On this day in Motor Racing's past

Racing events, drivers, cars or anything else from the past.
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Everso Biggyballies
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#166

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Bottom post of the previous page:

Re Le Mans he is a regular in the Classic Le Mans ( a two driver, mini version of the real thing) In fact he has in the past entered a two car team in it, one for him and his wife to share, and one car for his two daughters to share! :thumbsup: :shock: :cool:

Not only has he banged out a few good tunes in his time, but he has also written a few good books :wink:

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
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BleedingGums
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#167

Post by BleedingGums »

Takuma Taku Sato

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Born 30 years ago.

Profile for Takuma Sato
Nation Japan
Town Tokyo
Birth 28 January 1977
FirstRace 2002-03-03 Melbourne
Last Race 2006-10-22 Interlagos
Races Run 70
Victories 0
Podium 1
Pole Position 0
Fastest Lap 0
Finish in points 12
Points 40.00
Seasons 5
Tracks 20
Teams 3





Japanese Formula One automobile racing driver.
Unusually, Takuma has very little racing experience in his native country. Although he began his karting career in Japan, Sato moved to England in 1998 to pursue a career in European racing. Through 1998 and 1999 he raced in Junior Formula races throughout the continent, moving to the British Formula 3 championship at the end of 1999. In 2000 and 2001 he pursued full seasons in British Formula 3, finishing third in 2000 and winning the championship in 2001, winning 16 races in the two years, plus international races at Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, and Macau.

In 2002 Taku graduated to Formula One, aided by backing from Honda to secure a ride with Jordan. In Formula One, Sato proved to be fast but extremely erratic and prone to crashes, his low point being a tremendous crash at Austria which destroyed both his car and that of Nick Heidfeld, though it should be said that it was Nick Heidfeld who caused the crash. The season ended well however, Sato managing to finish in the points at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, his home race.

2003, Sato moved to British American Racing (BAR) as a test driver, but drove the final race of the season at Suzuka in place of Jacques Villeneuve and managed to finish sixth. In 2004 Sato drove full-time for BAR and regularly challenged for the top five positions, achieving the second-ever podium finish for a Japanese driver (after Aguri Suzuki in 1990) by finishing third at the United States Grand Prix. He also achieved a commendable second place in qualifying for the European Grand Prix, behind only Michael Schumacher. His overall points tally suffered due to a series of mechanical problems, particularly with his Honda engine. The lack of engine failures experienced by his team mate, Jenson Button led to suggestions that Sato's driving style was a significant factor in causing the engine failures. Nevertheless Sato finished the 2004 season a respectable eighth (with 34 points), helping BAR to an impressive second place in the constructors championship.

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the mobile chicane annoys the champ

He was retained by BAR-Honda for the 2005 season but the 2005 car was not as close to the front of the pack as the previous year's design, and Sato then suffered further setbacks, first with an illness that caused him to miss the Malaysian Grand Prix, then with the entire team being disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix as well as banned from the two subsequent GPs for alleged cheating (more information at British American Racing article).

Before the inagural Grand Prix of Turkey, Sato was put on notice by BAR to improve his racing or lose his race seat. During his in-lap at the qualification for the Grand Prix of Turkey, Sato held up Williams driver Mark Webber during his single flying lap. Sato was penalized and moved to the back of the grid, eventually finishing out of the points in ninth position. The mistakes continued in subsequent races. Sato's home race in Japan, the race where he most needed a good result, was a particular low point as Sato was disqualified for causing a collision with Jarno Trulli.

At the close of the 2005 season Sato scored only a single championship point and finished a distant 24th (and last of all point scorers), whilst his team mate Jenson Button amassed 37 points, claiming 9th overall.

With BAR's announcement of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello as their drivers for 2006, Sato's F1 career appeared doomed. However, hope remains with the fledgling Super Aguri F1 team.

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#168

Post by CevertAngel »

Happy Birthday to Sato............... :thumbsup: :wave:
Always One Of Great Brilliance on the Track and Great Kindness Of It... - Francois Cevert (1944-1973) .... Loved and Missed Always,
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#169

Post by BleedingGums »

Birthday,
1979 World Champion.

Jody Scheckter

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Profile for Jody Scheckter
Nation SOUTH AFRICA
Town
Birth 29 January 1950
FirstRace 1972-10-08 Watkins Glen
Last Race 1980-10-05 Watkins Glen
Races Run 113
Victories 10
Podium 33
Pole Position 3
Fastest Lap 5
Finish in points 53
Points 255.00
Seasons 9
Tracks 25
Teams 4


He exploded on the scene as an erratic, crash-prone wild man whose desperate deeds of derring-do put himself and his peers in great danger. Jody Scheckter became infamous for causing one of the biggest accidents in Formula One history, after which there were demands that he should be banned from the sport. Instead, he straightened himself out and concentrated his considerable talent and ambition on becoming World Champion. Having achieved his goal (with Ferrari, whose next champion would be 21 years in the future), he quickly retired.

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Jody Scheckter was born on January 29, 1950, in East London, South Africa, where his father owned a Renault dealership. Jody worked there as an engineering apprentice and learned to drive when he was quite young, but only knew one speed: flat-out. This attitude naturally led him to try racing, at first on motorcycles and then in saloon cars. In his first national race he was black-flagged off the circuit for dangerous driving. Eventually he learned to temper his aggression with enough skill to become a regular winner. In 1970 he won the South African Formula Ford series and with it the Driver To Europe scholarship. With his prize - 300 pounds cash and air tickets to England for himself and his wife Pam - Jody set out to become the best driver in the world. That was always his goal but the route he took to achieving it was at first strewn with wreckage and many wondered if he would survive.

In England the 'South African Wild Man' quickly made a name for himself as both a spinner and a winner in the Formula Ford and Formula Three machinery he threw around fearlessly yet crashed with alarming frequency. His rugged features and pugnacious personality seemed to match his headstrong driving. With woolly hair and trademark frown he spoke bluntly and had a fierce temper. Yet his speed was undeniable and his car control, whenever he was able to maintain it, could be brilliant. Far-sighted talent-spotters thought the diamond-in-the-rough of a driver only needed polishing to become a Formula One force to be reckoned with. McLaren gave him a trial run in the 1972 US Grand Prix, then contracted him for occasional rides in a third car in the 1973 season.

In the French Grand Prix Jody immediately impressed by taking the lead at the start. Then came a collision with Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus, which sent the Scheckter McLaren somersaulting off the circuit and the reigning World Champion into a towering rage. This madman, fumed Fittipaldi, is a menace to himself and everybody else and does not belong in F1. The anti-Scheckter movement gained considerable momentum in his next race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
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Jody had qualified sixth and was fourth on the opening lap when the crowded field of 28 cars converged on the 150 mile an hour Woodcote corner. The Scheckter McLaren went out of control and spun wildly through the middle of the pack before thumping hard into the cement wall in front of the Silverstone pits. As Jody clambered out of the smoking wreckage, completely unhurt, the chaos he had caused continued for some time. Great clouds of smoke and dust obscured the details but there were glimpses of cars flying through the air and bits of wreckage rained down over a considerable area. Mercifully, the only injury was a broken leg suffered by the Surtees driver Andrea de Adamich, but eight cars had been totally destroyed and Jody Scheckter was held responsible for causing the most massive Formula One accident of all time. The Grand Prix Drivers Association's demand for his immediate banishment was put off when McLaren agreed to "rest" its rash rookie.

