Category: Racing
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Shelsley Walsh Hill climb – A time capsule of motor racing
Long-running motorsport events tend to evolve and change over the years for a multitude of reasons ranging from boosting competitiveness, improving safety to just keeping up with the times. With these changes comes the risk of chipping away at the soul or essence of the events that made the original so engaging. There is, however,…
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A cheat so brilliant it was applauded by rule makers
Introduction The Toyota Celica derives its name from the Spanish word for heavenly which would sound like a misnomer if you’ve ever seen this monster tear up the dirt track. Its success in WRC earned it the nickname “The King of Africa” until Toyota Team Europe team was caught cheating in a way so genius…
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What the flip happened here?
I reckon there’s a good chance you’ve seen this infamous photo at some point: Mark Webber’s Mercedes CLR flying into the air at a 1999 24 hours of LeMans practice session. And this was no isolated case. Incidents like these were occurring more frequently among the LeMans prototype series cars in the late 90’s –…
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The DTM Golden era: BMW Vs. Mercedes-Benz
Rewind to the 1970s: The compact executive saloon market was flooded with boring, affordable versions of their full-size executive counterparts. One car stood out from the pack, nicknamed the “Flying Brick”, the E21 320 turbo was a force to be reckoned with on the racetrack but also in the showrooms – proving true the “Win…
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The OG WRC Champ: Alpine’s A110
Launched in 1961, the rear-engined, air-cooled, rear-wheel drive Alpine A110 shared many similarities with the iconic Porsche 911, which would be unveiled two years later. However, the A110 is by no means “just a French 911”, as this sexy little coupe would go on to become a legend in its own right. The A110 was…
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5 Reasons to Get Excited for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
With this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans nearly upon us, we thought it might be a good idea to remind you why it’s the biggest race of them all, and why you should definitely be watching come June 16th. The Heritage The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the oldest active endurance race in…
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Forward thinking at Prodrive
Making your way through the revolving door and into the laboratory-clean reception area to be greeted by Colin McRae’s 1995 Championship winning Impreza, and an Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3, you can only be in one place; Prodrive’s headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire. This team of geniuses, founded by former Aston Martin chairman David Richards CBE,…
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Alfa Romeo GTA or GTAm?
In 1962, the successor of the very popular Giulietta series was introduced. This car was the Alfa Romeo Giulia, internally called the “Series 105”. The coupé of the 105 series, used the shortened floorpan from the Giulia Berlina and was designed by Bertone. The name of the car evolved from Giulia Sprint GT to Giulia Sprint and to GTJ (Junior) and GTV (Veloce)…
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„Only Flying is better“
The slogan was used by Mercedes-Benz to introduce the successor of the 300SL Gullwing, the 300SL Roadster. In 1957 open-top two-seaters were incredibly popular which lead to the decision to convert the legendary W198, Gullwing, into its roadster version. The production of Mercedes’ new highlight started in 1957 and ended in 1963. The main frame…
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Dream car of the 50’s.
The word Gullwing, was entirely new interpreted in the 50’s. Ever since then, Mercedes-Benz fans turn their heads with admiration as soon as the word flies through the air. The 300 SL is a 1950’s dream car and one of the most famous vehicles from the brand with the star. The roots of the legendary sports car…
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Where it all began…
Back in 1896, on the 14th November to be correct, the madness began or it ended, how one would like to interpret it. That day is being annually celebrated as the Emancipation Run, which celebrated the raising of the speed limit from 4mph to 14 mph and the passing into law of the Locomotives on the…
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Next game: Endurance!
The legendary 910 was the first ever endurance race car Porsche developed. The German sports car manufacturer managed to succeed once again with the lightweight 910, the next sequence in the line of 906. During the two years of production, between 1966 and 1968, the car was raced in the World Sportscar Championship and FIA European…