1.
Grand Prix motor racing
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Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car. Grand Prix motor racing eventually evolved into formula racing, and Formula One can be seen as its direct descendant, each event of the Formula One World Championships is still called a Grand Prix, Formula One is referred to as Grand Prix racing. Motor racing was started in France, as a result of the enthusiasm with which the French public embraced the motor car. Manufacturers were enthusiastic due to the possibility of using motor racing as a window for their cars. The first motoring contest took place on July 22,1894 and was organised by a Paris newspaper, the Paris–Rouen rally was 126 km, from Porte Maillot in Paris, through the Bois de Boulogne, to Rouen. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours 48 minutes at an speed of 19 km/h. He finished 3 minutes 30 seconds ahead of Albert Lemaître, followed by Doriot, René Panhard, in 1900, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. the owner of the New York Herald and the International Herald Tribune, established the Gordon Bennett Cup. He hoped the creation of an event would drive automobile manufacturers to improve their cars. Each country was allowed to enter up to three cars, which had to be built in the country that they represented and entered by that countrys automotive governing body. International racing colours were established in this event, in the United States, William Kissam Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup at Long Island, New York in 1904. Some anglophone sources wrongly list a race called the Pau Grand Prix in 1901 and this may stem from a mistranslation of the contemporary French sources such as the magazine La France Auto of March 1901. The name of the 1901 event was the Circuit du Sud-Ouest, the Grand Prix du Palais d’Hiver was the name of the prizes awarded for the lesser classes. The Grand Prix de Pau was the name of the awarded for the Heavy class. Thus Maurice Farman was awarded the Grand Prix de Pau for his victory in the Circuit du Sud-Ouest driving a Panhard 24 hp. In L’Histoire de l’Automobile/Paris 1907 Pierre Souvestre described the 1901 event as, dans le Circuit du Sud-Ouest, à l’occasion du meeting de Pau. ” The only race at the time to carry the name Grand Prix was organised by the Automobile Club de France. The circuit used, which was based in Le Mans, was triangular in shape
2.
French Resistance
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The Résistance also planned, coordinated, and executed acts of sabotage on the electrical power grid, transport facilities, and telecommunications networks. Estimated to have a strength of 100,000 in June 1944 and this burden amounted to approximately 20 million German reichsmarks per day, a sum that, in May 1940, was approximately equivalent to four hundred million French francs. Because of this overvaluation of German currency, the occupiers were able to make fair and honest requisitions and purchases while, in effect. Prices soared, leading to food shortages and malnutrition, particularly among children, the elderly. The labour shortage was worsened by the fact that a number of the French were also held as prisoners of war in Germany. Beyond these hardships and dislocations, the occupation became increasingly unbearable, onerous regulations, strict censorship, incessant propaganda and nightly curfews all played a role in establishing an atmosphere of fear and repression. The sight of French women consorting with German soldiers infuriated many French men, as reprisals for Résistance activities, the authorities established harsh forms of collective punishment. For example, the militancy of communist resistance in August 1941 led to the taking of thousands of hostages from the general population. A typical policy statement read, After each further incident, a number, reflecting the seriousness of the crime, during the occupation, an estimated 30,000 French civilian hostages were shot to intimidate others who were involved in acts of resistance. In early 1943, the Vichy authorities established a paramilitary group and they worked alongside German forces that, by the end of 1942, were stationed throughout France. The group collaborated closely with the Nazis, and was the Vichy equivalent of the Gestapo security forces in Germany and their actions were often brutal and included torture and execution of Résistance suspects. After the liberation of France in the summer of 1944, the French executed many of the estimated 25,000 to 35,000 miliciens for their collaboration. Many of those who escaped arrest fled to Germany, where they were incorporated into the Charlemagne Division of the Waffen SS, the experience of the Occupation was a deeply psychologically disorienting one for the French as what was once familiar and safe become strange and threatening. Many Parisians could not get over the shock experienced when they first saw the huge swastika flags hanging over the Hôtel de Ville, Many résistants often spoke of some climax when they saw some intolerable act of injustice, after which they could not longer remain passive. Barthelt recalled, I recognized him only by his hat, only by his hat, I tell you and because I was waiting on the roadside to see him pass. I saw his face all right, but there was no skin on it, both his poor eyes had been closed into two purple and yellow bruises. In the beginning, resistance was limited to such as severing phone lines, vandalizing posters. Another form of resistance was underground newspapers like Musée de lHomme which circulated clandestinely, the Musée de lHomme was founded by two professors, Paul Rivet and the Russian émigré Boris Vildé in July 1940
3.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
4.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
5.
Bugatti
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Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, founded in 1909 in the then German city of Molsheim, Alsace by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti. Bugatti cars were known for their beauty and for their many race victories. Famous Bugattis include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 Royale, the Type 57 Atlantic and the Type 55 sports car. The death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947 proved to be the end for the marque, no more than about 8,000 cars were made. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, in the 1990s, an Italian entrepreneur revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars. Today, the name is owned by German automobile manufacturing group Volkswagen, the company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic manner in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettores family. During the war Ettore Bugatti was sent away, initially to Milan and later to Paris and he exhibited three light cars, all of them closely based on their pre-war equivalents, and each fitted with the same overhead camshaft 4-cylinder 1, 368cc engine with four valves per cylinder. Smallest of the three was a Type 13 with a body and using a chassis with a 2,000 mm wheelbase. The others were a Type 22 and a Type 23 with wheelbases of 2,250 and 2,400 mm respectively, the company also enjoyed great success in early Grand Prix motor racing, in 1929 a privately entered Bugatti won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix. Racing success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice, Bugatti cars were extremely successful in racing. The little Bugatti Type 10 swept the top four positions at its first race, the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 is probably the most successful racing car of all time, with over 2,000 wins. The Type 35 was developed by Bugatti with master engineer and racing driver Jean Chassagne who also drove it in the car’s first ever Grand Prix in 1924 Lyon, Bugattis swept to victory in the Targa Florio for five years straight from 1925 through 1929. Louis Chiron held the most podiums in Bugatti cars, and the modern marque revival Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. named the 1999 Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car in his honour. But it was the racing success at Le Mans that is most remembered—Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron won the 1939 race with just one car. In the 1930s, Ettore Bugatti got involved in the creation of a racer airplane and this would be the Bugatti 100P, which never flew. It was designed by Belgian engineer Louis de Monge who had already applied Bugatti Brescia engines in his Type 7.5 lifting body, Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorised railcar, the Autorail Bugatti. The death of Ettore Bugattis son, Jean Bugatti, on 11 August 1939 marked a point in the companys fortunes. Jean died while testing a Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim factory, World War II left the Molsheim factory in ruins and the company lost control of the property
6.
French Grand Prix
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The French Grand Prix was a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de lAutomobiles annual Formula One automobile racing championships. It was one of the oldest motor races in the world and it ceased shortly after its centenary in 2008 with 86 races having been held, a victim of finances and unfavourable venues. It is also one of four races to have held as part of the three distinct Grand Prix championships. The power of original organiser, the Automobile Club de France, the Grand Prix name referred to the prize of 45,000 French francs to the race winner. The franc was pegged to the gold at 0.290 grams per franc, dieppe in particular was an extremely dangerous circuit-8 people in total were killed at the 3 French Grands Prix held at the 79 km circuit. The 1906 race was the first ever Grand Prix, which was an event that originated from the Gordon Bennett races that had started in 1899. This race was run on a 66-mile closed public road circuit starting at the western French town of Le Mans, through a series of villages and back again to Le Mans. Hungarian Ferenc Szisz won this very long 12-hour race on a Renault from Italian Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat, where laps on this took around an hour. The 1913 race was won by Georges Boillot on a one-off 19-mile circuit near Amiens in northern France, Amiens was another extremely deadly circuit-5 people were killed during its use during pre-race testing and the race weekend itself. The 1914 race, run on a 24-mile circuit near Lyon is perhaps the most legendary race of the pre-WWI racing era and this was a hard-fought battle between the French Peugeots and the German Mercedess. Although the Peugeots were fast and Boillot ended up leading for 12 of the 20 laps the Dunlop tires they used wore out badly compared to the Continentials that the Mercedes cars were using. Boillots four-minute lead was wiped out by Christian Lautenschlager in a Mercedes while he stopped an incredible eight times for tires. Although Boillot drove very hard to try to catch Christian Lautenschlager, he had to due to tire failure, and Mercedes finished 1-2-3. Bugatti made its debut at the 1922 race at a 8.3 mile one-off public road circuit near Strasbourg near the French-German border- which was close to Bugattis headquarters in Molsheim. It rained, and the circuit was in a dreadful condition. This race became a duel between Bugatti and Fiat- and Felice Nazzaro won in a Fiat, the 1923 race at another one-off circuit near Tours featured another new Bugatti- the Type 32. This car was dubbed the Tank, owing to its streamlined shape. This car was fast on the straights of this public road circuit-
7.
