Tag Archives: Colmar

120 Years Of Competition – Mercedes Benz

2014 marks the 120 years of competition for Mercedes Benz, going back to the 1894 Paris – Rouen race and examples of the marque on display at Goodwood included Ben Collins 111 year old Mercedes Simplex 60hp.

Mercedes 18/100, Mass, Croft, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Going back just 100 years, like the lucky birthday boy passenger Basil Croft, was the Mercedes 18/100 of the type which Christian Lautenschlager drove to win the 1914 French Grand Prix. 1975 Spanish Grand Prix winner and 1989 Le Mans winner Jochen Mass is seen at the wheel here.

Mercedes Benz W165, Stewart, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Paul Stewart is seen at the wheel of the slightly smokey 1939 Mercedes Benz W165 of the type which irked the Italians by winning the 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix with Hermann Lang at the wheel.

Mercedes Benz High Speed Transporter, 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed

For their return to Grand Prix racing in 1954 the Mercedes Benz Rennabteilung built a special high speed transporter, capable of 104 mph, using Mercedes 300SL running gear. Sitting on the back of the replica Rennwagen Schnelltransporter is one of two Mercedes Benz 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupés built on the chassis of the 300SLR roadster of the type Stirling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson drove to victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia with a 300SL Gullwing Body.

Mercedes Benz 300SLS, Franchitti, Goodwood Festival of Speed

It was great to see 3 time Indy winner Dario Franchitti back behind the wheel of a racing car, he was so pleased he even took a selfie of himself behind the wheel while the car was moving ! The car Dario is seen driving here is a replica 300SLS of the type Paul O’Shea drove to many victories for GALPOT contributor Geoffrey Horton’s uncle George Tilp in the USA.

Mercedes Benz 500SL Rallye, Asch, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Moving forward two decades to 1980 and Mercedes Benz were competing in the World Rally Championship with the 500SLC Rallye model, the season highlight was a 1-2 victory in the Ivory Coast Rally shared by Björn Waldegård and Hans Thorszelius in the winning car. Roland Asch is about to find out that the hey bails make a poor substitute for the vehicles brakes.

Mercedes Benz CLK GTR, Ludwig, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Finally two time Le Mans winner Klaus Ludwig pilots a 1998 V12 Mercedes Benz CLK GTR back to the pits of the type that won the 1997 FIA GT Drivers and Manufacturers Championships with Bernd Schneider at the wheel.

Thanks for joining me on this “120 Years Of Competition” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Goodwood Favourites – Formula One

Today’s post features a few of my favourite Formula One ’74 to present day cars that appeared at Goodwood last week.

McLaren M23, Fittipaldi, Goodwood Festival of Speed

First up Emerson Fittipaldi gives GALPOT a wave coming back down the hill in his 1974 McLaren M23 chassis #5.

Maki Cosworth F101A, Goodwood Festival of Speed

After Honda’s disappearance from the Formula One grid at the end of the 1968 season there was no Japanese presence in Formula One until the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix. However this was not for the want of trying, Kenji Mimura founded the Maki Team in 1974 and their futuristic F101, which bore a passing resemblance to the experimental 1972 Ferrari 312 Snowplough attempted to unsuccessfully to qualify for the 1974 British and German Grand Prix. After Howden Ganley broke his legs at the Nurburgring the team retired to Japan to rework their ideas for 1975.

LEC CRP1, Wright, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Mike Pilbeam’s portfolio of attractive Formula One cars includes the LEC CRP1 seen above which was driven by David Purley in 1977 to a season high 13th place in Belgium shortly before surviving a 178 g deceleration from 108 mph to 0 in 25 inches / 66 cm against the sleepers during practice for the 1977 British GP. This particular car driven by Gary Wright had not been seen in action for 35 years.

