45 replies to this topic

[WonderWoman61]

A thread dedicated to forgotten rides with certain teams by well known drivers, or perhaps a lesser known driver driving for a well known team. The concept of this thread is based on the many fill in drivers we have seen over the years in all forms of motorsport.


Sorry Luca Badoer!

[danmills]

Nigel Mansell BTCC 1998.

 

An unbelievable wet drive at Donnington in a Mondeo.

Edited by danmills, 19 December 2024 - 13:45.

[moffspeed]

Jim Clark in (on?) a twin-engined Mini Moke back in '63.

 

A televised event no less - for BBC's "Autopoint". Add in a sprinkling of lightweight Landies, Stalwarts, Haflingers, trials cars, scramble bikes etc etc. Happy days.

 

Or perhaps James Hunt in a Chevy Camaro slugging it out against Graham Hill in a Datsun Bluebird at Llandow, 1973 (Avon Tour of Britain).

 

Alarmingly to realise that I was there, spectating. Yegads I must be old...

Edited by moffspeed, 19 December 2024 - 14:13.

[WonderWoman61]

Motorcycling legend Barry Sheene in a TWR Mazda RX-7 at Mallory Park in the 1st round of the 1981 British Saloon Car Championship.

[GTMRacer]

Gerry Marshall in Ronnie Farmers FIA TVR Griffith 400 at Snetterton in the end of season HSCC Enduro, a small crowd gathered every time he got into the car to see how it was going to go, battling with that tiny aperture...

Then once he was in, blimey it was something to see... twitchy doesn't even begin to describe it...

[moffspeed]

Gerry Marshall in Ronnie Farmers FIA TVR Griffith 400 at Snetterton in the end of season HSCC Enduro, a small crowd gathered every time he got into the car to see how it was going to go, battling with that tiny aperture...

Then once he was in, blimey it was something to see... twitchy doesn't even begin to describe it...

Well the great man also squeezed himself into a Lotus 61 (Formula Ford single seater).

 

Designated a 61L (L for large) Gerry was predictably competitive. At the time Marcus Pye described his seating position in the car as "an interference fit".

[rl1856]

Emerson Fittipaldi drove an IROC  Camaro and WON the Riverside round of the 1976 IROC series !

 

James Hunt and Jody Scheckter driving identical Camaros in the 1977 IROC series.   Hunt achieved a Pole position, and Scheckter 3 top 5 finishes.

 

Jackie Ickx and Gunnar Nilsson drove identical Camaros and competed in the 1978 IROC, but neither achieved very much.

 

Nickie Lauda, Patrick Depailer and John Watson drove identical Camaros and competed in the 1979 IROC, but neither achieved very much.

 

Jimmy Johnson driving a Peugeot 206 WRC in the 2002 European ROC...he and Jeff Gordon WON the tittle.  

[WonderWoman61]

Johnny Herbert drove the Team Dynamics Honda in the last three meetings of the 2009 British Touring Car Championship.

Edited by WonderWoman61, 19 December 2024 - 20:22.

[Bob Riebe]

 

Gilles Villeneuve built and raced this machine.

[WonderWoman61]

Arturo Merzario had a one-off outing with Shadow at Austria in 1977, overshadowed (pardon the pun) by team-mate Alan Jones scoring Shadow's only win, Art retired with gearbox problems after 29 Laps.

Little Art also drove for Copersucar/Fittipaldi at Monza in 1975 and finished 11th.

[Doug Nye]

 

Indy 1946 - unlikely Indy driver from one side of the Atlantic in an unlikely car from the other...

 

DCN

[Charlieman]

Howden Ganley drove a Maki and still has his own hair.

[WonderWoman61]

 
Indy 1946 - unlikely Indy driver from one side of the Atlantic in an unlikely car from the other...
 
DCN

Rudolf Caracciola in the Thorne Engineering Special?

[Doug Nye]

 

 

CDN

[WonderWoman61]

Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot made guest appearances in the 1987 MG Metro Turbo Challenge.

[Tim Murray]

Brian Muir drove this Renault 5 in the saloon race supporting the 1977 British GP, Richard Lloyd’s Golf pushing him hard.


Photo: Motorsport Images

[messy]

First one that comes to mind is Stirling Moss’ two-season stint at Audi in the BTCC in 1980 and 1981. I only found out this happened quite recently, and can’t believe I hadn’t heard about it before.

