Motorsports Trivia Thread!

  • Thread starter Cap'n Jack
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Roo
McLaren MP4-17? In various iterations - A through to D - it made 66 starts in 33 races in 2002 and 2003.

Or do you mean an individual car, and want a chassis number or somesuch? In which case I have no idea.
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A car model, so the McLaren MP4-17 is a valid answer but not the correct one. In fact, there have been other McLarens with more starts than the MP4-17, perhaps most notably the MP4/1 and M23.
 
I make it the McLaren M23, with 165 starts over 80 championship races.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_M23

This spans the years 1973-1978.

Was the McLaren M23, as I think, the first F1 car to race with an entirely centrally located fuel cell? Even if not, it was certainly one of the most significant F1 cars since 1950.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
daan
I'll have a stab in the dark at the Maserati 250F.
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Certainly the 250F was aesthetically the best looking, and probably the most drivable F1 car of all.

According to Wikipedia:
In total, the 250F competed in 46 Formula One championship races with 277 entries, leading to eight wins. Success was not limited to World Championship events with 250F drivers winning many non-championship races around the world.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
The Ferrari 412T and F310/F310B both entered 33 races during 1994/5 and 1996/7 respectively.

Long shots, but I can't think of anything else which hasn't already been said.
 
daan
I'll have a stab in the dark at the Maserati 250F.
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Dotini
Certainly the 250F was aesthetically the best looking, and probably the most drivable F1 car of all.

According to Wikipedia:
In total, the 250F competed in 46 Formula One championship races with 277 entries, leading to eight wins. Success was not limited to World Championship events with 250F drivers winning many non-championship races around the world.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
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This is the correct answer. My source says 277 starts in 46 races, not entries.

Sorry for the late reply. Daan or Dotini can ask the next question.
 
On the subject of the 250F Maserati, here's another easy one:

The 250F saw service in every year of the 2.5 liter formula, from 1954 to 1960, often making up the bulk of the starting grid. In which GP did the most 250F's appear? Exactly how many took the start?

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
I believe it was the 1956 German GP? 12(!) of the 13(!) Maserati entered were 250Fs. 10 took the start.

Also, 19 of the 24 cars that entered were either the Maserati 250F or Lancia D50! Imagine 2 cars making up over 80% (17/21) of the grid!
 
TopGearFTW
The Lotus 72 was used for six consecutive seasons, but it sounds like the above McLaren was used even more, so I dunno.
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Wiki can't even do it's own maths on this one. It says it started 75 races, but if you add up the results a little further down the page, it made 152 race starts! :dunce:
 
I think that just means from Spain 1970 (its first outing) to USA 1975 (its last) spans 75 races. Rather than counting each individual car.
 
SagarisGTB
I believe it was the 1956 German GP? 12(!) of the 13(!) Maserati entered were 250Fs. 10 took the start.

Also, 19 of the 24 cars that entered were either the Maserati 250F or Lancia D50! Imagine 2 cars making up over 80% (17/21) of the grid!
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Yes, it was the 1956 XVIII Grosser Preis von Deutschland at the Nurburgring 22.81km circuit. My two sources both indicate 13 250F's were entered, with 12 taking the start. Starting at or near the front were 5 Lancia-Ferrari's (the class of the field). Also starting were 2 Gordini's and an older Ferrari. Fangio won with a new lap record of 9:41.6, eclipsing by 10 seconds the existing record set in 1939 by Lang's Mercedes.

If the Orsi family had obeyed their initial impulse not to manufacture the 250F on the grounds of high cost, then it's certain Formula One would have been a much poorer, smaller and less successful sport than it actually became in those formative years.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
#13 is a superstitious no-no, but can you name two times when it was carried by an entrant to an F1 World Championship race? (One starter, one non-qualifier).

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
TopGearFTW
Moises Solana, BRM, 1963 Mexico Grand Prix, Classified 11th
Divina Galica, Surtees, 1976 British Grand Prix, DNQ
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Correct!
I can add only that Solana's BRM was a P57, and Galica's Surtees was a TS16.

Respectfully,
Steve
 
OK, sticking with Formula One.

What is unique about Michael Schumacher's entry to the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix?

(Not that it's his debut... come on, that would be far too easy :P)
 
It was his only event for Jordan, but I'm guessing you're looking for something else...

...well, because of Moreno moving on from Benetton, he went on to drive for Minardi and, ironically, Jordan, on his way to being the last driver to drive for three teams in one season.

Is it something to do with that?
 
Well yeah I guess there were a few things unique about it, and yours are both correct of course, but it's not the answer I'm looking for, I guess I should've worded the question "What am I thinking of" :P

As a clue, it is specifically to do with the Jordan entry, not the Jordan entry when tied in with others.
 
First race where they didn't have to pre-qualify? Although I think that was actually the French Grand Prix.
 
As another clue, it's in a similar vein to Dotini's last question.

Like I said though, it's to do >specifically< with Michael's entry. Not the race itself, not the season, just Michael's entry.
 
There we go :P Michael has a superstition against racing in an even numbered car, which is why even at Mercedes he drivers the lower-numbered car, despite being beaten by Nico in both seasons since his return.

I figured the question might be a little vague, but it didn't take too long.
 
Well as soon as you referenced Dotini's question about entry numbers, it was obvious.

---

I don't have a good question, so here's an easy one.

Prior to Jason Plato, Andy Rouse was the record holder for BTCC race victories, with an incredible 60 victories in an era when there were as few as 9-11 races per year.

Which notorious event occured at the scene of his final win?
 
It's been a while, so something new:

How many times has a driver been out-qualified by (at least) one teammate during the year they won the World Driver's Championship. Also, list the drivers and the years when this occurred.

Some definitions to clarify the question:
Teammate - same team, not car or constructor
Out-qualify - Qualify ahead of the champion in more than half of the races the champion participated in. Meaning no one-offs like when Moss out-qualified Fangio in their one race as teammates in 1957.
 
SagarisGTB
It's been a while, so something new:

How many times has a driver been out-qualified by (at least) one teammate during the year they won the World Driver's Championship. Also, list the drivers and the years when this occurred.

Some definitions to clarify the question:
Teammate - same team, not car or constructor
Out-qualify - Qualify ahead of the champion in more than half of the races the champion participated in. Meaning no one-offs like when Moss out-qualified Fangio in their one race as teammates in 1957.
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The incoming F1 World Champion has been out-qualified by his teammate six times.

1950: Fangio out-qualified Farina
1967: Brabham out-qualified Hulme
1984: Prost out-qualified Lauda
1989: Senna out-qualified Prost
2007: Massa out-qualified Raikkonen
2009: Barrichello out-qualified Button

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 

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