62 replies to this topic

[Don Capps]

....just what sort of research mischief y'all are up to these days?

I am hammering away on The Usual Projects:

-- The SCCA GP/Continental Series Magnum Opus, which I chip away at bit by bit....

-- I am looking at the SCCA Nationals, the USRRC, and the USAC RRC in an attempt to see what can be corralled as far the circuits, results, the machines, the time and tide of the era 1948 to 1968

-- My RVM columns on American Racing....(reason enough to subscribe to Atlas F1 )....

-- ....which are linked into my Other Magnum Opus on the AAA/USAC/CART/IRL series....

-- ....which is wrapped up in my thoughts about doing something on American Racing....

-- I am revising and updating my look at the 250F since I am never happy with anything I write

-- I am seriously considering crankin' my Case History work back up and collecting all those chassis numbers I have floating around here

-- MotorSport is still looking the article on the 1939 Euro Championship that Hans (let's give credit where credit is due) and I did some months ago....

-- Plus a few more items I have been looking at but haven't quite figured out whether I will do them or not; these include sitting by my phone waiting for Jo to call from Spain to edit his book; ditto for Karl to tell me that has he ever got a deal for me....; and, for Bira to tell me she wants to cover the CART and/or IRL series and could I possibly work it into my schedule....

Plus, after 30+ years, I have decided that next Spring I will finally retire from the military. I haven't the slightest idea how I will make a living after that, but I am sure I will figure something out. My major concern is figuring out what to wear each day -- perhaps they make Garanimals for Men?












Now, what are the rest of you up to?

[Buford]

I am trying to expose the breasts of every woman in the world. It is a mammoth project. That's OK isn't it? Or did you mean research just in a racing context?

[Darren Galpin]

Too much as usual, never finishing one. I am:-

* Still trying to maintain the data I have and update it as appropriate
* Keep up with the numbers of new tracks that keep getting uncovered!
* Complete my WRC results
* Get through all of the data which TNF members have sent for the Minor Championships page
* Find time after this to try and make my non-WC F1 results more complete

Oh, and one day perhaps I would like something published!

[Hans Etzrodt]

I am getting ready for my research this coming March and will therefore show up here only occasionally. I obtained an affordable flight to Germany, where I plan to look through magazines of the twenties and forties. In case I have time left, I will also add the years 1907-1913. This time I will have to prepare really good, since I will use methods new to me. My goal is to copy 2000 racing pages in nine days to beat my record of 1600 copies from December 2000.

Other projects of mine, but by far not as exciting as those Buford wants to keeps himself satisfied with, are:
1 - Mountain Climb Winners: 1897-1949, (maybe I finnish it after seven years on-off work)
2 - Decisions Affecting Grand Prix Racing History up to 1950, (project started last August)
3 - Grand Prix Drivers and Other Racers of Note: 1894-1949, (old project from the eighties)
4 - Grand Prix Auto Racing Circuits: 1894-1949, (project started in 1995)
5 - Records of Grand Prix Winners: 1897-1949, (project started in 1996)
6 - The Elgin Road Races, (project started in 1999)
7 - The Twenties Championships (presently sorting out unexpected controversy)
8 - The Thirties Championships (need to sort out controversy)
9 - Database 1895-1949 (future project)

[Frank de Jong]

Well Don:

• Finishing the ETC site for 86-88
• Answering emails because of the site (historic car owners, someone in Germany wanting to translate the site into German, people sending emails with scanned lap charts or starting grids)
• Thinking about "what next" (more text on the earlier years, Spa non-championship races, Macao? Fuji? TransAm? Bathurst?)

[Bernd]

* Collating all of my assorted Jim Clark bits & pieces
* The South Pacific Project (ie Longford for GPL)
* Delving into the past for Tasman Series tidbits
* Hopefully by mid year start doing up a late 60's Porsche

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by Don Capps
....just what sort of research mischief y'all are up to these days?

Now, what are the rest of you up to?

First, I'm trying to recover from a big time bout with the flu (yes, boo hoo we all have problems! )

I'm continuing to help provide any info I can (and have available) for those who need it for their projects. I tend to concentrate what time I have on my own to more obscure research, like Western U.S. short track racing.

