Ferrari | morewheelspin

September 19, 2015

Salon Prive Tour

Posted by morewheelspin under Bentley, car show, concourse d'elegance, ferrari, RAC Club | Tags: Ferrari, Ferrari 275, Ferrari 550, Ferrari Daytona, Ferrari Dino, RAC Club, salon prive, Woodcote Park |
Leave a Comment

The relocation of high end show Salon Prive from London to Blenheim in Oxfordshire made it a considerably less convenient event to attend. When attending in the past an afternoon ticket usually sufficed as that wasn’t enough to see or do to justify a whole day ticket. This year only full day tickets were available at a considerable price save for general entry public tickets at the weekend. As it was the Brighton Speed Trials that weekend I decided to give Salon Prive a miss this year. I’ll be interested to see what people thought of the change of venue and format.

A pair of Dinos, one a spider. I can remember when they were sold for £30,000 and people replaced the Dino badges with Ferrari badges for the added cache! A nice car they seem ridiculously overpriced now.

Nick Benwell’s Lovely patinated supercharged Frazer Nash Shelsley. A regular attendee on the concours circuit it is always great to see it out and about.

The cars parked up in front of the RAC Club House at Woodcote Park

Ferraris a plenty – a brace each of 275s and 550s and a Daytona. Bentley Continental in the fore ground.

A feature of Salon Prive is a tour of some of the concours cars from the RAC Club at Woodcote Park near Epsom to the site of the event. I went along for breakfast to see the cars taking part in the tour before they left Woodcote Park. There weren’t that many but it was an interesting selection of vehicles.

November 23, 2014

Congratulations Lewis!

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, schumacher, vettel | Tags: Adrian Newey, Caterham F1, daniel ricciardo, Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Flavio Briatore, force India, Honda, Jules Bianchi, Lewis Hamilton, Luca Montezemolo, Marussia, mclaren racing, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, red bull racing, Ron Dennis, Ross Brawn, Sebastian Vettel, williams f1 |
Leave a Comment

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his second World Championship following his convincing win at Abu Dhabi earlier today. Whilst its a shame Rosberg dropped out of contention with mechanical difficulties, it was a relief that the Championship went to the driver with the most wins and that it was not decided by the ridiculous double points system in place for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hammertime! Well done Lewis, Britain’s first two time World Champion since Jackie Stewart

Other innovations were more successful. The new hybrid engines are absolutely fascinating and have proved more reliable than anyone would have predicted. I personally do not mind the different noise – I think it sounds like the future.

Despite Mercedes Benz’s crushing dominance it was still a thrilling season. The resurrection of Williams was great to see for all British fans as was the humbling of Vettel at the hands of his Australian team mate. Ricciardo has had a fantastic season, his third in the drivers championship being well deserved. His lack of pretention and easy going nature have already endeared him to the fans. We can expect great things of him next season. In addition, thanks to the aerodynamic skills of Adrian Newey, Red Bull managed to stay in touch with the Mercedes powered teams, notwithstanding their Renault engines. A remarkable achievement for the team. How will they cope with less of his time next year?

Ricciardo had a great season- a future World Champion?

Massa has also had a good season. He must be delighted Ferrari let him go. Ferrari’s season has been terrible – an embarrassment to the team who reap the most financial reward from the current system of team financing. The departure of Montezemolo after so many years is the end of an era. Rumours abound that Ross Brawn may go back to Ferrari. Might that and Vettel’s arrival be enough to help them out of the hole they are currently in? McLaren, the second oldest team on the grid, have also had a season to forget. Ron Dennis has a new Honda engine next season – will it be good enough? Engine aside they have not been competitive with the other Mercedes customer teams, Williams and Force India, both of whom have outperformed the Woking outfit. Bar a miraculous Honda engine, Alonso is likely to face a tough test on his return to the team.

The administration of the Caterham and Marussia teams was a sad symptom of the increasing cost of F1. The new hybrid engines and the inequity of the current Concorde Agreement between F1’s commercial rights owner and some of the teams led directly to the reduced grid seen in the last few races of the season. Things do not look good for Sauber, Force India of Lotus either. Lotus’ season has been particularly terrible and it seems nothing much can save them apart from a return of Flavio Briatore or some other deep pocket.

After many years of no serious injuries in F1 we were rocked by Jules Bianchi’s terrible accident at Suzuka. Hopefully he and Michael Schumacher, injured in a freak skiing accident earlier in the year, will make a full recovery.

