Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i Motor Sport Magazine

THREE MONTHS AGO ALEIX Espargaró rode his Aprilia RS-GP to the company’s first MotoGP victory in four decades of trying, at the Argentine Grand Prix at Termas de Rio Hondo. The success was the crowning chapter of a long story for the Italian manufacturer that began at the 1994 Spanish GP, where Aprilia debuted its first premier-class motorcycle. Since then Aprilia, based in Noale near Venice, has been MotoGP’s perennial underdog, often finishing at the bottom of the constructors’ championship, including a clean sweep of last positions from 2016 to 2021. That first MotoGP bike of 1994 was an over-bored 250cc twin, conceived to tackle the dominant 500cc fours, which were already struggling to use all their power around grand prix racing’s increasingly tight racetracks. Aprilia’s theory went like this:…

Spanish GP Monaco GP Azerbaijan GP CHARLES LECLERC SHOULD have won in both Spain and Monaco, but his Ferrari mechanicals let him down at Barcelona and Ferrari operations in Monaco. The beneficiary of the Scuderia’s defects both times was, inevitably, Red Bull, in Spain with Max Verstannen. in Monaco with Sergio Pérez. Baku offered the possibility at least of redemption for Leclerc, especially after yet another scintillating pole lap, his sixth in eight races. It ended in a smoky retirement from the lead and a feeling of dejection he couldn’t adequately express in words but which he didn’t need to as the eyes and body language said it all. Verstappen duly led a Red Bull 1-2, his Jim Clark/Niki Lauda-equalling 25th grand prix victory giving him a commanding lead in…

FERRARI WAS THROWN A TRICKY tactical challenge by the Monaco weather, and failed to meet it. With everyone on wets, the two Ferraris and two Red Bulls quickly put distance on the rest of the Lando Norris-led field. By lap 15 leader Leclerc had 5sec on the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and 8sec on Sergio Pérez in third. More crucially, this was also the first lap on which the leader had a pitstop’s-worth of gap on the ‘midfield’ behind the top four. Ferrari could – perhaps should – have pitted him at this point. The hazard of that, though, was that he would exit behind the Red Bulls which might just bank their positions and stay out until the track was dry enough to get straight onto slicks. With…

THE ONGOING SAGA OF Mercedes’ 2022 difficulties received its first positive upturn in Barcelona. The introduction of a new floor largely banished the car’s previous porpoising-induced limitation. That still didn’t put it quite on Red Bull or Ferrari performance levels, but provided a very solid foundation for the team to build upon. No longer was setting up the car only about increasing the rear ride height (surrendering a lot of downforce in the process) until the bouncing was under control. With the operating window of the underfloor so much wider than before, inset, the ride height could be run much more closely to its design ideal. Although very restrictive in some areas, the 2022 technical regulations allow for a lot of freedom of the underfloor design. The position of the…

THE LOTUS EMIRA HAS A difficult job ahead of it. Fated to be the last Lotus powered by an internal combustion engine, it must live up to those expectations and sign off that volume of history in appropriate fashion before the book is slammed shut for good. But so too must it also be the bridge to Lotus’ future, until an all-new generation of pure electric Lotus sports cars can be brought on line some years from now. Is it the brand new car it is claimed to be? Not quite. It is derived from the Evora, and shares its wheelbase and, in this case, its supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine and six-speed manual gearbox. An eight-speed auto is available too. It has 400bhp, the alternative being a 360bhp, 2-litre four…

HAVING ANNOUNCED ITS NEW role as the official timing partner of Formula 1 team Williams in 2021, British brand Bremont has now unveiled the first fruit of the collaboration in the form of the WR-22 wristwatch. The 43mm chronograph features 1970s-inspired hands that hark back to the team’s founding, a touch of Williams blue on the dial and an oscillating weight based on the design of one of the car’s rims. And thrown in for the price is an original wheel nut from one of the marque’s historic grand prix cars. Bremont has also produced 45 sets of two watches comprising a blackened DLC-treated version of the 43mm chronograph and a 40mm three-hand watch with dial details in Williams blue and a blue nubuck leather strap. The set comes with…