Toleman Hart TG184, Davidson, Goodwood Festival of Speed

There were numerous vehicles which Ayrton Senna had driven present at Goodwood, and the Toleman TG184 above driven by Alistair Davidson may be one of them, an acquaintance who has spent twelve months researching the TG184 chassis tells me each of the five TG184’s has a slightly different rivet pattern where the roll bar connects to the top of the monocoque and is currently looking for body off photo’s of the TG184’s to confirm which car is which.

Jordan Ford 191, Sirgue, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1991 Eddie Jordan graduated to Formula One with one of the most attractive Formula One cars ever seen, designed by Gary Anderson, a fist full of Pepsico dollars, works supplied Ford Cosworth engines and Andrea de Cesaris as his lead driver. The team finished a highly creditable 5th in the constructors championship and Andrea 9th in the drivers championship. The team will also be remembered for introducing Micheal Schumacher to the top table of the sport in Belgium. Owner Didier Sirgue is seen at the wheel above.

Williams Mercedes FW36, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Finally with Mercedes Benz motors and Martini money the Williams team is back on the ascendent this year with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas at the wheel. The FW36 above unfortunately had to remain silent to avoid contravening the no testing agreement currently in operation amongst Formula One teams.

Thanks for joining me on this “Goodwood Favourites” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be celebrating the 120 Anniversary of Motorsport participation with Mercedes Benz at Goodwood. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Friday At Goodwood – Ferrari

Welcome to another Ferrari Friday coming to you from last weeks Goodwood Festival of Speed where the Ferrari highlights included …

Ferrari 156R, Merzario, Goodwood Festival of Speed

… a Ferrari 156 replica driven by Art Merzario, which when it last appeared on these pages was painted yellow.

Ferrari 250LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Unlike the 250 LM, #6045, sold originally as a daily driver, which I looked at recently, this 250 LM, chassis # 5995, was raced first by a private entrant and then converted for road use later by the Ferrari factory who fitted the perspex engine cover seen above.

Ferrari 158, Surtees, Goodwood Festival of Speed

John Surtees had two 1964 Ferrari 158’s to play with at Goodwood to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his World Championship victory. This car was built out of period from remaining parts and is painted in the colours of the North American Racing Team that John’s car wore at the 1964 US and Mexican Grand Prix, he finished both races in 2nd place.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C,  Goodwood Festival of Speed

The 275 GTB/C above was first entered into the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours by British importer Maranello Concessionaires and driven to an 8th place overall finish, first in class by Piers Courage and Roy Pike. It was subsequently bought and raced by Paul Vesty who is still the cars owner and drove it at Goodwood last Friday.

Ferrari 512S Coda Lunga, Meiners,  Goodwood Festival of Speed

For the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours Ferrari had long (coda lunga) tails fitted to it’s 5 litre / 302 cui V12 512 S models. Franco Meiners is seen at the wheel of the 512S above, as also made familiar in the Le Mans film directed by Steve McQueen.

Ferrari 333SP, Pescatori,  Goodwood Festival of Speed

Finally the Ferrari 333SP was launched for the 1994 season at the behest of privateer Giampiero Moretti. Of the 144 races in which at least one of these cars contested the model won 56. I believe this particular second generation chassis, driven above by Christian Pescatori, is the one used by Vincenzo Sospiri and Emmanuel Collard to secure the 1998 International Sports Racing Series.

Thanks for joining me on this “Friday At Goodwood” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Americana – San Marino Motor Classic

San Marino Motor Classic, Horton/ McNabb

The first weekend of June saw Geoffrey Horton take his Jaguar XK140 FHC seen above to the San Marino Motor Classic.

Duesenberg Model A, San Marino Motor Classic, Horton/ McNabb

Among the US vehicles on display was this 1921 Duesenberg Straight Eight also known as the Model A first seen in 1920 but which did not go into production until 1921 by which time the motor had been fitted with an overhead camshaft.

Chrysler Imperial, San Marino Motor Classic, Horton/ McNabb

Powered by a 6.3 litre / 384 cui L head straight 8 the 1932 Chrysler Imperial was also marketed as the ‘Imperial 8’.