[Ray Bell]

We saw Brian Muir in an Austin A30, also in a Lotus 11 he borrowed to try his hand at Bathurst in 1960...

 

Slow in practice, he stormed through the field on race day. "What happened?" he was asked. "I did a thousand laps of Bathurst in bed last night." was his reply.

 

Wasn't the next Lotus he drove a Lotus 40?

[WonderWoman61]

Michael Schumacher's debut and only race in a Jordan at the 1991 Belgian GP.

[Ray Bell]

Warwick Brown in a Wolf-Williams F1 at Watkins Glen in 1976...

 

He even finished, though well down with rear brake and gear troubles.

[WonderWoman61]

Sebastian Vettel's debut and only race in a BMW Sauber at the 2007 US GP.

[Lee Nicolle]

Motorcycling legend Barry Sheene in a TWR Mazda RX-7 at Mallory Park in the 1st round of the 1981 British Saloon Car Championship.

Barry also raced trucks and also had a one off drive of Brocks Sierra at Winton where he got off line and hit the best [and most dangerous] drain. Reputedly did quite a lot of damage

[Lee Nicolle]

First one that comes to mind is Stirling Moss’ two-season stint at Audi in the BTCC in 1980 and 1981. I only found out this happened quite recently, and can’t believe I hadn’t heard about it before.

Stirling had a drive of an A9X Torana and stalled on the start to be cleaned up by a car further down the field. Driving with a local called Brabham!

That is when they had fields unlike 2 dozen Stupidcars these days. Grid density was 60 and those grids were over subscribed

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 20 December 2024 - 05:01.

[lyntonh]

Stirling had a drive of an A9X Torana and stalled on the start to be cleaned up by a car further down the field. Driving with a local called Brabham!

That is when they had fields unlike 2 dozen Stupidcars these days. Grid density was 60 and those grids were over subscribed

Stirling did it by proxy.

Jack was in the seat at the time.

[Stephen W]

Andrea de Adamich - one off Ferrari drive in South Africa in 1968

Chris Amon's only F1 GP drive in 1966 at the wheel of a Cooper-Maserati T81

Mario Andretti - one off drive for Williams at Long Beach in 1982

[Nick Planas]

Rudolf Caracciola in the Thorne Engineering Special?

He's got Indy twigged - he's turning left already...

[B Squared]

Bobby Unser smokes competitors Oscar Robertson (NBA Milwaukee Bucks) and actor Jim Backus in the 1971 Oil Can Derby celebrity race at the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. I was at topside when they let them go and Bobby had decided there was no way in hell he was going to lose and pushed off with his hands to the ground, much to the delight of the crowd.

Edited by B Squared, 20 December 2024 - 09:36.

[BRG]

Derek Bell and Chris Amon both tussled wit the Tecno PA123 back in 1972 & 1973.  Amon scored the marque's only WC point.

 

Derek Bell also drove a Vauxhall Astra GTE on the Lombard RAC Rally in 1987 & 8 with a DNF and 29th place.

 

Tom Pryce raced the Token in 1974 in Belgium, his F1 WC debut.

 

Tim Schenken made did six races in the Trojan T103 in 1974, sponsored by the well-known US condom manufacturer (not really!)

 

Maurice Trintignant drove the Bugatti T251 in its sole F1 WC participation in 1956.

 

Gary Brabham and Bruno Giacomelli failed to start in 14 races in 1990 in the fabulous Life L190 but it was hardly their fault!

 

SIr Stirling Moss is known for his rally exploits in the early 1950s (winning a Coupe des Alpes) but also drove the Sestriere Rally in 1969 in a Lancia Fulvia 1.3 Coupe HF but retired.

[Alan Baker]

Jim Clark in (on?) a twin-engined Mini Moke back in '63.

 

A televised event no less - for BBC's "Autopoint". Add in a sprinkling of lightweight Landies, Stalwarts, Haflingers, trials cars, scramble bikes etc etc. Happy days.

 

Or perhaps James Hunt in a Chevy Camaro slugging it out against Graham Hill in a Datsun Bluebird at Llandow, 1973 (Avon Tour of Britain).

 

Alarmingly to realise that I was there, spectating. Yegads I must be old...

Autopoint was The British Army Motoring Association versus The London Motor Club. It was the 1964 event that featured reigning World Champion Jim Clark, with John Surtees doing the honours in 1965. I remember Raymond Baxter saying in '65 that Graham Hill was furious that they didn't ask him when he was World Champion, so in 1966, with Clark having regained the title, Hill was invited to compete in his stead.

