The celebrations were the ideal opportunity to unveil the latest modes in the Maserati range: Maserati GT2 Stradale and the new Maserati GranTurismo 110 ANNIVERSARIO special series. Maserati GT2 Stradale is an ode to the most extraordinary and exclusive sportiness – the result of a technical and stylistic partnership between the Maserati GT2, a masterpiece of performance created for the Brand’s return to GT competitions – and Maserati MC20.

The Maserati GranTurismo “110 ANNIVERSARIO” special series comes in a limited edition of the same number of units as the years of the House of the Trident, symbol of an ideal bridge between the Brand’s past, present and future. The mission at Maserati is to write the future of mobility in the luxury segment, focusing on its customers’ requests. It is A mission that continues even 110 years later and finds its impetus through all the models, looking ahead to the future and taking Italian luxury all over the world.

Santo Ficili, Maserati CEO

“I am proud to celebrate 110 years of innovation and passion. Every Maserati tells a story, and as we reach this significant anniversary, we celebrate the countless journeys taken in our cars. We are taking this opportunity to bring together our community of enthusiasts and showcase the beautiful evolution of our Brand. As we honor our rich history, we look eagerly towards the future, committed to delivering a unique blend of Italian luxury and performance”.

Maserati Trident Experience – Modena, Italy

Starting from November 30, an exclusive two-day event was held, all set against the picturesque backdrop of Modena, the Brand’s historic home. The Trident Experience catered for a selected group of guests, including members of the Maserati Italia Club, the Panini family, the grandchildren of Ettore Maserati, and the actress Matilda De Angelis.

Some of the event’s most notable moments included the highly anticipated unveiling of the Maserati GranTurismo 110 ANNIVERSARIO and a grand parade showcasing 110 Maseratis, featuring both contemporary models and classic cars. The program also encompassed a series of institutional moments and enriching cultural visits, with a luxurious Gala Dinner at Massimo Bottura’s renowned Casa Maria Luigia.

“Celebrazione dei 110 Anni di Maserati” – Tokyo, Japan

On 1 December, Maserati Japan marked the 110th anniversary with a grand celebration in Tokyo, hosted at the luxurious Prince Hotel. The prestigious event showcased an impressive line-up of 110 Maserati vehicles, representing the Brand’s esteemed community of passionate owners. The festivities included a scenic convoy tour that took participants from the streets of Tokyo to the picturesque landscapes of Chiba, creating a memorable experience for all the attendees. Dubbed “Celebrazione dei 110 Anni di Maserati”, the event culminated in a spectacular finale, the highlight of which was an impressive fireworks display.

The new GT2 Stradale was unveiled and introduced by Takayuki Kimura, CEO of Maserati Japan, who expressed his pride in commemorating the Brand’s 110th anniversary alongside many distinguished guests. He also took the opportunity to emphasize the steadfast dedication of Maserati enthusiasts in Japan, underscoring their long-standing relationship with the Brand and ultimately highlighting Maserati’s commitment to building its future.

110th Anniversary Celebrations – Seoul, South Korea

On December 12, at a prestigious gathering at the Residence of the Italian Ambassador to Seoul, Maserati proudly welcomed 160 guests including media and dealers to celebrate its anniversary. The event showcased Maserati’s rich heritage alongside its unwavering commitment to innovation, again highlighted by the unveiling of the GT2 Stradale.

The Collection’s GT110 Gala – Miami, FL, USA

On December 5, The Collection, one of Maserati’s dealers in the Miami area, organized a gala in collaboration with the Concours Club, to coincide with Miami Design Week. The event brought together more than 100 top dealer clients and distinguished members of the Concours Club for an evening packed with luxury, creativity, and Italian tradition.

The attendees were impressed by the display of Maserati’s legendary cars, including the 8CTF, Maserati MC20 Icona, MC20 Cielo, and MCXtrema. During the gala dinner, the Maserati GranTurismo 110 ANNIVERSARIO was in the spotlight to pay homage to Maserati’s iconic heritage.

Maserati 110th Anniversary Celebrations –Shanghai & Beijing, China

On 8 December, Maserati proudly welcomed to Shanghai and Beijing representatives from 108 media outlets, including 38 esteemed judges from the CCOY and She Power organizations. The aim of the remarkable two-day gathering was to commemorate two major milestones: Maserati’s 110th anniversary and the 20th anniversary in China. To do so, a parade was held on the streets of Shanghai, alongside an LED light show at both Shanghai Sinar Mas Plaza and Shanghai International Port.

Above content © 2024 Maserati S.p.A. reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee

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This is the tale of a wonderful old racing machine, now fast approaching its 100^th birthday but still enjoying an active competition life in the hands of vintage racing enthusiast and collector Andrew Larson.

The post The 1927 Bugatti Type 37A Was Everyman’s Racecar appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

In Italy, a country that’s home to numerous small, specialized companies making exotic sports and racing cars, few can compete with SVA in their combination of obscurity with exotic engineering. Turin’s SVA flourished briefly at the end of the 1940s and produced at maximum two cars and a few more chassis. Yet the dazzling design of one of them, a single-seater, well-deserved its presentation by leading publications around the world.

SVA can best be viewed as a spiritual offshoot of Turin’s Cisitalia. That company, brainchild of industrialist and passionate car enthusiast Piero Dusio, created a sensation with its thrusting initiatives at a time when Italy’s major carmakers were struggling to recover from the privations of the wartime years. With its 1,100-cc single-seaters and sports cars Cisitalia was a shining star, attracting the best drivers of the day including Germany’s Hans Stuck and the unforgettable Tazio Nuvolari.

The post Savonuzzi and His Spectacular SVA appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

For the burgeoning Formula Two category for 1½-liter cars, French star driver Jean Behra based a new racing car of his own on Porsche components. In 1959, it showed its class by beating the factory Porsches in the year’s biggest F2 race.

Built in Modena, Italy, in 1959, for French racing champion Jean Behra, the Behra-Porsche was a handsomer and, in its time, more successful car than Porsche’s own first open-wheeled effort. “I like Porsches very much, above all because I had such great successes with them last year,” said Behra, explaining why Ferrari’s number one team driver would take the trouble to build his own car. “I’d like to try out a few things I’ve thought up on the basis of my racing experience in recent years. This project with the Formula Two car is tremendous fun for me!”

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Fed up with seeing their major races won by the Germans in the 1930s, the Italians allowed only 1½-liter entries in their 1939 races to eliminate their opposition. They reckoned without the astonishing skills of the Daimler-Benz Racing Department.

The most glamorous Grand Prix race of the 1930s was not at Monaco, not at Dubai, not at Singapore. It was in Northern Africa in the Italian colony of Libya, at Tripoli. To the racing teams, especially those emerging from winter in rainy France or foggy Germany, sailing to Tripoli in May was a liberating journey to a paradise of Arabian opulence under the sun and palms. Only when the hot, salty ghibli blew from the sea, stirring up red sand and biting fleas, was this exotic land less than hospitable to its distinguished guests?

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In 1977, Porsche’s “improvised” Type 936/77 took on the full-court press of four Renaults at Le Mans. Retirements and technical troubles suggested that winning was out of the question. But neither its drivers nor Porsche number 4 believed that.

Against strong opposition from Alpine-Renault and Alfa Romeo, Porsche took the world sports car championship in 1976 with its 936. This was a car it had “improvised,” said Ernst Fuhrmann, made from parts from one car and another, “just to stop others from having it too easy.”

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My wife made an offer on a house in New Zealand while vacationing there with her family a few years ago. She is a realtor, and not an impulsive person, so I did not object, especially after she mentioned that it had a four-car garage. I was a bit apprehensive on the flight over though, wondering what we were getting ourselves into.

A couple of hours after arrival, we were driving up a lush green hill, overlooking the ocean on a beautiful warm summer day—in January. The seasons are reversed here. We wound up and around and came to a park in which there were six or seven Jowett Javelins and Jupiters along with a couple of tiny Bradford trucks also built by Jowett. I asked the cabbie to stop, and walked over to a red 1951 Jupiter to get a closer look. I had only ever seen pictures of them.

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From 1947 to 1952, Enzo Ferrari focused on building his newly established Ferrari marque into a racing powerhouse. In 1947, he unveiled the Ferrari 125 S, the first car to bear his name, powered by a V12 engine designed by Gioachino Colombo. Success came quickly, with victories in various Italian races, but Ferrari’s ambitions extended to international competitions. The early years were marked by fierce competition with established brands like Maserati and Alfa Romeo. In 1952, Ferrari’s efforts paid off when Alberto Ascari won the Formula One World Championship, securing the first of many titles for Ferrari and cementing the brand’s legacy in motorsport.

World-class product

Without question, this early era of Ferrari establishing his brand can now be looked back upon as the foundation from which the storied marque was built upon. It has been said many times, “A picture is worth a thousand words” could not be a more appropriate phrase for understanding the significance of the book, Millanta on Ferrari – 1947–1952. For this project, the author, Alessandro Silva, had exclusive access to one of the most special photo archives in the automotive field, with photos of great quality and significance.

