Hang on and enjoy the wonderful sounds of the BMW Procar being riven hard around the Nurburgring.

The BMW M1 Procar Championship, sometimes known simply as Procar, was a one-make auto racing series created by Jochen Neerpasch,head of BMW Motorsport GmbH. The series pitted professional drivers from the Formula One World Championship, World Sportscar Championship, European Touring Car Championship, and other international series against one another using identically modified BMW M1 sports cars.

Billed as an opportunity to see a mix of drivers from various motorsport disciplines,^vthe championship served as support races for various European rounds of the 1979 Formula One season, with Formula One drivers earning automatic entry into the Procar event based on their performance in their Formula One cars. Austrian Niki Lauda won the inaugural championship. In 1980, the series held some events outside of Formula One schedule, and was won by Brazilian Nelson Piquet. BMW chose not to continue the championship in 1981 to concentrate on their entrance into Formula One.

Via: wikipedia

Enjoy another fine gallery of photos from Karsten Arndt taken at the Salzburgring Classic.

There were some interesting cars and drivers at the event. The driver of the Ferrari in picture no. 27 is Walter König, the son of the founder of the tuning company König Specials.

The company is famous for the legendary König Competition, the Ferrari Testarossa based supercar that produced an incredible 1000 HP.

The driver of the BMW 2002tii in picture 22 is Adrian van Hooydonk, Director of Group Design at BMW and the man currently responsible for the design of all the BMW machines.

For more pics head to www.farbbild.com.

The Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn is set to move into a new era with the highly anticipated 1974 Holden LH Torana SLR 5000 debut at Muscle Car Masters on 4-5 September.

An icon of Australian motorsport, when the SLR 5000 burst on to the racing scene in 1974 it blew its rivals away and changed the face of the competition.

Now in 2010, in the hands of Tony Edwards, the SLR 5000 heralds a new era of the Touring Car Masters since the category extended the model eligibility, last season.

Edwards, a frontrunner in the series and a staunch devotee of Australian-made cars and particularly Holdens, steps out of his Holden HQ Monaro into the Torana SLR 5000 in the hopes of putting himself and his beloved marque back into podium contention.

Weighing in 170 kilos lighter than his HQ Monaro, Edwards believes the Torana will look after it tyres and brakes better, ultimately making it a more competitive race package despite the drop in outright horsepower.

Bolstering Edwards’ confidence, the Torana has been expertly prepared by Les Small who built the first LH Torana for Allan Grice in 1974.

Taking the Torana SLR 5000 and converting it to Touring Car Masters specifications, Edwards describes the result as an SLR 5000 on steroids.

Creating an irresistible mix of nostalgia and V8 excitement, fans can witness the Holden Torana SLR 5000 in Touring Car Masters trim for the first time in round four at Eastern Creek Raceway (NSW) in the 2010 Muscle Car Masters on 4-5 September.

TONY EDWARDS:

“The SLR is an Australian racing icon. The HQ, even though it did race on the odd occasion, it wasn’t a staple of the Touring Car Championship, but the SLR started that Torana era that was so successful.

“Bob Morris and obviously Peter Brock are inspirations, especially Bob Morris when they won Bathurst with a busted diff, not knowing for the last two or three laps if the car was going to make it. As a young fella, that was one of the first Bathursts that really enthralled me. That’s what really hooked me on motorsport, that number seven Torana.

“I want to see an Australian car up the front in the Touring Car Masters and I think the Torana’s going to do a better job.

“Having Les (Small) build it, who built the original cars in their day, just makes it that much sweeter.

“We’ve painted it Caribbean Blue; it’s an original SLR colour. We’re running # 50 – that’s 05 backwards. That was suggested by other people, I didn’t think of it, but it’s a five-litre, so it fits.

“The shell and the interior are pretty much completed. We’ve just got to bolt the mechanicals in it, and hopefully give it a shake down at Winton, next Friday. Then, on the Thursday leading up to the meeting, there’s a practice day at Eastern Creek.

