1.
Tuscany
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Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy, Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is considered a nation within a nation. Tuscany is traditionally a popular destination in Italy, and the main tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals are Florence, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto. The village of Castiglione della Pescaia is also the most visited destination in the region. Additionally, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti region, Versilia and Val dOrcia are also internationally renowned, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the worlds 89th most visited city, roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north and east, Umbria to the east and Lazio to the southeast. The comune of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany has a western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the largest island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres, surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds of the total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres, and mountains. Plains occupy 8. 4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometres —mostly around the valley of the River Arno, many of Tuscanys largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital Florence, Empoli and Pisa. The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks, following this, the Villanovan culture saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms. City-states developed in the late Villanovan before Orientalization occurred and the Etruscan civilization rose, the Etruscans created the first major civilization in this region, large enough to establish a transport infrastructure, to implement agriculture and mining and to produce vibrant art. The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory, throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia, Carthage and Celts. Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks, the cultures of Greece, one reason for its eventual demise was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans. Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace. These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, however, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather. The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD, in the years following 572, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
2.
GMT
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Greenwich Mean Time is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. GMT was formerly used as the civil time standard, now superseded in that function by Coordinated Universal Time. Today GMT is considered equivalent to UTC for UK civil purposes and for navigation is considered equivalent to UT1, consequently, the term GMT should not be used for precise purposes. Due to Earths uneven speed in its orbit and its axial tilt, noon GMT is rarely the exact moment the sun crosses the Greenwich meridian. This event may occur up to 16 minutes before or after noon GMT, noon GMT is the annual average moment of this event, which accounts for the word mean in Greenwich Mean Time. Originally, astronomers considered a GMT day to start at noon while for almost everyone else it started at midnight, to avoid confusion, the name Universal Time was introduced to denote GMT as counted from midnight. Astronomers preferred the old convention to simplify their observational data, so each night was logged under a single calendar date. Today Universal Time usually refers to UTC or UT1, in some countries Greenwich Mean Time is the legal time in the winter and the population uses the term. For an explanation of why this is, see GMT in legislation below, synchronisation of the chronometer on GMT did not affect shipboard time, which was still solar time. Most time zones were based upon GMT, as an offset of a number of hours ahead of GMT or behind GMT and it was gradually adopted for other purposes, but a legal case in 1858 held local mean time to be the official time. On 14 May 1880, a signed by Clerk to Justices appeared in The Times, stating that Greenwich time is now kept almost throughout England. For example, our polling booths were opened, say, at 813 and closed at 413 PM. This was changed later in 1880, GMT was adopted on the Isle of Man in 1883, Jersey in 1898 and Guernsey in 1913. Ireland adopted GMT in 1916, supplanting Dublin Mean Time, hourly time signals from Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast on 5 February 1924, rendering the time ball at the observatory redundant in the process. The daily rotation of the Earth is irregular and constantly slows, on 1 January 1972, GMT was superseded as the international civil time standard by Coordinated Universal Time, maintained by an ensemble of atomic clocks around the world. Indeed, even the Greenwich meridian itself is not quite what it used to be—defined by the centre of the instrument at the Observatory at Greenwich. Nevertheless, the line in the old observatorys courtyard today differs no more than a few metres from that line which is now the prime meridian of the world. Historically GMT has been used two different conventions for numbering hours. The long-standing astronomical convention dating from the work of Ptolemy, was to refer to noon as zero hours and this contrasted with the civil convention of referring to midnight as zero hours dating from the Romans
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
A1 Grand Prix