Recently completed providing California Racing Association Sprint Car race winners and data on the 1969 season for the website scrafan.com, will do 1970 when I feel better.

Just recently finished compiling list of race winners at Saugus Speedway from 1964-1978 (incomplete due to material lacking, but quite complete from 1968 on). This was for every feature event no matter what class/type of car.

Have a good portion of Ascot Park race winners compiled from 1964 on (again, more complete from 1968 on, though there were a lot of series that ran at Ascot that didn't get write-ups in racing papers, like the Dune Buggies where a young Rick Mears won all but one race until another young fellow named Gary Kanawyer showed up!).

These two projects were for fellow historians to help with their projects.

Other projects, recently sent Darren Galpin the track maps, aerials, topographical maps I have handy of defunct U.S. road circuits. I am scanning and providing point standings, race write-ups, items to another TNF posted on CAMRA (Canadian American Modified Racing Association) and British Columbia, Canada short tracks with a side trip of WRA (Washington Racing Association) final points and soon, WMRA (Washington Midget Racing Association) point standings. CRA race report scans for another historians upcoming book project.

What I really need to get going on is more research for Allan E. Brown's next edition of "The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present". I have a lot of opening and closing dates to add for tracks in the Western U.S.

And anytime I run across something I know is of interest to someone in either history group...I try to pass it along.

In a moment of utter insanity...I am seriously considering indexing the collection (incomplete as it is) of the regional short track racing paper I have and making a database of winners, results and driver roster as I go.

And, no, this wasn't while I had a fever


Jim Thurman

[Gary C]

I have a couple of things on the go; a book on 'Restoration Stories', people's stories of race cars they have restored and a book with ex-Team Lotus Chief Mechanic Bob Dance, which should be worth the wait! The man has some amazing anecdotes!

[quintin cloud]

Well Don I'm doing the following sections of research:

1: 1928 to 1949 Grand prix results research (Any extra help is always welcome )
2: South African F1 - F5000 Results work.
3: checking and Rechecking all the results that I list in my webpage.
4: Starting Research into the Indy 500 and US Open wheel racing.(I.e. PPG, IRL and Champcar Ect.)
5: And lots of other odd things here and other.

[AdrianM]

and, for Bira to tell me she wants to cover the CART and/or IRL series and could I possibly work it into my schedule....

Iif you can't work it into your schedule I could do it ;)

[Prostfan]

Working on my "Today in GP-History" project

[bobbo]

Hi, Don!!

Deciding to retire?? WOW! Must make for a LOT of decisions! Wish you nothing but the best in that as well as in your assorted projects.

My own projects??

No "official" projects, just filling in the blanks and hoping to settle on a project per se for the year. I am, unfortunately, interested in almost everything in road racing.

Any suggestions from you or the rest of the gang??

Non-racing projects??

-Design and build a detached deck for our house, with handicap accessibility designed in (Arthritis in my knees gets bad sometimes, but playing carpenter does help!!)

-Working on the outline for an alternative history novel based on the premise that the U. S. settled with Japan in 1943 after our victory at Midway, a Dieppe type raid in Kyoto (!!) and assassination of Tojo, all of which forced Japan to surrender in May of 1944. This, of course freed up our guys for a double invasion of Europe: France in June '44 and up through the Adriatic in late summer, 1944. Germany surrenders to U. S. forces immediately after Hitler and Himmler are asassinated, in November 1944. The USSR is stymied in Eastern Poland and most of Eastern Europe is under US/British/French control at the end of hostilities - for now. Obviously, I'm playing fast and footloose with facts on this one!!

It's actually a bit of therapy.

-Plan of fishing at least twice a week from April through October. Tough!!

-photo project of the small town (pop. @ 200) I live in.

-Add to my collection of Russian/Ukranian/Soviet cameras. Interesting (strange!!) stuff, decent optics!! GREAT prices, too.

-Teaching my grandson (age 4 1/2) bad habits that every kid needs to know (bathroom humor, how to make rude noises, etc.)

So, life continues to be interesting!