Photographer Corrado Millanta

The photographer Corrado Millanta, who died in 1983 at the age of 74, was a trained industrial designer and engineer. One of his great passions was photography. As a result, he developed close friendships with automotive designers, engineers, and racing drivers, which gave him exceptional access and special proximity to racing departments, design studios, test drives, and races.

This high-quality illustrated book beautifully summarizes Millanta’s view of Ferrari from 1947-1952. Rare and very private photographs from the factory premises, from the construction of the cars, test drives and races give an unprecedented insight into the early years of the Scuderia and Enzo Ferrari’s work.

Technical Data

• Language:            English
• Pages:                   352
• Size:                       300 x 370 mm / ca. 11.8” x 14.6”
• Author:                 Alessandro Silva
• Foreword:           Piero Ferrari and MariaTeresa Millanta
• Photos:                 338 b/w and 8 color photographs
• ISBN:                     978-3945390184
• Release:                April 2024

Limited edition

• Limited to 550 numbered copies
• Configuration:   Clothbound hardcover and slipcase with embossing, high-quality offset and silk screen print.

Collector’s edition

• Limited to 75 numbered copies, signed by MariaTeresa Millanta and Alessandro Silva.
• Configuration:   Clothbound hardcover and slipcase with embossing, high-quality offset and silk screen print in a decorative collector’s box together with a b/w-photo print on baryte.

Ferrari edition

• Limited to 47 numbered copies, signed by Piero Ferrari
• Configuration:   Clothbound hardcover and slipcase with high-quality offset and silk screen print in a decorative collector’s box

Available now

All editions are available at www.sportfahrer-zentrale.com

Images above © 2024 The Klemantaski Collection, Sportfahrer Verlag, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee

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“Who painted this D-Type red?” was my thought when I first laid eyes on this legendary machine. Most of the Jaguar competition cars are BRG— British Racing Green—a livery thought by many to be “proper” for a car of this ilk. Sure a few black, blue, or even white cars are out there, but a bright red car stands out like a low-cut sequin cocktail dress at the Queen’s tea party. In answer to my question: it was born that way.

Yes, Jaguar made this car and one other D-Type, bright red with matching red seats. One theory is that it was intended to be sold new in Italy, where red is the color of preference for Italian racers, but the real reason for the color remains a mystery, adding to the mystique of one of the greatest racing car designs ever created.

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During the late ’50s and early ’60s American racers were doing battle in a wide variety of homebuilt racecars and Specials. Taking production car engines and chassis and creating their own unique take on a competition car. They may have been quick, but many had a look only a mother (their creator) could love. This wasn’t the case with a car built by John Sabel.

Sabel was from the San Francisco Bay Area and like his friends, and many others, he fell under the spell of the automobile. Saving his money from odd jobs he finally scraped enough together to buy himself a Ford Model A. That car and successive others were his means of transportation. Sabel eventually picked up a hot-rodded ’29 coupe that was owned by Joe Huffaker and became, dare I say it, “fast friends.” They both became members of the Marin Coupe and Roadster Club.

The post Smooth as Sabel: A Look at the 1964 Sabel Porsche Special appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

Limited to 50 units

The new Cartainers Ceres 001 Founders Edition blends a sleek, contemporary aesthetic with innovative new technology, including top-tier security features within a display reminiscent of an automotive jewelry box. Set to debut this year at Art Basel, the new Ceres 001 Founders Edition is limited to 50 units and priced at $60,000. Cartainers is launching the new Founders Edition design as many luxury car enthusiasts, dealerships, and trucking companies search for a secure, elegant, and versatile solution for displaying, safely storing, and transporting high-end luxury vehicles. Cartainers is introducing the Founders Edition as the perfect solution with the new system serving as an elegant display case, garage, and global transport unit all rolled into one brilliant design.

Features:

• Lighting options
• GPS tracking
• Fully motorized sliding door system
• Electric Actuated Ramp Door
• Environmental Sensors
• Climate Control
• 4G Cellular Capability
• Ventilation System
• Integrated Security Cameras
• Polycarbonate Doors + Windows (10mm thick)
• Choice of 13 Color Options
• Choice of 11 Swisstrax/Ribtrax PRO Tile Standard Flooring colors

Comments

“At Cartainers, our passion for cars extends to how they are displayed, stored, and protected. Our goal with our new Ceres 001 Founders Edition design is to provide an incredible jewel box showcase made for fine automobiles that is just as brilliant as the car inside on display,” comments Sarah Blasi, President of Cartainers. “The best part about each new Ceres 001 Founders Edition container is that the system offers no compromises,” continues Zach Jenkins, Co-Founder of Cartainers. “Collectors are able to enjoy a stunning, perfectly lit display system for cars that can be set up in the home, garage, or office. They also have an advanced container system that is ready to safely transport their car anywhere in the world with state-of-the-art technology including temperature controls, lighting, and tracking features for security and protection.”

Weighing in at just under 5,000 pounds, the new Founders Edition is developed from a blend of high-grade steel, polycarbonate, and aluminum materials with limited-edition lighting, flooring and chassis color options each presenting a distinctive visual style. It features a 20-foot shipping chassis that seamlessly integrates E-tracks within the wheel straps, making it fully suitable for global transportation by plane, ship, train, or truck. This first-of-its-kind container is also monitored by a smart control system, accessible via Cartainers’ Smart Control iPhone App, which comes with sensors for the real-time monitoring of cargo conditions, location, and all pertinent security information. The smart control system manages the following functions: lighting, a fully motorized sliding door system, a low-profile actuated ramp door, ventilation system, integrated security cameras, GPS tracking, environmental sensors, and facial recognition access.

Security

The Cartainer’s power supply not only supports all of its functions but also includes additional battery backup for transportation and off-grid use. The Founders Edition can sustain GPS and security features for up to 72 hours before needing a recharge. It also features an advanced motorized sliding door system, enabling vehicles to effortlessly enter without the need for manual operation. Doors and windows are created from sturdy 10mm thick polycarbonate material that is shatter-resistant, transparent, UV-resistant, heat-resistant, and lightweight. It also includes GPS tracking and integrated security cameras, offering both location monitoring for added peace of mind during transport and theft protection with video playback capabilities.

The Cartainer climate control system oversees a network of environmental, ventilation, and climate settings. The environmental sensors provide insights into the container’s internal climate, particularly when exposed to outdoor conditions, including temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels. Meanwhile, the ventilation system maintains optimal air circulation to prevent mold and mildew and reduces the impact of temperature fluctuations that contribute to corrosion and rust.  The control of climate parameters, such as air conditioning and heat via mini-split systems, plays a vital role in preventing the damaging greenhouse effect when cars are stored outdoors in hot or sun-soaked environments.

Now available

After much anticipation, Cartainers is poised to host its exclusive unveiling event in partnership with artist Jack Butcher, known for his projects ‘Visualize Value’, ‘Checks’, and most recently, the Oracle Red Bull Racing ‘Velocity Series’. This collaboration will debut the all-new Ceres 001 Founders Edition at Miami’s Art Basel weekend. The Ceres 001 Founders Edition is now available for $60,000 for pre-orders.

For additional details, please visit www.cartainers.com or reach out to (251) 227-8246 for all order inquiries.

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Highlights

• Highly Sought-After as One of Fewer than 30 Factory Rudge-Wheel Roadsters Produced.
• Remarkably Original Example – Believed to Retain Original Paint, Interior, Soft Top and Countless Other Details
• Just Three Owners from New and Retained by Its Second Owner for 54 Years.
• Meticulous, Documented Work Performed by 300 SL Specialists HK Engineering, Including Rebuilds of Engine, Gearbox, Rear End and Suspension
• Retains Matching-Numbers Engine, Body, Chassis, Steering Box, Rear End, and Front Axles per Copy of Factory Build Record.
• Accompanied by Hepco Fitted Luggage, Manuals, Jack, Tool Kit, Second Set of Date-Stamped Rudge Wheels, Spare Injection Pump, and Rare Mercedes-Benz Onboard Spares Kit.

Mechanical restoration

In its current ownership, this 300 SL received a painstakingly careful mechanical restoration undertaken by 300 SL specialists at HK Engineering, who went to great lengths to preserve the original finishes in the engine compartment and other areas. The Roadster is resplendent in Silbergrau Metallic (Silver-Gray Metallic) with a Rot (Red Leather) interior and Schwarz (Black) soft top. The car is accompanied by Hepco-fitted luggage, manuals, a jack, a tool kit, a second set of date-stamped Rudge wheels, a spare injection pump, and a rare factory onboard parts kit. It also retains its matching-numbers engine, body, chassis, steering box, rear end, and front axles, per a copy of its Mercedes-Benz data card.

The sheer number of this Roadster’s astonishing attributes make it an automobile of true historical import and extreme rarity. Those fortunate enough to view this singular 300 SL Roadster in person will be highly rewarded, and those placing a bid may have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire an automotive treasure, the likes of which may never be seen again.

