58 replies to this topic

[Beri]

Yes, yes, yes. Here we are, again. And this time it is 98 days till March 16th when the lights will go out at the venue that should always be the season starter; Melbourne Park.

Now, this means 98 days of pure joy, fulfillment, knowledge accumulation, friendly discussions and more importantly; cohesion between us all!

So without further ado; let's kick off the mother of all threads.. here is the annual Countdown Thread!

As for my entry, the ones who know me will know my admiration for The Flying Mantuan; Tazio Nuvolari. And he will not appear on this list for the last time. But right now, he is the first entry!
Pictured here at the 1933 Mille Miglia that he would win in his Alfa Romeo 8C together with mechanic Decimo Compagnoni. They would finish half an hour ahead of the number 2. This race would see the entire top 8 consisting only of Alfa Romeo 8C versions. From the Monza, to the Mille Miglia, to the average 8C 2300. It is likely one of the most succesfull finishes by a single manufacturer of any major race in any racing category in racing history.

[DeKnyff]

Another Alfa Romeo, from a more modern era:




The original Alfa Romeo Tipo 33, driven by Nanni Galli, at the start of the Sestriere hillclimb in July 1967. Galli finished 5th. The race was won by Rolf Stommelen, driving a Porsche 908.

The Tipo 33 (later, simply 33) was developed into a great variety of racers of two and three litres, with V8 and flat 12 engines. The last iterations of the 33 went on to win the Makes World Championships of 1975 and 1977.

From the fantastic The Autodelta Golden Years History Site

 

EDIT: thanks, Beri, for opening the thread.

Edited by DeKnyff, 08 December 2024 - 21:50.

[Risil]

At last, the best part of the year

[Risil]

When did they stop painting the number directly on the radiator grille in slightly shaky and irregular script?

[karl100589]

Probably the most bittersweet #98 of them all.

[PayasYouRace]

[OvDrone]

YEEEEEEEES    ladies and gentlemen, the Best thread yet again! 

Thank you Beri for starting it as always - becoming tradition now. Can't wait to learn so much from you all and have amazing chats here during the off season. So excited !

 

Again I will focus specifically on the 2000s as that's what I know best and starting off today with a very recent entry - the #98 ThorSport Racing Ford truck of Nasar Truck series Champion, Ty Majeski. A great local late model racer and ranked #1 globally in oval racing for 5 years straight ( 2016 - 2021 ) on iRacing, it was good to see Majeski win the championship with a good, consistent run in the cursed playoff system. At least in Trucks, the right rider won. He had 3 wins, at Indianapolis Raceway ( not IMS ) Richmond and dominated the final round at Phoenix winning it decisively. 




Let's gooooo 

[Beri]

Much like this thread returning every year, you posting this car is also almost a certainty!

[PayasYouRace]

Much like this thread returning every year, you posting this car is also almost a certainty!

 

It was that or one other, but I figure I'll save that for their teammate with No.88.

[Ivanhoe]

Thanks for starting the thread Beri, hoping to see a lot of great pictures (with the accompanying stories of course). 
 

I’ll kick off this edition with the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that Peter Collins (pictured) and Phil Hill drove to P4 at the 1958 Targa Florio.

[FLB]

Parnelli!

 

 

[Frood]

 

"How big do you want the number?"

"Yes"

 

Another Eagle, the MkIII GTP car which dominated the 1992 and 1993 IMSA GTP standings in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio II and P.J. Jones. This is an ex-Jones car at a historic event.

[paulb]

This topic bleeds my post like allocation. Well done all!

[joshando36]

V8 Supercar driver Russell “The Enforcer” Ingall, with a special livery at Eastern Creek 2004 showcasing Caltex’s 98-Octane premium fuel.

Edited by joshando36, 09 December 2024 - 02:36.

[barrykm]

So glad that I didn't miss the start of this thread 

[Bleu]

Probably have to begin research on which racers should be part of my entries to this topic.

[Beri]

Butch Leitzinger on his way to a GTU class win during the 1993 IMSA round at Phoenix. Leitzinger is driving a Nissan 240SX entry here. The choice for Nissan was easily made, as his father, Bob Leitzinger, was well known for being one of the few drivers who raced Datsun's in the USA from early on. Father Bob then founded Leitzinger Racing and during the mentioned 1993 the team won the IMSA Championship for their GTU class.

Butch would go on to compete in IMSA, winning 2 more championships in the WSC class in 1997 and 1998. By 1997 he had made his debut at Le Mans too. A race that would see him finish first in class, together with Andy Wallace and Eric van der Poele, in 2001 and 2002 in their Bentley Speed 8. Their 2001 class win was also a 3rd overall finish.

 

[Jackmancer]

I know this is about numbers but T Minus is also some cursed name in F1

[Beri]

Hence the tongue in cheek addition to the title. 

 

I suspect the subject of your reply will come along at day 15 or 14..

[ensign14]

May as well get going with something very very 'umble...

