On this day in Motor Racing's past

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Everso Biggyballies
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#931

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Bottom post of the previous page:

27th July

Woolf Barnato, respected member of the 'Bentley Boys' and three-times-from-three Le Mans winner died on this day in 1948.

From Motorsort:
Bentley's head boy
Though initially caring little for motor sport, Woolf Barnato went on to become a multiple Le Mans winner. Bill Boddy recalls the successes of a respected member of the 'Bentley Boys'

Capt Woolf Barnato, to anyone who remembers the earlier period of motor racing, will always be associated with the wealthy, glamorous 'Bentley Boys' at Le Mans, whose tenacious driving skills and stamina have become legendary. In fact, the handsome, sturdy, dark-haired 'Babe' Barnato had raced cars and boats before that. The son of a millionaire diamond merchant, he had come to these sports quite late. His first association with motors had been confined to an illicit solo drive on his brother's two-cylinder Renault through the crowded streets of Cambridge, which ended up in a shop window, from which the young man, too young to hold a driving licence, used his charm and powers of persuasion to extricate himself without repercussions.

There had been a motorcycle before that, but Barnato had little interest otherwise, until he left Charterhouse and, like his brother, went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Then the war intervened, and he served as a First Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, seeing action on the Ypres Salient in 1915 and afterwards on the Palestine front, from Gaza to the Jordan Valley.

Soon after that his interest in motoring as a sport began. Barnato initially used a 10hp Calthorpe and took a second in class in 1920 at Shelsley Walsh. The Calthorpe Motor Co of Birmingham had made a good name for itself pre-war with the Calthorpe Minor light-car and after the Armistice was doing well with its excellent sporting 10.4hp car. They were bought by several prominent personalities in motor sport circles, and when Barnato discovered a single-seater racing Calthorpe had been built before the war but never used he acquired it for Brooklands racing. The little yellow car won its very first race, at Whitsun 1920, by an enormous margin, at 61.75mph. It was sent back to the factory for further tuning, whereupon it won again, against larger cars, at 69.50mph. Later that year it took a third place, as well as a second and third in speed trials on Westcliffe promenade. Barnato had the bug.

In 1921 the Calthorpe frequently non-started, in spite of having the same size side-valve 1260cc engine as the very slim works racer. Barnato did win with it at Whitsun 1921, but had no result from another of its kind, called the Dorsey-Calthorpe, presumably to distinguish it from his yellow one and the works car.
So he turned to a far larger car, to try to improve things. It was a standard 8-litre six-cylinder T-head Locomobile, with a cream two-seater body and artillery wheels, probably one of the 'gunboat roadsters', which Barnato had brought back from America. However it lapped 3.5mph more slowly than the tiny Calthorpe, which would go round Brookands at 78.92mph, but did finish third in the 100mph Long Handicap at Easter. Barnato also ran a 5.7-litre four-cylinder strawberry-hued Austro-Daimler with an overhead camshaft prodding one inlet and four exhaust valves per cylinder, probably an aged Prince Henry model; it lapped at 83mph, to no avail.

A change was due for 1922, so Barnato acquired Malcolm Campbell's 2.6-litre Talbot and a 4½ litre Talbot said to be the one in which Percy Lambert had been killed in 1913 trying to regain his world one-hour record (but I suspect it merely had the engine from that ill-fated car), and a Hispano-Suiza had given him a class second to a 30/98 Vauxhall at Kop hillclimb.

Both Talbots and a 2-litre Ansaldo were entered for the Easter BARC races, but produced nothing, whereas Campbell's 3.8-litre Talbot had a win. But in May the smaller Talbot scored two second places for Barnato, before winning again. Woolf immediately followed this up with another win in the AnsaIdo, lapping at almost 80mph. But the big Talbot was not up to expectations in these handicap contests.

However, in 1922 Woolf Barnato got his first taste of long-distance racing with the three-car Enfield-Allday team for the JCC 200 Mile race, until his engine seized. The 2.6 Talbot was third at the Royal Brooklands meeting.

The 1923 racing was much better. Barnato had the second of the Wolseley 'Moths', which Capt (later Sir) Alastair Miller had made into very fast little cars. Those who knew these ohc 1261cc Tens as decidedly pedestrian must have been astonished when a lap speed of over 88mph was achieved at Brooklands. In his first race in 'Moth II' Barnato was second, and it then won at Easter, going faster than Miller's 'Moth'. Handicapper `Ebby' had the measure of it by Whitsun, but Barnato scored a second place that summer and a third with an even faster Enfield-Allday, and another third in the Wolseley.

It was surprising Barnato had time for all this, because he was adept at cricket, playing for the village team and keeping wicket for Surrey, was a capable heavyweight amateur boxer, was a first-class shot and swimmer, hunted with the Old Surrey and Burstow, and besides playing tennis, took golf very seriously indeed. Yet at Easter 1924 he was at the Track again, obtaining a third place and then a win in the Wolseley. Later the big Talbot won again and the Wolseley produced another win, three seconds and a third, but a 1H-litre Crouch proved no faster than the latter.

However, Barnato's 8-litre Boulogne Hispano-Suiza, in standard form, gave him 1-1D at the Littlestone speed-trials and a number of Class H records at the Track. Then, in May 1925, he took delivery of a 3-litre Bentley with £400 Jarvis two-seater racing body. It won once that year and was third three times. There was also the 2-litre straight-eight ex-Indianapolis Bugatti, one of five cars which had gone to the USA in 1923 under Count Zborowski's influence for the famous 500-mile race, all but one sustaining serious engine failures. Zborowsld and the jockey George Duller had this car and Barnato now used it to good effect, lapping at over 106mph to give him a first, second and third at Brooklands, where you always had to try to outwit the handicappers. Late in 1925 a 'phone call sent Woolf out to Montlhery to aid John Duff on his successful 24-hour record bid in a 3-litre Bentley.

Living at Ardenrun Hall, his estate near Lingfield, Surrey, the social round continued, with boisterous house parties, when as prizes the girls were given fast rides down the drive (the back drive was half a mile long) in racing Bentleys, driven by Sir Henry Birkin or Barnato. Top cricketers like Percy Fender and Jack Hobbs, and Don Bradman's team, practised at the nets below the house's five terraces. The 12-car garage at Lingfield contained a Rolls-Royce saloon and the sports Hispano-Suiza for fast runs to the south of France, a 3-litre Bentley, a 3-litre Sunbeam and a hack Model T Ford. Barnato considered the Boulogne Hispano-Suiza one of the finest sports cars on the road, and the then-new Bentley Big-Six as the best car yet produced. By November he had two of the latter, a Barker sedanca and an H J Mulliner limousine. Outside his town house in Grosvenor Square, the police were accustomed to seeing a line-up of racing Bentleys. After Ardenrun burnt down, the family lived at the 1901 Lutyens mansion overlooking Windsor Park, rebuilt to Baranto's requirements.

