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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 19:51:14 GMT
I really don't know if the motor car racing that I was exposed to as a child and was an integral part of some childhood memories applies. The small hamlet where I grew up had a motor car racetrack that to my understanding was quite well known at least on the North American level in that I do recall that there was a CANAM contingent/representation. Being the youngest (girl) of with 3 older brothers I tagged along as we snuck through the woods onto the race track, going to the "pit" and the excitement it brought to our otherwise bland mundane childhood. The local merchants benefitted along with folks who had big houses with rooms to rent for people who followed these races. The track itself, now a golf course, was quite a few miles away but, close enough that one could hear the cars making the "hairpin" and, to this day remains a vivid auditory recall unsurpassed by anything else of its kind. A good number of people (my eldest brother to be sure), fondly recall the arrival of umpteen flatbed trailers that sat our mainstreet and every single boy, young adult ogling these cars while the owners and or drivers were at the local breakfast joints. I went to an outdoor art market while we were in NY recently and there was a photographer who had a display of vintage photos. One was of the entrance to said racetrack (recognizable to only those familiar with what it was, I stopped dead in my tracks with my husband saying WTF?) and I perseverated for a really long time about buying it for my brother but didn't. I still have the gentleman's business card though.. (My reservation being that I do not think my new sister-in-law would welcome this particular wall "art".) linkhttp://bridgehamptonraceway.net/index.php/history/(I am trying like crazy to post a link to this racetrack but can't seem to get on the right "track"....)
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Post by questa on Nov 29, 2016 0:19:15 GMT
What a great word picture you have given here, Casi! I think those experiences with motor sport seen from a child's eyes are more valuable than all the score cards tucked away in some library.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 1:12:44 GMT
Thanks Questa.
As I mentioned, I don't know if "our" racetrack even applies to the OP.
(to date, the sound of a Ferrari engine quite simply sends me....)
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Post by questa on Nov 29, 2016 4:51:04 GMT
How about the "Booom" that thuds in your chest when they hit the gas pedal! GP race tracks and conditions these days are so safety planned that it seems like a fast procession. A tiny twitch of the wheel can win or lose the series. I can see Kerouac's desire to see a wreck as, unless you know who is where on the years points table and have a stopwatch in your hand. there is not much to see.
However if one driver is chasing another...gaining...pushing the leader to take risks that might make him 'lose it'...gaining more on the leader...crowd roaring ...is the second car in trouble?...puff of smoke on that sharp corner...maybe brakes...was smoke blue or grey?...what? the leader is pitting...tyre damage from debris on the road left by an earlier driver who blew his engine spectacularly ...OK new rubber all round and out of the pits in 2.4 seconds...now has to chase the other car who may or may not blow more smoke.....
Come on...what's not to like? Casi, Google '1985 grand prix Adelaide' and read the wikipedia entry, specially the Pre-race bit.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 29, 2016 17:47:40 GMT
I have been 'eased' into F1 by my husband who is a big fan. I guess the interest in motor sport of different kinds comes as far back as our courting days when he would take me to Hotrods. A tiny oval circuit with suped-up ......can't refer to them as cars, but metal frames and roll bars covering an engine and four great big tyres. The smoke and fumes never seem to bother us as we watched them crash and bang into each other.
Those days have long gone and the sport faded away and we started following Saloon Car Racing here in Pietermaritzburg. The track had long been abandoned before we moved here although today it can still be seen among the weeds and grass. The residents could not handle the noise.
Today I watch some of the F1 races but not every single moment. I am a Rosberg admirer and think he well deserved the championship. I have long ago decided Hamilton acts like a spoilt brat most of the time and dresses like a drug-lord donning heavy gold chains. He has a big chip on his shoulder about his team mate Rosberg. So what if he had a better more luxurious upbringing than Lewis. That is nothing to be sour over. I just thought that the way Lewis Hamiltom tried to prevent his team mate getting the championship like his father before him, Keke Rosberg, was just awful. Ok, I understand racing is racing but that was just spite in it's purest form.
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Post by mossie on Nov 30, 2016 16:04:59 GMT
I got hooked in the very early '50's, the glorious days of Fangio and Moss. The grids then formed up 4-3-4-3 with fields of over 20, many of the back markers were amateurs who drove cars a few years old. there were some real chancers who would be near the back of the grid, but by anticipating the starter dropping the flag, would have already gained several places before the real start. This was taken as part and parcel of the entertainment. F1 World Champion in 1957? was Mike Hawthorn who one of the spectators at Silverstone, when Mike had won the Grand Prix, handed him a pint of beer as he drove his lap of honour. Spectators were separated from the cars by a low fence, or a few straw bales, Armco was yet to be invented. If you want a real flavour of the times try and get a book called "Alf Francis, racing mechanic". He was Moss's mechanic when Moss was a private entrant and looked after his Maserati, sometimes driving it on the public roads, but carting it round in a converted bus which was also his workshop. Very different days to today, that is for sure. I several times attended races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch, and twice went to Monaco to watch that in the early '70's. The first time incidentally was by coach trip involving a 3 hour stop in Paris, leaving there about midnight for the rest of the journey down to Monaco, this was when Jackie Stewart won and a film was made of the weekend. I'll leave you with a mistranslation which is common here
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Post by onlyMark on Dec 2, 2016 13:35:29 GMT
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Post by questa on Dec 2, 2016 14:29:54 GMT
What is the drama about Nico's retirement? He has got the top prize and no longer has the hunger for the podium. With a young family he has taken a brave step in putting them ahead of racing and its dangers. Good luck in future ventures,Nico.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2016 16:03:21 GMT
The French Grand Prix is returning in 2018 after a 10 year absence. It will be interesting to see if any local people are still interested.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 2, 2016 16:36:21 GMT
Nico Rosberg has done the right thing. He is a family man and I agree completely that it is always time to quit while you are ahead. Very best of everything for the future Nico - you have given us so much wonderful viewing.