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A1 Grand Prix was a single make open wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, as such, it was often promoted as the World Cup of Motorsport. The series was ratified by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile and races were held in the traditional Formula One off-season, the nation-based A1GP concept was founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of Dubai, initially in 2003. After a successful first season of A1GP, it was announced on 29 September 2006 that Maktoum was to sell his position as Chairman & Director of A1GP, the transfer of his share in the organisation of A1 Grand Prix to RAB Capital was finalized in December 2006. Tony Teixeira took control of the series in 2006, leading it to liquidation by 2009, the nation-based A1GP concept was founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of Dubai, initially in 2003. Thirty franchises were made available, twenty-three of them were restricted to specified nations, the first season was planned for 12 rounds, however the cancellation of a race scheduled for Curitiba, Brazil in January 2006 reduced this number to 11. Nelson Piquet, Jr. won the race of the series for A1 Team Brazil. Their winning form was not to continue, wins at Estoril and Malaysia saw A1 Team France build up a sizeable gap. By the start of the break, France had run away with the lead with A1 Team Switzerland 28 points behind. At the final race of the season in Shanghai, A1 Team France were crowned the first-ever A1 Grand Prix world champions with 172 points, Switzerland were second with 121 points and A1 Team Great Britain third with 97 points. Katherine Legge was the first woman to drive A1 Grand Prix cars during test session in December 2005 on Dubai Autodrome, changes were made for the 2006–07 season to race durations and distances to improve the spectacle for attendees and TV viewers. The 2006–07 schedule was released on 7 July 2006, with the first race at Circuit Park Zandvoort on 1 October 2006, New teams Team Singapore and Team Greece joined the competition but Team Turkey failed to secure funding for the season. Team Austria, Team Japan, Team Portugal and Team Russia did not return for the second season, however, after securing funding Team Portugal competed in the final four rounds of the second season in South Africa, Mexico, China and Britain. Team Germany won the series with 128 points,35 points lead ahead of Team New Zealand, the 2008–09 season was the first season in which the new Powered by Ferrari A1GP car was used. According to 2007–08 champion Neel Jani, 90% of teams in the paddock warned Teixeira ahead of time that this car change was untimely and an inefficient use of funds. Rule changes included shorter qualifying sessions, a pit-stop during the now longer Sprint Race, removal of limits on Friday test drivers, and reduced Sprint Race points scoring. The opening round of the season, scheduled as part of the well established Nikon SuperGP race meeting, was cancelled five days before practice was due to begin. The event was underwritten by the Queensland state government, who have mentioned the possibility of taking legal recourse against A1 Grand Prix
5.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
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The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car series using a silhouette racing car based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe. From 2000 onwards, this new DTM continued the former Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, since 1997 many ideas have been discussed in order to find a compromise for rules of a new DTM. As too many races were planned outside Germany, no Championship status was granted by the DMSB, Alfa Romeo, who at the time were mounting successful campaigns in the European Touring Car Championship, did not return to the series. BMW was also involved in the ETCC and was not satisfied with a championship only for Germany, Audi did not enter as they insisted on using their signature quattro 4WD. Unlike the previous incarnation which primarily used sedan models like the Mercedes-Benz W201, Opel used the upcoming Coupé version of the Astra as in the concept car, and Mercedes the CLK model which already was used as a pattern for the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR. Attempts of Zakspeed to enter with a car looking like a Volvo C70 were not approved, the 1999 STW-Supertouring-champion Christian Abt could not defend his STW title as this series was also discontinued, with Opel moving into DTM. Abt used the Audi TT as a basis, as Audi had no suitable 2-door coupé, in May 2000, the new DTM started with the traditional Hockenheimring short track version. Some cars still had no or few sponsorship decals, while Opel could match the speed of most Mercedes in the 2000 season, the hastily developed Abt-Audis were mainly outclassed. As the TT shape had rather poor aerodynamic properties, Abt was allowed to use a form later. Further benefits like a rear wing helped the Abt-Audi TT-R win the DTM championship in 2002 with Laurent Aïello. In 2000, Manuel Reuter came second in the championship, after that year, no Opel driver was among the top three, with few podium finishes and no victory for the disappointing lightnings. The Opels did not win in most of their entries in the VLN endurance races as they were testing, but the speed was impressive. They won however the 2003 Nürburgring 24 Hours against factory efforts by Audi, after their successes with the Audi R8 and the official support of the Abt-TTRs at the Nürburgring, Audi finally joined the DTM as a factory entry in 2004. The three constructors involved decided to switch to saloon bodies, the road models used as patterns since 2004 are the Audi A4, Opel Vectra GTS and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. All dimensions, like wheelbase, are identical in order to equal opportunities without the actual design of the road cars having any influence. Initially the gap looked set to be filled by MG Rover, however their plans to enter the series were cancelled after the company collapsed in April 2005. Audi and Mercedes fielded 10 cars each in 2006, but the important television deal with the television station ARD required three marques in 2007. Rumours surfaced that Alfa Romeo would return to the DTM in 2007 and these rumors were helped by Alfa Romeo Sport boss Claudio Berro being seen in the Barcelona paddock
6.
