Ground Control To Major Tom

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Rose Tinted?

It has been common knowledge amongst those who follow motor sport that there are more than a fair share of space cadets involved at every level.

Well, now we have the genuine article………..Tom Coronel has signed up for some form of Dutch Space Travel…..sounds like a very complicated position………….I wonder if we will see it illustrated at some stage in Gentlemens’ Trophy?

He is leaving no room for doubts: “This is what I have always wanted!” During the Millionair Fair in Amsterdam, 39-year old Tom Coronel signed a contract with SXC Space Expedition Curacao’s Michiel Mol to become one of the 100 ‘founder’ astronauts to travel into space in 2014, among others with model Doutzen Kroes and DJ Armin van Buuren.

Can You Hear Me Major Tom?

John Brooks, December 2011

A big thank you to David Lister for Tom’s portrait and for tipping me off about this project.

 

Four Ringed Circus

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They Call Me Mellow Yellow, Quite Rightly

I sometimes moonlight at other websites, well a change is as good as a rest. Hell, sometimes there’s even money involved and a girl’s gotta eat.

So I was really pleased to take the M4 down to Castle Combe a month or so ago. The target was the 2011 Audi Driver International.

My scribbles can be see HERE

John Brooks, December 2011

Mustang Sally

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Muscle Car

August in Wisconsin, must be Road America at Elkhart Lake. A majestic race track, one of the finest in the world.

Back in 1983 Ford were winning in what was, more or less, their back yard. Klaus Ludwig and Tim Coconis taking the Mustang GTP to victory in the Budweiser 500. It was the high point for the project as persistent engine problems torpedoed any further success.

John Brooks, December 2011

You Can Hear The Girls Declare

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A Classic Scene

1935 and this fabulous shot from Monte Carlo.

The man breaking the Bank that year was Luigi Fagioli in his Mercedes Benz W25B. Here he is about to round the Gasworks Hairpin on his way to victory. Behind him is the Maserati 8CM of Gigi Soffietti.

A classic image.

John Brooks, December 2011

Springtime for Michele and Lancia, Winter for Porsche and Ford……..

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Double Martini

OK, maybe I am not Mel Brooks but you get the drift.

Fishing through the archives I found this shot of the Lancia LC1 pair running away at Silverstone back in 1982. As ever in motor racing controversy was not far behind. The Group C rules were based on a specific fuel allocation per race, at Silverstone it was 600 litres, the standard amount for 1000 Kilometre races. Unfortunately the race at Silverstone was run to a traditional six hour format, that amounted to 1,118 kilometres for the winning Lancia. So despite taking pole position by 1.7 seconds, the sole Rothmans Porsche 956 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell ended up trundling round some ten seconds off the pace in order to save enough fuel to get to the finish. Motor racing it was not.

Rules made by those who do not understand the consequences……………now where have we heard that before?

John Brooks, December 2011

Rally To The Cause

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A visit to the Bologna Motor Show last week was full of the usual motoring delights but for me one aspect stood out from the rest. There was a very strong rally presence, hardly surprising given the heritage of Lancia and FIAT over the years.

Of course being easily distracted by a shiny bauble I was fascinated by the Lancia ECV, a prototype developed for the Group S rules, that were supposed to replace the madness of Group B.

After the deaths of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresta in the 1986 Corsican Rally both Group B and Group S regulations were abandoned, so this spectacular machine never saw competition.

Other Lancia favourites were also on hand, I mean who can resist the Stratos, painted up in Alitalia livery?

And it would be rude not to have another Martini………….

Actually let’s turn it into a three Martini lunch, proper Mad Men style

Later in the week the Rally cars would have their time out on the tracks but I had to make do with the static display………….worth the journey to Italy by itself. I’ll have a look round the rest of the Show in the next day or so. Avanti!

John Brooks, December 2011

At The Foot Of The Alps

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Allan’s strict new training regime seemed to be paying dividends

It has been a bit quiet at DDC HQ of late. I have been on manoeuvres with The Special Correspondent and the shadowy figure just known as “The Captain”. We have been exploring Italy, from Torino to Bologna, much more on that later.