July 6, 2014

Silverstone Grand Prix 2014 (4)

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, royal automobile club, silverstone, vettel | Tags: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, gold cup, grand prix, John surtees, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Mercedes, Royal Automobile Club, Sebastian Vettel, Silverstone |
Leave a Comment

The British Grand Prix was another thrilling race in what has turned out to be a classic season. Although it might lack the glamour of Monaco or the first rate facilities of Abu Dhabi and the other new circuits, Silverstone more than makes up for such deficiencies with the passion of the 120,000 fans who make the pilgrimage to Northamptonshire every year. All the British drivers, including Max Chilton labouring at the back of the pack, received loud applause every time they went past the packed grandstands. And foreign drivers received sporting applause when their conduct merited it. In the end the fans got what they wanted, a British victory. Although the mechanical failure which robbed Rosberg finish handed the race to Hamilton, I think the fans would have preferred to have seen him take the lead following an overtaking manoeuvre. Instead, for thrilling overtaking and racing the fans had to look to Alonso and Vettel who battled it out wheel to wheel for many laps. Bottas also drove magnificently, finishing second having started 16th. Ultimately though it is Hamilton who will be happiest with today’s result as it now leaves him just four points behind Rosberg in the race for the championship.

Below, Hamilton crosses the line and takes the chequered flag for only his second British Grand Prix victory.

Below, the top three on the podium face the ecstatic British fans. Bottas received his second place trophy from the legendary John Surtees who was celebrating the 50th anniversary of his world championship with Ferrari. Incidentally, as noted below (“Dinner with Emerson Fittipaldi”), the famous British Grand Prix Gold cup was at Silverstone to be presented to the winner. However all Lewis got was a horrible plasticky trophy based on sponsor Santander’s logo. He had the good taste to show his disgust and ask “Where is the gold cup? ” Where indeed?

July 6, 2014

Silverstone Grand Prix 2014 (3)

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, silverstone, vettel | Tags: Ferrari, Hamilton, lotus, massa, McLaren, raikonen, silverstone grand prix, vettel, williams |
Leave a Comment

Gripping start. Poor by Vettel, great for the McLarens and Lewis. Raikkonen loses it and collects Massa. Both unhurt but out of the race. Real shame for Massa who was starting his 200th GP. Poor start for the Lotus’ too. Race will start again soon under safety car. Below Lewis on formation lap.

Below, Sutil’s Sauber followed by the Williams’ of Massa and Bottas.

June 29, 2014

Out and About at the Festival of Speed 2014

Posted by morewheelspin under Audi, BMW, ferrari, formula 1, Goodwood Motor Circuit, jaguar, Le Mans, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, peugoet, porsche, sportscars, stuttgart, Uncategorized, volks wagen | Tags: andy wallace, audi e tron, dougie lampkin, ecurie ecosse, emerson fittipaldi, felipe massa, Ferrari, ferrari 512, ford mustang, grand prix, jaguar d type, jaguar f type, jaguar xjr9, Jaguar XKR, jenson button, johhny herbert, John surtees, le mans, max smith hilliard, McLaren, mclaren 650s, mclaren m23, McLaren mp4-12c, Mercedes Benz, mercedes benz uhlenhaut coupe, mini cooper, monte carlo rally, Motorsport, paddy hopkirk, Porsche, renault twingo sport, stuttgart, sunbeam 1920, surtees TS9B, toyota hybrid, vw xl |
Leave a Comment

Some interesting new iron (aluminium, carbon fibre …) at the FoS this year. Highlights below.

The new Ford Mustang – finally available in right hand drive. Aggressive retro styling looks good – shame about the awful colour

More “motor show” colours on the McLaren stand. Am I the only one who prefers the simple look of the MP4-12c nose to that on the new 650S nose? Must be as apparently there was so little continuing demand for the old car once the 650S was launched that they have now stopped making it.

The Jaguar F Type Project 7 is an important car for Jaguar. Based on the slightly more extreme concept shown at last year’s FoS , the Project 7 is actually a production car – indeed the fastest production Jaguar ever. Its V8 is tuned up to 575 bhp – 25 more than the R Coupe. It also has bespoke aero, and trick suspension and diff with standard carbon ceramic brakes. The screen has a greater rake than the standard convertible and it has an D Type imitating faring behind the drivers role hoop. Inside it looks fairly standard and weather protection consists of a rather impractical clip on hood like the recent Boxster speedster. Its a striking car and they hope to sell 250, and only 60 in right hand drive. But what’s it for? Too comfortable and therefore heavy for a racer (and the rollover protection looks too scant) yet too uncomfortable for every day use. Is it therefore just for collectors and occasional track days?