Cars apart, Barnato had two Saunders-hulled racing boats, one with a Wolseley engine, the other with a twin-cam Sunbeam power unit. He raced them abroad and won the Duke of York Trophy race on the Thames. The handsome 100mph Jarvis-bodied Bentley scored a first and a second at the Easter 1926 BARC races, but for some reason it was disposed of to Parry Thomas, who had announced he was preparing a Bentley for the 1927 season, before his fatal accident in `Babs' at Pendine. It emerged in 1928 with typical Thomas frontal cowling, driven by Dudley Froy. Meanwhile W Bentley had Barnato as one of his drivers in the abortive 24-hour record attempt at Montlhery in 1926, when the car was crashed before the 17th hour.

This was to institute Barnato as one of the fabled 'Bentley Boys', when he shared a 3-litre with Dr Benjafield in the 1927 Essex Six-hour race at Brooklands, until a rocker arm broke. The same race the following year saw Barnato paired with works driver Frank Clement in a 4H-litre Bentley and beset fastest race lap at 76.57mph over the artificial road course at Brooklands until brakerod stretch retired them. Then came Woolfs first Le Mans, with wealthy Bernard Rubin, in a 4H-litre. He eventually led the battle with a Stutz but then water began to leak from the radiator, and when the top hose pulled away Barnato had to coast where he could with the engine off, but knowing that if it did seize, victory was lost. After the agonising last laps, he won from the Stutz and a couple of Chryslers but never wanted to drive the last spell again.

Barnato now concentrated on the more serious racing, for W Bentley, who regarded him as a very fast and reliable member of the team, who always obeyed orders. It became properly serious in 1929 when he shared the first Speed Six with 'Dr Benjy' in the JCC Double Twelve race at the Track; they were leading when the drive to the dynamo sheared and caused their withdrawal from this sportscar contest. This was retrieved at Le Mans when, with Birkin, the same 6H-litre won Bentley's fourth victory there. Barnato then won the BARC Six-hours, this time with Jack Dunfee in 'Old Number One' Speed Six, at 75.88mph over the 'road' course. Driving with Clement in 1930 in another of the great Speed Six Bentleys, he won the Double Twelve at 86.68mph (2080.64 miles) in spite of rain towards the end. Bentley's fifth victory at Le Mans had Woolf sharing with Cdr Glen Kidston, RN, in 'Old Number One', taking the Rudge Cup for the second time. The Bentley company then gave up racing but Barnato had Walter Hassan build him the single-seater Barnato-Hassan for BARC participation. It was driven by blond barrister Oliver Bertram to a lap speed of 142.6mph. Barnato was happy to retire, having won Le Mans three times, defeating Caracciola and the supercharged 38/250 Mercedes-Benz after a stirring duel on the final occasion.

'Old Number One' received a new H J Mulliner coupe body, having already had numerous body and engine changes and what was virtually a new chassis; Barnato himself wrote during the war that the only part of it left was the radiator in his study, despite which it is considered to have a 'continuous history', although I thought a car's identity rested with its chassis.

Although his racing days had ended, Barnato remained a keen Bentley driver. He owned many examples of the marque, his first 6H an H J Mulliner tourer in 1927. A Wing Commander in the war, he died in 1948.

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#932

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

On the 2nd August 1964, 55 years ago today, at the German GP, Honda made their F1 debut

Ronnie Bucknum drove the Honda RA271 for the first time, powered by the 1.5 litre V12 Honda. Bucknum qualified last but made his way up to 11th before a spin put him out. He was classified 13th.

The team then skipped Austria, re-appearing at Monza with the engine now fuel injected, and where Bucknum qualified 10th. He ran as high as 5th before brake problems and overheating issues put him out.

They next appeared at the USGP where the car retired with a head gasket failure.

For 1965 Hona introduced the RA272, still powered by the V12 1.5 litre engine. They scored their first point at Spa in the Belgian Race with Ginther, now joining Bucknum in the 2 car team. They won their first GP in Mexico later that year.


The RA271 V12 engine at Monza

Image

The car on debut in Germany:

Image
Last edited by Everso Biggyballies 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

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#933

Post by erwin greven »

Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
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#934

Post by PTRACER »

Interesting stuff.
Developer of the 1967v3 Historic Mod for Grand Prix Legends: viewtopic.php?t=17429

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#935

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

On August 24 2003, Fernando Alonso became the youngest race winner in Formula 1 history at that time.
The record he had beaten belonged to Bruce McLaren, who claimed his first win 43 years earlier at the first United States Grand Prix in 1959.

Since that time both Vetteland now Max have taken the position of youngest ever winner

1 VERSTAPPEN Max 18y 07m 15d Spain 2016
2 VETTEL Sebastian 21y 02m 11d Italy 2008
3 ALONSO Fernando 22y 00m 26d Hungary 2003
4 McLAREN Bruce 22y 03m 12d USA 1959
5 HAMILTON Lewis 22y 05m 03d Canada 2007
6 RAIKKONEN Kimi 23y 05m 06d Malaysia 200

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#936

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

On the 23rd August 1987

We lost Didier Pironi in a Powerboat Race off the Isle of Wight in England.

He took parrt in 72 GPs,
First Grand Prix:Argentina 1978
Last Grand Prix:France 1982

3 wins (4.29%)
4 pole positions (5.71%)
5 fastests laps (7.14%)
13 podiums (18.57%)

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


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#937

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

August 24th 1986

The first Halfords Birmingham Superprix


In 1985, the Birmingham City Council passed the Birmingham Road Race Bill, which allowed the Birmingham Superprix for Formula 3000 cars to be held on a circuit of closed streets near the city centre for two days during the August Bank Holiday. Previously, all motor racing on the public streets of mainland Britain had been outlawed (unless specifically allowed for in private legislation).

The first Superprix was held in 1986 and was subjected to torrential rain. After extensive delays, this first race was run to a reduced distance. This is a highlights version of the F3000 race.

The 9th race of the 1986 F3000 season.






A review from Motor Sport Mag...
Birmingham Super Prix
History from the heart of England

It finally happened. After years of effort and disappointment, Birmingham had its race. Motor racing has been with us for ninety years but we, in mainland Britain, had never before been able to see it take place on the streets of a city. Some events become great occasions, regardless of the degree of competition. The Birmingham race has the ingredients to become such an occasion.

The area in which the track was laid out is not an attractive sight, being one of those areas of inner city decay going through the slow process of urban renewal. Armco and safety netting did not enhance the aesthetics of the place but the city was determined to put on a good show. The layout of the circuit was, of course, dictated by the available roads but the organisers, with enthusiastic local cooperation, had done a good job of squeezing everything in. The markets acted as the support race paddock while all the F3000 cars were housed in a covered car park behind Bristol Street Motors whose main showroom was turned over to the media. Temporary hospitality boxes were erected near the start/finish line and there was a "tented village" in which teams could entertain guests. Temporary bridges supplemented the permanent subways so crossing to the infield was no problem and since the crowd was accommodated around the whole 2.7 miles and were much closer to the action than at any other British circuit, everyone got a good view and the sight of an F3000 car at full chat a few feet away is a mightily impressive one.