Superbike World Championship
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Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in 1988, the Superbike World Championship consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities. Each round has two races and the results of each race are combined to two annual World Championships, one for riders and one for manufacturers. The motorcycles that race in the championship are tuned versions of motorcycles available for sale to the public, MotoGP is the motorcycle worlds equivalent of Formula One, whereas Superbike racing is similar to touring car racing. Europe is Superbike World Championships traditional centre and leading market, an Indonesian race was also proposed for the 2008 season, but this was later canceled by the FIM. The championship is regulated by the FIM, the governing body of motorcycle racing. FGSport became part of the Infront Group in 2007 and in 2008 was rebranded as Infront Motor Sports, as of 2013 the championship is organised by Dorna. The Superbike World Championship began in 1988, being open to modified versions of road bike models available to the public, for many years, the formula allowed for machines with 1,000 cc V-twin engines to go up against the 750 cc four-cylinder engines. For the first few seasons Honda won with the RC30, using 1,000 cc V-twin engines benefited Ducati and it was able to dominate the championship for many years, but the 750 cc was second or third each year between 1994 and 1999. Held under the FIM, the Formula TT from 1977 to 1989 once constituted the official motorcycle World Cup. Having proven itself both popular and commercially viable, it was decided by the end of the 1990 season to end the Formula TT, from 1993 to 1999 Carl Fogarty and Ducati dominated, Fogarty won the title a record 4 times and finished as runner-up twice on factory Ducatis. Troy Corser also won the 1996 title and finished as runner-up in 1995, realizing that 1,000 cc V-twin engines suited the superbike racing formula more, Honda introduced its own V-Twin powered motorcycle the VTR1000 SPW in 2000. The result was clear right away as Colin Edwards won the championship in the bikes first year of competition, Ducati regained the title in 2001 with Troy Bayliss. Colin Edwards again reclaimed the title in 2002 on the same VTR1000 SPW bike, Colin Edwards won his 2nd championship in what was arguably the most impressive comeback in the history of motorcycle racing. The season started with Troy Bayliss winning the first 6 races, Race 2 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was the start of Colin Edwards comeback, he went on to win all 9 remaining races and Edwards won the championship at the final race of the season at Imola. The final race of the season saw both riders fighting wheel to wheel for the entire race, the race is known by fans as the Showdown at Imola. The manufacturers championship was won by Ducati, during these years the Superbike World Championship reached the zenith of its popularity, with global fan and full factory support. In 2003 the FIM changed the rules to allow 1,000 cc machines to race, rule changes in MotoGP to allow four-stroke engines meant that the Japanese manufacturers focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement
7.
Formula One
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Formula One is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950. The formula, designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, the F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held worldwide on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads. The results of each race are evaluated using a system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the races are required to be held on tracks graded 1, the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Most events are held in locations on purpose-built tracks, but there are several events in city centres throughout the world. Formula One cars are the fastest road racing cars in the world. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to approximately 375 km/h with engines currently limited in performance to a maximum of 15,000 RPM, the cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of five g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension, the formula has radically evolved and changed through the history of the sport. F1 had a global television audience of 425 million people during the course of the 2014 season. Grand Prix racing began in 1906 and became the most popular internationally in the second half of the twentieth century. The Formula One Group is the holder of the commercial rights. Its high profile and popularity have created a major merchandising environment, since 2000 the sports spiraling expenditures and the distribution of prize money favoring established top teams have forced complaints from smaller teams and led several teams to bankruptcy. On 23 January 2017 it was confirmed that Liberty Media had completed its $8 billion acquisition of Delta Topco, the Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing of the 1920s and 1930s. The formula is a set of rules that all cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed upon after World War II during 1946, the first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958, national championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for years, but due to the increasing cost of competition
8.
