COVERAGE> Competing At 12 Hours of Sebring
This weekend, we're following the exploits of Greaves Motorsport from the UK, and their Nissan powered Zytek LM P2 prototype. Read more...
CENTER STAGE> Hwy 341 Hillclimb Hero Porsche
As the twisty road slices through the mountains towards the oldest city in the state of Nevada, a gold and silver mining town called Virginia City, it allures drivers with breathtaking views of the snow capped mountains in the Sierras - but this is all part of Highway 341's deadly charm.
Drivers who are tempted into gazing upon the majestic beauty of the Sierras while behind the wheel are often fooled into making fatal mistakes at high speed. Taking one's eyes off the single lane road even for just a few seconds can easily lead drivers headfirst into the rocky face of the mountain, or worse - off the treacherous cliff side, where the drop is hundreds of feet, with sharp boulders and abandoned mine shafts below.
For close to twenty years, a man named Duck Fuson has been challenging Highway 341 in a 1974 Porsche 911. This is his story. Read more...
CARSPOTTING> Bentley Continental GT3 Close Up
Signalling Bentley’s return to the racetrack for the first time since its historic sixth Le Mans victory in 2003, Continental GT3 remains faithful to the company’s founding motorsport philosophy of developing racing cars from their road-going counterparts. Read more...
CARSPOTTING> Ford GT40 Chassis 1051
ARCHAEOLOGY> John Morton’s 510 & 240Z at RIAM
PAPERCUTS> Road&Track Magazine Closing?!
I can’t believe it. I just received word from a reliable source that Road&Track Magazine will be shutting down its Southern California offices. Can this be true?! This is insane. Everyone knows that the print media industry has been hurting for a while, but hearing reliable sources say that Road&Track is shutting down… that’s one piece of auto industry news that’s hard to fathom. (more…)
CARSPOTTING> Le Mans 24H Cunningham Corvette
It turns out that this particular Corvette was actually a historic race car, owned by elite car collector and Beverly Hills resident Bruce Meyer - it was one of three Corvettes that actually raced in competition at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1960, when the cars were still brand new! The cars were campaigned by renown Corvette race team Briggs & Cunningham, and were flown over to France to compete at the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe.
It is already pretty amazing to think about race cars being flown around the world to compete in high end motor racing events, but can you imagine what it must have been like in the 1960s, when airplane travel was much less prevalent than today?!
I found an AMAZING historic documentary film from the 1960s that tells the story of the Briggs & Cunningham Corvette team and their adventures at Le Mans. It shows actual footage of the cars driving around on French city streets in the 1960s, and gives viewers a rare look at what it was actually like to be at Le Mans back then! Read more...
NEWSWORTHY> Rest In Peace, Carroll Shelby
Yesterday, the automotive world lost one of its international legends – Carroll Shelby, the 89 year old creator of the world famous Shelby Cobra 427, and the Ford GT40 that beat Ferrari at Le Mans.
Shelby is one of those names in the automotive industry that everyone knows, but it’s possible that some of our readers aren’t familiar with his long and storied history, from his days in Formula One, Le Mans, and even land speed racing at Bonneville. Rather than quickly writing up a story about Carroll Shelby from the media center at the American Le Mans race at Laguna Seca, I think I’ll just provide a link to a couple good articles on Shelby that I saw in the New York Times and USA Today before I have to get back to shooting on the track. (more…)
VIDEO> The McLaren MP4-12C: US Invasion
We’ve seen the new McLaren MP4-12C before here on MotorMavens with Antonio’s coverage of the Beverly Hills McLaren Event and it was unveiled back in September of 2009 as the first production car to be completely designed and built by McLaren since the McLaren F1, but it’s still rare (and beautiful) enough to cause minor disturbances as it weaves sleekly through more mundane traffic.
This video chronicles the MP4-12C’s invasion of North America – with a cameo appearance by a certain McLaren Formula One racing phenom who was arrested in Australia in 2010 for “deliberately losing traction” whereupon he was dubbed a “Hoon” by the Australian Magistrate. We couldn’t possibly make this stuff up! (more…)
GALLERY> Lunch With A Mazda 787 LeMans Racer
This year's luncheon was held at a venue that we would be visiting for the very first time - the Crevier Classic Cars Collection in Orange County. While there were a ton of rare and expensive cars already on display at the Crevier Museum, Mazda brought some very interesting vehicles out from their own collection of historic cars... a vintage Mazda Cosmo, the Car&Driver Mazda RX2, and the belle of the ball - one of the three Mazda 787 race cars that competed in the 1991 Le Mans 24H, where Mazda became the first (and only) Japanese car company to win 1st Place at the world's most famous endurance race. Read more...
VIDEO> McLaren F1 at 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the 24 Hours of Le Mans from a driver’s point of view? I have. This video, sent to me by esteemed British motorsports photographer John Brooks, shows the first lap of the 1995 Le Mans 24 hour race at France’s Circuit de la Sarthe, with Yannick Dalmas at the wheel of the race winning #59 Ueno Clinic McLaren F1. (more…)
VIDEO> Audi Wins 24 Hours of Le Mans Once Again!
The 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans was filled with despair, heartache, and extreme difficulty yet, despite the obstacles, Audi drivers Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer drove the #2 car (an Audi R18 TDI) to the checkered flag this past Sunday. Audi overcame two spectacular crashes and held off a charging Peugeot to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, giving the German car maker its 10th title at the renowned Circuit de la Sarthe track. Audi currently holds second place for the most titles at Le Mans behind Porsche which has 16 wins. Ferrari takes bronze with nine victories. (more…)
NEWSWORTHY> Audi Sweeps Le Mans 24H Podium!
At this year’s 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the infamous high-speed Circuit De Sarthe in France, Audi R15 TDI Plus stood the test of time against their faster opponent – the Peugeot 908 HDI. It was the ultimate battle of the tortoise and the hare, where the tortoise came out triumphant in this modern take on an old fable. With a little patience and a lot of strategy, the Audis were able to capture their ninth Le Mans victory – placing Audi in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place on the podium!
These past two days, I saw myself riding a roller coaster of emotions as I watched the Peugeots take the lead throughout the race; however, I was hopeful in seeing how everything would play out during the course of the 24 hours. To those familiar with Le Mans, it’s by far the ultimate endurance race; testing both man and machine. It has got to be one of the most exciting races in the world, as it’s a battle of wits, not brawn. It’s a challenge to see who can go the distance and last the longest, and Audi has proven itself time and time again.
This year, the Audi #9 car took first, Audi #8 car took second, and the # 7 car took third – driven by the Great Dane Tom Kristensen, who has been atop the podium during the past nine years at Le Mans, giving him a personal total of eight victories at 24H Le Mans! Truly a remarkable feat.
The picture above shows the drivers of the Audi #9 car (Mike Rockenfeller, Romain Dumas, and Timo Bernhard) celebrating with the head of Audi Sport, Director Wolfgang Ullrich. On behalf of the Motor Mavens Crew, I’d like to congratulate the Audi TDI team on their longstanding success and their win of this year’s 2010 Le Mans. Audi has entered the history books with the ultimate 1-2-3 win. Amazing!
:: Tamer Omran
COVERAGE> Kop Hill Hillclimb 2009
On the 26th and 27th of September, organisers decided to do a Kop Hill Commemorative Run to bring the sounds and sights and even smells (mmm, Castrol R) back to Kop Hill again. Over 250 cars and bikes were there, ranging in age from the 1900s right up to 1980s and even some very special modern cars. Read more...