Technical Specs

• 2,996 CC SOHC Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
• Bosch Mechanical Fuel Injection
• 240 BHP at 6,200 RPM
• 4-Speed Manual Gearbox
• 4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
• Front Independent Double-Wishbone Suspension with Coil Springs
• Rear Swing-Axle Suspension with Coil Springs

Available now

For more information, go HERE

All photos © 2024 Peter Singhof, courtesy of Gooding & Co

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Early beginnings in the 1920s

For well over a century, Bugatti has been responsible for bestowing to the world some of the finest roadsters ever created. Jean Bugatti in particular was the driving force behind many of these revered models. Created between the mid-1920s through to the late 1930s, Bugatti’s open-top automobiles were built in small numbers and with an absolute dedication to perfection. This includes the Type 40 A, the Type 41 Roadster Esders, the Type 55 Roadster and the iconic Type 57 Roadster Grand Raid Gangloff.

Modern Day Magic

The W16 Mistral is a Bugatti tour-de-force; an automobile from Molsheim that is evocative, compelling and highly significant on many levels. This is, after all, Bugatti’s first roadster since the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse which premiered in 2012 – and it is also the last road-going Bugatti model that will be powered by the brand’s legendary W16 engine. It’s for these reasons – and many more – that the development program of the W16 Mistral needed to be immersed in absolute engineering excellence; in essence, it needed to be far more than simply a re-development of the Chiron. Crafted around the definitive 1,600 PS incarnation of Bugatti’s W16 engine, the W16 Mistral offers exquisite craftsmanship and luxury that is unlike any other open top car. In its design and engineering it is completely bespoke; the existing monocoque has been reengineered and reshaped to create a more rounded silhouette that fully complies with stringent crash regulations even though the car has no roof.

As a result, a perfect matrix of flawless engineering attributes fusing performance, comfort, safety, dynamics, handling and drivability had to be delivered for the development of the car. Emilio continues: “One of the primary challenges was to meet the goal of creating a roadster that has a top speed of 420km/h and mixing this performance-defining quality with an experience in the cabin that is luxurious, refined and assured.”

Goal: Open top Chiron

This objective required careful practice of Bugatti’s ‘Form Follows Performance’ mantra, with each component designed not just to set new standards for beauty, but to also play a role in achieving completely new levels of performance. The key was to make the roadster’s architecture as rigid but lightweight as possible, so that the car’s driving dynamics would be similar to those of the Chiron. Staying true to its roadster roots, the W16 Mistral is a hyper sports car that is dynamic, agile and responsive, which meant the development team employed ultra-high performance lightweight composite materials and complex structures to minimize mass while at the same time increasing the rigidity of the chassis. This approach was also adopted for the doors of the W16 Mistral, which were a key focal point during development, featuring an innovative architectural arrangement that allows them to absorb an exceptional amount of energy in the event of a side impact, thus keeping the driver and passenger safe and secure.

Ram Air System

Due to the new exterior design of the roadster, an all-new and highly advanced air intake system had to be created specifically for the W16 Mistral. Meanwhile innovative ram induction air scoops located behind the headrests were also designed and developed with stringent – but highly important – rollover safety tests in mind. Each ‘scoop’ is made from a bespoke carbon fiber structure that can support the whole weight of the car in case of a roll over. This new intake layout also enriches the driver’s W16 experience, emphasizing the orchestra that plays from the legendary 8-liter powertrain. It is an unmatched aural sensation in the automotive world.

Interior comfort

Nevertheless, the soundscape inside the W16 Mistral is not limited to the visceral signature presence of the W16 engine; it is accompanied by a high-end sound system specially developed for the roadster, which makes listening to music a pleasure for the senses – even when the W16 Mistral is embarking upon a scintillating high-speed adventure, mirroring the powerful wind that the open-top Bugatti hyper sports car is named after.

Within the interior of the W16 Mistral, intricate woven leather is used on newly designed door panels, which have been meticulously tested and produced to Bugatti’s highest quality standards. In a nod to the W16 Mistral’s illustrious forebears, the gear shifter – machined from a solid block of aluminum – features an homage to Rembrandt Bugatti’s famous ‘dancing elephant’ sculpture. Iterations of this sculpture adorned the bonnet of the legendary Type 41 Royale, the most luxurious Bugatti ever created. It is a fitting connection to Bugatti’s modern day roadster masterpiece – one that seamlessly continues the brand’s long tradition of incredible roadsters that have been admired and revered for decades.

All content © 2024 Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.

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Audi was the first manufacturer to develop a T1U model for the Dakar Rally. The aim: for an electrically powered prototype is to prove that a low-emission vehicle can master one of the toughest motorsport events and be competitive at the same time. “The Audi RS Q e-tron rally car has already caused quite a stir in its first two Dakar appearances,” says Rolf Michl, Head of Audi Motorsport. “Audi was once again a technological pioneer in its outstanding motorsport history. We have initiated a paradigm shift. The combination of an electric drivetrain and a reFuel-powered energy converter is unique and very efficient. We know what we have already achieved. At the same time, we are looking forward to the next Dakar Rally with respect. It represents a major challenge.” As was the case the past two years, Audi is relying on the Q Motorsport team of experienced team principal Sven Quandt.

Dakar Rally with a total distance of approx. 7,900 kilometers

The drivers, co-drivers, and management of Team Audi Sport agree: A particularly challenging edition of the Dakar Rally lies ahead of all participants. Twelve special stages during 14 days in Saudi Arabia cover 4,727 kilometers. Including all of the liaison stages, the route results in a total distance of 7,891 kilometers. The teams often have to complete more than 400 kilometers a day on the special stages. “That’s why it’s important not to lose your stamina during the rally,” emphasizes Stéphane Peterhansel. “I have trained a lot on my bicycle. We have to be able to rest well during the nights, and we also pay attention to our diet.” One of the special challenges this year is a 48-hour stage. It takes place on January 11 and 12 and forms a joint stage – the sixth of twelve.

The organizers have chosen the Empty Quarter with its seemingly endless sea of dunes as the venue. As the motorcycles and quads are on different routes, the leading crews in the cars and racing trucks will not have any tracks in the sand on these two days. In addition, the participants have to do without the regular service from the team and are only allowed to help each other. That night, however, they are spread across multiple bivouacs. They are also unable to perceive and assess the performance of their opponents. “This will be a big strategic challenge,” says Peterhansel’s co-driver Edouard Boulanger. “But the second week will also be tough, because this year the rocky stages only come at the end. Then things can still change.”

Detailed development work on the Audi RS Q e-tron

The development team led by Dr. Leonardo Pascali has improved the RS Q e-tron in many areas compared to last year’s model. “The new set-up improves comfort and is also very efficient,” emphasizes Carlos Sainz, who has optimized many rally cars in his almost 40 years as a professional driver. Mattias Ekström adds: “For me, it’s all about how we use the car perfectly in the sand. It helps that we can drive over the dunes without needing to change gears.” Edouard Boulanger notes a shift in the emphasis of individual topics: “At the beginning of the project, the focus was on the fundamental development of the complex drivetrain technology and the car. In the meantime, we have also found the time to improve many aspects of the cockpit. We can better control the noise levels and the effects thereof, and the driver and co-driver are also better protected against the effects of hard impacts and extreme loads. The technicians have worked hard on this during the past year and made real progress. A big compliment for that.” The electric drivetrain of the RS Q e-tron with a high-voltage battery draws its power from an energy converter. Audi has been relying on residue-based reFuel for its operation since the last Dakar Rally. The regulations limit the output of the electric drivetrain to 286 kW in January 2024, distributed between the front and rear axles. Many other new details reduce maintenance times for the team and make the prototype safer, more reliable, and more comfortable.

Team Audi Sport is part of a strong field of entrants

343 participants have registered for the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally. They will start with 72 cars in the T1 and T2 classes, 42 additional models in the T3 class, 36 smaller SSV vehicles, 46 trucks, as well as 137 motorcycles and 10 quads. “We are up against very strong and experienced competitors,” Rolf Michl is sure. “As every year, we expect that the relative strengths of the competition will only really become apparent during the rally.” Carlos Sainz recognizes the strong competition: “Definitely Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and world rally champion Sébastien Loeb in the Prodrive Hunters are among them. Toyota also has a former winner in Giniel de Villiers and a number of good younger drivers in its line-up. And we certainly won’t underestimate our new opponent, Ford, with former winner Nani Roma.”

For the third year in a row, Team Audi Sport is entering the event with its unchanged driver line-up. As a DTM champion, World Rallycross champion, 24-hour race winner, and champion of an electric touring car series, Mattias Ekström probably brings the greatest variety of experience and success to the table. “I’ve learned a lot since I first competed as a rookie in 2020,” says Ekström. “Our rivals are experienced and fast. I’ve been training and competing as much as possible in order to be ready. My co-driver and I have continued to increase our speed and our understanding of the sport.” His navigator is fellow Swede Emil Bergkvist, who has quickly adapted to the Dakar Rally. “I’m already looking forward to the next edition, because our learning curve continues to point upwards,” says the co-driver, who only switched from the driver’s to the co-driver’s seat since working with Mattias Ekström.

