Starting with the GP Ice Race in January and ending with the Coppa delle Alpi in December, Sports Car Digest covered a diverse range of historic car races and rallies in 2019. Our award-winning team of photographers took tens of thousands of pictures, spending hours post-event analyzing and choosing the best ones in an effort to wow our readers. To celebrate the effect that these photographs have on us as well as the dozens of talented photographers who capture them, we have once again narrowed it down to the 50 best vintage racing pictures of the year.
Simply vote by leaving a comment below indicating which photo is your favorite image. If you feel that we’ve overlooked a particular picture, please nominate a candidate by linking to the picture in your comment. We will announce the winner in the January 30th edition of our newsletter and in the comment section.
We will randomly choose THREE winners from the comments to receive a SCD T-Shirt and sticker combo, so be sure to include your email address in the comment form so we can reach you. In order to win, you must also be a subscriber to Sports Car Digest, so sign up for our free newsletter if you haven’t already.
We hope you enjoy the top 50 best pictures of 2019, sorted by the date taken.
1/30/20 Update: Readers overwhelmingly chose Gerard Brown’s outstanding capture of the 1954 Austin-Healey 100/4 leaping out of a sandpit in Mongolia on the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge as our best vintage racing photo of 2019. Commentator Jessica W. said it best: “… so much energy and determination in that shot, it sums up all that is amazing about these beautiful old cars.”
Your second favorite image from last year was Victor Varela’s endearing photo of the yellow 1915 Ford Race Car with its mustached driver using a hand-held mirror to check out the competition, followed by Pierre-Yves Riom’s photo of the iconic Gulf Porsche 917K seemingly flat-out during the Spa Classic.
Many thanks for all the thoughtful comments and votes. They were as fun to read as looking at the pictures.
Best Vintage Car Racing Photo of 2019
Porsche 356 on the Winter Marathon Rally (photo: Pierpaolo Romano)
Porsche 911 sliding on the Winter Marathon Rally (photo: Pierpaolo Romano)
Maserati 250F at the Laguna Seca Spring Club (photo: Victor Varela)
Lancia D50A at the Laguna Seca Spring Club (photo: Victor Varela)
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa at the Laguna Seca Spring Club (photo: Victor Varela)
Austin Mini Cooper S at the Goodwood Members Meeting (photo: Drew Gibson)
BMW M1 Procar demonstration at the Goodwood Members Meeting (photo: Jayson Fong)
Ferrari 512 at the Espiritu de Montjuic (photo: Fotorissima)
1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS at the Goodwood Members Meeting (photo: Drew Gibson)
Bizzarrini 5300 GT at the Goodwood Members Meeting (photo: Tom Shaxson)
1916 Sunbeam ‘Indianapolis’ at the Goodwood Members Meeting (photo: Tom Shaxson)
Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0 at the Tour Auto Rally (photo: Matty White)
BMW 2002 Turbo at the Tour Auto Rally (photo: Matty White)
Lotus Elan 26R at the Tour Auto Rally (photo: Julien Hergault)
Lancia Fuliva at the Tour Auto Rally (photo: Matty White)
AC Cobra 289 at the Tour Auto Rally (photo: Matty White)
BMW 2800 CS at the Tour Auto Rally (photo: Matty White)
Ford Mustang Boss 302 at the Trans Am Speedfest (photo: Victor Varela)
Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix at the Mille Miglia (photo: 1000 Miglia Srl)
Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix at the Mille Miglia (photo: 1000 Miglia Srl)
Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix at the Mille Miglia (photo: 1000 Miglia Srl)
BMW CSL at the rainy Spa Classic (photo: Fotorissima)
BMW CSL at the rainy Spa Classic (photo: Fotorissima)
BMW CSL at the rainy Spa Classic (photo: Fotorissima)
2019 Spa Classic
Bugatti Type 37A at the Sonoma Speed Festival (photo: Victor Varela)
Talbot T26C Grand Prix at the Sonoma Speed Festival (photo: Victor Varela)
Bentley Speed Six on the Peking to Paris (photo: Gerard Brown / Francesco Rastrelli)
Chevrolet Fangio Coupe on the Peking to Paris (photo: Gerard Brown / Francesco Rastrelli)
Chevrolet Fangio Coupe on the Peking to Paris (photo: Gerard Brown / Francesco Rastrelli)
Austin-Healey 100/4 on the Peking to Paris (photo: Gerard Brown / Francesco Rastrelli)
Bentley Super Sport on the Peking to Paris (photo: Gerard Brown / Francesco Rastrelli)
Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (photo: Drew Gibson)
Jackie Stewart in the Matra-Cosworth MS80 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (photo: Drew Gibson)
Austin-Healey 3000 at the Silverstone Classic (photo: Jakob Ebrey)
Tyrrell 012 at the Silverstone Classic (photo: Jakob Ebrey)
Porsche 935 at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion (photo: Victor Varela)
BMW CSL at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion (photo: Victor Varela)
1915 Ford Race Car at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion (photo: Victor Varela)
2005 Audi R8 LMP at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion (photo: Victor Varela)
Ferrari 250 GT SWB/C driven by Tom Kristensen at the Goodwood Revival (photo: Nick Harvey)
Porsche 910 and Lola T70 at the Goodwood Revival (photo: Michael DiPleco)
Jaguar D-Type at the Goodwood Revival (photo: Michael DiPleco)
Aston-Martin DB3S at the Goodwood Revival (photo: Michael DiPleco)
Ferrari 500 TRC at the Goodwood Revival (photo: Michael DiPleco)
Maserati Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’ at the Monza Historic (photo: Fotorissima)
Lotus 23B at the CSRG Charity Challenge (photo: Victor Varela)
Lotus Seven at the CSRG Charity Challenge (photo: Victor Varela)
Porsche 910 at the CSRG Charity Challenge (photo: Victor Varela)
Jaguar XJR-14 at the Dix Mille Tours (photo: Photo Classic Racing)
Pair of Allard J2X models on the Rallye des Légendes (photo: Mathieu Bonnevie)
Ford GT40 on the Rallye des Légendes (photo: Mathieu Bonnevie)
Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic Rally (photo: McKlein Photography)
Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic Rally (photo: McKlein Photography)
Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic Rally (photo: McKlein Photography)
Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic Rally (photo: McKlein Photography)
Mini Cooper S on the Coppa delle Alpi (photo: 1000 Miglia Srl)
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