Motorsport Legends Speak
Interviews & Words With The Heroes of Motorsports
This is where the rubber meets the road, where the smell of burnt rubber and high-octane fuel mingles with the sharp insights of those who have lived and breathed motorsports. Here, the legends of racing take the wheel, sharing their firsthand experiences, hard-won wisdom, and unique perspectives in a collection of captivating articles and exclusive interviews.
The Driver's Seat: Insights from Motorsports Legends
This is where the rubber meets the road, where the smell of burnt rubber and high-octane fuel mingles with the sharp insights of those who have lived and breathed motorsports. Here, the legends of racing take the wheel, sharing their firsthand experiences, hard-won wisdom, and unique perspectives in a collection of captivating articles and exclusive interviews. Get ready to dive deep into the minds of champions as they dissect race strategy, reflect on career-defining moments, and offer a glimpse into the intense pressure and exhilaration of life at the limit. Hear from visionary engineers, team owners, motorsport executives, and influential figures who shape the sport from behind the scenes.
Jim Crawford would have turned 70 this year. After a brief stint in Formula One with Lotus he rebuilt his career in America during the 1980s. Following a devastating crash at Indianapolis, Jim made a fairytale comeback. He died aged just 54, but the good natured and courageous Scotsman is...
My career, like many people, started in Formula Ford, in 1971, before progressing to Formula Italy, and on to Formula 3—a championship I stayed in for about four or five years. Formula Three was a good experience for me and my team, Euroracing. In 1977 we won the European F3...
We concluded last month’s opening segment of John Zimmermann’s interview with David Hobbs as he was preparing to turn his attention toward North America. Even though he would still contest a number of major races in Europe, the main focus of his competitive efforts turned toward the USA where he...
Southgate’s sleek Jagusr XJR-6 draws a crowd in the paddock at Brands Hatch for the World Endurance Championship round in September of 1985.Photo: Pete Austin The first time I met Tom Walkinshaw was in 1984. I had been invited to meet him at Tom Walkinshaw Racing’s (TWR) headquarters in Kidlington,...
Frank Costin had a reputation for innovation and creativity unsurpassed in British motorsport. He brought skills and knowledge from the aviation industry to a wide range of motoring projects and played a major role in the success of the Vanwall Grand Prix car, which won the first Constructor’s World Championship...
Daughter of famed coachbuilder Henri Chapron In the midst of celebrating the coachwork of Henri Chapron, at this year’s Pebble Beach concours d’Elegance, Lexi Maciel had the opportunity to speak with Henri’s daughter, Noëlle Chapron-Paul, about growing up in her father’s shop. Alongside her mother, Noëlle also worked to keep...
The world of motorsport has many colorful characters, but few as interesting and humorous as Akton “Ak” Miller. A founding member of the National Hot Rod Association, Miller combined his passion for hot rods and straight-line speed with an interest in open road racing to create some amazing specials for...
Over the course of his life, Frank Gardner has been a boxer, a surfer and a motorcycle mechanic before moving on to motor racing in Australia, England and eventually, throughout the world. Our Patrick Quinn managed to catch up with Frank at his Australian driver-training facility and found him to...
Ask anyone who was the first American to win a Grand Prix and chances are they will say Phil Hill or Dan Gurney, heroes of the ’60s. But it was, in fact, much earlier than that. The first was David Bruce-Brown, a strikingly handsome young New Yorker and son of...
Dr. Stephen E. OlveyPhoto: Dan R. Boyd USA LAT Photographic I met Alex Zanardi back in the late ’90s when he first came into Indycar racing. My impression at the time was: what a happy, friendly guy. Alex is the type of person who shortly after you first meet him...
Two names have become synonymous with Corvette over the years—Zora Arkus-Duntov and Dick Guldstrand. From the airport circuits of California to the open roads of Le Mans, Guldstrand’s list of racing accomplishments is long and legendary, and on the occasion of his recent passiing we remember him by rerunning Casey...
For a “round peg,” John Cooper Fitch fits remarkably “squarely” in the pigeonhole marked “True American Hero.” In his 85 years so far on this planet, he has risked life and limb for his country as a WWII fighter pilot as well as for his own pleasure in racing cars...
Owner and Chief Executive Officer, White Post Restorations VR: How is it that a major automobile restoration facility was founded in the little town of White Post, Virginia? No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....
