Archive for the ‘Event’ Category
August 25th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event
Karsten Arndt (aka: Farbild) wrote in with a link to their great set of photos from the Nurburgring’s OldTimer GP. I think it continues to prove how photogenic the Nürburgring really is. What I particularly like about this set is when day turns to night. It’s incredibly rare (unheard of even?) to have a night vintage race in the States, with the Old-Timer GP, the Spa 6 Hours, and LeMans Classic, Europe definitely has a leg up on racing that’s more true to the origins of the endurance racers that only participate in sprints in the States. Accentuating the divide, many American vintage weekends have an “endurance” heat that is a 1 hour race. I suspect that fussy neighbors keep Lime Rock or Road America from hosting a night race, but what a marvel it would be. Click on over to Karsten’s site for the complete set.
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August 22nd, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event, Grand Prix, Video
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?
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August 18th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Classic Sportscar, Event
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 heartstopper.
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!
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August 17th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event
After seeing a second set of brilliant photography from Europe in the past couple of weeks (along with Laurent Nivalle’s fantastic LeMans Classic shots we featured last week), I’m convinced that—for all their faults—the big European tracks offer some simply spectacular angles for shooting the action on track and in the pits. Markus’ shots from the Oldtimers Grand Prix at the Nürburgring are equally marvelous. By comparison, the photos I’ve seen from this weekend’s activities at Laguna Seca only highlight how great these elevated viewing platforms of European tracks are for capturing angles of the cars that we rarely see when wandering the pits at tracks stateside. None of the shots I’ve seen from Monterey have offered the environmental drama of these shots from the Ring—please prove me wrong, send me your favorite Monterey sets!
See Markus’ complete set at the excellent Formfreu.de
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August 15th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event, Porsche
Oh No! Sir Stirling is ok, but in reasonably poor spirits after his car was involved in a crash during this year’s Monterey races. StirlingMoss.com reports that “On Stirling’s out lap the car stepped out a wheel onto the grass putting it off the circuit, albeit without coming into contact with the barriers. A second car, also on its warm-up lap, left the circuit and hit the RS 61. Happily Stirling was unhurt, the car however suffered considerable damage, rendering it undriveable for the rest of the Monterey weekend.”
What a shame that this debut outing for Moss in the RS61 he purchased earlier in the year will also be the season’s last. Indications are that the car is repairable.
Update:
From other reports on the incident, it appears that the other car mentioned was John Morton’s ’58 Scarab. Morton was taken to hospital, but climbed from the car on his own and waved to the crowd before climbing into the ambulance. From the looks of this photo, it doesn’t look too good for the Scarab itself. Hopefully it too will be repairable.
As Sean points out in the comments, the Moss and Morton crashes were entirely separate incidents. It seems obvious now that the Scarab and Porsche would be in different races but I guess this is what I get for trying to follow along on the weekend’s events from 2 time zones away. I’m sorry for mixing that up.
More updates on the incident as I hear more.
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August 3rd, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event, Historic Racing Photos
What I wouldn’t give for even half of Laurent Nivalle’s eye for capturing beautifully composed shots on the fly. Any one of these shots would be a worthy photo shoot that would please any photographer and art director. A team of award winning shooters, ADs, photography assistants, lighting technicians, stylists, and a catering team could not capture the beauty of the LeMans classic any better. That Nivalle caught these shots on the fly, at a second’s notice, and managed to craft these magnificent compositions is quite an accomplishment. They’re all so good that I had trouble selecting just a few to whet you’re appetite. Click over to Laurent’s site for the complete set—they’re just gorgeous. via Grain Edit.
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July 24th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event, Ferrari
The only thing that could make Man on the Move contributor Dave Pinter’s photo gallery of Le Belle Macchine d’Italia car show better would be if the Italian Cars at Pocono organizers had the event on the track and not a golf course.
Head over to Man on the Move for the complete gallery. Bellissima!
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July 17th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event, Ferrari, Porsche
Gaby participated in this year’s LeMans Classic and despite being busy with her own (gorgeous) car that weekend, still had time to flex her fabulous eye for photography. Head over to Meals n’ Wheels for the complete set.
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July 7th, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event
Veloce Today has a brilliant write-up of Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano event. What a marvelous collection of barchettas braving the difficult weather this year to follow the Calmonte brothers’ original vision for a barchetta tour through the Italian Alps. Veloce Today contributor Dino Brunori and his son entered their Nardi 750, and it looks like a marvelous time was had by all. Brunori is definitely who you want to ride with when you’re travelling in a Nardi, his biography of Enrico Nardi, A Fast Life, is a definitive compendium of the marque.
Don’t scoff at the mere 250 miles the event covers. It may not be the Mille, but it’s some of the most remarkable cars traversing some of the most beautiful countryside the world has to offer. The limit of 100 cars on entries, and the specialization of the event make me think that this decidedly low-key event might be even better than the larger and more well-known classic rallies.
Click on over for the story and gorgeous photos.
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June 22nd, 2010 | Published by Harlo in Event
I made the trip down to the VSCDA’s Blackhawk Farms event this past weekend and had a wonderful time. This was, somehow, my first visit to the track and I enjoyed the laid-back environment and comfortable size of the place. This smaller track might be less suited to the big bangers than Road America, but as a spectator it is nice to be able to comfortably wander from corner to corner in the infield and easily take in a variety of vantage points. The adjoining airstrip was hosting a vintage event of their own on this particular weekend. Few things add to the atmosphere of a vintage race weekend than a steady flow of biplanes flying low overhead—it was our own miniature Goodwood!
Also fantastic about this particular weekend is the large numbers of vintage Formula Vees that arrive. Their numbers are such that they have their own grid, without the larger Formula Fords and Bs in the mix. Their event was the highlight of the action on-track of the weekend, with front runners Garrett Van Camp, Frank Newton, and Mike Kitsmiller trading positions at nearly every lap.
Making a return to competition was the H-Mod Crosley Special that we saw at the Intermarque car show in St. Paul, MN a few weeks back. It was an absolute treat to see her back on the track Saturday competing amongst the pre-war group after a very long dormancy.Even better, I was offered a ride in her for the Sunday touring sessions! Unfortunately it simply wasn’t meant to be; the rotor came apart and a replacement couldn’t be sourced in time to get her on the track on Sunday. C’est la vie.
This TVR was my pick of the weekend: gorgeously prepared!
Often the racing community focuses on the large races:
the KIC at Road America,
The Lime Rock Historic Festival,
the Monterey Historics. The biggies certainly bring out the crowds. Their high profile draws the exotic machinery. Do yourself a favor and try to make it out to the smaller vintage events in your area. The atmosphere is more familial, the smaller crowds means you’ll have better opportunity to chat with the drivers, and the tracks themselves feel somehow cozier.
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