07/02
7/2/2002, John Fairman dies.
Fairman debuted in the World Championship with an HWM-Francis in the 1953 British Grand Prix and became a regular in this event the following years, besides a couple of starts in the Italian GP. It was in Italy that he took part in his 13th and last GP in 1961. He went on to run a garage business in London and a mechanical parts company in Surrey before health issues forced him to retire in the early 1990′s. John Fairman spent the last years of his life in a motorsport retirement home near Rugby where he died in 2002 at the age of 88.
Born: 15th of March 1913 in Smallfield, UK;
Died: 7th of February 2002 in Rugby, UK, aged 88.
Robert Kubica, update 23.00 CET
After a seven hours surgery at the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure, Robert Kubica is now recovering from the dramatic events of today. Despite the drama of the accident, Kubica actually had some good fortune in the aftermath of his huge crash this morning.
Professor Igor Rossello, the Director of the Regional Centre of Hand Surgery at the Hospital San Paolo in Savona and renowned expert in reconstruction of severed extremities, was available straight away to take over the lengthy and demanding surgery. Dr. Claudio Ciccarelli, the Renault team’s doctor, also participated in the operation. While the good news is that severely fractured right hand and forearm could be reconstructed in bones, tissue and nerves, the surgeon also made clear that Kubica will face a lengthy recovery period of minimum a year before it can be assessed if Kubica has regained full control of his right hand.
Fernando Alonso, a good friend to the polish F1 driver, has been in the Santa Corona hospital to see for himself if he could be of any help and to be at his friend’s side. In the meantime colleagues, team members, personnel from all areas in the sport and fans from all around the World have joined in wishing Kubica a speedy recovery. We would like to join in, too, wishing that Robert a full recovery and the can start working on his comeback asap.
Robert Kubica, update 17.35 CET
As we gather further information and onlookers have been questioned by local police, it transpires the – rather vague – information handed by Lotus Renault GP is correct in so far that the right limbs of Robert Kubica very seriously affect in the crash early this morning in the village of San Lorenzo Testico during the Rallye Ronde di Andora.
As spectators at the scene described it, Kubica’s Skoda Fabia went twitchy after hitting a bumpy section, first hit a wall on the right hand side and then speared across the narrow road to hit an end piece of a guard rail head on. The pointy end of the guard-rail then intruded the cockpit through the foot well (see picture above) and deforming the safety cell in such way that Kubica’s right leg got fractured and stuck. Hence the lengthy rescue, effected by he local fire brigade with maximum care.
It is stil not entirely clear, how the RIGHT hand got so seriously injured. It is believed Kubica had been shifting gears when the impact stomped the guard rail end into the cockpit. According to local firemen, the RIGHT hand was very seriously hurt. The previously obtaiined formation, Kubica’s LEFT hand had been severely injured in the car rolling over, turns out NOT to be accurate.
In the meantime Kubica’s manager Daniek Morelli has confirmed that there is no konger an imminent danger of an amputation. But given the seriousness of the injury, there is concern whether the Pole will be able to regain all necessary movements in his right hand in order to continue his F1 career any time soon. A new update is expected at 20.00 hours CET.
Robert Kubica, Update 14.35
There are serious concerns over the injuries Robert Kubica sustained to his left hand. Reports of severe head injuries and a life threatening condition seem to be wide off the mark. Apparently the driver side door opened during the crash and the Pole’s left hand got squeezed when his Skoda Fabia rolled. At this point further injuries like a cracked hip and a broken femur are of less concern than avoiding the amputation of the hand. Kubica is likely to be transferred to another hospital for the operation of his hand, according to local sources in Genoa. Team Lotus Renault GP have caused further confusion over the Pole’s true situation as multiple fractures on RIGHT leg and arm were cited.
Kubica injured in Rally
Robert Kubica has suffered an accident while taking part in Italy. The Lotus Renault GP driver crashed during the Rallye Ronde di Andora when he crashed hard into the wall of a church in the village of San Lorenzo Testico near Genoa, rolling the Skoda Fabia S2000 car on its roof. First reports from the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure suggest there are concerns over the arm injured during a road accident in 2003. At the time Kubica, on the passenger seat, broke his right arm and had 18 titanium bolts fitted into the bone. An official statement over the Pole’s condition, which is said not to be life-threating, is being awaited. we keep you posted.
Evans extends lead in Oz
Mitch Evans took wins number four and five at round three of the 12-race International Toyota Racing Series. Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat kept the pressure on the Aucklander throughout race one and race three at Hampton Downs.
