Car FYI

Sterling Moss' #1 Lotus 19 at the 1961 Player's 200 (Photo Credit: Unknown Photographer) untitled Sixty years ago on this day (June 24th), motorsports in Canada officially christened a grand, new stage for racing. The roaring engines, peeling rubber and the sight of the era’s most sensational pieces of high-speed machinery being handled by brave competitors became a fixture constructed close to Bowmanville, Ontario. Mosport Park or now known as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park opened in 1961 with its first major event held on June 24 th on windy, overcast early summer weekend. Estimated to cost between $600,000 and $650,000 (roughly between $5,250,000 and $5,687,500 in 2021) Mosport Park raceway opened as a much-needed permanent, purpose-built home for sports car and major motorsports in Ontario as well as Canada. In 1961, the only other significant race track operating was Westwood Racing Circuit in British Columbia. Westwood opened in 1959 but would close afte

Photo Credit: Zak Mauger/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled An event first held back in 1906 and reinstated on the Formula 1 calendar in 2018, the French Grand Prix has been dominated by Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team in the previous two outings. However, the 2021 edition of the race on the Circuit Paul Ricard served as another outing in this current season where Mercedes and Hamilton would be challenged by Red Bull Racing led by the sports’ young superstar Max Verstappen. A rivalry presently living up to hopes a true race-after-race battle, the two top drivers in Formula 1 exchanged their advantages throughout the grand prix weekend in France. After almost certain victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was foiled by a sudden tire failure while leading on the Baku City Circuit, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen appears regrouped for Formula 1's seventh round at the Circuit Paul Ricard. At the top of the lap time chart during the latter two practi

Photo Credit: Porsche AG untitled Towards the end of May, an online auction was held for a legitimate one-of-a-kind piece of automotive and Hollywood memorabilia. After 10 days and 42 bids, the listing ended with a sum of $382,000 in American money (about $465,000 Canadian) for the transaxle that once resided in a rare Porsche 550 Spyder sports car owned by iconic 1950s actor James Dean and linked to his tragic fatality. Described in length in an article published last month on this website , a four-speed manual transaxle viewed as one of the few documented components connected to the Porsche Dean lost his life driving on September 30 th of 1955 was listed on the vehicle-centered Bring a Trailer. According to the auction listing, the component was stored in a wooden crate for decades and eventually made its way to Massachusetts. Featuring a serial number of 10 046, transaxle was mounted into a steel display stand for exhibition. The seller of the Porsche 550 S

Photo Credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway untitled Though a privilege that has been reserved by Chevrolet’s Camaro or Corvette since 2004 , the honour for being the pace car of the Indianapolis 500 is one many vehicles were able to savour. A prime advertising platform for a production vehicle ahead of finely-tuned race machines, the role was first occupied by a 1911 Stoddard-Dayton, a vehicle brand that Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl G. Fisher sold through a dealership. Through the 104 editions of the 500-mile event on the 2.5-mile oval, some vehicles have gone on to great success including the Ford Mustang in 1964 and others have proven less popular among customers such as the Chevrolet SSR that paced the 2003 Indy 500 race. Regardless to the reception, the glory of being an Indianapolis 500 Pace Car is a cherished moment for an automobile, the team that designed and built it. In almost every case, the event’s pace car is firmly set to lead what is now known

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The last Formula 1 race on the streets of Monaco started without a key member; the race’s pole sitter. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc recorded the fastest lap in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix but would be unable to take part in the Sunday main event due to damage to his #16 Ferrari SF21 race vehicle. Two weeks later, the Monegasque driver grabs the pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix endeavouring to make it translate into a stronger race day performance than his unfortunate withdraw from his home grand prix. Charles Leclerc’s 1-minute, 41.218-second lap in Q3 on the 20-turn, 6.003-kilometer (3.730-mile) Baku City Circuit netted him his second consecutive pole in the 2021 season. The one and only other time Leclerc recorded multiple consecutive pole positions was in the 2019 season when the Monaco native went on a four-race streak of starting in the prime grid spot. Photo Credit: Foto Colombo Images/Scu