Author: Racing Daydreams
Colin Johnston is a complex case investigator who brings his professional skills to bear, together with his 40 years of study, in his role as motorsport historian and storyteller. Whether it is writing on this website & elsewhere, fact-checking & identifying historical events, curating social media, appearing on TV & podcasts, or acting as a consultant or advisor; Colin strives to share his experience & knowledge in the spirit of good-humour and generosity
Simon Says… Change Drivers!
- Racing Daydreams
- 2 December 2020
- F1
- Fangio
- Grand Prix
- Mercedes-Benz
- Monaco
- Monte Carlo
- Moss
- motor racing
- motor sport
- motorsport
Sehr geehrter Herr Kollege! There has been some last-minute drama. ‘Mercedes-Benz-Team’ cannot field their driver. A substitute has been chosen, and he is already revelling in the ‘Mercedes-Benz-Formel-rennwagen’. The drive has gone to… André Simon. Who?! What?! Monaco and Mercedes have history. The race began in 1929 – as Caracciola and the SSK were creating […]
Read More...Spats in The Sand Pit – The Lost Tripoli Streamliner
- Racing Daydreams
- 15 November 2020
- Bahrain
- F1
- Grand Prix
- Libya
- Mercedes-Benz
- motor racing
- motor sport
- motorsport
- Tripoli
The 2020 Formula One titles have been decided and the teams are preparing to leave for Bahrain. This season – this mad year – we will see two races at the Bahrain International Circuit, the second of these being held on the high-speed outer circuit. Described variously as an oval(!), or like Thruxton – according […]
Read More...A Last Day in the Sun? – ’55 Targa Florio
- Racing Daydreams
- 9 November 2020
- Fangio
- Mercedes-Benz
- motor racing
- motor sport
- motorsport
- Stirling Moss
- Targa Florio
Sicily – 16th of October, 1955. Snap! The tail of the silver machine snaps-out from under him… just like at Padova. No time to catch it at 100mph. Spin! Crunch! Falling… “Christ!” The Mercedes hits the rock-strewn ground, fully ten feet below the road. A sickening belly-flop. Landing with the full force of its 900 kilogrammes… and the […]
Read More...Neubauer, The Kilo & The Strippers – ’34 Eifelrennen
- Racing Daydreams
- 8 November 2020
- Grand Prix
- Mercedes-Benz
- motor racing
- motor sport
- motorsport
- Myth
- Nurburgring
I love a ‘Ripping Yarn’ – a ‘Tall Tale’ – a ‘Shaggy Dog Story’… and a myth or legend is a nice angle for marketing. Just ask the folks at Loch Ness. So let’s talk about ‘Grand Prix Nessie’ – the myth (?) that Alfred Neubauer of Mercedes-Benz ordered all the paint be stripped off […]
Read More...When Mercedes-Benz Comes Out to Play
- Racing Daydreams
- 7 November 2020
- F1
- Grand Prix
- Mercedes-Benz
- motor racing
- motor sport
- motorsport
The Mercedes-Benz Formula One demo at Goodwood Speedweek made me think of the day in June 1958 when Mercedes brought a W125 and a W154 to Oulton Park. Peter Collins & Tony Brooks got to play with them, and ‘Riverside Records’ was there to capture the moment. This is special.
Read More...Imola – beyond the Grand Prix
Last weekend Formula One returned to Imola – an iconic venue. Beyond the F1 history, Imola was a stop on the Mille Miglia… and it was there, in 1934 that a photographer captured a remarkable moment. History being created. The photo in question is at the top of this page. While the ‘riding mechanic’ oversees […]
Read More...Porsche, Stuck and an odd Auto Union – Lasarte, 1934
- Racing Daydreams
- 7 November 2020
- Audi
- Auto Union
- Grand Prix
- motor sport
- motorsport
- San Sebastian
- Spanish Grand Prix
What do we have here? A cool old photo of Stuck on an Auto Union in the pits. What do we actually have here? Ferdinand Porsche and Hans Stuck look concerned as the front of a rather unique Auto Union A is checked over. It’s September 1934 and we are at Circuito Lasarte – the 11 mile […]
Read More...The 1955 Tourist Trophy, Dundrod
- Racing Daydreams
- 6 November 2020
- belfast
- Dundrod
- Mercedes-Benz
- motor racing
- motor sport
- motorsport
- Northern Ireland
- RAC TT
One of the many peculiarities of 2020 is the upending of the international sporting calendar. While we are worried & discombobulated, dealing with ‘the new normal’, fettling our Zoom background – wondering how we will pay the rent – the ‘powers that be’ have been scrambling to stage their marquee events. So, we find the […]
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