Algiers
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Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria. In 2011, the population was estimated to be around 3,500,000. An estimate puts the population of the metropolitan city to be around 5,000,000. Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the portion of Algeria. The casbah and the two form a triangle. A Phoenician commercial outpost called Ikosim which later developed into a small Roman town called Icosium existed on what is now the quarter of the city. The rue de la Marine follows the lines of what used to be a Roman street, Roman cemeteries existed near Bab-el-Oued and Bab Azoun. The city was given Latin rights by Emperor Vespasian, the bishops of Icosium are mentioned as late as the 5th century. The present-day city was founded in 944 by Bologhine ibn Ziri and he had earlier built his own house and a Sanhaja center at Ashir, just south of Algiers. Although his Zirid dynasty was overthrown by Roger II of Sicily in 1148, the city was wrested from the Hammadids by the Almohads in 1159, and in the 13th century came under the dominion of the Ziyanid sultans of Tlemcen. Nominally part of the sultanate of Tlemcen, Algiers had a measure of independence under amirs of its own due to Oran being the chief seaport of the Ziyanids. As early as 1302 the islet of Peñón in front of Algiers harbour had been occupied by Spaniards, thereafter, a considerable amount of trade began to flow between Algiers and Spain. However, Algiers continued to be of little importance until after the expulsion of the Moors from Spain. In 1510, following their occupation of Oran and other towns on the coast of Africa, in 1516, the amir of Algiers, Selim b. Teumi, invited the corsair brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa to expel the Spaniards, Aruj came to Algiers, ordered the assassination of Selim, and seized the town and ousted the Spanish in the Capture of Algiers. Hayreddin, succeeding Aruj after the latter was killed in battle against the Spaniards in the Fall of Tlemcen, was the founder of the pashaluk, Algiers from this time became the chief seat of the Barbary pirates. Formally part of the Ottoman Empire but essentially free from Ottoman control, starting in the 16th century Algiers turned to piracy, repeated attempts were made by various nations to subdue the pirates that disturbed shipping in the western Mediterranean and engaged in slave raids as far north as Iceland. The United States fought two wars over Algiers attacks on shipping, among the notable people held for ransom was the future Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, who was captive in Algiers almost five years, and who wrote two plays set in Algiers of the period
8.
South African Grand Prix
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The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Eastern Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard Dick Seaman, Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, World War II brought an end to the race, but it was revived in 1960 as part of the Formula One circuit, entering the World Championship calendar two years later. It was a popular F1 event, but racing was put on hiatus there right after the controversial 1985 race due to the policy of apartheid, following the end of apartheid in 1991, two further races were held in 1992 and 1993. The South African Grand Prix has not been held since, the first South African Grands Prix were held on a circuit of 23.4 km that ran through different populated areas of the coastal city of East London. This was shortened to 17.7 km in 1936, after World War II, when racing was halted, a permanent circuit was built in 1959. The first South African F1 race was held on 29 December 1962, in that race, Graham Hill took advantage of Jim Clarks mechanical problems with his Lotus and took race victory and the championship. The race was held at Prince George again in 1963 and 1965. 1968 saw Clark take victory, he broke Juan Manuel Fangios record for most career wins and it turned out to be his last F1 victory,1969 saw Jackie Stewart win, and the following year 44-year-old veteran Jack Brabham won his last F1 race. 1971 saw American Mario Andretti won his first F1 race in a Ferrari,1974 saw American Peter Revson crash horribly at Barbeque Bend during testing for the race and slam head-on to the barriers, he later died from his injuries. Argentine Carlos Reutemann won for the first time at that years event,1975 saw South African Jody Scheckter take victory. The 1977 event was the location of one of the most gruesome crashes in history, as Tom Pryce was killed when he hit, Niki Lauda won the race, but the accident sent shock waves throughout the sport. 1978 saw Ronnie Peterson take a victory from Patrick Depailler and Riccardo Patrese. Going into the 1980s, turbo-charged cars began to dominate the Grand Prix, the 1981 event was a victim of the FISA-FOCA war. Consequently it was contested only by the FOCA-aligned teams, with cars which did not strictly comply with the 1981 Formula One regulations. The 1983 event was the last race of season. Piquets Italian teammate Riccardo Patrese won the race,1984 saw the event take place early in the season, and Prost started from the pit lane in the spare car after his race car didnt start. This was made legal when the first start was aborted after Briton Nigel Mansell stalled on the grid, Prost drove through the field to finish 2nd behind his teammate Niki Lauda. Briton Derek Warwick completed the podium in a Renault and Brazilian future world champion Ayrton Senna scored his first point in a Toleman, the 1985 race was mired in international controversy as nations began boycotting South African sporting events because of racial segregation in the country, called apartheid
9.
East London, Eastern Cape
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East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the only river port. East London today has a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the metropolitan area. Lieutenant John Bailie of the Royal Navy, one of the 1820 Settlers, surveyed the Buffalo River mouth and founded the town in 1836, the city formed around the only river port in South Africa and was originally known as Port Rex. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, a British fort, Fort Glamorgan, was built on the West Bank in 1847, and annexed to the Cape Colony that same year. This fort is one of a series of British-built forts, including Fort Murray, Fort White, Fort Cox, Fort Hare and Fort Beaufort, with later development of the port came the settlement of permanent residents, including German settlers, most of whom were bachelors. These settlers were responsible for German names of towns in the vicinity of East London such as Stutterheim. Today, German surnames such as Gehring, Salzwedel and Peinke are still common in East London, the existing port, in the mouth of the Buffalo River, adjoining the Indian Ocean, began operating in 1870. In 1872, the Cape Colony, under the leadership of its first Prime Minister John Molteno, at the same time, it began construction of the East London harbour. This new infrastructure rapidly accelerated development of the area, into todays thriving city of East London, the unusual double-decker bridge over the Buffalo River was completed in 1935 and to this day, is the only bridge of its type in South Africa. The city is known as a surfing haven, and its beaches are among the best in the country. In 1961, areas on either side of East London were declared Bantu homelands, Ciskei to the west and Transkei to the East. East London found itself almost surrounded except to the north and became very unsettled during the Apartheid era, the story of Donald Woods was recorded in the Hollywood film Cry Freedom. A prominent statue of Biko now stands outside the East London City Hall, the period of international sanctions that followed in the 1980s damaged the economy of East Londons harbour. Enormous investment in recent years, by such as Daimler Chrysler, has resulted in the harbour being developed to include a new car terminal. In 2000, East London became part of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, also consisting of King Williams Town, Bhisho, East London is the second largest industrial centre in the province. The motor industry is the dominant employer, a major Daimler plant is located next to the harbour, manufacturing Mercedes-Benz and other vehicles for the local market, as well as exporting to the United States and Brazil. Other industries include clothing, textiles, pharmaceuticals and food processing, from the 1960s until the 1990s, the apartheid government created tax and wage incentives to attract industries to the then black independent states, including nearby Ciskei
10.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
11.
Marcel Lehoux
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Marcel Lehoux was a French racing driver and businessman. Lehoux was born in Vendée in France and his racing career was built on the back of his successful trading company that operated in French Algeria. He placed second at the Grand Prix de la Marne at Reims in 1929, behind Zenelli and ahead of his friend, Philippe Étancelin, at the 1930 Algerian Grand Prix, he followed Étancelin home to second. In 1931, he shared a Bugatti with Étancelin for both the Italian and French Grands Prix, events of 10 hours duration, run to Formula Libre rules and he would later race for Bugatti and Scuderia Ferrari racing teams. Lehoux died after a collision in the 1936 Deauville Grand Prix, the Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing. Review of the 1936 Deauville Grand Prix, with images and film Review of the 1936 Deauville Grand Prix with sources and images
12.