 

[Beri]

Youre back at your absolute best Ensign14! And picking up where you left off, I like it. I just cant make anything of it. Aside from the faux leather dash, a recording device, some retro dash light and the carbon structure on the right. I know the 750 Motor Club is a dead give away, but I cant relate the number 97.

[Ivanhoe]

The Lancia Fulva Sport Competizione was a rather successful sports car in the late 60's, early 70's with several (class) victories in endurance races like the Monza and Nurburgring 1000km and the Targa Florio. It also had some successes in the US. Pictured is he Lancia Fulva Sport Competizione driven by Claudio Magioli and Raffaele Pinto who took a class win and an astonishing 11th overall in the 1969 Daytona 24 hours. 

[DeKnyff]

 

Despite the huge tradition of racing GT Porsches, the 928 was very rarely, if ever, seen on track.

 

However, French enthusiast Raymond Boutinaud entered this car at Le Mans in 1983, driven by Boutinaud himself, Patrick Gonin and Alain le Page. In the absence of any specific racing parts for it, the car was a standard 928 with racing tyres and breaking pads and any unnecessary dead weight, like trim or seats, was removed.

 

Against all odds, Boutinaud, Gonin and le Page qualified the car for the race and they even made it to the end, although they weren't officially listed as finishers due to insufficient distance covered.

 

Image from Porsche Pictures Past.

[ensign14]

I know the 750 Motor Club is a dead give away, but I cant relate the number 97.

It's a bit tricksy - it's Kian Donaldson's BS Motorsports MX5.

[PayasYouRace]

Brave taking a near stock 928 on the same track as 956s and LC2s whizzing by you for a whole day.

[Sabre1977]

 

#97 Cristiano da Matta - Reynard 2Ki Toyota RV8E - PPI Motorsports - Chicago motro Speedway - CART. Grand Prix of Chicago 2000  (Winner).

 

 

Da Matta held off late pressure from Michael Andretti to claim his first CART win. Next year he would join Newman Haas to get the championship in 2002, before entering in Formula One...Always with Toyota.

[OvDrone]

Dane Cameron has become synonymous with Sportscar Prototype glory and specifically with Penske recently. He won this year's IMSA top GTP championship together with Felipe Nasr in the Penske Porsche 963, but he also did it before with Penske and Juan Pablo Montoya in an Acura DPi. Keeping that versatile Prototype streak going, his first title success came with a different manufacturer and team - this time in a Corvette DP with Eric Curran and Action Express Racing. For a while before that he would switch from DPs to LMP2s to GTs on and off again. His last current GT race within IMSA came at 2015's all GT classic at the NorthEast Grand Prix, Lime Rock, Connecticut. That was his only drive in a GT of the year in the #97 Turner Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3 together with full season driver - Michael Marsal. This was also the last season with the BMW Z4 for Turner before switching to the aircraft carrier of the M6 and also Marsal's last win in IMSA. 

Cameron went on to race mostly Acura GTs in Pirelli World Challenge and it's current GT World Challenge America iteration championships up until 2020. And I guess we might see him in GTs after his current prototype stint.

It's great to see his ascendancy to the current Sportscar Elites, especially after seeing his career start racing Mazda GTs in Grand-Am in 2009. Came a long, loooong way.

[midgrid]

It feels strange for this thread not to start in triple digits.

[red stick]

1974 Cub Scout Pack 296 Pinewood Derby entry, Metairie, Louisiana.  My first race car.  The following year they went to wider tires, but that car bore the number 6, so it will be awhile. 

 

 And yes, I still have both of them.

Edited by red stick, Yesterday, 01:51.

[Sterzo]

Now what do you do if you're an aspiring racing driver who discovers he's "not as good as his dad"? Well, there's no great shame in that if your dad is a World Champion, namely James Hunt in this case. So what you do (after a decent but not spectacular run in single-seaters) is race for the sheer joy of it. In this instance, it's 2021 and the Fun Cup, for loosely VW based cars and the races being endurance multi-driver events. Here's Freddie Hunt (our left), with his co-driver Ellis Hadley at Croft in North Yorkshire, England.

 

Edited by Sterzo, 09 December 2024 - 14:20.

[Anja]

 

Jari-Matti Latvala in his one-off return to top level competiton in Rally Finland 2023, while already being the team principal of Toyota's factory effort. After retiring from WRC he was competing in historic events but this was his first top level rally in three years. Rather predictably he couldn't quite keep up with the regulars but just finishing the rally was enough to earn 5th place. 

[Disgrace]

Lucas Luhr at his one and only IndyCar appearance, remembered by nobody.

 

[OvDrone]

The Lancia Fulva Sport Competizione was a rather successful sports car in the late 60's, early 70's with several (class) victories in endurance races like the Monza and Nurburgring 1000km and the Targa Florio. It also had some successes in the US. Pictured is he Lancia Fulva Sport Competizione driven by Claudio Magioli and Raffaele Pinto who took a class win and an astonishing 11th overall in the 1969 Daytona 24 hours. 

