Grand Prix Insider

After a tough battle in Imola on-track with Alain Prost over the race win and off-track with Ron Dennis over a new contract, Ayrton Senna travelled to Barcelona as a free agent under contract for one race at a time. And more his desire grew to get his hands on that dominant Williams race car.

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8th of May - Today is the aniversary of the death of Rudolf Uhlenhaut. Among the successful Mercedes-Benz race cars, Uhlenhaut also designed the Mercedes C 111 sportscar, fitted with a four-rotor Wankel engine with an output of 350 hp. It gave the car a top speed of 180mph and could accelerate to 60mph in 4.8 seconds. Mercedes-Benz introduced the prototype, already in its second generation, to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970. It went down a storm with the punters who longed for a dramatic and beautiful successor to the 300 SL Gullwing coupe.

Production hopes were dashed though by ever more stringent emission legislation in a large number of countries and finally by the 1973 oil crisis. The pollutant emissions of Wankel engines were difficult to reduce and they also had a relatively high fuel consumption, neither of which was endearing to those campaigning for more environmentally friendly engines. Funny enough Mazda went on to embrace the Wankel engine and even won the 24 hours race of Le Mans with it.

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Lotus and Ferrari were high favourites for the Monaco GP and thousands of tifosi crossed the border from Italy to watch the Scuderia take on the british team around the streets of the principality. But one very determined Patrick Depailler would be the star of a race that saw neither of the favourites finish the race.

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7th of May - Mike Spence had competed in 37 Formula 1 Grands Prix since 1963 when he arrived at Indianapolis, called in by Colin Chapman as a placement for the late Jim Clark. He went around the Indy Speedway in the Lotus 56 on a windy day for a practice lap of 169.555 mph, the second fastest lap ever! Before the day was over, 48 minutes before closing time, he decided to test the number 30 car of his teammate, Greg Weld. Spence apparently lost control in the 1st turn, slid 300 feet, and hit the wall at a 45-degree angle. Observers believed that the partially loose right front wheel bent back and ripped off Spence’s helmet, found with the chin strap still fastened and with the tiremarks on it. Spence never regained consciousness. Physicians were preparing to operate when Spence died about four hours after the crash, of head injuries.

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6th of May - In an effort to induce manufacturers to develop new cars which would be competitive with the dominant Germans, in 1937 the French government announced the ‘Prix du Million’, or the Million Franc Race in Monthléry. The prize money was a million francs to beat the existing average speed record of 146,508km/h over the 200 km distance. René Dreyfus won the race with Delahaye 145 V12 - as shown above - with an average of 146,654km/h taking the prize for the marque and becoming a hero in France.
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5/5/1932, Boris Said is born in New York, USA.

Said began racing in 1952 in the USA but turned his attention to Europe where he raced with Masten Gregory. He raced in the American Grand Prix in 1959 at Sebring, driving Paul Emery’s ancient Connaught. He had to give yup racing as he lost his entire fortune in 1962. Not only did Boris Said rebuild his wealth, he also took up winter sports as a member of the USA’s bobsleigh team, participating in the Winter Olympics in 1968 and 1972. Thereafter he became involved with the film industry and turned into an Emmy award winning producer. He got so involved in the industry that he died on the night of the Oscar award ceremony, victim of a heart attack while watching the event on TV. Born: 5th of May 1932 in New York, USA.; Died: 24th of March 2002 in Los Angeles, USA, aged 69 years.

4th of May - Didier Pironi scores the first of his three career Grand Prix wins at the Belgian circuit of Zolder at the wheel of his Ligier JS11/15. At this stage of the year 1980 the Frenchman and his fellow countryman Jacques Laffite seemed capable of fighting for the title but somehow the potential of French evaporated during the course of the season.

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3rd of May - Nelson Piquet wins at Imola the first Gran Premio di San Marino in 1981at the wheel of a Brabham BT49C with a normally aspirated Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Forcing defeat upon the mighty turbo-powered Ferraris and Renaults, the Brazilian scored Brabham’s 25th win as Formula 1 constructor on the way to his first title in the Formula 1 Drivers World Championship.

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After the STP turbine car had lost the Indy 500 to a piston engine car in 1967, Andy Granatelli knew he needed to take a further step with the turbine car project. He teamed up with Colin Chapman and the Brit had his designer Maurice Philippe develop a revolutionary wedge shaped car around Andy’s proven combination of a Pratt and Whitney industrial turbine engine with a Ferguson four wheel drive system.

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1º de maio - Dia dos trabalhadores, aniversário da morte Ayrton Senna da Silva. Quero mais uma vez recomendar a leitura do post do meu amigo Speeder no Continental Circus, mais uma bela matéria dele! Neste blog, vale talvez relembrar, embora a maioria já conhece, lembranças pessoais minhas enquanto ao Ayrton.

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