Translated (roughly): “The best in competition. The best for you. S.E.V. Marchal equipment. 35 times winner at Le Mans.“
In so many ways the pre-photography era of print advertising ages so well. The bold graphics and colors in this Marchal ad hold up today so much better than today’s overly-flamed-and-chromed-and-checkered racing ads will in 30 years’ time.
Love that cat.
Call it a Scarab overload if you like, but the hits just keep coming. Richard Reventlow wrote in with this marvelous photo of his half-brother Lance in his Scarab. Palm Springs, maybe? (Richard says it’s Riverside). Thanks, Richard!
And Steve, who sent us his father, Alfred Cournoyer’s photos of the Scarabs last week, dug the rest of the shots out of the shoebox and sent them in. Thanks again, Steve!
John Kerridge wrote in with this clip he shot at Monterey. It’s the most astounding collection of Bugatti Grand Prix cars on track that I’ve ever seen. The clip’s rolling wave after wave of French racing blue is hypnotic, and you begin to forget how truly rare and precious each of these incredible machines truly is. Individually, each is a masterpiece; en masse, the collection transcends a mere field of racing cars and becomes a study of technical sophistication and sculptural grace.
But enough of my ramblings, John has the details on the session.
“The scene is Turn 3 at Laguna Seca on the opening lap of the Bugatti Grand Prix that was included in the program of vintage races at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, 12-15 August 2010. The first car to arrive is the Type 35B driven by Peter Giddings. He is closely followed by Charles McCabe in his Type 59 (that used to belong to Giddings!). In third place is Charles Dean, from London, England, in his Type 51. Although Dean is well known in the UK as a very quick driver with an extremely powerful car (reputedly delivering 260 HP from 2.3 liters — supercharged, of course), it’s my understanding that he was not familiar with the Laguna Seca track. So after getting past McCabe, he very sensibly followed Giddings for a few laps in order to learn the correct lines from the maestro. That task accomplished, the 260 horses were allowed to gallop, giving him a three-second per lap advantage over the Type 35B, and victory.
Further down the pack, seven cars lapped within a second or so of each other: Hubert Jaunin, from Switzerland, in a Type 51; Sandy Leith, from Dedham, MA, in a Type 37; Konig Jurg, also from Switzerland, in a Type 37A; George Davidson, from Louisville, KY, in a Type 35B; David Hands, from Great Britain, in a Type 39; Mike Cleary, from Carpinteria, CA, in a Type 57; and Richard Riddell, from Laguna Beach, CA, in a Type 35C. This group provided a splendid spectacle, with the honors going to Jaunin. Incidentally, Mike Cleary was responsible for arranging the Bugatti Grand Prix, so it’s pleasing that he got to enjoy it himself, as well.
In case the perspective from which the video was shot is not familiar to those used to Laguna Seca, it was taken from a second-story stand constructed as part of the temporary Drivers’ Lounge for the Motorsports Reunion. This afforded a much better view of Turn 3 than is usually available. I was fortunately able to take advantage of this as I was racing my 1926 Frazer Nash the next day in Group 1B.”
Thanks John. Now where’s the shots of your Frazer Nash?
I really love this work from young British artist Tim Layzell.
Tim was born into a family with a passionate interest in historic motor sport. While still in the pram he was taken to Vintage Sports Car Club events at famous venues like Silverstone, Prescott and Shelsley Walsh. He showed an early interest in drawing what he saw – sketching Bugattis, ERAs and Alfa Romeos at the age of 3 – and with family encouragement gradually developed his skills, working first in pastel and pencils before moving on to oils and acrylic paints.
In 1995, at the age of 13, Tim entered and won the British Racing Driver’s Club’s prestigious Young Motoring Artist Award, open to artists up to the age of 23.
Part of his prize was to have his winning paintings – of the winning C Type Jaguar during a pit stop at the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours race, and Duncan Hamilton drifting through one of Silverstone’s fast corners in an HWM – exhibited alongside some of the World’s greatest motoring artists at that year’s Coys International Historic Festival at Silverstone.
This article was originally published on Motorsport Retro.
“The sheer sensual pleasure of handling it simply cannot be put into words.
This was John Bolster’s reaction, after his Autosport road test on the Maserati Merak. We agree. Its handling qualities have to be tried to be believed.
Merak comfort is easier to explain. Unlike some mid-engined cars, the Merak is designed with comfort in mind. The quietness of the ride is exceptional. Instrumentation is easy to read: one glance tells all.
The 2965cc V6 Merak is a classic investment. See your dealer for a Merak, Bora, Khamsin or Citroen SM test drive. Or write: Maserati, Dept H1, Mill St, Slough SL25DE”
Good to know that Maserati trusted their 1970s advertising copywriting to a 14 year old boy.
Motor racing is no excuse to not wear your most dashing pair of loafers. Just ask 1960 LeMans winner Paul Frere.
We’ve been focusing too much on the Scarab crash and it’s bumming us out. We need an antidote, stat!
Right on cue, Steve Cournoyer wrote in: “All this Scarab business had me remembering a few photos taken by my father at Thompson Speedway round about 1958”. This shot captured by Steve’s father, Alfred Cournoyer helps set everything right with the world today.
Here’s another from a very happy day for the team. Chuck Daigh (#5) and Lance Reventlow (#16) finished 1, 2 at this outing for the Scarabs at Meadowdale Raceway in Illinois, September 1958. Via the Life archives.
There, I know I’m starting to feel better.
Well, the video may be gone for now, but thankfully, H.A.M.B. member Toner283 found these fantastic Dean Burnside-Machado photos. He was in the perfect spot at the perfect time.
Notice how ‘Ol Yaller spins a full 360° through the center of this catastrophe without a touch and keeps on going. That must have been a heart-stopper.
Update:
Dean Burnside-Machado posted in the comments that these were pulled from a larger collection of 25 photos on his facebook page here. Thanks Dean!
Flickr user Malcolm Mitchell has uploaded a translated version of the 1997 French language comic book commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ferrari’s first race. The comic book, illustrated by Patrick Leseur and written by Dominique Pascal, follows Enzo’s journey from disinterested schoolboy to racing pioneer to businessman and icon.
Although the storytelling can be a bit dry as we enter the years where each panel is just a new road car’s debut, there’s still a lot of information here about the Commendatore.
Malcolm has the entire comic translated to english (by Desmond Tumulty) and available for viewing, so click on over.
There are benefits to having renowned photographer Louis Klemantaski as your navigator when you’re competing in the 1957 Mille Miglia. Peter Collins’ Ferrari 335 Sport didn’t quite make it back to Brescia after suffering a driveshaft failure 5 hours in, but at least he had this astounding photograph to show for his efforts.
Seems like a pretty fair trade to me.
Update:
In the comments, Richard found another of Louis’ shots from the Mille that’s definitely worth sharing. Thanks, Richard!