Grand Prix History

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CONTENTS

NEWS

COLUMNS

ORGANIZATIONS

GALLERY

American Le Mans

Motor Racing Legends

Brooklands Society

Automobile Club de Monaco

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

Royal Automobile Club

Vintage Sports-Car Club

Artist Gallery

National Motor Museum at Beaulieu

TEAMS

CIRCUITS

Red Bull Racing
Renault F1

Imola
Spa Francorchamps

Nurburgring
Vintage Racing

Articles Written

If you are interested in having an article written, want to use one of the existing articles
or require research conducted on any topic having to do with the history of motorsports
please do not hesitate to send me your business cards or contact me at: me@ddavid.com

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Motorsport Art
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Autocourse 2009 Grand Prix Annual

Now in its 59th year, this world famous motorsport annual is regarded as the definitive account of the Formula 1 season. Edited by leading F1 journalist Alan Henry, plus Formula One coverage from Simon Arron as Grand Prix editor and Mark Hughes as Technical editor, it has been long established as a genuine collector's item. Autocourse has an unrivalled heritage which is recognised by the entire motorsport community - and numbers F1 luminaries Jackie Stewart, Murray Walker and Ron Dennis as devotees.

This sumptuous book has detailed race-by-race reports, vibrant features, comprehensive statistics, technical illustrations and the best photography in the sport, Since 1951 it has, quite simply, been the must-have publication for all serious Formula 1 fans and this year once again it will undoubtedly be the definitive record of an enthralling Formula One Grand Prix season.

AUTHOR: Alan Henry is the motorsport correspondent for The Guardian newspaper and has been the editor of Autocourse for the past 22 years. He has written many biographies of the sport's finest practitioners, including Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda and Jochen Rindt.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

He seemed to be well positioned at Fiat, then the leading racing team but his friend Luigi Bazzi who had recently joined Enzo Ferrari at Alfa Romeo knew the ego that blazed inside Vittorio Jano could not be contained at the larger company. After the desultory results of the new Alfa P1, a Fiat copy no less, it was suggested by Bazzi that in order to succeed they needed to go to the source, they needed to kidnap “Jano”. It was a job that the equally ambitious Ferrari, a self-described troublemaker was born to. Yet Jano was not so easily moved, and according to legend he demanded a formal proposal from Alfa Romeo, imperiously dismissing Ferrari by stating that he would “speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey”. To the shock and dismay of his managers at Fiat, Vittorio was soon headed to Alfa Romeo.

To read the rest of the article go here.

The History of the Slot Car

In 1939 Bentram "Fred" Francis 1939 started a tool-making company, which ran twenty-four hours a day throughout the war years. Two years after the armistice he turned to a gentler cliental following a childhood ambition to become a toy-maker, and founded Minimodels Ltd which, among other toys, produced Scalex and Startex clockwork cars. What separated his Scalex cars from the competition was that a hidden fifth wheel discarded with the need for a key. By 1952 demand for Minimodels toys was so great that in order to expand the company relocated to a new, purpose-built factory at Havant in Hampshire but as often happens with toys the public soon was demanding something new. At a London toy fair Francis saw a display featuring battery-powered cars running around a track, but without user control. As a true toy man he new straight away what was missing, real 'play value'. After 6 months of investigation and seeing the giddy reactions of his marketing people as they tried to control the now electric-powered Scalex cars - renamed Scalextric convinced Francis that he was onto a winner.