After a long illness Sir Malcolm Campbell passed away at the age of 63.

Malcolm was the only son of a successful Hatton Garden diamond merchant. He first became involved with racing whilst in Europe studying the diamond business as his father had done before him. Germany would be the place which would see him begin his quest for speed. At the turn of the century, he advanced from being a bicycle enthusiast to a motorcyclist enthusiast. Malcolm went on to win three successive gold medals in the London to Lakes End Trials between 1906 and 1908.

In 1909 he became interested in aeroplanes and in 1910 began car racing at Brooklands, initially christening his cars "The Flapper". In 1912 he adopted the name 'Blue Bird' after seeing the stage play 'The Blue Bird' by Maurice Maeterlinck. Malcolm was now married, but after only two short years he divorced. When World War I started he was drafted into the Royal Flying Corps, having had some previous flying experience. He remarried after the war and his famous son Donald was born in 1921.

In 1923 - after driving many different racing cars including an Austro Daimler, Star, Talbots, Italas and Chryslers - he purchased the former Land Speed Record holding 350HP V12 Sunbeam from Kennelm Lee Guinness which would see him clock 146.16mph on Pendine Sands and officially take the Land Speed Record for the first time in 1924. Realising the Sunbeam's limitations, he employed the talents of Amherst Villiers to design what would become the Campbell-Napier Blue Bird which would in 1927 allow him to take the record for a second time, clocking a speed of 174.88mph. Malcolm was not the only man in quest of records, however. Among his challengers was England's Henry Segrave. Segrave set a new record of 203.79 mph on the hard packed sand's of Daytona Beach, Florida in 1927. The following year Campbell fought back and recaptured the record with 206.95 mph at the beach.

Malcolm returned home a record holder again, but less than two months later, the Americans fought back and reclaimed the record for the first time since 1906. Malcolm, now with the news that the British challenge would be taken up by Segrave with Golden Arrow, set about rethinking Bluebird in an attempt to regain the Land Speed Record.

After a very expensive and less than impressive attempt at Verneuk Pan, South Africa in 1929, a new Reid Railton designed and Gurney Nutting bodied Blue Bird appeared in 1931. Fitted with a Napier Sprint Lion VII Schneider Cup aircraft engine, it would propel him to a speed of 246.09mph on 5th February 1931. It earned him a new record, a Knighthood and the coveted Lord Wakefield Trophy for his achievements. In the years to come he would also be awarded the Seagrave Trophy in 1933 and 1939.

By 1935 Malcolm had raised the mark to 276.82 mph at Daytona Beach but - now concerned with the soft sand and lack of traction at the beach - wanted to find another site to reach the ultimate mark of 300 mph. He found this at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and on 3rd September 1935 he became the first man to exceed 300 mph.

Malcolm was also a shareholder and director in several businesses, including Brooklands racing circuit, where he was active in the running of the track and designed the Campbell road racing circuit within the confines of the site. This circuit was used from its opening on 1st May 1937 to the outbreak of World War II.

In 1937 - having achieved his goal on land - he aspired for the same result on water. He set the Water Speed Record in the all new Blue Bird K3 Hydroplane on 1st September at 126.33 mph. The following day, dissatisfied with his first record, he raised it again to 129.56 mph. The following year saw him go to Lake Hallwyl in Switzerland where he raised the record to 130.93 mph.

On 19 August 1939 he set another record with a speed of 141.74 mph at Coniston Waters in the all new Blue Bird K4 Hydroplane, a record that was still his when he died 9 years later, on New Years Eve. His son Donald was to follow in his footsteps. Together they were to become the 'Speed Kings' of the 20th century.

Malcolm and his son Donald

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"Life is measured in achievements, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren)

Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish - driving an Audi R8 in a very spectacular green/grey 'crocodile' scheme - won the 'Race of 1000 Years' at Adelaide, attended by an amazing 150.000 spectators.

The path to the sixth win of the season for the Scottish-Italian duo was harder than ever before and started off with the first moment of panic on fridayafternoon. Right after the first practice, Allan McNish suffering from a severe backache, had to undergo medical treatment and rest extensively on saturday. As the Scotsman's raceparticipation was uncertain, Audi Sport North America nominated Australian Brad Jones as an additional driver and support for the #77 Audi R8.

The next incident, a crash during the last lap of the warmup on sundaymorning, even endangered the start of the 'crocodile' Audi. But the badly damaged car was repaired in record time, making it possible to get on the grid just in time. Allan McNish - fit again! - surprised the fans with a great comeback. He started the race and handed the Audi R8 over to Rinaldo Capello with a comfortable lead. Together Capello and McNish extended the lead and crowned their successful season with another victory. At the same time Allan McNish secured the ALMS drivers championship.

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"Life is measured in achievements, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren)

I'm sorry cesare to be so late to answer but I certainly didn't realize you posted that! I feel very grateful!! Thanks a lot, really! Certainly i have had a very good 18 and i hpe 19 will be better!