When he returned, for the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Jody immediately collided with Francois Cevert's Tyrrell, putting them both out of the race. Nevertheless, following this contretemps Ken Tyrrell signed Scheckter to replace the retiring Jackie Stewart and become Cevert's team mate for 1974. Sadly, this partnership would never be, as Cevert was killed in a horrible accident during practice for the next race, the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Jody Scheckter was the first driver on the scene and what he saw that day had a profound effect on the rest of his racing life. In fact, Jody said, "From then on all I was trying to do in Formula One was save my life."

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Jody Scheckter, Walter Wolf Racing WR1

Ken Tyrrell helped him iron out the kinks that remained in his racing repertoire, insisting he must stop making mistakes and concentrate on finishing races. With his aggression, and his Tyrrell, under more control Jody won two Grands Prix in 1974 and finished third in the standings. He stayed with Tyrrell for another two seasons, winning a race each year, but felt that Ken Tyrrell's machinery was not up to the task of winning the championship he so craved. He switched to the new Wolf Team in 1977 and won three races but then, after finishing second overall to Ferrari's Niki Lauda, Jody decided the Italian cars were the way to go and Enzo Ferrari happily hired him. "He is a fighter who does not burn himself up by coming on too strongly at the beginning," Enzo said of the mature version of Jody Scheckter, "but measures himself fully and evenly throughout a race."

Enzo's 1978 cars were not of championship calibre but it all came together the next year when, with the legendary Gilles Villeneuve as his team mate, Jody achieved his ambition. Jody and Gilles became close friends and thrived in a good-natured rivalry that produced three race wins apiece. The South African countered the French Canadian's superior all-out speed with a more conservative points-collecting strategy that paid off and made him the 1979 World Champion.

"This Scheckter," Enzo Ferrari said, "has shown himself to be a wise co-ordinator of his own capabilities and potential, a man who plans things with the final result in mind, or for safety. I'm not sure."

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In Jody's mind he had achieved the only result that mattered. He coasted through the 1980 season with Ferrari to fulfil his contractual obligations then retired at the age of 30. Already rich from racing, he became even wealthier as an astute businessman in fields far removed from Formula One racing. In America he founded a high tech security company then sold it and took time out to shepherd the racing careers of his sons Tomas and Toby before embarking on an organic farming enterprise in England.
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CevertAngel
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#170

Post by CevertAngel »

HAPPY BITHDAY JODY ! :twisted:

I know I try to be nice just for his birthday..........But for obvious reasons.......Including his Canadian GP accident with Francois Cevert which had done serious painful injuries to Francois ankles which could have had something to do with Francois Fatal Accident in Watkins Glen the next race. For that I will never forgive him for. Even if it wasnt bad enough to have something to do with it. I have never liked Jody because he is way to much of a rude , arrogant and stuck up , obnoxious asshole.
And I dont like that.Its not good traits for a person who is looked upto by so many fans. He should be nice to fans cause after all no fans, the races make no money. Race stops going to certain places because of Idiots like Jody. :angry:
Always One Of Great Brilliance on the Track and Great Kindness Of It... - Francois Cevert (1944-1973) .... Loved and Missed Always,
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#171

Post by BleedingGums »

Perhaps you could start a 'Bag Jody" thread then Christine... :dunno:
But being that this is the on this day thread, pehaps we may be able to reflect on Jody's legacy as a WDC... :roll:

Do you think we could do that??? :sarcasm:
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#172

Post by BleedingGums »

30th of January,

Rudolf "The Regenmeister" Caracciola


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Born 106 years ago.

Died 48 years ago. (28/9/1959), aged 58






Nicknamed "The Regenmeister" (Rainmaster) for his prowess in rainy conditions, Caracciola began racing as an employee for Mercedes-Benz in 1922. In 1926, he entered the first-ever German Grand Prix at the AVUS track near Berlin and promptly won the race, much to the amazement of the 500,000 spectators.

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He made history in 1931, becoming the first non-Italian driver to win the Mille Miglia, a feat not repeated until Stirling Moss' victory in 1955. In 1933, Caracciola, while driving a privately-entered Alfa Romeo, suffered a serious accident at the Monaco Grand Prix, seriously debilitating him for the rest of his life. He would forever after walk with a limp, as his shattered hip had left one leg shorter than the other. During his convalescence, his wife Charly died after being buried by an avalanche.

Nevertheless, Caracciola eventually recovered enough to take up racing once more, this time with the newly re-formed Mercededs Benz racing team. He went on to win the European driving championship three times between 1934 and 1938. As the two drivers who all but defined success for the two German car makers, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, Carracciola and fellow countryman Bernd Rosemeyer battled for supremacy year after year during "Silver Arrow" era of motor racing (1934-1939).


After spending World War II in exile in Lugano, Switzerland, Caracciola returned to auto racing in the late 1940s. Age and injuries took their toll, the love for driving was there but he did not have the success he had before the War. A second serious accident ended his comeback attempt well before the new Formula 1 championship was first contested in 1950. Caracciola died of a bone disease in 1959.

His legacy is that of one of the greatest European race car drivers of the first half of the 20th century and a person who overcame serious injury and misfortune to excel and succeed in the sport he loved. In that regard, but also in his almost unbelievable prowess in races held in inclement weather, Carracciola foreshadows the great German racing champion of the current era, Michael Schumacher.

In 1998, Rudolf Caracciola was elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Major career wins:

Avusrennen 1931
Coppa Acerbo 1938
Coppa Ciano 1937
Belgian Grand Prix 1935
Czechoslovakian Grand Prix 1937
Eifelrennen 1927, 1931, 1932, 1935
French Grand Prix 1935
German Grand Prix 1926, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1937, 1939
Italian Grand Prix 1934, 1937
Lemberg Grand Prix 1932
Mille Miglia 1931
Monaco Grand Prix 1936
Spanish Grand Prix 1935
Tripoli Grand Prix 1935



(apologies to the author of text below, I've lost his name)

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On the picture Rudi Caracciola seems a very pleased man and he had all reason to be. At Tripoli he was finally back on top after two years of pain and agony. When Michael Schumacher went into the tyre barrier in Silverstone, destroying both his leg and his GP season, he hardly was aware that a similar thing had happened to a fellow countryman 66 years earlier. By 1933 Rudi Caracciola was one of the top drivers in the world. He was a triple winner of the German GP and had as the only foreigner managed to win the Mille Miglia, a feat that only Stirling Moss ever managed to repeat. German born with an Italian name (his ancestors came from Sicily) Caracciola had been works driver for Mercedes-Benz since the early 20s, first as junior but later as their head driver racing their heavy 7-litre SS, SSK and SSKL cars. His driving style was very calm with perfect driving control and it was during bad conditions that his driving abilities came to its best. To the Germans he was known as "Der Regenmeister", the rain champion.

By 1932 however Mercedes-Benz had decided to withdraw from motor racing. In Germany the economic crisis was at its worst, the SSKL cars were outdated and there was no hope of building anything new, so Mercedes-Benz had to release Caracciola with a verbal assurance that he would return to the team when better times came. After a year as works driver for Alfa Romeo Caracciola decided to become a privateer. Together with his friend Louis Chiron he bought two Alfa Romeo Monzas and created the Scuderia CC.

The first race for the new team was at Monaco on 20-23 April 1933 and after having done 25 practice laps Caracciola's brakes suddenly failed while he was coming down from the chicane to the Tabac curve. Caracciola had to choose between the water and the wall and selected the latter. At first the damage seemed to have been restricted to bent metal and Caracciola rose to indicate that he was unhurt. But suddenly his legs failed and he collapsed. Caracciola was carried on a chair into the tobacco shop where the owner tried to console him: "Make yourself comfortable, the ambulance will soon be here. We have a very fine hospital here at Monaco, lots of famous people have died there." In the hospital Caracciola, who was afraid that the leg would become stiff, refused to be operated but the doctors had already come to the conclusion that Caracciola's racing career was over whether he was operated or not. The right thighbone had been crushed where it joins the hip. Caracciola was transfered to a private clinic where he spent half a year with his lower body in plaster before the slow and painful exercises trying to walk with crutches started. Day and night his wife Charly stood by his side until he persuaded her to have a day off to go skiing.

