Classic Motorsport Photos

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Liquid
1951 Belgian Grand Prix

Driver: Juan Manuel Fangio ARG
Car: Alfa Romeo 159 (1.5L supercharged I8)
Finished: 9th

A stubborn wheel at a pit stop cost Fangio 14 minutes, resulting in the polesitter and setter of the fastest lap finishing uncharacteristically well down the order.
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Looking at wikipedia, amazingly Fangio either finishes all of his races in top 4, or retires. The race above is the ONLY one where he didn't do either ;)
 
Michael Schumacher and Bernie Ecclestone, 1991 430 KM Magny-Cours

Schumacher and co-driver Karl Wendlinger failed to finish.

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Fernando Alonso, Monaco 2005
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The year when tyre changes were banned and tyres had to last through qualifying and the race. This tyre may look very worn, but you have to remember this was the time when tyres were grooved. Alonso was overtaken for second on Lap 70 and for third on Lap 73, and finished the race in 4th, 18 seconds behind 3rd, such was the disaster of this tyre wear.
 
When it opened, Brands Hatch was run in the opposite direction to what we know today. The direction was changed sometime between the late 50s and early 60s, coinciding with the original grassy clay road being tarmacked.

It's not surprising that some races still ran the old way for a while afterwards.
 
Stirling Moss, 1929-2020

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1955 Mille Miglia

Co-driver: Dennis Jenkinson ENG
Car: Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (3.0L I8)
Finished: 1st

Moss completed the 1,000mi/1,600km race in a record 10 hours, 17 minutes. Fangio had given him a benzadrine cocktail before the race to keep him awake.

It was also one of the first times that advanced notes about the course were used. Common and almost taken for granted in rallying now, in the 1950s it was not a commonly used tactic. Jenkinson spent months surveying the course and his and Moss' win proved the worth of a tactical approach.

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1958 British Sportscar Grand Prix

Car: Jaguar Lister Knobbly (3.7L Jaguar-Lister I6)
Finished: 1st

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1958 Moroccan Grand Prix

Car: Vanwall VW5 (2.5L Vanwall I4)
Finished: 1st

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1961 Monegasque Grand Prix

Car: Lotus 18 (1.5L Coventry-Climax I4)
Finished: 1st

Moss himself took the decision to remove the side panels to keep himself cool.

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Liquid
Fangio had given him a benzadrine cocktail before the race to keep him awake.
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Haha! What a tricky old devil. I wonder if he got the recipe from Dr Mengele? :mischievous:

I notice Moss's right hand in the Monaco shot. What in the heck is he doing with his fingers?? :lol:
 
Liquid
Only thing I can think of is a touch of cramp.
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His left hand is clearly resting on his lap, right? He must be driving his car with his thumb and right index finger only. Or maybe he's on the victory lap?
As one who has driven a Lotus 20 Formula Junior at speed on an old-fashioned road course, I can guarantee you this is possible. It is a very light car with very skinny tires and needs only the lightest touch to steer.

Edit:
I've concluded he's simply showing off for the photographer. He just hosed off the field in the first Grand Prix of the new Formula 1, and he is highly chuffed.
 
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Nigel Mansell's telemetry from the 1994 Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway. Lap number at the top, distance at the bottom, speed on the left & in red, throttle on the right & in blue - flat out the whole time. Taken from a practice or qualifying session.

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233.4 and 233.7mph average lap speeds!
 
Dotini
I notice Moss's right hand in the Monaco shot. What in the heck is he doing with his fingers?? :lol:
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Like you stated in a subsequent post, a car of that vintage could be driven with your finger tips. My guess is that as he's applying a lot of lock, it's merely his hand 'opening' as the wheel twists his arm around. At that point all the force you are gripping the wheel with is with your thumb and forefinger. It eases tension in your forearm muscles by opening your hand (releasing grip from your outer fingers).
 
Dotini


This is called a "fuel burnout".
FWIW, this shot won the photographer (Julian Hunt) the 2016 Sydney Allard Media Award for photo journalism.

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Miss Hurst Golden Shifter (Linda Vaughn) and the Hursettes
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When you're pushing it a little much haha wow, what a pic, or maybe he had to go pee. Thanks for pic. Or maybe he was looking at your 2nd pic girls.

-Fred-
Salut, Gilles.
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I was watching docs on Gilles and on Clarke, they had many similarities it seems, from simple origins, with natural talent above others, and seeming naivety about risks, nice quiet honest sportmanship style guys.
And both died at 32 in a horrible crash.
Those docs made me sad really. And Gilles being cheated and then a stupid accident where he's cut off just when he's promptly about to pass in qualify.
Edit: well similar apart from driving style it seems, clarke being smooth and gilles being over the limit. Seems on their last crash they both were almost at exact same speed, near 170mph.
 
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