As my dad has also written about, my mom became obsessed with the Netflix show Drive to Survive, like so many other Americans who were clueless about the European-centric sport. One weekend, while I was home visiting my parents, I watched a few episodes with her, including the infamous “Man on Fire” episode that showcased Romain Grosjean’s life-threatening crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. I remember watching Grosjean pull himself out of the still-burning fire and thinking, these drivers are both insane and insanely impressive.

Suddenly, just like the start of a race, my love for the skill and artistry of racing went from 0 to 100 in a heartbeat, and my life changed forever.

I finally decided to take a break from the mind-numbing reality dating shows my father berates me for watching and sat down to watch Drive to Survive from the very beginning. Fourteen near sleepless days later, I finished the entire series and was fully hooked. Much to my father’s surprise, I’m now more of a rabid fan than either he or my mom! I follow all the drivers on social media, and I watch all the practices, qualifying, and races live, no matter the start time. I have my favorite team (Scuderia Ferrari), drivers (Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo), and even my favorite team principal (Guenther Steiner of Haas Ferrari).

Ultimately, I think what drew me into this sport was my love for the emotional and real human stories behind the drivers. In fact, my newfound obsession with following the drivers (and their fan accounts) even enabled me to stump my “Old Man” with an historical connection he wasn’t aware of. Shocking, I know.

One day, while on one of my deep dives into the F1 Twitter-sphere, someone posted a graphic comparing Fernando Alonso to Niki Lauda. I knew of Niki Lauda from watching Rush with my dad and from his death being documented in Drive To Survive, but I learned there are some mind boggling parallels between him and Alonso. Both Lauda and Alonso retired as two-time champions, in 1979 and 2018, respectively.  Both drivers retired and then returned to F1 after two seasons out, in 1982 and 2021. Both drivers, in their third season after coming back, were with British teams (McLaren and Aston Martin), and both cars had a German engine (TAG-Porsche and Mercedes). For Lauda, this third season post-return with McLaren led him to winning the Driver’s Championship. With all of the stars appearing to align, and Alonso getting third place on every podium thus far this season, will he have the same victorious season ending as Lauda?

It’s still too early to tell, but there are plenty of races for Alonso to continue to get points ahead of the Red Bull drivers. Or better yet, plenty of time to win his first race in 10 years, with his last win being in 2013 at the Spanish Grand Prix with Ferrari. For the sake of the story (and, honestly, to push Red Bull down a peg), I hope Alonso really is able to follow in the historic footsteps of Lauda. The only thing that would be more compelling to me is Charles Leclerc winning the Driver’s Championship with Scuderia Ferrari in honor of his late godfather Jules Bianchi (with current leader Max Verstappen falling victim to the “Bahrain Curse”!) But that’s a story for another day.

Speaking of Alonso, he took Twitter by storm last week when he posted a hilarious response to George Russell after regaining third place in Saudi Arabia.

Despite marinating in racing for most of her young life, Gillian Annis is an Executive Assistant in television production at NBC/Universal… and daughter of Editor-in-Chief Casey Annis

The post How I Stumped My Old Man with Alonso and Lauda appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

One of my favorite automotive books is Doug Nye’s “Motor Racing Mavericks”. Published in 1975, it explores failures—high-end failures—in Grand Prix and IndyCar racing. “Failures” is a harsh word to apply to some; no turbine car won at Indy, but in 1967 Parnelli Jones came within three laps of victory when a $6 bearing failed. Turbine cars were banned along with four-wheel drive to which they were particularly suited.

Some came into the category of “what were you smoking when you thought of that?” Augusto Monaco was an Argentine engineer who relocated to Italy and who made his name in 1932 with a hill climb special nicknamed Chichibio, which he constructed with Enrico Nardi.

