How would you like to win an original print of the Nigel Bennett-designed legendary 1989 Penske Marlboro PC18-Chevrolet Indy Car? Author of Inspired to Design � F1 cars, Indycars & racing tyres, Nigel was one of Britain�s most successful racing car designers of the 80s and 90s.
Kindly donated to Veloce by Nigel, this A1-sized illustration by Tony Matthews is of the PC18, which was driven by the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi and Rick Mears, and was the dominant Indy Car from the 1989 season. We are giving it away to one lucky winner!
To be in with a chance of winning this rare piece of automotive artwork, simply answer the following question:
Inspired to Design � F1 cars, Indycars & racing tyres by Nigel Bennett is packed with photos, designs & sketches like the image above. How many pictures are there in Nigel Bennett�s autobiography?
To give you a clue, the answer can be found on the book description page here.
Email your answer here. One lucky winner will be selected at random from all the correct entries on 31st March 2017.
In this unique autobiography, Nigel Bennett describes his life and career, from growing up influenced by car design, to his education, and the building of his �750 specials.� He describes his work as Firestone Development Manager, recounting many tales of the outstanding designers and drivers of the period. Detailing his work in Formula 1, as a Team Lotus engineer, and then as Team Ensign designer, he also covers his Indycar designs at Theodore, Lola Cars, and Penske Cars. Life after his retirement, his involvement in boat design and with modern F1 teams, is also covered.
We asked Nigel Bennett a few questions about his career in motor racing ...
How big was the learning curve in F1 during the 70s and 80s, an era when aerodynamics became so important?
For me, the whole business was a huge learning curve during this period, even though I had been involved in top level motor racing since 1967 as a Firestone racing tyre designer and engineer to many of the top teams in F1 and sports cars. However, from 1974 I was working as an engineer within racing teams � Hesketh and Team Lotus until 1978 � so I was in at the deep end, learning about car construction, working with the mechanics and home based fabricators, machinists and designers. And, of course, motor racing as an industry was learning fast too, particularly about aerodynamics. Initially in the 60s, it became apparent that downforce, through the use of wings, meant that cornering grip was increasing rapidly, but so was drag: so subtle compromises were required to find the best combinations for each circuit. Then of course the huge �find� was when, partly by accident, it was discovered that air flow beneath the car could be channelled to produce unheard of levels of downforce, with remarkably small increases in drag. All this was discovered at Team Lotus during my four years with the team. And working for Colin Chapman, probably the greatest innovator the sport has seen, was a huge advantage to me when I left Team Lotus, and started to design F1 and Indycars myself.
You say in your book that you believe the 80s and 90s were the most wonderful period of motor racing. Why?
What was so challenging in Indycar racing in that period was, like F1, we raced on street circuits and road circuits, but Indycars also raced on Short Ovals and Superspeedways. At the one mile Short Ovals, for instance at Phoenix and Milwaukee, there was racing 3 and 4 abreast at times, and no lack of overtaking. And the G-forces were enormous: at Phoenix the drivers would be pulling some 5G lateral for over 7 seconds through turns 3 and 4. And the speeds at Michigan, or Indianapolis, were tremendous with lap average speeds of around 230mph and top speeds of over 240 mph. The aero rules, and even suspension parts, differed for these different types of circuits and with over 800bhp the cars were fast and spectacular. Indycars raced not only in the USA, but in Canada, Brazil, Australia and,on occasion, Germany and Great Britain. Then, on both sides of the Atlantic, motor racing was still a sport with much less evidence of big business than is the case today. Teams were so much smaller, budgets were a fraction of today levels, and racing was all the more enjoyable for that.
Hesketh was an extraordinary private team, famous for partying as hard as it raced: your time with Bubbles, Lord Alexander, the Doc and James Hunt must have been extraordinary?
Even in the days when F1 was serious, but fun, Hesketh Racing was an anomaly. It had a reputation of enjoying the parties with the racing as a side show. False! There was a serious side to the team. I only worked for the Hesketh Racing for a few months, and fresh from a Firestone tyre background, my learning curve was steep. Many of the wild parties happened in the earlier days before I joined as, by then, money was getting tight and the F1 team folded at the end of the year. Despite the Lord�s antics, the team had excellent hard working mechanics. Harvey Postlethwaite was a talented designer and �Bubbles� Horsley a fine Team manager. James Hunt? Well there�s plenty about him on film and in print. And he still owes me �5!
