In March of 1960 Zych, Nicholas, Spankey, Kelley, Kelley Sr. and Tierno of the infamous BARC Boys made the trip down from New York to Florida for the Sebring 12 Hours. Good thing they packed their cameras.
See the rest of the set on the BARC Boys site.
Making of the Shell/Ferrari ad “Circuit”:
The ad in question:
John Lennon didn’t pass his driving test until 1965, by which time The Beatles were already an international sensation. Reportedly, luxury and sporting dealers were literally lining up in front of Lennon’s house with examples of their models for his inspection. Maserati’s, Astons and Jags littered the road outside his Kenwood estate hoping to earn his business. After a stroll outside the gate, he chose this Ferrari 330GT 2+2 in an arresting shade of blue. That very car, the example pictured above, is coming available as part of Bonham’s Collectors’ Motor Cars, Motorcycles and Automobilia auction on February 5 in Paris.
Bonhams says, “The 330 GT had been completed at the factory to right hand drive specification and finished in Azzuro (light metallic blue) paint, with blue interior, as noted on the Factory records. Its specification is noted as having included matched blue carpets, light grey headlining, a Webasto sunroof and overdrive. The finished car was delivered to British Ferrari agents Maranello Concessionaires Ltd. of Egham on order number 192.”
Lennon only owned the car for a few months, before adopting his well-known Rolls Royce limousine with the psychedelic paint scheme.
Estimated to sell for €120,000 – 170,000, but only time will tell. More info on Bonham’s lot detail page.
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Naturally, it’s a golf course today. Damnit.
In 1955, however, the Hansen Dam park hosted the 1st Los Angeles Sports Car Races. Ernie McAfee won the day in the #76 Ferrari 750 Monza; completing 67 laps at an average speed of 93mph.
I wonder what you had to do to gain access to the Guild Area VIP parking.
More of the racing program at FScheff’s.
Ever the designer, it looks like Ralph Lauren organizes his collection by color. Awesome.
More at Vanity Fair.
I blame the tracks. Sure, you could zoom in nice and tight with a telephoto lens that you need 2 assistants to help you hold steady, but this shot of Von Tripps at the ’58 German GP must have been taken with the photographer’s toes on the track. You just can’t replicate the immediacy and drama that close proximity provides.
Being able to see his face sure helps too.
Surtees’ Ferrari 156 Cockpit
In October 1964, Road & Track published a marvelous comparison of the season’s Grand Prix cars as the drivers see them. It’s interesting to see the variety of subtle differences in both instrument layout and the hints at differences in construction. Notice the cramped quarters of the Ferrari 156 with it’s aluminum fuel tanks encroaching closely on the drivers hips versus the relatively roomy frame of the Cooper. Similarly, check out the even spacing between instruments in Clark’s Lotus 24, each with a small attached label versus Gurney’s Brabham tighter, more random, cluster with hand painted instrument labels looking very low tech, shade-tree hot rodder. As pointed out in the original article, it’s interesting that John Cooper seems to have greater trust in his drivers than the other teams, as indicated by the lack of a shift gate (although I don’t see one on the Brabham either).
Gurney’s Brabham BT11 Cockpit
Clark’s Lotus 23 Cockpit
McLaren’s Cooper T73 Cockpit
Scans of the complete article at Manitouguy’s Blog.
Sound engineer turned Ferrari restorer Tom Yang visited Monticello Motor Club with his friends Jim and Sandy. Tom says, “Jim and Sandy prepared to do some exploratory laps in their cars. We were surrounded by modern GT3 Porsches, and some newer street cars taking their laps around the track, but when the GTO and Cobra were unloaded from the transporter, people stopped to watch!”
I should hope so. Shall we take a lap in the GTO? Probably.
More photos (in heartbreakingly small sizes) at Tom Yang’s Ferrari Restoration (careful or you’ll lose a few hours digging through his archives).
This astounding collection of photos from Ten-Tenths member Navyflier is well worth digging through the thread to take it all in. What remarkable shots! What excellent access to the pits and paddock! What atmosphere! It’s shots like these that anyone can use to justify their obsession with historic motorsport to their well-meaning and concerned friends. They worry about us. But a glimpse of these images should help them understand.
Here’s something that just couldn’t happen today. The Hurrell/North team discovered that their Saab’s fuel tank wasn’t large enough for the race so they swapped out the tank from their street A40 Austin, which necessitated punching a hole in the body work to accommodate the fuel filler. Love it.
These are just the tip of the iceberg: more at Ten-Tenths