Motorsports Trivia Thread!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cap'n Jack
  • 7,210 comments
  • 393,907 views
Jimlaad43
EDIT: Toleman has merged through the years to become Renault (Toleman - Benetton - Renauult)
Click to expand...


WE HAVE A WINNER! :gtplanet: :gtpflag:

If Ayrton Senna is Bruno's uncle, there's a more direct family line between those two cars, through the teams that raced them. Because Toleman is in fact the great-great-grandfather of Lotus F1 Team.


Follows a wikipedia history lesson



wikipedia on Toleman
Toleman Motosport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and attended 70 Grands Prix.
…
In May 1985, Toleman acquired major sponsorship from the Benetton clothing company, which had previously sponsored Tyrrell and Alfa Romeo. During the 1985/86 off-season, the knitwear firm purchased the team and it was renamed Benetton Formula prior to the 1986 season.
Click to expand...



Wikipedia on Bennetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula Oneconstructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton familywho run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2001 season. In 2002 the team became Renault F1.
Click to expand...




Wikipedia on Renault F1
Renault purchased Benetton Formula Limited for $120 million on 16 March 2000, to return to Formula One. Renault maintained the Benetton name for the 2000 and the 2001seasons. When reporting the purchase the International Herald Tribune commented that "the team will not race under the Renault name until it is ready to win and reap the marketing benefits."[6] It was not until 2002 that this name change occurred.
In 2002, Benetton were rebranded as Renault F1 and contested the season with drivers Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button who scored 23 points during the season.
Click to expand...



Wikipedia on Lotus Renault GP
On 5 November 2010, Autosport reported that Renault was poised to scale back its involvement in 2011 and become only an engine supplier, with the team closing in on a tie-up with Lotus Cars to buy its 25% stake in the team. The deal was finalised in early December 2010, with the team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP for 2011, under a sponsorship deal signed with Lotus Cars until 2017. Renault continues to support the team by supplying engines and its expertise. The Renault chassis name continues to be used, with Renault branding featuring in the new black and gold livery that was last used when Renault and Lotus joined forces in the 1980s.
Click to expand...




And finally … it all becomes clear in one paragraph

Wikipedia on Lotus F1 Team
Lotus F1 Team, formerly the Renault F1 Team and Lotus Renault GP, is a BritishFormula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s.
Click to expand...


Congrats Jimlaad43! 👍
 
Another question. In the form of a riddle





Men of the west they were,
The pond they did cross,
Neil's feet still firmly down here
John already a sad loss


One was the notorious boy
The other the secret knight
The first was destined to joy
The second to be at his right


They came to dress in red
They joined a Rheinland-born
For a day that knows no bed
Somewhere inside a hexagon


They saw their foes' downfall
But then came the misty night
The Rheinland-born didn't hear the call
And so they called the secret knight


The secret to this day remained
No record shows him there in the red

But could it be true, what he claimed?
Doesn't matter, 'cause them 3 are now dead.






PS - look at me having a go at "poetry" in a foreign language :lol:
 
hmmm ... not sure if the lack of replies means this riddle is too hard, too easy or simply not interesting.

Should I explain the meaning of a few lines? Should I make it clear that the answer requested is the identification of:

a) the notorious boy
b) the secret knight
c) the Rheinland-born

?

Alternatively, because I don't want to be responsible for the "stalling" of this thread, just disregard this riddle and move on for another question.
 
Hun200kmh
Alternatively, because I don't want to be responsible for the "stalling" of this thread, just disregard this riddle and move on for another question.
Click to expand...

I'll have a go at it, but I'll probably have to sit down for a good deal of time to work it out. I'm useless at riddles, but I'll give it a go soon.
 
Ok, a hint will be given now. These lines:

Neil's feet still firmly down here
John already a sad loss
Click to expand...

Have only one purpose. To provide a time-frame, between two major events all mankind knows about.
 
The Rhineland-born is Jochen Rindt, the notorious boy is Richie Ginther, and the secret knight is John Surtees?
 
Last edited:
1. Not only John Surtees isn't dead, but also this

Men of the west they were,
The pond they did cross
Click to expand...

... doesn't applyto him :)


2. Richie Ginther isn't the notorious boy, but I'll say this: In his career, but not in the same occasion, he also joined the notorious boy ...

For a day that knows no bed
Somewhere inside a hexagon
Click to expand...



3. I can confirm that Jochen Rindt is indeed the Rheinland-born
 
It's a bit difficult to give a hint without being sure if the previous hints were correctly interpreted.

What's the west?

What's the pond?

Who is Neil?

Who is John?

What's dressing in red?

What's a day without bed?

What's the hexagon?

The second part of the riddle refers to what happened with the three guys (or happened not). And I won't go into that yet. Because there is a secret here. And a claim. True? False? No one knows, but we're talking of one fascinating story within the history of motorsports.
 
The notorious boy might be Phil Hill, being American (the west, you need to cross a pond called the Atlantic to get to Europe from there) and associated with Ginther early in the latter's career.

The secret knight might be Masten Gregory, another American who won the 1965 Le Mans (a day without bed) with Rindt in a race during which Rindt disregarded the chance of losing despite being far behind the leader and drove like crazy through the night. The car in question was a Ferrari but fielded by North American Racing Team and thus might not count as driving for Ferrari (dressing in red).

