These photos shot by Jim Miner at the 1960 running of the Nuburgring 1000km caused quite a sensation when his daughter, Kat Miner, uploaded them to her Flickr. There was a tremendous outpouring of interest from the vintage racing community, and it’s easy to see why.
Even in today’s Hipstamatic and Instagram faux-vintage photo effects, there’s something noticeably otherworldly and atmospheric about these shots captured by the young serviceman stationed in Frankfurt. The colors are somehow both vivid and lush, but also cold and chillingly dramatic. The blue tones are amplified, making the greens so vibrant, but also giving everything a foreboding mood. They are haunting.
Even though there’s only these few photos from the day, they hint at a wonderful story. Partly, I think that the fact that there’s so few is what captures my imagination about the event. There’s no shortage of photos from any modern event. Everyone has a camera in their pocket and many spectators spend the bulk of the race looking at the action through their phone’s screen while they snap away hundreds or thousands of images. These photos though—and I readily acknowledge I’m reading more into this than I should—seem considered and carefully shot. After all, film and processing was never cheap enough to click away with the fury of a digital photographer.
Whatever the case, let’s at least sit back and appreciate how marvelous these photos are… And keep scanning those old slides and negatives, people!
Sadly, 1970 wasn’t the year for Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. After taking pole, a drop in oil pressure on the 22nd lap forced the Porsche 908/3 they shared out of contention. But damn if they didn’t look good doing it.
We won the world, together. Congratulations, Graham. We at STP have seen, firsthand, your courage and control behind the wheel. And calling you World Champion is an understatement. Your win is a milestone for us, too. STP Oil Treatment has been cutting friction and wear for winning drivers at Indy year after year. Now, thanks to your skill, STP, once again, is on the side of a Grand Prix Champion. The racer’s edge. Another successfully tested product of the STP Corporation.
After a while you start to be able to predict how most motorsport books operate before you open the cover. There will be lovely vintage photography, there may be an insightful comment or two. So many authors are content to just offer a few dozen photographic spreads of “the greats” wrestling their machine through a corner, write a snappy caption, and call it a day.
Terry O’Neil is not one of those authors.
His Runways & Racers: Sports Car Races held on Military Airfields in America 1952-1954 is among the rarer breed of automotive books. One that manages to bridge the divide between heavily-researched almanac of statistics and Eye-candy filled coffee table book. The title alone hints at the level of specificity that awaits. But O’Neil’s writing here is so much more immediate and immersive than you might expect from a historical analysis.
This era of motorsport in America is fascinating. After a few high-profile accidents doomed city-street road racing, the entire sport could well have dried up if not for the fledgling SCCA’s arrangement with the Strategic Air Command. Without this bridge, we might never have seen the wellspring of road racing tracks that would ultimately become the sport’s home. It is a vitally important phase of road racing’s American history, and to see it so lovingly—and comprehensively—presented feels right.
In reading the book, I actually consider Terry O’Neil a bit of a kindred spirit. His writing style in describing the events feels so personal and conversational that I think it not inaccurate to say that Terry O’Neil live-blogged the early 50’s SCCA/SAC road races. Let me give you an example in the form of O’Neil’s account of the main event at the March 10, 1953 running at Reeves Field, Terminal Island, California:
“The first of two feature races was for the Class F, FM, and GM, which attracted a diverse array of cars to the grid for the ten-lap race. Pre-race favourites were Ken Miles, in his potent and extremely successful MG Special, George Beavis, in his Beavis-Offenhauser Special, together with the reliable modified MGs of Drake and Bird. Lots were drawn for start positions, and found Miles well down the grid among what were to become ‘also rans,’ whereas Beavis was near the front of the grid. However, when the flag was dropped, the Offy was left at the start line due to a lock-up in the starter motor. Miles set off in his familiar style, weaving through the pack to take the lead by the time they had rounded the first turn. From that point on, the race for first place was over for everyone else. Even though he slowed for the last five laps, his lead was such that nobody was going to catch him, and his domination of Class FM racing in California was maintained.”
His description of the event goes on for four pages and reads much more like a novel than a mere list of events and results. The racing journals of the time wish they had coverage of these events so descriptive and evocative. It’s this storyteller’s voice that make me think of O’Neil blogging these events from another time and ensures that I won’t merely be flipping through it for fun photos, despite being chock full of wonderful photography and reproductions of program covers, track maps, and ephemera from the events. The results tables, which must have been exhausting to research in this era of less-than-wholly-accurate record keeping, are an unexpected and appreciated bonus.
At Spa-Francorchamps the reigning World Champion Jim Clark wins with his Lotus 25 with the Climax-V8 engine.
Drivers briefing in Belgium 1963 (left to right hand): Tony Maggs, Jo Siffert, Bruce McLaren, Lucien Bianchi, Jim Clark, Bob Anderson, Jim Hall, Innes Ireland.
This is what a lot of 1963 must have looked like for Jim Clark. His confident expression at the Spa drivers’ meeting before the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix says it all: He was about to own the rest of the year.
It’s starting to become more and more difficult to keep track of all the fantastic historic race meetings happening around the world, and I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I didn’t know the Ventilspiel 1000km race at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. If these astoundingly atmospheric photographs from Peter Olschinsky capture even a tenth of the excitement of the event then it’s definitely worth adding to your list of events to attend in ’12.
In my own photos, this low contrast and saturation is a mistake, and it looks it. In Peter’s photography, the low saturation lends a mood to his shots that suits the subject marvelously. When a piece of art’s methods or palette or construction accentuates the subject it always feels more whole to me. Peter Olschinsky’s studies from the Ventilspiel 1000km definitely fit that description. Click on over to Atelier Olschinsky for the complete collection.
Men who know fine cars appreciate the Cobra! It’s a rare Cobra owner who can’t instantly recognize the characteristic red lights and apologetic grin that seem to appear occasionally, without reason, in his rear view mirror. No ticket involved, just admiration and interest! Perhaps it’s the way a Cobra glides effortlessly through traffic, its four wheel independent suspension just rippling over the road. Or maybe it’s the sound…the matchless cadence of power with an American accent—Ford 289 High Performance V8! Whatever it is, there’s just something about a Cobra that demands more than a casual glance, and our white helmeted friends in blue are no exception! Closer inspection reveals a heritage bred of competition and luxury. The four huge disc brakes glinting behind wire wheels are probably the best visual definition of safety a state trooper will ever see. It doesn’t take a trooper’s expert eye though to sense the comfort and quality of the deep english leather bucket seats, woodrim racing wheel, and complete instrumentation in the sumptuous cockpit. Assuming you don’t have a badge, motorcycle and apologetic grin, we suggest you drop in at your local “Total Performance” Ford Dealer and spend a few concentrated moments carefully inspecting the world’s most versatile sports car! $5995.00 P.O.E. Cobra Powered by Ford For more information write: Shelby American, Inc., 1042 Princeton Dr., Venice, California