The Consultants to the organisers, MCD, had suggested a couple of support races together with demonstrations to keep the crowd amused between times, demonstrations which could be deleted from the programme if necessary, but we had a pro/celebrity Renault 5 Turbo event, and Thundersports, Formula Libre and FF1600 to accommodate. A lot of drivers who had gladly supported an historic occasion went home without racing. Organising motor racing is not as easy as the experts make it appear to be every weekend of the season.

After a hesitant first season, F3000 has taken off but now we are in a position where there are too many entries. When a race is oversubscribed, as many have been this year, you're left with disappointed drivers and teams with explanations to make to sponsors and the net result is a certain amount of instability. A few weeks before the race, teams were offering spare drives at £25,000. As the race drew closer, this had dropped to, in some cases, £5,000 or less. That's hardly an economical rate but it keeps the cash flowing, at least in the short term.
It would be premature to be too pessimistic but the entry of 34 cars, though an over-subscription, was the lowest in F3000 this year and the fact that there were only three types of chassis in the race, is not a good sign. Dallest's AGS did not materialise, there was no Minardi entry, RAM has withdrawn, and mooted chassis from other constructors have failed to appear. If F3000 is to be a real stepping stone to F1 for anyone apart from drivers, there should be a little more variety on the grid than Marches, Lolas and Ralts.

Of the three, none has clearly emerged as the car of "86, though the Pavesi team's private Ralts have generally embarrassed the works Ralt-Hondas, the only non-Cosworth powered cars to have appeared in the formula.

Practice was scheduled to begin at 9.00am on the Sunday morning but it was discovered that there were bolts missing from the Armco and it was nearly three hours before the first car went out. That delay put the entire schedule out of joint as well as attracting the wrong sort of publicity, via radio news bulletins, for the city and the race.

Once out, the drivers found themselves with mixed feelings. The general concensus was that it was a demanding, bumpy circuit but those with the right attitude saw it as a challenge to their craft and on the whole approved.

Among the drivers were a number who had taken one-off deals, like Ross Cheever, Tim Davies, Dave Scott, Tommy Byrne and French hillclimb champion, Marcel Tarres. There was the usual game of musical chairs as well, Eliseo Salazar, redundant after RAM's withdrawal, slotted into a works Lola while Alain Ferté moved over to an Oreca March. He damaged this in practice but the team hired another March for the race from a non-qualifier.

Because of the number of entries and the constraints of the circuit, drivers were divided into two qualifying groups and the grid decided by having each side line up behind the fastest man in the grid. This led to some anomalies. The commentators would insist, for example, that Andrew Gilbert-Scott (Lola) was the third quickest in qualifying though in fact he was eighth quickest but third on the grid. This was because he was second quickest in his group and since the fastest man, Pierluigi Martini (Ralt) also set pole, Gilbert-Scott lined up behind him alongside Michel Ferté (March) who was second to Luis Sala (Ralt) in his group but who had actually set a better qualifying time than Gilbert-Scott. This is not to detract from a fine performance by the young Englishman who, for financial reasons was having perhaps his last chance to prove himself in the formula.

From fifth place down, the grid read: Pascal Fabre, winner of the International Trophy (Lola), Elisio Salazar (Lola), John Jones, quickest in Sunday's untimed session (March), John Nielsen (Ralt-Honda), Thomas Kaiser (Lola), Emanuele Pirro (March), Tommy Byrne, the quickest of the debutants (March), Ivan Capelli, the Championship leader (March), Satouro Nakajima, who replaces Dumfries at Lotus next year (Ralt-Honda) and in 14th place from 26 on the grid, Mauricio Gugelmin, whom Ayrton Senna tried to get into the Lotus team this year (March).

One and a half seconds covered those mentioned and Martini's pole time of 1min 22.16sec translated into an average speed of 108.22 mph. Things looked promising indeed for the Monday.

Monday dawned windy and overcast, but dry. Hurricane Charley, however, had decided that Britain was a good place to blow out in style and made no exception for Birmingham.

The morning warm-up was dry, but then the heavens opened. The "celebrity" half of the paired "pro/celebrity" Renault 5 Turbo race went out, practised, and ran their five laps but then the schedule was interrupted to allow the F3000 runners out for a 20 minute acclimatisation session which was interrupted when Tarres had a spin. By now the time table was in shreds, the second part of the Renault race was postponed and 30 laps of the Thundersports cancelled. Still, FISA rules and common sense state that F3000 has priority and, besides, there were the television cameras to consider.

All 26 starters made the grid on schedule and though some later said the race should never have been run, none elected to pull out and races have been held in equally wet conditions, though the track surface appeared to retain water more than, say, the special surface at Silverstone.

Then the start lights failed, due to being flooded, which is as well for a couple of cars had stalled on the grid and the conditions were bad enough without additional "chicanes". Five minutes went by and the race itself began on a flag.

Martini took an immediate lead from his team mate Sala. Nielsen stalled on the line and Pirro had his work cut out to avoid him. Capelli overtook six cars after the first three corners then spun and damaged his car, while Russell Spence moved from 18th to eighth on the first lap and up to sixth by lap five!

Sala was clearly quicker than Martini and was in the lead by the end of lap one followed by Martini, Michel Ferté, Andrew Gilbert-Scott (whose car was set up much too stiffly for the conditions), Pascal Fabre, Eliseo Salazar and John Jones. Visibility though, was appalling, Tim Davies later said he couldn't see the barriers along the straight, let alone flags or the red lights of a car in front.

It was not too long before the track was littered with abandoned cars but at the front, Sala was pulling out a steady lead though it was not without some discomfort. First he was nearly taken off by Tarres staggering back to his pits with a deranged car on lap three, then he had a quick spin on lap 10 which took off his nose cone but not the front wings. So he then had to drive with soaking wet and freezing feet, though to watch him you'd think there was nothing amiss as he continued the process of extending his lead while lapping the backmarkers.

Fifteen seconds behind, Martini was being threatened by Ferté, then came Salazar, and a long gap before Fabre and Spence hove into view. Gilbert-Scott had slipped steadily down the field then came into the pits for suspension adjustments which eased matters. Just out of the points was Jones followed by Nakajima, Kaiser, Pirro and Moreno with Nielsen way down but charging after his mis-start, a drive which was to bring him up to Moreno by the end. The race, in fact, finished in that order, but without Pirro who had an accident on lap 14.

The rest of the story is easily told. Sala sustained another quick spin on lap 22, but recovered and kept his lead, though reduced to around three seconds. Despite his minor indiscretions, he drove beautifully under dreadful conditions and emerges as the most promising driver to come out of Spain for years. On lap 25, Gilbert-Scott spun and it would have been a harmless moment except that he collected Alain Ferté's abandoned March. With the cars blocking the track the race was halted.