“For Muscle Car Masters, I’m aiming just to get through the weekend and be in the top 10. It should be capable of running top 10 straight out of the box – top five would be awesome. It’s going to be a lot more competitive.

“Overall, I’ve been fourth four times; I want to crack a three. Once we’ve got the Torana sorted we’ll definitely be a podium contender.

“It’s going to be fast, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s .7 of a litre short of the other Group 1 cars, so it won’t have the straight line speed of the Mustangs or the Camaros, but it’ll be more consistent, it’ll stay on a pace for 12 laps where theirs drop off a little. It’s like Jim’s Falcon – it’s going to be a little bit of cat and mouse.

“People have been building their own hype about it. They know what the Torana did when it debuted back in ‘74. The GT Falcons and everything that was winning at the time was absolutely annihilated – they just ran off into the distance. Jim (Richards) was there and lived that so he knows exactly what they did in Australian motorsport back then. It’s not going to happen like that now, but it’ll be up there.”

The Touring Car Masters is proudly presented by Autobarn, and supported by Biante Model Cars, Shannons Insurance, Rare Spares and official suppliers Hoosier Tires and Australian Sports Marketing.

It’s 32 years since Kenny Leroy Roberts hit the world 500 championship, shaking it from its previous Euro-centric axis.

Roberts was 26 — a cocky, race-savvy, mentally tough twice AMA national champion from a dusty part of California. Against most predictions, he won the 500 crown at his first attempt in 1978.

Kenny returned in 1979, after a crash on Yamaha’s test track nearly killed him, and did it again. He made it three in a row in 1980 and went within two points of a fourth crown in 1983 – when he and Honda’s Freddie Spencer won six races each.

The more deeply you examine the 1978 season, the more impressive Roberts’ first title win over Suzuki’s Barry Sheene becomes. The calendar included two public-road circuits and the old Nurburgring. But he made himself finish in the top three at Spa-Francorchamps and the Ring.

Moreover Roberts in ‘78 came with just one Yamaha 500. Factory number one Johnny Ceccotto had two better bikes. What Kenny did have was a team manager in Australian Kel Carruthers who knew European racing and could organise master strokes like mid-race wheel change in the 1978 British GP that was three times faster than rival Sheene’s stop.

However, Roberts’ lasting impact exceeded his record of 22 victories in 500 GP, two in 250 GP and seven Formula 750.

Kenny in blunt dirt-track bred style challenged the blue-blazer FIM hierarchy on safety and overall professionalism. He led the 1979 World Series breakaway movement that while stillborn doubled prizemoney for 1980.

Roberts went on to run a highly innovative and successful race team, winning three championships with Wayne Rainey. Many pundits would group King Kenny with Mike Hailwood and Valentino Rossi in the all-time top three of road racers.

Don Cox

Bonhams & Butterfields celebrated the thirteenth anniversary of its renowned motorcar auction at the sunny Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley with resounding success.

A world record for any Porsche sold at auction was achieved with the ex-Jurgen Neuhaus/Jurgen Barth 1972-73 European Interserie and David Hobbs/Mike Hailwood Gulf-JW Automotive team 1972-73 Porsche 917 Interserie Spyder neé 1970 Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K Coupe realizing $3,965,000.

This Porsche, originally a 1970 Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K Coupe numbered 026, made history when it was driven by David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood in the 1970 Le Mans. In the middle of a downpour in the 50th lap, Hailwood cruised past the pit stop where rain tires were readied and crashed into a parked car. What was left of the vehicle was repaired with the 031 chassis, but swapped numbering with the original 026 chassis to avoid complications.

The original 026 chassis, now numbered 031, was repaired and re-issued as a 1972-73 Porsche 917 Interserie Spyder. It was driven by Ernst Kraus in the 1972 European InterSerie Championship and by Jurgen Barth in the 1973 series.

