On this day in…
1818
206 years ago
A steam-powered ‘drais’ (pedal-less bicycle)was demonstrated in the Luxembourg Gardens of Paris, France Read more…
1885
139 years ago
Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his one cylinder water-cooled engine design Read more…
1900
124 years ago
Robert E Read more…
1930
94 years ago
Rover, Lanchester and Standard announced they would merge. Read more…
1932
92 years ago
The Tunis Grand Prix on the Carthage road circuit opened the international racing season of 1932 Read more…
1934
90 years ago
A British patent application for the first cat’s eye road marker was recorded for inventor Yorkshirean Percy Shaw (1889-1975), described as “Improvements relating to Blocks for Road Surface.” Cat’s eyes consisted (in its original form) of two pairs of reflective glass spheres set into a white rubber dome, mounted in a cast-iron housing Read more…
1947
77 years ago
President Louis Horowitz and Vice President Charles D Read more…
1949
75 years ago
The San Remo Grand Prix held at San Remo, run over two heats, was won by Juan Manuel Fangio in a Maserati 4CLT/48 Read more…
1960
64 years ago
Carrol Shelby drove a Birdcage Maserati to victory in the Los Angeles Examiner Herald-Express International Grand Prix at Riverside, California, US Read more…
1961
63 years ago
The 21st Pau Grand Prix, a non-Championship motor race, run to Formula One rules, held at Pau Circuit, the street circuit in Pau Read more…
1961
63 years ago
The 9th Glover Trophy motor race, run to Formula One rules, over 42 laps of the Goodwood circuit, was won by John Surtees in a Cooper T53 Read more…
1966
58 years ago
Battista “Pinin” Farina (72), founder of the Pininfarina coachbuilding company, and synonymous with some of the best-known classic Italian sports cars, died Read more…
1969
55 years ago
Bobby Isaac piloted his Nord Krauskopf-owned No Read more…
1970
54 years ago
Miriam Hargrave of England eventually passed her drivers test on her 40th try Read more…
1977
47 years ago
Darrell Waltrip captured his first of five wins at Darlington Raceway in the Rebel 500 Read more…
1977
47 years ago
The United States Grand Prix West held over 80 laps of the temporary Long Beach street course (2 Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Driving a Ford Mustang, Jacqueline De Creed established a new record for the longest ramp jump in a car, with the car landing on its wheels and being driven on, of 232 feet (70 Read more…
1987
37 years ago
Bill Elliott set a NASCAR qualify record of 212 Read more…
1988
36 years ago
The opening race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, was mired in controversy from the off when Nelson Piquet publicly insulted Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and their wives and families in the pre-race build-up Read more…
1993
31 years ago
Michael Waltrip won the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch Grand National) Series Budweiser 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway Read more…
1993
31 years ago
Nigel Mansell’s first outing on an oval circuit in Indycar ended in tears when his Lola struck a wall at the International Raceway in Phoenix at 170mph during a practice session Read more…
1993
31 years ago
Legendary NASCAR stockcar driver, Buddy Baker, retired from racing Read more…
1994
30 years ago
Ricky Craven dominated the Sundrop 400 at Hickory Motor Speedway for his third of four career NASCAR Xfinity (Busch Grand National) Series wins Read more…
1996
28 years ago
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City placed a Jaguar E-Type in its permanent exhibit Read more…
1998
26 years ago
McLaren announced the signing of a 13-year-old karting whiz kid, Lewis Hamilton Read more…
1999
25 years ago
Jeff Green led 158 laps to win the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch Grand National) Series BellSouth Mobility 320 at Nashville Speedway Read more…
1999
25 years ago
A decade of speculation over the future of Silverstone was to follow, but the first shots came from Bernie Ecclestone who warned there was no guarantee the race would stay there when the existing deal ended in 2001 Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Ford set an all-time monthly U Read more…
2001
23 years ago
The Forth Road Bridge in Scotland became a Category A listed building. Read more…
2003
21 years ago
London’s North Circular was named as the noisiest road in the country Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Matt Kenseth raced away from the field following a red flag with three laps to go to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway Read more…
2005
19 years ago
The Bahrain Grand Prix took place the day after Pope John Paul II died and several teams and drivers offering their respects, most notably Ferrari, who raced with blackened nose cones as a mark of respect Read more…
2005
19 years ago
Kevin Harvick battled back after starting last in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and drove his GM Goodwrench Chevrolet to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in nearly two years Read more…
2005
19 years ago
Fernando Alonso driving a Renault R25 won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir Read more…
2007
17 years ago
Robin Montgomerie-Charrington died aged 91 Read more…
2009
15 years ago
“Fast & Furious” – the fourth film in an action-movie franchise centred around the world of illegal street racing debuted, kicking off a record-breaking $72 Read more…
2010
14 years ago
Kevin Harvick took advantage of a call to take two tires on a late-race pit stop and was able to hold off Reed Sorenson to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Nashville 300 at Nashville Superspeedway Read more…
2011
13 years ago
Kevin Harvick followed-up his win at Auto Club Speedway the previous weekend with another victory in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway Read more…
2015
9 years ago
Bob Burns (64), the American drummer who was in the original line-up of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a car crash in Georgia when his car struck a mailbox and a tree with the front of the vehicle Read more…
2016
8 years ago
Kyle Busch won the STP 500 to give him a weekend sweep at Martinsville Speedway Read more…