Please forgive not to have answered on time!

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-Genio-
Genius:"A person of extraordinary intellect and talent"

No hay por qué disculparse!

Feliz año nuevo!

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There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see - Leonardo da Vinci

Gracias amigo, igualmente

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-Genio-
Genius:"A person of extraordinary intellect and talent"

So Mickey the Shoe turns 38 today - I hope he'll have a pleasant birthday, and have his plans for the future lined out. After 15+ years of Grabnd Prix racing, it must be some change to not be preparing for yet another title battle - to be pensioneer at that age is quite impressive, come to think of it

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Freedom of speech includes the right to decide when and where to speak

Chris Amon (Ferrari 246T) wins the first round of the Tasman series at Pukekohe (NZ)

Amon shot off at the start, hotly pursued by Jochen Rindt (Lotus-Ford 49T) with the latter's teammate Graham Hill (Lotus 49T) holding off Derek Bell (Ferrari 246T) and Leo Geoghegan (Lotus-Repco 39). At the start of the second lap Rindt outbraked Amon and pulled away, setting the fastest lap on lap 10. Amon got his head down and began to reel in Rindt, eventually pressuring the Austrian into a spin, handing him the lead. Rindt got going again but the spin had damaged his clutch and broken the moveable control surface on his rear wing. Things went from bad to worse for Lotus as Hill's front suspension collapsed as he was beginning to edge closer to Amon. Bell picked up a puncture near the end, letting Rindt back up to 2nd and the impressive Piers Courage (Brabham-Ford BT24) up to 3rd. For a change Chris Amon was not struck by bad luck and won ahead of Rindt, Courage and Bell.

Amon beats Rindt off the line

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"Life is measured in achievements, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren)

Denny Hulme (Brabham-Climax BT4) took victory in the first Tasman round at Levin (NZ). He comfortably beats the Cooper T70's of Timmy Mayer (brother of former McLaren boss Teddy) and Bruce McLaren.

'The Bear' leads the pack

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"Life is measured in achievements, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren)

In 1966 three Mini Coopers took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the Monte Carlo Rallye with Mäkinen, Aaltonen and Hopkirk respectively. The French were furious that the British accomplished their 3rd consecutive victory. The judges of the event investigated the Mini's with immense depth looking for any excuse to disqualify them. After various hours of excruciating search they found that the front lights and the spotlights used halogen bulbs of simple filament which 'didn't meet the French traffic regulations'. The Minis were disqualified, as well as Roger Clark's Ford Lotus Cortina who came in 4th. As a result Pauli Toivonen - driving a Citroën DS - was declared the hollowest of hollow winners in the history of this prestigious rallye.

Timo Mäkinen wins on the road....



.... but was disqualified for an 'infringement' ....

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"Life is measured in achievements, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren)

Elizabeth Junek died at the proud age of 94.

She was born as Alzbeta Pospíailová in the town of Olomouc in Moravia (current Czechoslovakia). She is regarded as one of the greatest female drivers in Grand Prix racing history.

For some reason she used the name Eliska Junkova and was nicked 'Smisek' for her ever present smile. She got a job in the Olomouc bank and it was there that she met banker Vincenc 'Cenek' Junek, an ambitious young man who had been discharged from the army after being shot in the hand. Vincenc loved racing and in 1922 he won the Zbraslav-Jiloviste hill climb. He also married Eliska that year and they started racing together in local events. Because of his wartime injury Cenek had trouble shifting gears and so Eliska, wo started as his riding mechanic, took over the driving duties. That year they bought a Mercedes and a Bugatti T30 which had been raced in the French GP at Strasbourg.

Eliska gained fame throughout Europe (her name was anglicised to Elizabeth) and by 1926 she was good enough to compete in races around Europe against the best male drivers of the time. In 1926 she competed in the Targa Florio in Sicily. Although she crashed out of the race, her performance earned her a great deal of respect. Shortly thereafter she won the 2L sportscar class at the Nürburgring, making her the only woman in history to have ever won a Grand Prix race.

With her sights firmly set on winning the 1928 Targa Florio she acquired a new Bugatti Type 35B to enable her to be on an equal footing with the top male drivers who would be competing. On the 2nd lap she took the lead and looked on her way for a sensational win. On the final lap however she ran into trouble when two rocks appeared suddenly in the middle of the road, which had not been there on the previous lap. It has long been suspected that these had been planted and she eventually ended up 5th.

On the Nürburgring she shared the driving with her husband and had just changed places with him when he went off course and was killed instantly. Devastated she gave up racing and sold her vehicles. With communist rule in Czechoslovakia she was largely forgotten by the motor racing world. Like Hellé Nice, her great female counterpart from France, she only recently has been given the recognition it deserves.

From 1948 to 1964 the communist authorities, not impressed by her high flying bourgeois lifestyle, refused to allow her to travel abroad. At the age of 91 - against the advice of her doctor - she attended a Bugatti reunion in the US as the guest of honor.

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"Life is measured in achievements, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren)