VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

jeff allison

Behind the Fence, OSCAs in Florida

By

OSCA S750 Morelli Spyder (Chassis number 760), Sebring 12 Hours, March 20-21, 1959-jeff-allison

Story by Jeff Allison

Noted author Karl Ludvigsen (Classic Racing Engines, 2001) described OSCAs as “…brilliant small-displacement screamers…” Certainly they were an effective combination of chassis, engine and aerodynamic bodywork, most often fashioned by Bologna metal bender Morelli. Some say they were built to the standards of a grand prix racer. For sure, they were consistent and prolific class winners almost everywhere – from small regional Italian races and hill climbs to Sports Car Club of America races to major international venues. A 1452CC, 130HP OSCA MT4 (chassis 1137) was the surprise upset overall winner of the 1954 Twelve Hours of Sebring, outlasting bigger and more powerful cars from Allard, Cunningham, Ferrari, Jaguar and Lancia.

Here are the OSCAs I saw and photographed from 1959-1963. Enjoy!

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Lella Lombardi, the Tigress from Turin

By

Italian Lella Lombardi is unique in Formula One history as the first and only woman to score a championship point in the seventy-five years of the modern Formula One championship since 1950. (Rothmans 5000 European Championship, Mallory Park, England, October 13, 1974) Photo by Jeff Allison

Story and photos by Jeff Allison

Maria Grazia “Lella” Lombardi is the only woman to score points in a world championship Formula One race. In the seventy-five years of the modern Formula One championship, only five women have entered a Formula One race and only two have qualified and raced. Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis (1958-1959) was the first, and it would be fifteen years before another woman, Lella Lombardi, would qualify and race in Formula One.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Jeff Allison: Head Shots Part 2

By

The author next to the 1798cc Ford Escort RS 1600 MkI, which had just won the 1972 East Africa Safari Rally. BOAC 1000KM, Brands Hatch, England, April 16, 1972-dick-lees

Story and photos by Jeff Allison unless otherwise noted

Read Part 1
Part 2 continues “Head Shots” taken by Jeff Allison at races in the U. S., England and Monaco.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Jeff Allison: Head Shots Part 1

By

The author getting fancy with a self-portrait using the mirror of an open-wheel vintage racer at the Daily Express International Trophy at Silverstone, England on April 7, 1974.

Story and photos by Jeff Allison

I recently finished a project to put my “head shots” of drivers in one place and thought maybe the readers of VeloceToday might enjoy seeing some. I began photographing races in 1959 with my last “real” race, i.e., not vintage, in 1997. I didn’t take many “head shots” in my early years as I thought it was an affront to the drivers. However, as time went on, I loosened up (a telephoto lens helped) and began to photograph drivers as well as cars. Most were photos of opportunity while wandering the paddock and pits when I wasn’t out on the track.

Here are some of my favorites…

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

And How! VeloceToday’s Most Valuable Assets

By

In addition to our comments section below each article, VeloceToday often gets very nice compliments, sent via email or included in a note with a subscription check. These comments rarely get published, but are meant as recognition of the work done by our contributors, who create the content that makes VeloceToday what it is. Magazines are nothing without good content, and therefore contributors are our greatest and most valuable assets.

They are historians, authors, editors, photographers, columnists, journalists, judges, drivers, restorers, artisans, collectors and constructors. They hail from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy. Here are the names of thirty-three whose contributions made the year 2024 one to remember.

Jeff Allison, Gary Axon, Giles Chapman, Bob Cullinan, Rodney Diggens, Joseph Duray, Brandes Elitch, Graham Gauld, Greg Glassner, Bob Harrington, Joe Hurwich, Stefan Ivanov, Vince Johnson, Jackie Jouret, Allen R. Kuhn, Dale LaFollette, James Lanoway, Frederic Levaux, Bernard Linck, Roberto Motta, Herb Miska, Chris Nugent, Willem Oosthoek, Paul Sable, Charley Seavey, Jonathan Sharp, Jim Sitz, Roy Smith, Sean Smith, Pete Vack, Hugues Vanhoolandt, Paul Wilson, Robert Young

Augie Pabst: Goodbye, Old Friend

By

The smiling Augie Pabst (left) and co-driver Walt Hansgen after winning the 1964 Road America 500 in their Ferrari 250 LM (6047). (photo Road America Archives)

