1.
Lola Cars
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Lola Cars International Ltd. was a racing car engineering company founded in 1958 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, England. Enduring more than fifty years, it was one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world, Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into a wider range of sporting vehicles. Lola was acquired by Martin Birrane in 1998 after the unsuccessful MasterCard Lola attempt at Formula One, Lola Cars was a brand of the Lola Group, which combined former rowing boat manufacturer Lola Aylings and Lola Composites, that specialized in carbon fibre production. After a period in administration, Lola Cars International ceased trading on 5 October 2012. Many of Lolas assets were purchased by a partnership composed of Multimatic Engineering. Lola was one of the top chassis suppliers in the 1960s, after its small front-engined sports cars came various single-seaters including Formula Junior, Formula 3, Formula 2 and Formula 1 cars. Broadley designed Lola Mk.6 coupe fitted with the Ford V8 engine, Ford took a keen interest in this and paid Broadley to put the company on hold for two years and merge his ideas with Roy Lunns work, giving rise to the Ford GT40. In 2005, Lola announced that a new batch of T70 coupés, to the original specifications and these will be homologated for historic racing and there is talk of a one-make series for the cars. Various Group 5 and Group 6 sports cars including the T212 and T28x/29x/38x/39x series were built, competing with Chevron, March. Alain de Cadenets Le Mans specials tended to be based on Lola technology, derivatives of this car were successful for some time in IMSA and Group C racing. Later Lola Group C and GTP cars tended to be specifically for manufacturer programmes, specifically the later Nissan Group C entries. Lola also built a car for the 3.5 L Group C formula, the T92/10, more recently, Lola has produced a range of sports cars for Le Mans-style racing starting with the B98/10, which was successful in the European market but less so in the USA. The B2K/10, with its additional central headlight reminiscent of a cyclops or a locomotive was more notable for its looks than its performance, a dedicated LMP675 car was built for MG in 2001, powered by a two-litre four-cylinder AER turbocharged engine. This was entered at Le Mans by the team as the MG-Lola EX257. Later developments of this car have been fitted with assorted small V8s, an updated version of the Lola LMP2 came in 2005 with the introduction of the Lola B05/40. It quickly became a contender in LMP2 by taking class honours in 2005 and 2006 at Le Mans with Ray Mallock Limited. It also earned several wins in the American Le Mans Series in 2005 and 2006 with Intersport Racing, including a second-place overall finish in the 200612 Hours of Sebring. In 2007, extensive updates were made to the chassis, to accommodate the all-new Acura powerplant run by Fernandez Racing, in addition, an essentially brand new LMP2 prototype, the B07/40, was built to house the new AER-based Mazda engine
2.
Sports car racing
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Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going models, a type of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans is one of the oldest motor races still in existence, other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana. Most top class sports car races emphasize endurance, reliability, and strategy, longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes. These makers top road cars have often very similar both in engineering and styling to those raced. This close association with the nature of the cars serves as a useful distinction between sports car racing and touring cars. The 12 Hours of Sebring,24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans were once considered the trifecta of sports car racing. In the 1920s, the used in endurance racing and Grand Prix were still basically identical, with fenders. Cars such as the Bugatti Type 35 were almost equally at home in Grands Prix and endurance events, but specialisation gradually started to differentiate the sports-racer from the Grand Prix car. As mainly Italian cars and races defined the genre, the category was called Gran Turismo, as long distances had to be travelled, reliability and some basic comfort were necessary in order to endure the task. After the Second World War, sports car racing emerged as a form of racing with its own classic races. Top Grand Prix drivers also competed regularly in sports car racing, from 1962 sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars with the FIA replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. The US scene tended to feature small MG and Porsche cars in the smaller classes, the combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the popular and spectacular Can-Am series in the 1960s and 1970s. Clubmans provided much entertainment at club-racing level from the 1960s into the 1990s, after a relative period of decline in the 1980s a British GT Championship emerged in the mid-90s. Road races such as the Mille Miglia included everything from stock touring cars to World Championship contenders, the Mille Miglia was the largest sporting event in Italy until a fatal accident caused its demise in 1957. The Targa Florio, another road race, remained part of the world championship until the 1970s. Between the late 1960s and late 1970s, Matra and Renault made significant, the competition at Le Mans even made it to the movie screens, with Steve McQueens film Le Mans. This era was seen by many as the highpoint of sports car racing, with the technology, a peculiarly American form of sports car racing was the Can-Am series, in which virtually unlimited sports prototypes competed in relatively short races
3.
