What is your f1 Golden Era?
Discussion
Reading about the sound of V10s and early V8 era as this last year of the screaming 2.4s. I don`t think any of us have paid homage to the greatest V8 of all. Kieth Duckworths incomparable DFV, From Clarks win at Zandvoort in 1967 to Alboretto in 1983, it racked up more wins and more car driver combinations than anything else ever built. Not to mention the Indy version which dominated the other side of the pond for so long too. I remember standing with a group of enthusiasts at Oulton in 1979,trying to talk to Tiff Needell by his F1 Chevron while his team played with the DFV alongside. It was music to the ears, A field of them on the overun to the first corner was something else.
The influence that engine had on the sport was incredible. Guys like Frank Williams could buy a used F1 car and stick a fresh DFV in the back ( if you were lucky ) and you were in business. Hesketh started that way and the likes of Walter Wolf got Harvey Postlethwaite to design a new car put a DFV in the back and win first time out.
Also McLaren ran a third car at Silverstone to give Gilles Villenueve his debut. It wasn`t cheap, but it was compared with the telephone numbers needed to race F1 these days. It gave us close racing and some of the best years the sport ever had.
The influence that engine had on the sport was incredible. Guys like Frank Williams could buy a used F1 car and stick a fresh DFV in the back ( if you were lucky ) and you were in business. Hesketh started that way and the likes of Walter Wolf got Harvey Postlethwaite to design a new car put a DFV in the back and win first time out.
Also McLaren ran a third car at Silverstone to give Gilles Villenueve his debut. It wasn`t cheap, but it was compared with the telephone numbers needed to race F1 these days. It gave us close racing and some of the best years the sport ever had.
Edited by simonpeter on Sunday 1st December 14:17
simonpeter said:
Reading about the sound of V10s and early V8 era as this last year of the screaming 2.4s. I don`t think any of us have paid homage to the greatest V8 of all. Kieth Duckworths incomparable DFV, From Clarks win at Zandvoort in 1967 to Alboretto in 1983, it racked up more wins and more car driver combinations than anything else ever built. Not to mention the Indy version which dominated the other side of the pond for so long too. I remember standing with a group of enthusiasts at Oulton in 1979,trying to talk to Tiff Needell by his F1 Chevron while his team played with the DFV alongside. It was music to the ears, A field of them on the overun to the first corner was something else.
The influence that engine had on the sport was incredible. Guys like Frank Williams could buy a used F1 car and stick a fresh DFV in the back ( if you were lucky ) and you were in business. Hesketh started that way and the likes of Walter Wolf got Harvey Postlethwaite to design a new car put a DFV in the back and win first time out.
Also McLaren ran a third car at Silverstone to give Gilles Villenueve his debut. It wasn`t cheap, but it was compared with the telephone numbers needed to race F1 these days. It gave us close racing and some of the best years the sport ever had.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Ford-Cosworth-DFV-Grea...The influence that engine had on the sport was incredible. Guys like Frank Williams could buy a used F1 car and stick a fresh DFV in the back ( if you were lucky ) and you were in business. Hesketh started that way and the likes of Walter Wolf got Harvey Postlethwaite to design a new car put a DFV in the back and win first time out.
Also McLaren ran a third car at Silverstone to give Gilles Villenueve his debut. It wasn`t cheap, but it was compared with the telephone numbers needed to race F1 these days. It gave us close racing and some of the best years the sport ever had.
Edited by simonpeter on Sunday 1st December 14:17
The DFV is such an evocative sound. Although I'd take a Matra V12 or Ferrari flat-12 is terms of pure aural satisfaction, the DFV is awesome. There's something about arriving at a circuit early in the morning, dew on the ground and hearing a lone DFV circulating. At the Gold Cup this year, the second Derek Bell Trophy race featured Michael Lyons out in the family Hesketh 308E. I was watching from the inside of Druids and hearing the revs rise as he crested the brow on the exit gave me goosebumps every lap. So special to see a car of that era being driven by a top driver around Oulton.
This is quite a fun little thing from Brazil. Lots of golden era cars here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVlumKFeC9c
Some of the best racing this year. The beeb should nick it for next years title sequence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVlumKFeC9c
Some of the best racing this year. The beeb should nick it for next years title sequence.
I was watching Young Lyons carve through the field to, can`t help thinking he should be racing in a competitive field though. Must be nice to have your own family race car collection.
