The quartet of Formula Junior races at the 2018 Silverstone Classic vintage races in England will be dedicated to famed F1 champions Jimmy Clark, John Surtees, Denny Hulme and Jochen Rindt, organizers have announced. The F/Jr. program warps up a three-year Diamond Jubilee world tour for the racing group.
All four of the racing champions cut their competitive teeth racing the mini grand prix racers in the late 1950s and early ’60s.
Formula Junior was created by “Johnny” Lurani, an Italian count, in 1958 as an affordable way for young drivers to get single-seat, open-wheel racing experience. The cars have 1.0- or 1.1-liter engines, usually mounted behind the driver in a monocoque chassis.
The formula’s 60th anniversary tour has traveled from South Africa to New Zealand, Australia, North America and Europe for more than 100 races. More than 120 of the period-correct cars are expected to participate in the Silverstone Classic, scheduled for June 20-22.
“To have two double-headers at Silverstone as the culmination of the World Tour is just unbelievable,” Duncan Rabagliati, chairman of the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association, said in a news release.
“We are hugely grateful to have been given this wonderful opportunity. We are going to have four fantastic races with absolutely full grids and some notable period drivers like Richard Attwood and our intrepid patron Howard Ganley in attendance as part of the celebrations.”
Motor Sport Hall of Fame benefits Mission Motorsports
Mission Motorsport, which provides a path for military veterans to participate in motor sports as part of their recovery and rehabilitation, will be the beneficiary of the annual Motor Sport Hall of Fame awards, to be held June 4 at the Royal Automobile Club’s Woodcote Park estate in England.
A new Racing Car award has been added to the hall of fame honors. Candidates are the Porsche 917, Williams FW14B, McLaren MP4/4, Jaguar XJR-9, Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 and Audi quattro.
Mission Motorsports is run by military veterans and motorsports professionals to provide adaptive motorsport opportunities, whenever possible merging the activities of the disabled and those in need with able-bodied service personnel in regard to rehabilitation and vocational training and support.
Photographic image courtesy Autosport International
British touring cars featured at Autosport International
Ten iconic cars from the history of the British Touring Car Championship were featured at the recent Autosport International show as part of the series’ 60th anniversary celebration on 2018.
The cars were the Rover SD1, Lotus Cortina (Jim Clark drove one to the championship in 1964), Chevrolet Camaro (series champion in 1973), Honda Civic (champion every year but one from 2011 through 2016), Volvo 850 (who could forget Tom Walkinshaw’s team racing a Volvo station wagon?), Mini 1275 GT, BMW E30 M3 (series titleist from 1988-91), Audi A4 quattro, Alfa Romeo 155 TS (Gabrielle Tarquini took the crown in one in 1994) and Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500.
