Parking for the Monaco GP has got to be a complete nightmare, but this shot from the Wally Willmott collection of the Cooper works transporter parked on the beach is at once ridiculous and romantic. Apparently the space was at such a premium near the pits that the team would take a walk over to the beach to visit the spares truck as needed throughout the weekend. Imagine a contemporary team doing the same today!
More Wally Willmott photos at this fantastic Nostalgia Forum thread.
“trio Lotus!
Lotus seven America: Leading Lightweight (900 lb) sportscar in the British tradition.
Lotus formula junior: Undisputed world champion of the class, replicas now available to a favoured few in the USS.
Lotus Elite: World’s first and only unit-construction glass-fibre car, legendary speed and handling with unrivaled elegance.
The Lotus Lines is available for your examination at a steadily-widening selection of specialized Dealerships throughout the Country. A word of warning, however—don’t try a Lotus until you have obtained the approbation of your present mistress – a demonstration run will create a desire to possess brooking no delay…”
don’t try a Lotus until you have obtained the approbation of your present mistress!!! I am in love with that line. It has to be the pinnacle of cheesy sportscar copywriting. At least until I find the next one.
The disused Detroit Velodrome lit up the blogs a few weeks ago when the Detroit Mower Gang decided that the bicycle heritage of the Motor City should be spruced up a bit. A few volunteers later, the half-mile concrete velodrome was cleared of trash, beer cans, and overgrowth. Surely I’m not the only one who immediately thinks of the Green Hell when I see graffiti on a racing surface?
Thankfully I’m not alone in that feeling that it deserved to be raced on again. Some friends capitalized on the opportunity by taking their motorcycles to the track for a scouting run. While it remains a bit treacherous—there’s a large enough gash in the concrete on part of the track to make high speeds too dangerous—it is certainly rideable.
Can underground board track races be far behind?
Here’s hoping…
Sit back and relax with the Golden Age of GP racing.
Made with the cooperation of the Senna family and Formula 1, this Japanese trailer for the documentary film titled simply “Senna” looks outstanding. That cooperation looks like has yielded some excellent little-seen footage of the three-times World Champion.
When was the last time you saw film from a GPDA meeting?
Can you believe he was only 34?
Why contemporary fashion photographers and art directors haven’t continued to place fashion in the least delicate of settings, I couldn’t say, but when the editors of Vogue decided to stage this shoot at the Irwindale Raceway for their April ’67 issue they hit upon something magical. The juxtaposition is beyond perfect. Particularly in the mod looks featured here, the contrast of the minimal but space-aged fashions with the madness of the drags cannot be beat.
Complete spread at Just a Car Guy via Bubble Visor. Hot as hell.
Or at least watch George Duckett (who built the first DFV) take us through some of final assembly. Something tells me that contemprorary F1 teams would find George’s comments about timing funny, quaint even.
(excerpted from a longer 1981 BBC production, “Gentlemen, Lift Your Skirts”, about the advent of ground effects)
What a tremendous drag that The Stig’s identity has been outed in British court. I won’t reveal it here, but if you’re interested a search will tell all. Boo!
One of the best Alfa v. Porsche contests this side of the Targa. Bianchi and Vaccarela in Tipo 33/2 or Siffert and Steinemann in 910: who will it be?
Lurking around the boards on The Garage Journal is always a great way to completely destroy your productivity. It’s packed with ideas for your next garage project—or fantasy. Abstamaria’s garage in the Philippines is enough to make you go completely mad with envy—at least it was for me. The you-could-eat-off-it floor; the expanding archive shelving for spare parts (!); the endless row of tool storage; it’s modernist nirvana. Corbu would be proud.
The restraint in keeping the walls free from racing posters is beyond the control I’d be able to exhibit, but it serves to make the cars the centerpiece of this space. At first glance, to call it a mere ‘garage’ is almost an insult. The fact that this is a working garage with an impressive array of tools and spares means that to call it a ‘gallery’ is the truer insult. Well done, sir.
Not bad taste in cars either.