closed-course INDYCAR speed record of 233.934 mph at Michigan International Speedway in 1986 and was recognized in 1990 as the Associated Press “Driver of the Decade” for his 20 wins in the 1980s. In 1992, he was named one of 10 “Champions for Life” by the Driver of the Year Award’s panel. He was the youngest driver of this prestigious group.

“Rick has done so much in and for this sport beginning with his time as a motorcycle and off-road racer. His transition to winning races and championships in the INDYCAR SERIES was seamless,” said Rahal. “His time and success with ‘the Captain’ Roger Penske solidified his place in motorsports history, and we at the RRDC are honored to have the opportunity to recognize Rick Mears for all his achievements.”

The RRDC Evening with Rick Mears Presented by Firestone will be held on Thursday, April 7, at the Hilton Hotel, 701 West Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, Calif., with cocktails at 6 p.m., and dinner at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $280 per person ($250 for RRDC members) if purchased by March 28, and space is limited. An additional $20 will be added to cost if paid after March 28. Sponsor packages are also available. All are welcome, but this event is expected to sell out, so early reservations are recommended. Please contact Jeremy Shaw at rrdc2@cox.net. 

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The Corvette has had a dramatic impact through the decades, both on the street and at the track. The Historic Festival will celebrate the competition legacy that the Corvette has forged internationally, as well as the remarkable design journey that has been shaped through a series of unforgettable concept car designs.

The event, which will also welcome the Historic Trans-Am class back to Lime Rock Park, will feature 12 of the most significant Corvette concept cars, including the 1959 Stingray Concept, provided by the General Motors Heritage Center.

With the weekend set to include celebrated guests, invitation-only dinners and a close look at some rare machines both on and off the track, this gathering of concept cars is among the many special highlights slated for the traditional Labor Day weekend event.

“We are excited to host 12 of the most significant Corvette concept cars, they will be together for the first time in history at Lime Rock Park. I think this one will be a truly unforgettable event,” said Skip Barber, Historic Festival Event Chairman. “The Corvette has been a central player not only in American motorsports but also of course internationally. Between the amazing concept cars and some rare competition Corvettes that will be here on display, this should really be something special.”

For eight generations, Corvette has pushed the boundaries of technology, performance and style while remaining an attainable cultural icon.

“From the moment that it was first displayed in 1953 to today, the Corvette has always delivered unforgettable design,” said Michael Simcoe, Vice President, GM Global Design. “It will be really special to have so many examples of competition, street and one-of-a-kind concept Corvettes all in one place at Lime Rock Park for the Historic Festival. Through the generations, the Corvette design has evolved, but the brand has always maintained a central role in the automotive landscape and it is fantastic to have that role celebrated at Lime Rock Park.”

This season is the 65th year of operation for Lime Rock Park, and the Corvette has been a part of that history through the generations, including the debut of John Greenwood’s “Spirit of ’76” Corvette to victory in the final IMSA GTLM outing at the track for Corvette Racing in 2021.

Applications for the Sunday Concours are now being accepted; more information can be found at limerock.com or at motorsportsreg.com. 

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The Porsche 917K of Vic Elford and Gérard Larrousse, from Hans-Dieter Dechent’s team, finished first overall despite a delay from being bumped by Hugh Kleinpeter’s Lola and severe brake issues.

Photo courtesy of: THE KLEMANTASKI COLLECTION
PO Box 8204, Stamford, CT 06905 USA., Tel: (203) 461-9804 • Fax: (203) 968-2970
E-mail: info@klemcoll.com • Web site: www.klemcoll.com • Blog: klemcoll.wordpress.com

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Vic Elford behind the wheel of the Cooper-BRM during the 1968 British Grand Prix. Elford would ultimately retire with engine trouble.

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Alfa Romeo has a long history in racing that dates back to 1910 and extends to Formula One today. Throughout its 112-year history, many Alfa Romeo drivers have made an indelible mark in the sport. In celebration of International Women’s Day, Alfa Romeo has taken a look back at the female race drivers that helped shape the brand. While these women competed in different eras and came from different countries, they all shared a pioneering spirit and were trailblazers in a male-dominated sport.