BOSS GP
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The BOSS GP is a motor racing series in Europe. The category originated in 1995 as the BOSS series and evolved into the EuroBOSS Series, BOSS is an acronym that stands for Big Open Single Seaters. The BOSS series was founded in 1995 under the regulations of the RAC Motor Sports Association, later renamed European BOSS following the involvement of Paul Stoddarts European Aviation and their expansion into European circuits. It mainly saw grids of around 12–15 cars but on occasions dropped as few as five cars have competed, common EuroBOSS entries included Formula One machines from Benetton, Jordan, Tyrrell, Minardi and on occasions a V12 Ferrari has appeared. The Panoz Champ Car DP01 chassis from 2007 is also now legal, after the 2009 season, drivers Marijn van Kalmthout, Klaas Zwart, Henk de Boer and Frits van Eerd decided to split off and organize their own race series. For 2010 EuroBOSS and BOSS GP both existed, EuroBOSS saw small fields and decided to cancel the last 3 rounds. BOSS GP, on the hand, flourished with many drivers making the switch to the new series. Subsequently most of the entries have been recent secondary level single seaters such as GP2 cars, as of 2013 two rounds of the BOSS GP series form an official German championship sanctioned by the DMSB. EuroBOSS is the European equivalent of USBOSS and OZBOSS, EuroBOSS tends to have mainly F1 Cars, while USBOSS mainly comprises Indy and Champ Cars and OZBOSS tends to have Formula 4000 or equivalent. Over the years the classes have been updated, nowadays relative new cars like the Dallara GP2/08, Dallara T08 and Lola B05/52 are allowed in the series. For 2010 EuroBOSS allowed the Tatuus N. T07 International Formula Master car to race in the series, the car was never allowed in the BOSS GP series
9.
Arturo Merzario
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Arturo Francesco Little Art Merzario is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 85 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 15 July 1972, Merzario began his career with works Fiat Abarths in GT racing and European mountain-climb events. In 1969 he won the Mugello Grand Prix in a 2-litre Abarth ahead of a field which included Nino Vaccarella and this brought him a drive with the Ferrari sportscar team for 1970. In 1972, he won the Spa 1000 km, the Targa Florio, Merzario made his Formula One debut in 1972, finishing in sixth place in the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. After a difficult year with Ferrari in 1973, he moved to Williams and finished third in a race in Brazil. However, he finished fourth in his home Grand Prix at Monza in 1974, Merzario returned to Formula One full-time in 1976, initially with the works March team which was sponsored by Ovoro. After a run of disappointing results and disgruntled with his situation, he moved to Wolf, replacing Jacky Ickx, in three seasons the team was only classified on one occasion — at the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder when Merzario was officially placed fourteenth. Merzario continued with his own Chassis for two seasons but results were poor with the team not qualifying on the majority of occasions. The Merzario M1-BMW fared no better in Formula Two in 1980, Merzario is perhaps most renowned for being one of the drivers, along with Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger and Harald Ertl who saved Niki Lauda from his burning car during the 1976 German Grand Prix. So he really saved my life there because a couple of seconds more I would have never made it, in his time in Formula One in the 1970s he was often photographed wearing a cowboy hat with sponsorship patches from Marlboro. Merzario began his career with Abarth in GT racing and mountain climbs. and he had several class wins throughout the 1960s and also was victorious in the Mugello Grand Prix in 1969, leading to a Ferrari sports car drive. In 1970 he was third in the 24 hours of Daytona, further wins followed in 1971 at Imola and Vallelunga for Ferrari and Abarth respectively. In 1972, Merzario won the 1000 Kilometres of Spa in a Ferrari 312PB, won the Targa Florio alongside Sandro Munari, in 1973, Merzario took second places in the 1000 Kilometres of Nurburgring and at Le Mans. Merzario was still active in car racing well into his sixties. ‡ Merzario was a driver and therefore ineligible to score championship points
10.