V8 engine
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A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V configuration engine with the cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two sets of four, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft. Most banks are set at an angle to each other, some at a narrower angle, with 45°, 60°. In its simplest form, the V8 is basically two parallel inline-four engines sharing a common crankshaft, since the 1920s, most V8s have used the somewhat more complex crossplane crankshaft with heavy counterweights to eliminate the vibrations. This results in an engine that is smoother than a V6, most racing V8s continue to use the single plane crankshaft because it allows faster acceleration and more efficient exhaust system designs. In 1902, Léon Levavasseur took out a patent on a light and he called it the Antoinette after the young daughter of his financial backer. From 1904 he installed this engine in a number of competition speedboats, the aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont saw one of these boats in Côte dAzur and decided to try it on his 14-bis aircraft. Its early 24 hp at 1400 rpm version with only 55 kg of weight was interesting, Santos-Dumont ordered a larger and more powerful version from Levavasseur. He changed its dimensions from the original 80 mm stroke and 80 mm bore to 105 mm stroke and 110 mm bore, obtaining 50 hp with 86 kg of weight and its power-to-weight ratio was not surpassed for 25 years. Levavasseur eventually produced its own line of V8 equipped aircraft, named Antoinette I to VIII, hubert Latham piloted the V8 powered Antoinette IV and Antoinette VII in July 1909 on two failed attempts to cross the English Channel. However, in 1910, Latham used the VII with the engine to become the first in the world to reach an altitude of 3600 feet. Voisin constructed pusher biplanes with Antoinette engines, also, notably the one first flown successfully by Henry Farman in 1908, the V8 engine configuration became popular in France from 1904 onward, and was used in a number of aircraft engines introduced by Renault, and Buchet among others. Some of these found their way into automobiles in small quantities. In 1905, Darracq built a car to beat the world speed record. They came up with two racing car built on a common crankcase and camshaft. The result was monstrous engine with a displacement of 1,551 cu in, victor Hemery fixed that record on 30 December 1905 with a speed of 109.65 mph. Rolls-Royce built a 3,535 cc V8 car from 1905 to 1906, in 1907 The Hewitt Motor Company built a large 5 passenger Touring Car. It was equipped with a hefty V8 engine that developed 50/60 horsepower and had a bore of 4 inches, the Hewitt was the first American Automobile to be equipped with a V8 engine. De Dion-Bouton introduced a 7,773 cc automobile V8 in 1910 and it was produced only in small quantities, but inspired a number of manufacturers to follow suit
4.
Roadster (automobile)
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A roadster, sometimes referred to as a spider or spyder, is an open two-seat car with emphasis on sporting appearance or character. Initially an American term for a car with no weather protection. The roadster is also a style of racing car driven in United States Auto Club Championship Racing, including the Indianapolis 500 and this type of racing car was superseded by mid-engined cars. In the nineteenth century, the word denoted a horse suitable for traveling. By the end of the century the definition had expanded to include bicycles and tricycles. In 1916, the Society of Automobile Engineers defined a roadster as and it may have additional seats on running boards or in rear deck. Additional seating in the deck was known as a rumble seat or a dickey seat. The main seat for the driver and passenger was usually further back in the chassis than it would have been in a touring car, Roadsters usually had a hooded dashboard. The earliest roadster automobiles had only basic bodies without doors, windshields, by the 1920s they were appointed similarly to touring cars, with doors, windshields, simple folding tops, and side curtains. When roadsters of this era were equipped with seats, the seats folded into the body when not in use. They are popular with collectors, often valued over other open styles, the term roadster as applied to automobiles is American in origin, before World War II, the British equivalent was a two-seat tourer. By the 1970s, the roadster was applied to open two-seat cars of sporting appearance or character. Roadsters had become almost as well-equipped as convertibles, including side windows that retract into the doors, Roadsters of that time included the Alfa Romeo Spider, MGB, and Triumph TR4. A roadster is still defined as a car with two seats, with some roadsters having power tops or retractable hardtops. A few manufacturers and fabricators still offer roadsters that meet the older definitions and these include Morgan, with the windowless Roadster, Caterham, with the doorless Seven, and Ariel, with the bodyless Atom. The American hot rod is based on pre–World War II roadsters, late run Model Ts and 1932 Fords were the most popular starting points. The term roadster applies to front-engined AAA/USAC Championship cars, associated with the Indianapolis 500, the roadster engine and drive shaft are offset from the centerline of the car. This allows the driver to sit lower in the chassis and facilitates a weight offset which is beneficial on oval tracks, one story of why this type of racing car is referred to as a roadster is that a team was preparing a new car for the Indianapolis 500
5.
