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Weekend round up 16 January 2011

Posted on January 16, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

#F1 – Very pleased that Narain Karthikeyan is back on the F1 grid and that Karun Chandhok has, at least, got a test role. These guys can drive and deserve their places.

Sorry to hear about Derek Gardner passing on. He created some good cars and wasn’t afraid to go out on a limb, the Tyrrell six wheeler being a classic example.

Good to hear that thoughts of moving the Italian Grand Prix away from Monza have fallen through, and also good to hear a gracious response from the Rome GP promoter. I too would have supported a second GP in Italy because the fans have such passion, and maybe we only have Ferrari now, but where would grand prix racing be without Maserati and Alfa Romeo in its blood?

#NASCAR – Just a month to go until the Daytona 500. I shan’t be bothering with the clash, but will be looking out for qualifying and the twin 125s on the run into the big race, and also the truck race on the 18th.

Good luck to Todd Bodine running in all three classes.

It doesn’t now look as though I can get there in person, but I’ll be there in spirit.

Filed under: Cars, Drivers, F1, NASCAR, Retro Moments | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

RIP Derek Gardner

Posted on January 11, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

I seem to be writing a few RIPs lately, but maybe it is because of my own age.

DG was a key man at Ferguson working on 4wd systems and got involved in F1 through the work Fergusons did on the various Indy and F1 4wd projects that cropped up in the late 1960s. Through that he had met Ken Tyrrell and, when Ken needed a decent car for Jackie Stewart, he hired DG to produce it in secret, the Tyrrell 001 appearing at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in the late summer of 1970 and, in developed form, as 003 giving JYS a second title in 1971, the basic design remaining competitive through into early ’73.

He later designed boats and microlights amongst other things in a long and distinguished career.

DG left us last week, but the record of his designs, and their success, will live on.

RIP

Filed under: F1, Indycar, Retro Moments | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

RIP Jaques Swaters & Tom Walkinshaw

Posted on December 14, 2010 by thatconsultantbloke

Sad news that both Jacques Swaters and Tom Walkinshaw have passed away.

Amongst their other achievements they both ran successful sports car teams, but both did so much more in their lives.

Jaques Swaters managed a few F1 drives in the early 1950s and later founded the legendary Ecurie Francorchamps team that campaigned Ferraris, and other cars, at Le Mans and other major events, famously coming close to winning the 1965 Le Mans.

Tom Walkinshaw was a winner in Formula Ford in the late 60s before moving through to F2. He later made a name in tin tops winning the European title and founding the TWR team that came to success pretty much in every class they entered, including the Group C Le Mans Jaguars of the late 1980s.

Two more giants of the sport lost, but memories of what they achieved live on.

RIP both

Filed under: Cars, Circuits, Drivers, F1, Retro Moments, Tin Tops | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

7th April 1968 – Jim Clark and that F2 Race

Posted on November 30, 2010 by driverjohn

Almost every account you read of Jim Clark’s death at Hockenheim describes the event as “an unimportant F2 race” or “minor F2 race” or similar dismissal.

Regular readers of my blogs will know of my campaign against sloppy use of language, and this is another example of it. I can maybe understand a hack from a mainstream rag getting the wrong idea about one of the world’s leading drivers, and the outstanding talent of that time, running in a Formula 2 event, but motoring journalists should know better. So here’s my effort to set the record straight as I see it. Continue reading →

Filed under: Cars, Circuits, Drivers, Retro Moments, Setting the Record Straight | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Coming soon – motor sport book reviews

Posted on November 25, 2010 by thatconsultantbloke

I have an extensive library of motor sport books and am always adding to my collection. One of my followers here has mentioned that I sometimes recommend books related to posts on this blog, but could I comment on new books, so over the winter I’m going to start adding reviews of motor racing books here.

These things are always personal, but I’ll try to be objective. I’m not sure where I’ll start, but expect a mixture of new books and also some old classics that I think should be part of your library if you can find a copy.

Filed under: Book Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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