Have you seen the film Rush? How accurately, in your view, does it portray James Hunt and his rivalry with Niki Lauda?
From what I saw Hunt and Lauda were good friends., despite the obvious rivalry on the track. I thought the Rush Lauda character was brilliant, Hunt less so. The real Hunt was more extreme and outrageous than the film dared to show!
What was it really like working with the genius Colin Chapman? Have you got any anecdotes you can share?
Without doubt a brilliant man, very brave, charming, but a bit of a rogue none the less. A fantastic leader with a mercurial brain, he could persuade ordinary mortals to do things, complete tasks, they would never dream possible on their own. Colin loved to be the centre of attention, with a loud laugh, but could fix you with a steely eye if he thought you weren�t giving your all. 100 hour weeks were not uncommon working for Colin Chapman! A true innovator, an original thinker, but many of his schemes were failures, it�s just that he came up with so many ideas, that the innovator image stuck. For instance, he claimed he thought through the possibilities of ground effect while on holiday, but, in fact, that was far from the truth as I explain at great length in my book. His main failure as a designer (thought he seldom, if ever produced final drawings, rather than sketches), was he always wanted to be one step ahead, and developing a design to it maximum, bored him. He always wanted to innovate, at many times to his cost. He was a good pilot, but wasn�t above flying to his own rules when it suited him. He once flew himself and a couple of crew members to Holland, his secretary had filed the flight plan and informed the local airfield at which he had declared he would land. En route he changed his mind and landed at another airfield (without informing anyone) and departed for the race meeting in a rental car. On arriving back on the Sunday night he found padlocked chains wrapped around the plane�s props. It seems the first airfield, on his non arrival, had assumed he was missing over the North Sea, and alerted the authorities who started a costly search. The police were not amused and took steps to teach him a lesson.
What was it like seeing �your� cars on the front row at Indianapolis?
Great pride that I ,and my design team, had come up with a car that was ahead of the competition, and thankful that I was working for a great team such as Penske racing, which could deliver the true potential of my cars.
What role has tyre technology played in top level motorsport through your working life?
Of course tyres have always been super important in motor racing. Nowadays, there is seldom any tyre competition in that most series, including F1 and Indycars, have one supplier, so it is down to the teams to get the very best from the tyres they are supplied with. Back when I was involved, there were often two or three tyre suppliers, so a tyre war could make it unfortunate if one was contracted to an inferior product. This was very much the case in the mid- to late-nineties, when Penske suffered considerably being contracted to a supplier which was a step behind in development. When I worked for Firestone, in the late 60s and 70s, there was intense competition with Goodyear and Dunlop, and we often came out on top with superior Firestone products in F1 and Sports cars. Again, many great tyre innovations were stumbled upon by accident, including how slick, plain treaded tyres came about, a story recounted in my book.
What is unique about your book amongst other books that cover a similar era of motorsport?
I believe the book is unusual. Firstly, because it covers a long period in motor racing history from the point of view of one person, but also there are chapters by my main rival designer and the Penske team manager. Secondly it is not only about F1, or even F1 and Sports cars, but also about tyre design and development back in the 60s and 70s.
You met and worked with many great motor-racing characters, which of them really stand out and why?
Mauro Forgheiri ,who took the time to talk to me about his cars, and explain how he went about tuning his cars, his subtle use of shock absorber settings to change a car�s balance. A great character who would organise great meals for his team when time allowed. Colin Chapman, as described above. Mo Nunn, a team owner and engineer who struggled with indomitable spirit for years but with inadequate budgets. Carl Haas, a laugh a minute as a team owner. Roger Penske, the perfectionist team owner, who allowed me so much freedom to design the cars as I wanted.
What do you regard as the pinnacle of your design work?
Probably the first Lola Indycar that I designed. Although I had designed an Indycar while at Theodore racing, it was a converted F1 car. The Lola T800 was innovative in that it used a lot of carbon fibre in the chassis moulding, a first in Indycars. I had a relatively small amount of design help from other draughtsmen at Lola, and wind tunnel time was severely limited. Of course, the T800 won the Championship with Mario Andretti driving for Newman Haas Racing. Later designs at Penske Cars were even more successful, but I had much better facilities and more people to work with.
What inspired you to bite the bullet and get down to writing the book?
I thought it was worth doing as so many people had asked me about my career. My memory is awful, so it did me good to research the history in which I played a part.