THERE’S A JOKE THAT RUNS “BUT apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?” Lance Macklin’s story is similar: what else do you know about him except his central part in the appalling 1955 Le Mans tragedy? In this small hardback Jack Barlow shows the rest of the picture, of an attractive, careless figure born of wealthy parents who never truly applied himself to his many projects. While his father started Invicta and Railton cars and the Fairmile Marine firm, Lance lacked business or financial sense and seemed perpetually broke. Not that it stopped him living the high life across the Continent. Hardly lavish, with small images, the book depicts a man liked and respected by his racing peers, with superb car skills which he just wasn’t…

Stuart Pringle has some exciting news about how those hard-earned British Grand Prix profits are being ploughed back into Silverstone. “We are going to build an international kart circuit here, as good as any in the world, ” he reveals. “It will be to CIK-FIA standard, but will also be where a family can come even when an event is on, including during a grand prix, to get in a kart just as you can at Le Mans.” The circuit, which will cost £8m to build, will feature scaled versions of Maggotts and Becketts within its design. “Fans will be racing their mates on it at the 2023 British Grand Prix, ” Pringle confirms. A few weeks before our visit, BRDC president David Coulthard had let slip during an interview…

“One day he’s a character you’d drive off the end of the earth for, and the next… if you had a gun you’d shoot him.” That’s Trevor Foster’s verdict on Eddie Jordan, the man whom he worked for the longest during his 50 years in motor sport. The best of EJ explains why Jordan survived through the 1990s when the likes of Lotus, Tyrrell and Brabham faded. “He’d be in from 8am until 7 or 8pm trying to get the deals in, ” says Foster. “He was an eternal brush salesman, something I couldn’t do. He’d knock on the door: ‘Sir, would you like to buy a brush?’ No, slam the door in his face. Then he’d go back a week later, knock on the door and say, ‘This brush:…

THE CLIMAX OF MONTEREY CAR WEEK – the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – is regarded by many as the most prestigious show of its type anywhere in the world. It certainly attracts the most expensive motors and the wealthiest people on the planet, and the already ultra-high value of each entry is further increased if they are judged Best of Show. Last year’s winner, for example, is undoubtedly worth an eight-figure sum. The 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn Kurier was one of just two made and is the only one to survive. The original Berlin show car, it was entered by Californian wine tycoon and automobile lover extraordinaire Arturo Keller – who was this year named World’s Top Collector by the Classic Car Trust. It marked a ninth Pebble Beach Concours…

IF YOU WERE SETTING-OUT TO DESIGN A race car during the early 1950s it probably wouldn’t have looked like this – but the six-seat Hudson Hornet proved to have a serious sting in its tail when it took to the track, winning the NASCAR championship in 1951, ’52 and ’53. The secret of the Hornet’s unlikely success lay in its ‘step down’ dropped floor pan that hung several inches below the chassis, making it possible to combine a commodious interior with sleek, aerodynamic bodywork that offered an exceptionally low centre of gravity. The result was a car with vastly superior handling to anything else of comparable size, while its 5-litre straight six engine gave the car an almost unrivalled top speed of 100mph. Celebrated racer Marshall Teague was the first…

WHO OUT THERE DOESN’T have a car model or two (or 40) on a shelf? Today’s specialist makers can offer a miniature of any car, no matter how rare – forget the GTO, you’ll have no trouble finding a Matra Djet or a Brough Superior in one scale or another. Diecast and resin models have advanced hugely in accuracy, while with 3D printing and photo etching it’s now possible to produce multiple examples with superb detail. CMC, Amalgam and Exoto all offer impressively accurate racing and road cars in several scales from a few hundred to over £13,000, more if you want one hand-weathered to look as if it has spent 24 hours pounding round Le Mans. Yet there’s a higher level that fascinates – the one-off large-scale hand-built masterpiece.…

NOVEMBER 3,1991 ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA Blast from the past: the class of ‘91 line up for an end-of-season photo, top from left: Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Emanuele Pirro, JJ Lehto, Mauricio Gugelmin, race winner Ayrton Senna, Riccardo Patrese, Roberto Moreno, Andrea de Cesaris, Alex Caffi, Gerhard Berger. Middle, from left: Alex Zanardi, Gianni Morbidelli, Jean Alesi, Karl Wendlinger, Nicola Larini, Satoru Nakajima, Stefano Modena, Martin Brundle. Front row, from left: Erik Comas, Thierry Boutsen, Michele Alboreto, Michael Schumacher, Pierluigi Martini, Mika Häkkinen…