As a 14-time winner, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel is the lone record holder at the Dakar Rally. He relies on the guidance of his compatriot Edouard Boulanger, who has already accompanied him to victory. Two-time World Rally champion Carlos Sainz is a giant of his sport. He first drove with Lucas Cruz as his co-driver in 2009, and the two Spaniards have together won the Dakar Rally three times to date. They are the longest-standing driver and co-driver combination at Audi. “The upcoming Dakar will be tough, but we have prepared thoroughly for it,” says Lucas Cruz confidently. “Physically, my program included cycling and jogging in the mountains, plus exercising in the gym. Mentally, I prepare myself with a sports psychologist. This helps my reaction times and with multitasking.”

Coordinated team as a key strength

The foundation of such a complex, varied and high-stress environment as the Dakar Rally is a reliable team. Team Audi Sport has cooperated with Q Motorsport from Trebur, Germany since day one. Sven Quandt, who won the T1 Marathon Cup in cross-country rallying as a driver in 1998, has long been a successful team principal. He has already won the Dakar Rally six times with his X-raid team and the World Cup for cross-country rallies eleven times. “Experience is the key to success in our sport,” emphasizes Stéphane Peterhansel. “Sven Quandt and his team have shown that they can overcome all challenges. With such a good team behind us, we sleep more soundly at night and go into the stages with more confidence.” His co-driver Edouard Boulanger adds: “We have a lot of new members who have joined Team Audi Sport. They have done an excellent job in familiarizing themselves with the subject matter over this year and have driven the project forward in a good direction with their contributions. That gives me confidence.” Nevertheless, Mattias Ekström speaks for everyone when he says: “I have learned to remain humble in this sport. There are incredibly long days and so many of them …”

With the combined experience of drivers, co-drivers, the entire team, and the further developed RS Q e-tron, Rolf Michl has one wish above all: “We want to experience the Dakar Rally as smoothly as possible to show what we can do.”

All content © 2023 Audi

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Trofeo Pirelli Highlights

Yudai Uchida showcased unparalleled prowess, clinching the pole position at the SUGO Circuit. From the race’s inception, Uchida exhibited sheer dominance, establishing a staggering one-second lead per lap over his closest competitor. By the culmination of the exhaustive 21 laps, he had carved out an impressive 26-second margin, underlining his authoritative presence in the sport.

Meanwhile, in the Trofeo Pirelli Am category, Akita consistently outperformed, securing the initial pole position ahead of the frontrunner, Eric Lo. The race’s commencement saw six cars vying for supremacy. Akita, Lo, and Motohiro Kotani’s performances were notably stellar, with their lap times almost synchronous. However, the competition took an unforeseen turn on the 10th lap when Kotani’s error in the inaugural bend presented Akita with an overtaking prospect. This window, though, was short-lived as Lo regained command on the 15th lap, ultimately sealing the victory with a 5.5-second lead.

Coppa Shell Synopsis

In the Coppa Shell division, Michael Choi had secured his championship even before the onset of this race. With only five contenders in the fray and the second-placed driver abstaining, Choi’s supremacy was hardly contested. Demonstrating his mettle, Choi progressively widened the gap with his adversaries, establishing a commendable 10-second lead, and punctuating his championship with a triumphant finish.

Coppa Shell Am Analysis

Masato Yoneoka’s racing chronicle this season has been nothing short of illustrious. His unparalleled qualifying times ensured his pole position in the Coppa Shell Am category. His racecraft was further illuminated by his six victories out of a possible seven. Continuing this streak at SUGO, Yoneoka reaffirmed his peerless capabilities, clinching the coveted title of the 2023 Coppa Shell Am champion.

Original story HERE

Gallery

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First off, any overall victory at Le Mans is impressive. But for Ferrari, even more so considering this year’s win marked the Scuderia’s 10th overall victory (the first in 1949, then 1954, 1958 and a subsequent string of dominance from 1960-1965). After its 1960-1964 win streak, the Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari, famously chose to focus his factory racing efforts and resources on Formula One from that point forward, arguably leading to Ferrari’s long 50-year absence from the top rung of the podium at Le Sarthe. But there is an interesting kernel of history buried in these observations that I’m surprised I’ve never heard mentioned before. In the 100 years of Le Mans history, Ferrari is the only manufacturer to have won both Le Mans and the Formula One manufacturers championship in the same year. And even more impressively, they did this “double” twice.

In 1961, Ferrari not only won Le Mans with Phil Hill and Oliver Gendebien driving the 250 TR, but Hill also won the Formula One World Championship in the famed 156 “Sharknose”. Then this herculean feat was repeated, in 1964, when Guichet and Vaccarella won Le Mans in the 275 P and John Surtees took the F1 crown in the Ferrari 158. If you stop to think about the amount of engineering and resources that would go into designing, building and testing, two completely separate and distinct world-beating racing programs like that… it’s a pretty stunning achievement.

Now, before you fire up your angry screeds to tell me what an idiot I am (I already know), yes, Porsche did win Le Mans in ’84 and ’85, the same years that the McLaren-TAG’s won the F1 title, but it’s not really the same thing. Say what you will about Ferrari, but you have to hand it to them, they build every component of their cars—chassis, engine, gearbox etc.—for all of their cars… F1, Le Mans, you name it. Porsche only supplied the engines for McLaren. And if you want to go way back and get nit-picky, an argument could be made for Alfa Romeo winning Le Mans and the Grand Prix championship in both 1931 & 1932, but there wasn’t a formal manufacturers championship back then, so it’s a more difficult comparison. But neither case should in any way detract from how impressive it was for Ferrari to win such vastly different disciplines, in the same year. Which, of course, raises the question…now that Ferrari has won Le Mans this year, what are the odds that they repeat their 1961/1964 double?

Hmmmm, at this stage of the F1 season, I’d say it’s not looking too promising!

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Having just conquered the most prestigious challenge in endurance racing, Ferrari’s overall win at the Le Mans 24 Centenary begs us to honor some of their most historic moments at the French marathon of man and machine. Starting over half a century ago, Ferrari’s exploits at Le Mans showcased their technical expertise, engineering, and above all, one man’s personal quest for dominance. While each triumphant win helped build its reputation as a world-class sports car builder, we select five to remember starting with…

1949: A legacy is born

Ferrari achieved a historic milestone by winning the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans. This victory marked the beginning of the brand’s illustrious history in motorsports that continues to this day. Driven by Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon, the Ferrari 166MM featured a Lampredi-designed tube frame chassis with a double wishbone/live axle suspension. The small V12 engine had single overhead camshafts and a 2.0-liter displacement. Output was only 138 BHP at 6,600 rpm, but enough to propel the little “Barchetta” to over 130 mph down the Mulsanne straight. What’s so incredible about this victory is that Luigi Chinetti drove over 22 hours, a feat never to be repeated.

1954: Seven minutes of panic

Ferrari added another chapter to their Le Mans history, courtesy of their brutish model 375 Plus, a powerful aluminum-bodied purpose-built racecar. Piloted by José González and Maurice Trintignant, the Ferrari demonstrated remarkable speed and endurance, overcoming formidable competition from the factory Jaguar D-Types and Aston Martins.

But it wasn’t without drama. With two hours left, González and Trintignant were two laps ahead of the factory D-Type. Thirty minutes later, Trintignant brought the Ferrari in for a routine pit stop. González jumped in, but the V12 refused to restart. The Ferrari lost seven minutes as the mechanics desperately worked on the engine. In what felt like a lifetime, the Ferrari was motionless until the problem was found; rain-soaked ignition wires. Finally, González left the pits just in time to stay ahead of the second-place Jag and finish for the win.

1958: Ferrari breaks Jaguar

Between 1955 and 1957, six Jaguar D-Types earned podium finishes. Its reliable inline-six engine and low-drag body made it unbeatable over the long-legged straights that formed the Le Mans circuit. And with Stirling Moss at one of the wheels, it looked like Jag was the favorite for winning their fourth in a row.

Ferrari drivers Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill drove a model 250 “TR58.” Unlike the previous 250 Testa Rossas (aka Red Heads), the body was constructed by Fantuzzi and featured a cutaway nose that replaced the famous pontoon fenders. The design was more aerodynamic and incorporated numerous ventilation grilles and air inlets. It was also fitted with disc brakes, a first for Ferrari. Moss took an early lead in the Jag and continued out front until a connecting rod broke shortly after 6PM. Later a storm passed through with a torrential downpour causing 12 entries to crash and retire. As daylight emerged and the checkered flag fell, the prancing horse of Hill and Gendebien crossed first, ending three years of dominance by the Jaguar D-Type.

1965: David vs. Goliath

From 1960 to 1965, Ferrari embarked on an unprecedented dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, securing six consecutive overall victories. This remarkable record proved to the automobile world that a small company could still win through superior design and talent.  The traditional front-engine 3-liter 250 Testa Rossa captured the first two wins, followed by a “one-off” 330 TR (larger 4-liter V12) taking the third in 1962. The 1963 through 1965 races were won using Ferrari’s new mid-engine design 250 P, 275 P, and 250 LM racecars.

