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Post by Jamie on Apr 29, 2018 7:08:07 GMT
Reading everyones posts about, it seems that we all love the smell of Castrol R and I'm no exception, the smell of that stuff is just so evocative........I'd wear it as aftershave if I could (Not sure Mrs Jamie would be as keen). I think my passion for motorsport is based on its assault on the senses.....noise, smell and the impression of speed. I was thinking about his earlier and the moment when all this came together in its strongest form was when I witnessed a BRM V16 Grand Prix car close up. It was at either Donnington or Silverstone (can't remember which, mid/late 80's) and my Dad, Uncle and I were with Chamberlain on a day they were testing their Croup C2 Spice's. It was an open test and someone was there with the BRM trying to get it to run cleanly. Well...when that thing actually ran on all 16 cylinders and came past at full chat meters away....phew, it was almost like a religious experience  It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up even now. The incredible noise nearly had you running for cover and of course, the most beautiful smell of Castrol R. Shock and awe indeed.... Incidentally, in reference to Mikeal's excellent post mentioning Castrol R used in karting, one of the great pleasures in visiting a karting meet, as I often do, is that the whiff of burning castor oil still hangs heavy in the air.....magic. |
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Post by chrisb on Apr 29, 2018 7:08:50 GMT
aye Jamie, the whingeing one certainly could 'tiger' and at least we knew how he always felt...funny enough in the car he was one of the bravest or ? drivers, that overtake in Mexico against Berger was special for instance and took no crap from Ayrton but outside the car, less certain
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Post by Jamie on Apr 29, 2018 7:24:45 GMT
aye Jamie, the whingeing one certainly could 'tiger' and at least we knew how he always felt...funny enough in the car he was one of the bravest or ? drivers, that overtake in Mexico against Berger was special for instance and took no crap from Ayrton but outside the car, less certain Indeed. I was/am a fan but for what he could do in the car, outside of the car he would often make me cringe, though it would make me laugh as well. I do like hearing Nigel's views on racing now, he's very humble generally and praiseworthy of other drivers, a good ambassador for the sport. |
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Post by charleselan on Apr 29, 2018 8:56:27 GMT
Jamie,
I would imagine that the BRM V16 you are referring to here is the one owned at the time by Nick Mason (not certain if he still has it in his collection). In the mid 90's, around the time you saw car running, one of the monthly mags not sure if it was Motorsport or Classic Car had a free CD of the car running. It sounded truly astonishing, and one can but imagine what it must have been like back in the beginning of the 1950's.
All of those race cars back in that time would have been using a racing oil additive like Castrol "R", that must have been something. The only car race meetings that came close for me was the Historic meetings of the 70/80's, not the overhyped extravaganzas of today. I think the big one at that time was the Ian Horsefall Trophy Meeting at Silverstone (probably spelt his name wrong).
John
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Post by René on Apr 29, 2018 9:14:08 GMT
aye Jamie, the whingeing one certainly could 'tiger' and at least we knew how he always felt...funny enough in the car he was one of the bravest or ? drivers, that overtake in Mexico against Berger was special for instance and took no crap from Ayrton but outside the car, less certain Indeed. I was/am a fan but for what he could do in the car, outside of the car he would often make me cringe, though it would make me laugh as well. I do like hearing Nigel's views on racing now, he's very humble generally and praiseworthy of other drivers, a good ambassador for the sport. Yes Nige. Wonderful racer and a bit of a drama queen. But that also gave him charachter in a way. I supported him big time in his Ferrari years and was glad he won the championship in 92. He deserved a title to his name. Vettel is also a big fan of Mansell and can do a funny impersonation.  |
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Post by robmarsh on Apr 29, 2018 10:35:04 GMT
Nigel Mansell sure could tiger and he sure made races interesting. He was an excellent driver. Funny enough although I didnt support him in F1 except in a Ferrari, I supported him in Indycar.
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Post by chrisb on Apr 29, 2018 10:57:31 GMT
with you Jamie on that one, i was at Brands when he won his first race, there was a real sense of joy, although as a Lotus fan i was mightily annoyed with Ayrton's move that put Piquet out and slowed Rosberg, ultimately costing Senna the race, we were all really pleased for Nige and he was less a victim then, but agree now he is far more relaxed and the world is no longer so against him and comes across as a really nice bloke - but i did enjoy it when he got miffed on the track, gosh he was good at that, and red mist was spotted in red5, halcyon days and I was at Silverstone that most memorable of days with 'that overtake' but i was seriously unhappy with the Mansell Maniacs, another story
I liked Nigel best when he was 'the underdog' - so when Williams had the Judd and it didn't matter as much and he could just race, also as far as I am aware Nige's favourite driver was - Jimmy
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Post by charleselan on Apr 30, 2018 12:12:58 GMT
with you Jamie on that one, i was at Brands when he won his first race, there was a real sense of joy, although as a Lotus fan i was mightily annoyed with Ayrton's move that put Piquet out and slowed Rosberg, ultimately costing Senna the race, we were all really pleased for Nige and he was less a victim then, but agree now he is far more relaxed and the world is no longer so against him and comes across as a really nice bloke - but i did enjoy it when he got miffed on the track, gosh he was good at that, and red mist was spotted in red5, halcyon days and I was at Silverstone that most memorable of days with 'that overtake' but i was seriously unhappy with the Mansell Maniacs, another story I liked Nigel best when he was 'the underdog' - so when Williams had the Judd and it didn't matter as much and he could just race, also as far as I am aware Nige's favourite driver was - Jimmy Noooo Chris my friend, that 1985 European GP at Brands was Keke's, he was demonstrably faster than anyone. His drive back through the field was one of the great "come back" drives, simply stunning relentless pace. All that with a reputed less powerful Honda engine than Nige, following his decision to leave Williams for McLaren . I was quite a fan of Nigel in his early Lotus days, but not so in the Williams years. Back in 1982 at the GP of Brands Hatch, the one which Niki won which was quite emotional, I was fortunate enough to get some passes from a smashing chap high up in the RAC who liked my little magazine. I had my press pass, so i took my cousins husband and their two young sons using all the passes. We had access to the grass enclosure along from the pits near Paddock Hill Bend, where the team personnel etc had special access. My family members made camp there for the day and alongside them was Nigel's family; Rosanne, kids and Nige's father. A really lovely family who chatted away to my relatives all day. I spent most of the day out on the circuit photographing, but went back to get food and hear some gossip etc. great memories. |
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Post by chrisb on Apr 30, 2018 21:02:26 GMT
yes good point John, Keke was magical but mightily annoyed, what i was actually referring to was when Senna and Mansell caught Keke and Keke baulked Senna and Mansell overtook him .