Abarth
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S. p. A. is a racing car and road car maker founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Its logo is a shield with a scorpion on a red. S. p. A. is an owned subsidiary of FCA Italy S. p. A. the subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles controlling its European automotive production activities. Carlo Abarth was sporting director of the Cisitalia factory racing team starting in 1947,1948 saw the financial downfall of Cisitalia, spurred by the investments needed to put the 202 coupé into production. The following year the manufacturer folded, and founder Piero Dusio flew to Argentina, Carlo Abarth, funded by Armando Scagliarini, took over Cisitalias assets and on 31 March 1949 Abarth & C. was founded in Bologna. Carlos astrological sign, Scorpio, was chosen as the company logo, from the Cisitalia liquidation Abarth obtained five 204 sports cars, a D46 single seater and various spares. The 204s were immediately rechristened Abarth 204 A. Abarth built, in addition to Guido Scagliarini, the «Squadra Abarth» racing team lined up celebrated drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari, Franco Cortese and Piero Taruffi. Notably Tazio Nuvolari made his last appearance in racing at the wheel of an Abarth 204 A, alongside racing, the companys main activity was producing and selling accessories and performance parts for Fiat, Lancia, Cisitalia and Simca cars, like inlet manifolds and silencers. On 9 April 1951 the companys headquarters were moved to Turin, Abarth began his association with Fiat in 1952. In the 1960s, Abarth was successful in hillclimbing and sports car racing, mainly in classes from 850cc to 2000cc, competing with Porsche 904, hans Herrmann was a factory driver from 1962 until 1965, winning the 500 km Nürburgring in 1963 with Teddy Pilette. Abarth promised Johann Abt that he could race a car for free if he won all the races he entered. Abt almost succeeded, of the 30 races he entered, Abt won 29, Abarth produced high-performance exhaust pipes, diversifying into tuning kits for road vehicles, mainly for Fiat. A racing exhaust was produced for the 1950s Lambretta models D, original Abarth LD exhausts are now valuable collectors items. Reproductions are available which carry the Abarth name, how Fiat feels about this is not known, Lambretta even held several 125cc Motorcycle land speed records during the 1950s thanks partly to the exhaust that Abarth developed for them. Abarth also helped build sports or racing cars with Porsche and Simca, Carlo sold Abarth to Fiat on 31 July 1971. The acquisition was made public by Fiat with a press release on 15 October. As Fiat was not interested in the Reparto Corse racing operations, Osella obtained cars, spares, technicians and drivers, and continued the racing activity founding the Osella racing team. Thus ended for Abarth the days of sport prototype and hill climb racing, under Fiat ownership, Abarth became the Fiat Groups racing department, managed by engine designer Aurelio Lampredi
11.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
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The FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier class of motorcycle road racing, held since 1949. Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are available for purchase by the general public nor able to be ridden legally on public roads. The championship is divided into three classes, MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3. All three classes use four-stroke engines, in 2010 the 250cc class was replaced by the new Moto2600 cc four-stroke class. After that, MotoGP gave the four-strokes a 490cc advantage over the two-strokes, a 2 stroke engine produces power with every rotation of the crank, where as the 4 stroke engine produces power every fourth rotation. In theory, a 500cc 2stroke produces the power as a 1000cc 4 stroke. Carburation vs fuel injection, engine mapping, power/torque curves, practice showed the 4 strokes generating 10 to 15 more Hp and turning in much faster lap times then their 2 stroke counterparts. 