Edited by Alan Baker, 20 December 2024 - 10:11.

[10kDA]

Bobby Unser drove a BRM P126 in Italy prior to the 1968 GP but was denied a start as was Mario Andretti due to racing in the Hoosier Hundred the day before the GP thus breaking the 24 Hour Rule (Was that an FIA rule? Or an Italian motorsport rule?),

 

 

... and he raced a BRM P138 at the US GP and DNF'ed.

 

 

[ReWind]

Have we been there before?

[Pullman99]

Andrea de Adamich - one off Ferrari drive in South Africa in 1968

Chris Amon's only F1 GP drive in 1966 at the wheel of a Cooper-Maserati T81

Mario Andretti - one off drive for Williams at Long Beach in 1982

And, Mario also drove the Wolf Williams (AKA inherited Hesketh 308) in the 1976 Daily Express International Trophy.  Finished 9th.  Jacky Ickx drove the other Williams entry to 15th place.   Remember it well and both cars presented impeccably.   So, that's two (slightly) unlikely driver / car pairings.  What fun...

[WonderWoman61]

Have we been there before?

This thread isn't just limited to one-offs

[Collombin]

Bobby Unser drove a BRM P126 in Italy prior to the 1968 GP but was denied a start as was Mario Andretti due to racing in the Hoosier Hundred the day before the GP thus breaking the 24 Hour Rule (Was that an FIA rule? Or an Italian motorsport rule?)

A CSI meeting in October 1959 covers this rule, so not just an Italian thing.

[BRG]

Have we been there before?

An apt question from someone called ReWind.

[absinthedude]

Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham at Bathurst 1976 in a Holden. Though I don't think Stirling actually got to race it as Jack retired early with transmission problems

 

Stirling Moss going lawnmower racing

[absinthedude]

Didn't Denny Hulme do truck racing in the late 80s?

[d j fox]

Innes Ireland one-off Ferrari 156 " shark nose" 1962 International Trophy Silverstone (4th)

Edited by d j fox, 20 December 2024 - 20:41.

[Henri Greuter]

I don't have the picture to prove it but the story by an eye witness who told it to me.

 

Indy 1938: Tazio Nuvolari was supposed to drive an Alfa that never made it to Indy.

He then was invited to make some laps in the Offenhauser powered Miller chassis (one of the original Front wheel driven 1935 Miller-Fords) of Lew Welch.

 

Now those FWD Miller chassis required a careful approach to get away from a standstill.

Tazio didn't speak very good English so any instructions made little impact with him ( at least that became obvious later on)

And tried to take off as he was used to: like a rocket.

And of course, the fragile transmission of the car broke and after some meters the car came to a standstill.

 

Tazio stepped out of the car walked away and never gave any word of whatever kind for explanation, excuses or whatsovever to the owner and the crew.

Who had to rebuilt the car in a hurry for the race to held within a few days......

 

(Story as described to me in May 1988 by James Bell "Radio" Gardner, at that time one of the few surviving crew memebers with Lew Welch that year.

Welch gained more fame after the war when he was the man who owned and entered the legendary Novi cars between 1946 and 1960)

[Henri Greuter]

 

Indy 1946 - unlikely Indy driver from one side of the Atlantic in an unlikely car from the other...

 

DCN

 

Doug, do you by chance know anything about the rumours of the plans of Caracciola and Mercedes benz to participate in Indy in 1938 with a dedicated built Mercedes Benz W154 chassis?

 

BTW, those Thorne cars were not so bad ad all, in the years around the war (before & after) they gained some very creditable results.

[karl100589]

Indycar legend Bobby Rahal had two one-off drives for the Wolf F1 team in the late 70s

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by absinthedude
Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham at Bathurst 1976 in a Holden. Though I don't think Stirling actually got to race it as Jack retired early with transmission problems

Moss was driving when the engine failed on their 37th lap...

[WonderWoman61]

Sebastien Loeb did a couple of outings in a Toyota Corolla in the 2000 WRC.

[WonderWoman61]

https://uk.pinterest...71490486850486/

Carlos Sainz Sr, 1984 Formula Ford 2000 Season.

[TMC44]

I am pretty certain I saw  him race in the 1983 Formula Ford Festival. Possibly in a Crossle.

[WonderWoman61]

I am pretty certain I saw  him race in the 1983 Formula Ford Festival. Possibly in a Crossle.

https://formulascout...ival-grid/80318