This storied Porsche is equipped with a 5.4 liter, flat-12 cylinder, 630 horsepower engine and weighs approximately 1,600 lbs.

Many other strong prices were attained for the rarest and freshest offerings, which included:

• The exceedingly rare 1930 Mercedes-Benz 7.1 Liter SS Tourer that made $2,537,000 after spirited bidding.
• The ex-works, Gerhard Mitter/Lucien Bianchi Nurburgring 1000 kms-leading 1967 Porsche 910 Endurance Racing Works Coupe that sold for $797,000.
• The ex- J. Herbert Carpenter, Western Reserve Historical Society, Joe Tracy 1908 Thomas Flyer 4-60 Tourer that went for $733,000.
• The ex-Ernst Loof racing team, Sandizell-owned 1937 BMW 328 Roadster that was bought for $667,000.

Furthermore, automobilia and spares posted the highest ever total at this venue with $1.185 million realized.

“We are very honored to have been selected to offer these incredible motorcars at auction,” says Mark Osborne, head of Bonhams’ Motoring Department. “We are very pleased with the results and the satisfaction of having met or exceeded the expectations of our discerning and growing clientele.”

Bonhams’ annual sale at Quail Lodge – the longest running auction during the most famous collector car week in the world – has demonstrated yet again why the 217-year-old auction house is a leader in the international domain of automobiles and a cornerstone of the Monterey Peninsula Car Week.

In just three week’s time Goodwood will be marking the important contribution that two British legends have made to the sport of motor racing over the decades when it pays tribute to multiple World Champion John Surtees and the celebrated British Racing Motors (BRM) marque at the 2010 Goodwood Revival (17-19 September).

The Goodwood Motor Circuit has played a significant role in the careers of both racing driver John Surtees and BRM (for which Surtees drove), so it is entirely fitting that their achievements are celebrated with special track parades at the 2010 Revival to mark two important anniversaries.

50 Years Since John Surtees’ First Car Race

Already a multiple World Champion on two wheels, it was 50 years ago this year, in March 1960, that John Surtees began his switch to four wheels, entering a Formula Junior race at Goodwood and finishing a close second to Jim Clark.

Within a matter of months, Surtees had scored his first pole position and podium finish in Formula One, and in 1964 he became F1 World Champion. His achievement in winning World Championships on both two wheels and four remains unmatched to this day. Add victory in the inaugural CanAm championship in 1966, and a spell as a team owner, and his is a career whose achievements will perhaps forever remain unique.

At the 2010 Revival Goodwood will pay tribute to John Surtees, with a gathering of the landmark cars and bikes that shaped his unparalleled career, as well a number of drivers and riders that he competed with and against.

Amongst the 25+ ex-Surtees cars and motorcycles forming part of an impressive grid will be his 1949 Vincent Black Shadow, 1952 Comet 500, 1960 Cooper-BMC T52, 1964 Ferrari 158 and 1973 Surtees-Hart TS15.

60 Years Since BRM’s First Race Victory

On September 30th 1950, the fledgling British Racing Motors (BRM) scored its very first victory, here at Goodwood, when Reg Parnell triumphed in the Woodcote Cup. From then until 1977, when its doors closed permanently, BRM enjoyed a career which, perhaps more than any manufacturer before or since, was epitomised by glorious highs (17 Grand Prix victories and both World Championships in 1962) and ignominious lows (the calamitous failure of the much-heralded V16, and the team’s eventual demise), but which never failed to capture the public’s imagination.

This year’s Revival celebrates 60 years since that first win at Goodwood, with the world’s largest ever gathering of BRM cars. With up to 40 of the known 53 BRMs still in existence on the grid at Goodwood, highlights will include the infamous BRM V16 MK 1 of 1950, the 1953 V16 P30 MK 2, Type 25, P48, P261, P153 and the final P207 of 1977.

What do you say we let Porsche Club GB Motorsport and Marketing Director Geoff Turral show us around David Piper’s Porsche 917 #10—the first 917 available to a private team.