4 stroke engines would be the choice for years to come. Moto2 and 3 are four-stroke only, a FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix was first organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1949. The commercial rights are now owned by Dorna Sports, with the FIM remaining as the sanctioning body. Teams are represented by the International Road Racing Teams Association and manufacturers by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association, rules and changes to regulations are decided between the four entities, with Dorna casting a tie-breaking vote. In cases of technical modifications, the MSMA can unilaterally enact or veto changes by unanimous vote among its members and these four entities compose the Grand Prix Commission. There have traditionally been several races at each event for various classes of motorcycles, based on engine size, and one class for sidecars. Classes for 50 cc,80 cc,125 cc,250 cc,350 cc, and 500 cc solo machines have existed at some time, up through the 1950s and most of the 1960s, four-stroke engines dominated all classes. In part this was due to rules, which allowed a multiplicity of cylinders, in the 1960s, two-stroke engines began to take root in the smaller classes. In 1969, the FIM — citing high development costs for non-works teams — brought in new rules restricting all classes to six gears, by this time, two-strokes completely eclipsed the four-strokes in all classes. The 50 cc class was replaced by an 80 cc class, then the class was dropped entirely in the 1990s, after being dominated primarily by Spanish, the 350 cc class vanished in the 1980s. Sidecars were dropped from world events in the 1990s, reducing the field to 125s, 250s
12.
Scuderia Ferrari
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Scuderia Ferrari S. p. A. competing as Scuderia Ferrari is the official name of the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer, Ferrari, and competes in Formula One racing. It is the oldest surviving and most successful Formula One team, the team was founded by Enzo Ferrari, initially to race cars produced by Alfa Romeo, though by 1947 Ferrari had begun building its own cars. As a constructor, Ferrari has a record 16 Constructors Championships, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen have won a record 15 Drivers Championships for the team. Since Räikkönens title in 2007 the team narrowly lost out on the 2008 drivers title with Felipe Massa, Schumacher is the teams most successful driver. Joining the team in 1996 and departing in 2006 he won five titles and 72 Grands Prix for the team. His titles came consecutively between 2000 and 2004, including the constructors title of 1999 consecutively being won until the end of 2004, this was the teams most successful period. Currently, World Champions Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel are the two race drivers. The team is known for its passionate support base known as the tifosi. The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is regarded as the home race. The Scuderia Ferrari team was founded by Enzo Ferrari on 16 November 1929 and became the team of Alfa Romeo. In 1938, Alfa Romeo management made the decision to enter racing under its own name, establishing the Alfa Corse organisation, Enzo Ferrari disagreed with this change in policy and was finally dismissed by Alfa in 1939. The terms of his leaving forbade him from motorsport under his own name, in 1939 Ferrari started work on a racecar of his own, the Tipo 815. The 815s, designed by Alberto Massimino, were thus the first Ferrari cars, World War II put a temporary end to racing, and Ferrari concentrated on an alternative use for his factory during the war years, doing machine tool work. After the war, Ferrari recruited several of his former Alfa colleagues and established a new Scuderia Ferrari, the team owns and operates a test track on the same site, the Fiorano Circuit built in 1972, which is used for testing road and race cars. The team is named after its founder, Enzo Ferrari, Scuderia is Italian for a stable reserved for racing horses and is also commonly applied to Italian motor racing teams. In 1947 Ferrari constructed the 12-cylinder,1.5 L Tipo 125, a Formula One version of the Tipo 125, the Ferrari 125 F1 was developed in 1948 and entered in several Grand Prix, at the time a World Championship had not yet been established. In 1950, the Formula One World Championship was established, and it is the only team to have competed in every season of the World Championship, from its inception to the current day. The company later switched to the large-displacement naturally aspirated formula for the 275,340, after the 1951 Formula One season the Alfa team withdrew from F1, causing the authorities to adopt the Formula Two regulations due to the lack of suitable F1 cars
13.