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Porsche has announced that motorsport legend Vic Elford passed away at his home in Plantation, Florida on March 13. The 86-year-old battled against cancer in recent years with the same tenacity and determination that made him one of only four drivers to record six major victories at the Nürburgring during his long racing career. Elford earned the nickname “Quick Vic” for his ability to ring speed from cars ranging from hill climb specials to rally racers, open wheel Formula One cars and rocket-fast sports car prototypes. Elford is survived by his wife, Anita.

Elford was the first driver to have an average lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans) above 150 mph – he did so in a 1970 Porsche 917 LH (Long-Tail). He was a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner (1967 and 1973) and famously won the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Porsche 911, and the Rolex 24 At Daytona, behind the wheel of a Porsche 907, in back-to-back weeks in 1967. The ’67 Daytona win was the marque’s first international 24-hour race victory. Elford made eight starts at Le Mans, six in a Porsche, with the first victory coming piloting a Porsche 906 K, the second in a Ferrari. His last start at the endurance racing classic came in 1974 in the seat of a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR. His remarkable driving career also spanned into Can-Am and NASCAR’s Daytona 500.

While his on-track success is nearly mythological, the greatest of all the accolades Elford achieved came in 1972 when he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by French President Georges Pompidou. The prestigious honor was awarded for his act of courage and heroism during the 24 Hours of Le Mans when he stopped to assist a fellow driver from a burning car. The same outreach and consideration of his fellow drivers reached through the generations as Elford is recognized as a hero and mentor by countless drivers of today.

Elford’s skill can readily be seen in the movie Le Mans where Steve McQueen chose him to handle the high-speed close-up action shots driving the famous Porsche 917. A role that celebrated its golden anniversary in June 2021 with the 50th Anniversary of the premiere of the iconic film.

A longtime driving coach, Elford also wrote two books: The Porsche High Performance Driving Handbook and Reflections on a Golden Era in Motorsport.

Kjell Gruner, President and CEO, Porsche Cars North America.

“We have stayed close to Vic and Anita, particularly in recent years, and while we knew Vic was ill, the loss is still felt acutely – we send our sincere condolences to Anita and to the whole family. His achievements on track are simply staggering – I grew up in awe of him, as many of us at Porsche did – yet it will be his warmth, his kindness and decency that will remembered most by the colleagues who knew him well.”

Volker Holzmeyer, President and CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America.

“I’m desperately sad to hear this news. We have lost one of the all-time greats from our motorsport community. At Porsche we’re often described as a family – but in motorsport especially so. On behalf of every one of us at Porsche Motorsport North America we want to express our profound sadness at this news. Vic was – and will always be – a hero to us. Our immediate thoughts are with his family and his friends at this time.”

Hurley Haywood.

“Vic Elford was truly an icon. He was loved by many. His accomplishments were unmatched, and he will be greatly missed by all. Vic and I became friends later in his career. We never raced against each other, but I respected the man greatly. I feel terrible for Anita. She was his right hand man. She, his family and his friends are all in my thoughts. Anita is a strong woman and I take some comfort in knowing she will succeed in her next step.”

Patrick Long.

“As a factory Porsche driver, I got to know Vic quite well – at first, I was a in awe just to be in his presence. Quickly– his direct approach and immense humility immediately made you feel at ease. Always upbeat, it was such a treat to hear Vic tell stories of his legendary journeys with a massive smile. I will always be grateful for the fun we had, his encouragement and the kindness he showed me. My thoughts are with Anita and everyone who knew Vic. I’m so sad he’s gone.”

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1
Wendy Markey-Amey, British dancer and touring car racer dies at the age of 75 (2021).

4
NASCAR great Buck Baker born (1919).

5
Gregg Hansford dies when his Ford Mondeo crashes at Phillip Island, Australia, on the second lap of the first race of the new Australian 2-liter Touring Car series (1995).

6
The McLaren MP4, the world’s first car with a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, debuts for the press at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, England (1981).

7
David Piper takes delivery of Lola MkIIIB chassis SL76/150 (1969).

9
Vic Elford drives the Inaltera GTP endurance racer in its first track test, on the Mas du Clos circuit in France (1976).

11
IHRA and NHRA Pro Stock champion Lee Shepherd is killed in a testing accident in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He is 40 years old (1985).

12
Hurley Haywood, Bob Holbert, and Bruce Leven drive the Bayside Disposal Porsche 935 to overall victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring. The GTO class is won by the Porsche 911 RSR driven by Chuck Kendall, Pete Smith, and Dennis Aase (1981).