Then a new catastrophe took place. Charly was surprised by an avalanche and was found dead. Rudi fell into a state of deep depression. Rudi's friend Chiron and his girlfriend Alice Hoffmann took over where Charly had left off and finally managed to bring Caracciola back on his feet again. One year after his crash he was back at the wheel doing a slow lap of honour at Monaco before the race.

Mercedes-Benz was back in racing 1934 and Caracciola was signed on as driver but he was a total question mark. His right foot was shorter than the left and he walked with a stick. After some practice runs at Avus in great pain he made his comeback to racing at the French GP in July 1934 and showed before retiring that at least the speed was still there. He managed to take the lead in both the German GP and the Coppa Acerbo before having to retire in both races.

Caracciola's first victory came in the Klaußenpaßrennen mountainclimb in Switzerland. On such a short sprint with only 22 kms distance to cover he was able to stand the pain from the leg. Caracciola also won the Italian Grand Prix but it was a shared drive. At half distance Caracciola could no longer stand the pain and had to give over the car to Fagioli, who went on to win.

For the 1935 season Mercedes-Benz bettered their W25 cars with a new gearbox design and built a new chassis so that the team had two alternating sets of cars, each set consisting of 3 cars plus a spare. The senior drivers had the new enlarged 3.7 litre B type engine. The first race of the year was Monaco where Caracciola retired and then came Tripoli.

Libya had been an Italian protectorate since 1912. Governor was Marshal Balbo and he had connected the Grand Prix to a state lottery. Thereby he made the Tripoli GP into one of the most money filled racing events in the world. The ultra fast Mellaha track situated around a salt lake in the desert had also got its share of the money and was fully modern with the latest equipment and facilities and a grandstand second to none. Mercedes entered three cars for Caracciola, Fagioli and von Brauchitsch. To hinder sand and foreign objects to enter the supercharger the cars were fitted with a new air cleaner. As can be seen on the picture it consisted of two conical inlets surrounded by angled blades that deflected incoming particles into a collector and released them through a vent under the car. There were fears that the tyres would not stand the hot high-speed track. The main rivals were the Auto Union cars of Varzi and Stuck, and Nuvolari who raced Alfa Romeo's giant 6.3 litre "bimotore" as the race was run to the free formula.

Mercedes team manager Neubauer expected that Auto Union would try to make the race in two stops and calculated that with a three stop strategy Mercedes had to be 2.5 seconds faster per lap. The 40-lap race started off badly for Mercedes as von Brauchitsch was an early retirement and Caracciola had to come in after only five laps with a front wheel puncture. He made a new stop for rear tyres on lap 8 and was now down to a seemingly hopeless 10th position. But the other drivers had their fair share of tyre problems too and despite having a third stop on lap 16 Caracciola had reached fourth position at half race distance. At lap 27 Caracciola made his fourth and final pit stop but the pace of Caracciola's driving had been such that he sometimes had been as much as 10 seconds faster per lap as the leaders. So with a quarter distance to go he found himself in third position behind Varzi and Nuvolari. Now Caracciola was helped by the old rivalry between the two Italians. Without caring for their tyres the Auto Union and the Alfa raced side by side with neither of them willing to give the other any advantage. As expected Nuvolari soon had to make a pitstop and when Varzi also made a stop and remained in the pits with a jammed hub Caracciola took over the lead. Coming out of the pits Varzi took up the chase only to have a puncture on the last lap, just as he had reached the Mercedes.

Caracciola could celebrate his first real victory since the crash. Even more importantly, the pain in the leg had been tolerable - thirst had actually been a greater problem during the race. This turned out to be the first victory of six in a fantastic season that earned Caracciola his first European championship. He would become champion again in 1937 and 1938 before the war stopped all racing. A post-war comeback was interrupted by a crash at Indianapolis followed by another one at Berne, the latter one breaking his left leg and finally ending his career.

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Driver Rudolph Caracciola in a Mercedes W125 in 1937. In the 1930s, the German motor company, with drivers like Caracciola and Manfred von Brautsitch, was to challenge the Bentley Boys with its own supercharged engines.
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Car(s) Currently Owned: 1987 Ferrari Testa Rossa. 1968 Impa
Location: In Francois Cevert Heaven.Sharing a Cloud with Francois and Uncle Ken.
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#173

Post by CevertAngel »

BleedingGums wrote:Perhaps you could start a 'Bag Jody" thread then Christine... :dunno:
But being that this is the on this day thread, pehaps we may be able to reflect on Jody's legacy as a WDC... :roll:

Do you think we could do that??? :sarcasm:
Well true...............But before I bagged him I did say Happy Birthday to him............So.......... :tongue: ..............BG......... :haha: :haha:
Always One Of Great Brilliance on the Track and Great Kindness Of It... - Francois Cevert (1944-1973) .... Loved and Missed Always,
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#174

Post by BleedingGums »

Happy birthday,,,

Christian Klien

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Profile for Christian Klien
Nation Austria
Town Hohenems
Birth 7 February 1983
FirstRace 2004-03-07 Melbourne
Last Race 2006-09-10 Monza
Races Run 48
Victories 0
Podium 0
Pole Position 0
Fastest Lap 0
Finish in points 8
Points 14.00
Seasons 3
Tracks 19
Teams 2



Originally attracted to skiing as he was born into the heart of Austria's alpine region, Christian Klien eventually decided to live out his love of speed on four wheels.

The surrounding mountains provided the perfect playground for the young Klien, and it appeared that he may look to have a future in ski racing - until his father took him to a local kart race! Immediately bitten by the motorsport bug, Christian persuaded dad to buy him a kart of his own and the next three years touring Austria and Switzerland as he gained experience and, gradually, began to win trophies, including the Swiss junior title in 1996.

As soon as he was old enough, however, Klien moved into cars, starting with the 1999 Formula BMW Junior Cup in neighbouring Germany. He began with a bang, winning his first ever car race at the Sachsenring, before adding a further four victories en route to fourth in the overall standings.

The following year, he moved into the full ADAC FBMW series with Team Rosberg, overseen by 1982 F1 world champion Keke Rosberg. Regular top ten finishes were not enough to challenge for the title, but Klien was learning all the time and, in 2001, became a regular on the top step of the podium as he raced to third overall in the championship.

Formula Renault provided the next step, and Klien managed to squeeze in an Italian winter campaign with JD Motorsport before staying with the team for the full 2002 German championship. Again proving to be a quick learner, the Austrian won four races that season, eventually running out as overall champion. He also contested selected Eurocup races but, despite being the best-placed newcomer, could not gain enough points to rise above fifth overall.

With Formula Renault conquered, Klien moved up again the following season, joining the respected Mücke Motorsport team for the F3 Euroseries. Despite his inexperience with the more technical cars, the Austrian quickly proved to be one of the season's frontrunners and, while Australian Ryan Briscoe effectively dominated the points' race, Klien managed to sneak four race wins and five other podiums to end the season as runner-up. His biggest moment, however, came in the non-championship Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort where, against an elite international field, he controlled the race from the front and took the title.

Despite being expected to either shoot for the Euroseries title or graduate to the FIA F3000 series, Klien received an unexpected chance to jump straight into Formula One. His inclusion on the renowned Red Bull Junior Team programme had already marked him out as a prospective grand prix driver of the future, but brand owner Dietrich Mateschitz pushed for the Austrian to be included in the Jaguar Racing line-up for 2004 and, as a sponsorship deal between the two parties was looming, Klien was hired to partner Mark Webber.