In the meantime here are some snapshots from the Grand Tour.

The Bologna Motor Show is on this week, so we popped by to discover much to interest. Audi had one of their Le Mans-winning R18 on display, one of many race cars to admire.

I said “Blow the bloody doors off”…………

What do you with a redundant car factory……….bulldoze it and build something glass and chrome? Or preserve the famous structure and recycle the whole sheebang? The latter would seem to be the best answer, at least from the evidence of the project to rescue the Lingotto factory.  The former home of FIAT, is now a shopping centre, with hotels, art galleries etc. The famous rooftop test track is still there and we were lucky enough to be allowed a visit.

First Time For Everything

As if that was not enough automotive goodness, just down the strada was the freshly opened Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, celebrating the fantastic contribution of Italy to motoring. A must visit place.

Ciao.

John Brooks, December 2011

Alfisti, Model Citizens

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There is something almost fanatical about those who follow the Alfa Romeo brand, the tribe even has its own name, Alfisti, maybe they are descendants of the Visigoths and Vandals who sacked Rome back in the day.

Model collectors are equally passionate about their pastime. My old friend John Elwin is a fully paid up member of both tribes so this collection for sale is as close to a vision of heaven as he is ever likely to encounter.

The collection is staggering and now is to be sold, wonder where John will be next February?

Historics at Brooklands will present one of the finest model car collections in the world at its winter sale, with one man’s homage to the Alfa Romeo marque making its collective public debut for the first time.

The historically significant 700 strong ‘Martin Webb Collection’ of cars, model kits and books is a life-long representation of an owner’s tireless pursuit of a passion, and includes three extremely rare, unopened, 1/8thscale Italian ‘Pocher’ kits of the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, Alfa Romeo 8C 2600 Mille Miglia Scuderia Ferrari and an Alfa Romeo Spider Touring Gran Sport of 1932, each valued at between £450 – £550.

The collection – in plastic, die-cast, hand-built resin and white metal – covers vehicles from the 1920’s to the present day, in 1/86, 1/43, 1/32, 1/24, 1/20, 1/18, 1/12 and 1/8 scale, with road cars and commercial vehicles as well as Le Mans, Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Formula 1 all represented.

Martin Webb’s love of the Alfa Romeo stemmed from over twenty years of ownership, and a dream of one day owning a ‘Spider’.  Having joined the Alfa Romeo owners club in 1993 his relentless research resulted in the acquisition of a 1967 Duetto.  The car was subsequently prepared so pristinely it would win numerous concours prizes, further demonstrating his predilection for perfection.

With a large number of books acquired to assist the owner in his fanatical dedication to detail also due to be auctioned alongside the cars and kits, the comprehensive collaboration will be presented across Historics’ next two auctions at Mercedes-Benz World on 18th February, and Brooklands Museum on 26th May.

John Brooks, December 2011

The Edge of the Precipice

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1955 Le Mans 24 Hours

16.00 on June 11 1955 and the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The leaders, Castellotti and Maglioli in their Ferraris and the Jaguars of Hawthorn and Beauman are already streaking away up towards the Dunlop Bridge. The Mercedes Benz trio, strangely mired in the mid-field battle, struggle to get up to speed. Fangio has not yet got into motion, jumping into his car after the traditional Le Mans Start he managed to get the gear lever stuck up his trouser leg. He got away last.

Two and half hours later after some intense competition between the Jaguar and Mercedes factory teams, disaster struck as Pierre Levegh’s 300SLR collided with the Austin-Healey of Lance Macklin. The car was pitched onto the safety bank and then flew into the crowded terraces. Levegh and 83 spectators were killed and many more were injured, it was the worst accident in motorsport’s history.

The photo, taken from the excellent Mercedes Benz press site, shows just how narrow the track was at that point and how exposed both the spectators and the pits were.

John Brooks, November 2011