13
Tazio Nuvolari drives a Bugatti 35C to victory in the Grand Prix of Tripoli for his first international auto racing win (1928).

15
The Böblingen, Germany, district administration issues a registration certificate for the road legal Porsche 962 Dauer Le Mans GT (1994).

18
Trans-Am and Can-Am champion and Indy 500 winner Mark Donohue is born (1937).

19
Jim Clark wins the Formula Junior race at Goodwood, England. Second is John Surtees in his first ever auto race (1960).

20
Kurt Ahrens Sr. & Jr. test Stanguellini Formula Junior cars at Modena, Italy (1960).

21
At Silverstone, England, Adrian Newey performs his new job as race engineer for Christian Danner in an F2 March for the first time. Danner DNFs (1982).

22
The 360-kilometer WEC race at Jarama, Spain, is won by the Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-8 driven by John Watson and Jan Lammers (1987).

24
Juan Manuel Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti drive a Ferrari 860 Monza to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring (1956).

27
Jackie Ickx drives a Ford Mustang to victory in the Grand National Touring Car race at Zolder in Belgium (1966).

28
Adrian Fernandez drives a Patrick Racing Reynard 98I-Ford/Cosworth to victory in the CART Budweiser 500K race at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan (1998).

29
Racer David Prophet dies in a helicopter crash at age 43 (1981).

31
Racecar designer (Ti22, Shadow MKII, Shadow MkIII) Peter Bryant dies at the age of 71 (2009).

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Exactly 75 years to the day, Ferrari is celebrating its anniversary at the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena by opening the doors to Ferrari Classiche –a unique department that the public usually never sees. Set up in 2006, it offers owners an exclusive service designed to protect the priceless heritage that classic Ferraris represent.

“Ferrari Forever” presents the work this department carries out and the services it offers – like the Certification of Authenticity, reserved for all Ferrari road cars, sports cars and prototypes over 20 years old. This allows owners to obtain an official document certifying the full authenticity of their cars.

The exhibition takes visitors through the fascinating maintenance and restoration carried out in Ferrari Classiche’s workshop – processes that bring cars of all ages back to their original splendour. This work relies on access to the foundry and machine tools that produced the original parts. None of this would be possible without the expertise of highly specialized technicians, who have in-depth knowledge of the secrets of Ferrari engines and the unique features of each model.

There is a particular focus on the Historical Archive, a perfectly preserved collection of the assembly sheets of every Ferrari produced since 1947. Access to the Archive ensures that all Ferrari Classiche’s work conforms exactly to the original designs.

The story of Ferrari Classiche’s work is complemented by 15 officially certified cars on display, including some restored by the Department itself.

The essence of Ferrari’s history can be found in these vehicles, which embody the marque’s sporting soul. There are unique Gran Turismo models like the 1956 250 GT Competizione Tour de France, by designer and coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti. The bodywork of some of Ferrari’s most alluring and victorious sports cars was shaped by master craftsmen at the Carrozzeria Scaglietti atelier. The 250 GT’s trophy cabinet is one of the most extensive in sports car history, having won a record number of victories in its GT Class.

Another example of rare beauty in the exhibition is the 1959 250 GT Cabriolet, built in limited numbers by Pinin Farina. Aimed at sophisticated clients who loved to frequent glamorous destinations on the Côte d’Azur and California, this elegant, open-topped Ferrari Gran Turismo offered balanced lines and a comfortable drive. It was seen at the world’s most exclusive events and played a starring role on the big screen in Hollywood films, and in the daily lives of leading actors and international jet-setters like Barbara Hutton.

In addition to the classic cars on display, visitors will also have the opportunity to admire unique artefacts such as an original “mascherone” from the 1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial. At the time, to make cars in line with the designer’s vision, coachbuilders would create a reference template to determine the vehicle’s final silhouette. The metal sheets used – mainly aluminium at Ferrari – were shaped by hand, and “sewn” together. This beautiful piece of automotive art is testament to the extraordinary level of craftsmanship that flourished at Ferrari between the 1940s and the 1960s.

To mark its 75th anniversary, “Ferrari Forever” tells the story of a tradition of excellence that transcends time – one that will continue to innovate and evolve into the future. It will also serve as a reminder that every Ferrari has the innate potential to become a future classic.