Long Island
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Long Island is an island located just off the northeast coast of the United States and a region within the U. S. state of New York. Stretching east-northeast from New York Harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, the island comprises four counties, Kings and Queens to the west, then Nassau, more generally, Long Island may also refer collectively both to the main Island as well as its nearby, surrounding outer barrier islands. North of the island is the Long Island Sound, across from which lie the states of Connecticut, across the Sound, to the northwest, lies Westchester County on mainland New York. To the west, Long Island is separated from the Bronx and the island of Manhattan by the East River. To the extreme southwest, it is separated from the New York City borough of Staten Island and the U. S. state of New Jersey by Upper New York Bay, the Narrows, to the east lie Block Island and numerous smaller islands. Its population density is 5,595.1 inhabitants per square mile, Long Island is culturally and ethnically diverse. Some of the wealthiest and most expensive neighborhoods in the Western Hemisphere are located on Long Island, nine bridges and 13 tunnels connect Brooklyn and Queens to the three other boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across Long Island Sound to the state of Connecticut, the Long Island Rail Road is the busiest commuter railroad in North America and operates 24/7. At the time of European contact, the Lenape people inhabited the western end of Long Island, giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to record an encounter with the Lenapes, after entering what is now New York Bay in 1524. In 1609, the English navigator Henry Hudson explored the harbor, adriaen Block followed in 1615 and is credited as the first European to determine that both Manhattan and Long Island are islands. Native American land deeds recorded by the Dutch from 1636 state that the Indians referred to Long Island as Sewanhaka, sewan was one of the terms for wampum, and is also translated as loose or scattered, which may refer either to the wampum or to Long Island. The name t Lange Eylandt alias Matouwacs appears in Dutch maps from the 1650s, later, the English referred to the land as Nassau Island, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, Prince of Orange. It is unclear when the name Nassau Island was discontinued, the very first settlements on Long Island were by settlers from England and its colonies in present-day New England. Lion Gardiner settled nearby Gardiners Island, the first settlement on the geographic Long Island itself was on October 21,1640, when Southold was established by the Rev. John Youngs and settlers from New Haven, Connecticut. Peter Hallock, one of the settlers, drew the long straw and was granted the honor to step ashore first and he is considered the first New World settler on Long Island. Southampton was settled in the same year, Hempstead followed in 1644, East Hampton in 1648, Huntington in 1653, and Brookhaven in 1655. While the eastern region of Long Island was first settled by the English, until 1664, the jurisdiction of Long Island was split, roughly at the present border between Nassau County and Suffolk County. The Dutch founded six towns in present-day Brooklyn beginning in 1645 and these included, Brooklyn, Gravesend, Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht, and Bushwick
13.
Vanderbilt Cup
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The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused considerable controversy in New York, the politicians soon jumped in, holding public hearings on the issue. Vanderbilt prevailed and the race was run over a 30.24 miles course of winding dirt roads through the Nassau County area. The race drew the top drivers and their vehicles from across the Atlantic Ocean, the first Long Island race featured seventeen vehicles and the newspaper and poster art promotion drew large crowds hoping to see an American car defeat the mighty European vehicles. However, George Heath won the race in a Panhard and another French vehicle, crowd control was a problem from the start and after a spectator, Curt Gruner, was killed in 1906, the race was cancelled. Meanwhile, in France, the first Grand Prix motor racing event had been run on June 26,1906, one of the competitors was American Elliot Shepard, the son of Margaret Vanderbilt-Shepard and a cousin of William Kissam Vanderbilt. Construction began in 1907 of the toll highway, to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County over numerous bridges and overpasses to Lake Ronkonkoma. The Vanderbilt Cup was held successfully on Long Island until 1911 when it was showcased at Savannah, the next year it moved to a racecourse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then for three years in California, Santa Monica in 1914 and 1916, San Francisco in 1915. The race was canceled after the United States joined the Allies in World War I in 1917, some of the drivers who participated in the Vanderbilt Cup became famous names, synonymous with automobiles and racing such as Louis Chevrolet, Vincenzo Lancia and Ralph DePalma. Once again, the Europeans were enticed by the prize money. A lack of American competition and a less-than-exciting course layout saw the race run for two years, both won by Europeans. The Vanderbilt Cup would not return to the United States motor racing scene for more than twenty years, in 1960, sponsored by Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, it was run as a Formula Junior event and held again at Roosevelt Raceway. In 1965,1967, and 1968, the Bridgehampton Sports Car Races were billed as the Vanderbilt Cup, the original Cup is cast of silver and measures 2.5 feet in height. It bears the image of William K. Vanderbilt II driving his record-setting Mercedes at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1904, the trophy today is stored at a Smithsonian Institution storage facility and is not available to be seen by the public. The George Vanderbilt Cup is on display at Museo Nicolis in Verona, ^A The 1966 event was billed as the Bridgehampton 200. The Vanderbilt Cup name disappeared for another 36 years until 1996, in recognition of William Kissam Vanderbilts place in automotive racing history, a copy of the original cup was created as the trophy for the CART U. S.500 race. In 2000, CART designated the Vanderbilt Cup as its series championship trophy, names of U. S.500 winners from 1996–99 and the CART series winners since 2000, are etched into the new Cup
14.
Tazio Nuvolari
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Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was an Italian racing driver. First he raced motorcycles and then he concentrated on cars and single-seaters. Resident in Mantua, he was known as Il Mantovano Volante, ferdinand Porsche called him the greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future. Nuvolari started racing motorcycles in 1920 at the age of 27, having raced cars as well as motorcycles from 1925 until 1930, he then concentrated on cars, and won the 1932 European Championship with the Alfa Romeo factory team, Alfa Corse. After Alfa Romeo officially withdrew from Grand Prix racing Nuvolari drove for Enzo Ferraris team, Scuderia Ferrari, who ran the Alfa Romeo cars semi-officially. In 1933 he won Le Mans in an Alfa Romeo as a member of Ferraris team, and it was the only time a non-German car won a European Championship race from 1935 to 1939. The relationship with Ferrari deteriorated during 1937, and Nuvolari raced an Auto Union in that years Swiss Grand Prix and he rejoined the Auto Union team for the 1938 season and stayed with them through 1939 until Grand Prix racing was put on hiatus by World War II. The only major European race he never won was the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix, when Nuvolari resumed racing after the war he was 54 and in poor health. In his final appearance in competition, driving a Cisitalia-Abarth Tipo 204A at a Palermo hillclimb on 10 April 1950, he won his class and he died in 1953 from a stroke. Nuvolari was born in Castel dArio near Mantua on 16 November 1892 to Arturo Nuvolari and his wife Elisa Zorzi. Nuvolari was married to Carolina Perina, and together they had two children, Giorgio, who died in 1937 aged 19 from myocarditis, and Alberto, Nuvolari obtained his license for motorcycle racing in 1915 at the age of 23. He served in the Italian army as a driver in World War I. He also raced cars, winning the Coppa Verona reliability trial in 1921, in 1925 he became the 350 cc European Motorcycling champion by winning the European Grand Prix. At the time, the European Grand Prix was considered the most important race of the motorcycling season and the winners in each category were designated European Champions. He won the Nations Grand Prix four times between 1925 and 1928, and the Lario Circuit race five times between 1925 and 1929, all in the 350 cc class on a Bianchi motorcycle and he crashed when the gearbox seized, and severely lacerated his back. He was not picked for the team, six days later, in bandages, with a cushion strapped to his stomach, and lifted onto his motorcycle by Bianchi mechanics for a push-start, he won the rain-soaked Nations Grand Prix at Monza. 1930 In 1930, Nuvolari won his first RAC Tourist Trophy, Motor racing legend has it that when one of the drivers broke the window of a butchers shop, Nuvolari drove onto the pavement and tried to grab a ham as he passed. According to Sammy Davis who met him there, Nuvolari enjoyed dark humour, for example, after he got a ticket for a journey home from the Sicilian Targa Florio he said to Enzo Ferrari, What a strange businessman you are
15.
24 Hours of Le Mans
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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the worlds oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. It is one of the most prestigious races in the world and is often called the Grand Prix of Endurance. The event represents one leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, other events being the Indianapolis 500, since 2012, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2017, it will be the round of the season. The race has over the years inspired imitating races all over the globe, popularizing the 24-hour format at places like Daytona, Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, and Bathurst. The American Le Mans Series and Europes Le Mans Series of multi-event sports car championships were spun off from 24 Hours of Le Mans regulations. At a time when Grand Prix motor racing was the dominant form of motorsport throughout Europe, Le Mans was designed to present a different test. Instead of focusing on the ability of a car company to build the fastest machines and this encouraged innovation in producing reliable and fuel-efficient vehicles, because endurance racing requires cars that last and spend as little time in the pits as possible. At the same time, the layout of the track necessitated cars with better aerodynamics, while this was shared with Grand Prix racing, few tracks in Europe had straights of a length comparable to the Mulsanne. Additionally, because the road is public and thus not as meticulously maintained as permanent racing circuits, racing puts more strain on the parts, increasing the importance of reliability. The oil crisis in the early 1970s led organizers to adopt a fuel economy formula known as Group C that limited the amount of each car was allowed. Although it was abandoned, fuel economy remains important as new fuel sources reduced time spent during pit stops. Such technological innovations have had an effect and can be incorporated into consumer cars. This has also led to faster and more exotic supercars as manufacturers seek to develop road cars in order to develop them into even faster GT cars. Additionally, in recent years hybrid systems have been championed in the LMP category as rules have changed to their benefit. The race is held in June, leading at times to very hot conditions for drivers, particularly in closed vehicles with poor ventilation, the race begins in mid-afternoon and finishes the following day at the same hour the race started the previous day. Over the 24 hours, modern competitors often cover distances well over 5,000 km, the record is 2010s 5,410 km, six times the length of the Indianapolis 500, or approximately 18 times longer than a Formula One Grand Prix. Drivers and racing teams strive for speed and avoiding damage, as well as managing the cars consumables, primarily fuel, tires
16.
