Year: 2021

Racing Daydreams - Jesse Alexander
Grands Prix Sports Car Racing

Jesse Alexander, 1929-2021

“…at the Pau Grand Prix in 1955, when an American photographer murmured to me, ‘Is that your Porsche? I’ve got one.’ This was Jesse Alexander, a quiet, gentle, man who was photographing and reporting on European races for various American magazines and living in Switzerland with his wife and four daughters. He had travelled to […]

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Video: 'The Silver Lady' - Royce & Bentley - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix Sports Car Racing

Video: ‘The Silver Lady’ – Royce & Bentley

The video below – courtesy of the Race Day Replay’s YouTube channel – is a look at the 1962 Rolls-Royce & Bentley rally at Blenheim Palace. Fashion may have changed, and the presentation style certainly has, but it is familiar enough scene. It could be the Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance held today… I suspect many […]

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“Energy Conquers the Elements”? – Mercédès & the 1905 ‘Coupe de la Méditerranée’ - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Motorboats Myths & Curios

“Energy Conquers the Elements”? – Mercédès and the 1905 ‘Coupe de la Méditerranée’

“I have in my garden a bronze statue the patina of which has the soft shade of light emerald and which readily catches the eye of the passer-by… The pedestal of the trophy has in embossed letters two inscriptions. The front one is a little compromising: ALGIERS-TOULON RACE FOR MOTOR BOATS – ORGANISED BY LE […]

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Genevieve Shows Her Teeth – The 1904 ‘Sharknose’ - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix Myths & Curios

Genevieve Shows Her Teeth – The 1904 ‘Sharknose’

There’s nothing new under the sun, so they say. Still, I imagine that Carlo Chiti and Medardo Fantuzzi must have gazed upon their new Ferrari 156 and thought it rather unique. It was certainly striking and effective in 1961, and it has proven iconic – the ‘Sharknose’. However that wind cheating snout is not without […]

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Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix

Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips

Friday 10th September 2021, Formula One will be back at Monza. Running laps, calculating, analysing. The Tifosi, returned to ‘the temple of speed’ in it’s 99th year, ramping up the atmosphere – the pressure – the utter joy of life & motor racing. Will anyone remember? Have the humility and dignity to mark the remembrance? […]

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Over-Braked, Over the Ditch, and Over Here: The Day the Americans Took Le Mans - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix

Over-Braked, Over the Ditch, and Over Here: The Day the Americans Took Le Mans

It’s curious how sport can diverge. Relatively straightforward sporting concepts, growing in different directions due to geography or arena. It can be difficult to reconcile different ‘codes’, different approaches. But, if possible, the result can be spectacular. On Sunday 2nd April, 1899 – after 8 hours 22 minutes of racing, and seven falls – French […]

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‘The One Where Ross Puts Me In Charge’ – a Grand Vision - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix

‘The One Where Ross Puts Me In Charge’ – a Grand Vision

Today we had Sprint Qualifying for the first time in Formula One. It’s been coming for quite some time and while, since it was announced, I’ve considered it unnecessary, I didn’t give it too much thought. That is until this weekend. Particularly after it was done & dusted, and those with the requisite paddock passes […]

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I Am… I Said - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix

I Am… I Said

My love of Formula One was born of three things; my granny’s TV, a pair of paper library tickets, and Niki Lauda. Told off for sitting too close to the television, the static tingle and coloured dots were intriguing. As was this, when I was a tiny kid. When I started to follow the sport […]

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Hiring Speed: A British Major Win, the First Champagne - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Grands Prix

Hiring Speed: A British Major Win, the First Champagne

The second of July this year will see drivers & teams training for the Grosser Preis Von Österreich. It’s a pretty safe bet that the winning car on Sunday will have been created in the UK. There’s a fair chance that the winning driver will be British too. All rather unremarkable these days. Is there […]

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“Read All About it!” – The Morning ‘Paper That Saved British Road-Racing - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Featured Northern Ireland Sports Car Racing

“Read All About it!” – The Morning ‘Paper That Saved British Road-Racing

It’s easy to think that ‘disruptors’ are a modern phenomenon. People who refuse to accept that their idea can’t & won’t revolutionise their field of expertise… or their part of the world. But what are Wallace McLeod & Harry Ferguson if not ‘disruptors’? Men of vision and, more importantly, action! You will likely have heard […]

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