Can you describe how you think F1 racing will have changed by 2020?
No, not really. I think the 2017 F1 rules are a mistake and won�t encourage closer racing and, if nothing is done to bring down costs, F1 will strangle itself. On the other side of the Atlantic if Indycar is to survive they must get away from these oh so ugly spec cars. The fans do have an interest in seeing different cars, after all the drivers are hardly visible anyway.
Available now! Inspired to Design � F1 cars, Indycars & racing tyres: the autobiography of Nigel Bennett
In this unique autobiography, Nigel Bennett describes his life and career, from growing-up influenced by car design, to his education, and the building of his �750 specials.� He describes his work as Firestone Development Manager, recounting many tales of the outstanding designers and drivers of the period. Detailing his work in Formula 1, as a Team Lotus engineer, and then as Team Ensign designer, he also covers his Indycar designs at Theodore, Lola Cars, and Penske Cars. Life after his retirement, his involvement in boat design and with modern F1 teams, is also recounted. More info.
Race Retro, the international historic motorsport show, will bring together an incredible collection of Cosworth DFV powered race cars, to celebrate 50 years since one of the world�s most iconic engines made its debut on the track.
The collection, which includes the Williams FW08 driven by Keke Rosberg to win the 1982 World Drivers� Championship, has been curated by Mike Costin, who along with Keith Duckworth gave his name to the powerplant.
Mike will appear at Race Retro and will be interviewed on the Motor Sport Live Stage. �I am delighted to be involved in this display to mark the anniversary of the Cosworth DFV story,� said Costin. �I look forward to being reunited with some of the star cars of the past.�
Event Director Daniel Nwaokolo said: �The Cosworth DFV is synonymous with the greatest era of Formula 1 and to have the display curated by designer Mike Costin, one of the greatest engineers of our time, just makes it even more special.�
Held at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from 24-26 February 2017, Race Retro�s display will include stunning cars from the Donington Grand Prix Collection, all to be hosted in the dedicated Motor Sport Hall of Fame.
Christopher Tate, Managing Director of Donington Park, said: �We are delighted to be partnering with Motor Sport Magazine to put on this fantastic display at Race Retro to kick off the 40th anniversary celebrations of the re-opening of Donington Park. We�re looking forward to showing some of the most famous cars from our Grand Prix Collection and welcoming a large number of enthusiastic race fans ahead of what is certain to be a special year for Donington Park.
�And we can announce one special feature � if you can bring and show us your treasured ticket or programme* from our historic opening event in 1977 at Donington Park, we will exchange that, in advance, for free admission to one day of this year�s Donington Historic Festival, April 28/29/30.�
As a statement of its intention as the new owner and to celebrate the event�s 15th anniversary, organisers Clarion Events will be staging a �Super Show� for 2017. The Cosworth DFV display is the first of many celebratory features to be hosted within the Motor Sport Hall of Fame, with other iconic motorsport names, cars, bikes and technological advancements to be recognised.
Race Retro will also welcome motorsport industry traders with over 85 specialists already committed to attending including Demon Tweeks, Classic World Racing, Millers Oils, and the Vintage Sports Car Club.
Tickets are now on sale for Race Retro, held from 24th to 26th February 2017 at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, with free parking for all visitors. For the latest updates and ticket information, visit www.raceretro.com.
A limited edition of 1500 copies. In 1965, Colin Chapman persuaded Ford to underwrite development of a V8 engine for the new 3000cc Grand Prix formula. Built by Cosworth, the new DFV engine won Lotus four World Championship Grands Prix in 1967. A year later, and now available to other constructors, the engine began its domination of Grand Prix racing. More info.
The definitive story of the Lotus 49 from inception to the fate of the cars today. Includes a racing record and individual chassis histories. The Lotus 49 was one of the most evocative & successful Formula One cars of its era, & the first to use the Cosworth DFV V8 engine. Here is the definitive story from inception to the fate of the cars today. Includes a racing record & individual chassis histories. A high quality artpaper production. A highly acclaimed book. More info.
COSWORTH - THE SEARCH FOR POWER covers the entire history, life and times of the famous British high-performance engineering company, from its 1958 foundation by Keith Duckworth, through its often-exciting and always fascinating evolution, expansion and worldwide success in both motorsport and high-performance road cars. More info.
Cosworth to display the DFV and some of the cars it powered at new show.