Harlo

via: TheChicaneBlog.com

A LAST-MINUTE, all-or-nothing run clinched a record sixth outright victory for Ray Vandersee and his self-built Skelta G-Force sports car at the 15th annual Leyburn Motor Sprints on Queensland’s Darling Downs last weekend.

Vandersee engaged in a blow-for-blow duel with Grant Watson in a ProSport Eclipse in the final minutes of the two-day event.

Watson set the fastest time of 50.24 seconds on his second-last run around the one-kilometre street course; Vandersee improved it, then Watson lowered his time again.

“When I heard that I thought he had opened a big enough margin, but on my last run I pushed very hard and came across the finish line sideways,” Vandersee said.

“I saw the hay bales looming but managed to keep the car off them. I was definitely the hardest I’ve driven here.”

Vandersee’s last of seven scheduled runs improved the mark to an indisputable 48.98 secs to secure the trophy that commemorates the running of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix on a nearby airfield.

A challenge from 2009 winner Darren Duffield barely came off. He completed only one run before breaking the differential in his RPV-01 Mazda, although the time of 49.89 secs was sufficient for third outright.

The 15th annual Leyburn Sprints featured a record entry of 212 racing, sports and touring cars ranging from Watson’s 2010 ProSport Eclipse to a 1932 Triumph Wolseley Special driven by Steve Anderson.

Keith Carling was the fastest competitor in an Historic car, with a time of 53.39  secs in a 1980 Tiga SC80 sports, but perhaps the most notable result went to a MG TC Special driven by Victorian Peter Gostelow.

The supercharged MG single-seater, which won its class last weekend, was the car that finished second outright in the 1949 grand prix in the hands of Ray Gordon.

Touring car personality Dick Johnson was another who proved age had not diminished his speed.

Johnson, 65, won the class for touring cars over 5.1 litres, driving an 800 horsepower, 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT and beating one of two unofficial rivals from the Stone Brothers V8 Supercar team, 20-year-old Shane Van Gisbergen.

The other Stone Brothers competitor, Tim Slade, unofficially set the fastest time in class, driving the same car.

Slade described his first experience of the historic sprints event as “awesome”.

“I haven’t done anything like this and I’m really enjoying it,” he said.

“It makes you really respect those guys who did 150 miles an hour at Bathurst in those Falcons. The XY is a weapon in a straight line but it’s got unbelieveable wheelspin.

“This is an awesome event. I get to drive some good cars and meet some good people – and I can hang the tail out and have some fun.”

Johnson was one of the weekend’s busiest drivers, completing more than 14 runs in the Falcon, a1971 Ford Escort and a Ford V8-powered 1956 Morris Minor.

He also was one of many who praised the quality of $100,000 hot-mix surface laid for this year’s event.

Ray Vandersee, winner in 2002, ‘03, ‘05, ‘06’ and ‘07, said:  “It’s transformed it into a real driver’s event. It used to be a social event, but now you’ve got a proper surface and defined edges. It’s been a great event.”

More than 1400 timed runs, a speedcar parade, Show and Shine display, perfect weather and an historic pub situated close to the starting line combined to attract one of the biggest spectator crowds in recent years.

Proceeds from the not-for-profit event benefited local community organisations, whose members did many voluntary jobs from selling tickets to emptying rubbish.

RESULTS (Outright fastest times)

1. Ray Vandersee, 2009 Skelta G-Force 48.98 seconds
2. Grant Watson, 2010 Prosport Eclipse 49.62
3. Darren Duffield, 1998 RPV01-Mazda 49.89
4. Paul Mienert, 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer 50.38
5. Terry Johns, 2001 Sports 1300 50.68

Full results are available at www.natsoft.com.au.

Aunger Wheels where something of a must have for the more sporting driver in 1970s Australia.