The exhibition will be open to the public at the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena from 12 March 2022 until 17 February 2023.

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Joe Huffaker, an icon of the sports car racing world since the 1960s, passed away peacefully in his Novato home, surrounded by family, on February 25, 2022.  He was 95 years old.  Born on Feb. 4, 1927 in Terre Haute, Indiana, at age 17 Joe built a roadster street car out of various donor cars from junkyards and drove it to California in 1944. In 1945 he enrolled in Marin Junior College (Now College of Marin) where he received an education and met the love of his life Jean Johannsen.

Joe found a job as a welder at Al Stein’s shop building midget race cars   where he learned a good deal about building cars which he would put to good use a few years later.  Joe was also a true talent behind the wheel of a race car having entered a few races a.k.a. “Harry Hotcake” back in those early days.  He built his first sports car in 1953, the Huffaker Marston Special which was followed by the more sophisticate Huffaker Knoop Special in 1956. His career took a major step forward when he teamed up with British Car Importer, Kjell Qvale, to form the BMC Competition Department in San Francisco.  The Huffaker Formula Junior and Genie Sports Racers were two very successful designs that came from this shop.  During this period he was considered the largest race car manufacturer in the United States.

In 1963 Joe designed and built three cars which all qualified for the big show at the Indianapolis 500, the Liquid Suspension Specials.  He was the first and youngest man to do so.  Joe ran his business, Huffaker Engineering, for more than 55 years in various locations between Marin and Sonoma Counties but most prominently at Sonoma Raceway (a.k.a. Sears Point).  Throughout the years his cars have won numerous Sports Car Club of America, International Motorsports Association and Trans Am championships plus winning countless individual races throughout the U.S.

Today, many of Joe’s cars have been restored and continue to race at historic car races in the United States, Europe, Canada, and beyond.  Joe won many awards for his talent including being inducted to the Infineon Raceway (now Sonoma Raceway) Wall of Fame in 2007 and the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame in 2017.  When not involved with his business Joe enjoyed playing golf, and shot a hole in one in his very first golf match!  He continued playing and over the years would regularly shoot his age.

Joe’s greatest joy was his family, to whom he left a lifetime of loving memories. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Jean (Johannsen) Huffaker whom he married in Larkspur, California on August 20, 1949 and remained inseparable.  He is also survived by his three children; three grandchildren and six great grandchildren.  Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Fred Huffaker and Rhoda Ann Baker Huffaker.

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Pen & ink and markers on 9″x 12″ (23cm x 30.5cm) yellow paper.

Paul Chenard
Automobiliart.com
paul.chenard@hotmail.com
1 902 817-9273
www.pinterest.com/automobiliart
www.facebook.com/automobiliart.ca

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Subscriber exclusive Photo Gallery from SVRA’s Feb. 24–27, 2022, Sebring SpeedTour at Sebring, Florida.

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 The Revival Cup’s calendar of the 2022 racing series is:

• April 8-9 | Mugello
• May 27-28 | Monza
• June 17-18 | Misano
• September 3-4 | Varano
• October 22-23 | Misano

For 2022 Canossa has expanded the series to include the Alfa Youngtimer Cup, a new category exclusively for Alfisti drivers owning a car built between the ’80s and the 2000s. The Youngtimer series will run at the Varano circuit on September 3-4, 2022 and the Misano circuit on October 22-23, 2022. The format of Alfa Youngtimer Cup will provide drivers with 1 round of 25 minute free practice, 2 rounds of 15 minute of qualifying and 2 races of 25 minutes each.

For more information and to apply to the racing series, visit alfarevivalcup.canossa.com

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The 1956 Jaguar XK140 credited with inspiring the racing career of McCluggage arrived in Daytona Beach last Friday and will be on display at the MSHFA, which is located on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway, throughout next week’s two-day induction celebration, the entirety of March’s Women’s History Month and beyond. The MSHFA’s sold out 34th Induction Gala Presented by Toyota Racing at the Shores Resort and Spa, March 8, will see McCluggage enshrined as the Class of 2022 At Large inductee.

The once-lost, now-found Jaguar will play a special role in honoring an extraordinary woman who broke gender barriers with legendary charm and merit. McCluggage, who passed away in 2015, was nicknamed “Lady Leadfoot” by motorsports friends and affectionate rivals alike. At a time when women were not often allowed into racing pits or close to any of the action in sports dominated by men, McCluggage toppled gender barriers by participating in the sports she covered. She was a groundbreaking, award-winning journalist known for her fearless ambition, unwavering tenacity and natural athletic ability.