Silverstone Circuit
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Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side, the Northamptonshire towns of Towcester and Brackley and Buckinghamshire town of Buckingham are close by, and the nearest large towns are Northampton and Milton Keynes. Silverstone is the current home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created World Championship of Drivers. The race rotated between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch from 1955 to 1986, but relocated permanently to Silverstone in 1987, the circuit also hosts the British round of the MotoGP series. However, the Donington Park leaseholders suffered economic problems resulting in the BRDC signing a 17-year deal with Ecclestone to hold the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Silverstone is built on the site of a World War II Royal Air Force bomber station, RAF Silverstone, the airfields three runways, in classic WWII triangle format, lie within the outline of the present track. Silverstone was first used for motorsport by an ad hoc group of friends who set up a race in September 1947. One of their members, Maurice Geoghegan, lived in nearby Silverstone village and was aware that the airfield was deserted and he and eleven other drivers raced over a two-mile circuit, during the course of which Geoghegan himself ran over a sheep that had wandered onto the airfield. The sheep was killed and the car written off, and in the aftermath of this event the race became known as the Mutton Grand Prix. The next year the Royal Automobile Club took a lease on the airfield and their first two races were held on the runways themselves, with long straights separated by tight hairpin corners, the track demarcated by hay bales. However, for the 1949 International Trophy meeting, it was decided to switch to the perimeter track and this arrangement was used for the 1950 and 1951 Grands Prix. In 1952 the start line was moved from the Farm Straight to the straight linking Woodcote and Copse corners, for the 1975 meeting a chicane was introduced to try to tame speeds through the mighty Woodcote Corner, and Bridge Corner was subtly rerouted in 1987. The track underwent a major redesign between the 1990 and 1991 races, transforming the ultra-fast track into a technical track. The reshaped tracks first F1 race was perhaps the most memorable of recent years, following the deaths of Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modified in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety. As a consequence of this the entry from Hangar Straight into Stowe Corner was modified in 1995 so as to make its entry less dangerous, in addition, the flat-out Abbey kink was modified to a chicane in just 19 days before the 1994 GP. Parts of the circuit, such as the grid, are 17 metres wide. After a new pit building, the Silverstone Wing, was completed in time for the 2011 race, almost flat out, the right-hander of Abbey leads immediately into the left-hander of Farm before cars brake heavily into the second gear, right-handed turn three, Village Corner. Turn 6, the left hander of Brooklands, is taken by drivers in second gear and leads immediately into Luffield, another second gear curve, a right-hand hairpin
6.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
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Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and Monterey, California, United States. The racetrack is 2.238 miles long, with a 180 feet elevation change and its eleven turns are highlighted by the circuits signature turn, the downhill-plunging Corkscrew at Turns 8 and 8A. A variety of racing, exhibition, and entertainment events are held at the raceway, the name Laguna Seca is Spanish for dry lake, the area where the track now lies was once a lake, and the course was built around the dry lake bed. After the course was reconfigured, two ponds were added. The earliest development of the area occurred in 1867 with the founding of the nearby Laguna Seca Ranch. Since 1974, the property was deeded over to the Monterey County Parks Department, the first race, held on November 9,1957, was won by Pete Lovely driving a Ferrari. Changes include the addition of the infield area in 1988 extending the track from its original 1. The original media center was demolished in 2006 to make way for additional room in Turn 1. Also in 2006, the hump at the top of the Rahal Straight was flattened to accommodate the MotoGP riders, remnants of the old configuration can still be seen from the parking lot between turns two and five. They are found underneath a road leading to the area for entrant trailers. Also the straight that runs between Turn 6 and Turn 7 has been renamed the Rahal Straight after four-time consecutive Champ Car race winner Bobby Rahal. A Champ Car World Series weekend had been a prominent event from 1983 through 2004, on the last lap of the 1996 CART race, Alex Zanardi passed Bryan Herta on the inside of the Corkscrew to take the victory. Uruguayan driver Gonzalo Rodríguez died during the session of the 1999 CART race after crashing at the same corner. Because of the incident, runoff was installed at the end of the Rahal Straight, Champ Car announced on September 11,2007 that they would be returning the Northern California race to Laguna Seca from San Jose over the May 16–18 weekend in 2008. But the subsequent merger of Champ Car and IndyCar resulted in the race being canceled, the track is also the site of the annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. The event features an eclectic mixture of race cars on the course. Each year features a different marque, considered one of the two greatest historic racing events, attendance often rivals, or surpasses the professional racing events listed above. The tracks primary corporate sponsor is Mazda, who some of their own events there
7.
