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.
I was fifteen years karting, and ten years karting and car racing. I started with Mercedes Benz as a mechanic; I lived about 100 meters from their factory. In my time I learned to build many things, in my motor racing career this has helped me with a lot of...
Up from 4th on the grid, Mairesse (#40) battles Graham Hill (#10) and Dan Gurney (#4) for the lead into the first turn at Monte Carlo in 1962.Photo: Ed McDonough Collections He was the kind of fighter Enzo Ferrari adored. Another of those Tazio Nuvolari types, who wouldn’t rest until...
We speak with Sandro Garbo, driving force behind the new “Steve McQueen in Le Mans” graphic novel about the draw of McQueen, what sets Le Mans apart and how racing at Le Mans has changed over the years. You have a movie star’s last name, but drawing is your passion....
Derek Bell initially made a name for himself, racing in open-wheeled cars including Formula 2 and Formula 1. However, it is long-distance sports car racing, particularly in Porsches, where Bell forged his legacy as a champion with five overall victories at Le Mans, three victories in the 24 Hours of...
Jean-Pierre BeltoisePhoto: Thierry Lesparre Over a period of years, VR’s Mike Jiggle and Ed McDonough have had the opportunity to interview French racing driver Jean-Pierre Beltosie who died recently at his summer home in Senegal, at age 77, following a stroke. They have pulled their interviews together in this tribute to...
Tony Parella They say there is no greater zealot, than a recent convert. Though he came to the sport fairly recently in 2011, Corvette racer Tony Parella wasted no time in deeply immersing himself in the deep end of the sport. After selling his highly successful telecommunications company, Parella turned...
Nigel Mansell Biography Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE was born the 8th of August 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, England. His early childhood was unremarkable puctuated by frequent moving. He like other young boys was attracted to the exploits of Brutish sports figures including Jimmy Clark. After considerable success in kart racing,...
Ed Leavens’ career in racing could be compared to an iceberg where 9/10ths of the details of his career lie beneath the surface. He raced from the mid-1950s to around 1962, but he gave it all up for his business of selling cars in London, Ontario, Canada. Here was a...
In Mass’ last full year, 1991, he teamed with Jean-Louis Schlesser in this C11 for the Mercedes-Benz WSC team as they shared 7th in the championship. With no less than 32 World Championship victories to his credit, Jochen Mass is one of the most successful sports car racers of all...
Racer, Rallymaster and Former Car and Driver Managing Editor VR: Let’s start right at the beginning. When were you infected by the car bug? No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....
British expat, John Amette, is responsible for all Ferrari Classiche submissions for Ferrari of Newport Beach, Ferrari of San Diego and Ferrari of Washington. VR: So how did you first get started in cars? JA: Well, the interest and involvement with cars came from my father and my brothers who...
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...
One was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, in 1902 and the other in a cramped workshop in Bologna, northern Italy, 35 years later. Yet, when the two came together, they astounded the world by winning the Indianapolis 500 twice, in 1939 and 1940. Wilbur Shaw built his first car when he...
Photo: Chris Mann This was going to be an important year for me. My win at Oulton Park, in Richard Attwood’s Cooper, had impressed the MRP gang and for 1963 I was offered a full season with them in a brand-new car. The team had done a deal with Lola...
Robert KubicaPhoto: Stefan Brending He was a spectacular Formula 1 driver and the first Polish addition to the F1 circus, who had it all going for him after six years in the top echelon of motor racing. He even won the 2008 Grand Prix of Canada in a BMW Sauber...
Horst Kroll started off his involvement with automobiles as an apprentice in the Porsche factory in Stuttgart. Porsche sent him to Canada in 1959 to assist at Volkswagen, Canada. By 1963, he was winning his first races both on ice and road circuits. In 1964, he won the first of...
This month we speak with one of the great behind-the-scenes players in open wheel racing cars, Ron Tauranac. If the name doesn’t mean much to you, the cars certainly will. Ron Tauranac is the “T” in all the Brabham BT racing cars, as well as the first and last initials...
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...
Tony Brooks continues to participate in select vintage racing festivals and other historic events. Photo: Keith Booker Quiet, thoughtful, modest, Tony Brooks was all of those things, which is probably why his name isn’t exactly on the tip of everyone’s tongue when reminiscing about post-war motor racing heroes. But this...
I think you might call me accident prone. I had the Miller 4WD car that Dean Butler has now, and I took it out to Pikes Peak. I was hoping to bring it back and run it in the very first Watkins Glen race, but the transfer box busted. I...
Neville HayPhoto: Kary Jiggle 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...
Mark Hyman is the proprietor of Hyman Ltd in St. Louis, Missouri (https://hymanltd.com/). Founded in a rented garage, in 1989, the company has become a premier buyer and seller of antique, classic, and special interest automobiles. They currently occupy a 67,000 square foot facility that houses their sales department, restoration and...
The BRM Years Tony SouthgatePhoto: Pete Austin Last November we began an ongoing series of interviews with Tony Southgate, the English designer whose lengthy résumé includes stints with some of the most prominent teams in the sport across a variety of disciplines. In this second installment, Mike Jiggle talks with Southgate...
As manager of racing public relations for Goodyear, Bill Neely accumulated a lot of interesting and outrageous stories—especially from the rough and tumble world of NASCAR. By 1973, Neeley and friend Bob Ottum wove some of these tales into a semi-fictional novel titled “Stand on It”, which they penned under...
His nickname has always been “Tony A-to-Z,” in part because his last name is Adamowicz, but in larger part because his racing career has covered everything from Volvo sedans to Indy cars and Ferrari sports racers. Casey Annis caught up with Tony to discuss his impressive career. VRJ: Your professional...
British racer Trevor Taylor is perhaps best known for being the Lotus Formula One teammate to Jim Clark in the early 1960s. However, Taylor earned his spot in Formula One by sharing the 1960 Formula Junior Championship, with Clark, at the wheel of a Lotus 18 [see this month’s Racecar...
Lorina Boughton McLaughlin was the first woman to ever win the “Man of the Meeting” Award given regularly by BP and Alcoa in British race events in the 1970s and 1980s! She is also one of the very few female full members of the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC). With...
Feature Image via Ignite Media For our latest episode of automotive personality interviews, we caught up with Parker Thompson, who is just fresh off winning the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup North America. No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account...
Billy Krause started his racing career driving midgets on California oval dirt tracks. He went on to race his own Jaguar D-type, which he later converted to Chevrolet Corvette power. His list of accomplishments is impressive. In 1960, he won the Times Grand Prix against some of the best opposition...
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