Frantic dicing for the top six positions and wheel to wheel racing between the leading title contenders in race two was resolved in favour of three young New Zealanders – Jamie McNee leading home Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. Evans has extended his points lead 629, Cassidy improves to second on 492 points followed by Australian Scott Pye on 454pts, Brit Alex Lynn on 442pts, McNee on 425pts and Kvyat on 398pts.
Team Joest Audi 1-2 in 12h Bathurst
Darryll OYoung/Marc Basseng/Christopher Mies won the Bathurst 12 hours race after 292 laps around the Mount Panorama circuit with their Team Joest Audi. Pole-setters Craig Lowndes/Mark Eddy/Warren Luff made it an Audi 1-2 in the second Team Joest entered R8 LMS GT3 ahead of the VIP Petfoods Racing Porsche GT3R of Tony Quinn/Clarke Quinn/Craig Baird.
We are counting down the days to the season-opening Daytona 500 and for the amount of days left to the 2011 Sprint Cup’s opening race we’ll reveal a magic number in NASCAR stats and what it means. 14 days left, so today’s number is: 14
P14 was Joey Logano’s finish in the March Nationwide Series race at Bristol, his only finish outside the top 10 in 25 starts. The race was Logano’s third of the season. His average finish for the year was a series-best 4.9. His average start also was 4.9. Of drivers who started all 35 races, 2010 champion Brad Keselowski had the best average finish, 5.2. Kyle Busch’s average finish was 5.0. He started 29 races, winning a series-record 13.
06/02
6/2/1997, Roger Laurent dies.
Five times Belgian motorcycle champion, Roger Laurent switched to racing cars in the 1940s, took part in a couple of non-championship Grands Prix and, during 1952, in 2 World Championship rounds at the wheel of a Ferrari 500. His best result remained a 6th place in the German GP at the Nürburgring that year. His last F1 race came 1954 in Syracuse before concentrating on sports car racing finishing in 4th place twice at the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Born: 21st of February 1913 in Liège, Belgium;
Died: 6th of February 1997 in Uccle, Belgium, aged 83.
06/02
6/2/2008, Anthony Peter Roylance Rolt dies.
Major Tony Rolt MC was a British war hero who took part in the first ever F1 World Championship race at Silverstone in 1950 sharing a car with Peter Walker and later adding another 2 Grands Prix starts to his tally. He also won the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race with Duncan Hamilton in a works C-Type Jaguar, nearly reapeting the result the following. Aside being an accomplished race driver, Tony was an engineer with a vision of making four-wheel drive work for performance cars. He retired from racing in 1955 and, with his mechanic Freddy Dixon, formed Dixon Rolt Developments which pioneered the viscous coupling.
Tractor manufacturer Harry Ferguson became the main backer of the project, hence the first 4WD race car they produced was called Ferguson P99, the only 4WD car to win a Formula 1 race with Stirling Moss taking it to victory in the Gold Cup at Oulton Park. The 4WD concept was also quite successful in America and in 1966 was built into the Jensen FF road car. After Ferguson’s death Rolt he founded FF Developments in 1971, a huge success with its technology being used throughout the motor industry and later sold to Ricardo Consulting Engineers. Tony Rolt retired a wealthy man and when he died early in 2008 after a spell of ill-health, he had been the last surviving driver from the inaugural World Championship Grand Prix held at Silverstone.
Born: 16th of October 1918 in Bordon, UK;
Died: 6th of February 2008 in Warwick, aged 89.
06/02
6/2/1999, Umberto Maglioli dies.
An accomplished and versatile sports car racer and endurance race specialist, Magioli only raced occasionally in Formula 1 as a reserve driver for Maserati, Ferrari and Porsche. In the 1954 Italian Grand Prix he shared a Ferrari with Froilan Gonzalez finishing 3rd and in the 1955 Argentine GP, this time sharing with Giuseppe Farina and Maurice Trintignant, he repeated what would be the result of his career again with the Scuderia Ferrari. Being a member of the Porsche works-team in sports car racing, he got a last chance in 1956 to participate in a World Championship round as the Germans entered him one of their 1.5 liter F1 cars at the 1956 German GP. After retiring from the sport he ran a business in Lugano making luxury watches. Umberto Maglioli died after a long illness.
Born: 5th of June 1928 in Bioglio, Italy;
Died: 6th of February 1999 in Monza, Italy, aged 70.