This stunning Jaguar SUV concept is far more likely to make JLR lots of money. Aimed at rivalling the Audi Q4, BMW X3 and especially the Porsche Macan it should perform well and in a different segment to current Land Rover products. I would certainly buy one. The bad news is that we are unlikely to see one for sale until 2018, with a hot version not to follow until 2019.

VW ran their diminutive XL electric car up the hill. It looks like the future for urban transport but is very very small and very very expensive.

The new Renault Twingo Sport looks like great fun. Based on the same platform as the new Smart 4-2 it has a rear mounted 1L turbocharged engine. Hot versions later this year should have 140 bhp making the car a mini 911!

There is always a fine selection of Le Mans sports cars at Goodwood ranging from those from the earliest days of racing to the very latest winning machines.

Andy Wallace is reunited with his 1988 Le mans winning Jaguar XJR – 9

This year’s Le man winning Audi e-Tron. Havings stumbled in the early rounds of this year’s World Sports Car championship they managed to win the race that really mattered. Sound familiar Peugeot?

1970 Ferrari 512, just like in the film Le Mans..

Mercedes high speed transporter carrying the fabulous Uhlenhaut Coupe (see previous posts from Stuttgart)

This year’s Le Mans Toyota hybrid

Gorgeous Jaguar D Type Le Mans winners – 55, 56, 57. This Ecurie Ecosse car won in 1957 and provided the design inspiration for the Project 7 Jaguar

Vast V12 Sunbeam racer from 1920 and even bigger 1911 Fiat

Due to restrictions on testing (!) there were no contemporary Formula One cars tackling the hill at Goodwood this year. That did not stop some of the teams bringing cars for static display or bringing cars from previous seasons for their drivers and test drivers to run up the hill. Even then runs were restricted to demonstration performances with plenty of doughnuts and burnouts and very little speed. We had to look to the historic guys for real pace.

Jenson Button in the McLaren MP4-26 he drove in 2012.

Max Smith Hilliard in his 1972 Surtees TS9B. Seconds later he stuffed it into the bales at Molecombe corner. He was unhurt and at least he was trying!

Legendary Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi driving the McLaren M23 with which he won McLaren’s first world title in 1974.

One of the best things about the Festival of speed is the close access to the drivers available for fans.

British GP winner Johhny Herbert sharing a laugh at the Williams pit

John Surtees was celebrating the 50th anniversary of his world championship with a class of cars and bikes associated with his career in action on the hill all weekend.

An immaculately turned out Paddy Hopkirk reunited with his Monte winning Mini Cooper

Twelve time World Motor Bike Trials champion Dougie Lampkin in action

Felipe Massa reflecting on his good fortune to no longer be at Ferrari

I had a good chat with Andy Wallace about Le Mans in 1988. The XJR made 250 mph down the pre chicane Mulsanne Straight. At night he could see so little as the lights were mounted so low that he had to pick out his braking points by calculating distances from land marks as they flashed by. To this day the XJR is the fastest car to have driven at Le mans. Andy has no desire to ever drive that fast again – he said it was something you could only do when young, fearless and lacking in imagination.

January 27, 2014

Autosport Show (2) John Surtees’ Cars

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, formula 2, motorsport, Uncategorized | Tags: Autosport show 2014, Ferrari, formula 1 world championship, formula 2, Henry surtees, Henry surtees foundation, Honda, isle of man TT, John surtees, mike hailwood, mv Augusta, team surtees |
Leave a Comment

John Surtees is almost the forgotten man of British F1. The only man to win the World Championship on two wheels and four, unlike Sir Jackie and Sir Stirling he still lacks a knighthood despite his achievements and his work for charity.

Surtees won his seven motor cycle world championships racing for Italian manufacturer MV Augusta at a time when the championship included the daunting Isle of Man TT, an event he won three times. When he was 26 he switched to racing cars making his debut with Lotus. But he is best remembered on four wheels for winning the 1964 World Championship with Ferrari. After he left Ferrari he briefly raced for Honda before founding his own team in 1970. His greatest success as a team owner was winning the F2 Championship in 1972, his winning car being driven by fellow ex Motor Cycle champion Mike Hailwood. He folded his team in 1978 to concentrate on other interests. His son Henry was also a promising racer tragically killed in a freak accident during a F2 race in 2009. Since then Surtees has concentrated his efforts on the Henry Surtees Foundation, that raises money for those afflicted with brain injuries, and also on encouraging young drivers to make the step up to professional motor sport.

