Classic Motorsport Photos

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An article from Der Spiegel (original article in German) with Willi Kauhsen about the time he took then West German President Gustav Heinemann for a lap of a snowy Nürburgring:

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Magical Moments "On the brink of powerlessness"

Willi Kauhsen, 77, from Aachen about his ride in a racing car with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Gustav Heinemann as co-driver
SPIEGEL: You drove on the 3rd of April 1973 with Gustav Heinemann at the Nürburgring. You were a well known racing driver at the time - how did that happen?

Kauhsen: At the beginning of February somebody from Bonn (former capitol city of West-Germany) called me and asked: "Well, the President, who wishes to be ridden a lap over the Nürburgring in the strongest racing car in the world - you, can we do that?"

SPIEGEL: The ring was a mountain and valley route for about 22 kilometers and was considered highly dangerous. It was extremely risky to drive there in the Porsche 917, which was called "Monster" because of its 1000 hp.

Kauhsen: At the time, I also worked as a test driver at Porsche. I had covered many thousands of kilometers with this car. And I knew the Nürburgring from many races. It was also not about driving with the Heinemann in record time. The car's acceleration was so insane that anyone who did not know it was on the verge of fainting.

SPIEGEL: So you suspected Heinemann would be easy to impress.

Kauhsen: Yes. I did not have to do anything wild.

SPIEGEL: However, there was an unexpected problem: The night before there was a onset of winter. Did Heinemann get scared?

Kauhsen: Not him, but everyone else. When the whole delegation rolled up, Hilda Heinemann, his wife, asked: "Herr Kauhsen, is not that too dangerous?" I answered: "Only at two or three places will there be snow, so I drive carefully."

SPIEGEL: What did Heinemann himself mean?

Kauhsen: He was happy and beamed at me. He did not want to hear about concerns.

SPIEGEL: How did the wintry trip start?

Kauhsen: First a team car drove to the track to see if there are terrorists. With police officers left and right on the running boards, heavily armed. Heinemann got a helmet and sat next to me with suit and coat. Then we started.

SPIEGEL: Did the ride go smoothly?

Kauhsen: It was thawing, and indeed: at first everything was free. But suddenly I saw the crew car lying in the ditch. The police walked around and collected their submachine guns. I made an emergency stop - and the car spinned around.

SPIEGEL: Was Heinemann feeling queasy at the same time?

Kauhsen: I looked at him, he gave a thumbs-up.

From the german News magazine „Der Spiegel“ 14. January 2017

Willi Kauhsen managed a Lap time with Dr. Heinemann in the Porsche and a snowy Nürburgring around 12:30.
A lap in dry conditions at this time was around 7:30 and around 8:30 in the wet.

In the evening there was a Dinner for Dr. Heinemann near the Nürburgring. The President was looking around to have a chat with Kauhsen, but Kauhsen was at this time back home in Aachen. Nobody invited him to the dinner with the President.

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Rare shot of Sebastian Loeb driving something other than a Citroen in his early career. 2000 Tour de Corse and his WRC category debut, in a Toyota.
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I wager you're a fan and follower of the @WRCPAST twitter page? 🙂👍 Multiple interesting photos shared every day by that account.

A few of my favourites recently -

Future Prodrive Boss David Richards and Ari Vatanen in their Rothmans Ford Escort MK2 on the iconic Dyfi stage during the '81 Lombard.

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The infamous Citroen BX4TC of Jean-Claude Andruet and Annick Peuvergne during the '86 Monte. The Gr.B car only a mother could love :lol:

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Given that appears to be the 1998 car (The black louvers being a dead giveaway), I'm guessing this was early in development as noted by the differently shaped mirrors as well. Its not unheard of for a Le Mans Prototype in its early phase to not have headlights.

Another photo of it testing:

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Certainly not the first time Toyota has done this
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With Silverstone getting a 10 year contract extension to its Formula 1 contract, let's celebrate that with an iconic image from every different Silverstone layout that has hosted an F1 championship race.

1951 British Grand Prix
Jose-Frolian Gonzalez scores the first of Ferrari's (currently) 243 wins on the 14th July 1951 at Silverstone.
Silv 1.jpg


1965 British Grand Prix
Jim Clark celebrates victory after surviving the last few laps with an Oil Leak. Clark was forced to nurse the car through the last few laps, losing 32 of his 35 second lead by the checquered flag.
Silv 2.jpg


1985 British Grand Prix
Keke Rosberg during qualifying as he went on to score Pole position at the 1985 British Grand Prix. This lap, set just as rain started to fall, had an average speed of 259.005kph. This was the fastest lap ever, and a record which would stand until 2002. To this day it is the only qualifying lap to set grid position in the top 50 Fastest of all time not set at Monza and not set in the 21st century.
Silv 3.jpg


1987 British Grand Prix
Nigel Mansell snatches the lead from his teammate and rival Nelson Piquet with the iconic dummy pass into Stowe with three laps to go after charging back from having to take an extra pitstop over his rival.
Silv 4.jpg