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Now available on Netflix is “A Life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story.” The 92-minute movie originates in Argentina and so it is no surprise that it is more fanzine tribute than balanced assessment. Air-brushed out is Argentina’s dictator Juan Peron who, directly and indirectly, influenced Fangio’s career. So too is Fangio’s long-time partner, Andrea Berruet, who bore Fangio a son whom he refused to acknowledge. Paternity was established only after Fangio’s body was exhumed and a DNA sample was taken.

Ms. Berruet appears in many an after-race celebration but is never identified. The moniker, “El Chueco,” appears on screen several times but we are not told that it was his nickname from the time when Fangio was a useful amateur footballer and it means “bandy legs.” His contemporary drivers usually called him, “the old man.” Calling him “Maestro,” though he was one, is a recent invention.

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Bristol, once a significant marque, has relocated to the “Great Paddock In The Sky.” For some time it had been on life support and a car make in name only. In 2011, it had been acquired by Kamkorp a privately-owned small group of engineering companies, among them Frazer-Nash Research Ltd. This caused excitement in some sections of the motoring press, which is not renowned for its knowledge of history.

All but three post-war Frazer Nash cars had Bristol engines and Frazer Nash and Bristol Cars had once been partners, but the new bedfellow was Frazer-Nash, with a hyphen. Both companies had been founded by Archibald “Archie” Goodman Frazer (-) Nash but that was their only connection. Cadillac was founded on the remains of the Henry Ford Company, but Cadillac has no connection to Ford.

The post Bristol—A History appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

For most of my adult life I have lived within two miles of the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Between the last in-period race meeting in 1966 and the first Revival Meeting in 1998 it did not lie fallow. It was used for testing by F1 teams until 1982. It hosted club sprints and rallies, track days and was even used as a movie set (for “Dance With A Stranger”)

A few weeks before the first Revival Meeting, I was with Stirling Moss, Ken A. Gregory, Stirling’s former manager and a co-founder of BRP (British Racing Partnership) and Tony Robinson, once crew chief of BRP. Stirling expressed a wish to see the place where he had crashed in 1962 on the 23rd of April, St. George’s Day and the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. It was the first time he had returned to the spot.

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Before WWII, the company which became Jaguar was called Swallow Sidecars and it had diversified into making special bodies for cars, most notably for Austin Sevens. A Swallow body added about 15% to the cost of an Austin Seven, but was worth much more in street cred. In the 2018 movie, “Mary Poppins Returns” there is a standard Austin parked near the home of the Banks family but as the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious one flies off at the end, the Seven has a Swallow body. Gawd bless yew, Mary Poppins.

SS cars benefited from the styling genius of the founder, William Lyons, but were limited by bought-in chassis and engines. Many regarded them as All Show, No Go. Among their nicknames was “Wardour Street Bentley.” Wardour Street in London’s Soho district was home to theatre agents, movie companies, and the like. Lyons decided to make a car that would surpass any Bentley which at the time made sports saloons.

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Aston Martin has announced a collaboration with revived motorcycle company, Brough Superior, to make the AMB001, a limited edition track-only bike. It is unclear whether the 001 designation is a statement of future intent (up to 999 models or if it is a reference to 007.)

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For the majority of VR’s readers, 2019 has been the 50th anniversary of Formula Ford, although it actually started in England in 1967. The nativity stories vary, but most come down to racing schools putting a perky standard engine into a racecar to create something that students could use and which was a lot cheaper to maintain than a Formula Three car (the then entry level to single-seat road racing.)

If a new category catches on it is because it is right for its period. The 1960s was a time when affluence increased and motor sport expanded. The decade saw karting take off and race driver schools flourish.

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Bentley is to make 12 “continuation” examples of the supercharged 4.5-liter Birkin “Blower,” one of those cars whose legend far surpasses its achievement. For a time it could claim to be the world’s fastest car, but it was built for racing and in that context it must be regarded as a disappointment.

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One of the most memorable motor races I have ever seen was broadcast from the 1959 Easter Monday Goodwood Meeting and it was for 1100-cc sports cars. For three years, the class had been dominated by the Lotus Eleven, but the top three spots on the grid were filled by Lola, a new marque, with an Elva Mk IV in fourth.