It took some time to decide whether to abandon it, during which interval everyone said his twopennyworth about the conditions. Finally, to everybody's relief, came word that it was all over, the positions at the end of lap 24 stood as the result and half points would be awarded, as at Silverstone. Fastest lap went to Salazar in 1min 42.62sec, 86.4 mph, an excellent showing for someone in an unfamiliar car, while Sala 's race average was 83.78 mph.

Capelli still maintains his Championship lead (33pts) but Martini (27pts) and Sala (22.5 pts) have closed the gap and the series most realistically go to one of these three drivers.

To round off the day, the second part of the Renault race was run but the FF1600 and F. Libre drivers joined the Thundersports men in going home without a race. Given all the circumstances, it's hard see what other decision the organisers could have made.

Despite it all however, history had still been made and, no doubt, a few lessons learned.

***

Results (top six) -- Birmingham Super Prix, FIA Intercontinental F3000 Championship

Race stopped after 24 laps -- deluge

1. Luis Salo (Ralt RT20/86 Cosworth) -- 42 miles, 24min 40sec, 87.87mph.

2. Pierluigi Martini (Ralt RT20/86 Cosworth) -- 42min 27.72sec.

3. Michel Ferté (March 86B/Cosworth) -- 42min 29.70sec.

4. Eliseo Salazar (Lola T86/50 Cosworth) -- 42min 37.63sec.

5. Pascal Fabre (Lola T86/Cosworth) -- 43min 07.83sec.

6. Russell Spence(March86B/Cosworth) -- 43min 20.19sec.
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/arch ... super-prix?

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#938

Post by erwin greven »

Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
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#939

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

erwin greven wrote: 4 years ago
Thanks for posting.

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#940

Post by erwin greven »

aftermath fatal accident
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Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
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#941

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

RIP Jochen Rindt. May he forever be the only posthumous champion.

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#942

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Sept 8th 2006

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We lost Aussie Icon Peter Brock, killed in a a Western Australian rally'aged 61.

Not many are unaware of his career but amongst his accolades he won the Bathurst 1000klms/500mile a record 9 times..... known as 'King of the Mountain
The Bathurst winner now receives the Peter Brock Trophy

The PB Tribute statue now at Bathurst

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Race Starts:516
Wins:80
Podiums:219
Pole Positions:56
Fastest Laps:22
Race Win Percentage:15.50%
Podium Percentage:42.44%

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A 13 year old Peter Brock in his first race car, an Austin 7 hot rod.
Born in the small town of Hurstbridge near Melbourne, Brock developed a love for cars and speed in his early age. His first car was an Austin 7 which he ‘hot rodded’ and drove as fast as he could in the countryside. Peter claimed that his driving skill improved at this point of his life because the car did not have brakes.

Brock was drafted into the Australian Army in 1965. For two years he was stationed at the Blamey Barracks near Wagga in New South Wales. Brock was in the Medical Corps where he often served as an ambulance driver. According to his brother Lewis, Peter and his mates used to race the ambulances around the base. While serving Army, he visited a famous Bathurst race in 1966 and was impressed. It was there that he decided he would become a racing driver as soon as his army duty ended.

Bathurst podium in a very first race
His first race was at Bathurst in 1969. It was still 500-miles event and Brock participated alongside Des West in a famous Holden Monaro GTS 350. Despite the fact that it was his first proper racing outing, Brock finished third and earned himself the attention of the racing audience in Australia. Brock entered newly formed Holden Dealer Team and in the following years, he raced with Holden Torana LC GTR XU-1, with two consecutive second places at Phillip Island 500 in 1971 and 1972.

Only three years after racing debut Brock won the greatest Australian racing event. 1972 was the last year the race was run over 500 miles and the last year in which driving solo was permitted. Brock won Hardie-Ferodo 500 driving alone in Holden Dealer Team's Torana, ahead John French in the Ford Falcon XY and Doug Chivas/Damon Beck in the Chrysler VH Valiant Charger.

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Four wins with Holden Torana, five with Commodore
Holden Torana was a victorious car in Brock's next three wins at Bathurst (1975, 1978 and 1979). Five more victories he achieved with various versions of Holden Commodore. Brock won the Bathurst nine times between 1972 and 1987, which is a record that he still holds, thus rightfully earning himself the title of the “King of the Mountain”.

Between first and second win at Bathurst, Brock finished 2nd in 1973 and retired in 1974 because of engine failure while he was leading six laps ahead of the second-placed driver. In 1975 victory Brock's partner was Brian Sampson, for whom it was the first and only win at Bathurst. When not winning, Brock was always near the top, so in 1976, he finished 3rd and in 1977 he was 4th.

Three consecutive wins together with Jim Richards
Brook was back on the top podium spot in 1978. His partner in the famous #05 Marlboro Holden Team's Torana was Jim Richards. It was a beginning of a legendary partnership and rivalry. Next year they achieved one of the most remarkable victories at Bathurst, with six laps advantage over second placed Peter Janson and Larry Perkins in #19 Torana. It remained the most dominant performance in the history of the race.

In 1980 Peter Brock and Jim Richards won their third consecutive Bathurst 1000, debuting the Holden Commodore for the Holden Dealer Team. In 1981, The King finished 21st, but it was just a short pause before three more consecutive victories from 1982 to 1984. Brock's team-mate in all three races was Larry Perkins.

The most interesting and slightly controversial was the victory in 1983. As usual, Peter Brock started with his car #05, but after its engine blew up in Lap 8, Brock and Perkins transferred themselves to teams' second car (#25) of John Harvey and Phil Brock. They won the race and 1983 Bathurst 1000 had four winners.

Superteam Brock-Moffat failed to claim any awards
The 1985 Bathurst 1000 was the first event which was held exclusively for cars complying with the Australian version of International Group A touring car regulations. The race was dominated by the Tom Walkinshaw Racing run Jaguar XJ-S' which finished first and third. The Holden Dealer Team's Commodore VK of Peter Brock and his new partner David Oxton were in second place with three laps to go, when they broke a timing chain and retired.

In 1980 Holden Commodore replaced Torana. Brock continued to win
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For 1986, the 'Superteam' was formed of former rivals Peter Brock and Allan Moffat, who had won 12 of the previous 16 races at Mount Panorama Circuit. They were second placed, but after losing almost three laps in the pits with an oil cooler problem, they finished in fifth place.

Ninth Bathurst victory after disqualification of two Sierras
The ninth and the last Bathurst 1000 victory was achieved in 1987. The race was provisionally won by the Ford-supported Eggenberger Motorsport team, with Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonne in the Ford Sierra RS500, two laps ahead of team-mates Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz. The third was Holden VL Commodore driven by Peter Brock, Peter McLeod, and David Parsons.

According to protests lodged before the start, two Eggenberger cars were disqualified for illegally modified front wheel arch guards, which allowed the cars to compete on taller tires. The team appealed their disqualification and the appeal was solved in 1988, so few months after the race, Holden's trio was declared the winner. It was a record ninth Bathurst 1000 victory for Brock and his final victory in the race.