During the 1965 event, both of Ferrari’s factory entries had numerous issues resulting in DNFs. However, Luigi Chinetti’s NART (North America Racing Team) Ferrari was driven by Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt ran smoothly. A bad distributor would cost the team a 30-minute pit stop, as did a damaged rear differential towards the end of the race. Nevertheless, the duo nursed the car home and earned the win. Why all the fuss about this win? Ferrari’s victory in 1965 exemplifies the “David versus Goliath” scenario as the small Italian company was attacked by no less than six Ford GT-40s and four Shelby Daytona Coupes. As is said in racing, to finish first; first you have to finish.

2023: Return of the Prancing Horse after 58 years

Excitement was in the air as the new era of the Hypercar class dawned at the Le Mans 24 Centenary. Ferrari’s new hypercar, the 499P, uses a 3 liter, 671 bph, twin-turbocharged V6 engine and features semi-permanent all-wheel drive, with an electric motor at the front axle for an additional 268 hp.

Because of numerous rain showers and resulting accidents, the fight for the lead eventually came down to the #51 Ferrari and the #8 Toyota. Although Ferrari driver Pier Guidi went off course at the Mulsanne chicane, he climbed back into the lead until a pitstop in the 19^th hour went south when the car wouldn’t start. This brought the two leaders just seconds apart when the Ferrari eventually came back out.

Then Toyota pilot Hirakawa lost control under braking at Arnage, sliding into the barriers. He limped the car back to the pits, and the crew scrambled to make repairs before sending it back out. Shortly after that, Pier Guidi brought the Ferrari in for its final stop and had to perform another power cycle to get it started. With just 23 minutes left, the #51 Ferrari left the pits and stayed in front of the Toyota to capture the win.

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3
Penske Racing debuts their AMC-powered F5000 Lola T330 in the L&M Continental Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Mark Donohue drives the car to third place in both heats (1973).

4
The first F1 Detroit Grand Prix is won by John Watson, driving a McLaren (1982).

5
John Surtees wins the CSCC Players 200 sports car race at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, driving a Lola T70 Spyder (1965).

6
Mansour Akram Ojeh, McLaren shareholder and head of investment for TAG, dies at age 68 (2021).

7
Arie Luyendyk is declared the winner of the 500km IRL race at Texas Motor Speedway after Billy Boat is initially, and mistakenly, named the winner because of a lap scoring error. Boat’s team owner, AJ Foyt, slaps Luyendyk in the winner’s circle before results are sorted out (1997).

8
1976 F1 World Champion James Hunt announces his retirement from racing (1979).

11
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the Sauber Mercedes C9 driven by Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter, and Stanley Dickens (1989).

12
Sports and touring car racer Manuel Reuter is born in Mainz, West Germany (1961).

14
All professional racing is cancelled at the bankrupt Watkins Glen race track, in New York (1982).

15
F1 Champion and TV commentator James Hunt dies from a massive Heart attack at age 45 (1993).

17
George Follmer wins the Watkins Glen, New York, SCCA Trans-Am race driving a Roy Woods Racing AMC Javelin (1972).

18
A corner at the Nürburgring in Germany is named after the late Sabine Schmitz, “Queen of the Nürburgring” (2022).

19
Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey die in separate accidents during the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. The race is won by Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax (1960).

20
Derek Bell and Jackie Ickx drive a Porsche 956 to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1982).

21
The Fina BMW M3 E30 of Johnny Cecotto, Christian Danner, Marc Duez, and Jean-Michel Martin wins the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany (1992).

22
The 180-degree crankshaft used by Audi in the DTM is ruled illegal. Audi immediately withdraws from the series (1992).

25
Future F1 race winner and two-time Can-Am champion (1977 & 1980) Patrick Tambay is born in France (1949).

26
Peter Gregg drives a Porsche 934 to victory in the IMSA sports car race at Portland, Oregon (1977).

28
The March 707 Group 7 race car makes its race debut in the Interserie race on the Norisring in Nuremburg, West Germany, with Ralph Kelleners driving (1970).

30
The Porsche 935/2 “Baby” is driven for the first time, just days before its first race (1977).

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The Toad Hall Racing Porsche 911 S/T as driven by Jürgen Barth and Michael Keyser at the 1972 1000km Nürburgring – it finished fourth in class, and 13th overall. At its next race, the 1972 24 hours of Le Mans, it would win the 2.5-liter GT class.

_______________________

Arthur Schening is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator living in Arlington, VA.

Prints are 19″ wide x 13″ tall. They are printed using an Epson Artisan 1430, 6-color printer, on 65 lb. uncoated cover stock. The cost is $35 per print ((plus $7 shipping and handling for the continental U.S., overseas shipping is additional).

http://www.scheningcreative.com/auto-art/

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The son of a wealthy Tennessee family, Pete Kreis had grown up during the time that European manufacturers dominated automobile racing at the Indianapolis 500. When he broke into big-time racing in 1925, Pete and his American compatriots were eager to demonstrate that cars and drivers from the U.S. could successfully compete against Italian, German, and French roadsters.

Pete quickly became known for his track speed as he drove a Duesenberg to eighth place in the Memorial Day Classic at Indianapolis in his rookie season. He was delighted when he was chosen by the team to travel to Italy to test his car against the best that the Europeans could offer. He gladly packed up his roadster and prepared for competition in the Grand Prix near Milan.

Although the season was only half over, Pete had quickly made a name for himself. He had shed his youthful shyness, and his newly adopted bonhomie gave him the ability to make friends easily. His personality, however, was not what attracted attention to the young driver.

When racing veterans saw him on the track, they quickly learned that the boy could fly. Speed—that’s what attracted the race crowd to Pete. The veterans watched, and they knew. People like Tommy Milton, the first two-time winner at Indy; Harry Miller, the mechanical genius; and Harry Hartz, an early convert to the Millers and one of the few who later would make the difficult transition from driving a car to managing a team. Like the Duesenberg brothers, these men had witnessed Pete’s ability to reach the sustained speed needed to win on the fastest tracks.

The young driver’s growing reputation paid off when he was named one of two drivers to represent the Duesenberg team in the European Grand Prix, an 800-kilometer, 496-mile race in Monza, Italy. American racing was coming into its own, and the Grand Prix circuit (today called Formula 1) had seized on the growing rivalry by announcing that it would encourage American entries to test their machines against the best the Europeans had developed.

Pete would soon learn that the captain of the Duesenberg team, Milton, was one of the strangest men ever to grasp a steering wheel. He was blind in one eye, and, to compensate, he had developed a habit of tilting his head back and shifting it quickly from left to right like a nervous sparrow. He never acknowledged his disability, and few had the nerve to ask him about it, but he adopted the odd physical strategy to ensure that his single eye could keep him fully informed about his surroundings.

Milton had learned his moves by racing on the county roads and dirt tracks of the Midwest, and that probably played a role in the selection of Pete, who had mastered his driving skills in a similar rural setting. Tommy was widely recognized as a hard charger, not only behind the wheel, but also in the garage, where he hovered over mechanics shouting instructions in rapid-fire staccato.

Seeing a great opportunity to trumpet the mechanical achievements of their cars internationally, the Duesenberg brothers immediately jumped at the opportunity by registering two drivers: veteran Tommy Milton would drive one of the Dueseys and Pete Kreis the other. Indy winner Peter De Paolo had decided to enter Monza in a home-grown Alfa-Romeo, a brand celebrating his Italian heritage.

Although some have described Milton as somber, intense is a more precise adjective, and he exhibited that defining quality throughout his life. In advanced age when poor health precluded his fulfilling a long-standing retirement job at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he shot himself in the head to end his frustration. In 1925, Pete knew he could learn a lot from the veteran, and he eagerly joined the trip to Italy even though it would require missing a few races on the American circuit.

The men and their cars sailed to Genoa on the SS Colombo, the luxurious ocean liner that F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda took to Italy a few years later. After docking, the race crew shipped the cars to Monza, northeast of Milan, which was the site of a royal park and summer retreat for the kings of Italy.

The Monza racecourse was set amid the park’s huge trees, gardens, fountains, and rolling hills. When the Americans arrived, they found that the track consisted of a road course and an oval, totaling six miles in length. Twisting like Italian spaghetti, the road course had ten curves, both right and left; some of them were complex with blind entries and double apexes. At one point, the track even passed over itself on a bridge. At the head of the home stretch was the notorious Parabolica, a right-hand, steeply banked curve. Like the turns on board tracks, the banking enabled cars to generate tremendous speed just before they were propelled down the home stretch, the longest on the course.

The third purpose-built track in the world after Brooklands in England and Indy, Monza was known to be a fast course, and drivers who had raced on it had a healthy respect—some might even say fear—of the facility. Living up to its reputation well into the modern era, the course has claimed the lives of fifty-two drivers and thirty-five spectators. In one of the worst accidents, Italian champion Emilio Materassi lost control of his roadster in 1928 and plowed through a flimsy barrier, killing himself and twenty-two spectators and injuring thirty more fans.3 As horrific as the accident was, it failed to dampen Italy’s enthusiasm for the sport, nor did the course’s reputation deter the Americans from giving it a try.

