27 replies to this topic

[HistoryFan]

Giuseppe Cipriani is the oldest driver in a junior category with 51 years.

Of course there are some older guys in other racing series. In Boss-GP there are a lot of driver with 60 years and more. But that's a historic racing series.

 

What are the oldest current racing drivers?

And what the oldest professional racing drivers like Gabriele Tarquini in WTCC?

[LucaP]

Until a couple of years ago Arturo Merzario was still doing national GT races...maybe you could check if he's still around

[loki]

John Force is 67.  Morgan Shepard is 72.  Tarquini is still pretty young comparatively.  He's 54.  Mark Martin retired at 54.   Anyone over 50 still racing professionally is outside the norm.  In club racing or local circle track people race well into their 60s and occasionally into their 70s.

[SR388]

Morgan Shepherd is 75 and is trying to race in this weekends xfinity NASCAR race.

Edited by SR388, 24 February 2017 - 19:59.

[Ze Bum]

Pertti Kuismanen seems to be still racing in DMV GTC series. He's 74.

 

http://www.dmv-gtc.d...r-and-cars.html

 

http://www.kuismanencompetition.com

[BRG]

The late Tom Delaney raced for 75 years.  His last race was at the age of 95 in 2006.

 

https://en.wikipedia...iki/Tom_Delaney

[HistoryFan]

Until a couple of years ago Arturo Merzario was still doing national GT races...maybe you could check if he's still around

The last time he is listed at driverdb.com was in 2015 with Gentleman Drivers Pre-66 GT Cars Championship with a lot of other old guys.

 

[Grayson]

This subject reminds me of this story from six years ago.

 

(I was going to say "from the other day" - I hadn't realised how long ago it was!)

[BMWTeamBigazzi]

Dieter Quester was racing pretty regular until well into his 70's "Legend" Took part in this years Daytona Classic 24hr Meeting at 77

[BMWTeamBigazzi]

Pertti Kuismanen seems to be still racing in DMV GTC series. He's 74.

 

http://www.dmv-gtc.d...r-and-cars.html

 

http://www.kuismanencompetition.com

never thought he was that old!! wow, I remember Pertti and Karl Hassenbichler driving that outrageous Audi 80 IMSA Hack in Belcar some years ago, Run by Audi Sport Finland, what a machine!! and pretty successful it was too!!

 

Link to the Picture of it Below

 

 

http://users.pandora...1newrace/53.jpg

Edited by BMWTeamBigazzi, 24 February 2017 - 21:59.

[Blackmamba]

The late Tom Delaney raced for 75 years.  His last race was at the age of 95 in 2006.

 

https://en.wikipedia...iki/Tom_Delaney

what? that's mental!

[messy]

In terms of older guys regularly at the forefront, fighting for championships and showing no sign of slowing down, surely the BTCC takes some beating. Neal, Plato, Collard all mid-late forties at least (haven't checked Wikipedia yet!), and showing no signs of retiring.

[grunf77]

There are lots of guys around 40 in Indycar: Castroneves, Kanaan, Servia, Montoya, Sato...

[HistoryFan]

In  the 90s there were some drivers with 50 years and older (Foyt, Andretti and so on).

[ensign14]

Not current, but worth a mention: Orlando Sotro, who raced in the Argentine Formula 1 Mecanica monoposto series until he was 82.  His last title came in 2011, aged 80.

[chunder27]

I would think there are countless guys beyond pensionable age in hill and sprint racing and historics, there are a few guys in their 60's racing F1 stock cars, which is brutal.

 

I even saw a guy in his 70's doing motocross a few yeasr ago and he was damn quick still, certainly kept up with a few amateurs no mean feat in that sport

[HistoryFan]

Not current, but worth a mention: Orlando Sotro, who raced in the Argentine Formula 1 Mecanica monoposto series until he was 82.  His last title came in 2011, aged 80.

 

But as far as I know this series is now a historic racing series.

I know that's very impressive as well - I mean 80 years, wow!

 

But I look more for professional (Tarquini) or semiprofessional drivers (Boss-GP guys).

 

[Jim Thurman]

 Anyone over 50 still racing professionally is outside the norm.  In club racing or local circle track people race well into their 60s and occasionally into their 70s.

 

Very true, or older yet. Sadly, also not current as of his passing in late January, but Larry Damitz raced short ovals from 1950-2016, winning a limited late model stock car track championship last year at age 87. He won some limited late model track championships when he was in his 70s and even more in his 80s. 

[loki]

But as far as I know this series is now a historic racing series.

 

For the car or the driver?...

 

 

 

[SKL]

I'm blanking on his name right now,  but a former WW2 pilot won the Formula Atlantic championship in the SCCA at age 75  back a few decades. I remember seeing him race at the June Sprints at RA a few times, and he put the teenagers and 20 somethings to shame!   He just died recently in his 90's.   Very impressive !

[mclarensmps]

There are lots of guys around 40 in Indycar: Castroneves, Kanaan, Servia, Montoya, Sato...

 

Sato is 40, now??????????????

Man... I'm old.... god damn.

[stenovitz]

Sato is 40, now??????????????

Man... I'm old.... god damn.

 

 

Same here...would've though in the early 30ies bh now. Time certainly flies...

[pacificquay]

Same here...would've though in the early 30ies bh now. Time certainly flies...

He raced in F1 in the 2002 season which was 15 years ago. He wasn't in his teens when he did that

[Dick Dastardly]

In UK rallying, Bob Bean is still active as a driver in his mid-70s.......Willy Cave, former BMC works co-driver in the 50s celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this year and he still competes as a nav / co-dvr

My Dad [RIP] did his last rally as a driver in 2013 at age of 84...

[Crazy Canuck]

My Dad is 74 and still races, and wins, regional events.

 

 

CC

[stenovitz]

He raced in F1 in the 2002 season which was 15 years ago. He wasn't in his teens when he did that

 

Yup, ofcourse I know! I clearly remember Sato being in the early-mid 20ies when racing F1, me being round 30 by then. But one thing is logic numbers - another thing is immediate imagination and intuitive thinking when mentioning names.

 

It's said of me that I have special talent for combining intuitive thinking and logics. But sometimes those concepts doesn't correlate for me, especially coming to age numbers and passion. And it just seems to worsen after passing 40 

 

Bet Takuma Sato in 5 years would be caught off guard when told Adrien Sutil was 40 round  - by that time I'll be 50 and still think of Vettel as a kid just thrown the pacifier  

Edited by stenovitz, 08 March 2017 - 12:34.

[BRG]

Some of us remember Sato-san in F3........

[sopa]

Same here...would've though in the early 30ies bh now. Time certainly flies...

 

He certainly doesn't seem to age.    Takuma "Forever young"!