Brock's results at Bathurst 1000 come at nine wins out of 32 participations
It's interesting that in the following years he competed (and retired) with two different cars of Mobil 1 Racing Team - BMW M3 in 1988 and Ford Sierra RS500 in 1989. He reached the finish with Sierra in 1990 at fourth place. He returned to Holden Commodore in 1991 and finished seventh.

In 1992, Brock had his worst ever start to the race when the tail shaft of his new Commodore VP broke on the starting line. The car was repaired, so Brock and his partner Manuel Reuter rejoined the run in Lap 15. They finished in 27th place.

Between 1993 and 2004 Brock participated in seven races, finishing best in 5th place in 1996. His last race was the 80th running of Bathurst in 2004, but unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to drive because his partner Jason Plato crashed on lap 27. In total, King of the Mountain participated in 32 Mount Panorama's Bathurst 1000 races.

Tenth win at Mount Panorama achieved in 24-hour race
In 2003, Brock added one more Bathurst victory to his account. He was a part of Garry Rogers Motorsport crew which won the 24-hour marathon with Greg Murphy, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly in Holden Monaro. When talking about endurance races, Brock recorded surprise second place at 24 Hours of Spa in 1977, together with Gerry Marshall in Vauxhall Magnum.

At 24 Hours of Le Mans Brock participated three times. The first attempt at Le Mans in 1967 finished with engine failure of Team Brock's BMW 3.0CSL. Brock's co-driver was Brian Muir. He then returned to the 1981 race, teamed with Colin Bond and Jim Richards, but their Porsche 924 Carrera GTR was named as a reserve entrant, so they didn't start. In 1984 Brock paired with Larry Perkins. They rented Porsche 956B and qualified as 15th at Le Mans. After a good start and highest 5th position Perkins crashed on lap 145.

PB Le Mans 1984

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Three-time champion of the Australian Touring Car Championship
Apart from the Bathurst dominance, he was very active and successful in the Australian Touring Car Championship. He was a champion three times - in 1974, 1978 and 1980. Beside international races we already mentioned he did participate in various events in Europe and America, but besides the fact that he was somewhat successful there and could get better pay, he didn’t seek a career outside of Australia where he was best by far and racing all through the year.

By the start of the ’90s, Brock was thinking of a retirement, however, he continued to race until 1997 following the Australian Touring Car season. He didn't want to stay retired for long and soon started participating in selected events and even returned to his beloved Bathurst.

Brilliant career ended with fatal crash in a Shelby Daytona Coupe
This remarkable career came to an end on September 8th, 2006, when his Shelby Daytona Coupe crashed three kilometers from the end of the second stage of Targa West rally. Brock skidded off downhill, hit a tree and died instantly.

This sad news spread fast and the whole of Australia was in tears after losing one of its finest sportsman and the best racing driver. In honor of his achievements and in recognition of his contribution to Australian motorsport, the Bathurst 1000 winner's trophy now carries his name.
http://www.snaplap.net/driver/peter-brock/



Famous wet Bathurst 1987 laps.....Part 1



Part 2




1979 BATHURST Peter Brock's Hardies Hero Lap


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#943

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

On this day..... 17th September 1929

Sir Stirling Moss was born, making today his 90th Birthday. Happy Birthday Sir Stirling. :drunk:

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Described as "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship". In a seven-year span between 1955 and 1961 Moss finished as
championship runner-up four times and third the other three.

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Moss was born in London, son of Alfred Moss, a dentist of Bray, Berkshire, and Aileen (née Craufurd). He was brought up at Long White Cloud house on the right bank of the River Thames. His father was an amateur racing driver who had placed 16th at the 1924 Indianapolis 500. Aileen Moss had also been involved in motorsport, entering prewar hillclimbs at the wheel of a Singer Nine. Stirling was a gifted horse rider as was his younger sister, Pat Moss, who became a successful rally driver and married Erik Carlsson.

GRANDS PRIX: 66
POLE POSITIONS: 16
FASTEST LAPS: 19
WINS: 16
CHAMPIONSHIPS: 0
(runner-up in 1955-58)
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS: 1955 Mille Miglia (1st), 1955 Targa Florio (1st), 1950-51, ’55, ‘58-61 Tourist Trophy (1st), 1954 Gold Alpine Cup, 1953 Reims 12 Hours (1st), 1954 Sebring 12 Hours (1st), 1956, ’58-60 Nürburgring 1000Kms (1st)


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Stirling Moss heads for MonacoGP victory in the Rob Walker Lotus 1961 F1

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Monaco podium 1961

Stirling’s great drive at the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix to defeat the Sharknose Ferrari 156s of Richie Ginther and Phil Hill is one of the magical stories of the race’s history, as he steered his underpowered four-cylinder Climax-engined Rob Walker Lotus 18 to a 3.6s victory.

article by Simon Arron in Motorsport today:
When Sir Stirling Moss drove on the track, he was there to race, not to eke out championship points. On Moss' 90th birthday, Simon Arron looks at the thrilling career of a true racer

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Moss in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree

He has been invisible to the wider world these past few years and officially retired from public life more than 18 months ago, in the slipstream of a serious illness, but a lower profile cannot erase Sir Stirling Moss from the public conscience.

That much was clear during the 22nd Goodwood Revival Meeting, when the Duke of Richmond stepped forward to give a commemorative speech a few days before Moss’s 90th birthday. Quite a landmark, that, for a driver whose competitive peak coincided with one of motor racing’s most dangerous periods, a time when average lap speeds escalated while safety precautions stood still. Moss knew all about that: witness the serious leg injuries he suffered during practice for the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix, a race in which compatriots Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey both died, or the career-ending aftermath of his accident during the 1962 Glover Trophy at Goodwood.

Recalling that day some years later, he said, “I remember driving away from my hotel and I’d met a cute South African girl the previous evening, but beyond that… nothing. The next thing I remember is coming to in hospital, a month later, and seeing flowers everywhere. I said, ‘Blimey, they must have thought I was going to die.’ I didn’t appreciate quite how close to the mark that was.”

A year later Moss returned to the scene of his accident to test a Lotus 19 sports-racer in greasy conditions. His lap times were decent, but driving no longer felt as instinctive as once it had and he opted to retire from the sport he’d graced – a choice he later conceded to have been “premature”.

His decision robbed the sport of what could have been a fascinating generational tussle – the established maestro against the incoming genius of such drivers as Clark and Surtees – and ensured that he never would win the world title to which he’d often come close.

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Moss has lifted more than 200 trophies during his career

Between the ages of 17 and 32 Moss contested 585 races, rallies, sprints, hillclimbs and trials, winning more than 200 of them – including 16 world championship grands prix… enough to put him second in the title race for four seasons in succession (1955-1958), and third in the three that followed.