The gulf between F3 and F1 initially appeared to have too wide for Klien to bridge, and he struggled to match his team-mate in the early races. A spate of mid-season retirements led to calls for him to be stood down in favour of more experienced alternatives - with McLaren's Alex Wurz among those mentioned - but Klien kept his head and raised his game as the year went on, eventually claiming his first F1 points for sixth place in Belgium.

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With Red Bull buying out the ailing Jaguar team for 2005, Klien's place in F1 was never in doubt. Ironically, however, his place in the first choice line-up was questioned, with many within the team looking to run newly-crowned FIA F3000 champion - and fellow Red Bull Junior - Vitantonio Liuzzi alongside David Coulthard.

In the end, Mateschitz suggested that the two young guns 'seat share', with Klien running the first three races of the year, and Liuzzi drafted in for the following four. Klien was then re-called and although he spent much of the rest of the year, wondering whether or not Liuzzi would get a second spell, the Italian never did and Klien kept the seat from the Canadian GP onwards, ending the season having scored 9 points in total - following top eight finishes in Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Turkey and China.

His reward was 15th place overall in the drivers' championship and confirmation that he would keep the drive in 2006, with Liuzzi transferred to Red Bull's new junior team - Scuderia Toro Rosso, formerly Minardi.

2006 despite promising much was actually a very difficult year for Klien - and in total he scored just two points, following an eighth place finish at the season opening Bahrain GP and another eighth place in Germany.

Indeed he retired on seven occasions and while he finished on his other six outings with the team, his next best results after his two eighths, were a trio of eleventh place finishes in Canada, Turkey and Italy.

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Following Red Bull's decision to opt for DC and Mark Webber in 2007, Klien was left high and dry and while Red Bull offered to continue to back him, this was conditional on him moving to either Champ Car or the DTM. Christian therefore turned his back on Red Bull and as a result was dropped by the team for the final three grand's prix.

Klien now moves to Honda, where he takes over the third driver role, vacated by Anthony Davidson, who has secured a race seat with Super Aguri-Honda.
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Everso Biggyballies
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Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#175

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

....and good luck to him there. Be some reward for his courage to walk away from a continuance with the Red Bul programme which I am more sceptical about every time I read the F1 news. Better off away from the politics and about face bullshit that we seem to hear more and more of , in both teams. I think in the end he was treated with little respect by a team that were unable last year to build a car to finish a race without a problem.

He would have taken the first podium for the team at Monaco, being ahead of DC when he was let down by the cars gearbox again. It seems like the gearbox (their own in house development) is their main problem this year as well. I might not rate Speed or Liuzzi that highly but I think the way they are being treated is a bit ordinary to say the least. I am also a bit puzzled in the way Gerhard is turning out..... its very out of character.... Klien is better off out of that team ultimately. Far too erratic in performance and management .

Anyway I digress. Happy Birthday Christian. May you soon be back in a race seat. :thumbsup: :wink:

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
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CevertAngel
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Favourite Motorsport: Formula One.
Favourite Racing Car: Ferrari (Present) and Tyrell (Past)
Favourite Driver: Francois Cevert (Past) and Kimi.
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Location: In Francois Cevert Heaven.Sharing a Cloud with Francois and Uncle Ken.
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#176

Post by CevertAngel »

Happy Birthday to Christian Klein and Rudolf Caracciola.......... :thumbsup:
Always One Of Great Brilliance on the Track and Great Kindness Of It... - Francois Cevert (1944-1973) .... Loved and Missed Always,
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#177

Post by BleedingGums »

Born on this day, 1932,


Tony Brooks


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Profile for Tony Brooks

Nation GREAT BRITAIN
Town
Birth 25 February 1932
FirstRace 1956-05-13 Monte Carlo
Last Race 1961-10-08 Watkins Glen
Races Run 41
Victories 6
Podium 10
Pole Position 4
Fastest Lap 3
Finish in points 15
Points 75.00
Seasons 6
Tracks 16
Teams 5


Born on the 25th February 1932 in Dukinfield, Chesire, Charles Anthony Stanford Brooks arrived on the Grand Prix scene in an unusual way. He started racing in 1952, and for three years he was a successful club racer, first with a Healey and later with a Frazer-Nash. He had no thoughts of making a full-time profession of racing, even after joining the Aston Martin sports car team in 1955. Aged 23 at the time, he was studying dentistry at Manchester University, and looming on the horizon were his Finals. The 1955 season had witnessed Brooks first "serious" racing, as he had shared third place with Peter Collins in the Aston Martin DB3S at Goodwood. At the end of July that year, he was invited by John Riseley-Pritchard to drive his Connaught A3 - under the Equipe Endeavour brand - in the London Trophy at Crystal Palace. Brooks finished fourth with the F2 car, behind the Formula One cars of Hawthorn, Schell and Roy Salvadori. On September 3rd, Brooks was again driving the same car in the Daily Telegraph Trophy at Aintree and was fourth again, this time behind Salvadori, Bob Gerard and Graham Gould. A fifth overall meant a win in the F2 class of the Avon Trophy at Castle Combe on October 1st, his third result of the year.

He then received a phone call from Connaught. "They were doing the Syracuse Grand Prix, they said, and would I like to drive one of the cars? Frankly, they couldn't find anyone else and they were scraping the bottom of the barrel. I had never so much as sat in a Formula 1 car before, but I rather absent-mindedly said yes, and put the phone down."

Perhaps it was fortunate for Brooks that he was preoccupied with his exams because on the flight to Sicily he worked on his books and didn't give a lot of thought to the race.

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With Ferraris absent, the favourites at Syracuse were three factory Maserati 250Fs, driven by Luigi Musso, Harry Schell and Luigi Villoresi. They had been very quick on the first day and it might have been some indication of Brooks's natural genius that he was soon lapping as fast as they were in a car that handled well, but was short of power.

"It wasn't terribly reliable, either," Tony said. "That old Alta engine had been developed to its limit, and the team's finishing record was awful. 'Don't do too much practice,' they said, because there were no spare engines, and they were terrified of not getting the starting money. Quite understandable, but it didn't really help me! When the Grand Prix started, I'd done no more than 12 or 15 laps."

By the end of it, he had won his first Formula 1 race.

After playing himself in, he took the lead from Musso on lap 11 and was never troubled again. "I was very pleased at the time, but it didn't really sink in. Quite honestly, all I could think about was my exams! I remember swotting on the plane all the way back, too."

After a wasted season with BRM, Brooks signed as number two to Moss in the Vanwall team for 1957, with Stuart Lewis-Evans as the third driver. Tony had no outright wins that year, but he did share victory with Moss in the British Grand Prix. A month before he had been injured at Le Mans and was by no means fit by the time Aintree came around. "I didn't break anything in the shunt, but I had very severe abrasions. There was a hole in the side of my thigh, and I could literally have put my fist into it." The day before practice began, Brooks was still in hospital, but he reported for duty on time, and remarkably qualified third, behind Moss and the Maserati of Jean Behra.


"I had no problem in going quickly, but I couldn't sustain it for long because I was weak after that time in hospital. In those days, of course, drivers could take over other team cars if their own had retired, and it was agreed that I'd keep going as quickly as I could, and that if Stirling had trouble he would take over my car." In the event, that is precisely what happened. After building up a good lead. Moss retired, took over Brooks's fifth-placed car, and put in a legendary drive to come through the field to win.