Bobbo

[Kuwashima]

Finishing off extensive updates to the profiles that we already have on the site of:

Olivier GROUILLARD, Roberto GUERRERO, Ingo HOFFMANN, Jan LAMMERS, Andrea MONTERMINI, Emanuele NASPETTI
Hideki NODA, Bernardus PON, Dieter QUESTER, John RHODES, Jean Louis SCHLESSER, Bernd SCHNEIDER, Danny SULLIVAN, Jacques VILLENEUVE Snr., Robin WIDDOWS, Joachim WINKELHOCK.

Phew ... and once they're done... new guys!!

[Rice]

Hi

I'm collecting all data of WC-F1 races of every car/driver combination started or nonstarted including pics of every car/driver combination.

I'm also building a database of every driver/co-driver/car driver in a WC-rally.

[anjakub]

Hi Don

I'm doing the following sections of research:
1. - Lwow Grand Prix 1930-1933
2. - Tatra Race 1927-1931
3. - Polish races in 20's and 30's
4. - Cup of Peace and Friendship 1963-1989 (results, drivers, cars and maps of tracks)

[bpratt]

Lots of newspaper microfilm research. Last night looking at 1978. Local speedway and Westwood results. Have a backlog of info to the early part of the 20th century already done.

Thanks to Jim Thurman I know a lot more about CAMRA than I used to. And he's supplying me with some other sprint car association info (like the WARA and WRA).

Because nobody seemed to put out any publication on the 50th anniversary of the Sports Car Club of British Columbia last year (and I sent some info to the person requesting it) I'm trying to also get more detailed info of races they were involved in. Have got 1959 at Westwood pretty well done and will carry on.

When I get to Seattle for the Golden Wheels vintage race car club monthly breakfasts I usually carry on to the University of Washington to get info on northwest U.S. racing in the 1920s and 1930s.

Should be writing some short pieces for a regional publication (Geared For Racing) on historic subjects. One on the 1966 modified racing season in the Vancouver/Victoria/Nanaimo area, and another on cars going out of the ballpark at Digney Speedway here in beautiful Burnaby, British Columbia Canada.

Brian

[FEV]

OK, so first the projects I am really working on :

- GP/Endurance/National Championship Drivers : a race-by-race account
- bringing my modest contribution to some of Master Hans' great projects
- bringing more modest contributions to Jose Luis Otero's crazy project
- find someone crazy enough to sell me his Sheldon "ARoGPaVR" books for a tenth of their original value (extra bonus if he has a "Time and Two Seats" copy at the same price) !

Now the ones for which I wish I had the time and ressources to work on :

- write the new edition of Cohin's "Historique de la Course Automobile". The second (and last) edition of the only serious French langage auto racing "encyclopedia" was published in 1977 - an update of the last 25 years of racing + corrections and additions to the previous editions HAS to be made for God's sake !
- write a series of articles on the races of the 20th Century where the best of Europe and the best of America got together
- write a series of articles on the Grand Prix races held on my French Riviera (Nice, Cannes, Antibes).
- find a magazine to publish my articles !
- find more about the "lost" French championships (from the 20s to the 70s, some are incredibly badly documented)
- motivate the lovely person in charge of the archives at my former job to dig out the hours and hours of original footage of the Monaco Grand Prix races (oldest are from 1955 )

Why do days only have 24 hours ???

[Barry Boor]

- motivate the lovely person in charge of the archives at my former job to dig out the hours and hours of original footage of the Monaco Grand Prix races (oldest are from 1955 )

WOW, FEV, if only you could rustle up the 1961 race! It would make this old man VERY happy.

-I am scanning madly in order to get more pictures onto the Images site. (I plan to open up the Connew page this weekend.)

-I am constructing 2 battery powered go-karts for an electric car competition at Goodwood in October. This is a school project and guess who they came to......?

-still trying to get some new slot-cars built - current project, a team of 3 BRM P48s.

-trying to find the time to update the Nostalgia Forum Database (going through the threads picking out new members takes more time than I ever have to spare.)

-finding time to speak to the wife so that she remembers who the strange man is who keeps getting into bed with her every night.

-and going to work in that flippin' school 5 days-a-week.

[Allen Brown]

Can I volunteer to help Buford with his research?

