Remembering the fallen

[MonteCristo]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Sad indeed. RIP.

As a kid enjoyed supporting him with the Tasman team and Ruffles sponsorship!

[erwin greven]

[FedBet57]

RIP Carlos

[jimclark]

I never was a big fan of his, per se. But, as far as I remember, he was one of the good ones.....people.....and drivers.
(Was he ever number one on a team? I don't recall his being so. Brabham maybe?)

RIP Mssr Reutemann.

[erwin greven]

I always loved Lole. Classy driver, treated badly sometimes.

[erwin greven]

Another former Le Mans winner passes away:

[Everso Biggyballies]

Another former Le Mans winner passes away:

Very sad news.

He had suffered a major heart attack last month while in Le Mans attending an event celebrating Alpine's history at the track and had been in hospital in his home city of Caen. He was 84.

He claimed his Le Mans victories in 1978 with the Alpine-Renault team driving an A442B alongside Didier Pironi and in 1980 together with Jean Rondeau aboard one of his Cosworth-engined M379 coupes.

Jaussaud made a total of 13 participations at Le Mans between 1966 and 1983, all bar two of them coming at the wheel of French-built machines from Matra, Alpine and Rondeau's team.

Jaussaud and Pironi came out on top in 1978 in a race dominated by the Alpines.

The 1980 victory was much more dramatic, as Jaussaud and Rondeau prevailed over the Porsche 908/80 - a 936 in all but name - driven by Jacky Ickx and Reinhold Joest.

Jaussaud spun in a rain shower in the closing stages after the Le Mans-based team opted against bringing him into the pits for wet-weather tyres because the car was suffering an on-going starter motor problem.

He was able to continue to claim a victory , making Rondeau the first and only driver to win Le Mans in a car bearing his own name.

Pic below


RIP Jean Pierre Jassaud.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Kiwi motorsport legend Graham McRae dies


Graham at Sandown 1978

New Zealand’s most decorated Formula 5000 racer and renowned car builder Graham McRae has passed away at 81 years old.

McRae was a talented open-wheel racer, reaching the pinnacle of the sport in 1973 when he made his sole Formula 1 championship start with Williams in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

That same year he also contested the Indianapolis 500 and claimed Rookie of the Year status driving an Offenhauser-powered Eagle, completing 91 laps in a rain-shortened 133-lap affair.

McRae was among the likes of compatriots Bruce McLaren and Howden Ganley as a prolific manufacturer of race cars.

Perhaps the most well known was the McRae GM1, which was initially drawn up by well-known Formula 1 designer Len Terry in conjunction with Malcolm Bridgland and McRae who brought knowledge from his time driving the McLaren M10B.


The McRae GM1 dressed in its bold fluorescent STP colours

In total, 14 McRae GM1 race cars were built between 1972 and 1973, achieving significant success in the hands of the car’s namesake.

A single GM2 was made, but the design was later sold to Talon which built five in total.

The radical GM3 came to light in 1976, featuring a striking perspex cockpit surround that put the driver on display.

The GM3 formed the basis of the radical GM9 Can-Am racer, which was famed for its bold pink and white livery.

McRae was part of a highly talented crop of Kiwi drivers to succeed throughout the 1970s in the Formula 5000 era.

In 1972, 1973, and 1978 he won the Australian Grand Prix at Sandown, the latter two in his own McRae GM1.

He also claimed the highly regarded Tasman Series in 1971, 1972, and 1973, beating the likes of compatriot Chris Amon as well as Australians Frank Matich, Frank Gardner, and Kevin Bartlett.

McRae won national Formula 5000 titles in New Zealand (1970), the United States (1972), and Australia (1978). Success was also forthcoming in Europe too, winning nine races between 1971 and 1973.

Many of the McRae GM1 Formula 5000 race cars still compete in Australia and New Zealand.

McRae is part of Motorsport New Zealand’s Wall of Fame and was recently honoured by the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2021/08/04/ki ... crae-dies/


A few of McRaes cars he built and drove.


McRae, GM1, Warwick Farm 1973


F5000 Championship Riverside 1974, Graham aboard GM2 ‘001’


GM, Torana Corner, Sandown on the way to winning the 1978 AGP, McRae GM3 Chev 1978


GM in the GM3 Chev Can-Am in 1977, Riverside Turn 6. Check out the vestigial bodywork, almost reminds one of Vern Schuppan’s first Can-Am body on his Elfin MR8?


GM, McRae GM9 Chev, Caesars Palace Can-Am October 1981

A Magazine Ad from back in the day.

[erwin greven]

[Everso Biggyballies]

In tragic circumstances according to the news.....

Maillet's body was found by the local police in her Luxembourg home, alongside the bodies of her husband and another woman, all three showing gunshot wounds.

According to a statement issued by the public prosecutor, Maillet's husband is believed to have shot and killed both women before committing suicide.