Road racing
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In North America, road racing is motor racing held on a paved closed circuit with both left and right turns. Road racing is therefore distinct from both off-road racing and oval racing, the latter is common in North America and involves turning in only one direction. Road racing may be on purpose-built race tracks or on circuits, such as closed-off airport runways and public roads. A roval is a road course incorporating parts of a track and its infield. Some officially-sanctioned races are held on roads, that are closed for the duration of the event. This form of racing was banned in Great Britain in 1925 due to an accident at the Kop Hill Climb. The North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix races are popular, the ban in Great Britain does not extend to the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. Sometimes the term real road racing is used to distinguish this form of racing from that which takes place on purpose-built paved circuits. Global road-racing series such as Formula One, FIA WEC and MotoGP are almost always conducted on dedicated tracks, such as Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka, Monza. Expansion of these series has resulted in dedicated tracks being built in Qatar in the Middle East, Sepang in Malaysia, events for many types of motorized vehicles are held at road racing tracks. There was a tradition of road racing on real streets in North America. The terms definition has shifted over time, however, with the dominance of Oval racing. A permanent, purpose-built, road racing circuit, is described as a natural or proper road course in the U. S. After a few decades of such events three sons of Barron Collier—Barron, Miles, and Samuel—founded the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1933 and that organization became the Sports Car Club of America in 1944. Throughout its history, American race car drivers such as Briggs Cunningham, Lake Underwood, Carroll Shelby, the Road Racing Drivers Club was formed and invited members by nomination alone. Its presidents have been, Walt Hansgen, Dolph Vilardi, John Gorden Benett, Robert Grossman, Lake Underwood, Mark Donohue, Bob Sharp, Skip Barber, Dave Ammen, Bob Akin, Brian Redman, and Bobby Rahal. Additionally, racing over public streets is making something of a comeback, other famous street circuits in North America include events held in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Montreal, Québec, Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. More recently, the Edmonton Indy is held on the runways of Edmonton City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Oval track Roval Dragstrip Traditional Road Racing 944 Cup
14.
Giuseppe Campari
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Cavaliere Giuseppe Campari was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver. Born near the city of Lodi southwest of Milan, as a teenager he went to work for the Alfa Romeo automobile company, Camparis job eventually involved test driving factory cars and his skills and interest led to his participation in competitive hillclimbing events. In 1914 the 21-year-old rookie showed his abilities with a finish at the Targa Florio. His career was just getting going when World War I broke out, following the Armistice that ended the war, racing resumed and in 1920 Campari earned his first major race win and the first for the Alfa Romeo company when he drove to victory at Mugello in Tuscany. The 1925 racing season was less successful for Campari as he. Despite Maseratis strong performances, Campari claimed victory for Alfa Romeo in the 1927 Coppa Acerbo, the 1928 season saw Giuseppe Campari win his second consecutive Coppa Acerbo and his first at the Mille Miglia. He earned a second-place finish in the Targa Florio, a race he entered several times and although he finished near the top. Run in front of more than 100,000 spectators, Campari was hit in the eye by a small rock but was successfully treated in hospital. Campari also raced in the Tourist Trophy Races at the Ards course in Belfast where he finished second to Caracciolas Mercedes, in 1930, Tazio Nuvolari joined Campari on the Alfa Romeo team. That same year, Campari won his third Coppa Acerbo but for 1933 he became part of the Maserati team with Baconin Borzacchini, Campari won his second French Grand Prix driving for Maserati, but at age 41 was ready to retire at the end of the season. The Monza Grand Prix on September 10,1933 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, while leading the race, Campari was instantly killed when his car crashed after skidding in a sharp turn on a patch of leaked engine oil. Immediately behind him in place, team-mate Baconin Borzacchini tried unsuccessfully to avoid Camparis wrecked vehicle and was killed when his car veered off the track. Later on, when the race was restarted, the vehicle of Polish driver, Count Stanislas Czaykowski, crashed and caught on fire, burning him to death. In addition to his love of racing, Giuseppe Campari had two other passions, food, in great quantities that he liked to prepare himself. Blessed with a baritone voice from the depths of an expansive paunch, he took singing lessons
15.
