Tag: 1959

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Video

1959 Santa Barbara and Riverside Road Races

I was at a concert last night and invariably as the artist takes the stage, people’s phones come out and they start filming. My first thought is, “You’re never going to watch this poorly recorded video with poorly captured audio. Put your phone away and dance!”
But then I think of things like this 8mm film of the 1959 runnings of the spring and summer sessions of the Santa Barbara Road Races and Riverside… I’m sure at the time, people standing around this person thought they’d never watch the films. Other spectators were thinking that instead of enjoying the day of racing, our filmer here was lost in the camera’s eyepiece. And for what? Grainy film with no audio… Fifty hears later, however, I think of this document as absolute treasure and the person that recorded it as a hero.
Maybe I should lay off the people holding their phones over their heads filming all the time.

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For Sale

1960 Works Team MGA Coming to Auction

Only at the Pebble Beach auctions does a car with a $250,000-$300,000 estimate qualify as “under the radar”. I don’t really know how it’s possible though. On auction at Gooding & Co. is one of three works team MGAs For the 1960 Sebring Endurance race (Chassis YD2/2571) and it is stupefyingly gorgeous.
Initially slated to participate in the 1959 Sebring, this example ultimately didn’t make the trip to Florida until the following year, at which time it got a brace of factory updates including: lightweight Vanden Plas aluminum hardtops and a special cockpit tonneau panel to accommodate a suitcase—a new FIA requirement for 1960. The one year wait was worth it, with this car bringing in 4th in Class and 29th Overall.

The car has some light SCCA history in its post-Sebring history, but has surprisingly few modifications; giving it a wonderfully preserved appearance and largely untouched (well maintained but not crazy updated) internals.

What an amazing machine. I can’t wait to see how the bidding goes. More information on Gooding’s Lot Detail Page.

Update: sold below the estimate for $236,500

Categories
Video

1959 Santa Barbara and Riverside Races Home Movies

Another can of film has made it out of the attic and onto YouTube. Rejoice! Here is the Owens Family’s footage from 1959’s Memorial Day Santa Barbara Road Races, The Kiwanis Grand Prix at Riverside, and The Labor Day Santa Barbara Road Races. How is it possible that this footage has been up for over a year and only has 28 views? Can’t we do something about that, readers?!

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

Reader Photos: Gary Mason's 1959 Coppa Città di Asiago Hillclimb

Coppa Città di Asiago by Gary Mason
Let’s dig back in to the scores of photos that Gary Mason sent in from his teenage years spent in Italy in the 1950s. Among them are these magnificent snapshots from a decidedly less documented location than Monza or along the Brescia-Rome route. The Asiago Hillclimb in the mountains of Northern Italy is exactly the kind of event I love seeing imagery from. This looks very much like a locally organized race for local racers—no glitz required.


Coppa Città di Asiago by Gary Mason
Of course in classic hillclimb fashion, it’s the variety that makes these amazing shots come together so beautifully. Everything from open-wheeled formula junior cars and little sub-1000cc barchettas to big Ferraris and proto-econobox Fiats (albeit tuned by Abarth) are all well represented here. What an incredible afternoon it must have been for Gary, nestled in among the other fans atop this little wall above a switchback.

Click on through to more of Gary’s photos in our Gary Mason Archives. Another huge “thank you” to Gary Mason for sending these in. More to come.

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Video

From the British Pathé Archives: Racing Drivers School

This racing school at Snetterton charged £1/week in 1959… Sign me up.

Categories
Grand Prix

Stirling Moss and Merging Passions

Tea For Moss
“Stirling, there’s still 12 minutes in the race!”
“Tea time is tea time.”
via Silodrome

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For Sale

Stanguellini Formula Jr on eBay

Stanguellini F Jr for sale

You don’t see Stanguellini Formula Juniors pop up on eBay very often. This 1959 example looks lovely. The car was restored in 2004 and has only had a handful of races in the time since.

My usual sources aren’t turning up specific race history for this chassis number but given the solid history of Stanguellini in FJr, there’s a strong chance that there’s some fun stories back there. While this example is unlikely to have any laps turned by well-known Stanguellini racers like Bandini or Von Tripps; with only a touch over a hundred of them made I suppose it’s possible. At least that’s what I would tell myself while I sat in this one in my garage, goggles strapped on and mouthing high revving Fiat 1100 noises.

There’s 6 Days left and reserve not met at $75K. More info on the lot detail page. As always, if it’s little and Italian, Cliff has details for you.

Via Etceterini’s Facebook Feed.

Categories
Porsche Video

Road America 1959

A half-hour of 1959 Road America footage? Yes, please.

With all the changes that happened to America’s great racing courses over the years, I am reminded what a treasure Road America remains. Riding onboard this Porsche in the opening minutes of this clip, it’s plain to see how much of the course is virtually unchanged. Turn 5 is still harrowing, complete with a little wiggle as we close the gap on another driver. We need some radical correction as we overcook it into the always tricky Turn 6, half-obscured as it is by the crest of the hill up under the Toyota Pepsi bridge.
Be sure to stick with the video until the main event, watching the Alfas of William Wuesthoff and Chuck Stoddard mix it up with the dominating Porsche Carrera GTs of Blanchard, Rickert, Collins, and Jennings might be one of the best things you do today.
We’ll go back onboard late in this video, and start overcooking it again through 5 and 6… well, at least it’s an accurate depiction of my own lines on Road America.

I still don’t know why this staccato rhythm of voiceover hasn’t make a tremendous comeback—even just for the kitsch factor.

Finishing order and more for the June 1959 Class F/G/H/I/J race at Racing Sports Cars.

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

1959 Lime Rock Photos

The BARC Boys have a wonderful gallery of their members and others in action at the 1959 Nationals from July 4th weekend, 1959. Briggs Cunningham in particular seems to have been a busy man that weekend, gridding his Lister Jaguar and the OSCA in which he took 2nd place for the G & H Modified class.

There’s a lot to love about this series of photos. Many Maseratis, Porsche 550s, an Aston Martin DBR-2, OSCAs were popular that year. But the handful of photos of the motorcycle-powered 500cc Cooper single seaters really do it for me. Just look at this photo of Lex DuPont leaning hard into a turn in his. Sadly they’re terribly uncompetitive in today’s vintage racing monoposto classes, but these little Coopers are pure racing delight to my eyes. I love the backyard ingenuity, wonderful lines, and repurposing of motorcycle engines in these little beauties. I’m definitely going to have to write more about these little cycle-powered racers in the future.