The Vanwall, according to both Stirling and Tony, was unquestionably a great car, but not an easy one to love. "Actually, Tony Vandervell thought his cars were a lot better than they were," Brooks said. "The Vanwall was quite a difficult car to drive, in that you couldn't chuck it into a comer, like, say, a Maserati 250F, and steer it on the throttle. You had to be very precise with it, and the gearbox was terrible."

Only at the Nürburgring were the Vanwalls off the pace through the 1957 season. Brooks, although fastest of the team's three drivers in qualifying, was 10 seconds away from Fangio, and in the race became ill, almost "seasick" as his car struggled to cope with the bumps.

This was the Grand Prix that went into legend, of course, as Fangio's greatest. The race in which, after stopping for fuel and tyres, he made up the best part of a minute on the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins, in the process lapping eight seconds faster than his own pole position time. "Une course d'anthologie," was how the French press described it, but a year later Brooks was virtually to duplicate it and his drive, the best of his life, has never received due tribute.

It was Vanwall versus Ferrari in 1958, but only Moss and Hawthorn were truly contesting the World Championship, for although Brooks was right there on pace (taking pole position - by a clear second - at Monte Carlo, for example), by the beginning of August there were only eight points on his tally, scored at Spa, where he won a Grand Prix 'on his own' for the first time. "I particularly loved Spa. I'd been there twice before with the Aston Martin, and had won both times. It seemed to me the essence of a true Grand Prix circuit, very quick and calling for great precision, with no margin for error at all. Stirling made one of his lightning starts, intent on leading all the way, and I've always believed that that day he was out to beat me as much as the Ferraris. I'd been to public school, where one learned that 'the team was the thing' and there was no way I was going to try and pass Stirling even if I might hustle him a bit. But I'm not sure he believed that, and he tore away, got as far as Stavelot and missed a gear!"

There was generally harmony in the Vanwall team, although Brooks admits being sometimes annoyed by the demands of Moss, the team leader. "I was never allowed as much practice as I wanted, because if I went quicker than Stirling they'd have to let him go out again, and all that did was to wear out the cars. And then he might want my chassis and his engine, or vice versa, which meant more work for the mechanics, so for David Yorke, the team manager, it made sense for them to keep this number two a few tenths slower. Stirling always made sure he had the best car, and if he thought he hadn't, he'd mix it! That said, we were always the best of friends, and still are."

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The situation at Ferrari was rather less clear-cut. Enzo's three full-time Grand Prix drivers for 1958 were Hawthorn, Collins and Luigi Musso and some people have said that if anything, the friendship between Mike and Peter was detrimental to the team's competitiveness. "They were such close mates, Roy Salvadori says, that they really didn't care which of them won. That may sound hard to believe in today's world, but it was true. And I don't think it was necessarily good for the impetus of the team."

At Reims Hawthorn gave the team its first victory of the season, but 10 laps into the race, Musso, chasing him, crashed at the flat-out right-hander after the pits and was killed. "I have won at Reims," Ferrari said, "but the price is too high: I have lost the only Italian driver of note." Then, two weeks later, the Ferraris finished first and second at Silverstone, with Collins this time the leading driver. Collins may not have been a model of consistency, but in the British Grand Prix he took the lead from the start, held off a predictably solid challenge from Moss and following Stirling's retirement, was never threatened.

To Germany, then, where Hawthorn took pole position, followed by Brooks, Moss and Collins. Awful as they may have been at the Nürburgring the year before, the Vanwalls were pretty well sorted by now. Problem was, as usual Brooks's practice laps had been restricted, and although his car was handling well with a light fuel load, he had run not so much as a single lap on full tanks. Whilst Moss raced away in the early stages therefore, Tony thought it prudent to sit back a while.

In the early laps Stirling shattered Fangio's supposedly untouchable lap record of the year before, but the Vanwall's magneto failed on lap four, leaving the Ferraris in front, followed by Brooks. "My car was diabolical on full tanks, and by the time it began to handle properly again, after four laps or so, the Ferraris were half a minute ahead. After another five laps, I was right with them. The Vanwall and Ferrari were pretty evenly matched that day. On handling, there wasn't much in it, on braking I was better than them - we had discs, whereas Ferrari were still using drums - and on horsepower, particularly at the top end, they had the edge on me. My problem was that, although I was quicker overall, the last part of the lap was that long, long, straight, and although I knew I could get by them, so also I knew that they could pass me again at that point. My only hope was to snatch the lead very early in the lap, and pull out so much that they'd be too far back to slipstream me at the end of it. And eventually, that worked out." At the beginning of lap 11, Brooks outbraked Hawthorn into the South Turn and then swiftly got past Collins, who had led since the retirement of Moss. That done, he put everything into building the lead he needed to be out of reach on the straight.

"The tragedy was that Peter, trying to stay with me, overdid it and had his fatal accident. Obviously, I felt pretty bad about it at the time, although I didn't feel responsible or anything like that." Collins crashed at Pflanzgarten, turning into the uphill right-hander a little bit too fast, a little bit too wide, a little bit too late. The Ferrari went off the road, hit a bank and somersaulted, throwing the driver out against a tree. Eventually, he was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Bonn, but did not survive the journey.

Brooks knew nothing of this. "I finally reached the straight at the end of the lap, then looked in my mirrors to see if the Ferraris were still in touch. As it was, there was no sign of Peter, and Mike was a long way behind. I assumed that Peter's car must have blown up, and my immediate reaction was one of great disappointment - for me, the Nürburgring was always the greatest circuit, and I was now really into the swing of things, and had been greatly enjoying our battle. It wasn't until much later on, after the prize-giving, that I discovered Peter had died before reaching hospital."

Having seen Collins's car go over, seen a blur of his friend being thrown out, Hawthorn drove to his pit at the end of the lap, reporting that his clutch had failed, and that he had anyway no inclination to continue. Although he was to finish the season for Ferrari - indeed win the World Championship - he decided almost immediately that he would retire as soon as it was over.

In Italy Brooks won again, with Hawthorn second, and Moss retiring. Three victories in 1958 all of them at classic circuits: Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring, Monza. Only Moss, with four, beat Tony's tally for the year, and yet both were beaten to the World Championship by Hawthorn, who won but once. The matter was settled at Casablanca, where Stirling could have done no more, winning the Moroccan Grand Prix, and taking the point then on offer for the fastest lap; in the closing stages. Hawthorn's new team-mate, Phil Hill, moved over, allowed him by for the six points he needed to take the title. Six years later, in Mexico City, Lorenzo Bandini would do exactly the same for John Surtees.

At the end of 1958, Tony Vandervell, sick at heart after the death of third Vanwall driver Stuart Lewis-Evans at Casablanca, decided to disband his racing team. And while Moss signed to drive for Rob Walker, Brooks became the latest Englishman to go to Ferrari.

It was a difficult year in many ways. Cooper's "rear-engine revolution" was underway with a vengeance and Ferrari, still front-engined, were hard-pressed to keep up on all but the quick circuits. For all that, Brooks remembered the 1959 season well. "It was a gorgeous car to drive, that Dino 246. Rather like a Maserati 250F in that you could drive it on the throttle through the comers. And its gearbox - after those two years with Vanwall - was a revelation."

Brooks's first victory of the year came at Reims in scorching conditions, where he simply drove away from the pack with a calm as relaxed as it was splendid.

This, by the way, was also the race where his volatile French team-mate, Jean Behra, finally fell out with the Ferrari management. "I didn't have any problem with Behra, but we didn't communicate much, because I didn't speak French and his Italian was not very good - mine was quite competent - but there were never any nasty words. I don't know what Behra's problem was. Perhaps he thought he should have been appointed number one driver. For my part, I just joined the team on the understanding that I was going to get a car as good as everybody else's. And at Ferrari I did get a car which was always the equal of my team-mates - which is more than I can say for my time with Vanwall."