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Post by mossie on Dec 3, 2016 16:45:08 GMT
Rosberg has done the sensible thing, I have my own thoughts as to why but, least said , soonest mended. I mentioned attending the Monaco GP a couple of times, here is Jackie Stewart in practice for the 1971 race with a camera attached in order to take part in the film being made by Polanski, called I think, Champion Year. These shots are taken from slides. and here a shot of the race showing cars coming down the hill after the Casino to Loews hairpin, in those days called the Station hairpin. Note marshals and photographers on the footpath with the wall behind, not a sign of safety measures for drivers or spectators. We live in softer times.
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Post by questa on Dec 4, 2016 5:31:27 GMT
Mossie, I started to follow F1 in the early sixties and still get a buzz at the names and pictures of the Golden Years. It was at the time of Fangio and Nuvolari, and still thought of as the best ever. One year at the Adelaide GP they shipped Fangio's beautiful silver Mercedes here and he did a few laps in it. Poetry in motion!
Then there were “Black” Jack Brabham, Graham Clark and Jim Clark. Denny Hulme from NZ was part of the Tasman series when the teams from Europe came here to race in Formula 5000 during the off season in Europe
My husband was a CAMS steward for the local races and I was able to hang round in the pits and collect autographs. The era of Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, Niki Lauda etc, I was busy with my little boys who played in the gravel of the pits, building racetracks for their “Matchbox” cars and running their own races.
Alan Jones from Oz won a Championship. He was a tough boss to work for and when he demanded the crew raise his seat as it was too low, it is said the pit crew answered, “Then sit on your wallet”.
1985 brought the whole circus to Adelaide .The teams joined with the locals to have holidays after the race. Names like Piquet, Prost and a young go-getter called Ayrton Senna drew attantion. The race was won by Keke Rosberg, father of Nico who has just won the 2016 GP and retired.
Prost, Piquet and Senna dominated, but like most of my city, I loved Senna, he was “ours”and the tears flowed after Imola. I was staying at the “Sailors' Mission” hotel on the river in Saigon, Vietnam. I turned on the TV and heard slow music being played and on the screen a laurel wreath with the words “Ayrton Senna” and the birth and death dates. It took me weeks to find out what happened.
Schumacher appeared, but I was happy to see Jacques Villeneuve take the win in 1997. His father Giles, had signed my autograph book years ago. Sad that both died in crashes.
I have lost track of the names of the last few years. The GP street circuit here is used for the “V8 Supercars” racing which brings back the parties and glamour (and bigger crowds) The races are held in NZ and various other S E Asian countries. My son is one of the organising panel, and he and his wife have taken my grand children each year since they were old enough to wear noise- suppression earphones. Pity they won't ever hear the scream of a Ferrari as the flag drops.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2016 5:44:23 GMT
Clearly out of my league here. Merely recollecting a childhood memory of which I will hold dear.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2016 6:06:05 GMT
My employer was an F1 sponsor for several years, and I could have attended a number of the races in Europe back then. But I didn't.
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Post by mossie on Dec 9, 2016 16:01:31 GMT
Going back into the dark ages again, here is Niki Lauda signing a programme at Silverstone for my eldest boy and here is Helen Stewart lapscoring for her husband And the late great James Hunt, hiding behind his hair
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Post by onlyMark on Dec 9, 2016 18:32:57 GMT
Atmospheric photos Mossie. Good stuff. Brings back to me the memories of the six wheeled Tyrrell.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 18:36:26 GMT
I'm sorry, but I have always found that Supreme by Robbie Williams was one of the best videos ever.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 18:40:57 GMT
It is perhaps even more impressive that since Robbie Williams has a huge fan base in France, he did a version of this video entirely in French.
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Post by onlyMark on Dec 9, 2016 19:43:43 GMT
Yes, you should be sorry.
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Post by questa on May 24, 2019 8:40:54 GMT
Niki Lauda
Last Monday, 22 May, 2019, Niki Lauda died, leaving behind a history of skill in Formula One motor racing and incredible courage to survive and compete soon after his shocking race track accident.
The legendary Austrian, one of the best-known figures in motor racing, took the title for Ferrari in 1975 and 1977 and McLaren in 1984.
In 1976, he suffered third-degree burns to his head and face and inhaled toxic gases that damaged his lungs after his vehicle burst into flames at Nurburgring.
He made an almost miraculous recovery and returned to racing, still bandaged, just 40 days later.
However, ill health followed him into his later years and he underwent a lung transplant in August 2018. He had previously had two kidney transplants.
Andrew Benson, BBC chief F1 writer said,
"Niki Lauda was perhaps the most heroic and simply remarkable figure in the history of Formula 1, and yet the striking thing about him was how down-to-earth he was."
Vale, Niki
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Post by kerouac2 on May 25, 2019 9:36:46 GMT
I have a second cousin who wrote two books about Ayrton Senna, one who didn't recover.
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Post by questa on May 25, 2019 11:40:49 GMT
When Adelaide hosted the last F1 race each year, the drivers and crews made a holiday of it. They did all the touristy stuff and had a ball joining in with the locals. Senna was into flying model aircraft and joined in the activity giving tips to the groups that gathered at the fields. He was much loved by Adelaideans and after he died we erected a memorial to him.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 15, 2020 13:16:42 GMT
They are still working on the 2020 calendar. It was hoped that the French Grand Prix could restart the season on 28 June, but that will probably be too early unless it is held behind closed doors.
Eight races must be held to validate a season, but they are still hoping for 18-19 races. Hope springs eternal.
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