JGR’s Nationwide pole men
We are counting down the days to the season-opening Daytona 500 and for the amount of days left to the 2011 Sprint Cup’s opening race we’ll reveal a magic number in NASCAR stats and what it means. 15 days left, so today’s number is: 15
15 career Nationwide Series poles won by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. Hamlin has made 123 Nationwide starts and has 10 wins, three from the pole position. Logano (pictured 2009 in Nashville) has eight wins in 66 starts. He has five wins from the pole.
05/05
5/2/1922, Alain Carpentier de Changy in Bruxelles, Belgium.
A successful sports car racer, de Changy made only one single attempt to qualify for a Formula 1 World Championship round. Driving a Cooper run by Ecurie Nationale Belge he failed to qualify for the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix and went back to driving sports cars.
Born: 5th of February 1922 in Bruxelles, Belgium;
Died: 5th of August 1994 in Etterbeek, Belgium, aged 72.
05/02
5/2/1882, Louis Wagner is born in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France.
Wagner began racing cars while in his teens and claimed victory in 1903 driving a Darracq in a voiturette class race at the Circuit des Ardennes at Bastogne, Belgium. In 1906 he won the highly acclaimed Vanderbilt Cup in the USA and in 1908 the first ever United States Grand Prix, now driving a Fiat. His only other major success came after WW1 when he won the the first ever British GP in 1926, sharing a Delage 155B with Robert Sénéchal. Later in August he also won the Grand Prix de la Baule in a Delage 2LCV. In addition to Grand Prix racing, Wagner also competed in the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race amd the Indy 500.
Born: 5th of February 1882 in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France;
Died: 13th of March 1960 in Montlhéry, France, aged 78.
McLaren goes radical (again)
McLaren have once gone against the trend and revealed a radically different 2011 car today. The MP4-26 features an innovative sidepod shape and the team plans to introduce further revolutionary solutions throughout the season.
After the innovative MP4-25 with it’s long wheelbase and the revolutionary F-duct, McLaren have once again shocked the opposition with a different approach. The MP4-26 is extremely compact, with a low centre of gravity to aid stability and features a high nose as it has become a trend up and down the pit lane in Valencia this week.
The McLaren MP4-26 will see its roll-out in Jerez on the 10th February with Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel.
04/02
4/2/1913, John Richard Beattie Seaman is born in Chichester, UK.
Dick Seaman was an allround sportsman from a wealthy British family who was fit in skiing, shooting, flying and, of course car racing. Driving a supercharged MG K3 Magnette for American millionaire Whitney Straight’s new racing team, he won his first race at the 1934 Prix de Berne, a a preliminary race to the Swiss Grand Prix at the Bremgarten forest circuit. Seeing his team-mate Hugh Hamilton crash the team’s Maserati 8CM into a tree and being killed during the main race didn’t put him off. When his father, William Seaman-Beattie, died from a sudden heart failure, Dick set up his own team and won the 1935 Prix de Berne with an ERA, beating the marque’s works driver Raymond Mays.
Dick’s victory at the 1936 Grand Prix at Donington, in a borrowed straight-8 Maserati 8CM, caused Mercedes-Benz team manager Alfred Neubauer to invite Dick for tests at Monza. Dick crashed a W125 into a tree and cracked a knee-cap. But his speed and determination got him the works deal nonetheless. During the1937 German GP Auto Union’s Ernst von Delius crashed into his Mercedes at 170mph throwing him from his car. Dick suffered burns, a broken nose, thumb, wrist and arm, while von Delius died later that day. A year later Dick powered his V12 Mercedes-Benz 154 to victory German GP in front of 300,000 ecstatic spectators at the Nürburgring.
The 1939 season didn’t begin well but Dick was eager to race in front of his home crowd at the 1939 British Grand Prix at Donington in September. But it wasn’t to be. On 25 June 1939 he was leading the Belgian Grand Prix with his in heavy rain at Spa and was constantly pushing the boundaries. He missed the entry point at La Source and left the track sideways. The back of his Mercedes hit one tree and then wrapped itself around another catching fire. He died, terribly burnt, some hours after he had crashed. His funeral was held in London on the 30th of June 1939 and Adolf Hitler, despite preparing to throw war on the World, sent an enormous wreath.
Born: 4th of February 1913 in Chichester, UK;
Died: 25th of June 1939 in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, aged 26.
03/02
12/11/1916, 89 years ago, Paul Emery is born in London, UK.
An innovative and visionary designer and engineer, many of Paul’s ideas where decades ahead of their time but lack of resouces meant that they were never properly realised. Drove in the 1956 British Grand Prix.
