Monday 24th October 2016

Instant replay: PH Blog

Which car videos do you watch over and over?

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Idle moments are few and far between in my life at the moment but a rare minute for procrastination had me flicking through YouTube car vids. And I stumbled across Loeb's record breaking Pikes Peak run from 2013.

Rohrl's record only stood for a year

Now I'm a big fan of Loeb. OK, it's pretty much a man crush truth be told. Hamilton could use a lesson in Gallic insouciance from his Monaco neighbour when it comes to balancing incredible skill in the car with playing it ice cool out of it. With nothing left to prove I particularly admire Loeb's ability to - seemingly effortlessly - transfer his talents to other motorsport challenges. Back in the day this was commonplace; witness Jim Clark and his contemporaries happily switching between single-seaters, GTs, touring cars and rallying seemingly for the love of it as much as anything else.

But what struck me watching Loeb's 8min 13.878sec Pikes Peak run was how undramatic it all was. Sure, there's excitement in the sheer speed and the achievement of obliterating the record. And the car is properly awesome. But Loeb's coolness means he's always been a calculated driver, not necessarily a flamboyant one. That's how you dominate your chosen sport for a over a decade of course.

Some family tree...

The inevitable next YouTube step was, of course, to revisit Climb Dance. Now this should need no introduction at all but it's one of those videos I could watch on a constant loop and never be bored. It is, of course, edited 'best of' highlights of Vatanen's participation in 1988 and not a full run like the Loeb vid. And, though the concessions to a mainstream audience are limited to some jaunty piano music and a few arty intro shots, the pace and sheer spectacle of Vatanen hanging the rear wheels over a dizzying death drop, the sense of scale and - of course - the famous one-handed driving into the low sun mean even non-car folk can stay the course. While for us geeks the sheer gutsiness of the driving, the wild looks of the car, the rawness of its power delivery and the knowledge it's as much the man as the machine just add up to something even Loeb's record time still can't beat. The commitment to beat Rohrl's time in the Sport Quattro from the previous year by just half a second adds further spice to the story too. I love that Peugeot returned with Loeb to put a new school spin on this classic story 25 years on. But for me Ari remains king of the hill.

Can Ken Block's pending ascent in the twin-turbo, 1,400hp Hoonicorn V2 Mustang beat that? We'll have to see when the film eventually goes live. But 20-odd years down the line I have a feeling I know which Pikes Peak vid I'll be replaying on my implanted contact lenses, or whatever we'll be watching our vids on by then.

Anyway that's my vote. What's yours?

Dan

Loeb at Pike's Peak

Climb Dance

Ken Block's Climbkhana trailer

[Sources: Hoonigan.com, Toyo Tires via YouTube, RedBull.com, Supercars.net via YouTube]

[M-SportMatt]

I love watching Climb Dance and Gymkhana 2

But my all time fave is Rendezvous

[ben5575]

In car 956 Le Mans. I can watch Bell on the Mulsanne Straight all day long. One of the few clips that give a true impression of speed. Starts to get into his stride at around 1:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSnG0Lg7wLc

Obviously his Nurburgring lap as well but I can't find it online, only have the DVD(!)

[belleair302]

Still love the start of the Cannonball Run, if this counts....if not the Petrolicious 512BBi A piece of art.

[Jellyfish]

The film of the dude in the AX diesel going under 10 mins at the Nurburgring. When you read the story of what it took got to that point and how emotional he was at the end, what an achievement...

[Robmarriott]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCij9mYIokA

The last 3 laps of the 1992 BTCC season finale.

No matter how many times I watch it I still get goosebumps.

[thegreenhell]

Stefan Roser in the RUF Yellowbird at the Ring - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSMCfPASImQ

Sideways around Spa in a 1965 Porsche 911 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMpWi1iO-_I & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ZCnJn7NDw

And a very exciteable Tiff testing a Jaguar XJR15 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwX0Ej1vIPA

[anonymous-user]

So many to chose from but these are some classics

Audi S1 Sport Quattro EVO 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDRkHXMHqFo


Colin McRae on maximum attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sAbQ5wRr0o


Rossi V Lorenzo Catalunya 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNJtvDTXTAc

[2loud]

787b / J.Herbert on their return to La Sarthe.....the history, the emotion, the goosebumps, the noise.

[anonymous-user]

ben5575 said:

In car 956 Le Mans. I can watch Bell on the Mulsanne Straight all day long. One of the few clips that give a true impression of speed. Starts to get into his stride at around 1:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSnG0Lg7wLc

Obviously his Nurburgring lap as well but I can't find it online, only have the DVD(!)

Just wow.

Proper drivers.

[anonymous-user]

belleair302 said:

Still love the start of the Cannonball Run, if this counts....if not the Petrolicious 512BBi A piece of art.

Don't know how many times I watched that film over and over again when growing up.

Just loved it

[Jellyfish]

Robmarriott said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCij9mYIokA

The last 3 laps of the 1992 BTCC season finale.

No matter how many times I watch it I still get goosebumps.

Fair play, excellent action!

[Hugh Jarse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPUa0hZH-E8
Spy who loved me..... Lotus Esprit

And of course....start of the Italian Job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgJuVOrXv68

[ben5575]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

So many to chose from but these are some classics

Lovely.

Few more in a similar vein

Hamilton last 3 laps, Brazil 2008: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8dYbPup520

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 2014. Great action, even better radio and commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vKCRh-5WTs

Obviously nothing can beat Cannonball Run, but skip to 1.20s on this Gumball Rally clip when they all leave NYC is pretty special as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTT1_JZp2Sg

[belleair302]

The Gumball Rally has great scenes....the Daytona and Cobra leaving NY and then driving down the flood ways of LA towards the end.....amazing.

[LowProfile]

The great Ari Vatanen with Terry Hayman co driving on the 1983 Manx in the Opel Manta and the 'Dear God' moment. With a puncture Ari still manages to keep a fast pace to finish the stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l19F2YPVey0

[rtz62]

For me, teo of the greatest ever are;

Mark Blundells 1990 Le Mans qualifying lap in a 1100bhp Nissan monster, which is stupefying and terrifying in equal parts.
Iirc the team bosses had told him to come him, as the car was over-boosting an in danger of exploding. Instead, he pulled out the radio plug and gave it the beans, probably just to prove a point, wrestling a relatively poor car onto pole.

Then I would recommend Peter Brocks qualifying lap the following year at Mt Panorama for the Bathurst Tooheys 1000; absolutely stunning driving, right on the edge, and the car was described by one of the commentators as 'dancing better than Fred Astaire'.
Just watch the explosions of unburnt hydrocarbons on each upward gear-shift, or alternatively avert your eyes if you're a Greenpeace supporter

If you've never watched either of the above, or even if you have, put aside under 10mins of your life, and treat yourself to two of the most awesome and exhilarating pieces of driving of all time.... You know you want to!!!!!
(Btw, I don't know how to attach the URL for each clip, so please forgive me!!)

[ben5575]

rtz62 said:

(Btw, I don't know how to attach the URL for each clip, so please forgive me!!)

Just copy and paste the link into your post

[Iva Barchetta]

There's a vid of me leaving Wheelsday in the Cosworth.

Just a few months later would be my last ever drive of it.

Only lasts 9 seconds.

[Edmundo2]

Christian Merli

https://youtu.be/ZwPlptDGOq8

Patrick depailler

https://youtu.be/XEFDfctC_6M

[Slippydiff]

Loeb in car on the Monte. It looks utterly pedestrian (in the same way Ronnie O' Sullivan makes potting snooker balls look easy) no drama, just utterly composed :

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZJjpQtJYuc