Racing History

The big stories from the past week in motor sport from the Archive. Colin Chapman died 33 years ago, a man remembered most for being a revolutionary designer and team…

My Hungarian journalistic colleague Károly Méhes was pulled into a love of F1 almost single-handedly by one driver: Gilles Villeneuve. He was a devastated teenager when Zolder 1982 played out…

A series taken from the 164-page Motor Sport special Great Racing Cars, which is available to buy here From the editor Damien Smith How would you define a ‘great’ racing car? Race wins and…

McLaren has been here before. The day after the death of its founder in 1970 it bravely decided to continue – because Bruce would have wanted them to. It won…

The big stories from the past week in motor sport from the Archive. Emerson Fittipaldi, a champion on both sides of the Atlantic, turns 69 on December 12. Eight years…

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a real Race of Champions, known as the International Race of Champions, or IROC, and I had the pleasure of covering…

I blame it on Kenny Roberts, but it would’ve happened anyway. When ‘King’ Kenny arrived in Europe in the late 1970s he upped the ante: he rode harder, trained harder…

The big stories from the past week in motor sport from the Archive. The Embassy Hill plane crash claimed the lives of six, 40 years ago last weekend. Among them…

As the January 2016 issue of Motor Sport hits the shelves we look back the the most-read pieces on the archive in the magazine’s 92nd year. 10. The Unlikely Lads…

It’s all to play for in Abu Dhabi – unless you’re obsessed with showdowns. I’ve watched a few, it’s true. Smudgy Fuji images from 1976 are a vague memory, and…

This week in motor sport, Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard started life as world champions, winning the title in Porsche’s second season since it returned to sports car…

Sheene, Dunlop, Duke… it would be difficult to find three more different motorcycle racers, let alone three more different human beings. We all know the iconic images of these three…

This week in motor sport, Gunnar Nilsson – a talented Swede who lost his battle with cancer aged just 30 – was born 67 years ago. Friend Chris Witty remembered…

Jochen Mass 1975 Spanish GP winner, 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours winner It would be a lot easier to name my least favourite car… but if I have to name…

Zoom-and-slump Lewis Hamilton is in exalted company. Fellow multiple world champions Juan Fangio, Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher all suffered post-title ‘depression’.…

Single-seaters designed and manufactured by Pilbeam Racing Designs (PRD) won 17 British Hillclimb titles between 1977 and 1997. That record has just been eclipsed by Gould Racing after Alex Summers…

On their own the numbers are impressive, but they neither tell the full tale nor convey the delicious sonic reality. In 2014 the inaugural HSR Classic 24 at Daytona attracted…