Niki Lauda was an Austrian racing driver, three-time F1 World Champion.
He is widely considered as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.
Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at
the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T.2 burst into flames. He
came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe
burns. However, he survived and recovered sufficiently to race again
just 6 weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix.
Niki Lauda McLaren TAG Porsche MP4/2 1984
Limited Edition Fine Art Print by TR Motorsport Art
He also made another great
comeback after retiring 1st time at the end of 1979 season. 2 years
later he joined the McLaren team with which he won his last world crown
in 1984 with the smallest margin in F1 history, leading his team mate
Alain Prost with one single point.
The Brabham BT55 was a Formula 1 car designed by Gordon Murray and David North for Brabham team. It was powered by a turbocharged 4-cyl BMW engine angled to the side to allow clear air supply to the rear wing.
This technical innovation was motivated by the level of aerodynamic downforce required by the powerful turbo engines of the time that flirted with the 1400 / 1500 HP in qualification mode, especially in the case of the 4-cylinder BMW.
The car was entered in the 1986 season, but was not successful. Its introduction coincided with the end of Brabham’s time as a competitive team.
Murray’s following F1 creation (which he helped Steve Nichols design), McLaren’s MP4/4, is generally considered to be based on the same principles as its predecessor, the BT55, with a particullary low profil even though the engine was perfectly horizontal, and won 15 of the 16 races in 1988, making it the most successful Formula 1 car in History in terms of percentage of a season wins.
The BT55 is sadly also remembered as the car that italian driver Elio De Angelis died in at Paul Ricard Circuit during private testings, after crashing in the fast "La verrerie" esses.
As most of Gordon Murraycars, the BT55was at least as beautiful and elegant as its livery.
Strangely, there's almost no video of that car on Youtube except some sim reconstitutions. If you'd like to see some images of the BT55, you just have to watch the 1986 Grand Prix races.
The most famous Porsche distributor in the USA has built its reputation on racing tracks. Brumos was the largest dealership in the United States.
Already a car distributor in Miami Springs, businessman Hubert Brundage decided to hire a Porsche in competition in 1955. As such, he will be the very first to line up a Porsche outside the European continent. BTW, do you know that BRUMOS name is the short telex of Brundage Motors ?
Initially painted yellow or orange, Brumos cars adopted theire famous white, red and blue lines livery in the late 1960s. And it is under this iconic livery that Brumos will win 15 titles and 48 victories in the IMSA championship.
To date, the Brumos team is the most successful in the Daytona 24 hourshistory with four titles, all won with the support of Porsche: in 1973 and 1975 at the wheel of 911 Carrera RSR, in 1978 with a 935/77 and in 2009 with a RileyMK XIusing a 3.99 liters Porsche engine.
On the occasion of the 2019 Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring, the official Porsche team decided to repaint its 911 RSRs in the colours of Brumos.
The Ford GT40, sometimes referred to as the Ford GT40 MkI, is a sports car that was manufactured from 1964 to 1968. It allowed Ford to end Ferrari domination on Le Mans race and to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans on four successive occasions, from 1966 to 1969.
Together with thePorsche 917, the Ford GT40remains as THE iconic racing car, especially under its famous light blue and orange GULF livery.
The real story:
The story of the GT40 begins with a rivalry between two great names in motoring industry: Ford and Ferrari.
In the 60s, Ford needed to target a new category of audience with high income : the baby boomers. So their marketing department suggested that it was vital for them to change theire image by building sportcars and getting involved in motorsport at the highest level. But they were in a hurry, and realised they can't build a competitive sportcar from scratch. So in 1963, the Detroit company decided to buy the italian sport cars manufacturer Ferrari.
Negociations were very advanced, but Ford wanted full control on Ferrari company including racing department, which was a red line not to cross for the commendatore. So Enzo Ferrariwithdrawed at the last minute from negociations.
As
if that were not enough, Enzo Ferrariturned around and sold a majority
stake in Ferrari to the Italian car manufacturer Fiat.Some
Ford executives, including Henry Ford II, believed that Il Commandatore
had never seriously considered selling his company to Ford, but had
begun negotiations with the sole aim of pushing Fiat to raise its bid.
Henry Ford II felt personally humiliated. So he asked his engineers to design a car that will beat Ferrari in their favourite playground : Le Mans 24 Hours race.
The base chassis was supplied by an English racing team, Lola. Development took place in England under the direction of engineer Roy Lunn. For these needs, Ford created a local structure, Ford Advanced Vehicles Ltd (FVA), headed by John Wyer. The first model was introduced in April 64. It is then called only "GT",
from the initials "GT" of the category "Grand Touring"(Grand Tourisme). The 40 (for 40 inches, the minimum height for running) alongside will follow a little later.
The first attempts in racing in 1964 and 65 were fails until Ford turned to Carroll Shelby...
For a quick and entertaining overview of this rivalry, I advise you to watch the film released in 2019 that tells this famous episode of motorsports history : "Ford Vs Ferrari" (or "Le Mans 66" as it was renamed in some european countries).
But, Hollywood being Hollywood, you know one can never totally rely on a so-called "film based on real facts", for many obvious script and cinema constraints. That's why I have attached some videos below that shed light on the differences between the movie and the reality or that tell the real story in detail and images.
