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Posted
Dec 29 2010, 03:23 PM
by
John Brooks
with 6 comment(s)
Le Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans is without doubt the biggest motor race in the world. The Indianapolis 500 may have more spectators on the day or at least it did when it had relevance. There may be bigger yachts moored at Monaco with even bigger egos on display, during the Grand Prix but Le Mans is the daddy when it comes to recognition from the non petrolheads. From the hordes of fanatical supporters and fans to the teams and drivers, from all parts of the racing spectrum, it is the cornerstone of...
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Posted
Dec 28 2010, 07:00 PM
by
John Brooks
with 6 comment(s)
While the attention of the SpeedHunters' Tribe when focused on sportscar track action natuarlly gravitates towards the GT battles, witness the scale of coverage on this site, there is, of course, another side to that form of racing. The Prototypes. The contest is played out at the sharp end of the field and in the past few years the speeds have risen to all time record level. The winning Audi at Le Mans this June finally broke the distance record set by Gijs Van Lennep and Helmut Marko in the...
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Posted
Dec 24 2010, 06:00 PM
by
John Brooks
with 4 comment(s)
Perhaps now would be a good time to look at those races that I attended and that were not run to some version of the rules governing the Le Mans 24 Hours. There was a considerable variety but I suppose on reflection the stand out event in 2010 was the Nurburgring 24 Hours. I went straight there after the Spa 1000 Kilometers so had a whole week marinading in the automotive juices of the Nordschleife. 170 cars started the main event with factory supported entries everywhere and in every class. Most...
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Posted
Dec 18 2010, 11:15 AM
by
John Brooks
with 10 comment(s)
One of the better things about this SpeedHunting malarkey is that it gives me a good reason to drag myself out of the office to events and shows as well as races. While I have an abiding interest in such happenings, there is nothing like the prospect of having to amuse an audience to get the juices flowing. Stage Fright is a powerful stimulant. Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of such events is the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is a cornucopia of things fast, a celebration of what is possible. Everywhere...
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Posted
Dec 16 2010, 10:02 AM
by
John Brooks
with 10 comment(s)
In any kind of competition the real excitement, the real edge comes when the Big Dogs square up to each other. At the tracks that means the manufacturers, sure the racing can be good when private teams are running against each other, see GT1 and GT3 for example but the stuff of legends is only really possible when the factories do battle. In endurance racing there were two arenas for these contests, Le Mans Prototypes with Audi and Peugeot going toe to toe with their fabulous turbo diesels and Le...
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Posted
Dec 02 2010, 11:35 AM
by
John Brooks
with 11 comment(s)
The days contract, the temperature plummets, the leaves fall from the trees, it is December once again. The top of my personal hour-glass is a year's worth of sand less than it was just 12 months ago. I suspect that particular glass is more than half empty despite my abiding optimism. So what does this handful of dust represent? In reality not much, my personal Hejira is just chicken scratching, of little lasting consequence. Perhaps the one thing that was of note is writing for the SpeedHunters'...
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Posted
Nov 14 2010, 11:45 PM
by
John Brooks
with 17 comment(s)
November 2010 is Haulers & Sedans month on SpeedHunters, so this concept encouraged me to cast my mind back to the Le Mans Series round held at Portimao in July. The support event was the genuinely bizzare Ford Transit Trophy, a Portuguese series for express haulers. So here for your pleasure on a dreary and wet Sunday in November is some fun in the Sun When these vehicles appeared on track, Brits like me, of a certain age, expected to hear the theme-song from the magical 70's TV Cop Show...
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Posted
Oct 29 2010, 09:50 AM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 15 comment(s)
This may be one of the most significant racecars in recent times......but isn't that just a Porsche 911 GT3? Not just any old 911, this is the Porsche 911 'GT3R Hybrid'. Far removed from a Prius, Volt, or Insight, this Hybrid is a mobile laboratory for Porsche Motorsport as they develop Petrol-Electric Hybrid for road and race use. I was fortunate to see this new technology in action at Petit Le Mans, and with the help of John Brooks and Marshall Pruett of SPEED.com , we can look at the...
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Posted
Oct 15 2010, 09:00 PM
by
John Brooks
with 20 comment(s)
The Toyota TS020 aka GT-ONE. Without fear of contradiction, I can lay a claim that this is the wildest road car ever built. Forget Zonda and Bugatti, nothing is likely to ever eclipse the sense of sheer madness and excess involved in chassis number LM803. Imagine popping down to shops for a pint of milk and a packet of ciggies in this............ Appearing in this shot there are four of the seven GT-ONE cars that were built. The occasion was the Scrutineering part for the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours. I...
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Posted
Oct 14 2010, 09:10 PM
by
John Brooks
with 33 comment(s)
Looking through the archive on a hunt for Bob Wollek images. I came across this piece of history from 1998, the road going version of the Mercedes Benz CLK GTR, round the Place des Jacobins at Le Mans. Not only that but I am getting the thumbs up sign from all round good guy and, if there is any justice in the world, 2010 Formula One Champion. It is Mark Webber, who would not know me from a bar of soap these days but back then he was about the only friendly face at AMG Mercedes. Him and Klaus Ludwig...
