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Posted
Nov 01 2009, 04:00 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 3 comment(s)
There is a name that's synonymous with Le Mans: Jacky Ickx. The unassuming Belgian driver ruled sportscar racing in general and Le Mans in particular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but his career effectively spanned four decades. Ickx was a multi-discipline master: one of the old school of drive anything, anywhere, anytime – fast. An all-rounder of the highest ability; Europe's equivalent of Mario Andretti. Unlike many sportscar drivers who never made their mark in Formula 1, Ickx...
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Posted
Oct 06 2009, 03:31 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
The last round of the British Touring Car Championship is all about the title fight: three races and three men in a fight to be the 2009 champion. First up is the points leader, Colin Turkington in the West Surrey Racing-run BMW 320. The Northern Irishman has been racing in the BTCC since 2002 and has already won the Independents' title for the last two years, but now he's leading overall with 249 points. Next up is Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi. He's won the British series for manufacturer...
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Posted
Oct 03 2009, 11:38 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 8 comment(s)
Six months ago the Arena Ford Focus team barely made the opening round of the 2009 British Touring Car Championship and qualified near the back. They rarely bothered the front-runners over the first half of the championship and a first points-paying position – 10th, back at the Croft circuit – was celebrated like a win. Fast forward to this weekend's final three races and we're back at Brands Hatch, this time on the long Grand Prix configuration. But now the Focus is not only...
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Posted
Oct 02 2009, 01:50 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 7 comment(s)
Although Goodwood isn't used for any contemporary racing, it's still a busy circuit for track days, car manufacturer testing and special events. From these untrained eyes it doesn't look like it would need that much work to host newer series: surely going off at 120mph in a 1960s racer straight into a haybale is more dangerous than being enclosed in a nice, safe carbon-fibre monocoque... But, the public only seeing historics at Goodwood is hardly a limitation, especially when the racing...
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Posted
Sep 28 2009, 09:08 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 14 comment(s)
As with June's Festival Of Speed at Goodwood, the Revival's open paddocks are a fantastic way to get close to a huge collection of racing machinery in a way that's usually just not possible at a regular meeting. There's a twist at the Revival though: in keeping with the event's theme, capturing the atmosphere of Goodwood's glory years is the goal so the entire site aims to recreate the look of the '50s and '60s. Buildings, cars and people all take on the period theme...
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Posted
Sep 27 2009, 09:16 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 14 comment(s)
The Beetle might be the people's car, and the Golf GTi the people's hot hatch, but the fourth BMW Show at Santa Pod proved that the BMW 3-series is without doubt the people's performance car – in Europe at least. The acres of car park were rammed with examples of all five body styles of the iconic 3-Series, and fleshed out with smaller corrals of other popular BMW models. As usual for Santa Pod shows, there were three main areas to discover over the weekend. The car clubs turned...
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Posted
Sep 25 2009, 07:07 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
With all the other attractions on offer around Goodwood, it's actually easy to forget that the three-day event is packed with on-track racing. When the revving of engines in the paddocks dies down there's always the echoes of the cars running round the track – there's no such thing as quiet time at Goodwood....
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Posted
Sep 24 2009, 08:15 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 12 comment(s)
The BGC Earls Court Motor Show at the Goodwood Revival was introduced in 2008 and is a recreation of the big London motor shows of the '50s, complete with Art Deco frontage. This year's theme was 'Race Cars For The Road': 25 race-derived vehicles were on display, with models from the last 50 years on show – a break from the usual 'no modern vehicles' rule al the Revival. ...
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Posted
Sep 22 2009, 10:33 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 20 comment(s)
The Goodwood Revival is the sister event to the Festival Of Speed in July, based down near the south coast of Sussex in England. Whereas the focus for the Festival is the hillclimb course outside Goodwood House – home to event organiser Lord March – the Revival is all about reliving the golden era of the nearby Goodwood racing circuit. The track opened just after the end of the Second World War, and held many famous races in the 1950s and into the '60s. The Revival atmosphere starts...
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Posted
Sep 15 2009, 07:40 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 7 comment(s)
It's the last round of this year's Le Mans Series: 1000kms (195 laps) of the Silverstone Grand Prix track in Northamptonshire, England to decide the LMP1 and GT2 champions. Aston Martin require at least fifth place to secure the title for the #007 crew of Jan Charouz, Stefan Mücke and Tomas Enge. The cars are formed up on the grid 45 minutes before the race start, due for 11.35am. The grid girls march out to mark the grid order, different colour signs reflecting the different class cars...