Carlo Chiti, Ferrari's chief engineer, felt that Behra was cut adrift emotionally by Ferrari, having joined the team believing he would be designated team leader. At the Reims weekend, where he threw a punch at team manager Romolo Tavoni, he had got it into his mind that his Dino 246 was somehow mechanically deficient - and even reportedly made a protest to the sport's governing body to the effect that Ferrari had stitched him up, providing him with a chassis which had recently been shunted by Dan Gurney in testing at Monza.

"Jean was certainly not a very likeable character," recalled Chiti. "They called him 'the gypsy' because of his passionate temperament. He also had a particularly vulgar way of expressing himself. But the way he died led me, even so, to think deeply about it. We had completely abandoned that man to himself, with his brooding determination to win. We had obliged him to take refuge in his own desperation." Behra, who had led at Monaco before blowing up his Dino's engine, worked himself up into a fury of frustration over his disappointment with the season, culminating in his knocking out cold Tavoni in a restaurant at Reims on the evening after he had trashed another V6 engine.

As if that wasn't enough, he also had a major confrontation with a journalist in the same restaurant. "If you ever say that again, I'll punch you in the face," Behra threatened. He went to leave the restaurant, paused at the door and then back-tracked to the journalist's table. "I've just thought about this," he pondered. "It's not worth waiting for the next time." With that he duly punched the unlucky scribe in the face.

Enzo Ferrari may have been privately quite amused that a member of the fourth estate should have been subjected to such summary justice but thumping his own team manager was another matter altogether. The episode cost Behra his place in the Maranello line-up and the gallant Frenchman died soon afterwards when his Porsche sportscar crashed on the Avus banking during a supporting event at the German GP meeting.

Traditionally, the Grand Prix at Reims had been supported by at least one 12-hour sportscar race, but with the growing number of accidents attributed to driver fatigue the organisers decided to abandon this and restrict the supporting event to a Formula 2 race after the Grand Prix. In addition, practice was arranged for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, leaving the circuit completely clear on Saturday.

The first practice session started in ideal weather conditions and Brooks soon demonstrated that the fast Reims track suited the Ferrari. His lap times progressively quickened until he recorded 2m19.4 and only Moss, after a supreme effort, could get anywhere near him by going round in 2m19.9 in the BRP-prepared BRM. On Thursday evening Brooks and Moss did not bother to practice, being content to sit and watch the other drivers trying to improve their times. Hot weather intervened on Friday and times were generally slower.

Friday had been hot but Sunday was even worse and by lunchtime the tarmac on parts of the circuit was beginning to melt in the extreme heat. Before the start the drivers were permitted a short exploratory session and then lined up on the grid just before 2pm. As the flag fell Brooks went into an immediate lead but Behra stalled and, after everyone else had gone, had to be push-started. In no time at all the cars were streaming down to Thillois hairpin where Moss moved into second place under braking. Past the grandstands the order was Brooks, Moss, Gregory, Brabham, Phil Hill, Schell, Bonnier, Trintignant and McLaren ahead of the rest but while Brooks continued to lead, the seven cars behind, in particular, were having a tremendous scrap. Quite early on, though, the surface at Thillois started breaking up and before long stones and lumps of tar were being thrown off car tyres. Not unexpectedly this began to cause problems with Ireland being the first to stop for replacement goggles. Then on lap 8 Graham Hill came into the pits with a stone through his radiator and only another lap went by before Gregory stopped with a badly cut face and suffering from heat exhaustion. Bonnier and Davis also retired with engine problems.

By lap 10 Brooks had opened up a 4-second lead but the position behind him was entirely different: Trintignant was now second followed by Brabham, Moss, Phil Hill and, almost incredibly, Behra who had come right up through the field. Trintignant was driving superbly and determined to stay with Brooks but on lap 20 he overdid it at Thillois and stalled his engine in the resulting spin. Although he managed to push-start the Cooper he was so fatigued that a stop at the pits for refreshment was necessary before he could properly resume. Just before the incident Gumey's first Championship race had come to an end with a pierced radiator.

With half-distance approaching Brooks had a comfortable lead but the situation behind him was as tense as ever for Phil Hill and Behra had both passed Moss and were now on Brabham's tail. As they approached Thillois for the 25th time Behra made his challenge for second place but overdid it, went wide, and had to fall in behind again. On the next lap Hill succeeded in passing Brabham but his team-mate overstrained his engine shortly afterwards causing retirement on lap 32. It was soon after this that Moss seemed to find renewed inspiration and began to close up on Brabham until lap 38 when he moved into third place. Now his sights were on Hill and, aided by a new lap record on lap 40, closed up rapidly. An exciting climax was in the making but then on lap 43 Moss got caught out at Thillois and, as his clutch had been useless since before half-distance, could not prevent the engine from stalling. Being unable to restart without outside assistance he was automatically disqualified. Seven laps later Brooks received the chequered flag but the scene at the pits after the race was like a hospital with nearly every driver suffering from cuts and bruises caused by the flying stones and tar, not to mention the heat.

So Brooks won at Reims, as Hawthorn had done, and also at Avus, site of the German Grand Prix that year, and he went off to Sebring, for the last round of the World Championship, still in with a chance of winning, like Moss and Jack Brabham. "Amazingly, we set the three best times in practice, but I had to start fourth, because a faster time was 'found' for Harry Schell, who was in an old Cooper. Actually, he'd taken a short cut on the circuit... On the first lap, I was hit by Taffy von Trips, my team-mate, in the rear wheel, and a change in my philosophy may well have cost me the title."

Brooks, like all the Grand Prix drivers of the time, literally never discussed safety. "The attitude was that the spectators had to be protected at all costs and that was it. The big attraction was driving a racing car on closed roads, and we accepted that the name of the game was keeping the car on the island. If you went off, you were in the lap of the gods. You might get away with it, you might not. Nobody will persuade me that there isn't more of a challenge to the driver if he knows he might hurt himself if he goes off the road." For all that, Brooks did not believe in adding to the dangers of his profession. "My philosophy changed somewhat when I was thrown out of the wretched BRM at Silverstone in 1956, and completely after the Aston flipped at Le Mans the year after. In both cases, there was something wrong with the car, and I knew it. Eventually I made a firm mental decision never to try to compensate for a car's mechanical deficiencies: if something wasn't working properly, too bad. I always felt that it was morally wrong to take unnecessary risks with one's life because I believe that life is a gift from God. I don't want to get theological about it, and thousands will disagree, but that's my view: I felt I had a moral responsibility to take reasonable care of my life."

"After von Trips had run into me at Sebring, my natural inclination was to press on. Believe me, that would have been the easiest thing to do, but I made myself come in to have the car checked over. I lost half a lap doing that, and still finished third. As it turned out, Moss retired that day, and Brabham ran out of fuel near the end, so probably my coming in cost me the World Championship. Still, in my own mind, I think I did the right thing."

Brooks was never to win another Grand Prix. He admits he never had the dedication of a Moss and by the end of 1959 was already looking to a life beyond motor racing. To that end he bought a garage in Weybridge, Surrey, and decided, in the interests of building up his new business, it would make more sense to drive for a British team. Therefore, much to Enzo's regret, he left Ferrari, and drove outdated Coopers for the British Racing Partnership (with a rare one-off Vanwall drive in France) in 1960 and outclassed BRMs the following year. Third in his last race, at Watkins Glen in 1961, he announced his retirement.