I still reckon what we see today is a very poor imitation of our previous experiences. As above when mentioning Oulton in the 70s, we had a Britain with it`s own F1 series, cars but a year old with decent drivers. Rupert Keegan, Guy Edwards, Tony Trimmer, Mick Wilds, David Kennedy, Emilio DeVilotta with his ex works Lotus 78. And of course Desire Wilson the only woman ever to win a F1 race. I grew up as a teenager in Australia, in the days of the Tasman Series. Now if you can`t afford to follow the GP circus around the world it really is slim pickings for the enthusiasts. Even if you were lucky to be able to, you couldn`t stand with the drivers and chat in the paddock.
I still reckon what we see today is a very poor imitation of our previous experiences. As above when mentioning Oulton in the 70s, we had a Britain with it`s own F1 series, cars but a year old with decent drivers. Rupert Keegan, Guy Edwards, Tony Trimmer, Mick Wilds, David Kennedy, Emilio DeVilotta with his ex works Lotus 78. And of course Desire Wilson the only woman ever to win a F1 race. I grew up as a teenager in Australia, in the days of the Tasman Series. Now if you can`t afford to follow the GP circus around the world it really is slim pickings for the enthusiasts. Even if you were lucky to be able to, you couldn`t stand with the drivers and chat in the paddock.
chevronb37 said:
The DFV is such an evocative sound. Although I'd take a Matra V12 or Ferrari flat-12 is terms of pure aural satisfaction, the DFV is awesome. There's something about arriving at a circuit early in the morning, dew on the ground and hearing a lone DFV circulating. At the Gold Cup this year, the second Derek Bell Trophy race featured Michael Lyons out in the family Hesketh 308E. I was watching from the inside of Druids and hearing the revs rise as he crested the brow on the exit gave me goosebumps every lap. So special to see a car of that era being driven by a top driver around Oulton.
simes43 said:
If you have not seen this 70's video of Depailler in the wet at Montreal, you are
very lucky. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEFDfctC_6M
Splendid. Patrick Depailler was a top bloke. very lucky. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEFDfctC_6M
Now, if some kind soul could please unearth some footage of Gilles Villeneuve in the wet practice session at Watkins Glen in 1979. He was 10.5 seconds faster than anyone else over a lap and later said that a slight misfire had slowed him down a bit!
Skeetsy said:
Sadly, no. That's the race footage. I'd love to see footage from the wet practice session on the Friday prior to the race. Thanks anyway for posting the link. It is appreciated.
As a driver the best years have to be the mid 60s. These were the days when you could still buy last years top F1, & a small "backyard" operation could successfully run it in minor meetings, or here in Oz, in our Gold Star series, & the international series of 4 races each in Oz & NZ, each Christmas.
Tyres & fuel would do race distance, & safety cars were still an American bit of tomfoolery, yet to intrude & stuff up "proper" racing.
With no wings you could follow another car around corners just inches apart, but they still produced enough hole in the air for slipstreaming to work perfectly. On one occasion at Warwick Farm, in 67, in my 1100cc F2 Brabham, I hung onto the tail of 3, 2.5L F 1s, 2 Brabham Repco, & a Lotus Repco, for the first 3 laps of a race.
My little car could out corner the heavier cars, & together they were generating such a hole in the air, that I could hold them down the straights on half throttle. At the end of the third lap I was in 4Th place, with 6 F 1s still behind me. Nothing has ever equaled that feeling.
Even winning a Bathurst 100, in a F 1 Brabham Repco the next year was not as good as that, & no one could do it today. The power required to generate todays down force make that sort of "natural" racing a thing of the past, but what a past for those of us lucky enough to have been there at the right time.
Hasbeen said:
As a driver the best years have to be the mid 60s. These were the days when you could still buy last years top F1, & a small "backyard" operation could successfully run it in minor meetings, or here in Oz, in our Gold Star series, & the international series of 4 races each in Oz & NZ, each Christmas.
Tyres & fuel would do race distance, & safety cars were still an American bit of tomfoolery, yet to intrude & stuff up "proper" racing.
With no wings you could follow another car around corners just inches apart, but they still produced enough hole in the air for slipstreaming to work perfectly. On one occasion at Warwick Farm, in 67, in my 1100cc F2 Brabham, I hung onto the tail of 3, 2.5L F 1s, 2 Brabham Repco, & a Lotus Repco, for the first 3 laps of a race.