Ford Thunderbird, San Marino Motor Classic, Horton/ McNabb

In 1957 Ford built two competition Thunderbirds with supercharged Lincoln motors and Jaguar transmissions, of which I believe only one original, the #98, still exists. The car above appears to be a copy of the #99 which was dubbed the Battlebird by the media back in the day.

Chevrolet El Morocco, San Marino Motor Classic, Horton, McNabb

I had great fun trying to figure out if the vehicle above was either a 57′ Chevrolet or a Cadillac and it turns out to be a bit of both. Cadillac owner Ruben Allender came up with the idea of offering a $1,000 conversion to turn a Chevrolet into a Cadillac in 1956. It is thought 20 examples were built in the first year and possibly 16 more in 1957 when production ceased.

Watson Offy, San Marino Motor Classic, Horton/ McNabb

Finally for today I’ll leave you with this delicious vehicle labelled as a “1961 Indy Roadster”. The #41 was carried by Johnny Boyd’s Leader Card 500 Roadster sponsored Watson Offy in the 1961 Indy 500. Johnny qualified 20th and retired at just over half distance with a broken clutch.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton and Paul McNabb for sharing today’s photographs more of which will appear on Tuesday and Friday next week.

Thanks for joining me on this “Americana” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue – Sonoma Historics

Most teachers know that they can walk into a room with a dozen students and tease pretty much anything they want to teach out of them, on almost any subject, over the space of an hour or so. In the spirit of such student participation I’m inviting you dear reader to help me out here, because at fast glance I’m sorry to say I haven’t a clue about what any of today’s six featured vehicles are, neither manufacturer or age.

Sonoma Historics

At first sight this green racer looks like a cross between the second incarnation of the Bristol 450 Le Mans racer and the later Bristol Arnolt. The British registration plate on the back reads “SAR 336”. At a guess this vehicle is British and Bristol powered but do you know where the body came from and when ?

Sonoma Historics

Chip slicer radiator grills, as on the vehicle above, often point to a Ferrari or Chevrolet but I cannot think of any models from those manufacturers who built anything that looked like this. If you think you know what this might be, please do not be scared to chip in below.

Sonoma Historics

California is the home of the fiber glass special and the white racer above looks like one of the majority I have not heard of. The HM sticker tells us it probably ran in SCCA events for vehicles up to 750 cc / 45.7 cui. Does anyone recognise this pint size racer ?

Sonoma Historics

My first thought was that the vehicle above was a Kes Kastner & Pete Brock designed Triumph TR250K, but it is not. Confusingly it says Phoenix on the front and advertises Piranha kits on the side, I feel like a fish out of water on this one too, can you help ?

Sonoma Historics

The rear body reminds one of the Lotus 19 and Lotus 23 sports racing cars, but everything forward of the roll bar does not. All suggestions welcome below.

Sonoma Historics

Finally the Can Am type vehicle above looks part McLaren and part Chaparral with out fitting the mould of either, unusually for a vehicle of this type, if it is a Can Am car, it appears to have an aluminium body at a time when fiber glass was very much de riguer.

If you can help identify any of these vehicles please do not hesitate to chip in below, as soon as I have all the answers I’ll do a follow up blog.

My thanks to Karl Kause and Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs taken at Sonoma Historics at the end of May.

Thanks for joining me on this “I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some of the vehicles at the recent San Morino Motor Classic. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Driving The Change – Renault

Founded in 1899 Renault were not celebrating anything in particular at this years festival of speed but still had a potpurri presence that spanned their competition history as shown by today’s collection of photographs.

Renault Type K, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1902 Marcel Renault drove a Type K similar to Renault built replica above to victory in the 990 km / 615 mile Paris-Vienna covering the distance in 15 hours 47 mins to average 38.95 bone shaking miles per hour.