Assuming my wife objects to the research material that I'd have to collate, then I guess I'll have to stick with:

• Locating and fully documenting every F5000 car ever built (working with the most excellent Island) - much progress already at OldRacingCars.com/f5000
• Working with others (notably Island) on a complete database of F5000 results (US Pro series, UK series, "Tasman", South Africa, Australian Internationals, NZ Internationals, Australian Gold Star, New Zealand Gold Star, ARRC, SCCA Nationals and anything else I might have missed)
• the continuing Cooper T53 project (with David McKinney and others).
• getting all the 3-litre F1 car owners onto OldRacingCars.com.
• Getting all the 2.5-litre Tasman car owners onto OldRacingCars.com.
• Starting work on locating and fully documenting every Single-Seat Can-Am car ever built
• and another project that I'll tell you about when I've figured out how to make it work.

Allen

[ensign14]

Trying to find drivers' helmet designs - Willie Ferguson is the only 70s World Championship entrant with which I am having serious trouble (apart from the mysterious Bernardo)

[stevew]

My Microsoft Excel Formula One points tables.

Sources used so far:

1950-1984: Grand Prix!© by Mike Lang
1950-1996: Grand Prix Data Book 1997© by David Hayhoe and David Holland
1950-1993: The Guinness complete Grand Prix Who’s Who© by Steve Small
1985-1986: AutoCourse
1987: Road and Track magazine
1988: AutoCourse
1989: Road and track magazine
1990-1992: AutoCourse
1993-2000: On Track magazine
1995-2000: AutoCourse
2001: www.forix.com

Other sources: Grand Prix Data Book© by David Hayhoe (1989)
Grand Prix Data Book 1997© by David Hayhoe and David Holland
The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who’s Who© by Steve Small
The Complete Encyclopedia of Formula One© by Bruce Jones
The Formula One Record Book© by John Thompson
Directory of Formula One cars 1966-1986© by Anthony Prichard
Autocourse History of the Grand Prix Car 1945-1965© by Doug Nye
The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing© by Adriano Cimarosti
Marlboro Grand Prix Guide 1950-90© by Jacques Deschenaux
The Indianapolis 500© by Jack C. Fox (1911-1966)
Indianapolis Star and News 500-mile race record book 1997 Edition
FIA Year Book of Automobile sport 1979 (Nationality abbreviations)
www.forix.com

[Stefan Ornerdal]

Formula 2 results 1948-49, 1959-1960, 1964, 1980-81 and 1983. 1980 Coming soon.

Targa Florio results 1906-1923.

Big update on "Motor Racing is Dangerous", I have got a list from TNF-member Don Radbruch with over 1500 names from North America!

Updates on all pages, corrections, adding pictures and track maps etc.

Formula 3 research, mostly Scandinavian races.

Working on my model railway.

Reading everything on The Nostalgia Forum.

Sometimes go to my work! I like work, but it takes to much time away for more important things.

But first, shoveling away all the snow we had this morning, 50 centimeters!

Stefan

[cabianca]

1) Ongoing research trying to identify the chassis numbers of foreign entries at Indy, at least up the the point where ALL entries at Indy were foreign. Just did a posting to the "2 Indy Mysteries" thread on TNF. May do a separate thread on this subject. I have a Exel spread sheet of most Italian entries if anyone is interested.

2) Continuing project of identifying cars and finding results for SCCA races up to the mid-1960s. Someone has to do a book of SCCA results.

3) Research on professional road racing in the US before there was professional road racing in the US, i.e. the Road Racing Register in CA and SCODA in the eastern US in the mid-1950s.

4) Continuing contact w/families of deceased early post-WWII American road racers as well as contact w/live examples of drivers from the era.

5) Would like to do a piece on motorcycle races where both Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini competed. I understand Agostini won more than Mike did, but would like to document it. Any suggestions welcomed.

6) Sick of writing books with limited appeal, so may do a book on the Monterey Peninsula. History of the Pebble Beach Resort (founded by Samuel Morse, son of the inventor of Morse code), Clint Eastwood's run for mayor of Carmel (inspired when the sitting mayor, a retired military type, would turn the sprinklers on when hippies sat on the lawn in the town park), the emigration of writer Henry Miller to Big Sur (lots of teen-age runaways), followed by the Beats ten years later, who shot and who slept with whom, history of some of the great estates, imprssions of visitors (Robert Louis Stevenson said it was "the finest meeting of land and water in existence"), etc.