But for his own unswerving sense of fair play, he could have pipped Mike Hawthorn to become Britain’s first world champion in 1958. Moss won four races to his rival’s one, but the latter benefited from greater reliability and consistency. The pivotal moment came in the Portuguese GP, from which Hawthorn was initially stripped of second place for receiving a push-start after slithering off the track. Moss was among those who came to his defence.

“My feelings about the incident have never changed,” he said in 2009. “Mike did nothing wrong. He got stuck in an escape road and received a push when he wasn’t actually on the circuit. I didn’t see how that warranted exclusion. It’s irrelevant that I didn’t subsequently take the title. The fact I was runner-up four times gives me a certain kind of exclusivity – and I know for sure that I was quicker than some of those who did win it. Driving percentage races, just to secure a finish and some points, didn’t really interest me. Some people can do that and we have seen it many times. My philosophy was different – I had absolutely the wrong mindset for winning titles, but I’m a racer.”
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... true-racer

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Moss racing an Aston Martin DBR1 at the 1958 12 Hours of Sebring


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Moss in his winning Lotus-Climax at the 1961 German Grand Prix.


SSM's triumph over Hill and his title-contending team mate Wolfgang von Trips three months later in the German Grand Prix was even greater than his Monaco 1961 race mentioned, given that the Nurburgring was the sort of sweeping, open track on which they could really use all the power of their flat six-cylinder engines.

But Moss could make the impossible possible, and the Nurburgring was a drivers’ circuit.

Hill took pole position from Jack Brabham in his newly Climax V8-engined Cooper, Moss in Walker’s now slightly updated Lotus 18/21, Jo Bonnier’s Porsche and Trips.

Heavy rain just before the start led to confusion over tyre choice, but soon Moss was leading on his Dunlop D12 ‘Green Spot’ rain tyres, after surviving some of Brabham’s tough tactics in trying to keep him behind. Soon Hill and Trips, who continued their season-long intra-team battle, were his main challengers after Brabham had slid off the road.

Moss had driven flat-out all the way on the world’s most demanding track, putting all concerns about his tyres’ durability from his mind

Stirling had liked the tyre in practice and knew that he needed to run them in the race if he was to have a chance against the Ferraris, much to the consternation of Dunlop’s Vic Barlow, who was deeply concerned that they would fail at high speed if the track was dry. Stirling told him that he had no choice.

As long as the track was wet, the risk was minimal, but as it steadily began to dry out, the risk increased and the advantage transferred back to the Ferraris. Moss should never really have been leading as it was, since he was giving away some 30bhp, and soon Hill and Trips were reeling him in.

With three of the 15 laps left, the red cars were beginning to hound their dark blue rival. But then it began to rain again, and he pulled out a fresh advantage as the 156s slithered and slipped their way round in his wake. By the time Trips had found a way past Hill, to beat him by 1.1s and place himself in firm contention for the title which he hoped to settle in the next race, at Monza, Stirling was already 21.4s further up the road than the ill-fated German aristocrat, and receiving the winner’s laurels.

He had driven flat-out all the way on the world’s most demanding track, putting all concerns about his tyres’ durability from his mind, and it was one of his finest performances. Afterwards, he and Trips laughed happily as they shared the wreath, neither knowing they had enjoyed their last F1 victories. Trips, having won the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July, would die in a crash at Monza, leaving Hill to clinch the title, while Moss would finish neither there nor in the finale at Watkins Glen.

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Moss demonstrating his OSCA FS 372 Spider Morelli at the 2011 Bahamas Speed Week


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The MG EX181 "RoaringRaindrop" from 1958/59 was driven by StirlingMoss, amongst others & exceeded 250mph with a 1500cc engine.


An article on the Goodwood website 2 years ago when he officially retired from racing.
Such is the enduring fame of Sir Stirling, or Mister Motor Racing as he is affectionately known by his millions of fans worldwide. Now, at the age of 88, and after many months of poor health, this extraordinary man has announced his retirement from public life. No longer will he be the go-to for the media when they need a quote from a racing legend. And, more significantly for us at Goodwood, there is sadness that he will no longer be a central figure at the Festival of Speed and the Revival.

Stirling, with his wife Susie never far from his side, has been such an important part of our events, always supportive, and so professional in his no-nonsense approach to whatever we asked him to do. Typically, Stirling was ready to drive whatever came his way, and none of us will ever forget the day he and Denis Jenkinson drove up the Festival hill together in the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in which they so famously won the Mille Miglia in 1955. Then there was the time he and Tony Brooks drove their Vanwalls in convoy to celebrate their shared victory in the 1957 British Grand Prix. So many great memories. Neither the Festival nor the Revival will be the same without him.

Stirling will, however, never be far from our thoughts. He has been to almost every single Festival of Speed and Revival we have done since 1993 when he became, along with John Surtees, a Patron of the Festival.

His connections with Goodwood go back to the earliest days of the circuit. It was at Goodwood in 1948 that Stirling won his first ever race, driving his privately entered 500cc Cooper-Norton Formula 3 car. Throughout the 1950s he was a Goodwood winner in Formula One, in the Tourist Trophy, in GT cars, and in sportscars with Aston Martin with whom he won the World Sportscar Championship in1959. One of his greatest victories was in the 1961 Tourist Trophy, racing Rob Walker's Ferrari 250 SWB. So far ahead of the field was he that he was listening to the race commentary on the car radio... and he crossed the line a lap ahead of the field for his seventh TT victory. He would later race at the Revival, a challenge he relished until his health prevented even this incredible man from showing the others how Goodwood should be driven.
https://www.goodwood.com/grr/race/histo ... etirement/


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StirlingMoss - Cooper T39 Mk2 Climax, CollinChapman - Lotus Eleven Climax Oulton Park 1956

This one is a pretty rare photo.... Nimrod Aston Martin - James Hunt and Stirling Moss at Goodwood

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Superb shot of Stirling Moss with Maserati 250F. Not many yachts in Monaco Quayside in 1956

In 1960, Stirling Moss won the TT race at Goodwood in a Ferrari 250GT SWB.

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Driving the Maserati 250F at 1956 Belgian Grand Prix
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#944

Post by PTRACER »

Thanks for posting that Chris, great tribute to a great man. He must be one of the oldest living F1 drivers now.
Developer of the 1967v3 Historic Mod for Grand Prix Legends: viewtopic.php?t=17429

King of the Race Track, Destroyer of Tyres, Breaker of Lap Records
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#945

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

PTRACER wrote: 4 years ago Thanks for posting that Chris, great tribute to a great man. He must be one of the oldest living F1 drivers now.
Cue an article I read when looking for stuff on Sir Stirling.... I think the info will now be a couple of years out of dateas it lists John Surtees as the oldest lvng but sadly we know he is no longer with us. I know Tony Brooks is still around but at 87 is just a kid comparing to Stirlo.Article comes after some other info.

Oldest living drivers of Formula One.