Thanks to the Coventry Climax FWA engine, the 1100-cc sports racing class had become the category for the ambitious young driver with his eye set on higher things. The Lotus Eleven had seen off competition from at home, mainly Cooper, and overseas, mainly the Etceterini. It reigned supreme in SCCA events and they were important to all small constructors because America was where the money was. And not only had it won classes at Le Mans, it had broken the French grip on the Index of Performance. The Eleven dominated its class like no other car of its time.

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In a recent “Last Lap” [60 Years of the Upscale Mini] I considered the expensive customized Minis of the Swinging Sixties, which got me thinking about Mini specials. I cannot help but think of Minis since I now live in Oxford where the 10 millionth Mini was made recently. BMW has tried to make out that the Mini is a 60 year-old brand, but the first cars were launched, on August 26th, 1959, as the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Sev7en. Se7en – geddit? They had different radiator grilles and slightly different color options.

Austin or Morris, there were long-lost social nuances at play here. When works cars were run (by Ken Tyrrell) they were the Austin version (because of the Healey connection), but by the early 1960s, everyone called them Minis and even BMC dropped the very clever Se7en name.

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The Lister Motor Company has made “continuation” examples of the “Knobbly” Lister-Jaguar. An auction house has claimed that a car it was selling was the prototype Knobbly, so the Knobbly has become important. After the Knobbly came the Costin, but before the Knobbly there were three Lister-Jaguars best described as “Lumpy” though they had not one body style.

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This year is the 60th anniversary of the Morris Mini-Minor and Austin Se7en, and the Goodwood Revival will feature some examples once owned by stars of the period, including the odd Beatle. The Mini was praised for being egalitarian, which fitted the mood of the time when social barriers were perceived to be crumbling and people, such as hairdressers and photographers, became fashionable. In fact, like so much of the time the classless Mini was a myth and the well-heeled bought modified cars, and then Cooper models, not the basic pleb-mobile.

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Anyone who has studied literature will know about footnotes and the glossary of terms because the language is constantly changing. When Charles Dickens referred to a “chairman” he did not mean a nabob on a board of directors, he meant a guy at one end of a sedan chair. As governments become ever more keen on low emission vehicles, electric power seems destined to rule so future editions of current books may have footnotes to explain what a supercharger was, literally and metaphorically, and not to be confused with boosting electric vehicles.

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We are frequently told that Formula One is at the cutting edge of technology, but that has been true only occasionally, most recently with new heights being reached in the thermal efficiency of engines. This is something we cannot see and how it is achieved is something that not all of us can understand. Most innovation has come from other categories; slick tires, for example, were used in drag racing and karting years before they appeared in F1.

The first Formula One, in 1948, was not leading edge, it was a pragmatic compromise. Germany was banned from international motor sport until 1950 and what remained were various pre-war voiteurettes and a few—mainly French—Grand Prix cars which is why the formula was 4,500-cc, normally aspirated or 1,500-cc supercharged and that was the entire rule book except that cars should be painted in the national livery of their entrants.

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Most people when launching a new product normally try to come up with a new name to reflect innovation.  Then it comes to cars, however, there is a trend to resurrect a name from the past so we have had Allard, Connaught, Osca, Lea-Francis, Jensen, Invicta, Spyker, Ermini and that is just scratching the surface.  It does not matter that the original went bust, sometimes several times and that is also the likely fate of the revival, people will revive defunct names.   Sometimes, not always, the new project has bought the rights to the old name because old companies do not always die but can exist in a limbo.  Mike Cooper, son of John, bought the family firm, Cooper Cars, for a hundred pounds.  He obtained just the name and the original logo, no plans or hardware, though there has been a huge sentimental bonus.