[David McKinney]

Originally posted by cabianca
Sick of writing books with limited appeal, so may do a book on the Monterey Peninsula....

,,,and of course its literary connections

[Don Capps]

Originally posted by cabianca
Sick of writing books with limited appeal,

[warstory]Hmmm, sounds familiar..... I had a book upon which I had labored for literally decades dropped by a university press -- they planned it for two volumes -- when the leadership changed and and it was decided my work no longer of any "commercial interest" (I am quoting from the new editor's letter verbatium) and therefore, etc., etc., and so forth. That the former editor of that university press had commissioned the two volumes seemed to be ignored. I pointed this fact out, and got another "Dear Professor Capps" letter which stated that the press "had changed its direction and unfortunately felt that [my] work not longer fit into their future markerting plans." Marketing plans? That was when I left the Ivy Halls of Academia and returned to the military and got back into the motor racing world. Oh, I still have most of what I did for "volume 1" somewhere on disks and I usually remember to convert them to whatever the current version of Word when I upgrade MS Office. The work was first done in an electronic version with Word Peferect 4.1 or 4.2.... from my handwritten notes. It was a military history topic, but I was assured that did not play that much of a role in the decision -- something contradicted by one of my colleagues who was also made aware of the change in "marketing plans." He was a bit more forceful than me. Besides, I was on loan from the Army anyway....[/warstory]



One of the reasons I did this was not just curiosity, but also in the hope that folks could see what others were doing and perhaps help each other out or use this to prioritize their work.

Michael T. is pursuing a few topics that definitely have my Attention. Lots of others as well. And, Allen (plus Jim & Wolfgang), someday F5000 will shed its secrets....

Whatever I can do to help and encourage research into motor racing history, I want to do what I can.

[FEV]

WOW, FEV, if only you could rustle up the 1961 race! It would make this old man VERY happy.

Barry, I promise to do my best in the coming months ! I am sure to get back there (at TMC, my former regular employer) at the latest in May for the "Grand Prix Historique de Monaco". Might go there before, but before summer 2002 as began, I swear that if these tapes are available (lots of problems occur about it among which the formats and French Riviera sun making people lazy are the most important) I'll get them ! And of course 1961 is on the top of my list !

[Jim Thurman]

Quite an impressive list of projects posted. I wish everyone good luck with them.

Let me also add, that while concentrating on short track racing, as mentioned in my earlier post, I definitely want to see the F5000 series (and other road racing series) chronicled. My source is Competition Press/Autoweek and other TNF members seem to have access to same, so I figure why be redundant? Imagine all these fellows who poured years into a "definitive" F1 history only to see several others come out not only during research time, but around the same time as theirs was ready!. Island, what years of Autoweek do you have for the F5000 results?

If anyone has a project involving racing series that would have been covered in Autoweek c. 1966-78, I will be glad to contribute what I can (series covered: F5000, F/B, Canadian Championship, SCCA Nationals and Regionals, NASCAR Grand American - the muscle cars, USAC Stocks, etc. In some earlier issues I have, there are some FRA race reports, like the GP Juarez that Don queried about).

I tend to concentrate on what has quite a narrow spectrum of appeal (IOW, the obscure), because that is what has the greatest tendency to be otherwise lost. The fact that I have access to material covering short track racing in the Western U.S., followed it closely at that time and, as such, am fairly well versed in it...well, those are big pluses too

Originally posted by cabianca
2) Continuing project of identifying cars and finding results for SCCA races up to the mid-1960s. Someone has to do a book of SCCA results.

3) Research on professional road racing in the US before there was professional road racing in the US, i.e. the Road Racing Register in CA and SCODA in the eastern US in the mid-1950s.

Michael, these would be excellent. I can't imagine how difficult it will be to get much beyond class winners for most SCCA races. Wait a minute, I can...

Are the early issues of CP/A available on microfilm?


Jim Thurman

[Racer.Demon]

Ah, if it wasn't for my day-time job... the new-look 8W would be online by now!