A cofounder of Autoweek, she was the first journalist to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. McCluggage was also the first woman to receive the Ken W. Purdy Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism. 

“Denise’s role in publishing and sustaining Autoweek, nee Competition Press, during its infancy not only kept the publication going, but played a vital role in the growth of sports car racing in America,” said George Levy, President of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. “This is the car that inspired all of that for Denise. “This is the car that made her want to race, and we couldn’t think of a better or more appropriate piece of motorsports history to have on display at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America for Women’s History Month and beyond.”

The Jaguar – believed to be permanently lost by racing enthusiasts and automotive historians alike – was miraculously discovered unaltered after sitting in a garage for nearly three decades. Barnaby Brokaw, President and Founder of The Motorcar Society, considers the Jaguar to be one of the most significant “barn finds” of the decade.

“This is the car that American sportsman Briggs Cunningham (MSHFA Class of 1997) gave to Denise because he saw something special in her,” Brokaw said. “She was fiercely competitive and highly respected by her peers on and off the race track “Denise truly deserves the honor of being recognized by the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and it’s a special opportunity to bring her first race car here.”

McCluggage made her racing debut in the Jaguar at an SCCA regional in Montgomery, New York in August of 1956 at the age of 29. She won the Ladies Race outright and placed well in the larger race against much more experienced competition. McCluggage was the first woman to win the feature sports car event at Thompson Raceway in Connecticut with a Porsche RS in 1959, won the GT class at Sebring in Florida in 1961 with a Ferrari 250, and subsequently became the first female driver inducted into the Sebring International Raceway Hall of Fame.

“Denise was a pioneer and legend for her many talents – behind the wheel of a race car, brilliant writing and photography, and storytelling,” said Lyn St. James, the 1992 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and an accomplished sports car driver who will present McCluggage for induction. “To be able to see this fabulous Jaguar that was one of her first racing cars come back to life is wonderful. Denise was someone who never let a challenge go unmet. Guts and brilliance were her mantra. It is a great honor for me to be able to help induct Denise McCluggage into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.”

In addition to McCluggage, the MSHFA Class of 2022 includes the designer of the 1965 World Champion Cobra Daytona Coupes, Peter Brock (Sports Cars), record-equalling four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves (Open Wheel), the only person in history to win NHRA Top Fuel championships as a driver and crew chief, Dick LaHaie (Drag Racing), the Davidsons & Harley, founders of Harley-Davidson (Historic), “The Henry Ford of race cars,” NASCAR builder Banjo Matthews (Business), NASCAR cofounder and championship-winning team owner Raymond Parks (Historic), “The Cat in the Hat” who has masterminded more than 300 NASCAR wins, Jack Roush (Stock Cars) and motorcycle racing innovators who have won NHRA drag racing titles, AMA Supersport and Superbike titles, two Daytona 200s and more, Terry Vance & Byron Hines (Motorcycles).

For more information, visit the MSHFA at www.mshf.com

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Subscriber exclusive Photo Gallery from the Feb. 21-23, 2022, running of Brian Redman’s Targa 66 at Palm Beach International Raceway.

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The event will commence five days after the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and at the same time as Qatar’s hosting of the football World Cup, making the Middle East a mecca for international sports fans during this period. 1970s-themed, from the paddock and garages through to the spectators’ dress code, the event relives Formula 1 and Le Mans’ most exhilarating generations.

Last year there were two categories – for F1 and Group C/GT Prototype Le Mans-spec cars. The spoils in the former went to Oliver Webb in the Hesketh 308, the latter to the OC Racing pairing of Marc Devis and Martin O’Connell and their pink-painted Spice SE90. This year, the timetable has expanded to include two separate F1 categories and two for endurance machines. For F1 cars, the grids will stretch from 1970 to 1985 (race) and 1988 to 1994 (demo), sports cars from 1982 to 1993 which include Group C, IMSA and GTP cars (race), and GT and Sports Prototype beasts from 1994 to 2010. These categories represent golden eras for professional, boundary-pushing, evocative circuit racing.