Chevrolet
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Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors. Louis Chevrolet and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant started the company on November 3,1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2,1918. Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide, with the exception of Oceania. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro, Chevrolet vehicles will continue to be marketed in the CIS states, including Russia. After General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, in North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Durant was cast out from the management of General Motors in 1910 for five years and he took over the Flint Wagon Works, incorporating the Mason and Little companies. As head of Buick Motor Company prior to founding GM, Durant had hired Louis Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races, Durant planned to use Chevrolets reputation as a racer as the foundation for his new automobile company. Actual design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six, was drawn up by Etienne Planche, the first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was actually incorporated. However the first actual production wasnt until the 1913 model, so in essence there were no 1911 or 1912 production models, only the 1 pre-production model was made and fine tuned throughout the early part of 1912. Then in the fall of that year the new 1913 model was introduced at the New York auto show, Chevrolet first used the bowtie emblem logo in 1914 on the H series models and The L Series Model. It may have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel room, more recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a case that the logo is based on a logo of the Coalettes coal company. An example of this logo as it appeared in an advertisement for Coalettes appeared in the Atlanta Constitution on November 12,1911, others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross, in tribute to the homeland of Chevrolets parents. Chevrolet eventually unified all vehicle models with the gold bowtie in 2004, Louis Chevrolet had differences with Durant over design and in 1914 sold Durant his share in the company. By 1916, Chevrolet was profitable enough with successful sales of the cheaper Series 490 to allow Durant to repurchase a controlling interest in General Motors. After the deal was completed in 1917, Durant became president of General Motors, in 1919, Chevrolets factories were located at Flint, Michigan, branch assembly locations were located in Tarrytown, N. Y. Norwood, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, Oakland, California, Ft. Worth, Texas, mcLaughlins were given GM Corporation stock for the proprietorship of their Company article Sept.23,1933 Financial Post page 9. In the 1918 model year, Chevrolet introduced the Series D, Sales were poor and it was dropped in 1919
8.
Le Mans
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Le Mans is a city in France, on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department, Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region. Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles, since 1923, the city has hosted the internationally famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance sports car race. First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum, or Cenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis, a 3rd-century amphitheatre is still visible. The thermae were demolished during the crisis of the century when workers were mobilized to build the citys defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of Gallo-Roman city walls to survive, as the use of the French language replaced late Vulgar Latin in the area, Cenomanus, with dissimilation, became known as Celmans. Cel- was taken to be a form of the French word for this and that, and was replaced by le, gregory of Tours mentions a Frankish sub-king Rigomer, who was killed by King Clovis I in his campaign to unite the Frankish territories. As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror successfully invaded England, in 1069 the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda of England in the cathedral and their son Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was born here. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as A-35 and it was used by several American fighter and transport units until late November of that year in additional offensives across France, the airfield was closed. Le Mans has an old town and the Cathédrale St-Julien, dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans. Remnants of a Roman wall are visible in the old town and these walls are highlighted every summer evening in a light show that tells the history of the town. Arboretum de la Grand Prée Part of the former Cistercian abbey de lEpau, founded by Queen Berengaria, jardin des Plantes du Mans Musée de la reine Bérengère, a museum of Le Mans history located in a gothic manor house. Musée de Tessé, the arts museum of the city, displaying painting. Le Mans has an oceanic climate influenced by the mild Atlantic air travelling inland, summers are warm and occasionally hot, whereas winters are mild and cloudy. Precipitation is relatively uniform and moderate year round, at the 1999 French census, there were 293,159 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Le Mans, with 146,105 of these living in the city proper
9.