Surtees was one of the principal guests at Autosport International and he and others assembled for display a fine collection of the cars he raced and built. His championship winning Ferrari in particular is a rare sight in the UK, usually residing in California. As this is the 50th anniversary of Surtees’ F1 World Championship the cars are touring the country. Catch them at Mercedes Benz World, Brooklands in June. And join the campaign to get John the knighthood he so richly deserves..

Championship winning Ferrari 158 – rare UK visitor

immaculate Team Surtees cars – iconic 70’s racers

One of my favourite liveries as a boy – a racing car with my preferred toy car manufacturer emblazoned on the nose. Certainly more attractive than the later Team Surtees Durex sponsored cars..

July 22, 2013

Back to the Festival of Speed

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, Goodwood Motor Circuit, mclaren, mercedes benz, MG, motorsport, porsche, sportscars | Tags: Ferrari, Ferrari 458, Festival of speed, Goodwood, lotus, mclaren mp4-12, Mercedes Benz, mg SV, Peter Stevens, Porsche 911, sir jack brabham, supercars |
Leave a Comment

Beast’s claim to fame is being the oldest surviving production MG SV. She was a works car and was used for promotion work when the car was launched in 2003. That year she was prepared for the Goodwood Festival of Speed and spent the weekend in the supercar paddock and being driven up the hill by luminaries such as Australian multiple F1 champion Sir Jack Brabham and the designer of the car (and the McLaren F1) Peter Stevens. So when earlier this year the Goodwood Road Racing Club announced that there was to be a new area of reserved parking at the Festival of Speed for visiting supercars I was determined that the Beast should have the chance to mix it with the Ferraris, Lambos and other exotica. The organisers were supportive and allocated me a ticket when they found out the Beast would be revisiting the Festival nearly 10 years to the day since she was last there. Getting a ticket was not as easy as it sounds as the organisers had a list of what they thought of as supercars and MGs were not on it! Only two door Ferraris were allowed, and amongst the volume brands only Jag XJ220’s (no other Jags) only Lotus Esprits and Evora S, 911’s but for this year only, and only SLS Mercs (no AMGs). So pretty exclusive company!

The Beast attracted lots of attention, indeed more than the McLaren MP4 12 c and Ferrari V12 parked next to it. In fact there were 23 McLarens present so they were considerably more common than the MG! Surprisingly there was only two Ferrari 458’s when I had been led to believe that they were, when compared to the McLaren, the better car. Clearly the Festival crowd are a patriotic bunch.

McLarens – any colour as long as its orange..

As it was the 50th anniversary of the 911 there were plenty of Stuttgart’s finest. Next year its said they won’t be allowed amongst the supercars but this year the super car car park would have looked a bit empty without them so it would not surprise me if they get a reprieve.

I suspect the attention focused on the Beast was the result of her striking looks and the fact she is such a rare car. One of her admirers turned out to be someone who had worked for the Isle of Wight company who had made the carbon fibre blanks used to construct the bodywork of the car. The Beast was the first complete SV he had seen.

July 6, 2013

The British Grand Prix

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: alonso, Bernie Ecclestone, Ferrari, Hamilton, lotus, massa, McLaren, Mercedes, Pirelli, Raikkonen, Red bull, Rosberg, Silverstone, vettel, webber, williams |
Leave a Comment

The British Grand Prix was certainly dramatic! Pirelli managed to conjour up a thrilling spectacle for the capacity crowd on a beautiful English summer’s day. Watching from the fast slalom that is Becketts I missed seeing most of the multiple blow outs myself, though I did see Massa’s excursion off track after his rear left burst.

Lewis’ burst tyre was particularly harsh after his fine qualifying performance and clearly robbed him of victory in front of his home fans. Helped by the safety car he drove magnificently back to fourth from last. His comments after the race were revealing. He said that the “illegal” tyre test with Mercedes had been undertaken to try and address the tyre failure problems that had occurred earlier in the season but that nothing was done after the tests. His anger that drivers’ lives were being put at risk was clear.

Certainly tyres exploding at 190 mph are very dangerous for the driver, other racers, spectators and marshals who have to run on track to recover bits of rubber. That no one was killed or injured last weekend owes a lot to the skill of the drivers (only Massa lost control) and luck. In particular both Alonso and Raikkonen were lucky to avoid contact with tyre debris.

