More Sebring ’59 photos at Racing Sports Cars.
Month: August 2009
Track maps have sure taken a turn for the worse since this illustration of the Swedish track Karlskoga, GellerĂĄsen. It’s absolutely fantastic. Dig the illustrated saloon cars racing around the front straight. Perfect.
Compare with the modern official map, and mourn the passing of elegance and style.
More video is finding its way online in the days following the Monterey Historics. Here’s a lovely example: the starting grid for Group 7 rolling out. A field that includes Porsche 917s, 910s, 906, and others. Hallelujah!
Here’s another for the Porschephiles among us. Let’s take a walk among the amazing machines that Porsche brought from their collection. Everything from the LeMans winning Herrmann/Attwood 917 (wow), to a pair of Porsche 804 Formula 1 cars (wow!), to the Redman/Siffert Targa Florio 908/3 (wow!!). Amazing.
This is a bit heartbreaking. If you suffer from heart problems, are pregnant, or have a weak stomach, by all means look away.
This Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa driver had a bit of an off at Laguna Seca this weekend and put one of the most beautiful cars of all time all the way through the kitty litter and into the tires. It largely looks like body damage, but it’s a chilling sight nonetheless.
I love to see vintage cars driven hard, wheel to wheel; the drivers getting a little competitive. Unfortunately, this is the price we sometimes have to pay for that passion. I don’t know what happened at this race, and I don’t say any of this to place blame on this driver. Aggressive contact and carelessness are terribly rare at vintage events, and I’m assuming that this wasn’t the result of either. I hope he wasn’t injured. It looks like a glancing blow on the tires, so hopefully he’s alright.
I’m looking for a silver lining here; I guess this is good news for restorers.
You can click on any of these photos for larger versions—but I wouldn’t recommend it. Octane had an excellent photographer in the right place at the right time and has the complete sequence of photos that led us here.
Octane has been really on top of Monterey coverage this weekend and I commend them for it. They’re really taking care of the vintage racing junkies that are trapped at home in front of our computers waiting desperately for information from the Historics.
Update: an incredibly comprehensive set of photos of this crash is available at AutoBlog. They report that the driver, David Love, is a long-time Monterey Historics competitor who suffered a brake failure in the corkscrew. David was dazed, but unhurt.
Here’s what a few hundred million dollars worth of Ferrari GTOs looks like.
The Monterey Historics are underway. There’s more racing action today, but I’m pleased to see that video from day one is already arriving on YouTube. Here’s just another stroll through the paddock as the Porsches line up for the featured marque parade. Keep your eyes peeled for the yellow Porsche 917 – this is the 917-021 that Gunnar Racing has been documenting the restoration of. They finished it in time for the historics, which is an impressive restoration pace for any car. My hat’s off to the Gunnar racing team on this. I’m amazed that they finished it in time.
There’s a whole lot more to love in this video, from Porsche 550 Spyders to RSKs to 908/3, to 935: this one video showcases virtually every Porsche racing model. I’m impressed that the cameraman didn’t fall to his knees and weep when he got to the end of the row.
Octane’s Pebble Beach Tour Gallery
Octane Magazine is on the scene in Monterey this weekend and has a brilliant gallery of cars participating in the Pebble Beach Tour, the annual road trip event open to participants in the Pebble Beach Concours. Check it out.
Speaking of 1950s Jaguars, why don’t we let Mike Hawthorn show us the ropes for the 1956 Le Mans?