Mark Donohue
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Mark Neary Donohue Jr. nicknamed Captain Nice, and later Dark Monohue, was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp Can-Am Killer Porsche 917-30, born in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Donohue grew up in Summit, graduated from the Pingry School in Hillside, and entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. At the age of twenty-two, while a senior at Brown and he won the first event he entered, a hillclimb in Belknap County, New Hampshire. He graduated from Brown in 1959 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Donohue won the SCCA national championship in an Elva Courier in 1961, Hansgen arranged for Donohue to become his teammate in 1965, co-driving a Ferrari 275 at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, which they finished in 11th place. That year, Donohue also won two championships, in SCCA B Class in a GT350 and in SCCA Formula C in a Lotus 20B. Donohue was hired on March 29,1964 by Jack Griffith as design engineer for the Griffith, formerly TVR Grantura Mk III, powered by a Ford 289 cid V8 engine. He went on to assist TVRs David Hives in designing the Series 400 Griffith and then working on the ill-fated Bob Cumberford-designed, during its production life, there were 192 Series 200 Griffiths built,59 of the Series 400 and only 10 of the Series 600. During his stay at Griffith Mark drove the Griffith-owned Shelby 289 Cobra making his mark on the SCCA circuit, in February of 65 Donohue was named as comptroller at Griffith Motors but was soon spirited away from Griffith by Roger Penske early in 1966. The Griffith company closed its doors in November,1966, in 1966, thanks to his friendship with Hansgen, word quickly spread to the Ford Motor Company about the young driver. Ford immediately signed Donohue to drive one of their GT-40 Mk II race cars campaigned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Holman & Moody racing team, Le Mans proved frustrating for Donohue. Hansgen died while testing the GT40 in preparation for Le Mans so Donohue partnered with Australian Paul Hawkins, Donohue and Hawkins only completed twelve laps due to differential failure and finished 47th. Earlier that year, co-driving with Hansgen, Donohue finished third at the 24 Hours of Daytona, at Hansgens funeral, Roger Penske spoke to Donohue about driving for him. In his first race for Penske, at Watkins Glen in June 1966, Donohue qualified well but crashed the car at the top of a hill, Donohue was invited back to Le Mans by Ford in 1967. Ford had developed a new GT, the Mark IV. Donohue co-drove in the No.4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. The two drivers disagreed on many aspects of racing and car setup, but as a team were able to muster a fourth-place finish in the endurance classic, in 1967, Penske contacted Donohue about driving Penskes brand new Lola T70 spyder in the United States Road Racing Championship. Donohue dominated the 1967 United States Road Racing Championship, driving a Lola T70 MkIII Chevrolet for Roger Penske, Donohue raced in seven of the eight races that year, winning six and finishing third at the Laguna Seca Raceway round behind Lothar Motschenbacher and Mike Goth. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet, Donohue did not start the first race of the year at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City due to problems getting the engine to start
10.
