Grands Prix
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
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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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
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
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
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
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
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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The Second is The First, and Fourth Shall be The Greatest
22nd May 1921 – one hundred years ago. A 28 year-old man is about to take the start for his first real motor race. Last year he retired his 600cc Della Ferrera motorcycle from the Circuito Internazionale di Cremona. In March he won the Coppa Verona regularity trial, bimbling along at average of 39.709 kph […]
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C’était un Déluge
We’re lucky to have a lot of motorsport heritage in Northern Ireland. We don’t make enough of a fuss about it. To that end – to make a start – here’s a look at Dundrod. Epic, terrifying, bloody quick Dundrod. Scene of many motorcycle battles, but also the Ulster Trophy for Formula One & Formula […]
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