Sir Jackie, you’re a regular visitor to Bahrain and its Grand Prix but this year it’s the venue of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the world championship. How special does that make this year’s event …
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Watch this video of the last 10 laps of the 1983 Indianapolis 500 and you’ll quickly realise why the climax to America’s biggest race that May is remembered as one of the best.
The 67th running of the 500-mile Indycar classic came into its own on the 190th lap when the Bignotti-Cotter-run March of Tom Sneva got the jump on leading duo Al Unser, a three-time Indy winner, and his son Al Jr, who was making his debut at The Brickyard.
After a troubled practice session in which Sneva’s Texaco-branded March 83C had lunched three of its Cosworth DFX engines and barely run 200 miles of practice, the Washington driver’s chances on raceday were not rated highly.
Against the odds, however, Sneva made his way to the front – thanks to a new engine with different internals. He got the jump on Unser Jr at Turn 1 after the race’s final yellow-flag period and moved into second. His final target was the works Penske of Unser Sr, who by this stage was fighting a poor-handling car. Two corners later and the lead was Sneva’s. He quickly pulled away to record his first Indy win and only his second career 500-mile success.
“The car felt good all day,” Sneva reported from Victory Lane. “The motor I had today was super and I want to say that the guys did a heck of a job in the end. Once I got round those Unsers near the end I knew I was in good shape because the car felt so good.”
67th Indianapolis 500, May 29 1983
1. Tom Sneva (USA), March-Cosworth 83C – 200 laps
2. Al Unser Sr (USA), Penske-Cosworth PC11 – 200 laps
3. Rick Mears (USA), Penske-Cosworth PC11 – 200 laps
4. Geoff Brabham (AUS), Penske-Cosworth PC10 – 199 laps
5. Kevin Cogan (USA), March-Cosworth 83C – 198 laps
6. Howdy Holmes (USA), March-Cosworth 83C – 198 laps
Today is the 7th Anniversary of the passing of Motorcycling legend Barry Sheene.
When Barry Sheene decided to up stumps from his country mansion in England and move his entire family to the Gold Coast in …
It’s always good to start your week with a laugh, and I nearly fell off my chair with the sheer absurdity of this crazy feat.
Watch in amazement at this hilarious footage of Jimmy “The Flying …
Here a couple of lovely videos featuring Chad McQueen talking about being on the set of Le Mans with his Dad, Steve, in 1970.
In the first video, Chad talks about sitting on his Dad’s lap …
Renault is going retro in 2010, working hard to recapture its historic allure with new livery based on classic Renault designs.
Maxpart Racing has created officially licensed replicas of the evocative Martini Racing gear of the 1970s.
Star of the range is the uber retro light blue jacket, famously worn by Argentinian legend Carlos Reutemann. The jacket …
This has to be one of the most ridiculous and completely avoidable crashes I have ever seen. The tragic part is that it claimed the life of popular Italian driver Ignazio Giunti
Giunti, from Rome, made …
In the days when the AMA Grand National Championship included road races, Rex Beauchamp stayed on the dirt and came close to winning a championship anyway.
Inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007, Beauchamp …
The motorcycling bug bit Sammy Miller whilst watching motorcycle racing in Ulster. He went on to compete and win his first event in 1953. The rest as they say, is history.
Millers career was an …
Check out these beautiful artworks by Nicolas Cancelier. I’m a real fan of his work, as it really captures the essence of the eras represented and the styles are so varied.
Here is a some background …
Have a listen to this remarkable little tune.
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Greg Pretty was one of the most versatile riders of his generation, and hugely respected by his peers.
Aussie race legend Greg Pretty lost his life in a terrible head-on accident on January 16, 2010 aboard …
Today is your last chance to score a couple of Live2Race T shirts.
Simply add a comment to any story on MotorSportRetro.com or on our Facebook page and you are in the draw.
The team at Live2Race …
Thundering across the dry flats comes a Porsche lover’s wet dream come true, expelling a tree of dust.
It’s a spectacular cavalcade of horsepower. A stunning pairing of power and beauty. And it’s all to borrow …
As NASCAR’s Sprint Cup daredevils get ready for this weekend’s season-opener, the Daytona 500 at the fearsome Florida Speedway, it’s worth wallowing in a bit of stock car nostalgia.
The blue-riband 500 has been the most …
The Dakar rally is probably the most gruelling and dangerous motor race in the world. Motorcycles, cars, quad bikes and trucks compete, not so much with each other, but with the race itself, to survive …
Here are some video snippets from a documentary called Trans Am 1970.
The 1970 Trans Am series is regarded by most racing enthusiasts as the high water mark of American road racing.
Six full factory teams prepared …
A rare wet afternoon has given me a respite from the heat and humidity to do some more searching in my large and almost uncatalogued photo collection and I found these gems taken in the …
Here is a full length video of the season opening Argentine 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix from 1982.
The opening parts of the video are arguably the best bits with some good interviews with Sheene, Croz and …
This is a fascinating and very well written account of the politics behind the extraordinary Auto Union and Mercedes ” Silver Arrows ” grand prix cars of the 1930s.
Eberhard Reuss is a German motor sport …
The first video is a touching account of Lorenzo Bandinis fatal race at Monaco in 1967. The clip, which is in Italian with subtitles, features moving interviews with Bandini, his wife and Mother.
Bandini was hired …