Born: 12th of November 1916 in London, UK.
Died: 3rd of February 1993 in Epsom, UK, aged 76.
03/02
3/2/1993, Paul Emery dies.
An innovative and visionary designer and engineer he built and raced cars under the Emeryson banner even participating in the 1956 British Grand Prix with his own car. Many of Paul’s engineering ideas where decades ahead of their time but lack of resources meant that they were never properly realised. 1958 he took part in the Monaco GP for the Connaught stable as team-mate to one Bernie Ecclestone. After running the family firm for a while he was bought out by Hugh Powell and stayed on as employee designing the Scirocco car. He then became an engine tuner, before developing Hillman Imps for racing. Son Peter carried on the car building tradition at Emeryson, when he built Formula Junior racing cars.
Born: 12th of November 1916 in London, UK.
Died: 3rd of February 1993 in Epsom, UK, aged 76.
03/02
3/2/1956, Octave John Claes dies.
A talented jazz musician, Johnny Claes and the Clay Pigeons were en vogue in the late 40s, the British born heir of a wealthy family got the racing virus while visiting the French GP and acting as a translator for British teams and drivers. He decided he should have a go himself and bought a Talbot Lago, scoring 7th places in the 1950 Monaco and 1951 Belgian Grands Prix, which would remain his best results over the coming years. He died at just 39 years of age from Tuberculosis.
Born: 11th of August 1916 in London, UK.
Died: 3rd of February 1956 in Brussels, Belgium, aged 39.
P1Mag launches 2011 spec issue no. 1
Well, now we can understand much better how F1 teams feel after launching their last work of art… and then it stops on the track with some kind of unforeseen problem…
After some teething problems with our 2011 spec layout (if you like the publishing office counterpart of a collapsed hydraulic system in an F1 car…) we are happy to have issue no. 01 availalble now for download. Just click on the title page thumb on the right for FREE access to the PDF file.
Enjoy it!
02/02
2/2/1937, Anthony Shelly is born in Wellington, New Zealand.
Tony Shelly was a popular Kiwi driver who came to Europe in 1962, did well in non-championship races but retired after 6 laps in his only World Championship appearance. He took up American citizenship so he could expand his successful car dealership into Hawaii. Later he retired to New Zealand when he got diagnosed of cancer and died at his home in Taupo.
Born: 2nd of February 1937 in Wellington, New Zealand;
Died: 4th of October 1998 in Taupo, New Zealand, aged 61.
02/02
2/2/1909, Enrico Platè dies.
A decent, but not overwhelming driver in both pre- and post-war Grands Prix, Enrico Platè then became a significant and influential figure in post-war grand prix and early Formula One racing as a team owner running Maseratis for decent drivers in all respects, such as Prince “Bira”, Harry Schell, Toulo de Graffenried and notably Tazio Nuvolari, providing the car the Italian legend scored his final victory in the 1946 Albi Grand Prix. He was killed a few days after his 55th birthday in a tragic accident during the 1954 Argentine GP, when Jorge Daponte lost control of his A6GCM and ran into the signaling area where Platè was preparing the pit board for his driver Prince “Bira”.
Born: 28th of January 1909 in Milan, Italy;
Died: 2nd of February 1954 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, aged 45.
02/02
28/1/1909, Enrico Platè is born in Milan, Italy.
A decent, but not overwhelming driver in both pre- and post-war Grands Prix, Enrico Platè then became a significant and influential figure in post-war grand prix and early Formula One racing as a team owner running Maseratis for notable drivers such as Prince “Bira”, Harry Schell, Toulo de Graffenried and notably Tazio Nuvolari, providing the car the Italian legend scored his final victory in the 1946 Albi Grand Prix. He was killed in a tragic accident during the 1954 Argentine GP, when Jorge Daponte lost control of his A6GCM and ran into the signaling area where Platè was preparing the pit board for his driver Prince “Bira”.
Born: 28th of January 1909 in Milan, Italy;
Died: 2nd of February 1954 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, aged 45.
02/02
4/10/1998, Anthony Shelly dies
A popular Kiwi driver to came to Europe in 1962. Did well in non-championship races but retired after 6 laps in his only World Championship appearance. Moved to Hawaii where he ran a number of successful car dealerships. Terminally ill he returned to New-Zeeland where he passed away 10 years ago to the day.
Born: 2nd of February 1937 in Wellington, New Zealand;
Died: 4th of Oktober 1998 in Taupo, Neuseeland, im Alter von 61 Jahren.
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