2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Tip of the hat to Lord March and his entire crew who put up another terrific Festival of Speed (FOS). The entire program, meaning that what those present at the Goodwood estate saw on the big screens and heard over Goodwood radio, was broadcast via live feed to the world. Needless to say, I spend three full mornings watching the hillclimb and writing. Below follows some of what caught my attention.

One of the aspects of the FOS that always moves many are reunions between older race car drivers and their championship winning cars. This time again their were many, such as Sir John Surtees, Al Unser, Sir Stirling Moss and Damon Hill, who was reunited with his 1996 F1 championship winning Williams FW18. To watch the video, click here.

Also, the organizers used a simple but effective way to illustrate technological advancements over a fifty year period. Sir John Surtees took the start of the hillclimb in his F1 Tipo 158 1964 championship winning Scuderia Ferrari, followed closely on the track by Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 F1 championship winning Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F1 car. This sight alone must have brought both tears and cheers to young and old. To watch the video, click here. It was absolutely magnificent.

Another great side by side hillclimb start was performed by Sir Stirling Moss in the legendary Mercedes-Benz W196 along side Lord March in the Streamliner version of the W196. To watch the video, click here. As a child I would play with my brother Dito's silver W196 Marklin electric race car. Just wonderful memories.

Everybody knows that aerial shows are a trademark of English Motoring events and this year's FOS would not be the same without the Red Arrows paying Chichester a visit. And as if that were not enough, the now retired but still incredible Avro Vulcan jet powered delta wing strategic bomber gave a truly unique show. The Vulcan bomber is the last of the cold war monsters that is still flying today. Some of you may remember it from James Bond's Thunderball.

Needless to say, there are many different classes of cars and race cars at the FOS. I won't try to touch on this for there is better reporting on the FOS section of Goodwood's website. If you have a chance, hop on over to the website to see footage and pictures of the weekend.

So OK, I have not forgotten about our younger motorsports fans. If you paid attention during the many videos you may have seen tire marks all over the road leading up to the Goodwood hill. Most of these were laid down by "Mad" Mike Whiddett in special highly tuned four rotor 530bhp Mazda RX-7. To go to a page with the video, click here.

I am not one to focus too much on crashes but if this is what amuses you, than the folks at Jalopnik have a page dedicated to many of the crashes at the FOS. Just click here.

And, cheers to The Telegraph for their wonderful support of the Goodwood FOS. Click here to visit their 2014 FOS page.

Thanks for reading and DO check back for updates!

Source: Goodwood, The Telegraph, Jalopnik
Photocredit: Goodwood

Tribute to Bruce McLaren

McLaren Racing will turn 50 this year, and while most of you know this name to be synonymous with winning F1 cars and incredibly fast street cars, very few will know who it's founder really was.

In paying tribute to their founder, the company has released a short video about the inspiring figure that was Bruce McLaren. To watch it, click here (it may not be seen in some regions).

Unfortunately, Bruce McLaren, a New Zealand native, would never see the huge success his company would achieve, for he died at the age of 32 in a racing accident. However, he left enough inspiration to propel those who knew him to achieve great success, and in the name of...McLaren.

Bruce Leslie McLaren, (30 Aug 1937-2 June 1970):

Born in Auckland, he drove in 104 F1 races and won 4 with a total of 27 podium finishes. Although he didn't win any F1 championships, he did win the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966 with Amon, and the 12 hours of Sebring in 1967 with Andretti. He was also the 1967 and 1969 Can-Am champion.

Besides being a inspiring race car driver, he was an even better engineer. His abilities as an analyst, engineer and manager contributed much to the success of that cars that bore his name. One of his first innovations was the "nostrill" that have been a key to McLaren design feature, and is still used on the McLaren F1 road car of today.

Bruce got into motor racing when his father, a mechanic, restored an aging Austin 7 Ulster, which Bruce drove in his first competition, a hill climb. 

The year was 1952 and he was just 14. As a child he suffered from Perthes Disease and at a point had both legs in plaster casts for months followed by traction. Eventually he did walk but with a limp.

Bruce McLaren died on June 2, 1970, when his Can-Am car crashed on the Lavant Straight just before Woodcote corner at Goodwood Circuit in England. He was testing his new M8D when he lost downforce, when the rear body work came loose. He spun off the track and hit a bunker and died  instantly.

Legacy:
- Inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990,
- Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991,
- Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995,
- The Bruce McLaren Trust perpetuates his memory and runs a small museum from the flat where Bruce grew up.

