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.
Reg Hillary, 96-years of age as of this writing, is as sharp and lively as someone half his age. He’s also participated in many forms of motorsport, from Speedway Bikes to Daimler Dart sports cars to driving in, and winning, the first Shell Oil-sponsored cross-Canada Rally, the 4,000-mile Shell 4000,...
Until the outbreak of World War I (1914–18), a Targa Florio had been staged every year since 1906, so Vincenzo Florio was determined to get it going again before the end of 1919. However, it was May before the wealthy Sicilian began to tour Europe to drum up entries, so...
The boys from Brazil just keep on coming: Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and, since 2002, Felipe Massa. The others won eight Formula One World Championships between them, but even with 11 GP victories to his credit, Felipe hasn’t made it yet. He almost did in a 2008 mind...
My fourth win at Indy was the best for a lot of reasons. The first will always have its place because of being the first, but having won on my second attempt, I didn’t appreciate what it was going to take to do it and how fortunate we were to...
John Campion is a high energy guy and radiates that energy everywhere he goes. Perhaps it’s because he started his business career providing power for rock shows, but whatever it is, his sense of energy permeates his enthusiasm for his car collection, the centerpieces of which are four rare 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...
Back in the early 1950s I was racing my own Cooper 500 fairly successfully. I managed to beat the works team a couple of times, and I got noticed. Colin Chapman was looking for another driver. The people who did most of the sponsorship in those days, probably the only...
Racing legend Jim Russell, at 85, is as active and upbeat as ever. Though “pretty much” retired, he certainly doesn’t spend much time sitting around, and retains a keen interest in motor racing. European Editor Ed McDonough recently spent some time examining his career at the Russell Suffolk home, talking...
VR: How did you first get started with cars? I assume it was probably at a young age. MY: The long story and the short story, all in one, is I’m the youngest of nine kids. I grew up in a small town in Central Illinois and had older brothers...
I drove the McLaren F1 with the Alfa Romeo engine. It had the same problem that the Alfa Tipo 33 had…weight. With that car, we could have done well even with less power than the Cosworth, and very well with the same power except for the weight. When I drove...
There is no question that the greatest race for me was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1977 with Jacky Ickx and Hurley Haywood. There was the story of running from the back of the field, of all the problems we had, switching Ickx from his other car,...
Really, this column should be called “Heroine” this time, because it’s about one of the greatest stars of post-war world rallying, a woman who took on the best men of their profession and beat them. Pat Moss became arguably the greatest woman rally driver of all time. As Pirelli’s PR...
Neville Hay is a great communicator and over many years has provided the commentary at race meetings, both at home in the UK and abroad. His work hasn’t been confined to trackside broadcasting, but includes radio and television, commentating on events such as the British Grand Prix, World Sports Car...
Oklahoma-Based Collector, Brass-Era Enthusiast VR: How did you develop your interest in automobiles and brass era cars in particular? DB: Our family has always been in the automobile parts business. I ran an automobile parts store and machine shop for years. My father started an automobile parts rebuilding business right...
Luigi Bazzi Biography He was called the soul of Ferrari. He had been there from the beginning and Enzo Ferrari recalled his trusted friend as “the founding member of the old guard of collaborators. Working at Ferrari till he was over eighty when health finally forced him to leave Ferrari’s side. Due...
VR: So how did you get started with cars? BJ: I actually grew up with cars. My dad had a Volkswagen and Porsche dealership in Switzerland so I grew up around them since we always seemed to have had a Volkswagen dealership as I grew up. VR: What are your...
Dan Gurney’s motor racing career as a driver, car constructor and team owner is just about as star-spangled as his country’s flag. After Phil Hill, he was the second American to win in Formula 1, and is considered the equal of that other American superstar, Mario Andretti. He is also...
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...
In our January 2007 issue, Pete Lyons shared some remarks about the grand old Canadian-American Challenge Cup series made by 14 influential men who were there. Ten drivers—including two Can-Am champions, a couple of designers, a crew chief and a master photojournalist gathered at last year’s Amelia Island Concours for...
In the late ’60s, a boyfriend introduced me to motor racing. Until then it had been all horseback riding and 4-H. The big thing then was the Can-Am, so we went to the l967 race at Laguna Seca and sat outside Turn 9. When the relationship ended, I discovered I...
During 2016 the UK’s Historic Sports Car Club celebrates 50 years since it’s founding. Looked upon by many as “Mr. HSCC,” the man at the top of the organization, CEO Grahame White, has held the post for some 20 years. Recently, VR’s European Editor, Mike Jiggle, sat down with him...
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...
One day in 1923, Ettore Bugatti met Bartolomeo “Meo” Costantini, an encounter that would change both their lives. The suave Costantini, who was one of his country’s highly decorated First World War fighter pilots, with six enemy kills to his credit, had returned to motor racing after the hostilities. And...
An invitation to drive in the Tulip Rally of 1959 led to my meeting Norman Garrad, manager of the Rootes Competitions Department. He was a rather gruff old chap, known to many as the “Fuehrer.” On reflection, with the aforementioned description, it was rather naïve of me to approach him...
Belgian racing driver Teddy Pilette is a third-generation racer of the Pilette motor racing family. His grandfather, Theodore, famously took part in the 1913 Indy 500 where, driving a small-engined Mercedes, he finished 5th. His father, André, took to the track too, and participated in 14 Grands Prix between 1951 and 1964,...
When we presented the first part of our continuing interview with F1 design legend John Barnard last March, VR Contributing Editor Mike Jiggle got him to discuss his early years at Lola and going to work at McLaren, as well as his basic design philosophy. In this second installment he speaks...
Someone once said that Indy car drivers would be lost if they had to turn right as well as left. They also said that at Le Mans they’d never find their behinds with both hands when it got dark or if it rained. Obviously, they never met Lloyd Ruby. During...
Today, we’re having a chat with Mike Boldt, a well-known and respected figure in the world of automotive photography. If there was ever an instance which showed how things can come full circle for us car enthusiasts, this latest meeting would be the proof in the pudding. I’ve known Mike...
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...
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