THE 2022 LE MANS 24 HOURS may not go down in history as a classic, but it will surely stand as the last time Toyota has it easy in the world’s greatest endurance race. The Japanese marque dominated the 89th running of the 24 Hours, with its twin GR010 Hybrid Hypercars running to a clear 1-2, some five laps clear of any other opposition. Both Toyotas enjoyed a relatively clean race, with the only drama coming for the No7 when José MarÍa López had to stop on track during the 16th hour to perform a reset of the frontal hybrid, losing a lap to the sister car. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa brought No8 to the flag over 2mins clear of No7. In doing so it marked Buemi’s…

The Monaco race start was delayed by almost an hour as radars were showing an imminent rain storm shortly after the scheduled 3pm start. Although it was merely drizzling at 3pm and the race could have started, FIA race control decided to allow the storm to pass before starting it behind a safety car. “These days it seems that everyone at race control gets stressed at the first sight of a few drops of rain, ” said an unimpressed Jos Verstappen. “Sure, it would have been a chaotic start and the teams would have been in doubt as to which tyre would have been the best option. But that is what people want to see… Now we get starts behind the safety car, which in my view takes the edge…

GOOD ▲ BY GEORGE! Russell still hasn’t finished outside the top five this season, the only driver to do so. Lewis Hamilton could start being given team orders at this rate… ▲ MAXIMUM ENERGY Ruthless Red Bull maximising every opportunity where Ferrari isn’t – 1-2 in Baku the latest proof, producing an unprecedented championship swing to now lead the list. ▲ CHECO-IN Sergio likes the latest understeer-y refinements of his RB18. Can he challenge Max for the title? ▲ SILVER ARROWS ON THE RISE Despite all its issues, Mercedes’ consistency means it’s just 38 points off Ferrari, whose car has been so much better. The top three teams are tighter than you might think. ▲ ELDER STATESMAN In-between appearing on BBC’s Question Time, Vettel has been helping Aston climb the…

NOW THAT VOLKSWAGEN HAS made the latest Golf so much harder to love, and at least until I drive the new and attractive Vauxhall Astra, it is once more the lot of the Ford Focus to be the family hatch to beat. And as if to note the occasion, it’s received a relatively minor facelift, with some nip/tuck styling at the front, and some much-needed improvements to the quality of the interior, notably a larger, more attractive and functional infotainment system. I drove a 1-litre model, now fitted with a mild hybrid drive which, unlike most cars so equipped, you can really feel working, particularly when you lift off the throttle and car slows considerably long before you foot has found the brake pedal. A single litre of capacity seems…

Sardinia Island X-Prix, July 6-7 & 9-10 WHEN THE CALENDAR for Extreme E’s second season was initially announced in December ’21, the plan was to host an Ocean X-Prix in either Scotland or Senegal in July, with a May date given to Sardinia. But the fixture list had to be reshuffled due to the war in Ukraine, so said Extreme E, and a four-and-a-half month break was introduced between the first and second rounds. The series now comes to Sardinia for a double-header on July 6-7 and 9-10. The race will take place at a military base in Capo Teulada in south-west Sardinia, but as Italy’s armed forces had priority, the May X-Prix had to be pushed further into the year. For 2022 it replaces the Ocean X-Prix, which was…

I’M WRITING TO THANK GORDON CRUICKSHANK AND MARK HUGHES FOR THEIR SPOT-ON tributes to Tony Brooks in the July issue. As a 17-year-old getting interested in motor racing, I devoured The Motor and its grand prix reports at the local newsstand despite them being a couple of months old by the time they got to the States. Somehow I got onto Tony Brooks, and he remained a favourite for all these years. I was lucky to attend the 1959 United States Grand Prix at Sebring (the venue was Sebring and not Watkins Glen in 1959 as stated!) and was standing across the track from the Ferrari pits at the start. Away they went, but, much to my surprise and especially that of the Ferrari pits who weren’t ready, Brooks came…

CHASSIS 0007 ‘BLUE’ Dates, assignments and venue – 30/7/1955: Dynamometer test 3-10/8/1955: Driven to the Swedish Grand Prix and back by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, including 196 practice kilometres on the race circuit in Kristianstad (0-2808km) 18/8/1955: Dynamometer test 20-27/8/1955: Driven to Monza and back by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, including 539 practice kilometres (2808-4443km) 15-23/9/1955: Driven to Northern Ireland for the Tourist Trophy by von Trips, including 357 practice kilometres with Uhlenhaut, Fangio, Moss and Kling (4443-8753km) 28/9/1955: Dynamometer test 30/9-13/10/1955: Practice for the Targa Florio; the car is damaged with Moss at the wheel (frame distorted at front right, bent wishbone); car returned by truck (8753-10,104km) 18/11/1955: Retirement (10,245km); various trips until end of April 1956 (10,245-10,615km) 3/5/1956: Trip by Uhlenhaut (10,615-10,715km) 4/5/1956: Trips by Rudolf Uhlenhaut and Arthur Mischke (10,715-10,907km) 23-24/5/1956:…