My little car could out corner the heavier cars, & together they were generating such a hole in the air, that I could hold them down the straights on half throttle. At the end of the third lap I was in 4Th place, with 6 F 1s still behind me. Nothing has ever equaled that feeling.
Even winning a Bathurst 100, in a F 1 Brabham Repco the next year was not as good as that, & no one could do it today. The power required to generate todays down force make that sort of "natural" racing a thing of the past, but what a past for those of us lucky enough to have been there at the right time.
Great post!Tyres & fuel would do race distance, & safety cars were still an American bit of tomfoolery, yet to intrude & stuff up "proper" racing.
With no wings you could follow another car around corners just inches apart, but they still produced enough hole in the air for slipstreaming to work perfectly. On one occasion at Warwick Farm, in 67, in my 1100cc F2 Brabham, I hung onto the tail of 3, 2.5L F 1s, 2 Brabham Repco, & a Lotus Repco, for the first 3 laps of a race.
My little car could out corner the heavier cars, & together they were generating such a hole in the air, that I could hold them down the straights on half throttle. At the end of the third lap I was in 4Th place, with 6 F 1s still behind me. Nothing has ever equaled that feeling.
Even winning a Bathurst 100, in a F 1 Brabham Repco the next year was not as good as that, & no one could do it today. The power required to generate todays down force make that sort of "natural" racing a thing of the past, but what a past for those of us lucky enough to have been there at the right time.
Hasbeen said:
As a driver the best years have to be the mid 60s. These were the days when you could still buy last years top F1, & a small "backyard" operation could successfully run it in minor meetings, or here in Oz, in our Gold Star series, & the international series of 4 races each in Oz & NZ, each Christmas.
Tyres & fuel would do race distance, & safety cars were still an American bit of tomfoolery, yet to intrude & stuff up "proper" racing.
With no wings you could follow another car around corners just inches apart, but they still produced enough hole in the air for slipstreaming to work perfectly. On one occasion at Warwick Farm, in 67, in my 1100cc F2 Brabham, I hung onto the tail of 3, 2.5L F 1s, 2 Brabham Repco, & a Lotus Repco, for the first 3 laps of a race.
My little car could out corner the heavier cars, & together they were generating such a hole in the air, that I could hold them down the straights on half throttle. At the end of the third lap I was in 4Th place, with 6 F 1s still behind me. Nothing has ever equaled that feeling.
Even winning a Bathurst 100, in a F 1 Brabham Repco the next year was not as good as that, & no one could do it today. The power required to generate todays down force make that sort of "natural" racing a thing of the past, but what a past for those of us lucky enough to have been there at the right time.
Cool, though I must say there is still plenty of real racing going on...just not in F1!Tyres & fuel would do race distance, & safety cars were still an American bit of tomfoolery, yet to intrude & stuff up "proper" racing.
With no wings you could follow another car around corners just inches apart, but they still produced enough hole in the air for slipstreaming to work perfectly. On one occasion at Warwick Farm, in 67, in my 1100cc F2 Brabham, I hung onto the tail of 3, 2.5L F 1s, 2 Brabham Repco, & a Lotus Repco, for the first 3 laps of a race.
My little car could out corner the heavier cars, & together they were generating such a hole in the air, that I could hold them down the straights on half throttle. At the end of the third lap I was in 4Th place, with 6 F 1s still behind me. Nothing has ever equaled that feeling.
Even winning a Bathurst 100, in a F 1 Brabham Repco the next year was not as good as that, & no one could do it today. The power required to generate todays down force make that sort of "natural" racing a thing of the past, but what a past for those of us lucky enough to have been there at the right time.
OK, so it's bikes...but the racing and the danger are present.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eonZv3HDyA0
Edited by Kawasicki on Friday 6th December 09:31
Kawasicki said:
Cool, though I must say there is still plenty of real racing going on...just not in F1!
OK, so it's bikes...but the racing and the danger are present.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eonZv3HDyA0
So true Kawasicki. I do think F1 has improved dramatically recently, but is very much a cast of millions thing.OK, so it's bikes...but the racing and the danger are present.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eonZv3HDyA0
Edited by Kawasicki on Friday 6th December 09:31
Even though I have always reckoned you have to be mad to even ride a bike today, if it comes down to a choice of an F1 race, or a Moto GP race on TV, it's the bikes I watch. It is so much closer to real racing than most 4 wheel stuff.
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