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100 bottles of champagne for fastest lap


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#1 richie

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 21:37

When was this phased out?

 

I saw a picture of Dan Gurney today staring at his prize of 100 bottles of champers after setting fastest lap at Brands Hatch at the British Grand Prix 1964.



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#2 D-Type

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 21:57

I think it originated at Reims which is effectively capital of the Champagne Region.  Then John Webb at Brands Hatch and others copied the idea.  I don't know when it was phased out.



#3 arttidesco

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 22:03

If I remember correctly Brands had a 100 bottles of bubbly for fastest lap on the first day in practice, this made sure there was plenty of timely coverage in the media about forthcoming events.

 

Tom Pryce was the winner of a similar prize in 1974,  I'm sure all the other winners will come to light soon enough.

 

Not sure if the practice stopped when F1 stopped going to Brands of if it continued when world series sports cars raced there.

 

Do not recall this practice happening anywhere else but stand to be corrected.



#4 275 GTB-4

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 23:59

Believe it was in vogue in Australia during the Tasman Series....



#5 Hank the Deuce

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 00:55

Kevin Bartlett won similar spoils on several occasions, I believe - not the least for the first 100mph lap of Mount Panorama.  I seem to recall reading of a one-make Ford Cortina race at Sandown that might've gone his way with 100 bubbly bottles as the prize as well...



#6 condor

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 06:55

Believe it was in vogue in Australia during the Tasman Series....

 

I think that was Australian sparkling wine as opposed to the French Champagne



#7 Catalina Park

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 07:29

It was Australian Champagne back in the days before the French got precious.

#8 275 GTB-4

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 10:19

It was Australian Champagne back in the days before the French got precious.


Seppelts according to one website...

http://forums.autosp...p/#entry6636636

more on the 100..

1960 Rheims ... and the 300 bottles of champagne:

100 bottles for the fastest time in practice
100 bottles for the fastest time in practice which was faster than the first
100 bottles for winning the race!

http://www.jack-brab.../biography.aspx

http://www.sergent.c...tor/tas67a.html

#9 275 GTB-4

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 10:24

I think that was Australian sparkling wine as opposed to the French Champagne


Ummmm we did consume vast amounts of bubbly lolly water back in those days...but our vineyards were also producing an authentic drop by Méthode Champenoise (then the Frogs said Oi! which is no way to thank a country that helped to save their bacon...but I digress!)

#10 Patrick Fletcher

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 10:40

From memory the French got upset about the Champenoise bit and the producers had to rename it as Methode Traditionelle  either way it became too much for aussies to pronounce, so bubbles became the norm.



#11 foxyracer

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 11:04

Looking back through a few old programmes I can't see any reference to 100 bottles of champagne at Silverstone, only Brands.  The last G.P. there was in 1986 and 100 bottles were referred to in the programme for fastest time on Friday.  That may have been where it ended but I don't know whether Donington did it in 1993 as I didn't go - too expensive even though only 40 mins drive for me.

 

(The last G.P. I paid to attend was 1987, it got too expensive after that plus you could no longer walk right up to the cars being prepared in the paddock so ceased to be good value in my opinion.  I did go to Austria in 2002 but that was corporate hospitalit as part of a business trip!)



#12 Roger Clark

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Posted 21 March 2014 - 15:04

Mike Hawthorn wrote in Champion Year of the French Grand Prix that

"there was an ugly rush to get out onto the circuit because the organisers always put up a prize of 100 bottles of champagne for the first driver to lap at over 200kph. Naturally I was all for this and very quickly got away in the hack car. I got down to 2m 23.9 which was good enough to win the bottles..."

"Pete and Stirling were out to stock up their cellars with the 100 bottles of champagne for the first Formula Two driver to lap at 190 kph but Stirling won them..."

"Once again I added to my champagne stocks by being the first driver to lap at 210kph. "

He got another 100 bottles for being fastest overall to bring his total to 300. "As I write this I still haven't got it though; I suppose it is still in Rheims waiting for me"

Sadly, he almost certainly never did get his 300 bottles.

I also remember reading, but don't know where, of the Rheims organisers offering their entire cellar for anybody lapping at some improbable speed' possibly 250 or 300kph. It might have been Challenge Me the Race.

#13 Mal9444

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 08:59

I wonder if Stirling got his - or if he did, what he did with it. He famously doesn't drink champagne, retorting, when offered the stuff: "no thanks - that's what they make with all the white wine that isn't fit to drink..." :lol:



#14 Roger Clark

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 09:19

Stored it and sold it when the price went up?



#15 Mal9444

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 11:29

That would be right...  :lol:



#16 Terry Walker

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 14:47

I wonder is this has its roots in the prewar days of Raymond Mays (?) and his cars Cordon Bleu and Cordon Rouge, where his sponsor was maker of same, and he got a case of the stuff in lieu of sponsorship money. I've probably got every fact wrong...



#17 Doug Nye

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 15:26

Famously, when Jack Brabham dominated the speed weekend at Reims in 1966, absolutely excelling in both his Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars, the Brabrham transporter ended up laden down with hundreds of bottles of bubbly awarded for pole, and winning.  Blackie was never exactly noted for his instinctive largesse.  I believe that Ron Tauranac was presented with a bottle, I think Denny Hulme also got a bottle, and for the mechanics Jack actually stretched to two bottles between them all...       :cool:

 

DCN



#18 RTH

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 16:17

Looking back through a few old programmes I can't see any reference to 100 bottles of champagne at Silverstone, only Brands.  The last G.P. there was in 1986 and 100 bottles were referred to in the programme for fastest time on Friday.  That may have been where it ended but I don't know whether Donington did it in 1993 as I didn't go - too expensive even though only 40 mins drive for me.

 

(The last G.P. I paid to attend was 1987, it got too expensive after that plus you could no longer walk right up to the cars being prepared in the paddock so ceased to be good value in my opinion.  I did go to Austria in 2002 but that was corporate hospitalit as part of a business trip!)

Was it not put up by the London Evening newspaper of the time ? Hence Brands Hatch ?



#19 kayemod

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Posted 22 March 2014 - 20:15

Did Ingliston ever donate 100 bottles of Irn-Bru?

 

If it had been a decent malt, I'd have bought a car myself to compete...



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#20 Roger Clark

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Posted 23 March 2014 - 01:17

Famously, when Jack Brabham dominated the speed weekend at Reims in 1966, absolutely excelling in both his Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars, the Brabrham transporter ended up laden down with hundreds of bottles of bubbly awarded for pole, and winning. Blackie was never exactly noted for his instinctive largesse. I believe that Ron Tauranac was presented with a bottle, I think Denny Hulme also got a bottle, and for the mechanics Jack actually stretched to two bottles between them all... :cool:

DCN

Not for pole, nor fastest lap because both were set by Lorenzo Bandini.

#21 Roger Clark

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Posted 23 March 2014 - 01:17

Famously, when Jack Brabham dominated the speed weekend at Reims in 1966, absolutely excelling in both his Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars, the Brabrham transporter ended up laden down with hundreds of bottles of bubbly awarded for pole, and winning. Blackie was never exactly noted for his instinctive largesse. I believe that Ron Tauranac was presented with a bottle, I think Denny Hulme also got a bottle, and for the mechanics Jack actually stretched to two bottles between them all... :cool:

DCN

Not for pole, nor fastest lap because both were set by Lorenzo Bandini.

#22 chr1s

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Posted 23 March 2014 - 16:59

Niki Lauda mentions in "For the Record" that he won a hundred bottles of champagne for pole position at Long Beach 1977.