Oosthoek’s first car was this ’50s Fiat 1100, which was so rusty, he covered the holes with decals! VR: How did you first get started with cars? WO: I guess it was around 1959, when I was at the age of 12, I became aware that there was such a...
Rick Mears will always be known as one of the few men ever to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, but despite an Indycar career of legendary proportions, the guy once called “Rocket Rick: The Fastest Man on Four Wheels” was no one-trick pony. As we know, he started out...
After leaving Lotus, I was “sucked in” by Don Nichols and rejoined Shadow. He said James Hunt would be our driver, and that all the problems of the past had been sorted out. I’d had offers from Fittipaldi and Renault, but in the end I went back to Shadow. Tab-a-tip...
By the time this column is read, the second anniversary of the passing of Tom Walkinshaw will have come and gone. In my career, I must have shared more drives with him than any other driver. You could say there were two Tom Walkinshaws. In fact, on reflection, there were...
Everybody knows who Bobby Unser is. During his extensive racing career, the third of Mom and Pop Unser’s four race-driving sons won races in stock cars, sports cars and sprint cars, as well as reigning over the second edition of the International Race of Champions in 1975 and the only...
John Coombs was literally born into the motoring business, as his multi-talented craftsman father was already working with automobiles when John appeared on the scene. As John grew up he eventually began racing, soon moving successfully into 500-cc Formula Three. Eventually, the family firm, Coombs & Sons, Ltd., became known for...
At the end of the ’60s, American manufacturers placed a lot of emphasis on the “Pony Car” market. As a result, everyone wanted to win the Trans-Am championship. By 1969, all the major American manufacturers had thrown their weight into the Trans-Am – Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, American Motors, and Chrysler...
Born to a Paris butcher and his wife in April 1937, the late Jean-Pierre Beltoise had won the incredible number of 11 French national motorcycle racing championships, in three years, by the time he was 28. After that, he made a profession out of being a champion of many forms...
Christopher TatePhoto: Kary Jiggle Christopher Tate is the Managing Director of Donington Race Circuit in the UK. In his career, he has held many senior positions with various organizations including Lola Cars International, Elan Panoz and the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, UK. In recent years, he was one of...
For three short years, in the early 1960s, Christabel Carlisle, now Lady Watson, was the name on the lips of everyone who attended race meetings in the UK. At that time, it was controversial for women to race cars. However, from out of nowhere she was an instant success. During...
Bruno Giacomelli was born in Brescia, Italy, in 1952. He was always enthusiastic about racing and especially about single-seaters, working his way quickly into Formula Two, where he won the European F2 Championship in 1978 driving a works March-BMW. He managed to break into F1 in a 3rd McLaren in...
Ex-Donald Healey Motor Company works driver, Clive Baker first began his connection with Healeys and Austin-Healeys in Tasmania. Clive went on to race Sprites in the UK and after being noticed by Donald Healey would drive Works prepared Sprites and 3000s culminating in steering the Healey SR at Le Mans...
Many motorsport enthusiasts remember the names of Bruce McLaren and Denis Hulme as part of the Bruce and Denis Show, which dominated Can-Am racing from 1967 to 1972. However, part of the success of the McLaren team stemmed from the people with whom Bruce McLaren surrounded himself; people like Phil...
When last we left Bruce Burness (April VR) he had just initiated his lasting association with Trevor Harris where they performed what he called “the ultimate male-bonding experience.” In this second part of VR Associate Editor John Zimmermann’s interview, Burness discusses the achievement he considers the pinnacle of his career,...
Michael Turner Atmosphere and emotion are two ingredients I have tried to incorporate into my painting. It was Tony Kydd, the features editor of Motor Magazine in the late 1940s who said to me, “Without attention to background, scenery, and people you lose so much in a picture, it’s not...
When he was a kid in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Patrick Depailler’s idol was French motorcycle champion and racing driver Jean Behra. The two were alike in more ways than one, as they shared a living-for-the-moment attitude that didn’t always pay off. Surprisingly, though, Patrick’s devil-may-care lifestyle didn’t really do his motor...
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Canadian industries of aerospace and racecar design were at the forefront of a new wave of industrial design. Avro Aviation engineer James C. Floyd had come up with the CF 105 Avro Arrow, a 1500-mph delta-winged fighter aircraft, and Bill Sadler had...
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