Nazism
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National Socialism, more commonly known as Nazism, is the ideology and practice associated with the 20th-century German Nazi Party and Nazi Germany, as well as other far-right groups. Nazism subscribed to theories of racial hierarchy and Social Darwinism, identifying Germans as part of what Nazis regarded as an Aryan or Nordic master race and it aimed to overcome social divisions and create a homogeneous society, unified on the basis of racial purity. The term National Socialism arose out of attempts to create a nationalist redefinition of socialism, the Nazi Partys precursor, the Pan-German nationalist and anti-Semitic German Workers Party, was founded on 5 January 1919. By the early 1920s, Adolf Hitler assumed control of the organisation, following the Holocaust and German defeat in World War II, only a few fringe racist groups, usually referred to as neo-Nazis, still describe themselves as following National Socialism. The full name of Adolf Hitlers party was Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the shorthand Nazi was formed from the first two syllables of the German pronunciation of the word national. The term was in use before the rise of the NSDAP as a colloquial and derogatory word for a peasant, characterizing an awkward. It derived from Ignaz, being a version of Ignatius, a common name in Bavaria. Opponents seized on this and shortened the first word of the name, Nationalsozialistische. The NSDAP briefly adopted the Nazi designation, attempting to reappropriate the term, the use of Nazi Germany, Nazi regime, and so on was popularised by German exiles abroad. From them, the spread into other languages and was eventually brought back to Germany after World War II. In English, Nazism is a name for the ideology the party advocated. The majority of scholars identify Nazism in practice as a form of far-right politics, far-right themes in Nazism include the argument that superior people have a right to dominate over other people and purge society of supposed inferior elements. Adolf Hitler and other proponents officially portrayed Nazism as being neither left- nor right-wing, but the politicians of the Right deserve exactly the same reproach. It was through their miserable cowardice that those ruffians of Jews who came into power in 1918 were able to rob the nation of its arms, a major inspiration for the Nazis were the far-right nationalist Freikorps, paramilitary organisations that engaged in political violence after World War I. The Nazis stated the alliance was purely tactical and there remained substantial differences with the DNVP, the Nazis described the DNVP as a bourgeois party and called themselves an anti-bourgeois party. After the elections in 1932, the alliance broke after the DNVP lost many of its seats in the Reichstag, the Nazis denounced them as an insignificant heap of reactionaries. The DNVP responded by denouncing the Nazis for their socialism, their violence. Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was pressured to abdicate the throne and flee into exile amidst an attempted communist revolution in Germany, there were factions in the Nazi Party, both conservative and radical
17.
Robert Benoist
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Robert Marcel Charles Benoist was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero. Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschilds gamekeeper. As a young man, Benoist served during World War I in the French infantry, then as a pilot in the new Armée de lAir. Looking for excitement in the world, Benoist joined the de Marçay car company as a test driver. He then moved on to Salmson and was successful in cyclecar races before being signed to drive for Delage in 1924. The next year, teamed with Albert Divo, he won the French Grand Prix in the race claimed the life of Italian racing star Antonio Ascari. In 1927, driving a Delage 15-S-8, he won the French, Spanish, Italian and British Grand Prix races, when the Delage company dropped out of racing, Robert Benoist was without a job and was appointed manager of the Banville Garage in Paris. He did occasional races for the Bugatti team, finishing second in the 1928 San Sebastián Grand Prix in Spain, the following year he teamed up with Attilio Marinoni to win the Spa 24 Hours race in Belgium, driving an Alfa Romeo. At the end of the season he retired until 1934, when he made a comeback with the Bugatti team and he was soon made head of the competition department and masterminded the companys Le Mans programme. In 1937 he partnered with Jean-Pierre Wimille to win the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race, following that victory, Benoist retired permanently, but continued to run Bugattis racing department until called up into the French Air Force. In addition to Jean-Pierre Wimille, Robert Benoist became good friends with another Grand Prix driver, Benoist was commissioned into the British Army as a captain. In June 1943, the Prosper network in Paris collapsed and its leaders, Francis Suttill, in August, Benoists home was raided by the Gestapo and Grover-Williams was captured and executed with Francis Suttill at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Three days later, Robert Benoist was apprehended in Paris, while being driven to Gestapo headquarters, Benoist leaped from the moving vehicle and escaped, eventually being smuggled back to England via the underground. Robert Benoist was arrested on 18 June 1944 and shipped to Buchenwald concentration camp where he was executed three months later, on 9 September, following Germanys surrender, on 9 September 1945, the Coupe Robert Benoist automobile race was held in Paris in his memory. In his honor, the village of Auffargis named a street after him and it is there in the cemetery on Allée Robert Benoist that fellow pioneer race driver. Among the remaining grandstands still standing at the former Reims-Gueux circuit in France is one named Tribune Robert Benoist, au volant, Cours pratique de conduite automobile, Bernard-Précy, Robert Benoist, Paris, Ed
18.
William Grover-Williams
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William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams, also known as W Williams, was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France. He organized and coordinated the Chestnut network and he was captured and killed by the Nazis. Grover-Williams was born in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France, on 16 January 1903 to Frederick, Frederick Grover was an English horse breeder who had settled in Montrouge. Frederick met a French girl, Hermance Dagan, and they were soon married and their first child was Elizabeth, born in 1897. William had two other siblings - Alice and Frederic, born to an English father and a French mother, Grover-Williams grew up fluent in both the French and English languages. When William was eleven, he was sent to live with relatives in Hertfordshire, after the war, Frederick Grover moved the family to Monte Carlo. It was there that William developed a fascination for automobiles, having been taught to drive a Rolls-Royce by his sisters boyfriend, Grover-Williams passed his driving test whilst in Monaco and was granted a licence. Mechanically inclined, and fascinated by motorized vehicles, at the age of 15, Grover-Williams acquired an Indian motorcycle and it became his pride and joy. He would later go on to compete in races in the early 1920s, although he kept it secret from his family by adopting the pseudonym. In 1919, the Irish portrait painter, William Orpen became the official artist of the Paris Peace Conference, Orpen bought a Rolls-Royce car and hired Grover-Williams, who had returned to Paris, as his chauffeur. At the time, Orpen had a mistress named Yvonne Aupicq, Aupicq and Grover-Williams became good friends and after the collapse of Aupicqs relationship with Orpen, the pair were married in 1929. By 1926, Grover-Williams had begun racing a Bugatti in races throughout France, using the alias W Williams, entering the Grand Prix de Provence at Miramas, in 1928, he won the French Grand Prix, repeating in 1929. In November 1929, Grover-Williams married Yvonne Aubicq, whom he had met when chauffeuring the two around Paris, in 1931 he won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. He also won the Grand Prix de la Baule three consecutive years, then his career waned and he was out of racing by the latter part of the 1930s. Following the Nazi occupation of France in World War II, Grover-Williams fled to England where he joined the Royal Army Service Corps, due to his fluency in French and English he was recruited into the Special Operations Executive to foster the French Resistance. On 2 August 1943, Grover-Williams was arrested by the SD, Grover-Williams was executed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in the spring of 1945 along with Francis Suttill, another important SOE network leader. However, there is a theory that Grover-Williams may have survived the war, Grover-Williams was recommended for an MBE by the head of the SOE, Major-General Colin Gubbins, in September 1945 but when it became clear that he had died, the honour was not awarded. The Saboteur, a game released in 2009, features an Irish protagonist named Sean Devlin who is inspired by Grover-Williams
19.
Special Operations Executive
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The Special Operations Executive was a British World War II organisation. Few people were aware of SOEs existence, to those who were part of it or liaised with it, it was sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars, after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as Churchills Secret Army or the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, SOE operated in all countries or former countries occupied by or attacked by the Axis forces, except where demarcation lines were agreed with Britains principal Allies. It also made use of territory on occasion, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis. The organisation directly employed or controlled just over 13,000 people, after the war, the organisation was officially dissolved on 15 January 1946. A memorial to SOEs agents was unveiled on the Albert Embankment by Lambeth Palace in London in October 2009, the organisation was formed from the merger of three existing secret departments, which had been formed shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Immediately after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, the Foreign Office created an organisation known as Department EH. In the autumn of the year, the War Office expanded an existing research department known as GS. GS was renamed MI in early 1939 and these three departments worked with few resources until the outbreak of war. There was much overlap between their activities and Section D and EH duplicated much of each others work, on the other hand, the heads of Section D and MI knew each other and shared information. They agreed a rough division of their activities, MI researched irregular operations which could be undertaken by regular uniformed troops, during the early months of the war, Section D was based first at St Ermins Hotel in Westminster and then the Metropole Hotel near Trafalgar Square. The Section attempted unsuccessfully to sabotage deliveries of vital materials to Germany from neutral countries by mining the Iron Gate on the River Danube. MI meanwhile produced pamphlets and technical handbooks for guerrilla leaders, on 13 June 1940, at the instigation of newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Lord Hankey persuaded Section D and MI that their operations should be coordinated. On 1 July, a Cabinet level meeting arranged the formation of a single sabotage organisation, on 16 July, Hugh Dalton, the Minister of Economic Warfare, was appointed to take political responsibility for the new organisation. As Dalton was leaving Churchills study after being given his new task, the new organisation was formally created on 22 July. Dalton used the Irish Republican Army during the Irish war of Independence as a model for the organisation, Campbell Stuart left the organisation, and the flamboyant Major Grand was returned to the regular army. At his own request, Major Holland also left to take up an appointment in the Royal Engineers. However, Hollands former deputy at MI, Brigadier Colin Gubbins, one department of MI, MI R, which was involved in the development of weapons for irregular warfare, was not formally integrated into SOE but became an independent body codenamed MD1
20.