So to answer your question, Don: not doing any research at the moment, but trying to divide my precious spare time between the family and the not quite challenging but even so very meticulous task of creating the hundreds of new pages (with old stuff, mind you!) that will end up on the new 8W site. Unfortunately, it's been the busiest January in history at work (crisis? what crisis?) and that valued spare time tends to get consumed by overtime... Plus the company is moving in two months and I'm responsible for moving the entire IT infrastructure! All very interesting, of course, but also very much keeping me away from books, TNF and what have you.

So in case anyone is wondering what the h*** is happening with that 8W website which hasn't changed one single bit since the running of the Autumn game (but you've probably long forgotten all about us!) - I can only give you the excuse that we're still a strictly amateur site...

Watch this space for some time to come, I'm afraid

[cabianca]

Some SCCA results are available in their mag, Sports Car. To really do it right, one must contact the Historic Societies in the towns that held races and see if they have the town newspapers or microfiche of same. It can never be entirely sorted out, because newspaper reporting is based on the handouts the reporters received before the race or what entries were listed in the program. If a different number was assigned to a car or a different driver drove a car, what was reported was what appeared in the program. Still, many dates appear in the SCCA calendar that were never reported in the magazines and local newspapers are the only hope.

[Mike Argetsinger]

Maybe not the only hope although I think Michael's idea is excellent. The other avenue to go down is to determine which region of the SCCA sanctioned the given race you are researching. Each region (last time I checked I believe there were 104 regions) has its own monthly newsletter and would typically print results (often complete) of races they put on. Check with the current editor of the publication and see if they (or someone else in the region) have an archive of past issues.

[stevew]

Originally posted by Stefan Ornerdal
Formula 2 results 1948-49, 1959-1960, 1964, 1980-81 and 1983. 1980 Coming soon.

Targa Florio results 1906-1923.

Big update on "Motor Racing is Dangerous", I have got a list from TNF-member Don Radbruch with over 1500 names from North America!

Updates on all pages, corrections, adding pictures and track maps etc.

Formula 3 research, mostly Scandinavian races.

Working on my model railway.

Reading everything on The Nostalgia Forum.

Sometimes go to my work! I like work, but it takes to much time away for more important things.

But first, shoveling away all the snow we had this morning, 50 centimeters!

Stefan

Working on my model railway.

I'm a train-fan too. I don't have room right now, but building a model railroad has always been a big dream...

Here are some train pictures I've taken.

http://www.iei.net/~stevew/trpage.html

[Keir]

The "never ending" Amon file!!!!

[Ray Bell]

Although I am supposed to be progressing towards starting my book on Frank Matich, I would like to get my Timmy Mayer's Last Race and the definitive story of the 1965 Australian Grand Prix done.

Some progress... one source may indeed have a lap chart from that fantastic Longford race, while the McLaren tape recording of the event may be able to be restored. Tying down Campbell to find it is a bit of an issue, but I'm in Melbourne next week and that becomes a priority.

The painting to go with this story still needs a bit of detail, I need a photo showing the cockpit of the 1964 Tasman Cooper, as driven in 1965 by Phil Hill... anyone know where I'll find one?

Just to put this in perspective, the painting will be Phil Hill's view of Brabham and McLaren leading him down this stretch:



Shane Cowham will do a good job of bringing that to life, and placing G. Hill and J. Clark in Phil's vibrating mirrors for effect...

Of course, I then have to sell the package... but it's my intention that it be a kind of mini-series, one article following the other, as Timmy Mayer's death led directly to Phil Hill's involvement in the McLaren team.

Another problem I have is that I don't really feel that the Mayer story is complete without making contact with Garrell Page, his widow. I really do need help with this, she is supposed to be in the San Francisco area somewhere. Would electoral rolls be online?

When all this is done, I'm intent on changing the course of world history with the true story of the disappearance of La Perouse... but that's outside the ambit of Don's original question, I suppose...

A sidelight would be to finally clear up whether Jano stuffed up or really had a purpose with that split drive on the P3...

[Bernd]

Ray any chance of getting a print of that painting? Price not really an object.
Where is the story to be published? As you can imagine I'm looking forward to it.

[Ray Bell]

I have a keen idea of where it should be published, whether it will or not just depends... as for Shane's painting, I don't see that happening for a little while... not until I can tell him I have the story well under way.

As noted above, I really need the cockpit shot of the Cooper to be able to get the accuracy needed.