IT WAS HARD TO ENVISAGE A DAY WHEN Brands Hatch might ever be scratched from the Formula 1 schedule. In 1972 it was the Kent circuit’s turn to host the British Grand Prix, a job it shared with Silverstone from 1964 until its final such race 22 years later, plus there were two non-championship events – the Race of Champions in March and the World Championship Victory Race in late October. In addition, there was the Rothmans 50,000, a madcap Formule Libre race that attracted 58 entries, everything from factory F1 teams to Formula Atlantic drivers via assorted sports cars (the £50,000 prize fund probably helped). It was one of four opportunities to see that season’s world champion Emerson Fittipaldi in action at Brands Hatch – and he scored three…

BUYING, SELLING, AUCTIONS, MEMORABILIA TVR’S ‘WEDGE’ MODELS SEEM TO have fallen into a black hole between the M series cars they replaced and the S series that followed. Designer Oliver Winterbottom’s attempt to make TVRs look modern (he’d previously given us the Lotus Elite and Éclat) was far from a triumph in period, and certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that the Tasmin (later called the 280i) launched head-on into the start of the early ’80s recession. But they do say that time is a great healer and now, 40 years later and with the values of so many classics having gone through the roof, the idea of owning a Wedge becomes ever more appealing – especially for those who are a bit short of, er, wedge. Getting a good…

1962 BRABHAM-CLIMAX BT3 SOLD BY BONHAMS, £325,000 A fabulous piece of history, this was the first Formula 1 car to carry Jack Brabham’s name and was also the first Brabham to score an F1 point. Featuring a 1500cc Coventry-Climax V8 mounted in Ron Tauranac’s brilliant spaceframe chassis, its BT3 designation came from the initials of the two business partners’ surnames. After passing through the hands of various racers – including Ian Raby and John Scott-Davies – the car was bought by Tom Wheatcroft in 1970. He restored it, and it formed a key part of his Donington Collection, from which it was acquired by the vendor. 1989 FERRARI TESTAROSSA SOLD BY BONHAMS, £120,000 This car was given to Gerhard Berger before the start of his final year with Scuderia Ferrari.…

ALL PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT MOTORSPORTMAGAZINE.COM/SHOP AYRTON SENNA FULL-SIZE REPLICA HELMET With Ayrton Senna, the memorabilia and merchandising bandwagon is a strong as it’s ever been, but few fans of the Brazilian can claim to possess something as special as this pin-perfect replica of his 1991 crash helmet. It is modelled exactly on the version Senna wore during one of his most famous, and most emotional, victories – the Brazilian Grand Prix. Senna had never won his home race until he somehow held together a failing gearbox on his McLaren to lead Riccardo Patrese’s Williams over the line. The effort meant he could barely lift the trophy on the podium. This full-size replica, which bears all the authentic period sponsorship, is a fitting tribute to a legend of the sport, at…

AMID THE UNDERSTANDABLE fuss that has been made about the Porsche Taycan of late, it’s easy to forget it’s not the only four-door family car selling either side of the £100,000 mark that Porsche makes. And for many a Panamera would still be the more sensible choice. This plug-in hybrid version, for instance, is as fast as I’d ever want such a car to be (even though it’s still not the quickest in the range), will still do all local journeys on electricity alone, but doesn’t require you to plan each journey with military precision to ensure you never find yourself trawling miserably around the countryside looking for someone to plug the bloody thing in. The Panamera is not as dynamic as a Taycan, but as the closest thing Porsche…

“I THINK PEOPLE ARE JUST LOVING THE SPORT RIGHT NOW… …IT’S BECOMING BIGGER AND BIGGER…”CHARLES LECLERC SILVERSTONE. AUGUST 2, 2020. An eerie silence has fallen over the Northamptonshire circuit just five minutes before the British Grand Prix is due to get underway. After the roar of a Spitfire above has faded away, aside from the low hum of generators on the starting grid, there’s very little sound. Swathes of empty blue seats surround the track, while fields that are normally full of tents and cars remain untouched. You might not be able to see it, but Formula 1 is booming. And it’s doing so in a way every sport wants to, with a younger demographic. Over the past five years, as the global fan base has been measured at half…

