Tag: LeMans

Beautiful Vintage(?) Poster

Post author By Harlo
Post date January 28, 2019
2 Comments on Beautiful Vintage(?) Poster

Update:

Thanks to Miguel and a few commenters on facebook for tracking down the artist. Timba Smits illustrated this piece for Dunlop commemorating 100 years of the 24 Hours. Unfortunately I don’t see a print on his site, but you should absolutely head over there to see more of their beautiful work. Gorgeous.

I’ve seen a number of Pinterest members and eBay sellers calling this a 1950 LeMans poster. The Jag and Ferrari pictured here make that impossible.. But I can’t seem to find anything more about it.

It looks to me like a contemporary illustration meant to evoke the 50s. I’d love to credit the artist here and maybe get a print. Anyone know anything about it?

Tags 24 Heurs du Mans, jaguar d-type, LeMans, Print

Video

Holiday Corvettes: LeMans 1960

Post author By Harlo
Post date December 21, 2018
2 Comments on Holiday Corvettes: LeMans 1960

Corvettes at LeMans. 1960.

When you need a half hour break from the family over the next few days, you could do worse than putting on the headphones and watching this short documentary about Corvette’s efforts at the 1960 24 Hours of LeMans. Corvette has become a prominent (sometimes dominant) team at the 24 in recent years, but that wasn’t necessarily the case in 1960 when the ‘Vette was still wrestling with the sentiment that the car was underpowered at its debut 7 years earlier.

Tags 1960, 24 hours, 24 Hours Du Mans, Chevrolet, Corvette, Endurance Racing, John Fitch, LeMans, USA

Ferrari Video

Jags and Ferraris at LeMans, 1962

Post author By Harlo
Post date June 16, 2016
No Comments on Jags and Ferraris at LeMans, 1962

Get ready for LeMans weekend!

Tags 24 Hours Du Mans, Endurance Racing, Ferrari, Jaguar, LeMans

Porsche Video

Racing with the Porsche Spyders 1955

Post author By Harlo
Post date March 29, 2016
3 Comments on Racing with the Porsche Spyders 1955

Always shocking to see the stark contrast between the glitzy see-and-be-seen fanfare of today’s pits and the casual atmosphere of races of the past. Even a race like LeMans looks more like a club race weekend at your local track than the paramount international endurance event.
Lots of good footage of the LeMans race itself. Rare to see color film from this event. Even with all of the 1955 LeMans disaster documentaries and media analysis, almost everything I’ve ever seen of the race has been in black and white.

Tags 1955, 1955 lemans, 550, Endurance Racing, LeMans, Porsche 550

Video

British Pathé Film of the 1955 LeMans Disaster

Post author By Harlo
Post date January 20, 2015
No Comments on British Pathé Film of the 1955 LeMans Disaster

Perhaps no other event shaped the future of motorsport more than the 1955 LeMans crash that caused more than 80 spectator fatalities. Among other things, motor racing was banned in Switzerland as a result of this crash until 2007. Mercedes pulled out of the race and didn’t enter a factory-sponsored team in any race until the 80’s. Certainly track design was forever changed.

It’s not just snow-fencing, hay bales, and sitting on the curb while sportscars fly by anymore. I once paused momentarily while descending the stairs at the Michigan International Speedway during a race just to experience the sensation as a car wooshed past at 200mph only feet away. It was thrilling then, even with that handful of feet, a concrete wall, and high fencing between us. I can only imagine what it must have been like without those physical barriers there—I occasionally wish for it. But looking back at LeMans ’55 is a good reminder of why it simply cannot be. Even in today’s tracks with their 20 foot crash fences, endless runoff, and limited view for spectators, there is still an element of risk just sitting in the stands at the track.

Tags 1955 LeMans Disaster, LeMans, mike hawthorn, Peter Leveigh

Historic Racing Photos Porsche

The Less Than Palatial LeMans Garages of 1972

Post author By Harlo
Post date May 2, 2014
No Comments on The Less Than Palatial LeMans Garages of 1972

Porsche’s 1972 LeMans garages were a buzzing environment with cars being tuned and prepared, and busy 1970s technicians with 1970s hair. Porsche’s star was bright indeed coming off of two straight years of wins and the factory was shining.
Wait a second. This doesn’t look like the workshop of a winning endurance racing team. These are the garages of the rag-tag up-and-comers in over their heads playing on a stage too big for them. These are the facilities of underdogs. I have been in lone racers’ shops that were better equipped than this.
Just look at this. This could be your garage. There’s no precision instruments here; not even a flashy (albeit utilitarian) immense tool chest larger than a kitchen counter. Just shove that table out of the way, maybe stack the chairs on it to clear up some floor room. Pull that 55 gallon drum over here so I can pop the engine up on it. Let’s start turning some wrenches.
This. This right here is why I love vintage racing. Looking at these guys, you almost get the sense that anyone could do this. That you could hatch a scheme to race in next year’s LeMans and June would roll around and you’d be there. And this is Porsche we’re talking about. Repeat this for Cooper Garages (or Lotus.. or BRM…) heading into Formula 1 and you see that the pinnacle of the sport in every corner was more likely to be filled with dedicated hot-rodders than aerospace engineers.
via Le Container

Tags 1970s, 1972, Endurance, LeMans, Porsche

Classic Sportscar Historic Racing Photos

Triumph's LeMans Digs

I suspect that photo opportunity that the entrance provided was not the key decision factor for the Triumph Works team when they chose the Hotel de France as their accommodations for LeMans in 1963 and 1964, but it may as well have been. I often prattle on about the lack of pit access and being able to wander amongst the teams and cars before or after the races, but this… this is something else.
Whether the factory cars were just pulled out in front of the hotel for a quick photo and then tucked back into transporters or garages and out of prying eyes, or whether they just sat out front, I don’t know. I like to think it’s the latter. The idea of the team cars just sitting out for a night before one last shakedown run on the hour drive to La Sarthe is too wonderful a notion to not daydream about.

Incidentally, Hotel de France’s Facebook page seems to demonstrate their continuing close relationship with vintage motoring and frequently hosts classic car tours.
Photos via Hotel de France. Thanks for sending these in, Willem!

Tags Factory Team, France, la sarthe, LeMans, Triumph

Video

Triumph at the 24

Let’s ride along with team Triumph at the 1961 LeMans 24 Hours race, shall we? I don’t know why every TR4 owner doesn’t have their car painted in this livery. That huge gumball on the rear decklid is such a bold graphic statement that it makes other early-60s racing graphics immediately look so stodgy by comparison.

You know that I love seeing this track action, but the first segment of the film in the pits almost does more to place me in the era. After all, we’ll be able to attend events and see many of these very cars race again, but will be ever be able to wander the pits like this? Just another reason why I hope Goodwood’s ethos of embracing the entire era catches on with more vintage racing events.

Thanks for sending this one in, Mandy!

Tags 1961, France, LeMans, Triumph

Video

Footage of Ecurie Ecosse in Action

Post author By Harlo
Post date December 4, 2013
No Comments on Footage of Ecurie Ecosse in Action

For the none of you that need a reminder of why the Ecurie Ecosse team and it’s iconic transporter are so important, Bonhams assembled this marvelous video with some little-seen racing footage of the team in various years of competition.