I'm sure you'll be able to get some sort of a copy of it, maybe we'll photograph it and work it from there?

[bob_gilliland]

Wow! This is a great subject, Don. I'm still somewhat of a newcomer to the history of F1 and some of the people and places mentioned in this thread are completely new to me. I certainly hope to see everyone's work put into print one day!

The only "research" that I am personally doing that is F1 related is simply buying books and magazines in a general sense. Finding the time to learn the history of the sport can be difficult at times when juggling work and other "real life" things. The only subject that I am currently puuting a decent amount of time into is that I am compiling a database of guitar information relating to manufacturers, models, serial numbers and production runs with associated notes, that I'd like to put online one day for guitar enthusiasts. But that is still far away.

[fines]

Since I'm heavily involved in a non-motorsports project right now, my time's pretty much at a premium, and will be for several months. That means less reading and posting at TNF , and less time for my usual projects: My website, the Japanese single-seater races (now also including FJ1300!), GPChart, and the various databases I keep: race results, chassis logbooks etc. Also no Racing History columns at http://racingnewsonline.com anymore, and the Special I promised to the 8w team will also have to wait !

[Speed Demon]

I shall be continuing to update my website as well as trying to find time to complete my NVQ. And go to work. And sleep etc...

Seriously, it's been an exciting month watching a project I started two years ago (but which had been planned for far longer) finally come to fruition. That time was spent collecting information on a vast number of circuits and actually building the site, as I wanted it to be worthwhile when it finally went online.

Having finally got it to what I considered an uploadable stage, it's been great to see the number of visitors to the site in such a short time. I've had hits from every continent, and feedback from Australia, Germany, Denmark and the USA as well as Britain. Thanks to everyone who has made contributions and spotted errors - I daresay in a project this size there will still be a few.

So, as time goes by, I hope to keep up-to-date with news from circuits all over the world and add info on far more - there are hundreds I just haven't got round to yet. It would make a really great full-time job - but wouldn't pay the bills!

Good luck to everyone else in their research.

[Udo K.]

Well, so its time for me to tell you that I'm working on a (more or less) complete results database of motorracing from its very beginnings. I know, it is a monster of a task, but as I made quite a progress with it over the last two years, I arrived at the conclusion that it is makeable.
I will go down as far as FFord, FSV,FB or FJunior races in the various countries and will also include the top national touring car series of countries like Italy, GB, Germany, France, Australia etc.
Sports Car racing is quite complete by now although there are still gaps in the non-championship department, where I was able to help Martin quite a bit and will continue to do so. SCCA Nationals remain a problem, as you all know - its the most difficult area to research, especially from the other side of the pond. I'm very grateful to TNF members who helped so much already, as for example in the "South American Sports Car Racing " thread.
So be warned, I will ask more questions in regard of races or race series where I still need more information.

Thank you all for helping.

Udo

[Dennis David]

Besides raising a family, stocking my library, tending to all my other hobbies I'm working on an article on the art of race car driving and how it has evolved through the decades.

[Udo K.]

If anyone has a project involving racing series that would have been covered in Autoweek c. 1966-78, I will be glad to contribute what I can (series covered: F5000, F/B, Canadian Championship, SCCA Nationals and Regionals, NASCAR Grand American - the muscle cars, USAC Stocks, etc. In some earlier issues I have, there are some FRA race reports, like the GP Juarez that Don queried about).

Hi Jim,

I would very much appreciate your help in terms of US Formula B championships, as I only have complete results from the 1972 season. Could you get in touch with by by e-mail? (I'can't send you a message through TNF, its rejected).
Thanks a lot

Udo

[josh.lintz]

Finish my degree.

Find a better job, move, and hopefuly find the right home to live in.

Plan my wedding with my dearest Kathy.

Update the F1 stats I have for 2001 (by the time I'm done, 2002 over with.)

Update my website. (The last update was 1999.)

Drive every car in Gran Turismo 2 (almost there); hopefully get enough capital to fund my exploits in GT3 (any willing sponsors?)

[Carlos Jalife]

Well, I didn't find any latins doing research so i must be the only one. I am still chipping away at the Rodríguez brothers rock and if I could sleep only 2 hours a day I'd finish a lot earlier. The problem is that it is slowly evolving into a story of all mexican motorsport, at least after the war.

