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.
There is but a short list of automotive names, from the post-World War II period, that shine brightly. Names that when they come to mind, cause us to think about significant marques or types of vehicles that are renowned amongst enthusiasts today. Someone like Enzo Ferrari, who started his career...
Richie Ginther Biography Those readers familiar with the Grand Prix History website know that central to this site is the Hall of Fame. Illustrating that section is a famous photograph by Gary Bramstedt entitled Heroes. Amongst such giants of the sport as Clark, Brabham and Hill is a small freckle-faced driver...
Like many motor racing fans, my original dream of becoming a World Champion racing driver started when I was a small boy, aged about five or six years old. How this was to become a reality was beyond dreams, I was the son of a Lutterworth farmer and far removed...
Ronnie Peterson Biography Ronnie Peterson was born on 1944 in Örebro, Sweden, the son of an avid racer of moderate accomplishments. His father’s love for all things mechanical was inherited by his son. When Peterson was only eight years old his father built him a car, or at least the young Ronnie...
A well-known name in Australian motor sport circles, Brian Foley commenced racing during the 1950s behind the wheel of an Austin A30. He soon moved on to other BMC cars, including an A40 Farina, Lancer, Austin-Healey Sprite and the mighty Mini Cooper S, though the late 1960s and early ’70s...
He is literally the fastest man on the planet, and has been since October 15, 1997. That was when Andy Green set the current World Land Speed Record of an average 766.035 mph taking him to Mach 1.02, which also made him the world’s first supersonic car driver. And he...
Initially, Jean-Pierre Jabouille made his mark in France’s national Formula Three racing in 1968. Not only did he race, but he also maintained his own car and earned enough money to move continually forward to the next meetings. At the time, a certain François Cevert was dominating the French F3...
Our European Editor, Ed McDonough, has had the opportunity to interview John Surtees on a number of occasions, investigating how Surtees had his first test in a Formula 1 car in a Vanwall, and later became the only person ever to race Vanwall’s short-lived rear-engine car in 1961. As part...
John Cordts is a quiet, modest man, which is likely the reason why many fans of the sport are not familiar with this Canadian Hall of Fame driver. However, Cordts’ racing resume is impressive, including several decades racing everything from MGs and Corvettes to 65 starts in the Can-Am from...
Raoul “Sonny” Balcaen may not be a name with which everyone is familiar, but he grew up in Southern California in a world filled with automobiles and explored many of the pathways on that landscape. From an initial baptism in hot rodding, he moved naturally into drag racing, working with...
What kind of racing driver is it who forgets how many times he’s won? One of the most successful, of course. Too many victories to remember. That’s Britain’s Derek Bell, “Mr. Nice Guy” as he is known among most of his contemporaries. Which is remarkable in itself. Not too many...
I did 525 races. I had five wheels come off, I’ve had seven or eight brake failures, and I have had the steering shear twice…where I have been driving along and suddenly my arms crossed…that’s when you know something is wrong! The things you remember are the things that are...
London Fashion Designer, Car Enthusiast London fashion designer Simon Carter spends his work days designing all types of sophisticated, high quality men’s clothing, particularly shirts. He first started in the mid-1980s designing jewelry—which is still very much a part of his accessory range today—but now includes watches and luggage. Although...
VR: How did you first get bitten by the “bug”? Drew Alcazar is president and founder of Russo & Steele Auctions. DA: Well, that was an easy moment to remember because it was like an epiphany. I was probably in fifth grade and I was riding around in my friend...
In addition to being a successful real estate developer, Ted Gildred was appointed Ambassador to Argentina during the Reagan administration. VR: You were born in Mexico, as I understand. TG: Yes, I was born in Mexico City in 1935. My dad was a civil engineer and had worked, when he...
Paddy Hopkirk’s name is almost synonymous with the rise of the rallying Mini Cooper. His win in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964 made him a household name. However, he raced as much as he rallied and has a phenomenal 280 events to his credit. He started rallying in a...
The story of the Marzotto brothers and their brief but mercurial motor racing careers was mostly about Giannino winning the Mille Miglia not once but twice, in both 1950 and 1953. Which put him up there with greats like Giuseppe Campari, who won the race in 1928 and 1929, Tazio...
My personal record with the Mercedes 300 SLR was six starts, three wins, two 2nd places and one “withdrawn when leading”…under protest. That was at Le Mans after the big crash when one of our cars was involved and the Mercedes board in Stuttgart decided to withdraw the other cars....
In the 1920s and 1930s, British schoolboys devoured every word they could find about their favorite comic book heroes, like Biggles and Dick Barton, Special Agent. In Sir Henry Birkin Bt, however, they had a real live, walking, talking hero and they idolized him all the more. He was passably...
In the history of motor-sport safety, few names are as universally recognized as that of Bill Simpson. Initially an active drag racer, Simpson went on to race in various road racing categories before moving on to USAC racing and eventually the Indianapolis 500. While Simpson often demonstrated great speed and...
Bugatti had won the Targa Florio three consecutive years from 1925 – 1927 by the time their new recruit, Albert Divo, was flagged away from the Cerda start of the 1928 Sicilian classic. And he didn’t disappoint: Divo not only won the island epic that year, he made it two...
I was born in Italy into a family that was involved in motor racing—both my father and my uncle were racecar drivers. I believe from the time of my birth, in 1964, to my early teens was one of the best eras of motor sport. From my experience, we had...
As a teenager I sat in the Woodcote stand at Goodwood and watched Karl Foitek in a Giulietta TI come around at the end of the first lap in among the 3.8 Jaguars. I know I wasn’t dreaming as I have it on my cine film. On the next lap...
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....
To say that Roy Gane has strong opinions would be to say that Cadbury’s makes chocolates. It’s evident as soon as you open a conversation with Roy that he has strong opinions on people in racing, races, racecar preparation and on racing politics. Perhaps it’s because he has done nearly...
Austrian Berger scored four of his 10 Formula One Grand Prix victories while wearing the fabled Italian Racing Red livery of Scuderia Ferrari. The world held its breath on April 23, 1989, when Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari 640 went straight on at Imola’s Tamburello corner during the San Marino Grand Prix....
It’s amazing how some of the names forged into the history of motorsport were first introduced to it. Some have a family background associated with it, while others have their personal “road to Damascus” moment. This was the case with Mike Pilbeam, the designer and engineer who first worked with...
Gordon McCall is founder of the Motorworks Revival at the Monterey Jet Center and co-founder of The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering VR: Let’s start off right at the beginning. How did you first get started with cars? GM: Real early in life, like a lot of people in my demographic range,...
VR editor/publisher Casey Annis is usually the one asking the questions, but now the tables have been turned as the “Cars Yeah” podcast delves into Casey’s unusual backstory. Hear why he turned his back on a career in medical research to start Vintage Racecar from the back bedroom of his...
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