~3 June~
1908: Alfred Velghe, known as Levegh, driving a Mors 28hp car won the Bordeaux-Perigueux-Bordeaux race (195.5 miles), in 4 hours 1 minutes 45 seconds The first stage of the race (72 miles) was accomplished in 1 hour 24 minutes 35 seconds, equal to 51 miles an hour.
1921: Australian Harry Hawker, driving an AC at the Brooklands race circuit in Surrey, became the first to officially exceed 100 mph in Britain driving a 1.5-litre car.
1928: Marcel Lehoux driving a Bugatti T35C won the Tunis Grand Prix held at Bardo just outside Tunis.
1934: The VIII ADAC Eifelrennen, an annual motor race organised by ADAC Automobile Club, held in Germany’s Eifel mountain region (even before the Nürburgring was built there), was won by Manfred von Brauchitsch in a Mercedes-Benz W25/34.The start was delayed for several hours because of fog, rain showers and hail. At 3 PM the race was finally started with 44 cars in 3 classes flagged of after each other. Continue Reading →
1934: The first and only Montreux Grand Prix was held and won by Carlo Felice Trossi, in an Alfa Romeo B/P3. The Montreux “round the houses” street race was a new addition to the Grand Prix calendar. Unfortunately it was run the same weekend as the Eifelrennen but Ferrari entered the trio of Varzi, Moll and Trossi. Continue Reading →
1956: Peter Collins driving a Ferrari D50 won the Belgian Grand Prix run over 36 laps of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
1958: Erwin Bauer (45) was killed in a 2-litre sports Ferrari at Nürburgring where, not realising he had passed the chequered flag, kept on racing and crashed fatally on what was supposed to be his slowing-down lap.
1961: The 2nd Silver City Trophy run to Formula One rules, over 76 laps of Brands Hatch, was won by British driver Stirling Moss in a Lotus 18/21. The race was overshadowed by a fatal accident during qualifying when Shane Summers crashed his Cooper T53 into the concrete entrance to the paddock road tunnel.
1961: The Mosport International raceway, Ontario, the second purpose built circuit in Canada, opened with club races.The facility presently features a 2.459-mile (3.957 km), (length reduced through wider track re-surfacing done in 2003) 10-turn road course; a 2.9 km advance driver and race driver training facility with a quarter-mile skid pad (Driver Development Centre) and a 1.4 km kart track (Mosport International Karting).
1973: Jackie Stewart won the Monaco Grand Prix driving a Tyrrell-Cosworth 006, equalling the record of 25 Grand Prix victories set by his friend Jim Clark. This was the first race for the future world champion James Hunt. The track was heavily revised for this year, with a new, longer tunnel, a chicane around the new swimming pool and a wider pitlane on the start-finish straight, which also added the now famous Rascasse-corner.
1984: Alain Prost driving a McLaren-TAG Porsche MP4/2 won the Monaco Grand Prix. The race, held amidst heavy rain, was one of the most contentious in Formula One history. Pole-sitter Prost led the race from the start, while first corner contact between Ferrari’s René Arnoux and the Renault of Derek Warwick pitched the Englishman’s car into the fence on the outside of St. Continue Reading →
2006:Martin Groves became the first man to dip under 23 seconds at Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, when he recorded 22.86 seconds.
2007: Lord Drayson and Jonny Cocker drove their Aston Martin DBRS9 to victory during the British GT championship race at Snetterton England – the first time a car fuelled by ethanol had won a race in the series. The Aston Martin DBRS9 was based on the Aston Martin DB9 road car but with several modifications to make it suitable for racing. While it retains the DB9’s six litre V12 engine, the fuelling system had been modified and the ECU recalibrated for the bio-ethanol fuel. Continue Reading →
~4 June~
1900: The Bordeaux – Périgueux – Bordeaux Race (318 km) was won by Alfred Velghe (“Levegh”) on a 4-cylinder, 7.3-litre Mors 24CV. Second place went to Étienne Giraud on a 4-5.3 Panhard & Levassor 24CV and 3rd place to the American debutant Bostwick on a year-old 4-4.4 Panhard & Levassor 16CV.
1932: French racing pioneer, André Boillot (41) in a 301 sports Peugeot crashed into a tree during hillclimb Ars-La Châtre (France) practice and died five days later. André Boillot began racing cars at a young age. However, World War I not only disrupted his career but claimed the life of his brother in 1916. Continue Reading →
1933: The first recorded organised midget car race was held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.
1933: Only eight competitors took part in the Nîmes Grand Prix held on an avenue in the city center of Nîmes. The race developed into an exciting duel between Nuvolari in a works Alfa Romeo Monza against Etancelin in a private Monza. At half way into the race Nuvolari had managed to establish a 30 seconds
1950: The first World Championship pit stop fire occurred in the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix. Felice Bonetto’s Maserati pressure system exploded and the whole pit was demolished. Happily no-one was injured – and Bonetto was classified fifth overall!
1967: The ground-breaking Lotus 49 won on its debut at the Dutch Grand Prix with Jim Clark at the wheel. The car was powered by the Ford-financed Cosworth-built Double Four Valve (DFV) engine.
1972: The Belgian Grand Prix at Nivelles was won by Emerson Fittipaldi driving a Lotus-Cosworth 72D. François Cevert finished second for the Tyrrell team and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third.
1978: Mario Andretti won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama in a Lotus-Cosworth 79 from pole position. It was James Hunt who got a great start, and he led into the first corner from Andretti and Reutemann, with Peterson dropping all the way back to ninth. Hunt led for seven laps before Andretti passed him and pulled away. Continue Reading →
1989: The two-hour time limit of the United States Grand Prix held at Phoenix was reached after 75 of the scheduled 81 laps, as Prost in a McLaren-Honda MP4/5 coasted to his only United States win and increased his then all-time record victory total to 36 and his first win in a naturally aspirated car. He also took the lead, by two points over Senna, in the Driver’s Championship which he eventually won. Patrese’s runner-up placing was his second in a row.
1996:Colin McCrae and Derek Ringer won the Acropolis Rally in a Subaru Impreza.
2000: Contested over 78 laps, the Monaco Grand Prix was won by McLaren driver David Coulthard after starting from third position. Rubens Barrichello finished second in a Ferrari with Giancarlo Fisichella third for the Benetton team. Championship leader Michael Schumacher started from pole position alongside Jordan driver Jarno Trulli. Continue Reading →