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Posted
Oct 11 2010, 04:45 AM
by
John Brooks
with 9 comment(s)
Rage against the Night. McNish's Audi R15 chases the Peugeots but even he can't make up the gap. 2-0 to the French, a whitewash in China? Allez Les Blues! Who can you believe these days? I feel like a politician. I boldly make a statement, totally convinced that I am right, then it turns out to be utter tosh. A quick look at my work schedule shows that I have still to write my PLM wrap up. So here goes. Reputation shot to pieces. The 2010 edition of Petit Le Mans may well go down in history...
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Posted
Oct 08 2010, 07:47 AM
by
John Brooks
with 15 comment(s)
Sometimes, on a day like today, I look back and reflect, that all things considered, I have had a fortunate life. Auditing, Accounting, Advertising, Design and Motorsport have paid the bills somehow. They have largely kept me out of mischief and taken me to some far flung places and events that I would otherwise have missed More importantly these occupations have introduced me to some pretty strange and interesting people along the way, some were scoundrels and wastrels but there was never a dull...
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Posted
Oct 06 2010, 03:51 PM
by
John Brooks
with 3 comment(s)
It said that, in life, you are judged by the company that you keep. As the above shot illustrates, the guys at Team Falken are hanging with the Big Dogs. OK, no one would pretend that they are racing the quartet of Peugeots and Audis but they fully deserve their place in the stellar field of racers that contested last weekend's Petit Le Mans. They are now an integral part of the ALMS scene. Perhaps as I am an infrequent visitor to the ALMS I see the transformation of the team more clearly than...
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Posted
Oct 03 2010, 07:20 PM
by
John Brooks
with 10 comment(s)
October arrives bringing with it the final episodes of 2010. At this time of year motorsport pulls down the shutters and prepares for the winter, and hopefully, the spring. There are still some rituals to be observed, the last Grand Prix and the Formula One titles, Macau and in North America, Petit Le Mans. This instant classic, brought to a grateful public some 12 years ago by the Don Panoz and the ACO, is the punctuation mark, the full stop, that completes the real endurance season. The 2010 race...
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Posted
Oct 01 2010, 04:32 AM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 7 comment(s)
The 13th annual Petit Le Mans, the final round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series takes place this weekend. This round is also part of the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, a mini-world championship, piggy backing various LMS and ALMS events. With this added incentive, we have a few extra entries from Europe. As John Brooks was at the circuit on Thursday morning, to capture a dry practice seesion, I have taken the the opportunity to ‘borrow’ some of his stunning photography! Peugeot...
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Posted
Sep 26 2010, 05:01 AM
by
John Brooks
with 6 comment(s)
Even for those of us getting on a bit, ten years, a whole decade, is a significant chunk of time. Ten years ago saw the third edition of the instant endurance racing classic, Petit Le Mans. The landscape back then, both on and off the track, was somewhat different. Hell, Bill Clinton was still President of the United States of America. September 11 was just a day like any other, there was a calm before the storm. The signs of the impending troubles were there for those with eyes to see but most of...
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Posted
Sep 23 2010, 07:15 PM
by
John Brooks
with 24 comment(s)
SpeedHunting and consequently SpeedHunters, are all over the planet. None of the continents are safe, one minute it is Bonneville, next San Luis, the next Monza, but this frenetic travelling grows less and less attractive, the more it is experienced. If I never see the dump that is London Heathrow and its peculiar inhabitants again, I would be very happy. So finding a motoring activity that takes place in your backyard and involves minimal distance to cover is a wonderful thing. Earlier this month...
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Posted
Sep 08 2010, 05:25 PM
by
John Brooks
with 32 comment(s)
They say that time flies when you are having fun, actually, I have found that it also flies if you are deep in the ***. Last weekend I was rummaging through a big box of old prints and slides researching for a new book project. I found a sheet or two of slides that reminded of my first visit to the majestic circuit known as Spa Francorchamps. It was exactly 25 years ago, the first week in September and what should have been a great time became memorable for all the wrong reasons. Then the thought...
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Posted
Sep 03 2010, 01:09 AM
by
John Brooks
with 5 comment(s)
There is a new category of features for the SpeedHunters Project, Sequence. Well it did not take long to find one story that would fit while out and about last weekend. The 2010 GT1 World Championship features a Qualifying Race to determine who will lead the pack in the Main Race. There are also points on offer and of course all racing drivers grow horns when they get suited and booted and jump in behind the wheel. The logic runs, if it can be called logic, that the race is won or lost on the first...
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Posted
Aug 31 2010, 11:25 AM
by
John Brooks
with 29 comment(s)
Like a scene from a Bond Movie or a stunt that D*ck Dastardly might pull, this is a novel method of keeping another competitor behind. Last weekend's FIA GT1 World Championship round at Nurburgring saw a mid field duel between these modern day Wacky Racers. Enrique Bernoldi in the Vitaphone Maserati MC12 has just been tapped by Richard Westbrook in the Matech Ford GT. So of course he hits the flame thrower button...................... It was a case of "Drat, drat, and double drat!"...
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