Porsche 917
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The Porsche 917 is a race car that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. The highest official speed ever clocked for a 917 at Le Mans is 362 km/h or 224.4 mph, there are at least eleven variants of the 917. The original version had a removable long tail/medium tail with rear wing flaps. The changes were adopted into a new version of the 917, called the Kurzheck, or short-tail. The 917K, and the special Le Mans long-tail version, dominated the 1970 and 1971 World Sportscar Championships. In 1971, a variant of the 917K appeared with an upswept tail and vertical fins. The fins kept the clean downforce inducing air on the top of the tail and allowed the angle of the deck to be reduced, the result was a more attractive looking car that maintained down force for less drag and higher top speed. By this time the original 4. 5-litre engine, which had produced around 520 bhp in 1969, had been enlarged through 4. 9-litres to 5-litres, the 917K models were generally used for the shorter road courses such as Sebring, Brands Hatch, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps. The big prize for Porsche however, was Le Mans, for the French circuits long, high speed straights, the factory developed special long tail bodywork that was designed for minimum drag and thus highest maximum speed. On the cars debut in 1969, these models proved to be nearly uncontrollable as there was so little down force. In fact, they generated aerodynamic lift at the highest speeds, for 1970, an improved version was raced by the factory and for 1971, after very significant development in the wind tunnel, the definitive 917L was raced by both factory and JW. These cars were so stable that the drivers could take their hands off the wheel at speeds which reached 246 mph. In 1971 Jo Siffert raced an open-top 917PA Spyder in the 1971 CanAm series, there is also the Pink Pig aerodynamic research version, and the turbocharged 917/10 and 917/30 CanAm Spyders. Porsche 917s also raced in the European Interseries in various configurations, in the 1973 Can-Am series, the turbocharged version Porsche 917/30 developed 1,100 bhp. The 917 is one of the most iconic racing cars of all time, largely for its high speeds and high power outputs. 2009 marked the 40th anniversary of the 917, and Porsche held a celebration at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This capacity reduction would also serve to entice manufacturers who were already building three-litre Formula One engines into endurance racing and this targeted existing cars like the aging Ford GT40 Mk. I and the newer Lola T70 coupe. With Ferrari absent in 1968, mainly Porsche 908s and Ford P68s were entered there, as a result, old 2. 2-litre Porsche 907s often won that category, with John Wyers 4. 7-litre Ford GT40 Mk. I taking wins at faster tracks
11.
Ferrari 512
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Ferrari 512 S is the designation for 25 sports cars built in 1969–70, with five-litre 12-cylinder engines, related to the Ferrari P sports prototypes. The V12-powered cars were entered in the 1970 International Championship for Makes by the factory Scuderia Ferrari, later that year, modified versions resembling their main competitor, the Porsche 917, were called Ferrari 512 M. In the 1971 International Championship for Makes, the focused on the new Ferrari 312 PB. From 1972 onwards, the 512 was withdrawn from the championship following a change in the regulations. The Ferrari 512 is named for its displacement, five litres. Despite having an engine, Ferrari sat out the 1968 season. Selling half of his business to Fiat, Enzo Ferrari raised the funds to match that investment, the engine of the 512 S was a completely new 60° V12 with 560 PS output. Compared to Porsches air-cooled flat-12, it needed a maze of cooling pipes, since the chassis was of sturded steel, reinforced with aluminium sheet, weight was 100 kg more than that of the alloy-framed 917. Notwithstanding the weight difference and higher center of gravity, the Ferrari 512 S, contrary to Porsche, Ferrari did not organise an intramural competition. At Porsche, JWA Gulf, KG Porsche Salzburg and later Martini Racing, thus, at least four cars were real works cars, without putting strain on the factory itself, as personnel and funds were provided by these professional teams. And even the privateers like AAW Shell Racing and David Piper Racing received much better support than Ferraris clients, Ferrari did not adopt this modern scheme, but entered cars themselves in the traditional manner, as Spa Ferrari SEFAC. Having only a few Formula One drivers under contract in the years, with the sports car aces driving for Porsche. Besides the factory cars, there were the cars of Scuderia Filipinetti, NART, Écurie Francorchamps, Scuderia Picchio Rosso, Gelo Racing Team. Those private cars never received the support from the factory. They were considered as field fillers, never as candidates for a win, at the end of the 1970 season, Ferrari had won the 12 hours of Sebring, while the Porsche 917 and 908 took the remaining nine wins of the championship season. At Le Mans, the Ferrari suffered from reliability problems, although it was considered to be equally fast to the 917. For speed tracks such as Le Mans, Spa, Monza and the Osterrichring, the modified 512 M had proven to be fast at the end of the season, and Ickx/Giunti also won the Kyalami non-championship Springbok nine-hours race. As the loop hole for the five litre sports cars became obsolete after 1971, in 1971, Penske entered an improved 512 M in Sunoco livery which was able to challenge the 917, taking pole position several times