Today Moss says that if he were running a Grand Prix team, and could have any two drivers from history in his cars, they would be Jimmy Clark and Tony Brooks. "I suppose that my choice of Tony would be a surprise to some people, but to my mind he is the greatest 'unknown' racing driver there has ever been - I say 'unknown', because he's such a modest man that he never became a celebrity, as such. But as a driver, boy, he was top drawer."
Last edited by BleedingGums 17 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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#178

Post by BleedingGums »

On this day 1944

Francois Cevert


Image


Born 63 years ago.
Died 34 years ago. ( 6 / 10 /1973) , aged 29



Profile for Francois Cevert

Nation FRANCE
Birth 25 February 1944
1973-10-06
FirstRace 1969-08-03 Nurburgring
Last Race 1973-10-07 Watkins Glen
Races Run 48
Victories 1
Podium 13
Pole Position 0
Fastest Lap 2
Finish in points 19
Points 89.00
Seasons 5
Tracks 22
Teams 3


Cevert was one of the most colorful racing drivers of the early 1970s. In the tumultuous, tragic arena that was Formula One racing at the time, few showed more flair and promise, and no one ended his career more heartrendingly than Cévert, the son of a Paris jeweler and brother-in-law of Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise.

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After winning the French Formula 3 Championship in 1968, Cévert joined the Tecno Formula 2 team and finished third overall in 1969, driving in the F2 class of the German Grand Prix. When Jackie Stewart had a hard time getting around Cévert in an F2 race at Crystal Palace the same year, Stewart told his team manager Ken Tyrrell to keep an eye on the young Frenchman. The following year, when Johnny Servoz-Gavin suddenly retired from the Tyrrell Formula One team three races into the 1970 season, Tyrrell called upon Cévert to be his number two driver, alongside defending World Champion Stewart.

Over the next four seasons, Cévert became the veteran Stewart's devoted protégé. After making his debut at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in Tyrrell's second customer March-Ford, he increased his pace and closed the gap to Stewart with virtually every race. He earned his first World Championship point by finishing sixth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

In 1971, with the Tyrrell team now building their own cars, Cévert finished second in France and Germany, both times behind team leader Stewart. Then, in the season-ending United States Grand Prix at the newly-extended Watkins Glen race course, the Frenchman earned his first and only Grand Prix win:

Having started from fifth spot, Cévert took the lead from Stewart on lap 14 as the Scot's tires began to go off in the 100° heat. At about half-distance, Cévert finally began to struggle with the same understeer that had plagued Stewart much earlier. Jacky Ickx was closing, and his Firestones were getting better as the race went on. On lap 43, Ickx set the fastest lap of the race, and the gap was down to 2.2 seconds. Then, on lap 49, the alternator on Ickx's Ferrari fell off, punching a hole in the gearbox and spilling oil all over the track! Denny Hulme's McLaren hit the oil and spun into the barrier, bending his front suspension. Hulme was standing beside the track when Cévert came by and also slid off and hit the barrier, but he kept going, now 29 seconds in the lead! Cévert coasted home, taking both hands off the wheel to wave as he crossed the line.

Cévert became only the second Frenchman to win a Grand Prix (Maurice Trintignant won at Monaco in 1955 and 1958), and it was the high point of his career, helping him take third place in the 1971 Driver's Championship behind Stewart and Ickx. Great expectations for Cévert, Stewart and Tyrrell were not fulfilled in 1972 as Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus won the Driver's and Constructor's Championships. Cévert finished in the points only three times, with second places at Belgium and the US, and a fourth at his home race in France at the Clermont-Ferrand circuit. One bright spot in a disappointing year for Cévert was his second place finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans, driving a Matra-Simca 670 with New Zealand's Howden Ganley.

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In 1973, the Tyrrell team was back on top in Formula One and Cévert showed he was capable of running with Stewart at almost every race. He finished second six times, three times behind Stewart, who acknowledged that, at times, the Frenchman had been a very "obedient" teammate. As Cévert began to draw even with Stewart's driving abilities, the Scot was secretly planning to retire after the last race of the season in the United States.

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For the 1974 season, Cévert would be Tyrrell's well deserving team leader. Tragically, at Watkins Glen, with Stewart having already clinched his third World Championship, Cévert was killed during Saturday afternoon qualifying while battling for pole position with Ronnie Peterson. He was 29 years old.
Last edited by BleedingGums 17 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
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#179

Post by BleedingGums »

Also born on this day, a true legend if ever there was one! :thumbsup:

William Joseph Dunlop MBE and OBE
1952-2000


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“KING OF THE ROADS”
A tribute by Stuart Christian


Say the name Joey Dunlop to any true bike fan in almost any part of the world and they will know instantly who you are talking about. Not some here-today-gone-tomorrow, manufactured “superstar” with an ego to match his pay-cheque, but a quiet, shy part-time publican from a small town in Northern Ireland.

“The world’s greatest living sportsman”, the words of Big D, Ireland’s loudest commentator are an apt description of this most remarkable of men. William Joseph Dunlop MBE OBE, is the greatest motorcycle racer that has ever lived. I say that without shame or without doubt.

He was, and will remain, a hero to hundreds of thousands of people, young and old alike, in every far-flung corner of the world. He inspired generations of young Irishmen to take up motorcycle road racing, and can almost single-handedly take the credit for the strength of the road racing scene today.

But Joey wouldn’t dream of it. In fact he would be embarrassed beyond belief at the very mention of such a notion. The man was modest almost to the point of self-denial. He never wanted the limelight, the fame or the attention. Joey was a reluctant hero. He just wanted to race bikes and to win.

The Dunlop legend all started rather inconspicuously aboard a £50 Triumph Tiger Cub at Maghaberry in 1969, “as a bit of fun with my mates”. It was the mid 1970’s before Joey established himself as a regular winner, and from that point on, he never looked back. He entered his first TT race in 1976: “It was wet, I rode a 250, and I’d never been round the circuit before, even in a car. I remember coming up to Ballacraine and didn’t know whether to turn right, left or straight ahead!” Amazingly, and perhaps as a foresight of what was to come, he finished all three races he started in, including a good 16th position in the Junior 350 event aboard a new 350 Rea Yamaha. The following year, still a virtual unknown at the TT, he beat all the favourites to take the 1977 Jubilee TT aboard a privately-entered TZ 750 Yamaha. A few barren TT years followed before he won the 1980 Classic 1000cc race, again Yamaha-mounted.

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That same year he joined the works Honda team-with Honda boss Bob McMillan promising him “bikes for life”-to begin a 21 year association, making him Honda’s most loyal servant bar none. The men in suits at Honda tried to change Joey, his unkempt appearance and almost incoherent accent not really conforming to the Honda image. But it was soon apparent that they were wasting their time, and they left him pretty much to his own devices, supplying him with the machinery required to do the job.

And do the job he most certainly did. As well as winning countless Irish road races, including the Ulster GP and North West 200, he started winning TT races for Honda in 1983, beginning a winning run in the F1 event that was to last for 6 consecutive years from 1983-88 during which time he was F1 World Champion on 5 occasions.

But the genius of Joey Dunlop extends much further than his many big-bike wins; equally at home on any bike from 125cc-1000cc, Joey was easily the most versatile rider of his generation . How many of today’s WSB or GP riders could do a 120mph lap of the TT course on a 1000cc V-Twin, jump straight off that onto a 125cc bike, and do a 107mph lap ? None. Joey and his raw, unadulterated talent stand alone.