EVERY TIME YOU VISIT SILVERSTONE something’s changed. Trundle up Dadford Road from the A43 and on the right Aston Martin’s mammoth new Formula 1 factory is morphing into reality. On the left Silverstone Park, now overflowing on the other side of the road too, bristles with thriving businesses. By the main entrance, the old aircraft hangar’s metamorphosis into the Silverstone Interactive Museum is complete. And opposite event space The Wing, the hotel that has always been sorely lacking nears completion, linked to the paddock building by an enclosed footbridge over the start/finish. Somehow, it all still feels like Silverstone – but transport yourself back 20 years. The old airfield is barely recognisable. The best thing about the transformation? A new sense of self-esteem, as if the place has rediscovered the…

THE CROWD FIGURES FOR THE 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours vary, but we can safely assume two things: firstly, that it was north of 150,000 strong; and second, that few of them realised the exact measure of the piece of history they were witnessing unfold before them. Graham Hill – already twice a Formula 1 world champion, five times a victor at the Monaco Grand Prix and winner of the 1966 Indianapolis 500 – became the first, and only driver, to complete the ‘Triple Crown’ by adding his name to the Le Mans roll of honour. Of course, he didn’t do it alone, sharing the No15 Matra-Simca MS670 with a 30-year-old Henri Pescarolo. And the win made history for more than just Hill’s achievement. Without a French winner since 1964…

SINCE 1950 WHEN THE PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d’Elegance began as a small Sunday afternoon aside to the Pebble Beach Road Races, the event has expanded into a nine-day week dedicated to the celebration of the motor car in all its varieties. The Sunday judging in which a single car is voted Best of Show (and therefore one of the most valuable classics on the planet) remains the raison d’etre of what is these days called Monterey Car Week – but the build-up to that big moment takes many varied shapes. It all starts on Friday, August 12 when the team behind Raceway Laguna Seca puts on a display of race cars along Alvarado Street in Monterey. An entire weekend of Pre-Reunion racing follows (see our race and rally guides) before…

WITH HALF A DOZEN HIGH-END AUCTIONS scheduled and something in the region of 2000 lots crossing the block there should be no shortage of bidding opportunities during Monterey Car Week. Of the ‘traditional’ houses, Gooding & Company will reprise the role of official auctioneer that it has held since 2005, staging its sale across both days of the concours weekend; Bonhams will be at its regular Quail Lodge venue, and RM Sotheby’s at the Monterey Conference Centre. Those in search of a little extra pizzazz, meanwhile, might want to seek out what are typically the more flamboyant performances given by the gavel swingers at Mecum and Russo and Steele. The most closely scrutinised event of all, however, is likely to the debut sale by Broad Arrow Auctions, part of the…

• Looking for a motor with stellar credentials? A 1950 JAGUAR XK120 ALLOY ROADSTER, right, on sale at LEGENDS in Bicester, £POA, was formerly owned by 9½ Weeks film producer Antony Rufus-Isaacs and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. The latter gave the car a restoration in the 1990s and it’s been well-maintained since. This lightweight left-hander was one of just 240 alloy-bodied XK120s. • Also in the £POA gang is a 1947 MASERATI A6GCS ‘MONOFARO’ (‘single headlight’), below right, with links to Juan Manuel Fangio. The engine and gearbox of the two-seater at CLASSIC MOTOR HUB in Gloucestershire are from chassis 2010, raced by El Maestro in the F2 Rome GP in 1949. 2010’s engine and gearbox were removed in the ’50s and later added to a replica chassis and body.…

SINCE WE LAST CHECKED IN, IT’S been another busy month in the Maeers stable, with races in both the UK and France – and I have two highlights in particular to talk about. The Vintage Sports-Car Club held its usual hillclimb at Harewood before moving on to the second race meeting of the season at Donington Park, and the star of that event was undoubtedly the Longstone Tyres-supported Long Car Race. Long cars are the heavier, slower sorts of cars that used to come out and race with the VSCC regularly, but interest in driving them waned over the years, so the VSCC is now actively recreating an environment suitable for these fabulous cars to race in. Because the cars are standard and have similar performance the racing is very…

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