The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
The street years at Watkins Glen were magic to me. In our house the trip to “the Glen” was a yearly pilgrimage. The excitement, the fun and the life experiences that I enjoyed with my father are never to be forgotten.
[Read more…] about Watkins Glen Memoirs Part 1: Prelude
In additon to providing the wonderful ‘cars of Fangio’ which appeared in last week’s VeloceToday, Hugues took many other outstanding photos (exclusive to VeloceToday) of this year’s Goodwood Revival, which seems to get stronger every year and is now the greatest vintage car race and show on earth. Out thanks to Hugues for taking us there. Captions are unnecessary, but if you want to know more about any of these photos, just ask.
[Read more…] about Postcards From Vanhoolandt at Goodwood, 2011
Heavenly vintage racing at Angouleme France.
Story and photos by Ian Wilson
The city of Angouleme hosts many superb festivals and colourful events throughout the year, and the third week in September is no exception seeing the annual Circuits des Remparts return to the town. Weeks of preparation have seen crash barriers put in place, marquees erected, local people reminded, and shop windows decorated with a race theme. Race weekend is here, and the place will again ring to the sound of engines. [Read more…] about Angoulême, Circuits des Remparts, 16-18 September
Latvala hustles through a village on his way to fourth place.
After an incredible WRC in France, an increasingly tight battle in the WRC
By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication, Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Ford Motor Company, BMW Claude Saulnier Press and Agence Presse
September 30-October 1The Rally France was the eleventh round of the WRC and one of the most exciting, with a number of plots and twists. The first surprise was that the John Cooper Works WRC Mini took command of the first day, followed by a Citroen…but that of Petter Solberg, a non factory entry. Sebastien Ogier was third. Not exactly the expected results. [Read more…] about Rally France: The WRC Gets Hot: English and Italian
Pregliasco, Alfa-Romeo-GTV taking part in the 1979 Giro d'Italia.
By Roberto Motta
Photos: Archive GGRM-Motta and Roberto Giro d’Italy Car-media
Giro d’Italia Reborn
110 years after the very first Giro d’Italia this classic event returns to the Italian peninsula, departing from Turin and reaching Rome after five days of competition and nearly 1600 kilometers. The Giro d’Italia will bring together the cars from both the world of rallying and track competition in a unique and grueling test.
[Read more…] about Giro d’Italia is Reborn, English and Italiano
VeloceToday’s Michael T. Lynch to speak at Watkins Glen
Michael T. Lynch
Art Show at the IMRRC.
Juan Manuel Fangio impressed the European racing scene the second he stepped foot in the Old World in 1949. In his first season with the Maserati 4CLT/48, he won the San Remo, Pau and Roussillon Gran Prix. In 1950, he won the Gran Prix of Pau again, with a Maserati 4CLT/50. But it was at San Remo where Fangio truly proved his worth as both a driver and mechanic. A big end went the day before the event. That night he removed the sump, found the bad bearing, and polished the crankshaft with a piece of emery cloth. This alone took him two hours. Then he installed a new bearing and fixed it so it wouldn’t spin. Finally, “I told the mechanics to put the sump on while I went to bed. And the next day I won the race.”
[Read more…] about Fangio Tribute at Goodwood by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt
All photos below © Alfa Romeo Automobilismo Storico, Centro Documentazione (Arese, Milano)
The Alfa Giulietta Berlina was one of the most advanced sedans of the mid 1950s. Below are the factory photos which provide a detailed look at the evolution of this landmark Alfa.
[Read more…] about Alfa Giulietta Berlina Portfolio
Guy Standen and Andrew Coles, 1974 Fiat 124 Sport CC on Montacute stage.
Story and photos by Vince Johnson
The 2011 Supaloc Classic Targa Adelaide, held from 14-17 September, marked the return of classic rally cars to the hills around the South Australian capital. Covering over 200 kilometres of special stages on closed roads, this first round of the 2011 Australian Targa Championship revived memories of the Classic Adelaide Rally, last run in 2009. Outright winner in that event, Kevin Weeks, has signed his company, Supaloc Steel Building Systems, to a four-year deal as naming rights sponsor. [Read more…] about 2011 Supaloc Classic Targa Adelaide
Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa
By Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix was more or less the end of the season. Sebastian Vettel has for all practical purposes clinched the title. Yes, there is a mathematical chance that Button could catch up, but it would involve the Brit winning every race and the German gaining no points. And quite possibly, requiring a particle to move faster than the speed of light. [Read more…] about Grand Prix of Singapore 2011
Mystery car no more.
So of course he sent it to us. After doing a bit of searching, we could find nothing definite. It was time to call in the real experts. We turned to Dino Brunori, author of “Enrico Nardi, a Fast Life”, who replied:
The car is a Fiat 1100 body by Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro from Reggio Emilia, built in 1948. Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro was founded in 1946 by Franco Bertani, a gentleman driver italian champion in 1938 1100cc class, and Officine Reggiane in Reggio Emilia.
Officine Reggiane was a small factory that grow up during the war, manufacturing parts for airplanes, mainly wings and cockpits, and therefor had nothing to do at the end of the war.
The workforce was rescued by Bertani with the set up of Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro. The Ala d’Oro bodied most part of the first Stanguellini production cars and several sports models, plus artisans cars and trucks. This 1100 was originally fitted with an hard top very similar to an airplane cockpit (see picture). The design was an in-house work. The car still exist in the hands of an italian collector.
Our thanks to Bill Spear for the question and Dino Brunori for the answer!
Photo courtesy Dino Brunori.
When Pebble Beach announces a special display, the enthusiast community immediately comes to life. No one who saw the six Bugatti Royales at Pebble Beach in 1985 will ever forget the spectacle. A class for Bugatti Type 57s with coachbuilt bodies in 2003 was extremely impressive, with a large entry and car histories on placards mounted on standards. (This article originally was published in September 2011.)
Ferraris also have had their days at Pebble. An exceptional turnout was guaranteed every ten years when Ferrari was the featured marque at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races and Pebble Beach added more classes for the products of Maranello. Hopefully, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will continue this tradition. Other years have yielded some gems as well. In 2009, there were Pebble Beach classes for ten Ferrari 166 Barchettas and all four remaining 250 TR/59s. Last year, there were eight iterations of the 250 Short Wheelbase on the field.
A contemporary image of 3223 GT at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour. This is the livery as it appeared at Pebble Beach this year.
This year provided one of the best, if not the best, Ferrari entry ever, and the highlight was a 50th Anniversary class for 250 GTOs. It had 21 cars aligned along the shoreline. Heading the line on the right was Bruce McCaw’s 250 Sperimentale, one of two SWBs used in developing the GTO. There were also two four-liter GTO variants with hopped up Super America engines. [Read more…] about Lynch on the First Ferrari GTO