The 2019 Geneva Motor Show saw the debut of the Hispano Suiza Carman, an electric vehicle with 1,050 bhp and retro styling which divided opinion.  There exists, however, another Hispano Suiza also boasting more than 1,000 bhp, this time from a turbo-charged Audi engine, and also with a US$1.5 million price ticket and styling which has not received unanimous approval.  The Austrian behind this venture claims to have bought the original firm and there are famous names in abeyance – I know someone, Peter Schomer, who has bought several, including Coventry Climax.

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Once upon a time in a bar…well, near a bar…I was talking to a couple who had just bought a new Bentley, a name so famous in motor racing circles that even I, not normally given to huge enthusiasm for motorway cruisers, started asking questions about the technical specs. “Actually,” the friend told me “until my wife suggested we look at it, I had never heard of a Bentley.” Now this came as something of a shock to me, but then I realized that while we revere the name and particularly the history of the make, there are many “out there” who have little, or mostly no, knowledge of W.O. Bentley and his many achievements.

Some of the longer established manufacturers with a significant history do like to make much of it, as a way to reinforce their bona fides as proper automotive engineers, and set their PR department chaps and chapesses to the task of weaving into their current publicity, the fact that they have been providing horseless carriages to the nobility and gentry since the birth of the automobile. These people, who might be described as “PR wallahs“ by one of my predecessors, the inimitable Dr. Lawrence (is the collective noun for these folk “a wallah of PR persons”) churn out reams of breathless prose, unfortunately not all of it accurate. But, I digress.

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A recent visit to the famous Donington circuit in England, for the launch of a wonderful book about the history of the place, got me to thinking of many other great circuits of yesteryear and what has become of them. Donington, which was Britain’s first road racing circuit, survives albeit not exactly in its original shape, but very close to. After the glorious years when the German Silver Arrows, the Mercedes and Auto Unions, raced there (Nuvolari won the 1938 event) the track was requisitioned by the British army as a vehicle storage facility, and post-war they were reluctant to leave. To remove all those thousands of inoperative, mouldering, old vehicles must have appeared too daunting a task for the military. However, one day they were finally gone, and Tom Wheatcroft was able to purchase the property and restore it to a proper racing circuit, as near as was practical to the original layout.

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There is an old maxim which says America and Britain are two countries divided by a common language and in the automotive world this does seem to hold true. Not having been born in America, nor in England, I can see the broader picture with what I believe to be some slightly amused detachment. In spite of the fact that America was at one time a British colony, and but for a little spat over taxes might still have been (in this case it might have been cheaper in the long run to have stuck with the King!), the differing versions of the English language grow ever further apart. Leaving aside the American decision to move the steering wheel from the right-hand side to the left-hand side of the car, we have those little peculiarities where the luggage space at the rear of the car is called a “boot” in England, but a “trunk” in the U.S., and the large lift-up panel at the front changes from British “bonnet” to American “hood.” I guess in clothing terms those are much the same. Windscreen  in English changes to windshield, so once again not a great deal of difference in that one. Further along we have engine (English) and motor American. I could go on.

However, it is in the area of motor racing, or as you guys say, auto racing, where we discover so many variants. I say “you guys” because having been raised a British subject I learned the British nomenclature long before I ever encountered the U.S. versions. It was when I first arrived in America, as a Can-Am mechanic, that I began to learn this second language. Initially, just the simple ones such as an anti-roll bar being called a sway bar, and a gear lever being called a shift lever (and understanding the breakfast question, “Ya’all want some grits?”) but then we moved on to things like “jounce” (you what?), which turned out to mean “bump.” Brake pads translate into pucks, brake discs turn into rotors, exhaust pipes turn into headers, trumpets become stacks – the list goes on. A British crown wheel and pinion is called “ring gear” in the U.S., and an engine (motor) sump seems to be commonly known as an oil pan. In Britain an oil pan is the container into which you drain the oil from your engine or gearbox.