For more on McLaren: the Bruce McLaren movie, and the McLaren Group.


Source: Jalopnik, Wikipedia, Jascoautomotive.com.

Great liveries

As I was going through some of my 2007 Goodwood "Festival of Speed" pictures, I paused to admire the beauty of a 917 Gulf Porsche (below). My girlfriend who just happened to walk by said that: "The colors on that car don't match."

Yes, she is referring to the iconic Gulf Oil colors. Well, I almost showed her the door. Blasphemy I tell you!

This gave me the idea to write a piece on the greatest motor sport liveries. In my humble opinion, the top five are: 

No. 1. Gulf Oil 

Gulf oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The brand was synonymous for its association with auto racing, as it famously sponsored the John Wyer Automotive Team in the 1960s. The signature light blue and orange color scheme associated with its Ford GT40 and Porsche 917 is one of the most famous corporate racing colors and has been replicated by other racing teams sponsored by Gulf. Much of its popularity can be attributed to the 1971 film "Le Mans" in which Steve McQueen's character drives for the Gulf Team.

No. 2. John Player & Sons

Simply known as Player's, John Player bought the business in 1877 from William Wright. The tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England, began sponsoring Team Lotus with the Lotus 49 in Gold Leaf colors at the 1968 Monaco GP, continued with the Lotus 72, which changed back to the black and gold John Player Special colors in 1972 and ended in 1986 with the Lotus 98T (pictured). Furthermore, BMW owned the JPS livery in touring car racing in Australia in the 1980's.

No. 3. Marlboro

Marlboro is the largest selling brand of cigarettes in the world. Made by Philip Morris USA, it was first introduced in 1928 and was famous for its billboard advertisements, magazine ads of the Marlboro Man and its long associated history in the sponsorship of motorsport. In 1972 it sponsored the F1 teams of BRM and Iso Marlboro-Ford. In 1974 it sponsored only the McLaren Team for two years. When Ron Dennis took over McLaren in 1981 Marlboro returned and together they dominated F1 until 1996. Emerson Fitipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna all drove for Marlboro.

Ferrari's association with Marlboro started in the mid 1980s as a secondary sponsor and in 1993 it became their primary sponsor.

No. 4. Martini

The Martini & Rossi distillery produces Martini vermouth The Martini sponsorship of motorsports began in 1968 under the Martini Racing name with its distinctive dark blue, light blue and red stripes on white or silver cars. 

During the 1970s, Martini became famous icw Porsche as its iconic 917 won the 1971 24 hours of Le Mans. it sponsored many Porsche cars throughout the 1970s. During the 1980s, it sponsored the Italian Lancia teams with the Group 5, Group 6, Group C.

Martini's association with F1 started with Tecno in 1972-1973 and moved to Ecclestone's Brabham in 1975. For the 1979 season, Martini sponsored Team Lotus. 

The WRC Porsche also enjoyed Martini's sponsorship along with the Lancia Works Team. In 1992 Martini racing started with Touring car racing.

Finally, starting in 1973 Martini Racing sponsored the powerboat owned Carlo Bonomi and Cesare Fiorio which competed in the Powerboat World Championship, winning the series in 1975 and 1976.

No. 5. Rothmans

Rothmans Int'l plc was a British tobacco manufacturer founded by Louis Rothman in 1890. Rothmans sponsored the factory Porsche team, winning the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1982 with a 1-2-3 with the Porsche 956. They won another three times during the 1980s. Rothmans' association with the WRC started in 1982 and ended a decade later. Between 1985 and 1993, they sponsored the works Honda Team in the Motorcycle racing GP wining four championships.

Gege's choice: Silk Cut

Silk Cut is a low tar cigarette brand produced by the Gallahar Group, a division of Japan Tobacco, and was first introduced in 1964. Silk Cut sponsored the succesful Jaguar XJR sportscar that competed in the World Sportscar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  The XJR-9 took six victories in 1988 with, amongst others, fellow Dutchman Jan Lammers at the wheel, and deposed Porsche for the first time since 1980 from winning at Le Mans. It was Jaguar's first victory at Le Mans since 1957.

Finally, I believe these recent Martini Racing pictures deserve mentioning, wouldn't you say!

Thanks for reading.

Source: Wikipedia

Photo credit: own library, piston head (#17), panathinaeos.worldpress (Lancia)