Gestapo
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The Gestapo, abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, or the Secret State Police, was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various security agencies of Prussia into one organization. Then from 27 September 1939 forward, it was administered by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and was considered an organization to the SS Sicherheitsdienst. This gave Göring command of the largest police force in Germany, soon afterward, Göring detached the political and intelligence sections from the police and filled their ranks with Nazis. On 26 April 1933, Göring merged the two units as the Geheime Staatspolizei, which was abbreviated for a stamp and became known as the Gestapo. He originally wanted to name it the Secret Police Office, and its first commander was Rudolf Diels, a protégé of Göring. Diels was appointed with the title of chief of Abteilung Ia of the Political Police of the Prussian Interior Ministry, Diels was best known as the primary interrogator of Marinus van der Lubbe after the Reichstag fire. In late 1933, the Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick wanted to integrate all the forces of the German states under his control. Göring outflanked him by removing the Prussian political and intelligence departments from the interior ministry. Göring himself took over the Gestapo in 1934 and urged Hitler to extend the agencys authority throughout Germany and this represented a radical departure from German tradition, which held that law enforcement was a Land and local matter. In this, he ran into conflict with Heinrich Himmler, who was chief of the second most powerful German state. Frick did not have the muscle to take on Göring by himself so he allied with Himmler, with Fricks support, Himmler took over the political police of state after state. Concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to counteract the power of the Sturmabteilung, Göring handed over control of the Gestapo to Himmler on 20 April 1934. Also on that date, Hitler appointed Himmler chief of all German police outside Prussia, Heydrich, named chief of the Gestapo by Himmler on 22 April 1934, also continued as head of the SS Security Service. Himmler wanted to free himself entirely from Roehm, who he viewed as an obstacle, roehms position was menacing as upwards of over 4. Several Nazi chieftains, among them Goering, Joseph Goebbels, Rudolf Hess, both the SD and Gestapo released information concerning an imminent putsch by the SA. Once persuaded, Hitler acted by setting Himmlers SS into action, on 17 June 1936, Hitler decreed the unification of all police forces in the Reich and named Himmler as Chief of German Police. This action effectively merged the police into the SS and removed it from Fricks control, Himmler was nominally subordinate to Frick as police chief, but as Reichsführer-SS, he answered only to Hitler
21.
Gordini
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Gordini is a division of Renault Sport Technologies. In the past, it was a car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini. Gordini became a division of Renault in 1968 and of Renault Sport in 1976, Amédée Gordini tuned cars and competed in motor races since the 1930s. His results prompted Simca to hire him for its motorsport program and their association continued after World War II. In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars bearing his name, Fiat-engined single-seaters raced by him and Jose Scaron, in the late 1940s, the company opened a workshop at the Boulevard Victor in Paris, entering sports car and Grand Prix races. Gordini and Simca started to diverge in 1951 because of political conflicts, Gordini competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956, although it achieved a major success in Formula Two during that period. After its Formula One program ended, Gordini worked with Renault as an engine tuner and it also tuned engines for Alpine, a rival sports car manufacturer also associated with Renault. In 1957, Gordini and Renault manufactured the Dauphine Gordini, a version of the Renault Dauphine which was a sales success. Gordini-tuned Renault cars also won various rallies during the 1950s and 1960s, in 1963, the Gordini company planned to move its headquarters to Noisy-le-Roi. At the end of 1968, Gordini retired and sold a 70% majority stake from his firm to Renault, Renault-Gordini was moved to Viry-Châtillon in 1969 and became a sport division of Renault, before being merged with Alpine to form Renault Sport in 1976. On 1 January 1976, René Vuaillat became director of Gordini, the Gordini company name became wholly owned by Renault in 1977. Renault sold Gordini-badged performance versions of models including the Renault 5, the Renault 8 the Renault 12 and the Renault 17. In November 2009, Renault announced that it would be reviving the Gordini name for a line of hot hatches. Modern models to bear the name include the Renault Twingo and the Renault Clio
22.
Passy Cemetery
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Passy Cemetery is a cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery, which was closed in 1802, in the early 19th century, on the orders of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, all the cemeteries in Paris were replaced by several large new ones outside the precincts of the capital. Montmartre Cemetery was built in the north, Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east, Passy Cemetery was a later addition, but has its origins in the same edict. The current entrance was built in 1934, the retaining wall of the cemetery is adorned with a bas relief commemorating the soldiers who fell in World War I. Opened in 1820 in the residential and commercial districts of the Right Bank near the Champs-Élysées. It is the cemetery in Paris to have a heated waiting-room. Sheltered by a bower of trees, the cemetery is in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. The cemetery was once the home of a statue by Dunikowski titled The Soul Escaping the Body and it was on top of the ceremonial grave of Antoni Cierplikowski. The statue was known by many but was removed when the grave was cleared in 2004 and it is known as a small but well visited cemetery. Natalie Clifford Barney, Notable author, salonist and lesbian socialite of the Belle Époque, the entrance of the cemetery is located at 2, Rue du Commandant Schlœsing. The street in which it is situated is named for a Free French pilot, Squadron Leader Jacques-Henri Schlœsing, who flew with the wartime RAF until killed in action, the cemetery is behind the Trocadéro. Passy Cemetery on the Mairie de Paris website Passy Cemetery on the Cimetiéres de France et dAilleurs website Information, photographs of Passy cemetery Documenting funerary statuary in Paris cemeteries, on pariscemeteries. com
23.
Bois de Boulogne
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The Bois de Boulogne is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. It was created between 1852 and 1858 during the reign of the Emperor Louis Napoleon and it is the second-largest park in Paris, slightly smaller than the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern side of the city. It covers an area of 845 hectares, which is two and a half times the area of Central Park in New York and slightly less than that of Richmond Park in London. The Bois de Boulogne is a remnant of the ancient oak forest of Rouvray, which included the forests of Montmorency, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Chaville. Dagobert, the King of the Franks, hunted bears, deer and his grandson, Childeric II, gave the forest to the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, who founded several monastic communities there. Philip Augustus bought back the part of the forest from the monks to create a royal hunting reserve. In 1256, Isabelle de France, sister of Saint-Louis, founded the Abbey of Longchamp at the site of the present hippodrome. The Bois received its present name from a chapel, Notre Dame de Boulogne la Petite, in 1308, Philip made a pilgrimage to Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the French coast, to see a statue of the Virgin Mary which was reputed to inspire miracles. He decided to build a church with a copy of the statue in a village in the forest not far from Paris, the chapel was built after Philips death between 1319 and 1330, in what is now Boulogne-Billancourt. During the Hundred Years War, the forest became a sanctuary for robbers, in 1416-17, the soldiers of John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy, burned part of the forest in their successful campaign to capture Paris. Under Louis XI, the trees were replanted, and two roads were opened through the forest, in 1526, King Francis I of France began a royal residence, the Château de Madrid, in the forest in what is now Neuilly and used it for hunting and festivities. It took its name from a palace in Madrid, where Francis had been held prisoner for several months. The Chateau was rarely used by monarchs, fell into ruins in the 18th century. Despite its royal status, the forest remained dangerous for travelers, during the reigns of Henry II and Henry III, the forest was enclosed within a wall with eight gates. Henry IV planted 15,000 mulberry trees, with the hope of beginning a local silk industry, when Henry annulled his marriage to Marguerite de Valois, she went to live in the Château de la Muette, on the edge of the forest. In the early 18th century, wealthy and important women often retired to the convent of the Abbey of Longchamp, a famous opera singer of the period, Madmoiselle Le Maure, retired there in 1727 but continued to give recitals inside the Abbey, even during Holy Week. These concerts drew large crowds and irritated the Archibishop of Paris, Louis XVI and his family used the forest as a hunting ground and pleasure garden. In 1777, the Comte dArtois, Louis XVIs brother, built a miniature palace
24.
Grand Prix de la Marne
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It proved to be one of the fastest and most prestigious road races in Europe. The first race for automobiles was held on August 2,1925 at the 20 km Circuit de Beine-Nauroy, in 1926, the Grand Prix moved to the Reims-Gueux circuit, starting an annual series to run un-interrupted until 1931. By 1932, the popularity and success of the race prompted the French Automobile Club to host the French Grand Prix at the then 7.826 km circuit, various race name and numbering systems are still in use today. The last Grand Prix de la Marne was held in 1937, effectively ending the series except for a final edition in 1952
25.
