Articles by Henry Hope-Frost
15 racers that rocked the Donington Historic Festival
A mouthwatering array of prized competition metalwork graced the recent Donington Historic Festival and it was a privilege to be allowed to patrol the pitlane and officiate at the podium ceremonies armed with a mic …
10 motorcycle racers who were also brilliant on four wheels
1. John Surtees 1934-
Uniquely in motorsport, ‘Il Grande John’, as he was affectionately known by the Italian tifosi, won world titles on two and four wheels. He added to his seven bike crowns – four …
Colin McRae’s WRC breakthrough: New Zealand 1993
While the current stars of the World Rally Championship strut their stuff on the other side of the world in Rally New Zealand, cast your mind back almost 20 years to the 1993 event.
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Video: BTCC 1992 – Tin-Top Tearaways
The British Touring Car Championship has pitted high-street cars and household-name drivers against each other for over 50 years. And ever since those early years in the late 1950s, the emphasis has always been on …
Luscious liveries – part 2
Back in 2009, we revealed our 10 favourite motorsport liveries – those racing-car paint jobs or corporate identities that really floated our boats in period and continue to stir those retro juices. And, unsurprisingly, the …
Renault: Powering Formula 1 Champions
With pre-season testing for the 2012 Formula 1 season already underway – teams spent four days at former Spanish GP venue Jerez last week – all eyes are on the latest creations from the 12 …
Rally Sweden: Saabs, Super Swedes and Sideways action
Rally history
Unique among world rally championship events, Rally Sweden offers the only chance for the world’s top drivers to show off their extraordinary talents entirely on snow and ice. Threading powerful rally cars along …
Senna vs Prost: Elf Master Karting, Bercy 1993
The recent celebrity-driver karting event at the Palais Omnisport in Paris-Bercy, in which a number of international racing stars did battle in electric karts around the indoor circuit, brings back memories of the inaugural event …
Targa Florio ’73: last of the real road races
An important chapter of sportscar racing came to an end on May 13th 1973 when the last ‘proper’ Targa Florio took place on the 45-mile Piccolo Madonie circuit on the Italian island of Sicily. Since …
1970: Finland wins the World Cup
Imagine trying to organise a six-week rally that took 100 crews on a 16,000-mile route from London to Mexico City, via most of Europe and the Americas, and that comprised the most inhospitable and torturous …
Fever machines: Porsche 917/10
Porsche’s fearsome 917 sports-racer came, saw and conquered during the first two world sportscar championship seasons of the 1970s. The 4.5-litre, flat-12 cylinder machine – later increased to five litres – was the most sophisticated …
Video: Lotus 38 to star at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
One of the most eagerly anticipated appearances at next weekend’s 18th Goodwood Festival of Speed, indeed anywhere in historic motorsporting circles, will surely be the first public exercising of the iconic Lotus 38. Formula 1 …
Le Mans ’69: 100-yard humdinger
The 37th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours features on most sportscar racing fans’ list of ‘greatest-ever races’ around the legendary La Sarthe venue – and for several good reasons.
Classic circuits: Brands Hatch
Very few of the world’s modern-day, sanitised, super-safe international race tracks command the sort of respect their tree-lined, blind-summitted, heart-in-the-mouth forbearers once did. Names such as Elkhart Lake (Road America), Mosport, Nurburgring Nordschleife, Rouen and …
Sandown 1000kms 1984: Bellof on top down under
Sportscar racing’s brightest prospect, Stefan Bellof, finally secured the discipline’s biggest prize, the FIA Endurance Championship for drivers, with his sixth win of the 1984 season. The 27-year-old German guided the factory Rothmans Porsche 956 …