Here we have a ‘young Johnny Goss’ finding himself in the disturbing situation of his pit crew not being particularly interested in getting his Falcon Hardtop prepped and ready for the track. It’s an ad from a simpler time, when wearing a shirt in the pits was optional, shorts were very short and racing drivers apparently liked to wear silk scarves.

The obviously staged photograph is on the grid outside the control tower at Sydney’s Amaroo Park Raceway in 1974. The car – complete with the signature Goss black and gold chequered windscreen strip – is the Ford Falcon Lightweight. Built to cash in on the various rich and highly competitive Sports Sedan series being staged at the time, it was a relatively simple machine in that it was essentially a stripped out Group C Touring Car.

For the uninitiated, Tasmanian born John Goss is one of Australia’s most charismatic drivers. ‘Gossy’ was a natural when the microphone was pointed his way, and wasn’t shy to exaggerate a little, but that was part of his charm. This combined with driving skill, popularity and marketable good looks, made him a bankable commodity for his sponsors.

The only driver to have won both the Bathurst 1000 touring car race (1974, 1985) and the Australian Grand Prix (1976), John’s personality and success was well leveraged by his backers. He featured in advertising for Bridgestone, Sydney radio station 2UW and he was synonymous with McLeod Ford, a prominent dealer producing customised, high performance V8 Falcons marketed as ‘Horn Cars’.

To celebrate his 1974 Bathurst victory, Ford Australia released the ‘John Goss Special’. Made in limited numbers, the white Falcon Hardtops with 302 Cleveland V8 were available with a choice green or blue accent colors and special striping.

John has long retired from full time competition, but he does hit the track at times, driving his very own replica Bathurst winners.

James Meale

Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway will once again play host to Australia’s largest gathering of racing muscle cars from as early as the 1960s – Muscle Car Masters.

Muscle Car Masters is a celebration of Australia’s rich motoring heritage and a tribute to the drivers who raced.

Held on Father’s Day, 5 September, this year’s Muscle Car Masters celebrates 50 years of the Australian Touring Car Championship.

The event will feature a one-off 50th Anniversary handicap race that will see the best muscle cars from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s pitted against each other in a race to settle the old argument – just what era of racing was the best?

Chief executive of the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) and Eastern Creek Raceway Glenn Matthews said this year’s Muscle Car Masters would be the biggest yet.

“Now entering its sixth year, Muscle Car Masters has become a must-see event in Australia’s motor racing calendar,” said Mr Matthews.

“Each year the event attracts more competitors, exhibitors and most importantly fans.

“Muscle Car Masters is a motor racing event for all ages – giving Dads an opportunity to relive the racing of old and introduce it to their sons,” said Mr Matthews.

“Muscle Car Masters prides itself on offering something for everyone, be it a racing fan, car enthusiast or an owner who wishes to show off their pride and joy,” Mr Matthews said.

Other events scheduled for Father’s Day recreate the traditional battles of old as Ford Falcon GT-HOs compete against arch rivals in the form of Holden’s Monaro, XU1 Torana and the Valiant R/T Charger.

Further racing will include the Touring Car Masters, Group C and Group A Bathurst Touring Cars and Historic Touring Cars from the 1960s and ’70s.

Racing legends appearing on the day will include Bob Jane, Colin Bond, Allan Moffat, John French, Harry Firth, Leo Geoghegan, Alan Grice, Kevin Bartlett, Jim Richards, Barry and Glenn Seton, John Harvey, John Bowe, Murray Carter, Bob Morris, Bob Holden, David Parsons, Wayne Gardner, Neil Crompton and Jim and Steven Richards.

Off-track activities include a show-and-shine display featuring Australia’s best road-registered muscle cars along with trade sites offering race fan merchandise.

Tickets are available at the gate. For further information visit www.musclecarmasters.com.au

What: Muscle Car Masters
When: Father’s Day, Sunday 5 September
Where: Eastern Creek Raceway
Tickets: Adults $40, Concession $25, Children 12-and-under free

Free track side parking
Free entry to competitor paddock
Free entry to grandstand