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Posted
Sep 13 2009, 08:26 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 10 comment(s)
It's down to the wire at the last round of the 2009 Le Mans Series. The LMP1 championship has been thrown open this year, with the diesel Peugeot 908s only competing for a part-season and the non-appearance of the factory Audi R15s. The #007 Lola-Aston Martin crew is on course to win, with a seven point advantage in the drivers' championship over the #16 Pescarolo and then the #009 sister Aston only just behind and gunning for second. LMP2 is already decided, with the on-form Olivier Pla...
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Posted
Sep 09 2009, 10:30 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 12 comment(s)
My office is in the heart of London's Mayfair, with the fashion boutiques and jewellers of Old Bond Street just round the corner, Sotheby's famous auction house opposite and many of London's great squares all within walking distance. Even on a rainy day you'll see across all manner of motoring exotica cruising around - Porsches, Astons, Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis gliding around the back-streets, exhaust notes echoing off the old buildings. Bentley and Audi have showrooms...
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Posted
Sep 03 2009, 09:49 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 8 comment(s)
Aston Martin are helping publicise the upcoming 1000kms Le Mans Series race at Silverstone by displaying the 007 car outside Euston station in London for two days this week, so I had to drop by to get a picture. They'll be three Lola Aston Martins at Silverstone, with their clean sweep of the Nurburgring podium positions to live up to. It's going to be a tough ask... The car was drawing a lot of attention from passers-by, though there weren't really a lot of obvious signs as to why it...
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Posted
Aug 26 2009, 10:16 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 27 comment(s)
For the pioneering speedhunters of the early 20th century, the dusty roads of France is where it all started. A burgeoning auto industry, plenty of long, empty roads and little concern for health and safety meant tracks sprung up all over the country, and the period between the First and Second World Wars proved to be glory years for French road racing. Reims, to the north-east of Paris, became one of its most famous tracks. A circuit built for one purpose: speed. Despite falling into disuse in the...
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Posted
Jul 23 2009, 05:40 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
Watching the teams prepare their cars in the pit lane before sending them out for the Sunday morning warm-up, I was struck by the choreography that directs the relationship between the teams and their drivers. Timetables drive the series - sessions are short, meaning every second counts, so co-ordination between driver and team is vital. However, there's a problem. While the team want a well executed, effortless performance - drivers gliding round the track to elegant victory - the drivers seem...
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Posted
Jul 21 2009, 03:06 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
Cars that radically shake up the status quo are rare, whether in racing, rallying, drifting or on the street. Often it's down to performance or the implementation of new technology under the body, but upon its launch in 1971 almost every aspect of the Lancia Stratos was shocking. Remember, the car that won the previous year's World Rally Championship was the Renault Alpine A110 with its '60s curves. The Stratos didn't just represent a new decade but a whole new style of race car attitude...
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Posted
Jul 10 2009, 01:44 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 14 comment(s)
Observations from this year's Festival Of Speed? There are almost too many to digest. The Festival lasts three days, but you need a year to take it all in. But then, thankfully, that just means it's time for another one... There is just so much on the site, from the focal point of Goodwood House and Gerry Judah's impressive Audi-themed sculpture through the main paddock, the car manufacturers field, the sellers' tents, the rally stage... This is an event where you never feel like...
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Posted
Jul 08 2009, 04:09 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 20 comment(s)
Goodwood can be overwhelming as an event. Over 152,000 fans flocked to West Sussex over the three days, and sometimes it was difficult to move for the crush of people in the lower paddocks and along the hillclimb. But even though there was a constant stream of people trekking up the hill to get to the Forest Rally Stage, once you were there it was a much calmer experience - at least in the crowd sense, if no less intense for car activity. Sebastian Loeb is pictured here in his 2009 Citroen C4 WRC...
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Posted
Jul 04 2009, 07:15 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 26 comment(s)
Goodwood has acquired legendary status since its low-key launch in 1993, when it started with a handful of historic cars but a surfeit of enthusiasm. The Festival Of Speed has grown into a huge annual event with over 150,000 fans attending, twinned with the Revival Festival held in September at the Goodwood racing circuit a mile or so from Goodwood House and the hillclimb. Over the coming days Speedhunters will be posting plenty of coverage from the three days of the festival, and I'll kick things...
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Posted
Jun 25 2009, 01:00 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 17 comment(s)
There is a corner of Santa Pod that is forever Japan. It just seemed right to see the hordes of Japanese car clubs packing out the hard stand that runs alongside the drag strip: from the biggest, meanest supra-cars to more modest town hatchbacks via the cleanest classics this side of Tokyo. From the moment I arrived on-site it was clear just how popular the event is: the parking field was packed and the camping areas full of tents. The quarter mile provided the focus for the weekend - particularly...
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