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Do you like your racing cars to be aesthetically pleasing? Most people do, me included. So how do we finish up with so many ugly cars? Probably a variety of reasons, starting with the fact that not all stylists have the requisite eye for line, that the regulations have forced designers down the “ugly” route, or that some folks just don’t care as long as the car is practical, and hopefully, fast. Of course, there is the well-established view that a winning car always looks beautiful. Not totally true, but certainly a winning way can help to transform the ugly duckling or pigs ear into something more pleasing. As with human relationships, not all people have the same view of beauty and so not every wife is Miss Universe, nor every husband Mr. Universe. Apparently, there is someone for everyone out there and so it is with cars.

My thoughts on the subject have been prompted recently by Ross Brawn’s working group showing off renderings of proposed new Formula One cars, which I find very much more attractive than the current machines, particularly their noses with a myriad of “gadget and widgets” hanging all over. Even more strange are the WEC cars, with the domed top and all the other appendages. These are perfect examples of how manufacturers are swept into a funnel by the wording of the regulations and finish up with ugly vehicles. Even some of the so-called Supercars are getting a bit freaky now, and even worse some of the every day cars are also starting to sprout odd appendages.

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As the calendar year moves into its second half, we come to what motor racing calls its “Silly Season,” when there arises lots of conjecture about who will drive for who in the next year or two. Actually, I think the silliest part of it is the name. Why “silly”? It is a natural reshuffle and realignment of driver positioning, as well as sponsor requirements, mostly logical, but giving journalists and paddock gossips the opportunity to speculate and fantasize about what might happen, or in many cases what they would like to happen.

For the drivers, always seeking to better their position, upon coming to the end of a current contract there is the opportunity to move to what they perceive to be a better team, with a better status. At one time the ideal was to sign as a No 1 driver, which meant that one was afforded the best of the equipment and had first call on any spare car, or newer component. In these days of bigger, richer teams there is less need of that status as there is usually plenty of everything to go around. So any No 1 driver label is both a reassurance of driver value, and to some extent an ego booster.

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For the Historic Formula Junior Diamond Jubilee World Tour (quite some title) it really was the “last lap” of this three-year long series, when they held the final races as part of the 2018 Silverstone Classic. I apologize for returning to the Formula Junior theme again (so soon?) but I think it is so special that this is warranted. Hopefully, you and the Editor will agree with me, as I make the case.

The concept of “one man and his notebooks” (wouldn’t that be a great title for a TV series), Duncan Rabagliati, this wonderful series has travelled all over the world, to all or almost all, points of the compass. Three years, 13 countries, and over 100 races, or was it 99 races to keep with the multiples of three?

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There is a small town in Lincolnshire, England, which became the home of not one, not two, but three major racing car manufacturers. Bourne (pop 15,000) a small market town up in “Bomber County” as Lincolnshire was known during WWII (due to the large number of bomber bases built on the flat terrain), has counted among its industries ERA (English Racing Automobiles), BRM (British Racing Motors) and Pilbeam.

Most of the roads in Britain were made either by the Romans – the straight roads – or by the wandering cows – the convoluted roads. Bourne was lucky enough to be the recipient of some Roman roads.

The post One Small Town appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

In the history of racing there have been formulae that quickly become popular and continue to grow, while others are launched, but for whatever reason, lack popular appeal and just fade away. Usually after a lot of money has been wasted on them! Who remembers F100, Formula Talbot, or even Formula Vauxhall? All well intentioned, but did not endure.

One that did endure was Formula Junior, which came into being in 1958, and just exploded in popularity. As is well-known, the category was proposed by Count Giovanni (Johnny) Lurani, who, with his many connections, was able to persuade the FIA to adopt it. The Count also persuaded the small Italian racecar manufacturers to support the new formula, and soon there were a good number of front-engine Juniors, mostly modeled on the great iconic Italian F1 car, the 250F Maserati. The rules were really very sensible, requiring that the engine block and cylinder head had to come from a production car, as well as the gearbox casing—and even the brakes.