On a bright summer�s day in June 1967, the combined genius of Colin Chapman, Jim Clark, Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth changed the course of Formula 1 racing when Clark drove his Lotus 49 to a resounding win in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
It was the first outing not only for the Chapman-designed Lotus but, significantly, also for the Ford Cosworth DFV engine that powered it. �
The DFV, standing for Double Four-Valve, was a 3.0-litre V8 racing engine developed by COStin and DuckWORTH�s Cosworth company and funded by Ford. An instant success, the engine went on to dominate Grand Prix racing for the remainder of the 1960s, through the entire 1970s and into the 1980s.
Between 1967 and 1985, the DFV won 155 Grands Prix from 262 races. Its last win came at the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix when Michele Alboreto took the honours in a Tyrrell while at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix Martin Brundle, also in a Tyrrell, became the last man to race the DFV in F1.
In various forms, this remarkable engine also enjoyed success in sports car racing, including a win at Le Mans, and also formed the foundation of the ultra-competitive F3000 single-seat series.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of that 1967 debut win, Cosworth will be showing not only a DFV but also a number of the cars it powered in a special display at Historic Motorsport International (HMI).
A brand new show dedicated to historic motorsport in all its forms, HMI will be held at ExCeL London from 23-26 February and is aimed at anyone with an interest in classic racing and rallying.
�Cosworth was founded in 1958 and initially operated solely in the motor racing world. Today we remain the market leader in the development and supply of electronics to the global motorsports market and we are also actively involved in the drive towards connected, autonomous road vehicles and intelligent mobility.
�But there is no doubting the significant role played by the DFV in our story and we are delighted to be able to celebrate this achievement at HMI,� said Bruce Wood, Managing Director � Powertrain, Cosworth.
�Anyone watching motor racing from the 1960s onwards will be aware of the place the DFV has in motorsport history. During the 1970s, for example, every car on the F1 grid, bar the Ferrari, was powered by a DFV. We are honoured that Cosworth has chosen HMI to launch the 50th anniversary celebrations of this highly significant British engineering achievement,� said HMI said show director Ian France.
HMI promises a feast of motorsport nostalgia for everyone. Historic Formula 1 will be represented not just by Cosworth, but also by FORCE who will be showing cars from the 1990s, while the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) will be celebrating another golden anniversary, this time marking the 1967 launch of Formula Ford.
HMI will also have stands and displays from organising bodies, suppliers, preparation experts and specialist dealers � more than 100 classic competition cars will be offered for sale at the show. Other features include the inaugural Historic Motorsport Conference, which will examine a number of topics central to historic motor sport.
HMI is staged by Brand Events, the company behind a raft of successful motoring events including CarFest, Top Gear Live and the recent IGNITION Festival of Motoring. It will be held alongside another motoring exhibition from Brand Events, the London Classic Car Show, now in its third year and looking to build on the record 33,000 visitors who visited the 2016 event.
They will be held at ExCeL London, on 23-26 February, with access to both shows included in the entry price. Historic Motorsport International will open its doors at 10am on Thursday 23 February, while the London Classic Car Show will burst into life at 3pm that afternoon.
This is the story of perhaps the most talented engineer to emerge from Britain in the 20th century. Keith Duckworth's contribution to motorsport, through Cosworth Engineering, is well documented, but the story of how he arrived at that point is much less well known. More info.
A limited edition of 1500 copies. In 1965, Colin Chapman persuaded Ford to underwrite development of a V8 engine for the new 3000cc Grand Prix formula. Built by Cosworth, the new DFV engine won Lotus four World Championship Grands Prix in 1967. A year later, and now available to other constructors, the engine began its domination of Grand Prix racing. More info.
Round 1 of the Gurston Down Hillclimb Championship, where the Pre-1994 Formula Ford class is sponsored by Veloce Publishing, kicked off on April 17th, and Russell Haynes from Bicester took his 1.6 Zeus ZR163 into an early class championship lead with the win on 37.67 seconds from Cirencester�s Paul Morcom, who finished less than six tenths behind in his 1.6 Merlyn Mk 11a.
Veloce author Simon McBeath had delayed his season�s start until the non-championship May event, where he scored his first class win of the year, so he was always going to be a round behind the April entrants in the Gurston championship. However, with four scores from the five championship rounds counting he would still be able to amass the requisite number of scores to challenge early leader Russell Haynes.
