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Fred Luther was a pioneering motorcycle rider who had been competing since 1915. By 1934 his life must have become somewhat mundane as he came up with the idea of building a motorcycle to break the Land Speed Record....continue reading

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The Donington Grand Prix in 1937

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Behold the GAZ-TP

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Built in 1954, under official approval from the Supreme Presidium of the Soviet Socialist Republic, it’s claimed to have been the world’s first car ever jet-driven land vehicle, loaded, as it was, with the motivational extracts of a MIG-17....continue reading

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Events on February 16th


Interesting and notable events from the history of motor sport.

1957

NZ Championship Road Race at Ryal Bush won by Peter Whitehead in a Supersqualo Ferrari.

Peter Whitehead and Reg Parnell take their Supersqualo Ferraris to the first two places in the NZ Championship Road Race at Ryal Bush. This is Parnells last race in a career that started in the 1930s. Ron Roycroft, Ferrari 375, is fourth, and first New Zealander.

1964

Daytona Continental Sports Car race at Daytona International Speedway won by Phil Hill and Pedro Rodriguez in a 3 liter Ferrari 250GTO.

Phil Hill and Pedro Rodriguez drove a new 3 liter Ferrari 250GTO to victory in the Daytona Continental Sports Car race at Daytona International Speedway, the opening round of the 1964 International Championship for Makes. It looked like Carroll Shelby's fast new 4.7 liter Cobra coupe with drivers Dave MacDonald and Bob Holbert was headed for the win when the differential overheated 7 hours in. The winners averaged 98.303 mph, turning 327 laps around the 3.81 mile circuit. Ferrari 250GTs swept the top 3 positions with the team of David Piper and Lucien Bianchi finishing 2nd and the team of Bob Grossman and Walt Hansgen finishing 3rd. The race was the first World Sports Car championship race at Daytona.

1964

Round 6 Tasman Cup at Warwick Farm won by Jack Brabham drove his Brabham-Climax. It was also his second straight Tasman Cup series win.

1969

Tasman Cup series, Sandown Park, Victoria. Chris Amon won the penultimate round in the F2-based Ferrari Tasman.

Jochen Rindt was on pole, 1.4 seconds under Jack Brabham's lap record, but only two tenths faster than the V6 Ferrari. Hill was third on the grid, half a second further away, with Courage another three tenths down and Brabham equal on that time but on the third row alongside 'Cousin' Derek and ahead of Leo Geoghegan, Frank Gardner, KB, Lawrence in an M4a, Allen's M4a and Costanzo in yet another M4a, all FVA-powered. Havey and Levis (FVA Brabham) headed the various Elfins and slower Brabhams that surrounded Scott's Bowin FVA, Col Green's ex-Mildren BT23 Climax, Macrow's Cheetah twin cam and Don Fraser's Cicada 2.5 BRM. Bringing up the rear was an unusual spot for Clive Millis in the Rennmax, fully ten seconds off the pole pace. It was fortunate that Fraser didn't start, but it would hardly have been noticed until he was due to get in the way of the leaders about lap four, and by then Amon was heading Rindt after passing him on the first lap and Courage had dropped out after two laps. Graham Hill had pitted with throttle linkage problems. Cars started to drop like flies. Eight races in nine weeks was a tough call, and this was round seven. I think, looking in hindsight, that the DFVs were getting tired, for their is no other reason that they wouldn't have shone more on this power circuit compared to the V6 in the Ferrari. But Rindt was clear of Brahbam. All the same, the toll was real. Costanzo blew Tony Osborne's FVA and coasted to a halt, undoubtedly crestfallen and very guilty about the cost that Tony had to bear, for Alfie was new to this sponsored drive business and knew the costs. Lawrence also retired, leaving the littlies lead to Levis, while Garrie Cooper's Elfin, sporting a suspension mounted high rear wing, was the first resident Australian home in 8th place. Niel Allen's fate is not reported in RCN, but he did set a new class record (1:08.5) and filed in eleventh. Geoghegan had a fuel leak before the start, Bartlett's fate is not mentioned, nor Green's or many more. It was a tense race rather than an exciting one. Amon had the running and Rindt was always within striking distance. But at the end Rindt was unable to pull back the three or four seconds that the lead had grown to and even missed out on lapping Brabham, who was in third place and went back a lap when Amon went by with two laps to run. Gardner was fourth from Bell, who had stomach problems after sampling the delights of some local oysters and Hill recovered to sixth. Eighth was Levis from Cooper, Scott, Malcolm Guthrie and Allen.

1969

Springvale, Victoria, Australia, Chris Amon drove his Ferrari 246T V6 Dino across to victory in the final round of the Tasman Series.

Crowned Tasman Series champ the week before, Chris Amon drove his Ferrari 246T V6 Dino across to victory in the final round of the series, held on the 1.9 mile Sandown Park circuit. Jochen Rindt put his Lotus on the pole for the 5th time in the 7 race series, all on tracks he hadn't seen before. In the interest of a cleaner, faster start, the field was lined up in rows of two. Rindt got the jump on the start and led Amon, Graham Hill, Derek Bell and Jack Brabham through the first two corners. Exiting the second turn, Amon closed on Rindt and out accelerated the Lotus as they went up the rising back straight, Brabham doing the same to Amon's Ferrari teammate Bell. At the end of lap 1, Brabham was 3rd as Hill slowed with a dislodged throttle linkage and coasted his Lotus to the pits, where he would lose 4 laps before returning to the fray. Piers Courage was in trouble on the back part of the circuit, a halfshaft broken on his Frank Williams Brabham. Courage's crew had seen the halfshaft twist badly as he came off the start line and had no alternative but to hang out a pit board if he completed lap 1 and then settle in to spectate. By the 15th of the 55 laps, Amon was 1.5 seconds ahead of Rindt, Brabham was 21 seconds back and Australian ace Frank Gardner had moved the Mildren-Alfa past Bell's Ferrari for 4th. In what was described as a dull race, Amon took the checkered flag to a thunderous ovation, his 4th win of the series. Rindt finished 7 seconds back in 2nd with Brabham, making his only Tasman appearance of the year, a lap back in 3rd in his new BT28B Formula 3 car fitted with a 2.5 liter Repco-Brabham V8. Gardner and Bell completed the top 5. Courage's retirement cost him 2nd in the final standings as Rindt moved past him. The race turned out to be the last for the Tasman Formula of up to 2.5 liters, as Formula 5000 would take over as the new formula for 1970.

1975

Tasman Cup , Adelaide International Raceway, won by Graeme Lawrence in a Chevrolet powered Lola T332.

LOST THIS YEAR

Basil van Rooyen

19/4/1939 - 14/9/2023

Ken McAlpine

21/9/1920 - 8/4/2023

Craig Breedlove

23/3/1937 - 4/4/2023

Slim Borgudd

25/11/1946 - 23/2/2023

Jean-Pierre Jabouille

1/10/1942 - 2/2/2023

Ken Block

21/11/1967 - 2/1/2023

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