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Remember when Hollywood used to produce the odd “fun” movie—in somewhat the same theme as “the Grand Old Opry?” A young guy (our hero) would be motoring along with his girlfriend in a sports car, usually a MG TC or similar, and suddenly he sees a sign telling him that there is a “Grand Prix“ in the next town. Naturally, our hero detours into town and pays his entry for the race. You knew what the event was by the huge banner stretched across the street. The full supporting cast was there, from the local newspaperman, with a Press sign stuck in his hatband, to the Race Announcer who delivered a line of chat worthy of the best muscle-car auctioneer, and of course the Mayor who, at least in his own mind, was the most important personage, all of them excitedly shouting about “The Grand Pree.”

With no need for inconveniences such as practice and qualifying, our man could just drive up to either the first or second row of the grid, then suddenly produce a crash helmet of the upturned chamber pot variety, which he plonked on his head, but naturally did not deign to fasten the chin straps. Lots of revving engines, the Mayor steps forward to drop the flag, and off they all go. The scene then changes from town, to countryside, to dirt track. Many are the troubles and challenges which befall our hero, not least from a couple of rascally opponents, one who looked like a Mexican airline pilot, with pencil moustache, and the other the customary tall, dour, gay Englishman driving a Jaguar (Jagwah).

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There comes a time, all too often in history, when there arrives the “end of an era,” and with the sad passing of Dan Gurney so it has happened once more. Dan was part of that wave of American drivers from the ’50s sports car racing scene who all arrived in Formula One at about the same time.

Carroll Shelby, Richie Ginther, Masten Gregory, Phil Hill and Dan. What a mark they made on the world of Grand Prix racing. As we know, they all achieved much, following on from their time as works Formula One drivers—Carroll with Aston Martin, Masten with Cooper, while Richie, Dan and Phil were mainstays of the Ferrari team for a time, culminating in Phil’s World Championship.

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Have you ever stopped to add up all of the different driver nationalities in motor racing and perhaps spotted a trend? It is an interesting study. As the world has shrunk travel-wise, so the mobility of younger people has opened up many an opportunity to them—which is by no means confined to motor racing, but which we will examine here.

So that we can cut to the chase, this overview needs to be confined to the top end of racing so, rightly or wrongly, we will stick to Formula One, IndyCar and WEC. Apologies to those who also serve, or served, in other categories, but the Editor quite rightly only allocates a certain amount of space to these ramblings and therefore we need to keep focused.

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Everybody has one…or rather lots of people have one. Lots of people think they should have one. Every business needs one and every government agency has one whether they need it or not. There are others—writers, photographers, bloggers, self-employed ladies, chefs, doctors and, of course, those with whom we identify, the motor racing enthusiasts.

Many and varied are the motor racing websites. Most teams have them, so one can find out all about their sponsors and drivers. The race organizers have them, so one can find all the details of the forthcoming events, and the clubs have them, with information on their aims and objectives, as well as a listing of their hierarchy and in some cases details of their membership.

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“Mirror, mirror, on the wall; Who is the fastest of them all?” Many are the racing drivers, fast and slow, who would like to answer “Me” to that question. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, the response to that has to be “No, it isn’t you.”

I usually try to stay well away from questions of this nature. Who is or was the fastest is a much-discussed subject, accompanied by large doses of subjectivity and often very little objectivity. We all have our favorites, usually chosen for their success in whichever era we followed most closely.

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Points are everywhere. Points of view, points of interest, points of land, Stableford points, penalty points, sharp points, blunt points, credit card points, airline points and many more. However, since this is a motor sport publication, we should restrict ourselves to the awarding of points for motor sports endeavors.

All racing series hand out points in greater or lesser quantities. Let us compare those of three main championships, NASCAR, Indycar and Formula One. The first two cover most of the field, and in the case of NASCAR, they are now awarding points at different stages of the race. Personally, I rather like that idea, for if somebody has led most of the race and then falls out near the end, he or she has at least been rewarded for all the effort made over the majority of the laps. A well-known, formerly racing-oriented publication has criticized this as being too complicated, but to a simple country boy like myself it seems very straightforward.

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