i was also there in 82, with a very grumpy girlfriend who decided half way through the day she didn't like motor racing anyway, i did advise herwhere the bus stop was, I don't seem to remember her laughing very much but i enjoyed the race - bless her
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Post by robmarsh on Apr 30, 2018 22:13:27 GMT
I was also there at Brands Hatch in 1985 when Nigel won his first race. Keke was mighty that day and that Williams looked fast when standing still. Loved that car.
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Post by charleselan on May 1, 2018 11:55:10 GMT
I was also there at Brands Hatch in 1985 when Nigel won his first race. Keke was mighty that day and that Williams looked fast when standing still. Loved that car. Couldn't agree more Rob. That has to be my favourite Williams; an incredible car. Funny to think that Keke must have been close on 37 years old at the time, yet was at his peak. Now we are talking about pensioning drivers off at that age. I do like Kimi, but have to say that he would be an infinite better driver if he possessed 50% of Keke's feistiness, and Sebastian would have his work cut out to maintain his position. At the end of the day Keke and Mika were by far the best Finnish GP drivers. As we have mentioned before Rob, 1985 was an amazing season, it had everything, JC |
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Post by robmarsh on May 1, 2018 14:27:32 GMT
I was also there at Brands Hatch in 1985 when Nigel won his first race. Keke was mighty that day and that Williams looked fast when standing still. Loved that car. Couldn't agree more Rob. That has to be my favourite Williams; an incredible car. Funny to think that Keke must have been close on 37 years old at the time, yet was at his peak. Now we are talking about pensioning drivers off at that age. I do like Kimi, but have to say that he would be an infinite better driver if he possessed 50% of Keke's feistiness, and Sebastian would have his work cut out to maintain his position. At the end of the day Keke and Mika were by far the best Finnish GP drivers. As we have mentioned before Rob, 1985 was an amazing season, it had everything, JC JC I hadn't realised that Keke was 37, he certainly didn't show it. I agree with you re Kimi, a great guy and a very fast driver but as you say not feisty enough. I really thought in the last GP he would have pushed Hamilton more in those last laps, given how fast the Ferrari was and it warmed it's tyres up quicker than the Merc. He just seemed to fade away, something I have noticed often in these last couple of years. A real pity. Funny you should say Mika and Keke were the best Finnish drivers. I was thinking exactly the same thing on Sunday, during the last few laps of the race. 1985 was an excellent year. The cars were beautiful, Ferrari were competitive for at least part of the year, Senna was beginning to make his mark, there were at least four competitive teams with another couple if things went their way, Mansell was very competitive as well and Prost deservedly won a championship. The only downside for me that year was that Renault, who I believe had a beautiful looking car, and two really nice drivers, were so uncompetitive. |
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Post by charleselan on May 1, 2018 14:55:37 GMT
Absolutely Rob on all counts.
For a Viking, Kimi is far too placid, and he is supposed to be a party animal, that just doesn't fit. Kimi has too well worn phrases, "It is what it is" or "it's not ideal", then for goodness sake make it ideal man!! I have little doubt that he still has huge amounts of pace, and lots of natural ability but he does not possess the traits of Keke or Mika. Keke would always force the issue, no matter what; and Mika was quietly assertive and never played to the media or gallery, but boy he could make his point, Michael knew that after the "Spa incident".
There were some fantastic drivers and cars in the 1985 season, we were truly spoilt in that season. We also had some amazing circuits as well still on the calendar of F1.
JC
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Post by chrisb on May 1, 2018 20:54:02 GMT
1985, that was some year - the great Turbo's a fantastic grid overflowing with talent and testosterone - that grunt , the MotoGp's with the immortal Freddie winning both championships, Big Al beating little Al by a point, in what was some of the best races in Indycar history, the Group B's and that awesome Peugeot amongst the power, Andy Rouse and the mighty Sierra's and then the Group C's and those brilliant Porsche and the start of the re-birth of the legend that was Jaguar [Bob Tullius and G44]
the Kimster is a very popular driver but Mika and Keke are just way way way above him in my estimation, I always felt Mika was quicker than Michael, and had that great amusingly sardonic way about him and Keke, nonchalance personified - always the image of the fag being discarded and he clambered into his monster at Silverstone to set 'that' record, maybe today's cars are technologically incredible but for sheer excitement - 1985 does it for me
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 20:54:59 GMT
Well said, JC. Kimi is a great guy and driver, but he gets on my nerves quite a bit latterly.
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