I think the oldest survivor is probably Ken Kavanagh,
who I think is now 95. The oldest surviving WDC is I guess Sir Jackie Stewart, at 80 years old.. Kavanagh (born 12 December 1923) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racecar driver. He was more famous in motorcycle circles

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Ken Kavanagh (Norton) 1951 Senior Ulster Grand Prix

In 1952, Kavanagh became the first Australian to win a motorcycle Grand Prix race when he won the 350cc Ulster Grand Prix. In 1956, he won the Junior TT at the Isle of Man TT races. Kavanagh entered two Formula One Grands Prix in 1958 with his own Maserati 250F, firstly in Monaco where he failed to qualify, and lastly in the Belgian Grand Prix where he missed out on the race having blown his engine in practice, after having qualified 20th of 28 entrants. He also did some non championship events, with a best result 6th at the Syracuse GP

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Non championship F1 events for KK.

1959 200 miles d'Aintree Maserati 250F Maserati
1959 Glover Trophy Maserati 250F Maserati
1958 International Trophy Maserati 250F Maserati
1958 200 miles d'Aintree Maserati 250F Maserati
1958 Grand Prix de Syracuse Maserati 250F Maserati
1958 Glover Trophy Maserati 250F Maserati
1958 Grand Prix de Buenos Aires Maserati 250F Maserati

Next up will be Hermano da Silva Ramos, former racing driver with dual French-Brasilian nationality.... he was born on December 7th 1925, so he will be 93 this year He has had experience in motorcycle racing, sports car racing, rally racing and even particpated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans once. The son of a successful Brazilian businessman and French mother, Nano da Silva Ramos was 21 years old when he first raced an MG in Rio de Janeiro. He then competed in Europe and won the 1953 Rallye de Sable with a newly acquired Aston Martin DB2.

With further experience in minor events, da Silva Ramos joined the under-funded Gordini team in 1955. That national institution added a welcome speck of French blue to Formula 1 grids but hopes of victory (or even finishing) were always slim. He became Brazil’s third Grand Prix driver (after Chico Landi and "Gino Bianco") at the 1955 Dutch GP – running among the tail-enders to finish eighth before retiring from the British and Italian GPs.

The 1956 season began with victory in the Coupe de Vitesse at Montlhéry and scored his only F1 points with a 5thin the Monaco GP a full seven laps off the pace. Also fifth in the International Trophy at Silverstone, he started another three GPs that year. Neither da Silva Ramos nor Gordini appeared in an F1 world championship race again but he was second at Pau in 1958 with Alan Brown’s Cooper T45-Climax. He also started at Le Mans on four occasions although he did not finish.

Da Silva Ramos drove Scuderia Centro Sud’s old Maserati 250F in three early 1959 non-championship events and was fourth at Aintree in what was his final season in the sport. He has occasionally been seen at historic meetings and shares his time between homes in France and Brazil.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASONS
Season Name Starts Poles Podiums Wins Position Points
1959 World Sportscar Championship
Scuderia Ferrari 1 0 0 0 0
1956 F1 World Championship
Equipe Gordini 4 0 0 0

19th 2
1955 F1 World Championship
Equipe Gordini 3 0 0 0


1955 World Sportscar Championship
Equipe Gordini 1 0 0 0 0
1954 World Sportscar Championship
JP Colas 1 0 0 0 0
NON-CHAMPIONSHIP RACES
Title Date Circuit Laps Position
1959 International Trophy 02/05/1959 Silverstone 50 R
1959 Aintree F1 18/04/1959 Aintree 67 4
1959 Goodwood F1 30/03/1959 Goodwood 42 R
1957 Naples Grand Prix 28/04/1957 Posillipo 60 R
1957 Pau Grand Prix 22/04/1957 Pau 110 6
1956 Caen Grand Prix 26/08/1956 Caen 70 R
1956 Le Mans 24 Hours 28/07/1956 Le Mans 300 R
1956 International Trophy 05/05/1956 Silverstone 60 5
1956 Syracuse Grand Prix 15/04/1956 Syracusa 80 R

TEAMS
Title
Ferrari
Gordini
JP Colas
Scuderia Centro Sud

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Silverstone 1956 with Gordini


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Those are I believe to be the oldest two.... not including any Indy drivers from when it was a WDC race.
KK definately did F1, but never qualified for a Championship race. Actually that is wrong, he suffered engine failure when he did qualify and was a DNS.

Da Silva Ramos is the oldest still alive F1 racer who scored points.


Anyway here is the article I mentioned. As mentioned article is a couple of years old so things have happened n the meantime. ie John Surtees passing, plus others.
There aren’t many race drivers who can tell their grandchildren and great-grandchildren stories about driving the Formula 1 races 50 or 60 years ago. But there are still a few dozen of living legends who can remember how Formula 1 looked like at the very start.

Among the living champions and winners from 1950s and 1960s are Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Jackie Stewart, Dan Gurney or Tony Brooks for example. However, we checked the list of all the drivers who have competed in at least one Formula One Grand Prix to see who are the oldest among them.

Robert La Caze and Eric Thompson died in 2015
Unfortunately, we lost few names from the top of the list recently. Robert La Caze died on July 1, 2015, at the age of 98. He was a Frenchman but raced under the Moroccan flag at 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix at Casablanca. It was his only Formula One race and he drove a privately run F2 car Cooper T45.

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Another „oldtimer“ Eric Thompson died on August 22, 2015, at the age 95. He took part in the 1952 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, driving a Connaught and finishing 5th. His biggest racing success was to get 3rd place overall at 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin DB2.

Andre Guelfi was oldest until June 2016

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Guelfi

That brings us to the Frenchman Andre Guelfi. He was born on May 6th 1919 in Morocco. His only Formula One race was the same as La Caze’s – the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix, and he finished one place behind La Caze, also driving a Climax-engined Cooper T45. This was the only Moroccan GP ever held as a part of a F1 World Championship. Stirling Moss won the race, Mike Hawthorn took the championship, but the race was marked by the big accident of Stuart Lewis-Evans, who succumbed to his injuries six days later because of terrible burns from that accident.

Guelfi’s racing career started in 1950 with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He participated in the Le Mans endurance race five times, finishing best 6th overall in 1954 and losing two co-drivers in fatal accidents (Jean Lariviere 1951 and Jean-Marie Brousselet 1958). Guelfi also competed in many F2 and sportscar races.

Guelfi died on June 28, 2016, at the age 97.

Fighter pilot Kenneth McAlpine founded Connaught Racing Team
After Guelfi’s death, Kenneth McAlpine took the number 1 spot on the list. He was born on September 21st 1920 in Surrey, England. During the World War II he was a fighter pilot. He participated in seven Formula One GP races from 1952 to 1955, debuting in the 1952 British GP at Silverstone with Connaught Type A.

The wealthy McAlpine was a financial backer and the co-owner of the Connaught Racing Team, which lasted until 1958. McAlpine’s best result was achieving 13th place at the 1953 German Grand Prix at Nürburgring Nordschleife. He retired from racing to marry and to supervise the work on the farm and the vineyard by his house in Kent, which produces award-winning grapes. He was also involved in his family’s building industry.