After the race some were quick to blame the “sharp” curbs at Silverstone. This was manifestly nonsense given the curbs were the same as last year. It was only days later that Pirelli admitted there was an issue with the tyres but again this was only after they appeared to suggest that fault lay with the teams using incorrect tyre pressures and camber. Whatever the cause it became clear something needed to be done urgently to avoid the (albeit slim) prospect of a boycott of this weekend’s German GP. Bernie Ecclestone wasted no time in banging heads together and hopefully we will not see any more failures this weekend.

The repeated blow outs and safety car periods led to a dramatic finale with Webber and Hamilton carving through the field to finish second and fourth. It’s a shame Mark could not win his last British GP but he certainly pushed Rosberg hard. His metronomic victory for Mercedes was ominous for Red Bull – nearly as ominous as Vettel’s gearbox failure retirement when he looked to have the race in the bag (the cheers of delight from the British fans when he pulled over left you in no doubt where their sympathies lay). A steady drive from Alonso meant he closed the gap on Vettel and though Raikkonen will have been disappointed to have lost a number of places in the last few laps the fact he has now finished more consecutive GP’s than Schumacher in his pomp is certainly some achievement. It was another race to forget for McLaren and Williams.

June 29, 2013

British Grand Prix Qualifying

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: F1, Ferrari, force India, Hamilton, lotus, Silverstone, vettel, webber |
Leave a Comment

I head off to Silverstone at dawn tomorrow for the British Grand Prix. There is always a great atmosphere at Silverstone where despite eye watering prices over 130,000 spectators regularly watch the race. It should be exciting tomorrow. Qualifying was thrilling, with Mercedes getting the better of Red Bull again. Hamilton seems to have finally got the measure of his car and stormed to pole with the only sub 1 minute 30 second time, nearly half a second quicker than team mate Roseberg. Vettel was the quickest of the Red Bulls but Paul D Resta gave British fans something else to cheer about with a fantastic P5. Will he finally get the podium place he so deserves? Ricciardo also did very well at P6 – perhaps motivated by the soon to be vacant Webber seat at Red Bull? Conversely the Lotus struggled to P8 and 9 and the Ferraris did even worse, Alonso managing only P 10 and Masa P12. But the news was far worse still for McLaren and Williams with both teams failing to make it out of Q2. Hamilton’s much derided decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes now looks increasingly sensible. Williams’ sad slide to oblivion is beginning to look irreversible.

Whilst I’ll be in my Lotus shirt tomorrow I’ll be cheering on Hamilton and Di Resta and wishing the best to the other Brits. A victory for Hamilton in a Mercedes would be a fairy tail mirroring Moss’s first British GP win for Mercedes in 1954. But whilst Mercedes seem to have the pace for qualifying Red Bull seem stronger in the races. Can Mercedes hold Red Bull off this time?

June 27, 2013

Rush: Hunt v Lauda 1976

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, mclaren, motorsport | Tags: Ferrari, grand prix, GRRC, James Cameron, James hunt, McLaren, niki lauda, world championship |
Leave a Comment

Ever since the success of the Senna film in 2010 there has been talk of more films, with racing at their heart, making it to the big screen. It’s fair to say that racing films have not really enjoyed much success beyond the piston head market. Whilst I can watch “Le Mans” and “Grand Prix” many times most critics were not impressed. There have been other racing movies since but none has made much impact – but that looks like it could soon change.

The 1976 F1 World Championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, McLaren and Ferrari, was one of the most epic racing seasons of all time. Hunt, the flamboyant English playboy, was a darling of the British public and Lauda, the precise Austrian World Champion, was the villain. Added to the patriotic drama was the amazing story of Lauda’s recovery mid way through the season after a terrible fiery crash. And set against all of this was Hunt’s tortuous private life, his insecurity, and his disintegrating marriage.

Bringing all this drama to the screen would not be easy but the producers have picked a great director in Ron Howard (Apollo 13 etc). Take a look at the trailers on YouTube. The film looks like it will be fantastic. I Thought I was going to have to wait till mid September to see the film with everyone else but last week the Goodwood Road Racing Club announced they had organised an exclusive preview showing of the film, with an introduction from one of the producers, in Soho on Monday evening. I can’t wait. Luckily I read David Benson’s excellent slim summary of the season (“Hunt v Lauda”) a few months ago so a lot of the story will be fresh in my mind. I recommend the book. It can be picked up for a couple of quid on eBay.

morewheelspin