By Jeff Allison

One of America’s finest and most popular drivers, August “Augie” Pabst Jr., died on October 9, 2024 at 90, leaving a legacy of excellence in racing in the U.S., Canada and internationally at Le Mans, Brands Hatch and Nassau. He was the great grandson of Captain Frederick Pabst, who became the president of the Pabst Brewing Company in 1872. In an interview with Forza (April 2013), Pabst mentioned “… I used to work at the brewery in the summertime in the packaging department,” but that was his only association with the brewery until much later in his life.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Augie Pabst Photo Gallery

By

Pabst, E.P. Lunken and Gaston Andrey Ferrari 250 TR (0720TR) at the 1959 Sebring 12 Hours. (photo courtesy of E.P.Lunken)

Photos courtesy Jeff Allison, Willem Oosthoek, Tom Shultz, Alan Boe and others

Jeff Allison and Willem Oosthoek scoured their files for photos in the short time available after learning of Augie Pabst’s death. They’re not all conclusive, but they do show his talent and versatility driving such a diverse variety of cars with different teams, at different tracks and in different conditions. He was one of the best!

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58 Dawn of the Red Heads P4

By

After their victory in the January 1958 Buenos Aires 1000 KM, Phil Hill and Peter Collins scored again at Sebring, and they did so in the same Ferrari 250TR, chassis 0704. Did their massive AMOCO trophy end up in Maranello? In the background is Alec Ulmann’s wife Mary.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

The top Sebring results were not unexpected, in spite of the strong opposition. Just like in Buenos Aires, Testa Rossas finished 1-2, with a Porsche in third place. But some of the other finishers in the top ten came as a huge surprise.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58 Dawn of the Red Heads P3

By

Sebring 1958. Phil Hill in the early part of the race, maintaining a conservative pace with his Ferrari 250TR. Phil took the start and he and Peter Collins hovered between 4th and 5th overall during the first three hours.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

With Stirling Moss taking an immediate lead from the start, second place was contested by Mike Hawthorn and Roy Salvadori. Salvadori soon managed to pass his fellow countryman in the opposite team, making it an Aston Martin 1-2 for the first three hours of the race. The model’s name DBR stood for David Brown Racing and the owner of the firm must have been pleased so far.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58: Dawn of the Red Heads P2

By

Pretty as they come, the 1.1-liter Stanguellini Bialbero of Carl Haas/Allan Ross/Chuck Dietrich awaits its turn for practice. [Bob Bellows photo]

By Willem Oosthoek All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

Waiting farther upfront is Jim Kimberly’s Maserati 200SI, just as elegant. But who is in the passenger seat of chassis 2412? Since he is holding a microphone, likely a reporter recording the car’s engine sounds for the racing LPs so popular at the time. [Bob Bellows photo]

[Read more…] about Sebring ’58: Dawn of the Red Heads P2

Sebring 1958: Dawn of the Red Heads

By

Sebring 1958: Peter Collins at the wheel of chassis 0704, the works 3-liter Ferrari Testa Rossa he shared with Phil Hill.

Part 1

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

Saturday March 22, 1958, at 10 AM, would see the Le Mans start for the 8th Annual International Grand Prix of Endurance at Sebring, Florida, more commonly known as the Sebring 12 Hours. If the latter term is used, 1958 was actually the 7th edition, since the very first one – held in 1950 – was a six-hour event. Alec Ulmann had been the driving force from day one and he selected an abandoned airfield by the name of Hendricks Field near the town of Sebring.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Jeff Allison Captions Ferraris by Glendenning

By

By Jeff Allison

This article first appeared in Prancing Horse, the quarterly magazine of the Ferrari Club of America.

Before his passing in 2014, Glen Glendenning sent David Rex a box full of loose photo scrapbook pages—you know the kind with the black mounts that you’d slip over the corners of a photo, lick the glue on the back of the mount and position the photo on a page. Remember, they tasted terrible! Rex provided the photos to editor Pete Vack for possible use in VeloceToday.com. Luckily, Glendenning had written brief descriptions under some of the photos, and the pages were in chronological order. Taken with a 35MM single-lens reflex camera, Glendenning obviously had access to the pits, the track, and the people. He owned a public relations firm with a film lab, producing twenty-six films for the Schlitz brewery, so photography probably was natural for him. [Read more…] about Jeff Allison Captions Ferraris by Glendenning

MENU