Entries already confirmed include F1 champion John Surtees’ eponymous 1972 TS9B, the Le Mans-winning 1987 Rothmans Porsche 962, the legendary James Hunt’s first winning grand prix car, the Hesketh 308B, and the incredible 1995 Porsche 997 GT1. Many machines will be brought in from manufacturer museums and private collections from around the world, spinning their wheels in the Middle East for the very first time.

Dubai has a proud history of motorsport dating back to 1981, when the one-off Dubai Grand Prix attracted a jamboree of F1 demonstrations, prototype and sports car competitions, and a Citroen CX celebrity race in which Stirling Moss, Derek Bell and Dan Gurney jousted. One hundred and 20 cars were shipped over to Dubai for the event, the spirit of which the HDGPR emulates today.

The 5.4km-long Dubai Autodrome has been a mecca for the region’s petrolheads since its construction in 2004. Here, the 24 Hours of Dubai has become a mainstay. It’s also hosted rounds of the FIA GT Championship, European Touring Car Championship, A1 Grand Prix and GP2 Asia Series.

For drivers, car owners, fans and sponsors alike, the HDGPR is a unique and novel opportunity to come together in the desert and share their need for speed, whilst enjoying the fabulous hospitality for which Dubai and the United Arab Emirates is famous.

The weekend will include traditional music, dancing and marching bands, activities for all the family,
a paddock barber, classic car concours, a bicycle race around the track for competing drivers, and a gala dinner that promises to be a highlight of Dubai’s winter social diary.

Retro racing festivals and associated social events have proven hugely successful in other parts of the world, and Gulf Historic – organisers of the HDGPR – is bringing this opportunity to the Middle East.
In the coming years, it will expand beyond the UAE to other host nations.

For more information visit www.gulf-historic.com

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Few are aware the first supercar to feature a functioning example of Volkswagen’s unique “W” engine was not the Bugatti Veyron with its quad-turbocharged W16 engine. Instead, the earliest progenitor bore a VW emblem on its hood. With aerodynamic styling penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign, the striking W12 Concept Coupe that debuted at the Tokyo International Motor Show in 1997 was, just like the Veyron, an out-and-out supercar. Perhaps even more significantly, it broke the traditional notion that a Volkswagen had to be a regular family car, paving the way for range-topping luxury and performance models from the brand.

The W12 Concept Coupe was powered by a 5.6-liter W12 engine, made by mating two of the company’s compact and lightweight 2.8-liter VR6 engines on a common crankshaft. When married, the W12 made 414 horsepower, which was channeled through Volkswagen’s Syncro all-wheel drive and a six-speed sequential transmission.

The W12 was a hit—at least in concept form. Though it never made it to series production, Volkswagen’s first supercar utterly exemplified the term. Its windshield was a single sheet of specially-curved glass that stretched all the way through the end of the roofline, splitting double gullwing doors and blending directly into a glass engine cover that allowed a view of the mighty W12 beneath. With the flames stoked, a roadster variant was unveiled in 1998 at the Geneva Motor Show.

It would be another three years before reasoning for the earlier prototypes’ existence became clear. In 2001, Volkswagen announced it would attempt to set the 24-hour speed record at the 7.8-mile Nardò Ring in southern Italy. The W12 Concept Coupe seen in auto shows had evolved significantly—the W12 engine was enlarged to six liters, which, among other mechanical differences, resulted in power leaping to 591 horsepower. It did away with the coupe concept’s all-wheel drive system, and tipping the scales at a scant 2,646 lbs, it sprinted from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds.

On the ground in October 2001, the W12 was instantly in its element, clocking an average speed of 183.5 miles per hour over 4,402 miles, shattering the World Record. The feat was particularly astounding considering it was the first real trial of the first road-going VW Group W engine ever. As remarkable an accomplishment as it was, the team knew the W12 still had more to give.

Fewer than four months later, on February 23, 2002, they would return to see the W12 Nardo cover a distance of 4,809 miles and sustain an average speed of 200.6 miles per hour. If there was any question about the durability of the W-series engine, it was answered at Nardò that day. In achieving this astounding average speed, the W12 Nardo set seven world records and 12 international class records in the process.

Volkswagen could now lay claim to nine of 12 world records relating to distance and time. The additional two were set by the ARVW (Aerodynamic Research VW) in 1980. According to the Federation International de l’Automobile (FIA), all nine world records stand to this day.

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