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Kenneth McAlpine raced in seven Grand Prix races between 1952 and 1955

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For renown painter Leslie Marr, racing was a hobby
Next on the list of oldest living racers is another British driver – Leslie Marr. He was born on August 14th 1922 in Durham. He is a renown painter and racing was just his hobby. He participated in two British Grand Prixes, in 1954 driving his private Connaught Type A and in 1955 driving the Connaught Type B. In the first race he finished 13th, but a year later, he retired. He also competed in several non-championship races, with his best performance winning him the 1955 Cornwall MRC Formula 1 race.

There are four more drivers aged 90 or more who competed in Formula One races 60 or more years ago: Chuck Weyant (USA), Ken Kavanagh (Australia), Paul Goldsmith (USA) and Hermano da Silva Ramos (France-Brasil).

Americans Weyant (born April 4rd 1923) and Goldsmith (born October 2nd 1925) recorded their F1 GP races at the famous Indianapolis 500, which was a part of the Formula One World Championship during the 1950s. Weyant raced four times at the Indy 500 between 1955 and 1959, while Goldsmith competed six times from 1958 to 1963. In the 1960 Indianapolis 500, the last time when the race was a part of World Championship, he scored a podium with the 3rd place finish. Goldsmith was more known as the NASCAR driver, with 127 races over 11 years.

Australian Ken Kavanagh (born December 12th 1923) also deserves his place on this list although he didn’t start any F1 GP race; he tried twice but failed. He entered the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix with his own Maserati 250F and failed to qualify. A month later he tried at 1958 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, but the engine of his car was blown during practice. Despite that, Kavanagh was a very successful racer albeit with motorcycles. He became the first Australian to win a motorcycle Grand Prix race (1952 Ulster Grand Prix). He competed in 38 motorcycle GP races and scored 5 wins and 24 podiums

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Maria Teresa de Filippis – the first woman in F1
We are continuing the list with drivers aged between 85 and 90; there are 10 of them: John Rhodes (UK, August 18th 1927), Hans Herrmann (Germany, February 23rd 1928), Andre Milhoux (Belgium, December 9th 1928), Ian Stewart (UK, July 15th 1929), John Barber (UK, July 22nd 1929), Stirling Moss (UK, September 17th 1929), John Campbell-Jones (UK, January 21st 1930), Don Edmunds (USA, September 23rd 1930), Bernie Ecclestone (UK, October 28th 1930) and David Piper (UK, December 2nd 1930).

Among them were also Guy Ligier, but he died in August 2015. Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman in Formula One, who died in January 2016, at the age 89.

As you noticed, some very famous names are here, for example Stirling Moss (one of the greatest F1 drivers in a history), Bernie Ecclestone (big boss of modern Formula 1) or Maria Teresa de Filippis (first woman in F1). They already have separate stories.

Stories as a inspiration for modern racing drivers

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Bernie Ecclestone failed to qualify for two Grand Prix races in 1958


There are almost 80 drivers aged over 75 on the list, we will count them all and in the following months we will also feature the stories of many of these drivers, because their life stories can be an inspiration for all modern racing drivers.

The drivers aged between 80 and 85 are: Dan Gurney (USA, April 13th 1931),
Alex Soler-Roig (Spain, October 29th 1931),
Tony Brooks (UK, February 25th 1932),
Fred Gamble (USA, March 17th 1932),
Tim Parnell (UK, June 25th 1932),
Mike MacDowel (UK, September 13th 1932),
Gaetano Starrabba (Italy, December 3rd 1932),
Nino Vaccarela (Italy, March 4th 1933),
Bob Bondurant (USA, April 27th 1933),
Mario de Araujo Cabral (Portugal, January 15th 1934),
Giorgio Bassi (Italy, January 20th 1934),
George Follmer (USA, January 27th 1934),
Ernesto Brambilla (Italy, January 31st 1934),
John Surtees (UK, February 11th 1934),
Bobby Unser (USA, February 20th 1934),
Paddy Driver (SouthAfrica, March 13th 1934),
Mike Taylor (UK, March 24th 1934), Brian Gubby (UK, April 17th 1934),
Michael May (Switzerland, August 18th 1934),
Peter Ashdown (UK, October 16th 1934),
AJ Foyt (USA, January 16th 1935),
Hubert Hahne (Germany, March 28th 1935),
Vic Elford (UK, June 10th 1935),
Carlo Facetti (Italy, June 26th 1935),
Jim Hall (USA, July 23rd 1935),
John Cordts (Canada, July 23rd 1935),
Massimo Natili (Italy, July 28th 1935) and
Bill Brack (Canada, September 26th 1935).
South African Peter de Klerk died on July 11th this year, in the age 80.

Oldest living F1 champ Jack Brabham died in 2014
The last group is of the drivers aged between 75 and 80:
Bruce Kessler (USA, March 23rd 1936),
Gerry Ashmore (UK, July 25th 1936),
Jackie Lewis (UK, November 1936),
John Skip Barber (USA, November 1936),
Ben Pon (Netherland, December 9th 1936),
Bruce Johnstone (South Africa, January 30th 1937),
Roger Penske (USA, February 20th 1937),
Brian Redman (UK, March 9th 1937),
Gus Hutchison (USA, April 26th 1937),
Gunther Seiffert (Germany, October 18th 1937),
Keith Greene (UK, January 5th 1938),
Alan Rees (UK, January 12th 1938),
Carlo Franchi Gimax (Italy, January 1st 1938),
Fritz D’Orey (Brasil, March 25th 1938),
Peter Westbury (UK, May 26th 1938),
Eppie Wietzes (Netherlands, May 28th 1938),
Ernie Pieterse (South Africa, July 4th 1938),
Neville Lederle (South Africa, Septemebr 25th 1938),
Brausch Niemann (South Africa, January 7th 1939),
David Hobbs (UK, March 9th 1939),
Basil van Rooyen (South Africa, April 19th 1939),
Mike Harris (Zimbabwe, May 25th 1939)
Dieter Quester (Austria, May 30th 1939),
Jackie Stewart (UK, June 11th 1939), Chris Craft (UK, November 17th 1939),
Conny Andersson (Sweden, December 28th 1939) and
Mario Andretti (USA, February 28th 1940).

Among all those ‘oldtimers’ are three world champions: Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart and John Surtees, who is oldest. Until 2014, the oldest living F1 champion was Sir Jack Brabham (born April 2nd 1926), but he died on May 19th 2014, at the age 88. Mario is 80 this year.

http://www.snaplap.net/oldest-living-dr ... rmula-one/

* 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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theracer120
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Post by theracer120 »

From what I can tell both Kenneth McAlpine and Leslie Marr are still alive, they are both older then Kavanagh. Paul Goldsmith is the oldest of the Indy 500 drivers still alive and the second oldest living NASCAR winner (behind Dick Passwater)
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