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Fred Luther and one of the world's first (if not the first) automobile powered motorcycles

21-Jun-23 historicracing.com

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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Grover Bergdoll

08-Jul-23 historicracing.com

Grover Cleveland Bergdoll was a wealthy early aviator, racing driver and notorious World War I draft dodger who fled to Germany to avoid service....continue reading
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The Donington Grand Prix in 1937

21-Apr-23 historicracing.com

The Donington Grand Prix in 1937. The first chance the British public had to see the Mercedes and Auto Union cars racing and, what a spectacle it proved to be! Though the reputation of the machines preceded them, no-one was prepared for that first lap. ...continue reading

Valdir Fauirin twin engined special

19-Apr-23 historicracing.com

Now then! The history of motoring has seen any number of twin-engined adventures, usually to nobody’s worthwhile benefit. But this wonderful little, Brazilian, home-build race car from 1971, was a bit special. Even for that sphere of novelty....continue reading

Behold the GAZ-TP

17-Apr-23 historicracing.com

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 2nd


Interesting and notable events from the history of motor sport.

1969

Daytona 24 Hour race won by Mark Donohue and Charlie Parsons in a Lola

In a race that saw the Porsche and Ford teams collapse, the 'Daytona 24 Hours' World Sports Car Championship race was won by the Roger Penske entered Lola of Mark Donohue and Charlie Parsons, despite spending 80 minutes in the pits. The Porsches were slowed by split manifolds filling the cockpits with smoke, then fell out when their camshafts broke. Jacky Ickx crashed a John Wyer Ford GT40 while leading on Sunday morning and the David Hobbs/Mike Hailwood Wyer Ford GT40 led before retiring after losing water. Donohue/Parsons averaged 99.27 mph and ran 626 laps (2,383.75 miles) for the 24 hours. It was Lola's first long distance win. The Lola of Lothar Motschenbacher and Ed Leslie finished 30 laps behind in second with a Pontiac Firebird of Joe Ward and Jerry Titus third.

1969

Round 5 Tasman Cup Series, Petrie, Australia won by Chris Amon in 2.4 liter Ferrari 246T V6

Chris Amon drove his 2.4 liter Ferrari 246T V6 to victory in round 5 of the 1969 Tasman Cup series, the 34th running of the Australian Grand Prix, held for the second and final time on the undulating 1.5 mile Lakeside circuit. On the pole with a record lap, Amon got a good start and jumped into the lead as fellow front row starter Piers Courage, winner of the previous round at Teretonga, New Zealand, apparently had trouble selecting a gear on his Frank Williams "bi-plane" Brabham. By the time Courage got his gear problem sorted, he was 3rd behind Graham Hill's Lotus entering turn 1. In 4 laps, Amon was already 4 seconds ahead of Hill and pulling away. When Courage tried to pass Hill on the outside just past a bend, the two cars touched, sending Courage running out of road and down a embankment into retirement. Courage stomped angrily (mostly at himself) back to the pits. Interestingly, Hill was using Courage's spare Cosworth motor, his own having expired after day 1 practice. In recovering from the contact, Hill lost 2nd to Amon's teammate Derek Bell, putting the Ferraris 1-2. By the 39th of the 65 laps, Amon was 20.5 seconds ahead of Bell with Hill still within striking distance for 2nd. Jochen Rindt, winner of round 3 at Wigram, had moved his sick Lotus from 7th to 4th before pulling into the pits and into retirement on lap 44 when his engine changed note. On lap 51, Hill's rear suspension mounted wing broke. Hill continued to hurtle the car along with the wing hanging on the left rear tire, giving the Lotus mechanics time to find a hacksaw. Pitting to have the wing removed, Hill lost 3rd to Australian Leo Geoghegan. Amon went on to take his 3rd checkered flag of the '69 series, crossing the line 23.9 seconds ahead of Bell with Geoghegan's 2.5 liter Lotus 39-Repco V8 a lap down in 3rd. Amon's 3 wins and 2 thirds gave him a 13 point lead over Courage with two rounds remaining.

1973

Daytona 24 Hour Race. Won by Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS.

Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood teamed in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS to win the 'Daytona 24 Hours' Sports Car race, the opening round in the 1973 World Championship for Makes. After Bill France refused to pay the appearance fee Ferrari wanted and Alfa-Romeo skipped the event after disappointing tests on it's new V12 motor, a slim field of only five 3 liter prototypes were on hand. The two Wyer Mirage entries were plagued by clutch problems, while the lone Matra shared by Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Francois Cevert and Henri Pescarolo was leading when it's engine failed around 12:30 AM. The Matra's retirement moved Mark Donohue's Penske Porsche Carrera into a lead he would hold until early morning before Gregg displaced him. Donohue pitted and handed over to fellow Penske Can-Am driver George Follmer, only to have the engine swallow a piston just 2 laps later. Gregg and Haywood went on to the win, the duo from Jacksonville, Florida covering 670 laps and averaging 106.274 mph. Porsche was hoping to run the new car in GT category, but homologation had not been finalized, leading to an almost comical series of wires to and from Daytona Beach, Stuttgart and Paris before final denial came through. Finishing second overall, and winning the GT class, was the NART Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona of Milt Minter and the Francois Migault Porsche which was 22 laps behind.

1975

Daytona 24 Hour Race. Won by Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS.

Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood teamed to win the Daytona 24 Hours Sports Car race, round 1 of the 1975 Sports Car World Championship for Makes. Gregg and Haywood's Porsche 911 Carrera RS took the checkered 15 laps ahead of the 2nd place finisher as Porsche 911s swept the top 6 spots. The winning duo averaged 109.440 mph for the 24 hours, covering 684 laps around the 3.84 mile Daytona International Speedway road circuit.

1975

Tasman Cup, Narellan, New South Wales, Australia. Won by Warwick Brown in a Lola T332.

Warwick Brown drove his Chevrolet powered Lola T332 to victory as the Tasman Cup series made a visit to the 1.25 mile Oran Park Raceway. The win was Brown's 2nd of the season.

1986

Daytona 24 Hour Race. Won by Al Holbert, Derek Bell, and Al Unser Jr. in a Porsche 962.

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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