I also do all the Press and PR for CART races in Mexico which takes a lot of time, and it adds to the mexican history project, but I really need a couple of researchers to help me out going to periodicals' libraries after I give them directions since I just can´t travel. And I found a guy who wants to issue a book per year now that we have a Grand Prix, so maybe I can finally turn all these things into paper.

And I will need help once clearing facts for some races is needed, like the SCCA races the Rodríguez, mostly Pedro, and the USRRC which also have Moisés Solana in them. I guess I am turning into a period where the productivity of researching and writing can finally turn to goods, at least I hope so. And my site is currently under reconstruction sicne some archives were lost and the big phone company is finding out what happened.

It is a pleasure to see all of us working to finally produce the story of motorsports in the world, doable as Udo says, and if someone needs to let me know I am wrong in something, or point me out in some direction, please do so, I only promise a copy of the book and your name in the ackowledgements sections. It is a pleasure to belong, even if unfrequently, or not as much as I'd like to in these pages.

[brickyard]

Well, I have some projects:

1 - Since I have all the CART results (1979-2001), I'm trying to know :

a) - Who were the owners/teams that raced in the early years (1979-1988).

b) - the cars chassis numbers

c) - other interesting stuff related

All this without expensive and sometimes inacurated books...

2 - All the results in the WRC since 1970.

3 - All the Portuguese Rallye Championship results since 1966...


All the help will be precious.

And finally, help everybody who need some infos

[Ross Stonefeld]

Im researching how not to get cut out. Over the last few years ive been a lot more successful findng sponsors for upper echelon teams and some track signage, than for my own efforts. But I havent gotten so much as a free t-shirt comission

One of these days the lightbulb is going to burn so brightly the shards will kill my annoying neighbor

[Richard Jenkins]

Nothing too concrete at the moment. I do have to work after all! Contuining my relentless research into the Grand Prix driver's whereabouts now & of course, birth & death updates for all of 'em. However, with my increasing links with esteemed motor racing authors & journalists plus a insider knowledge into the book/publishing world, maybe, just maybe, I can take the first steps towards putting it all down in book form. That would be my one remaining dream, i should think
(well, that & persuading Meg Ryan to marry me but I think that's even harder then researching Frank J Dochnal's life! )

[Chris Bloom]

I'm still intending to complete the Westmead track for Grand Prix Legends. I have also undertook replicating Louiseville for GPL.

[Maldwyn]

I'm just on the lookout for any new/updated material for my Patrese site and learning about building a website as I go. It is only a "hobby" although as such it seems to take up a lot of my time. Beats my 9-5 job anyday though!!

Any contributions or pointers to sources for material very welcome.

[MarkWill]

Hi,

I don't know if this is any help to all the researchers out there, but out of curiosity I searched on e-bay to see if there were any historic books available from the 50's and sixties. I used searched for "Sports Car", "Sports Cars", and "Car Design"

At the moment there is the following up for sale (in general for between $5.00 and $20.00):

1963 Sports Car Racing annual, including SCAA Points Standings and Results
1959 Grand Prix Modern Sports Car" by Denis Jenkinson ($15.00 currently)
Vintage Sports Cars -1951(seems to include BRM, but it must be sketchy) ($5.00)
Sports/Racing Cars - Doug Nye ($8.95 currently)
Specialist British Sports/Racing Cars of the Fifties and Sixties ($9.99)
Design of Racing and Sports Cars - 1976 - Colin Campbell ($9.99)
Design and Behaviour of the Racing Car - by Stirling Moss and Laurence Pomeroy (First Edition, signed by L.P.) - 20 GBP

I'm a recent forum contributor, so if all of these titles are very familiar to you, please accept my apologies for taking up your time (and no, I'm not associated in any way with e-bay, or book sales, or anything like that. I'm an engineer working in the aerospace field as a designer. If anyone reads anything more into this post than its original intention - to offer help - then I'll gladly ask for it to be removed).

[Barry Boor]

Thanks for the info, Mark. But I think I may be somewhat inclined to avoid this one:

Vintage Sports Cars -1951(seems to include BRM, but it must be sketchy) ($5.00)