Battle of the Heavyweights – Ford vs Ferrari
Printed on premium 230gsm matte art paper in 30cm x 40cm & 40cm x 50cm
Available atGPBox
***
The Endurance Triple Threat – 908/8 LH vs GT40 vs 330 P3
The Porsche 956 and its modified version, the 962, is one of the most successful racing cars ever in motorsports History.
The 956 introduced the double-clutch (PDK - Doppelkupplung ) for the first time in racing. It used a progressive injection system on its 2.6-litre turbo engine
producing 620 hp.
The car also generated a huge downforce through its underbody tunnel making it one of the best “ground effect” cars ever built.
It was so dominating that most of long established private teams in WEC, INTERSERIE & SUPERCUP (Germany), Japan sports cars championship and IMSA (USA) bought theire own 956 and 962 "customer" chassis ensuring them countless wins.
Let's start this selection of Porsche 956 videos with the excellent Chris Harris test:
One of the lap records around the Nürburgring Nordschleife that lasted for a very long time was made at the wheel of a works Rothmans Porsche 956, driven in 1983 by the ultra-fast german champion Stefan Bellof who died also at the wheel of a 956 two years later at SPA 1000 km race. That lap record, 6:11'13" was only broken in 2018 by another Porsche sport prototype and also Le Mans winner, the 919
The BOSS sponsored Obermaier Porsche is probably the most elegant Porsche 956 ever, reproduced at 1/18 scale by TSM models (there's no video of the real car unfotunatly)...
The 1983 Porsche Boss 956 original design above is also available on many other home and personal goods like this phonecase here onFine Art America
Here I've made a video showing various artists paintings, featuring the Porsche 956and 962
The Lotus 72 is not only one of the most beautiful Formula 1 cars ever raced, but also the most successfull F1 chassis, with the longest span between its first
and last victories.
As most of Colin Chapman's creations, it introduced to F1 some innovative technical solutions. It was also the first F1 ever to display the famous and elegant John Player Special livery.
Since the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours tragedy, motor racing has been banned in Switzerland with the exception of road racing.
Since then, safety has evolved on the circuits, particularly since the 1980s, But paradoxically, the ban has remained in place in the Swiss community with a special derogation for road competitions such as rallies and hillclimbs despite the fact that the latter remain more dangerous than racing on permanent tracks.
However, this did not prevent Switzerland from organising two Formula 1 Grand Prix in the post-1955 period, but in a neighbouring country, France.
The first one took place in 1975, and was won by a... Swiss driver, Clay Regazzoni, who was then 2nd driver at Ferrari, and teammate of Niki Lauda world champion. However, that Grand Prix didn't count for the world championship.
The 2nd swiss Grand Prix was organized much later, in 1982, still in France, won by Keke Rosberg who would become World Champion the same year. That was actually the only GP he won that season!
Both swiss Grand Prix took place on the Dijon-Prenois circuit, a short but fast rollercoaster. Dijon also
served as the setting for the french Grand Prix on 5 other occasions,
in 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1984, more or less alternating with the Paul Ricard
The 1st time the French Grand Prix was held at Dijon, was in 1974,on the shortest layout. The images are showing the pre-race classic Grand Prix cars laps before the GP start.
Lost in the middle of nowhere, unlike the Castellet circuit which had the advantage in addition to benefiting not only from its proximity to the beaches of the French Riviera (the GP of France was most often held during summer), but also an airstrip along the circuit and modern facilities for its time. The Dijon-Prenois circuit had none of these advantages, and attending could be as painful for the spectators as for the journalists, not to mention the participants.
These differences led the F1 to abandon this track, which actually was a shame due to the fact that Dijon circuit was -and still- a spectacular and exciting track for both spectators and drivers. Much more than Paul Ricard and even more if compared to Magny-Cours.
A Complete Set of Formula 1 Circuits
A collection made up of 75 precision laser cut acrylic
pieces. All of the FIA F1 racing circuits there have ever been to
date, detailed & in perfect scale proportion to one
another.
Contrary to most of the other classic F1 european circuits, Dijon-Prenois fortunately still exists, unchanged and still in activity, particularly frequented by historic races. It is an unmissable place for the national championships and trackdays.
It will be remembered forever as the setting of the hottest duel of all Formula 1 history, the unforgettable fight between the French René Arnoux and the spectacular canadian Gilles Villeneuve, in a race that had also made a double entry in the annals for hosting the first turbo engine win in F1 and Renault’s first victory in the Formula one world championship.
On Dijon circuit tarmac, René Arnoux talking to Gilles Villeneuve's son, Jacques, the 1997 F1 wotld champion, about his epic duel with Gilles back in 1979.
Dijon-Prenois will also remain in History as the place where Alain Prost took his 1st win in Grand Prix racing, which is quite fortunate knowing only a few F1 drivers have won their 1st GP at home. That was one of the rare F1 races that have been run in two rounds due to changing weather conditions.
Brands-Hatch, Kent (Great Britain), is a perfect example of how classic tracks which have been created by amateurs and not architects and have evolved naturally keeping their soul alive are much more spectacular and technically interesting than modern racing tracks.
"Racing Cuts": Brands Hatch
Laser-cut racing track art with a choice of 8 different background colours.
Have it free-standing, in front of a
lightbox or simply frame and admire it.
A3 size =
297cm x 420cm - 1.25mm thick, ultra-black
mount with a choice of 1 (out of 8) background colours.
