VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Graham Gauld

Gauld at the VSCC Opener

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John Coombs photographed in 1959 poring over his new Cooper Monaco with the 2.5 liter Maserati engine. It appeared at the VSCC Opener this year but a bit spiffier.

Story and Photos by Graham Gauld

It has been a few years since I have been at the VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) spring meeting at Silverstone.

The event opens the historic racing season in Britain partly because they made it into a one-day event. Now they have gone back to making it a two-day event, and what is more, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the Club. So I felt I had to go. [Read more…] about Gauld at the VSCC Opener

Graham Gauld at Avignon

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Been there and done that. Upon seeing the Schlumpf V12 250F at Avignon, our weathered correspondent pulls out a photo he took of the 250F V12 when new for comparison's sake. And note that line up of coils -shocking to say the least!


Story and photos by Graham Gauld

Just over a month ago, I was at Retromobile in Paris and a friend of mine suggested I try similar thing, the Avignon Motor Festival in that well-known city famous for its bridge. So last Friday we drove to Avignon to take a look. [Read more…] about Graham Gauld at Avignon

Eugenio Castellotti by Graham Gauld

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Eugenio Castellotti at the wheel of the Lancia-Ferrari at the 1956 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

There are times when we can all be rather pretentious. I fell into that trap thirty years ago when I had the idea of writing a subjective book on the psychology of the racing driver. I have always had an interest in the variety of people who come into motor sport and what makes them tick. I had read a lot about psychology in general, then dropped the idea when I realized what a fool I might have made of myself. However, if Central Casting in Hollywood were ever asked for a “racing driver type” back in the 1950s, they would have to have chosen Eugenio Castellotti. [Read more…] about Eugenio Castellotti by Graham Gauld

Gauld at Retro Take Two

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Porporato finishes 4th in the 1908 Targa Florio with the Berliet.

By Graham Gauld

About fifteen years ago I was appointed a member of the FIA Historic Commission in Paris. As such, I met up with some interesting people and one fellow member, probably the oldest at the time, was Paul Berliet whose family had created the Berliet company. [Read more…] about Gauld at Retro Take Two

Graham Gauld at Retromobile

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The Baird-Griffin Maserati at the Craigantlet hill climb driven by Sydney Durbridge, about 1953-4. It re-appeared at this year's Retro.

Story and most photos by Graham Gauld

Small stand, big transporter

Retromobile time again! For me it was fun to ferret around and under the stands looking for things that others might have missed, and some things you simply couldn’t miss, such as the 1956 Bartoletti Ferrari transporter.

As soon as I saw it, it brought back fond memories of the 1956 British Grand Prix, when I photographed it arriving at Silverstone with the factory Lancia-Ferraris on the back for Fangio, Castellotti, Collins, Gendebien and Fon Portago; five cars, none of this two cars per team business. [Read more…] about Graham Gauld at Retromobile

Ice, Snow, Renault R8s, Alpines, Lancia Fulvias and Gauld

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Eugen Bohringer in the Porsche 904. One of Gauld's favorites, taken at the top of the Col de Turini, during the Monte Carlo Rally when there was snow, as it should be!

In which Gauld recalls his favorite Winter Rallies
Story and photos by Graham Gauld or courtesy thereof

The legendary Monte Carlo Rally finished last Saturday, but lost a lot of its fascination because there was precious little snow. Winter rallies should have snow, which differentiates them from other rally championship events.

All this got me thinking of my favorite snow rally, the International Swedish event that takes place in February and, being located over 2000 kms north of Monte Carlo, can usually provide plenty of the white stuff. I covered the Swedish Rally four times, the first time in 1966 by persuading Henry Manney III that we had had enough covering the Monte three years running. Why don’t we do something different I asked, and from the moment we landed in Gothenburg and set out on our 120 mile north into Varmland and the town of Orebro it truly was different!
[Read more…] about Ice, Snow, Renault R8s, Alpines, Lancia Fulvias and Gauld

Henry Manney and the 52 Million Dollar GTO

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Henry Manney III by Graham Gauld

Henry Manney III by Graham Gauld

It’s funny how news reports remind you of old departed friends. A recent news report on the $52 million sale of Ferrari GTO 5111GT brought back a score of happy memories of times spent with American motoring journalist and raconteur Henry Manney III.

