There have been a few running and driving sharknose Ferrari 156 replicas built. And while they’ve received a warm welcome from the vintage community they’re still well outside of my skillset—but even I think I might be able to make this one!
This week we lost one of the greatest. In his honor, the Museo Ferrari lit only Niki’s car while the rest of their gallery went dark. Somehow this is the image that is hitting emotionally more than any of the other Lauda tributes I’ve seen this week.
I guess after his survival of that horrific crash in 1976, I just figured he was immortal. RIP Niki Lauda: 1949—1976(+43)
I feel like British Pathé could have used this title for dozens of their recaps of races in the 1960s. This time though, “Jim Clark Wins Again” is referring to the 1964 International Trophy race at Goodwood. Bad luck for Graham Hill that year, but always good for us to see historic footage of Goodwood that we can compare with the miraculous effort they’ve made preserving it for the modern age. What better way to ease into next weekend’s Goodwood 74th Members Meeting, which this year will be live streamed. Thanks for that, Goodwood.
Edit: Now that I look at this again.. it’s probably not late night. Oh well.
Easy to forget that for a few years the development of spoilers and wings was the wild west. It seems like Formula 1 teams tried a slightly new configuration every race, sometimes with spectacular or terrifying or hilarious results.
See if you can guess which of these images was the humble headquarters of McLaren racing in 1973 or the Tech Center that opened in ’04.
I’ve been reading Sandro Martini’s wonderful novel Tracks: Racing the Sun about the golden age of Grand Prix racing and the exploits of Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi and other (mostly Italian) heroes of the 1930s racing scene and the worrisome political climate of the era (full review to come—short version: I love it).
The passages that take place during the contentious and controversial Grands Prix of Tripoli are so evocative and romantic that I couldn’t help trying to dig up some photos of the era. This dockside image of the Mercedes W154 so perfectly captures the clash between the huge technological leaps that racing machines were making with the almost quaint simplicity of the rest of society. These ropes and cables jerkily transferring this rocketship of a car to the docks must have been as much a test of nerves as the race itself. You think about racing teams having to trust their drivers but rarely do you consider the faith being placed in the longshoremen.
Great battle between Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt here!
Shame how few of these remain active on the F1 calendar..
Check out this magnificent look behind the scenes at Repco-Brabham, and “Black Jack” Brabham’s stewardship of both the team and relationship with Repco, the Australian engineering company that somehow became a world class engine supplier. You can always count on midcentury film narration for quality platitudes like this gem: …”the new owner is assured that his Repco-Brabham is right—not only according to the jigs and the gauges—but also in its personality and temperament. Subtle qualities checked by the sensitive hands of the maestro himself.”
No Repco-Brabham film is complete without an introduction to the Tasman Series, and it thankfully comprises the bulk this film. For the impatient: jump to 10 minutes in for some shots of bonus New Zealand tikis as introduction to Formula 1’s best known off-season diversion. But really, the whole doc is worth a watch. Dust off your Dunlop blues, and make yourself comfortable.
Thanks for pointing this one out, Brian!