June�s double-header event featured two rounds over the two days. June 18th was dry but grip was low. However, McBeath took his 1.6 Swift SC92F to the class win on 37.49secs ahead of Russell Haynes by 0.84 seconds. The following day�s event was affected by intermittent rain but once again McBeath pipped Haynes by 0.64 seconds with a 37.72secs run for his second straight championship event win.
July�s �Big Event�, the Veloce Hillclimb Formula Ford Fest, attracted a huge class of 15 drivers in 10 different cars, and the warm, sunny conditions were ideal for fast times. The competition was very close, with the top eight finishers covered by less than a second. But once again Simon McBeath emerged as winner, setting a new class record of 36.30secs, half a second clear of second placed Richard Summers (1.6 Van Diemen RF80). The bonus point for setting a new class record put McBeath in a good position to defend his 2015 class championship title in the final round.
Onto September�s finale then on September 11th, and once again warm, sunny conditions enabled good times to be set. This time the top three were covered by just 0.35 seconds, and McBeath managed to take the win again on 36.60 seconds, 0.31 seconds ahead of season-long series leader Russell Haynes. This result was enough for McBeath to amass a class championship winning score for the second successive year, with an 83.29 points total, ahead of Haynes�s �best four scores� total of 80.58 points.
The Pre-1994 Formula Ford class continues to grow in popularity at Gurston Down, and on the national hillclimb scene too, and the instigator of the �Hillclimb FF Fest�, Van Diemen driver Charlie Riley, has compiled a list of around 30 current competitors around the country. The class will again feature in the 2017 Gurston Down Hillclimb Championship, and the Hillclimb FF Fest will once more be a big part of the event at the famous Wiltshire venue in July, hopefully topping the 15 entries seen at the inaugural FF Fest in 2016.
The remarkable little car that turned into a big hearted racer.
Coming soon!Porsche � the racing 914s by Roy Smith. There are still those who see the Porsche 914 model as a �funny little car,� compared to the immortal 911. Granted, in its day, professional rally drivers were not keen on the 914: they were nervous driving it at the limit. Yet the records show that 914s were driven to at least 41 class wins, and at least 71 positions on the other two steps of the podium in Regional, National, and International Rallies.
Racing on the circuits of Europe, 914s came home first in their class, and even took overall victory many times. In the USA, in IMSA GTU championship, in nationals, and internationals, it was the same story � and that�s not counting the multitude of SCCA regional races. The 914 first raced in 1970 � the last? Who knows: even now they�re still used in the USA�s SCCA GT classes. 'Porsche � the Racing 914s' is a study in pictures, statistics, factory information, and interviews, that will show the Porsche 914 in a whole new light. This richly illustrated book is released as a limited edition of only 1500 copies - a must have for all Porsche 914 and racing enthusiasts. More info.
The inaugural Hillclimb Formula Ford Fest, supported by Veloce Publishing, took place at Gurston Down Speed Hillclimb over the weekend of July 23rd/24th.
As part of the Gurston Down and Midland Hillclimb Championship event, a bumper class of 15 drivers in 10 cars took to the track for some close competition over the two days. Among the entrants were the 1997 British Hillclimb Champion Roger Moran from Ludlow in a Swift FB91 and former British Touring Car Championship race winner and current ITV4 BTCC commentator Paul O�Neill from Merseyside, guesting in the similar Swift FB91 of friend Mark Alley from Wells. However, the winner was the 2015 Formula Ford class Gurston champion Veloce author Simon McBeath from Sturminster Newton aboard his Swift SC92F with a class record setting time of 36.30 seconds. Second place went to Richard Summers from Tenbury Wells in his Van Diemen RF80 on 36.80secs, and third was Tony Wiltshire from Newton Abbott in his Swift SC93 on 36.83secs. Paul O�Neill finished in seventh place on 37.04secs and Roger Moran was ninth on 37.43secs.
The organisers are already looking forward to repeating the Hillclimb Formula Ford Fest in 2017 at the same event, and the building on the success and popularity of the inaugural event the entry is expected to go from strength to strength.
In this unique autobiography, Nigel Bennett describes his life and career, from growing up influenced by car design, to his education, and the building of his �750 specials.� He describes his work as Firestone Development Manager, recounting many tales of the outstanding designers and drivers of the period. Detailing his work in Formula 1, as a Team Lotus engineer, and then as Team Ensign designer, he also covers his Indycar designs at Theodore, Lola Cars, and Penske Cars. Life after his retirement, his involvement in boat design and with modern F1 teams, is also covered.