When they arrived, the Yanks quickly recognized that they weren’t in Indiana anymore. Italy was in the fervor of the Fascist revolution. Only three years before, Benito Mussolini—self-dubbed Il Duce, The Leader—had commanded his black-shirted Fascisti on the march to Rome, where they seized power. By 1925, the revolution was well established and growing stronger as Mussolini applied a powerful jolt to a country he perceived as an international sluggard. Throughout his career, Il Duce preached advancing—and even more so, accelerating. Sensing the worldwide spirit of the age, Italy placed a premium on speed.

But the Fascist revolution was more than a nationalistic political movement; it sought to infuse every facet of the nation’s life—even automobiles and racing. Mussolini loved powerful, speedy vehicles, and he purchased one of the fastest for his personal use, a two-seat Alfa-Romeo Type Two painted in the national tone, Italian racing red. Equipped with a supercharged straight-eight engine, the car could carry the dictator from Rome to his birthplace in northern Italy in record time.

The central role that racing played in Mussolini’s revolution was made clear in the wake of the Materassi accident at Monza, when one of the dictator’s ministers defended the sport from attacks by Catholic critics bemoaning the violence, carnage, and death. Party Secretary Augusto Turati declared that “Fascism has taught us that we need to live and win dangerously. The new Italy salutes its dead with pain, but from that pain we gain the strength to continue the battle to the summit.”

Using the prophetic rhetoric of the Italian poet Filippo Marinetti, the Fascists linked the growing cult of speed to the cult of death, a new alliance in which “living dangerously” on the track became a heroic act that encouraged other Italians to accelerate national progress. Those who died in the process became martyrs that energetic, determined citizens would emulate to advance Italy’s fortune. They were destined to become what Mussolini called “the new Fascist man.”

Il Duce wrote personal letters to Pete, Tommy Milton, and Peter De Paolo welcoming them to Italy and wishing them good luck at Monza; during practice, he visited the Americans in their garages. Following the dictator’s lead, scores of influential Italians journeyed to the track to examine the American cars, and Pete was photographed with King Victor Emmanuel, senior army officers, and many Fascist elite. As much as the Americans hoped to show the Europeans how their roadsters could perform, the Italians were sure their cars would put the entries from the United States in the shade with a swift surge of nationalistic pride.

As the Yanks sorted their cars out, they soon became the objects of scorn from their European competitors. Many of the jibes were aimed at the Americans’ lack of experience on road courses.

“What do you have to do to win Indy?” shouted one glib French driver. “Just get on the track and turn left . . . and turn left . . . and turn left . . . and turn left,” answered his compatriot, lampooning the Americans and their ubiquitous oval tracks. Such jokes were invariably accompanied by every European in the garage hoisting and twirling his index finger to mock the American “roundy-roundy” drivers.

The crowning blow was when another driver made a mock-heroic announcement that Pete’s last name, Kreis, was actually the German word for circle, something the American had never before heard. “Young Mr. Kreis is always going around in circles, getting nowhere,” shouted the rival driver with malicious irony.

A few days later, Kreis and his friends would have their revenge against the European tormentors, thanks to Kreis’s penchant for practical jokes. The culminating event was so hilarious that Peter De Paolo remembered it years later.

The drivers were scheduled to have dinner at a hotel located on a circular plaza in a nearby town. Pete had alerted his American friends to find parking away from the plaza, while the Continentals eagerly grabbed the reserved VIP spots surrounding the central fountain. As the Yanks entered the banquet hall a bit late, the European drivers welcomed them warmly with cheers and raucous shouts of “roundy roundy” emphasized by whirling index fingers—taunts aimed at the oval drivers from across the Atlantic.

After the laughter died down, the rivals enjoyed a feast of the finest Italian pasta, sauces, and wine. As the drivers shared their experiences and chatted about the upcoming race, no one noticed that Kreis had left the hall and returned inconspicuously sometime later. The conversation and drinking continued well past midnight even though the crews faced an early morning call for practice the next day.

As they finally finished and walked out of the hotel around one in the morning, the drivers found an amazing sight waiting for them. Dozens of taxis were clogging the plaza by driving around it bumper-to-bumper, with the hacks enthusiastically blowing their horns and waving their index fingers in “roundy-roundy” circles. The cars of the European drivers in reserved spaces were trapped by the noisy circular parade organized and paid for by Pete Kreis.

When the Europeans finally deduced that the Americans had organized the rolling blockade to delay their going to their beds, they looked across the plaza and saw the Americans doubled over in laughter. Pete, Tommy, Peter, and friends had taken their nationalistic revenge.

The Europeans were in for another surprise on September 6, race day in Monza. From what the Continentals had heard, the Americans knew how to race only on ovals; they supposedly had no experience on road courses. What the Europeans didn’t understand, however, was that most US drivers grew up in rural areas where they had learned to deal with backroads, narrow rural lanes that swerved left and right into irregular, bumpy curves. In this manner, the Americans had undergone the same kind of grueling training the Italians had earned on the demanding Mille Miglia, a thousand-mile race on public roads that began and ended in Rome.

During days of tuning and practice, the Yanks adapted quickly to the challenges of the Italian road course, and Pete had shown amazing speed around the circuit. Impressed Italian crowds soon cheered the young Tennessean as il valoroso corridore americano (the valorous American driver).

Pete and the rest of the Yanks, however, were up against Europe’s best drivers, among them Gaston Brilli-Peri and Giuseppe Campari, Grand Prix champions piloting brilliant red Alfa-Romeos, at that time the dominant marque on continental tracks. Descendant of a noble Florentine family, Brilli-Peri cut his teeth on motorcycle racing before switching to four wheels. He was an Italian favorite who ran the Grand Prix circuit for years before his death in a Libyan race in 1930.

Giuseppe Campari was also a national hero, having won many races in Italy and abroad, including two victories in the Mille Miglia, which attracted an astounding five million spectators along the way. Besides his racing ability, Campari was also adored by fans because of his enormous appetite for pasta—confirmed by a Pavarotti-sized stomach—as well as his Pavarotti-toned voice, which led to a second career as an opera singer. A master of the Italian passions for opera, eating, and racing, he died in a crash at Monza in 1933, the perfect final aria that enriched the national cult of death.

While the two Alfa drivers dominated the scene in pit lane, standing in the background was a young mechanic who later became world-famous for his ability to construct speedy cars. Enzo Ferrari had originally driven for the Alfa team, but the deaths of so many of his racing friends convinced him to join the safety of Alfa’s team of designers and mechanics. After Enzo founded his own company in 1947, his red Ferraris dominated the Formula 1 world for decades and fulfilled his fervent dream: “I want to build a car that’s faster than all of them, and then I want to die.” In the end, he built thousands of the fastest cars in the world, and when he died in 1988, his cars had won an unprecedented sixteen Formula 1 championships.

For obvious reasons, the national press billed the 1925 Monza Grand Prix an “Italo-American Duel,” a face-off between the two nationalities that attracted thousands of fans from all over Italy and around the globe. A British correspondent observed that “If the French are enthusiastic over motor racing, the Italians are delirious. Milan did not sleep the night before the Grand Prix . . . and the masses of spectators were quite satisfied to spend a few hours noisily and joyously in cafés and music halls, hotels and restaurants.”

Shortly after daybreak, a massive crowd of three hundred thousand fans began the twenty-mile trek from Milan on trains and buses to the track, dwarfing the 180,000 spectators who had attended the Indy 500 earlier that year. As the gates opened a short while later, drivers began assembling their roadsters on the starting grid, giving the fans a good chance to examine the cars that entered the race.

The differences in the designs of the teams’ cars were stark. Both featured roadsters with straight-eight-cylinder engines, but the Alfas contained a supercharger spinning at only 6,000 rpms, while that of the Duesenbergs revved to an astounding 27,000 rpms, forcing a much larger volume of powerful fuel-air mixture into the cylinders.

As it turned out, however, the most significant difference was not the engines, but the gearboxes. Designed for oval tracks, the American cars had three-speed transmissions because little shifting was required once the roadsters attained speed on the roundies. The Alfas, however, were developed for European road courses requiring many more shifts through the curves; as a result, the Italian cars had four-speed gearboxes of stronger design to accommodate the mechanical stress of frequent shifts. Because Monza was a course that required many shifts, Alfas had a built-in edge.

The American cars arrived at the starting grid sporting new livery: white bodies with blue numbers: Milton number 7, Kreis number 11—a not-so-subtle tip of the hat to the Goddess Fortune, who ruled the risky game of auto racing. Small American flags were emblazoned on the rear quarter panels of both machines in a nod to national pride.

The start was from standing positions, and the first to get away was the crowd favorite Campari, followed in order by Guyot, De Paolo, and Kreis. Poor Tommy Milton stalled his engine and got away last, angry steam rising from beneath his cloth helmet.

Campari had the lead when the pack passed the grandstands to finish the first lap, but on the second lap, Pete Kreis had planned a surprise to kick off the anticipated “Italo-American Duel.” When the fans expectantly looked to their right to catch the first glimpse of the cars coming out of the sweeping Parabolica curve at the head of the homestretch, they didn’t see the expected Alfa red, but the American white. Flying around the course, Pete had passed Campari and gone on to establish the fastest lap in the race—three minutes and thirty-five seconds.