Renault 40CV Montlhéry Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By 1925 Renault’s top model was the 40CV one of which one the 1925 Monte Carlo Rally. The following year built this aerodynamic Coupé version for a crack at the 24 hour distance record which it won by averaging 107 mph on the banked Montlhéry Circuit outside Paris.

Alpine M65, Goodwood Festival of Speed

After the ’39-’45 War Dieppe garage proprietor Jean Rédélé started racing Renault 4’s with considerable and founded Alpine to capitalise on it in 1954. For 1965 Alpine built the M65 model with a 1.3 litre / 79 cui tuned Renault motor powerful enough for the M65 to be timed at 266 kph / 165 mph at Le Mans.

Alpine A310, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Fast forward 12 years and the now Renault owned Alpine were not only returning to Le Mans which they won out right in 1978, but they were building the mid engine Peugeot Renault Volvo V6 powered Alpine A310 sports car. A successor to the Alpine A110, Guy Fréquelin drove an A310 like the one above to win the 1977 French Rally Championship.

Renault RE 40, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Alpines success at Le Mans gave them a spring board from which to launch their Formula One team in 1977. Translating the theoretical advantages of turbo charging on to the track in the sports top table proved time consuming and costly but by 1979 Formula One victories started to be achieved. However the unreliability of their ground breaking adventure kept Renault from ever winning a world championship with their turbo charged V6. The 1982 RE 40, driven by Michele Leclere above, came closest, with Alain Prost and Eddie Cheever helping the marque finish second in the Constructors Championship to Ferrari and Alain 2nd in the drivers championship with 4 victories to Nelson Piquet driving a turbo BMW powered Brabham.

Renault Twin Run, Goodwood Festival of Speed

At Goodwood Renault showed us a view of their future in the form of the fully working 2013 concept car the Twin Run which like the Renault 5 Turbo Maxi and Clio V6 has a mid mounted motor boasting 320 hp. No plans have been announced for the vehicle to go into production in this configuration… yet.

Thanks for joining me on this “Driving The Change” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

01/07/14 Errata Tim Murray has kindly pointed out that I incorrectly identified the Renault Type K as a type AK 90CV, when this post first went out, apologies for any confusion.

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Goodwood Festival Details – Maserati Centenary

For this weeks Maserati Monday, I am taking a look at details of some of the Maserati’s present at the weekends Festival of Speed that will feature in forth coming editions of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”.

Maserati V8RI, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Scuderia Subalpina was founded by Count Luigi del la Chiesa, in December 1934, with backing from industrialists Giorgio Ambrosini (owner of Siata) and Giorgio Giusti, and the wealthy racing driver Gino Rovere who became Maserati president. The Scuderia’s badge is seen here on the side of the first 1935 Maserati V8RI to be built.

Maserati 8CTF, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Maserati 8CTF was built for challenging the mighty German Silver Arrows of Mercedes Benz and Auto Union, but it’s most notable success came at Indianapolis where chassis #3032 seen here was driven by Wilbur Shaw in 1939, ’40 and ’41 in the Indy 500 and was en route to a trifecta of back to back victories when a tyre damaged in an accident let him down.

Maserati 4CLT, Goodwood Festival of Speed

For some reason this Maserati 4 CLT does not appear to be listed in the programme and I look forward to identifying it and finding out it’s story.

Maserati A6 GCS, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Likewise I look forward to teasing out the identity and details behind this 1955 Maserati A6 GCS.

Maserati 300S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Festival of Speed programme notes give a useful to tip in to help determine the identity of this 1957 Maserati 300S, it was once driven by 1959 Le Mans winner and later Ford USA competition guru Carroll Shelby.

Maserati 250 F V12, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Tracing the ID of this particular Maserati 250F V12 should not prove too tricky as their is at least one good book on the complicatd story of the Maserati 250F model.

Thanks for joining me on this “Goodwood Festival Details – Maserati Centenary” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again when I’ll be looking at some of the French cars at Goodwood. Don’t forget to come back now !

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