1992 British Grand Prix
Mansell-mania was in full force, with fans swarming the track after Nigel Mansell won his Fifth Grand Prix in the UK on his way to his first championship. This invasion was of course on the slow down lap, leaving most of the grid unable to pass the seething mass of people on the track.
Silv 5.jpg


1995 British Grand Prix
Damon Hill collides with Michael Schumacher with a divebomb that can only really be described as desperate at best. Both retired on the spot, allowing Johnny Herbert through to score his first victory.
Silv 6.jpg


1996 British Grand Prix
Jacques Villeneuve scores his second career victory after team mate Damon Hill spun out with a wheel nut failure halfway through the race.
1707495746661.jpeg


2008 British Grand Prix

A pivotal race in the title battle of the season. While Lewis Hamilton surged away to win by over 60 seconds in appalling conditions, his main title rival Massa spent more time pointing backwards, with 5 spins on the way to a lowly 13th placed finish, 2 laps down.
Silv 7.jpg


2010 British Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel returns to the pits after his front wing fails during Free Practice. As one of only two versions of the new wing, Red Bull elected to give Vettel the last remaining new wing for Qualifying, angering Mark Webber. After Vettel put it on Pole for the race, Webber aggressively took the lead into Turn 1, and Vettel got a puncture from contact. Webber went on to win, leading to his infamous "Not bad for a Number two Driver" jibe.
Silv 8.jpg


2022 British Grand Prix
Guanyu Zhou dramatically rolls out of the race after contact with Pierre Gasly and George Russell before Turn 1 sent the Chinese driver through the runoff and came to rest over the barriers.
Silv 9.jpg
 
And a bonus from the original, runway-orientated configuration:

1948 British Grand Prix

Driver: George Watson ENG
Car: Alta (1.5L supercharged I8)
Finished: DNF (camshaft)


1948.jpg
 
With Silverstone getting a 10 year contract extension to its Formula 1 contract, let's celebrate that with an iconic image from every different Silverstone layout that has hosted an F1 championship race.

1951 British Grand Prix
Jose-Frolian Gonzalez scores the first of Ferrari's (currently) 243 wins on the 14th July 1951 at Silverstone.
View attachment 1326716

1965 British Grand Prix
Jim Clark celebrates victory after surviving the last few laps with an Oil Leak. Clark was forced to nurse the car through the last few laps, losing 32 of his 35 second lead by the checquered flag.
View attachment 1326717

1985 British Grand Prix
Keke Rosberg during qualifying as he went on to score Pole position at the 1985 British Grand Prix. This lap, set just as rain started to fall, had an average speed of 259.005kph. This was the fastest lap ever, and a record which would stand until 2002. To this day it is the only qualifying lap to set grid position in the top 50 Fastest of all time not set at Monza and not set in the 21st century.
View attachment 1326718

1987 British Grand Prix
Nigel Mansell snatches the lead from his teammate and rival Nelson Piquet with the iconic dummy pass into Stowe with three laps to go after charging back from having to take an extra pitstop over his rival.
View attachment 1326719

1992 British Grand Prix
Mansell-mania was in full force, with fans swarming the track after Nigel Mansell won his Fifth Grand Prix in the UK on his way to his first championship. This invasion was of course on the slow down lap, leaving most of the grid unable to pass the seething mass of people on the track.
View attachment 1326721

1995 British Grand Prix
Damon Hill collides with Michael Schumacher with a divebomb that can only really be described as desperate at best. Both retired on the spot, allowing Johnny Herbert through to score his first victory.
View attachment 1326722

1996 British Grand Prix
Jacques Villeneuve scores his second career victory after team mate Damon Hill spun out with a wheel nut failure halfway through the race.
View attachment 1326723

2008 British Grand Prix
A pivotal race in the title battle of the season. While Lewis Hamilton surged away to win by over 60 seconds in appalling conditions, his main title rival Massa spent more time pointing backwards, with 5 spins on the way to a lowly 13th placed finish, 2 laps down.
View attachment 1326724

2010 British Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel returns to the pits after his front wing fails during Free Practice. As one of only two versions of the new wing, Red Bull elected to give Vettel the last remaining new wing for Qualifying, angering Mark Webber. After Vettel put it on Pole for the race, Webber aggressively took the lead into Turn 1, and Vettel got a puncture from contact. Webber went on to win, leading to his infamous "Not bad for a Number two Driver" jibe.
View attachment 1326725

2022 British Grand Prix
Guanyu Zhou dramatically rolls out of the race after contact with Pierre Gasly and George Russell before Turn 1 sent the Chinese driver through the runoff and came to rest over the barriers.
View attachment 1326726
Silverstone has provided a lot of great F1 moments over the years and we are going to see plenty more in the next 10 years and maybe after that as well.
 
The pictures of Zhou and Watson show just how far a GP car has come.
No roll hoop
No composite safety tub
No halo
No fire resistant suit
No helmet
No seat belt
No goggles even.
If those two pictures were swapped the consequences don't bear thinking about.
 

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