Henry Manney III may not be a familiar name to a modern generation, but back in the 1960s he not only sprung to prominence with his witty and amusing articles in Road & Track magazine but he actually created what we would call the modern “loose” form of writing about cars. He dispensed with the turgid prose of the regular motoring writers of the day and replaced it with colorful turns of phrase; even inventing his own words to express his feelings and mood. [Read more…] about Henry Manney and the 52 Million Dollar GTO

Francois Chevalier by Graham Gauld

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Francois Chevalier's latest, a 1949 Stanguellini sports racer. Prices range from 3000-3500 Euros.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

If you should ever be in Monte Carlo, keep a look-out for an almost life-sized bronze statue to “Williams”, or William Grover-Williams to give him his correct name, the winner of the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929. It is an expressive, rough-hewn work that usually stands right in the middle of St. Devote, the first corner of the Grand Prix circuit. Naturally, the statue is craned out of the way for the race but it is then craned back again after the grand prix as a permanent reminder of the first winner. The man who crafted this superb piece of work never had a single art lesson in his life but admits that he enjoyed drawing cars when he was young. He is Francois Chevalier, a 60 year-old ex-racing driver and former manager of the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France. [Read more…] about Francois Chevalier by Graham Gauld

The Goodwood Revival Post 1

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Graham Gauld’s Goodwood

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Andy Middlehurst at the wheel of the Lotus 43 BRM, now beautifully restored.

By Graham Gauld

As you can see in this Special Edition of VeloceToday, there are plenty of photos and details about the racing at the event. But for me, Goodwood is another chance to meet up with old friends, make new ones, and keep an eye open for things that might have escaped notice or otherwise have been so obscure as to be missed by the many journalists around.

Clark and the E.R.A.

As this year was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jim Clark’s first World Championship win in 1963, Lord March dedicated the meeting to him. There was a remarkable collection of cars that Jim Clark had raced, and then sent off in a parade round the circuit.

Among the more obscure was the 1936 E.R.A. voiturette R5B originally raced by the Siamese Prince Bira, but also raced for many years by Tony Rolt and journalist John Bolster. Eventually, in 1959, the Honorable Patrick Lindsay, who has been credited as the creator of what we now call historic car racing when he was a director of the well-established auction house of Christies, bought the E.R.A.

Ludovic Lindsay at the wheel of the 1935 1.5 liter supercharged E.R.A. that his father loaned to Jim Clark at the 1963 French Grand Prix.

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World’s Oldest Race Driver

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Paris-Madrid, 1903.

By Graham Gauld

Here in the South of France there are a lot of “Brocantes” which, to you and me, means a space in a town or village where people set up a table and sell all the rubbish they have in the house for a few cents a time.

I am always on the lookout for real rarities such as commercially printed postcards of photos from auto racing 100 years ago.

Let me tell you the story behind two of those cards. The first shows a photo taken at the 3rd Coupe des Voiturettes held at Compiegne in northern France on September 27 1908. It was a great day for the French manufacturer Sizaire-Naudin as they finished first, second and fourth. What is even more interesting is that both Louis Naudin and Georges Sizaire, the founders of the company along with Georges’ brother Maurice, were racing in the event and finished first and second. The second is linked closely with the world’s oldest race driver. [Read more…] about World’s Oldest Race Driver

Bernard Asset: The Man Who Changed the Pictures

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Change indeed. Bernard Asset's art. McLaren at Eau Rouge on the Spa circuit. F1 photography would never be the same again. Copyright Bernard Asset. All rights reserved.

By Graham Gauld

At a recent race meeting I met up with an old friend of over 25 years, the famed French Formula 1 photographer Bernard Asset. You may not have heard of him, but he completely changed the style of motor racing photography back in the 1970s.

Bernard Asset today. Photo by Graham Gauld.

When the French-based magazine Grand Prix International was founded in 1978, it devoted an entire issue to each Grand Prix and selected other events, notably Le Mans. This created a demand for variety and multitude of photos and Asset was ready to comply with his own unique vision of F1 racing.

Born in 1955 Bernard Asset was brought up in Paris; his father was a keen and talented amateur photographer. From the age of 14 young Asset wanted to be a photographer, and as a young teenager at the photography school the teacher asked him what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to be a sports photographer and cover the Olympics. The teacher told him to forget it as they were training commercial photographers. the Olympics, including the 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics at Barcelona and Albertville. “You know, ski photography is very similar to photographing Formula 1,” he remarks. [Read more…] about Bernard Asset: The Man Who Changed the Pictures

One Family, 100 years of Racing

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Theodore Pilette at the wheel of his Gregoire at the Gaillon event in 1906

By Graham Gauld
Photos courtesy Pilette Family

This year’s Indianapolis 500 will be something special for Belgian ex-racing driver Teddy Pilette, for it will mark the 100th anniversary of his grandfather Theodore Pilette’s remarkable 5th place in the 1913 Indy 500. Remarkably, Teddy himself had three attempts at Indy back in 1979,’81 and’82 but did not manage to qualify. In between, Teddy’s father, Theodore’s son Andre, was a successful Belgain race driver in the 1950s, driving for Gordini and Ferrari. Finally, Teddy’s son John is now racing SEAT sedans!

But it all began with Grandfather Pilette, whose performance at Indy back then was of particular significance because his Mercedes-Knight was the smallest car in the race at just over 4 liters and he even averaged 20 mpg on fuel. So who was Theodore Pilette?
Born in 1883, he was a teenager when the automobile hit town and clearly he was impressed and went into the auto trade as soon as he could and became a dealer for Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (Mercedes).

The Pilette Garage in Brussels: note the dealerships.

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