This was Kreis at his absolute best, running the race he always envisioned: ahead of the pack, drifting curves with grace, and roaring down the homestretch of his dreams. Drivers often describe this unusual sensation as being “in the zone,” a space magically out of time and place in which racing is easy, effortless, and intuitive. All negative thoughts are vanquished.

“Suddenly I realized that I was no longer driving the car consciously,” Brazilian Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna said of a similar experience years later. “I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension.”

Pete reached that mystical dimension right on time to bring Monza’s crowd to its feet, cheering his achievement. The Americans had likely planned to send Kreis out as a rabbit to tempt the Italians into some hot laps to test their mettle. Then, according to the scheme, Tommy would charge to the front when the forerunners backed off to save their engines. The strategy worked out perfectly, except for Milton’s stalled engine, a disadvantage that Tommy’s skill would soon erase.

As the crowd looked up the homestretch to see who was leading at the end of the third lap, however, they were amazed to see not Kreis in the lead, but Campari. They waited several tense moments, but when Milton’s white roadster appeared before Kreis’s, Italian racing aficionados concluded that Pete had suffered a breakdown or an accident.

Kreis’s crash happened at Porto Lesmo, a blind, complex curve with dual apexes where he lost control in the first bend. Pete ended up broadside against a tree just off the racing surface; multiple spins had scrubbed off much of his speed so that there was virtually no damage to the Duesenberg. The American driver leapt from the car and put his shoulders to the wheel to push the roadster back on track, but it was wedged too tightly for him to budge it.

Noting his plight, enthusiastic spectators who loved the Americans broke down the restraining barrier and gleefully joined in moving the car back to the track. It was then that Pete envisioned the dreaded black flag in a racing official’s hand: it was forbidden for the drivers to receive assistance from spectators. Kreis would be disqualified. Before that action was taken, however, Pete managed to withdraw from the race, a move that ensured that his new lap record would be preserved for the time being. The crowd gave the American driver a huge ovation for his speed and sportsmanship as he walked back to the pits.

Track officials blamed the accident on excessive speed, but Pete clarified the matter later. Under the pressure of frequent shifts, the Duesenberg’s clutch had broken, and Kreis had entered the curve in neutral. When he tried to reengage the gear to negotiate the second apex, the gear seized and spun the car out of control. Meanwhile, Milton carried the American reputation into fourth place with Campari, Brilli Peri, and De Paolo leading the way. Soon, however, Milton’s Duesey passed De Paolo, and when the two other Alfas pitted for fuel and tires Tommy forged into the lead with an average speed of 96.7 miles per hour. Very shortly, however, things began to fall apart for the second American car, when Milton’s transmission stuck in third gear and slowed his acceleration coming out of turns for the duration of the race.

At the halfway mark, Milton pitted—and the time the stop required demonstrated the valuable experience of the Italian team. The Duesenberg crew took four minutes and fifty seconds to get Milton back on the track, while the Alfa team accomplished the same task in less than a minute and a half. The European cars once again took the lead, never again surrendering it. With only ten laps to go, Brilli Peri had a seven- and-a-half-minute lead over the second-place car and won by the same margin. Milton finished fourth, with De Paolo in fifth.

At the conclusion, fans poured onto the track and hoisted the hefty Brilli Peri, Campari, and the diminutive De Paolo on their shoulders and marched to the royal box where the trio was presented to Prince Umberto, the oldest son of the Italian king. Standing in front of the royal party, the huge crowd broke into an enthusiastic version of the Italian national anthem.

Amid the jingoistic fervor, European newspapers were quick to declare that the “Old World had beaten the New.” Even so, the Americans had raced well: Milton and De Paolo finished in the money, while Kreis had established the fastest lap. But given the steep learning curve and the logistical challenges the Americans faced, the Duesenberg team felt that they had represented their nation well, and they looked forward to another opportunity to test themselves against the Europeans—one that would come in 1927.

After a team celebration that extended well into the evening, Pete slipped away to downtown Monza where he located the local telegraph office. On a single white sheet, he scribbled a few words that profoundly confused the Italian telegraph operator but made immediate sense to the US recipient that Pete craved most to please.

“Broke track record and car. Love, Pete,” read the telegram that was delivered to the owner of Riverside Farm.

After a promising start to his career, Pete began to experience a series of increasingly serious accidents. He died in a crash in Indy’s first turn in 1934. His car had no mechanical failures, there were no impediment on the track, and Pete apparently did not attempt to steer or brake his car out of danger. An unofficial “coroner’s jury” declared that the incident was “the strangest death in all racing history.” Pete’s career and mysterious accident are thoroughly investigated in The Last Lap, a new book to be published on May 28. The book is available from Octane Press at: 

The post Americans Invade Italy—Pete Kreis and the 1925 Italian Grand Prix appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

BSCHoF President Gary Kincel said, “Once again, this years’ selections for induction into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame have all made significant contributions to the history and legacy of the British sports car. Anyone who has ever been involved with, or are a fan of, automobiles will know these names and understand their significance.”

“Of the 7 newest members of the BSCHoF, they run the gamut from technicians, engineers and designers to race car drivers extraordinaire with a beloved author added in for good measure” added Kincel. 

This year’s inductees are:

Mark Bradakis – Mark has been a racer and supporter of Triumph motorcars for well over forty years. He has rebuilt, raced, autocrossed, Spitfires, TR4’s, 250’s, and GT6’s at many levels. However, he has proven himself to be a hero and champion of all British sports cars through his support of many British marques and their online presence through www.team.net

Syd Enever – After joining Morris Garages in 1920,  Enever became an indispensable part of the MG racing and record breaking story in the 1930s. He rose to become MG’s Chief Engineer and most notably, the designer of the MGA and MGB sports cars as well as the EX179 and EX181 record breakers of the 1950s. He retired in 1971 after 51 years with MG.

Lawton “Lanky” Foushee – After a stint in the Air Force working on “Presidential Aircraft maintenance,” Lanky worked at a Pontiac dealership after his service and then joined Group 44 as their crew chief. Lanky remained a fixture with Group 44 race team until his retirement in 1997. Group 44 was one of the most successful and dominant sports car teams from the 1960s forward. Led by Bob Tullius, its drivers won many SCCA championships, representing Triumph, MG and Jaguar, in multiple classes of racing from SCCA, IMSA and CART.

Brian Fuerstenau – Fuerstenau teamed up with Bob Tullius in 1964 to form Group 44, one of the most remarkably successful team in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competitions. Brian won an SCCA National Championship in F Production in 1965 driving a Triumph TR-3, and in F Production in 1968, diving a Triumph Spitfire. His third and last championship was in 1973, in E Production at the wheel of a Triumph Spitfire. He was a master mechanic as well as a driver for the Group 44 team. In their twenty-five years of competition Group 44’s drivers won 14 SCCA National Championships, three Trans-Am championships and 11 IMSA GTP races, all with Brian as their chief mechanic.

David Hobbs –  Though most recently known for his entertaining and insightful race coverage, and his success as an Ohio Honda dealer, his career as an international racing driver spanned 30 years at all levels including championships in in sports cars, touring cars, Formula 5000 cars, Indy cars, IMSA, Can-Am and Formula One, mostly all at the wheel of British made cars.

Burt Levy – Burt, like so many others, got his start in racing in a consummate British roadster: the Triumph TR3. His experiences along the way helped to create an insight into the hobby and into the sport and a way of telling stories that would be more impactful in the long run than any trip to the winner’s circle. Burt’s love of the sport and the cars and people of which it is comprised combined to help him write his best selling novel, “The Last Open Road.” the British He has contributed many books, articles and tales, all enhancing the British Sports Car experience.

Brian Redman – Brian Redman has been a Champion on three Continents in everything from Morris Minors, to Jaguar E-types to Ford GTs and Lola Formula Cars and Sports Cars. An incredible record of achievement, many at the wheel of famous British-built cars. Today, Brian helps new generations enjoy the thrills of racing with his Targa 66 organization. A true Gentleman and an incredible Ambassador for Motorsport.

This year’s induction ceremony will take place at Road America Raceway in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on July 13th, prior to The WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman for vintage/historic cars. 

The British Sports Car Hall of Fame (BSCHoF) was established as an independent entity in 2016 to preserve and perpetuate the legacy and impact of these legendary vehicles and to honor the men and women responsible for their success. Induction into the Hall of Fame is reserved for those who have made a significant and lasting impact on the British sports car industry and hobby, making it a singular honor for a lifetime of achievement. By celebrating the memory of the dedicated individuals that played key roles, the Hall can serve as a touchstone for British sports car enthusiasts of all ages and interests, furthered by its various preservation and education initiatives.

The post Redman, Hobbs & Others Inducted Into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

So, the two of us are happily motoring along to the steady purr of two cams, accompanied by dual Webers, when my daughter casually looks down and innocently asks, “What’s that pedal in the middle?” Of course, my gentle, fatherly reply was, “You’re f-ing kidding, right?” Apparently, she wasn’t. “Ah…that’s the brake,” I replied awkwardly.