At home in Ireland, Joey’s record on the pure roads circuits will probably never be bettered. He was victorious in 24 Ulster Grands Prix, 13 North West 200’s, and countless other races in the domestic series, including 17 wins here at the Skerries 100, making him the joint record holder for the most wins along with the great Raymond McCullough. Indeed Joey still holds the course lap record of 105.95mph, set in the 1999 Grand Final race, one of the most thrilling road races I have ever had the privilege to witness. It will be a long, long time before that lap record is bettered.

On the Isle of Man, Joey’s final tally of 26 TT wins will never be surpassed. 12 more wins than his nearest rival, and the only rider to win a hat-trick of hat-tricks at the TT, Joey had infinitely more talent than any rider on the current scene around the circuit which he made his own. I have spent many an evening or afternoon watching as Joey came around lap after lap, on the same line every time, totally at one with the bike, be it a 125cc single or a 750 4-stroke. Smooth doesn’t even begin to describe his riding style: Joey was pure poetry in motion.


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His greatest ever win came this year, his 32nd year of racing, in what was to be his last ever TT race meeting. His victory in the F1 race on a totally new, ill handling Honda VTR SP1, which he had hardly ridden before, was the crowning glory of a glittering career. He and his family received a standing ovation at the prize presentation, the likes of which will never be seen or heard on such a scale again.

But there was another side to Joey that only his closest knew so well. A quiet, devoted family man with 5 children to his childhood sweetheart Linda, the pair recently renewed their marriage vows in the same church in which they were married all those years ago.

Although he was awarded the MBE for his services to motorcycle sport, it was perhaps his OBE for charity work which best gives an insight into this remarkable man’s persona. Twice he has travelled with aid to Bosnia and once each to Romania and Albania, all under his own volition and all at his own expense. He would travel around the Ballymoney area in his own van collecting food and clothes from locals. When the van was full, he set off to wherever he was going. No fanfare. No razamatazz. Just Joey and a battered van full of aid, destined for those less fortunate than himself. Such a simple gesture. Please take a few moments to think about this.

Such selfless, humble, decent acts only served to deepen the enigma and mystique that surrounded the quiet Irishman known universally as “Yer Maun”.

I am going to miss Joey hugely. His death has been an abominable tragedy beyond words. Such a great man did not deserve to lose his life in an unimportant race in a little-known part of the world, thousands of miles form his loved ones. I do know one thing though: if he could have chosen to go any way, it would’ve been in the saddle of a Honda. Joey died a happy and content man, doing what he did best. Several times he was told he should retire, to which he replied, “It’s what I do best. It’s in my blood. It’s what I like and until I feel I can’t do it any more I’ll keep on.”

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Everyone has their favourite memory of Joey and mine will stay with me for the rest of my days. It was at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man in 1999, and I stood watching Joey working frantically on his bike in order to make the next practice session. A man with a young son approached Joey and asked if his son, who was probably no older than four could have his picture taken with him. Joey smiled, downed his tools and lifted the boy upon to the petrol tank of his bike and sat smiling on the saddle himself whilst the overjoyed father took the picture. The man thanked Joey, who smiled and carried on working flat out on the bike. That young child now has a keepsake that he should treasure forever. And that for me summed up Joey as person: humble, kind and someone who always had time for anyone.

Many clichés and phrases have been synonymous with the name Joey Dunlop over the years and it would be all to easy to conclude with one or two of them. Instead however, I feel the final words should go to the man who asked for so little throughout life, but gave so much to so many.

“I never really wanted to be a superstar. I just want to be myself. I hope that’s how people remember me.” We certainly will Joey. We certainly will. God bless.


by
Stuart Christian
The blues isn't about making yourself feel better, it's about making other people feel worse.
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Everso Biggyballies
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#180

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

WB BG! :thumbsup: Hope you are feelin better! Maybe a rusty nail went down the wrong way and filled yor lungs up :dunno:

I must admit this thread has been neglected in your absence :oops: :sorrow: As the song goes, "Nobody does it better..." :wink:

Joey Dunlop was indeed a legend who made the IOM his for many years before it bit him.
Last edited by Everso Biggyballies 17 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


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* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
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#181

Post by CevertAngel »

BleedingGums wrote:On this day 1944

Francois Cevert


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Born 63 years ago.
Died 34 years ago. ( 6 / 10 /1973) , aged 29


Cevert was one of the most colorful racing drivers of the early 1970s. In the tumultuous, tragic arena that was Formula One racing at the time, few showed more flair and promise, and no one ended his career more heartrendingly than Cévert, the son of a Paris jeweler and brother-in-law of Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise.

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After winning the French Formula 3 Championship in 1968, Cévert joined the Tecno Formula 2 team and finished third overall in 1969, driving in the F2 class of the German Grand Prix. When Jackie Stewart had a hard time getting around Cévert in an F2 race at Crystal Palace the same year, Stewart told his team manager Ken Tyrrell to keep an eye on the young Frenchman. The following year, when Johnny Servoz-Gavin suddenly retired from the Tyrrell Formula One team three races into the 1970 season, Tyrrell called upon Cévert to be his number two driver, alongside defending World Champion Stewart.

Over the next four seasons, Cévert became the veteran Stewart's devoted protégé. After making his debut at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in Tyrrell's second customer March-Ford, he increased his pace and closed the gap to Stewart with virtually every race. He earned his first World Championship point by finishing sixth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

In 1971, with the Tyrrell team now building their own cars, Cévert finished second in France and Germany, both times behind team leader Stewart. Then, in the season-ending United States Grand Prix at the newly-extended Watkins Glen race course, the Frenchman earned his first and only Grand Prix win:

Having started from fifth spot, Cévert took the lead from Stewart on lap 14 as the Scot's tires began to go off in the 100° heat. At about half-distance, Cévert finally began to struggle with the same understeer that had plagued Stewart much earlier. Jacky Ickx was closing, and his Firestones were getting better as the race went on. On lap 43, Ickx set the fastest lap of the race, and the gap was down to 2.2 seconds. Then, on lap 49, the alternator on Ickx's Ferrari fell off, punching a hole in the gearbox and spilling oil all over the track! Denny Hulme's McLaren hit the oil and spun into the barrier, bending his front suspension. Hulme was standing beside the track when Cévert came by and also slid off and hit the barrier, but he kept going, now 29 seconds in the lead! Cévert coasted home, taking both hands off the wheel to wave as he crossed the line.

Cévert became only the second Frenchman to win a Grand Prix (Maurice Trintignant won at Monaco in 1955 and 1958), and it was the high point of his career, helping him take third place in the 1971 Driver's Championship behind Stewart and Ickx. Great expectations for Cévert, Stewart and Tyrrell were not fulfilled in 1972 as Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus won the Driver's and Constructor's Championships. Cévert finished in the points only three times, with second places at Belgium and the US, and a fourth at his home race in France at the Clermont-Ferrand circuit. One bright spot in a disappointing year for Cévert was his second place finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans, driving a Matra-Simca 670 with New Zealand's Howden Ganley.

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In 1973, the Tyrrell team was back on top in Formula One and Cévert showed he was capable of running with Stewart at almost every race. He finished second six times, three times behind Stewart, who acknowledged that, at times, the Frenchman had been a very "obedient" teammate. As Cévert began to draw even with Stewart's driving abilities, the Scot was secretly planning to retire after the last race of the season in the United States.

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For the 1974 season, Cévert would be Tyrrell's well deserving team leader. Tragically, at Watkins Glen, with Stewart having already clinched his third World Championship, Cévert was killed during Saturday afternoon qualifying while battling for pole position with Ronnie Peterson. He was 29 years old.
Thankyou for this Bleeding Gums.............Happy Birthday Fancois ...... :cry: :oops:
Always One Of Great Brilliance on the Track and Great Kindness Of It... - Francois Cevert (1944-1973) .... Loved and Missed Always,
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