Pau Grand Prix
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The Pau Grand Prix is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurated in 1933 and it was not run during World War II. The race is run around the street circuit Circuit de Pau-Ville laid out round the French town, about 20 km to the west of the city, there is a 3 km long club track named Circuit Pau-Arnos. In 1900, the newly created Automobile-club du Béarn held a race on a 300 km road circuit, called the Circuit du sud-ouest and it was won by René de Knyff. Some anglophone sources wrongly list a race called the Pau Grand Prix in 1901 and this may stem from a mistranslation of the contemporary French sources such as the magazine La France Auto of March 1901. The Grand Prix du Sud-Ouest comprised four prizes for the different classes of entrants, the Grand Prix du Palais dHiver was awarded to Henri Farman. The second Grand Prix du Palais dHiver for the under 400 kg Voiturettes class was awarded to Louis Renault, the Prix du Béarn was awarded to Osmont in a De Dion tricycle. La France Automobile, March 1901 reports the results for the Semaine de Pau. There were two events, the 140 km Course des touristes, and the second edition of the Grand Prix du Sud-Ouest on 17 February 1901 around the same 300 km road course as in 1900. The Course des touristes, one of this meetings support races, in LHistoire de lAutomobile/Paris 1907 Pierre Souvestre described the 1901 event as. Dans le Circuit du Sud-Ouest, à loccasion du meeting de Pau, the French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the Pau Grand Prix being inaugurated in 1933. In 1933, the Grand Prix de Pau was held in the snow on a circuit in the streets of the city, the race was won by Marcel Lehoux driving a Bugatti. There was no Grand Prix in 1934, and in 1935 the event returned with a route that bypassed Beaumont Park – the route that is still in use today –. In 1937, the regulations were changed and Grand Prix cars were restricted to 4500 cc, in 1938, the Pau Grand Prix was the scene of a symbolic duel between French René Dreyfus and the German Rudolf Caracciola. In 1939, another took place between two Mercedes teammates, Hermann Lang and Manfred von Brauchitsch, Lang won the race. The race took place regularly with a race almost every year, except during World War II, the 1947 and 1948 editions were successful because they kept the public in suspense from start to finish. In 1948, the young Nello Pagani won, defeating many of the drivers of the time, such as Raymond Sommer, Philippe Etancelin. In 1949, Juan Manuel Fangio won by dominating the Grand Prix de Pau, in 1950, in addition to the Formula One championship races, there were also Formula Two and non-championship Formula One events
26.
Alfa Romeo 308
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The chassis was derived from the Tipo C and the engine from the 8C2900. The 308 was engineered by Gioacchino Colombo under the control of Enzo Ferrari who was then in charge of Alfas racing team, the car debuted at the Pau Grand Prix in 1938, two cars were entered to race, one for Tazio Nuvolari and the other for Luigi Villoresi. Both drivers had to withdraw from competition, however Nuvolari had by then set a lap record, the next race was the Tripoli Grand Prix. The new 312 and 316 were entered, but they got engine trouble during practice and he failed to finish while Hermann Lang driving a Mercedes-Benz W154 was the winner. In this race Eugenio Siena driving a 312 was killed after hitting a wall, in the 1938 Mille Miglia, Clemente Biondetti and Carlo Pintacuda took the first two places. Biondettis car used a 300 bhp Tipo 308 engine, while Pintacudas used a 225 bhp 2900B, in 1938 and 1939 Raymond Sommer managed to win a couple of hillclimb competitions at La Turbie with 308 and in the 1940s Jean-Pierre Wimille won a couple of races in Europe. One of the cars was brought to Argentina where it gathered some success, the car that Gálvez used in Argentina is now in the Juan Manuel Fangio museum. One of the cars was sold to USA after World War II and Louis Durant drove it to 6th place in 1946 Indianapolis 500, overall Alfa Romeos 3 litre formula cars were not a great success. Instead, the new car for the 1500 cc class, the 158 voiturette, designed in 1937 and first raced at the Coppa Ciano in August 1938, proved much more successful
27.
Roussillon Grand Prix
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The Roussillon Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing event that was held between 1946 and 1949 in the streets of Perpignan, France. The race used the 2.538 km Circuit des Patanes around the Square Bir Hakeim, in 1948, the grand prix was a part of the Formula 2 series. The Roussillon Grand Prix disappeared after four years, for safety reasons, a motorbike race was also held in the circuit the same day between 1946 and 1952. The 1–2 October 1994, an auto-moto historic Grand Prix was organised on the street circuit. Maurice Trintignant, winner of the 1948 edition was present, picture of the circuit Introduction to the Roussillon Grand Prix The 1949 Roussillon Grand Prix
28.
Circuit des Nations
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The Circuit des Nations is a long street circuit of 4110 meters between Lake Geneva and the Place des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It hosted the Grand Prix de Nations, similar to a Formula One race, the Grand Prix de Genève, similar to a Formula Two race, the first Grand Prix de Genève was held in Meyrin in 1931 and won by Marcel Lehoux, racing for Bugatti. The Geneva race-track was established between the lake and the Nations square, grand-Prix races were organised after World War II, on this track, similar to Formula 1 or Formula 2 races, as well as non championship ones. In total 5 major events happened on this track between 1946 and 1950, key pilots came here to compete, among them Giuseppe Farina, Raymond Sommer, Maurice Trintignant, Juan Manuel Fangio, Prince Bira. The closest race-tracks were Aix les Bains – France and Lausanne, all were temporary urban race-tracks that disappeared shortly after the Le Mans accident in 1955, or before. Note, contradictory information about the length of the track have been witnessed, measurement on maps indicate that the shorter length is more likely. FIA Grand Prix, Circuit des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – July 21,194644 laps of the race track of 2,900 m, or 131.4 km. FIA Formula 2, non championship race, Circuit des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – May 2,194870 laps of the urban race-track 2,900 m, or 206 km, at an average speed of 98.15 km/h. FIA Formula 1, non championship race, Circuit des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – May 2,194880 laps of the urban race-track 2,900 m or 236 km, at an average speed of 98.18 km/h. FIA Formula 2, non championship race, Circuit des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – July 30,195045 laps of the urban race-track 3,900 m or 180 km, at an average speed of 120.93 km/h. FIA Formula 1, non championship race, Circuit des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – July 30,195068 laps of the urban race-track 3,900 m or 272 km, at an average speed of 127.60 km/h. Towards the end of the third Grand Prix des Nations, the engine of Alberto Ascaris Ferrari 340 blew up, behind him Luigi Villoresi, in a Ferrari 275, could not avoid the oil, his car skidded, went over the security barrier and ploughed into the crowd. Three spectators were killed, another twenty were injured, Villoresi survived with a severely fractured leg. After this tragedy, stemming like others from the use of street circuits ill-adapted to increasingly high-speed motor racing, Geneva would never again host a Grand Prix race. In 1958 motor racing was banned altogether by the Swiss government as a spectator sport following the death of 80 people at the 195524 Hours of Le Mans race. Ultimate Racing History 8W Forix. com 3ème Grand Prix des Nations 1950
29.
Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta
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The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta, is one of the most successful racing cars ever produced. The 158 and its derivative, the 159, took 47 wins from 54 Grands Prix entered and it was originally developed for the pre-World War II voiturette formula and has a 1. 5-litre straight-8 supercharged engine. Following World War II, the car was eligible for the new Formula One introduced in 1947, in the hands of drivers such as Nino Farina, Juan-Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli, it dominated the first two seasons of the World Championship of Drivers. The first version of this successful racing car, the 158, was made during 1937/1938, the main responsibility for engineering was given to Gioacchino Colombo. The cars name refers to its 1. 5-litre engine and eight cylinders, the voiturette class was for racing cars with 1. 5-litre engines, standing in the same relation to the top Grand Prix formula as the GP2 series does to Formula One today. Alfas 3-litre racing cars in 1938 and 1939 were the Tipo 308,312 and 316, the 158 debuted with the works Alfa Corse team at the Coppa Ciano Junior in August 1938 at Livorno, Italy, where Emilio Villoresi took the cars first victory. At that time the 1479.56 cc engine produced around 200 bhp at 7000 rpm. with the help of a single-stage Roots blower, more success came at the Coppa Acerbo, Coppa Ciano and Tripoli Grand Prix in May 1940. Soon World War II stopped development of the car for six years, after the war the engine was developed further to push out 254 bhp in 1946. In 1947, the Alfetta was put back into service, the new rules allowed 1500 cc supercharged and 4500 cc naturally aspirated engines. The 158 was modified again, this time to produce over 300 bhp and was denoted as Tipo 158/47, the car made a tragic debut in the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix where Achille Varzi lost control of his car and was killed. Another loss for the team came in practice for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, in 1950, the 158 was eligible for the new World Championship of Drivers. The Alfa Romeo team included talented drivers such as Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, at the end of the 1950 season, a further updated version known as the 159 was produced, which was used for the 1951 season. This version had reworked rear suspension, the old swing axle was replaced with a De-Dion axle, but this amount of power out of a small engine with a big supercharger came at a price – it had horrendous fuel consumption. It did 1 1⁄2 miles to the gallon – compared to the Talbot-Lagos of the time, the reason for this was because the simplistically designed engine had been virtually unmodified, while bigger superchargers had been added over time. Still, the Alfa had the edge on performance and with wins in Switzerland, France and Spain, for their second-to-last World Championship race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Alfa Romeo introduced a new evolution version known as the 159M, the M standing for Maggiorata. After an unsuccessful bid by Alfa Romeo to obtain government assistance to meet development costs, the cars last Grand Prix win came in 1953 at Merano Grand Prix, Italy. * The Constructors Championship was not awarded until 1958
30.
