By now we’ve already done all the drooling we can over the impending sale of several of Jerry’s Porsches at the upcoming Gooding Amelia Island auction. But let’s at least take a moment to listen to the man himself introducing us to his 1959 Porsche 718 RSK in the style he’s made famous on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I’d be happy to join him for a cup if we can take this there.
Category: Video
Ice racing still happens on the frozen waters near St. Paul, Minnesota. But seeing Siatas and 356s and Allards wheel to slipping wheel is no less a tremendous sight out on the ice in this film of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Winter Ice Races of 1954.
As with many of the races of the period, I’m always astonished to see the variety of machines out there mixing it up. Not just sportscars of various sizes, but several American hot rodders joining the race as well
Worth watching just for the onboard from director Tom Countryman—who was a fixture in the upper-midwest vintage racing scene for decades. It really shows the delicate balance required for this very different kind of off-road racing. Glorious.
Thanks for sending this in, Paul!
Categories
Tonino Lamborghini On His Father’s Legend
Another beautifully shot video by the team at Quartamarcia.
Classic Race Simulators rents out a variety of handmade replica mid-late 60s Formula 1 cockpits for use with racing simulators for what looks to be an incredibly immersive experience. I’ve long fantasized about crafting a racing simulator station for my home gaming needs but the boy-racer aesthetic of most of the rigs has never appealed… I don’t know why I didn’t think of something like this earlier.
It’s a shame that they only rent them out, because there is almost certainly a market for these on a sales basis. They look to be quite gorgeously executed but there would probably be opportunities for improvement that the incredibly crafty race sim community would leap on—that flappy paddle shifter on the Logitech G27 sticks out like a sore thumb. But the idea of the tube itself as a bare rig… it definitely gets the mental wheels turning. The racing sim community’s demands for realism are unlimited and steering hubs like those made by Fanatec (and I’m sure there are others) will allow you to modify the inputs to match the era and add any steering wheel. Equipped with a quick-release hub, you could even swap your Momo Prototipo or Nardi Classic right out of the sim racing rig and pop it into your car in the garage.
Check out a video of one in action at Race Retro a couple of years back.
These onboards from the Targa Florio during the practice period are always harrowing. When you see the occasional shepherd and daily Sicilian traffic it’s not hard to see why this footage from 1973 was the last year of the event. Let’s ride shotgun with the Claude Haldi/Bernard Chenevière Porsche 908. Almost a shame we can’t see the lovely Toblerone livery of this unusually red P-car. The car didn’t make the main event due to blowing an engine in practice. Easy to believe from where I’m sitting.
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A History of Scalextric
If you’re lucky enough to have a new slot car track under your tree this holiday season, why not throw this documentary about the early years of Scalextric on while your setting up Eau Rouge?
If on the other hand, you only have a lump of coal this year, this clip might motivate you to grab one of your own in the new year. We’re pretty tempted by the Team Mini Challenge Set.
In case you’re still looking for a project as the winter season sets in, consider this: There might not be a better way to scratch your vintage racing itch than preparing for the 2016 CycleKart season.
Edit: Ooh! And here’s an onboard.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t subject you to an 11 minute Johnny Walker ad, but maybe if advertising as short film as love letter to vintage racing is a success we’ll see more of these and fewer terrible ads. Will it join the Ferrari Shell spot and Castello Cavalcante in the pantheon of great classic racing ads? Only time will tell. But I’m sure I’ll want another look at that French Racing Blue beauty.
Cameos from Jenson Button and Mika Häkkinen are a fun bonus as well. But of course that gorgeous Delahaye 135 somehow manages to steal the spotlight from even Jude Law. Enjoy.
Categories
Reader Film from the Drags ’56—’65
Rudi wrote in with his footage from a variety of drag races saying, “Don’t know if you are into drags, but I just posted what I shot way back then”. I have to admit that I never really ‘got’ drag racing. But after attending my first drags as a spectator last summer—and starting to learn some of the weird intricacies of the sport—I have a much greater respect for drag racers (who are some of the most colorful and compelling figures in American motorsport today). I’ve also started to realize that much of what I love about classic racing, the grassroots everyman spirit, never really went away in drag racing. You’re just as likely to see a hotted up Ford Focus or GTI as a top-fuel dragster on any given weekend at the drag strip. That alone makes drag racing fantastic.
For those that live their lives a quarter mile at a time, this is absolute gold. The 1959 Nationals at Detroit are particularly great here… Not to mention the Gullwing Mercedes and the Corvette vs. Corvette grudge match starting after the 4 minute mark.
Thanks Rudi!
Porsche already does a good job of getting their historic racing cars out to the track and in front of fans—but I’ve never heard of an event like this one and I hope to be there for the next one. Sadly, no video editor alive can resist putting a music bed behind this.
Just listen to that 4-cam rev.