Targa… Fuori! After the victory of Merzario-Munari in a Ferrari 312PB in 1972 (in front of an Alfa 33 of a certain Helmut Marko, partnered by Nanni Galli, who drove a fantastic race with the best lap of all times), the Scuderia fielded two prototypes in Sicily for the 1973 edition of the legendary race, […]
Post Type Archives: Events
On public roads
The 1970 Targa Florio was an endurance race that was held on a 71.8 km (44.6 mi) ant-clockwise circuit made up entirely of public roads on the mountainous island of Sicily (Italy). Porsche introduced the light and nimble 908/03, which was perfectly suited to the twisty and demanding circuit. Porsche Motorsport chief Ferdinand Piëch (a grandson […]
Monaco in yellow
In 1987, the signing of a deal with engine builder Honda was followed by a change in sponsor: the black and gold livery of JPS was replaced on the Lotus by the yellow of cigaret brand Camel, who brought a substantial budget that was supposed to enable the team to raise it’s game and give […]
Swastika
In February 1939, Rudi Caracciola was bettering all the land speed records on the highway between Dessau and Bitterfeld, reaching 398,230 km/h on the launched kilometer and 399,561 km/h on the mile, aboard a Mercedes W154 equipped of a V12 engine with 468 hp and a specially designed body … featuring … the nazi emblem […]
“Not a lucky win”
“It’s definitely a special day”, declared Zak Brown after Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris crossed the finishing line, in a sensational 1-2 for McLaren. Indeed, it’s been 3213 days (!) since the last McLaren F1 Grand Prix win – Jenson Button at Interlagos in 2012. Lando Norris added: “All weekend we’ve just done a very […]
A very special Lord
Having dropped out of school to pursue his interest in cars, Lord Alexander Hesketh launched his own Formula One team, with his own money in 1973. Le Patron (picture above, at Monaco in 1975) apparently tries a manoeuvre to protect James Hunt and the team from the hazards of Monaco’s social life. In vain, probably. […]
Vanwall in front!
Superb performance for the Vanwall drivers who captured the first three places and the front row of the 1957 Italian Grand Prix held at Monza. Stuart Lewis-Evans (car #20) was on pole, Stirling Moss (car #18) was second, and Tony Brooks (car #22) third (picture above). Bernie Ecclestone told a few years ago journalist Doug […]
Properly quick
James Hunt was a hugely talented racing driver. Properly quick and fearless, he was highly rated by McLaren team principal Teddy Mayer, with Mayer going on to say that he rated Hunt more highly than two-time World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who’d won his second title with McLaren in 1974. True, when Hunt lost his motivation, as […]
Mercedes Juniors
Early 1990, Michael Schumacher, along with Formula 3 rivals Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger, joined the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Sportscar Championship. It was an interesting development in their career, as most of their contemporaries competed in Formula 3000 on the way to Formula One. Indeed, Willy Weber, Schumacher’s manager, was convinced […]
Return match
Six months after Ford’s triumph at the Le Mans 24 Hours, recently so well documented in the movie “Le Mans 66”, Ferrari took a splendid revenge with an historic 1-2-3 at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. The photo finish, in the bright light of Florida, was even more impressive than the one taken under the […]