Swiss Grand Prix
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The Swiss Grand Prix was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race, Grand Prix motor racing came to Switzerland in 1934, to the Bremgarten circuit, located just outside the town of Bremgarten, near Bern. Conditions at this circuit were similar to that of the Nürburgring in West Germany, the first Swiss Grand Prix was a non-championship race, it was won by Hans Stuck in an Auto Union, British driver Hugh Hamilton died in a horrific accident in his Maserati. Despite this occurrence, the Swiss Grand Prix counted toward the European Championship from 1935 to 1939, Grand Prix racing returned after World War II, and the Bremgarten track remained the home of the Swiss Grand Prix. This event saw veteran Italian racer Achille Varzi die during practice in an Alfa Romeo, helmets were not compulsory in those days, and Varzi, whose Alfa had overturned during the accident, was crushed by the car and had no chance. The race also saw Swiss Christian Kautz die in a Maserati after going off the road and crashing into an embankment at the second Eymatt corner, frenchman Maurice Trintignant was nearly killed in another accident after crashing and being thrown out of his car and landing unconscious on the track. Three drivers including Nino Farina went off and crashed while trying to avoid the motionless Frenchman- who survived after multiple serious injuries,1950 saw the Swiss Grand Prix being inducted as part of the new Formula One World Championship. This race was won by Italian Nino Farina, who would go on to be the first Formula One world champion, ascari also won his second drivers championship at that event. 1954 saw Fangio lead from start to finish in rainy weather, in 1955, however, the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten was to be no more. The ban has not been lifted since, and Bremgarten was then abandoned and was never used again for motor racing, the Swiss Grand Prix returned in 1975 as a non-Championship Grand Prix just across the border, at the Dijon-Prenois circuit, France. Swiss Clay Regazzoni won the race and it was Rosbergs first Formula One victory. On 6 June 2007 Swiss Parliament voted to lift the ban of racing in Switzerland,97 in favor and 77 opposed. However, the legislation was not ratified by the Swiss Council of States. Events which were not part of the Formula One World Championship are indicated by a pink background, a cream background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship
31.
Belgian Grand Prix
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The Belgian Grand Prix is an automobile race, part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa regions race course, to accommodate Grand Prix motor racing, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps race course was built in 1921 but it was only used for motorcycle racing until 1924. After the 1923 success of the new 24 hours of Le Mans in France, the Spa 24 Hours, since inception, Spa-Francorchamps has been known for its unpredictable weather. At one stage in its history it had rained at the Belgian Grand Prix for twenty years in a row, frequently drivers confront a part of the course that is clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery. The Belgian Grand Prix was designated the European Grand Prix six times between 1925 and 1973, when title was an honorary designation given each year to one grand prix race in Europe. It is one of the most popular races on the Formula One calendar, due to the scenic and historical Spa-Francorchamps circuit being a favourite of drivers and fans. In 1925, the first Belgian Grand Prix was held at the very fast, 9-mile Spa-Francorchamps circuit located in the Ardennes region of eastern Belgium and this race was won by the Italian works Alfa driver Antonio Ascari, whose son Alberto would win the race in 1952 and 1953. Sadly, after winning the Belgian race, Antonio Ascari was killed in his race at the 1925 French Grand Prix. The Grand Prix did not come back until 1930, and the circuit had been modified, the race was won by Louis Chiron, and in 1931, the Grand Prix had become something of an endurance race, with Briton William Grover-Williams and Caberto Conelli winning. 1933 was won by Tazio Nuvolari, and 1935 was won by Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes, the 1939 race saw the birth of the Raidillon corner, it was a bypass of the Ancienne Douane section. The conditions were dreadful, and the race was marred by the death of British driver Richard Dick Seaman while leading the race, going into Clubhouse corner, Seaman was pushing hard, he skidded off the rain-soaked road, hit a tree and his Mercedes caught fire. Seaman received life-threatening burns, and he succumbed to his injuries later in hospital, the race was won by Seamans teammate Hermann Lang. World War II broke out, and the Belgian Grand Prix did not return until June 1946, Spa was modified to make it even faster, shortening it to 8.7 miles. All of the corners were taken out – the Stavelot hairpin was bypassed and made into a fast banked corner. At this time, every corner except La Source was ultra-high speed, Spa over this time became known as one of the most extreme, challenging and fearsome circuits in motorsports history. 1950 saw the introduction of the Formula One World Championship, the race was dominated by the Alfa Romeos of Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and their closest challenger, Alberto Ascari, ran into fuel problems and fell back. The race was won by Fangio, and Farina won the years race in his works Alfa after Fangio dropped back with hub problems. 1953 saw Ascari dominate in his Ferrari while the Maseratis fell apart, Fangio crashed and José Froilán González had a steering failure and stopped out near the banked Stavelot corner
32.
Simca
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Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and then, after Simca bought Fords French activities, in 1970, Simca became a subsidiary and brand of Chrysler Europe, ending its period as an independent company. Simca disappeared in 1978, when Chrysler divested its European operations to another French automaker, PSA replaced the Simca brand with Talbot after a short period when some models were badged as Simca-Talbots. During most of its activity, Simca was one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in France. For instance the Simca 1307 was sold in Britain as the Chrysler Alpine, Simca vehicles were also manufactured by Simca do Brasil in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, and Barreiros in Spain. They were also assembled in Australia, Chile, Colombia and the Netherlands during the Chrysler era, Henri Théodore Pigozzi was active in the automotive business in the early 1920s when he met Fiat founder, Giovanni Agnelli. They began business together in 1922 with Pigozzi acting as a merchant, buying old automobile bodies. Two years later Pigozzi became Fiats General Agent in France, in 1928, SAFAF started the assembly of Fiat cars in Suresnes near Paris, and licensed the production of some parts to local suppliers. By 1934, as many as 30,000 Fiat cars were sold by SAFAF, the SIMCA company was founded in 1935 by FIAT, when Fiat bought the former Donnet factory in the French town of Nanterre. The first cars produced were Fiat 508 Balillas and Fiat 518 Arditas and they were followed during 1936 by the Simca Cinq or 5CV, a version of the Fiat Topolino announced in the Spring, but only available for sale from October 1936. The Huit, an 8CV version of the Fiat 508C-1100, appeared in 1937, production of the 6CV and 11CV stopped in 1937, leaving the 5CV and the 8CV in production until the outbreak of World War II. The firm nevertheless remained closely connected with Fiat, and it was not until 1938 that the shortened name Simca replaced Simca-Fiat, of the businesses that emerged as Frances big four auto-makers after the war, Simca was unique in not suffering serious bomb damage to its plant. Despite France being occupied, Simca cars continued to be produced in numbers throughout the war. Nevertheless, shortly after the liberation the Nanterre plants financial sustainability received a boost when Simca won a contract from the American army to repair large numbers of Jeep engines, on 3 January 1946 the new government’s five-year plan for the automobile industry came into force. Grégoire owed his influence to a powerfully persuasive personality and an engineering talent. Regarding the future of the French automobile industry, Grégoire held strong opinions, a few weeks after the liberation Grégoire joined the Simca board as General Technical Director, in order to prepare for the production of the AFG at the company’s Nanterre factory. For Simca, faced with a determinedly dirigiste left-wing French government, in return, Grégoire obtained the personal commitment of the surviving Director General to the production at Nanterre of his two-door AFG. It is very easy to see how the two-door AFG looked, because its four-door equivalent went into production, little changed from Grégoire’s prototype and it was a car designed by an engineer, and Pigozzi thought it ugly
33.