I'm pretty sure I got it 100% wrong but that's the best I can come up with. :p
 
Hun200kmh
It's a bit difficult to give a hint without being sure if the previous hints were correctly interpreted.

What's the west? The Americas

What's the pond? The Atlantic Ocean

Who is Neil? Neil Armstrong (Walked on Moon in 1969)

Who is John? John F. Kennedy (Assassinated in 1963)

What's dressing in red? Driving for Ferrari (or possibly Brabham?)

What's a day without bed? Assuming Greycap is right, Le Mans

What's the hexagon? No idea.
Click to expand...

Information in bold.
 
Hey I see we're getting close now, in fact Greycap came very, very close.

Still, the notorious boy is not Phil Hill.

I don't think guessing what's the Hexagon is now any difficult, considering the replies other clues got. In any case, knowing what the Hexagon means is not very relevant, this is all about 3 drivers and a secret. That relates to them all, but specifically to the "secret knight", because the other two are/were notorious.
 
Ok, I see this as stalled once more, so I'll provide a clearer view of the "riddle". If this isn't cleared in about 24 hours more I'll just give the answer and the thread will move on.

Hun200kmh
Men of the west they were,
The pond they did cross,
Neil's feet still firmly down here
John already a sad loss

Means:
Two american (considering we're talking motorsports) race drivers
crossed the Atlantic
before 1969
after 1963



One was the notorious boy
The other the secret knight
The first was destined to joy
The second to be at his right


Means:
One was famous
The other not so (much)
One was destined to race
the other just to be there if needed



They came to dress in red
They joined a Rheinland-born
For a day that knows no bed
Somewhere inside a hexagon


Means:
Their car was red
Jochen Rindt was their team mate
to do a 24 hour race
in France



They saw their foes' downfall
But then came the misty night
The Rheinland-born didn't hear the call
And so they called the secret knight


The secret to this day remained
No record shows him there in the red

But could it be true, what he claimed?
Doesn't matter, 'cause them 3 are now dead.


Can't explain all that's written above, but I think it's pretty obvious that, according to this tale, something happened (during the night) and the "secret knight" had to be called. But ... who is he? Why is there a secret? Is it really true, all this?

One thing is certain ... they're all dead by now.
Click to expand...

And a bonus hint, one that I'm sure will not help anyone, unless some sportscars 60's geek (like myself :D ). The secret knight, although a low profile guy, was not a rookie and had in fact a long and eventful gentleman-driver career. One particular car driven by him is famous, and - in pure Sebastian Vettel Style - has a name. Similar to "Memphis Belle", but it's no WW II bomber and has no "Memphis" in its name.

:sly:
 
OK, I got it. I think. After a lot of detective work.

It seems that the race in question is indeed Le Mans '65 won by Rindt and Gregory - except that it was actually won by Rindt, Gregory and Ed Hugus who apparently is our secret knight.

Regulations allowed two racing drivers and one reserve driver for each car, Rindt and Gregory being the racing guys and Hugus the reserve man. The race went on until in the middle of the night Gregory pulled into the pits, unable to continue as he had to wear glasses due to being short sighted and smoke from hundreds of barbeques around the area mixed with the night moisture was getting in his eyes. Rindt wasn't around to step in and nobody knew where he was but Hugus was there so he simply put on his racing gear and finished Gregory's stint. Official records have no word about him driving and nobody actually even knows if that's the truth. Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't, but they're indeed all dead so it doesn't matter anymore.

If someone has a good question, fire away.
 
Ok, I'll give another question. Probably quite an easy one, but who was the only driver to qualify slowest for every grand prix he participated in?
 
No. He outqualified Schiattarella in Australia in 1994. The driver I'm thinking of, has the undesirable honour of being the only person to qualify dead last for every Grand Prix he qualified for.
 
Clarifying question- How many grand prix did he qualify for? Was it the bloke mentioned earlier who snuck onto the track anyways from Pit lane, from Germany if I remember correctly?
 
Well this is really embarrassing, but the person I chose did not qualify slowest for every grand prix he participated in, however he did start all races he competed in last. In one case, he qualified second to last, but the guy who qualified last did not start. Sorry for the oversight people. Maybe I'll drop a little hint to make up for it.


hawkeye122
Clarifying question- How many grand prix did he qualify for? Was it the bloke mentioned earlier who snuck onto the track anyways from Pit lane, from Germany if I remember correctly?
Click to expand...

It wasn't Hans Heyer. I feel at this stage, it's a little too early to give away how many races he qualified for. He failed to qualify for more than half the grand prix he entered though.

TheCracker
It wouldn't be Perry McCarthy would it?
Click to expand...

No. McCarthy never qualified for any races.

MazdaPrice
Paul Belmondo - Pacific GP, 1994.
Click to expand...

Wrong, I'm afraid. I'm talking about over the course of the whole career. Not just one season.

So to clarify, he did actually qualify for a Grand Prix. He started last in every grand prix(race) that he started and he failed to qualify for more than half the grand prix he entered.
 
Hm. Ricardo Rosset springs to mind but I don't think he was that slow at Footwork.

Jan Lammers? Jo Winkelhock? Gabriele Tarquini? Gaston Mazzacane? Luciano Burti? The list of rejects is endless!
 

Latest Posts

Back