Getting nostalgic about the old formula and Indy cars I was around.

[gtc]

Originally Posted by milt

A 2008 race bike won't handle well at slow speeds. It has to be driven hard and fast to get the tires to temp and the motor humming. Just like the cars. You wouldn't want either even as a hobby. Older cars are more "user friendly." ...

Hey now, to an extent the same could be said about my 24 year old 911; no power below 4000 rpm and it drives like crap at low speeds.

I think everything is Colin Chapman's fault. Ugly wings and sponsor logos all over the cars.

[billyboy]

What a sad day it was when Jim Clark perished.

[ramonesfreak]

I see what yer saying Milt.

i do think the gap between race and street bike is much smaller than the gap between race car and street car. isnt it?

i think bikes are just about at their max preformance limit now. i dont follow MotoGP that closely but from what ive seen, i dont think the riders or the tracks could accomodate much more performance. they are already brutal machines

& seriously, some of these new 1000cc sport bikes you can buy for $10K are approaching the top speed of a motoGP race bike top speed which i believe is 215.864 mph. Hell, my bike is at least 12 year old technology and it will do 170mph bone stock no problemo

Race Cars on the other hand are waaay ahead of street cars. Some of these formula 1 cars now days look like space ships to me, like something from a Star Wars movie

[Vern Lyle]

I prefer the older cars as well - just seems like each one had character, which the cookie-cutter cars of today don't have. Did some digging in my 40 year old slides, pardon the quality:


Niki Lauda at The Glen


Chapparal at Bridgehampton - this taken with an Instamatic



Jo Siffert Can Am Porsche at The Glen

[Vern Lyle]

Ferrari at Bridgehampton


James Hunt at the Glen


Stewart Matra at Mosport


McLaren, Andretti's Ford, Chapparal

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by Vern Lyle

Ferrari at Bridgehampton

Are you sure that's not a Lola T70?

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Aerkuld

Are you sure that's not a Lola T70?

No question, that's an early coupe. One of my favorite cars...

JR

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by Vern Lyle

Stewart Matra at Mosport

While I'm at it I think that's a March 701

The geeky thing is that I love these cars even though they are probably a little before my time (only just mind). I remember my Father used to take me to the Daily Express Trophy race at Silverstone in the mid-70's. This was a race for the Grand prix cars and drivers but it was not part of the championship. I still have a few of the programs that I have kept. It's funny looking through the driver lists for the support races and seeing all the names of the soon-to-be F1 stars. I used to love going to stuff like that and all the Historic meets to watch the old cars race.

I could probably name every one of the Grand Prix cars from that era. I recognise Hunt's Hesketh in the photo above and Lauda's BRM. I have probably seen these run at some point, either that or spent hours as a kid pouring over Scalextric catalogues. I still do now come to think of it...

[Vern Lyle]

You're right on the Lola - the team name got me confused.

Right again on the March. My memory is fading after all this time; I was doing photography for fun, not historical documentation. Thanks for the corrections. I think I will just post without specifics .

[Vern Lyle]

And now a little later, and a different series









And a 911 about to overtake two backmarkers! I THINK that would be Hurley Haywood in the Brumos #58

[Aerkuld]

Sorry - please don't let me put you off. Personally I am loving your photos.
I can name the cars but you have to tell us where the pictures were taken!

I think that those are...

Yardley McLaren M19A
Ferrari 312T3
John Player Special Lotus72 (Has to be my favorite car and color combination for a 70's Grand Prix car)
STP March 711 with the 'Surf Board' front wing

How do you come to have such an extensive collection of Grand Prix car photos? Were you a regular at the Glen?
My Father made me a wooden wagon that ended up with lots of stickers on it. I particularly remember the Yardley and John Player Special stickers!


You'll be pleased to know I'm pretty much clueless on Can-Am!

[Aerkuld]

Its an M19C and a 312T1 isn't it. That'll teach me...

Still, those are great photos from the time when you could actually get close enough to the track to get decent photos!

I specifically remember being able to walk across the track at Silverstone after the racing was done as I 'found' all the little chunks of rubber that had come off the tires and picked some up to take home!

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Aerkuld

Its an M19C and a 312T1 isn't it. That'll teach me...

Well, if you want us to get nit-picky, that's a 321T. No need for the 1, as they hadn't yet built the 321T2.

If you want to get up to speed on the Can-Am cars, might I suggest a couple of DVDs?

Can-Am, The Speed Odyssey
Can-Am Thunder

Both of these little gems arrived in my mailbox today, newly made, from the fine folks at The Motorsport Collector.

JR

[Vern Lyle]

Your corrections are not putting me off at all, I appreciate having the factual info. I saw most of the major races at the Glen in the mid-late 60s, into the 70s, I think - there's that memory thing again. Last ones for today:









I'm pretty sure that's Mark Donohue, although I recall that his first sponsor in F1 was First National City. I could be wrong.




Pit helper at Mosport. It wasn't all old cars!

[Zeke]

Love the pics! Some of the cars are ugly, some are poetry in motion. I think by reading your various posts that there would be solid support for more historic races than there are presently being run. I think the IRL and the Grand Am could do well to put some of these on the menu.

But then, I don't have access to the mafketing numbers. I do know for a fact that the Long Beach Gran Prix as it is sold to the public today is a far cry from how the founder, Chris Pook, saw things. He saw a street race, an F1 race at that! Today it's promoted as a party. I think the current day patrons would yawn during a historic race. However, I digress once again.

I'm just missing the older, simpler cars. Might be time for me to find a project. I could probably afford an old C Sports Racer. Hey, vintage karting is growing by leaps and bounds. I should get an old kart.

I might just start looking.

[Zeke]

My '81 Margay on my garage wall might be coming up on eligibility pretty soon.

[Zeke]

Man, that thing was a lot of work to drive. I better calm down here.

I mean I haven't been in a kart (that one) since 1994. What am I thinking?

[greglepore]

Yeah, thats Mark, in an F5000 I think...

[oldE]

Great shots, guys! Thanks for sharing.

Milt,

I'm not sure, but I think the 'nostalgia' thing alters our reality. We look back at the early 70s race cars and say to ourselves, "Look how simple they were. You could build and maintain one for a hobby."

If you had gotten a sneak peek at one of those cars as it was being rolled out for its maiden laps, I think your reaction would have been quite different.

True, when you are looking at 'leading edge' technology, that edge gets sharper as the focus narrows so, as you say, they become more and more useless for anything else.

Could you have drived Andretti's 72 Lotus around and gotten a few thrills? Yes, you can, with deep pockets and some help. Can you drive a modern day F1 Ferarri (complete with high-tech engine design that needs to be pre-warmed) for your thrills? Yes, if you have really deep pockets.

Twenty years from now, We'll probably look back on L. Hamilton's car just as appreciatively

Les

[Zeke]

I worked on an F5000 team for one season. Those cars were trucks compared to newer cars. I'm not sure they even had fuel cells. However, one can fix that easily. I still like that era and many more. The 5000's were at a time when wings were just being deployed (sorry ).