Italian Grand Prix
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The Italian Grand Prix is one of the longest running events on the Formula One calendar. The Italian Grand Prix was also one of the inaugural Formula One championship races in 1950, every Formula One Italian Grand Prix since 1950 has been held at Monza except in 1980, when it was held at Imola. The Italian Grand Prix counted toward the European Championship from 1935 to 1938 and it was designated the European Grand Prix seven times between 1923 and 1967, when this title was an honorary designation given each year to one grand prix race in Europe. European motor racing pioneers Vincenzo Lancia and Felice Nazzaro laid the last two bricks at Monza, the circuit was 10 km long, with a flat banked section and a road circuit combined into one. It was fast, and always provided excitement, the 1923 race included one of Harry A. Millers rare European appearances with his single seat American Miller 122 driven by Count Louis Zborowski of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fame. The 1928 race was the first of many tragedies that befell this venue, italians Emilio Materassi in a Talbot and Giulio Foresti in a Bugatti were battling around this fast circuit. As they came off the banking onto the side of the pit straight. It was the worst accident in racing history and would remain so until the 195524 Hours of Le Mans. The race was something of a race in those days. The great Nuvolari won again in a shortened 1932 race, this time held in early June, in 1933, with the race being held this time at the traditional timeframe of early September, disaster struck again. Three top drivers were killed during three heat races, Campari broke his neck and was killed instantly, and Borzacchini died later that day in a Monza hospital. Prior to the heat, there was a drivers meeting to discuss the oil patch. Blinded by the smoke and flames on him, he went up and flew off the banking- at the spot where Campari. The Polish driver, unable to put out the flames on his body which was fueled by the fuel from his wrecked Bugatti, Italian Luigi Fagioli was declared the winner of the event. Enzo Ferrari, who had close to Campari and Borzacchini. Today, racing historians conclude that the events of this marked a watershed. It was the end to the era of racing and the beginning of a harsher new age. Safety in those days was completely non-existent, spectators often stood very close to or even next to the track and they had no protection of any kind other than common sense
34.
Bugatti Type 51
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The Type 51 series succeeded the famous Type 35 as Bugattis premier racing car for the 1930s. Unlike the dominant Type 35s of the decade, the Type 51 were unable to compete with the government-supported German and Italian offerings. The original Type 51 emerged in 1931 and its engine was a 160 hp twin overhead cam evolution of the supercharged 2.3 L single overhead cam straight-8 found in the Type 35B. A victory in the 1931 French Grand Prix was a case of success for the line. About 40 examples of the Type 51 and 51A were produced, the Type 51 is visually very similar to the Type 35. However many Type 35 cars have been fitted with later wheels, Grand Prix car of 1931, fitted with a twin overhead-cam 4.9 liter engine delivering 300 hp. Chassis number 54201 was the first type 54 built and was the car for Achille Varzi. It used an enlarged 3.3 L version of the straight-eight Type 57s engine sitting in a modified Type 54 chassis, the engine was lowered for a better center of gravity, and the frame was lightened with a number of holes drilled in the chassis. The signature piano wire wheels used splines between the drum and rim, and relied on the radial spokes to handle cornering loads. 250 hp was on tap, and eight were made,1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix racer from the Ralph Lauren collection Bugatti Type 53 – Four wheel drive Type 51 racer Bugatti Type 57 – luxury 1930s car Bugatti Trust Type 53 article
35.
Straight-eight engine
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The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The type has been produced in side-valve, IOE, overhead-valve, sleeve-valve, a straight-eight can be timed for inherent primary and secondary balance, with no unbalanced primary or secondary forces or moments. However, crankshaft torsional vibration, present to some degree in all engines, is sufficient to require the use of a harmonic damper at the end of the crankshaft. Without such damping, fatigue cracking near the main bearing journal may occur. Also, due to the number of power strokes per revolution. The smooth running characteristics of the straight-eight made it popular in luxury, however, the engines length demanded the use of a long engine compartment, making the basic design unacceptable in modern vehicles. Also, due to the length of the engine, torsional vibration in both crankshaft and camshaft can adversely affect reliability and performance at high speeds, as a result, the design has been displaced almost completely by the shorter V8 engine configuration. The first straight-eight was conceived by Charron, Girardot et Voigt in 1903, great strides were made during World War I, as Mercedes made straight-eight aircraft engines like the Mercedes D. IV. The disadvantages of crank and camshaft twisting were not considered at this time, unlike the V8 engine configuration, examples of which were used in De Dion-Bouton, Scripps-Booth, and Cadillac automobiles by 1914, no straight-eight engines were used in production cars before 1920. The Duesenberg brothers introduced their first production straight-eight in 1921, straight-eight engines were used in expensive luxury and performance vehicles until after World War II. Bugattis and Duesenbergs commonly used double overhead cam straight-eight engines, other notable straight-eight-powered automobiles were built by Daimler, Mercedes-Benz, Isotta-Fraschini, Alfa Romeo, Stutz, Stearns-Knight and Packard. One marketing feature of engines was their impressive length — some of the Duesenberg engines were over 4 ft long, resulting in the long hoods found on these automobiles. In the United States in the 1920s, automobile manufacturers, including Chandler, Marmon, Gardner, Engine manufacturer Lycoming built straight-eight engines for sale to automobile manufacturers, including Gardner, Auburn, and Locomobile. The automobile manufacturers within the Cord Corporation, comprising Auburn, Cord, Lycoming continues to this day as an aircraft engine manufacturer. In the late 1920s, volume sellers Hudson and Studebaker introduced straight-eight engines for the vehicles in their respective lines. They were followed in the early 1930s by Nash, REO, and the Buick, Oldsmobile, the Buick straight-eight engine was an overhead valve design, while the Oldsmobile and Pontiac straight-eights were flathead engines. Chevrolet, as a marque, did not have a straight-eight. Cadillac, the brand of General Motors, stayed with their traditional V8 engines
36.
1931 Italian Grand Prix
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The 1931 Italian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Monza on 24 May 1931. The race was the first of three Grands Prix that constituted the inaugural European Championship, ^1 — Luigi Arcangeli was originally designated as Camparis co-driver in car #26, but he was replaced by Marinoni after he was killed during practice. Grid positions were allocated by drawing lots, ^2 — Nuvolari and Borzacchini did not receive the points for first and second place, respectively, because they were not driving in their designated cars. The seven points apiece that they received were for driving car #28, attilio Marinoni and Goffredo Zehender, who had been designated to drive cars #26 and #30, respectively, both received eight points, since they did not take part in the race. ^3 — Ruggeri and Balestrero were initially credited with 1290.534 km, ^4 — Sénéchal was not classified because he failed to complete at least three-fifths of the number of laps achieved by the race winner. Notes, The race was limited to ten hours, each driver was allowed to complete a lap begun before the ten-hour cutoff, provided that the lap took no more than five minutes
37.
Alfa Romeo in motorsport
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During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and a supplier, via works entries and private entries. The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of A. L. F. A, the 40-60HP had 6 liter straight-4 engine. Alfa Romeo quickly gained a name in motorsport and gave a sporty image to the whole marque. Alfa Romeo started motor racing almost immediately after it was founded, ventured into motor racing in 1911, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. The marques first success came in 1913 when Nino Franchini finished second in Parma-Poggio Berceto race with a 40-60HP, Giuseppe Merosi built a very advanced racing car in 1914, which was named Grand Prix. In 1920 Giuseppe Campari won the race at Mugello with a 40-60HP, a year later Giuseppe Campari won at Mugello again. Ugo Sivocci won the 1923 Targa Florio with an RL and Antonio Ascari took second, sivoccis car was painted with the green cloverleaf on a white background that was to become Alfas good luck token. In 1923 Vittorio Jano was lured to Alfa from Fiat, designing the motors that gave Alfa racing success into the late 1930s, in 1925 Alfa Romeo won the first Automobile World Championship in the history of automobile racing. Over 4 rounds the Alfa Romeo P2 won the European Grand Prix at Spa and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and hence incorporated the laurel wreath in their logo. For 1932 Jano produced the sensational P3 which won its first race driven by Tazio Nuvolari at the Italian Grand Prix,5 more Grands Prix that year were shared by Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola. Alfa Corse closed for 1933 and locked the cars in the factory, P3s then won six of the final 11 events of the season including the final 2 major Grands Prix in Italy and Spain. In 1934 Louis Chiron won the French Grand Prix in the P3 whilst the German Silver Arrows dominated the other 4 championship events, however the P3s won 18 of the 35 Grands Prix held throughout Europe. The P3 managed 16 victories in 1935, in the 1930s Tazio Nuvolari won the Mille Miglia in a 6C1750, crossing the finishing line after having incredibly overtaken Achille Varzi without lights. Alfa Romeos won the Targa Florio six times in row in the 1930s, and the Mille Miglia every year from 1928 to 1938 except for 1931. In 1935 Alfa Romeo won the German Grand Prix with Nuvolari, in 1938 Biondetti won the Mille Miglia in an 8C 2900B Corto Spider, thereafter referred to as the Mille Miglia model. Alfa Romeo participated in Formula One, both as a constructor and engine supplier, from 1950 to 1988. The works Alfa Romeo team dominated the first two years of the Formula One World Championship, using the pre-war Alfetta, but withdrew from Formula One at the end of 1951
Roger Labric
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