"At 00:10, the bodies of two women and one man were discovered by the police in a house in Gouvy, all three presenting gunshot wounds," the statement said.

"According to our information, the male individual voluntarily used his firearm to kill both women, including his wife, before killing himself."

RIP

[erwin greven]

In tragic circumstances according to the news.....

Maillet's body was found by the local police in her Luxembourg home, alongside the bodies of her husband and another woman, all three showing gunshot wounds.

According to a statement issued by the public prosecutor, Maillet's husband is believed to have shot and killed both women before committing suicide.

"At 00:10, the bodies of two women and one man were discovered by the police in a house in Gouvy, all three presenting gunshot wounds," the statement said.

"According to our information, the male individual voluntarily used his firearm to kill both women, including his wife, before killing himself."

RIP

[Everso Biggyballies]

A little more of the achievements and function of Nathalie Maillet, CEO and driving force behind Spa-Francorchamps.
Very sad timing given that earlier today I was watching the WRC Ypres / Belgian Rally which today had stages incorporating parts of the iconic circuit and the access roads. More sad in the circumstances is that the rally was also won by Belgian driver Thierry Neuville.
It should have been a day of rejoicing.

A statement from the circuit:

"On this very sad day, the whole staff wish to present their most sincere condolences to Nathalie's family and friends.

"The circuit, but also motor racing, has lost today a passionate woman, strong in her convictions and always looking to the future."

Circuit chairman Melchior Wathelet hailed Maillet as "a true leader who will be greatly missed".

"My thoughts are with Nathalie's family, her parents, her loved ones and her teams," he said.

"Today, we are losing a highly respected lady, a true leader who will be greatly missed. Nathalie had become the face of the circuit, she embodied the passion for racing that we all share.”

Born into a French racing family, Maillet was a well-known figure in Belgian motorsport.

An architect by trade, Maillet tried her hand at racing in several domestic series before moving to various roles behind the scenes.

In 2016 she was elected as CEO of Spa-Francorchamps, becoming one of the driving forces behind plans to modernise the ageing Ardennes circuit.

Spa is in the middle of an 80million euro overhaul to improve safety and facilities, and to prepare the circuit for the return of the EWC Spa 24 Hours for motorcycles.

Maillet was also keen on attracting more international series beyond the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix and Spa's World Endurance Championship round.

Under Maillet's watch, Spa began hosting the World Rallycross Championship.

Her tragic death occurred the night before Spa hosted the final stages of the World Rally Championship's Ypres Rally.

Pierre Fillon, president of Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, said: "We are particularly shocked and upset by this news. We were in regular contact over the past few years, in particular in relation to the FIA World Endurance Championship.

"Nathalie was passionate about motorsport and spared no effort in defending our causes. On behalf of the ACO, I extend our heartfelt condolences to her friends and family and to the staff of Spa-Francorchamps. They can count on our support in this difficult time."

[erwin greven]

Remembering Mose Nowland, legendary Ford engine man



Legendary Ford engine builder Mose Nowland has died, his family has revealed. Nowland worked for Ford for 57 years, building engines and working on the company’s racing programs in the company of racing legends such as Jim Clark, Colin Chapman and Ken Miles. He started with the company in 1955 and quickly began assembling and repairing experimental engines, becoming very skilled at fabricating the parts the engines needed to function.

Among the race engines Nowland worked on were the Ford V8 that powered Clark to victory in the 1965 Indy 500, the power plants of the GT40s that won the 1966 and ’67 24 Hours of Le Mans and, in association with Ernie Elliott, the V8s that helped make Bill Elliott “Awesome Bill” in NASCAR in the 1980s. He also developed the Ford V6 for NASCAR Busch (now Xfinity) Series racing, and worked with Bob Glidden on developing NHRA Pro Stock motors..

Nowland was the company’s man on the ground at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, working through the duration of the race to make adjustments, fix problems and make sure that Ford’s GT-40 racing prototypes returned to the track as quickly as possible, playing a key role in their 1-2-3 sweep in a shocking upset over Ferrari that was recently dramatized in the film “Ford Vs. Ferrari.”



“You didn’t want to be the last one touching the engine and not have it perform like it should,” Nowland recalled in an interview with the Detroit Free Press in 2019.

Receiving the prestigious Spirit of Ford award from Edsel Ford, Nowland retired from Ford in 2012, but kept busy as a volunteer at both the Henry Ford Museum and the company founder’s home, Fair Lane, where his near six decades of experience crafting engine parts made him adept at creating mechanical and architectural elements from a variety of materials, including metal, rubber, and glass. In a restoration like Fair Lane, which relies on making new objects that look identical to their historic counterparts, this skill proved invaluable.

https://racer.com/2021/08/14/rememberin ... ngine-man/

[Everso Biggyballies]

RIP Mose Nowland

[erwin greven]

Here an interview with Fernando Alonso:

[erwin greven]