 

Phenomenal to see an old school Lancia on the iconic Daytona banking   

 

Lucas Luhr at his one and only IndyCar appearance, remembered by nobody.

 

I was really rooting for him that day lol

Also came across this gem of a video just a couple of weeks or so ago. Was wondering how long it would take before whipping up referencing this great channel:

Edited by OvDrone, 09 December 2024 - 17:40.

[PayasYouRace]

[red stick]

Richard Childress had 6 career Top 5 NASCAR finishes, before he found a little more success as an owner.

 

 

[Ivanhoe]

Wartburg is not the first car manufacturer to associate with motorsports. They do have some rally history though, mainly in East European events. They also made some factory entries at Monte Carlo with the 353, a medium sized family car powered by a two stroke 993cc three cilinder engine that produced a stunning 53 HP. Due to its notorious exhaust emissions the 353 was also known as ‘Farty Hans’. Pictured is the #96 driven by East Germans Egon Culmbacher and Werner Ernst who competed at the 1973 edition of the Monte Carlo rally. They did not finish. The sister car finished in a respectable 38th place.

[DeKnyff]

 

The back cover of the 1963 Pacific Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

 

The Cobra featured in the image is the one of Allen Grant, a privateer sponsored by Coventry Motor cars. He won several SCCA regional races that year.

 

The car was painted yellow, following the suggestion of Grant's very creative roommate, a certain George Lucas.

 

Image from Along For The Ride

[ensign14]

Tintop...

 

[Sabre1977]

 

#96 Roald Goethe/Stuart Hall/Francesco Castellacci - Aston Martin Vantage V8 - Aston Martin Racing - 2015 Le Mans 24h (D.N.F)

 

photo from: https://www.lavangua...as-le-mans.html

[BRG]

Wartburg is not the first car manufacturer to associate with motorsports. They do have some rally history though, mainly in East European events. They also made some factory entries at Monte Carlo with the 353, a medium sized family car powered by a two stroke 993cc three cilinder engine that produced a stunning 53 HP. 

 

Wartburg were rather more prolific than you imply.  They entered the Monte Carlo, 1000 Lakes and RAC Rallies annually though the early 1970s.  Also did the Acropolis one year.  

[OvDrone]

Today, I'll celebrate a young racer and rider gone far too quick. Jason Aguilar won the 2017 Twins Cup 'Superstock 600' category in the ladder up to MotoAmerica, Superbike national Championship in the US. That year he won the S600 Championship with 6 wins and 10 podiums on his #96 Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 ( pictued here at New Jersey Motorsports Park finale in September '17 ). Most recently he used to be crew chief for fellow racer and friend, MIchael Gilbert. He unfortunately passed away after a horrific mountain bike crash in California before the 2022 season. Race well JA #96!
 

[OvDrone]

Tintop...

 

Was this last year in 2023, when Azcona as World TCR Champ, came to Goodwood FoS to do the forest rally stages in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR ? Can't think of any other instance when Azcona would visit the British Isles recently with his Touring Car Hyundai programs. 

[PayasYouRace]

[Risil]

Ah, the hue that confused a thousand TV cameras

[ensign14]

Was this last year in 2023, when Azcona as World TCR Champ, came to Goodwood FoS to do the forest rally stages in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR ?

Ar.

[JRodrigues]

Since it's already 2 days late (because it is a today's photo!) I'm not embeding the image, but here is #98 Gabriel Bortoleto, in his first outing as a Formula 1 driver for Sauber.

 

https://pbs.twimg.co...UXbWgAAtbVs.jpg

[ensign14]

More famous the other way around...

 

[Sabre1977]

 

#95 Rudolf Caracciola - Alfa Romeo P3 - 1932 - Klausen pass climb 1932 (Winner).

 

During the golden era of Grand Prix there was an international hill climbing race in Klausen pass is Swiss Alps (famous for his road and the Hotel Passhohe), just before asphalt the pass.

 

That year 1932 Caracciola , in Alfa Squad, broke the record in the P3, and Nuvolari won in Sport Car Class with an Alfa 8C, too. Later in 1934 Rudi won again breaking the record with Mercedes.

[chdphd]

 

Dan Zelos, Vertu Motors MINI Challenge, Knockhill, August 2023.

 

Zelos pushing hard for full-time BTCC seat after doing 10 race in 2024.

 

https://btcc.net/driver/dan-zelos/

[Ivanhoe]

The Nissan Skyline is quite a legendary performance car. Originally produced by Prince Motor Company from the late fifties to the late sixties and thereafter by Nissan after Prince merged with Nissan. The first generation Skyline 2000 GT's was a touring car like no other and obliterated the competition in Japanese domestic touring car racing, taking 52 victories in the first three years of competition. 

 

 

A field of Skylines (and a Toyota Celica if I'm not mistaken) at the start of the 1967 Japanese GP at Fuji Speedway, where the #95 driven by Yokoyama Tatsu would take the victory. Edit: after a little research I found out that the #61 is not a Toyota Celica, but an Isuzu Bellett