These images from a wonderful thread on Pasion a la Velocidad reminds me that road racing in the Americas was so much larger than we typically remember today. For every Sebring or Paramount Ranch or Bahamas Speed Week or Argentine GP, there were countless communities that closed off a few blocks and made a weekend of it.
Again, I’m struck by the beauty of these tropical racing venues. These vistas from the Circuito Cuidad Satelite la Trinidad prove that the views from the countryside surrounding Caracas, Venezuela were every bit as majestic as those from Sicily or Brescia.
See the full thread for even more photos and remembrances from the Venezuelan road racing community.
I know, I know. Another Giant’s Despair/Brynfan Tyddn post… But when Cliff uncovered this glorious clip of the 1955 running, there was no way I couldn’t share it. Results from the hillclimb at Etceterini.
Like our last look at the racing community of El Salvador, this footage from the Santa Ana races just stopped me in my tracks. We often see photographs of races with little barrier between the on-track action and the off-track spectators but this footage really demonstrates how very precarious the situation really was. It must have been incredibly nerve racking as a driver (particularly during the LeMans style starts shown here). It must have been spectacularly thrilling as a spectator, with those “lucky” few in the front rows equally stepping closer to the action and pushing back against the crowds behind that threatened to nudge you onto the track. The adrenaline must really have been coursing through the veins of these race fans.
Again, many thanks to George Kehler for providing this footage, shot by Dr. Carlos Alvarez when he was just a young teenager. Keep a sharp eye peeled for Pedro Rodriguez in the red green #24 Austin-Healey 100M (he DNFed with ignition problems). Ricardo was also in the race in an OSCA. The day was won by Mauricio Miranda in the #42 Jaguar D-type with 2nd going to Manfredo Schmid in the Mercedes-Benz.
Keep on digging those film cans out of the attics, people. We’d love to share them with readers.
Not only did Del point out his #85FP MGA that ran in the F-Production race in the photos that William Goldman shot of the 1958 Put In Bay Road Races (that’s him with the front-row view of the crash into someone’s front tree), he sweetened the deal by sending along his photos from the event. Thanks, Del!
Over on the Angola Off Road forums, commenter Kadypress has been uploading his collection of photos and news clippings from several of the Grande Prémios de Angola of the early-mid 60s. It’s fantastic to see the Ferrari LMs and Porsche 904s and the occasional older machine on the streets of Luanda with the palm fronds whipping in a stiff coastal wind. These tropical settings make these amazing machines seem all the more exotic.
Willy Mairesse won the day completing 100 laps of the Circuito da Fortaleza street circuit in the Equipe National Belge Ferrari 250LM in 2 hours 31 minutes. Gerhard Koch took the GT class in his own privateer Porsche 904.
Giant’s Despair is a frequent favoritehere, and these program covers don’t do anything to dispel that affinity. More fantastic program covers and handbills at The Motor Racing Programme Covers project.
I like the floating apostrophe in these—like the committee couldn’t decide if it was one giant despairing, or the despair of many giants or there was no possession at all.
I’m through complaining about corporate sponsor logos all over the cars; I know I’ve lost that fight. But can we at least get them off of the posters and program covers? I want to hang a poster of a Grand Prix I attended, not a poster of a business software company logo. These program covers all benefit from not having a SAP or Emirates Airlines or UBS logo on them.
An amazing set of images shot in 1914 by photographer J.R. Eike of the St. Louis Motordrome board track and publicity shots of some of the racers. These scans are pulled from the original glass plate negatives, which languished for years in the garage of a relative of the photographer and were very nearly discarded before being rescued by collector Tom Kempland.
The photographer’s notes describe the St. Louis boardtrack as a portable Motordrome, but it sure looks like it has some permanence in these shots. I don’t find any record of the track being moved. Usually ‘Motordrome’ refers to a smaller track that was something between the larger boardtracks and the sideshow “walls of death”; although I have seen early reports of mile-long boardtracks referred to as Motordromes as well.
Even without the ‘wall of death’ moniker, this boardtrack had a bit of notoriety amongst racers of the era as well. Boardtracks were known for their steep bankings—some as much as 68°—but unlike the more gently transitioning tracks, St. Louis’s track was referred to as a “pie tin” because of it’s abrupt transition from a gentle 15° banking to the steeper edges.
I can only imagine the terrifying prospect of making that transition up to the wall of the track. Just performing the feat on it’s own seems like a courageous act. Now imagine doing it in the thick of battle with a dozen other racers operating without brakes in a furious clamor to the front of the pack. There was a fine line indeed between motorsport and bloodsport.
The structure itself was remarkable. Just look at the photo of the steep bowl waiting to be surrounded by eager fans. The lamp posts are interesting as well, not only as an obvious hazard to avoid on the infield, but the number of lights make me wonder if the track hosted night racing. I’ve never read of nighttime board track races, but it seems somehow even more perilous. What a thrill!
In the comments of an earlier post on newly-discovered Pebble Beach photos, Bill Greene pointed us to some photos that his uncle captured of the 1951 Pebble Beach Road Races. I love when these types of things come out of hiding; not only because we get to see new imagery of the ’51 Pebble Beach Races, but because each time a new piece of media of these old races surfaces it reminds me of how many bits of vintage racing amazement are still waiting to be discovered.
Thanks for scanning and sharing these, Bill! See the rest of them at Bill’s Flickr Stream.
Brian sent in these unbelievable photos that his father took at the Brookfield Ohio Davis Field Trial in the mid-late 1950s. The event was apparently put on by Davis Volkswagen, but the photos here are even more shocking than seeing a Beetle giving its all on what looks to be virtually untouched field.
If you’ll remember, I was stunned, and pleased, to see a Jaguar XK120 being put through her paces on the dirt hill road of Agoura Hills. Well that’s nothing compared to the scene you see here—this time in what looks to be a Morgan.
The owner of this Triumph TR2 is no less courageous and pushes her for all she’s worth on less than pristine racing surfaces. I adore that these sportscar owners realized that their cars were for sporting purposes—and put them to that end with little mercy. I don’t think we’ll soon see any Lamborghini or Koenigsegg drivers reviving the Field Trial. Well, I guess we’ll have to get by with the WRC.
Thanks for these, Brian. They’re an amazing artifact, not only of days gone by, but of a spirit gone by as well.