To which my now drinking age daughter countered, “Right, that’s what I thought. So, if that’s the brake, what’s the other pedal to the left of it.” Ah! Now we get to the crux of the situation. When she rode in the Alfa as a small child, she was oblivious to the many switches, levers and pedals. Few kids care about the details… Go faster Dada, go faster!

But now, as a driving adult, I realize that she’s never really been exposed to a car with a manual transmission. Nowadays, in the U.S. at least, you’re hard-pressed to find a new car with a manual transmission. Slightly appalled—but relieved that she at least knew what the brake was—I then launched into a fatherly diatribe on the workings of the clutch and its actions on the transmission… yadda-yadda-yadda.

To her credit, she appeared politely interested, but seemingly unimpressed with my lecture so we soon returned to just the gentle, dulcet tones of the engine singing along at 4,000 rpm. However, a few minutes later, our shared automotive Zen was again broken, when my apparently now more observant daughter proclaimed, “That can’t be right, we’re going much faster than 45 miles per hour.”

Since I had recently invested some $300 in having my speedometer fixed —some 10 years ago the needle elected to leap to his own death at the bottom of the gauge — I looked down with alarm, only to see that we were, in fact, doing 60 mph with said resurrected needle pointing dead-nuts straight up as God had intended it to. “What are you talking about?”, I countered. “The gauge says we’re doing 60.”

To which my youngin replied, “No it’s not, it says 45 right there.” Confused, and now concerned that I had been gypped out of $300, I furiously scanned the gauge until I finally located what she was referring to. Much to my amazement (and horror if I’m honest) she was looking at the trip odometer! But in her defense, she has grown up in a digital world, not an analog one and the trip odometer numbers stand out more prominently than the 60-year-old white MPH numerals silkscreened on the formerly clear, now yellowing bezel.

As we motored on down the freeway, I wrestled with how I could have so completely failed as a father. Should I have denied her all those dance classes in lieu of a shifter kart? Should I have at least forced her to learn to drive on a stick? I was beating myself up thusly when I happened to spot an early Porsche 911 coming up in the lane next to us. As it pulled alongside, I gave the man behind the wheel a knowing nod of acknowledgement, as we all do, and then noticed what appeared to be his teenage daughter in the passenger seat next to him, presumably on the same father-daughter Sunday drive bonding exercise that we were…except she had this bored, please-come-save-me hostage look on her face that said this was not her Sunday dream come true. And this gave me hope.

At least my daughter wanted to be out there with me in the old car. And between her growing interest in Formula One and possibly the first inklings of an interest in classic cars, I began to believe that maybe it’s never too late to pass on the disease. But if she is truly bitten by the bug, I’ll now face the even more daunting dilemma… how is she going to learn to drive a stick? She ain’t learning on my car!

The post Pedal in the Middle appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

Blink as you go by and you might miss it—as the Scots are pretty humble and low key about most things, including their heroes—but seeing this tribute to Clark got my mind thinking as I navigated my way around countless lochs and glens for the next few days. With a total population of just 5.5 million people, Scotland really punches far above its weight when it comes to producing world class racing drivers. In Formula One alone, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark account for five World Championships between themselves, then you throw in the likes of Archie Scott Brown, Dario Franchitti, his brother Marino and David Coulthard and that’s a lot of driving talent from one sparsely populated country. By comparison, racing powerhouses like Germany has 83 million people to draw from, while Brazil has 214 million and the U.S. 331 million. So, what is the secret sauce that makes the Scots such great drivers?

In my personal experience of driving in Scotland numerous times over the past three decades, I’d say it’s the roads. For all its size and expanse, there is not a straight section of road in the entire country! Cumulatively, the country is made up of thousands of miles of twisty-turny, one and two-lane roads, with all manner of blind corners, off camber turns and uneven surfaces. When you add in the fact that the Highlands of Scotland also receives a total of 250 days of rain per year, you have the perfect breeding ground for talented, seat-of-the-pants drivers. In fact, I’d argue it’s a microcosm of automotive Darwinism, as you either learn how to deftly handle a car in Scotland or you won’t be passing your genes on to the next generation!

Fortunately, my family and I managed to log more than 500 trouble-free miles over hill and dale in our Highlands journey. But driving there does require constant vigilance and concentration… I suppose it adds new meaning to the country’s unofficial national anthem “Scotland the Brave.”

The post Scotland the Brave appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

1
Danny Ongais drives a Porsche 934 to victory in the 100-mile IMSA sports car race at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, California (1977).

2
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Robert William “Bobby” Unser dies at the age of 87 (2021).

3
Charles Anthony Standish “Tony” Brooks, the last living Grand Prix winner of the 1950s, dies at age 90 (2022).

4
16-time NHRA funny Car Champion John Force is born (1949).

6
Hans-Joachim Stuck drives an Audi V8 Quatro to victory in the DTM race on the Avus Circuit in Berlin, Germany (1990).

8
Mark Donohue, driving a Penske AMC Javelin, wins the SCCA Trans-Am race at Lime Rock, Connecticut (1971).

9
Hurley Haywood drives a Porsche 934 to victory in the SCCA Trans-Am race at Pocono, Pennsylvania (1976).

10
Paul Greifzu is killed in an accident during a race in Dessau, East Germany (1952).

12
Jochen Mass and Jackie Ickx win the Silverstone 1000-kilometer sports car race driving a Porsche 962C (1985).

13
Richard Petty drives a Plymouth to victory in the NASCAR Grand National race at Darlington, South Carolina. It is Petty’s 55th career victory, making him the winningest driver in NASCAR history (1967).

14
Denny Hulme, driving a Sid Taylor Lola T70 MkII spyder, wins a race during the International Trophy meeting at Silverstone (1966).

19
Swedish racer Ulf Norinder is born (1934).

20
Jackie Ickx wins the Can-Am race at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving a Lola T333CS-Chevrolet (1979).

22
The DRM race on the Mainz-Finthen Flugplatz near Mainz, West Germany, is won by Rolf Stommelen in the Gelo Racing Porsche 935 (1977).

24
Al Unser Sr. wins his fourth Indy 500 in a car that was a show car only weeks earlier. Unser was hired by Roger Penske to replace Danny Ongais, who was hurt in practice (1987).

27
Arie Luyendyk wins his second Indianapolis 500 (1997).

28
Henry Taylor drives a Cooper to victory in the Formula Junior race at Monaco (1960).

29
George Follmer drives the Roy Woods racing AMC Javelin to victory in the SCCA Trans-Am race at Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, New Hampshire (1972).

30
John Crouch, who played a part in the formation of three Australian racing organizations (New South Wales Sporting Car Club, Vintage Sporting Car Club, and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport) dies at the age of 84 (2004).

31
Howdy Wilcox drives a Peugeot to win in the first post-WWI Indianapolis 500. First Indy 500 win for Goodyear tires. First playing of the song “Back Home Again in Indiana” at the 500 (1919).

The post May in Racing History appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

On May 9^th, 1992, Roberto Guerrero earned the pole position for the 76^th running of the Indianapolis 500-mile race. Piloting a Buick-powered Lola T92/00 for King Motorsports, the 33-year-old Colombian became the first man in Speedway history to officially break the 230-mph barrier as he set new track records for single-lap average (232.618 mph) and four lap average (232.482 mph) for the four-lap, ten-mile run into the record books.

Guerrero would be the only driver in the 33-car starting field to record all four qualification laps over the 230 mph barrier as the 1984 Indianapolis “500” Co-Rookie of the Year award winner would log what would prove to be the sixth and final pole position of his Indy-car career.

The post An Honor to Race There appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

The iconic finish of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans – Ford crosses the finish line and takes the chequered flag. The number 2 Shelby American Ford GT40 Mk II driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, and the number 1 Shelby American GT40 driven by Ken Miles and Denis Hulme, driving side by side just ahead of the number 5 Holman & Moody GT40 driven by Ronnie Bucknum and Richard Hutcherson. Of the 8 Ford Mk II, and 5 Mk I’s that started the race, only the three podium finishers were still running at the end of the 24 hours.

Print Size: 19″ x 13″ or 24″ x 18″ | Paper Stock: 65lb Cover Uncoated

_______________________

Arthur Schening is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator living in Arlington, VA.

Prints are 19″ wide x 13″ tall. They are printed using an Epson Artisan 1430, 6-color printer, on 65 lb. uncoated cover stock. The cost is $35 per print ((plus $7 shipping and handling for the continental U.S., overseas shipping is additional).

http://www.scheningcreative.com/auto-art/

The post 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

This Hustler is not an unsavory men’s magazine, nor is it Jackie Gleason playing a pool shark, nor a con artist, or even a hot Lotus Elan for that matter. The Hustler does look sexy like a Lotus Elan on steroids, and it moves right along as a sports car should, so this is no con job. The Hustler is a now scarce American-created sports car built by Ray Caldwell and his legendary race car company Autodynamics.

Today, vintage racer Bob Webber of Fairfield, Connecticut, own’s one of the few surviving Hustlers. Webber’s lemon-yellow Hustler has an interesting tale to tell.

The post The Hustler — 1967 Autodynamics Hustler appeared first on Sports Car Digest.