Targa Florio
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The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, after 1973, it was a national sports car event until it was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. It has since run as a rallying event, and is part of the Italian Rally Championship. The race was created in 1906 by the wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast, Vincenzo Florio, alessandro Cagno won the inaugural 1906 race in nine hours, averaging 30 miles per hour. By the mid-1920s, the Targa Florio had become one of Europes most important races, Grand Prix races were still isolated events, not a series like todays F1. The wins of Mercedes in the 1920s made a big impression in Germany, especially that of German Christian Werner in 1924, rudolf Caracciola repeated a similar upset win at the Mille Miglia a couple of years later. In 1926, Eliska Junkova, one of the female drivers in Grand Prix motor racing history. In 1953, the FIA World Sportscar Championship was introduced, the Targa became part of it in 1955, when Mercedes had to win 1-2 with the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in order to beat Ferrari for the title. They had missed the first two of the 6 events, Buenos Aires and the 12 Hours of Sebring, where Ferrari, Jaguar, Maserati and Porsche scored. Mercedes appeared at and won in the Mille Miglia, then pulled out of Le Mans as a sign of respect for the victims of the 1955 Le Mans disaster, stirling Moss/Peter Collins and Juan Manuel Fangio/Karl Kling finished minutes ahead of the best Ferrari and secured the title. Several versions of the track were used and it started with a single lap of a 148 km circuit from 1906-1911 and 1931. From 1912 to 1914 a tour around the perimeter of Sicily was used, with a lap of 975 kilometres. The 148 km Grande circuit was shortened twice, the first time to 108 km, the version used from 1919-1930. From 1951-1958, the coastal island tour variant was used for a separate event called the Giro di Sicilia. The start and finish took place at Cerda, the second version of the track also went south through Caltavuturo and took a shortcut starting right before Castellana to Collesano via the town of Polizzi Generosa. There was a circuit called Favorita Park used from 1937-1940. To put that in perspective, most purpose built circuits have between 12 and 18 corners, and the longest purpose built circuit in the world, the 13-mile Nurburgring, has about 180 corners. Like a rally event, the cars were started one by one every 15 seconds for a time trial, as a start from a full grid was not possible on the tight
16.
Passo della Futa
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The Futa Pass or La Futa Pass is a pass in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, at an elevation of 903 m. It is located in the comune of Firenzuola, in the province of Florence and it separated the valleys of Mugello and of the Santerno River. It is crossed by the Regional Road 65 which connects Florence to Bologna, during World War II it was part of the Gothic Line. A German military cemetery was created nearby in the 1950s
17.
Mille Miglia
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The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957. Like the older Targa Florio and later the Carrera Panamericana, the MM made Gran Turismo sports cars like Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, the race brought out an estimated five million spectators. From 1953 until 1957, the Mille Miglia was also a round of the World Sports Car Championship, since 1977, the Mille Miglia has been reborn as a regularity race for classic and vintage cars. Participation is limited to cars, produced no later than 1957, the route is similar to that of the original race, maintaining the point of departure / arrival in Viale Venezia in Brescia. This made organisation simpler as marshals did not have to be on duty for as long a period, from 1949, cars were assigned numbers according to their start time. For example, the 1955 Moss/Jenkinson car, #722, left Brescia at 07,22, in the early days of the race, even winners needed 16 hours or more, so most competitors had to start before midnight and arrived after dusk - if at all. The race was established by the young Count Aymo Maggi and Franco Mazzotti, together with a group of wealthy associates, they chose a race from Brescia to Rome and back, a figure-eight shaped course of roughly 1500 km — or a thousand Roman miles. Later races followed twelve other routes of varying total lengths, the first race started on 26 March 1927 with seventy-seven starters — all Italian — of which fifty-one had reached the finishing post at Brescia by the end of the race. The first Mille Miglia covered 1,618 km, corresponding to just over 1,005 modern miles, entry was strictly restricted to unmodified production cars, and the entrance fee was set at a nominal 1 lira. The winner, Giuseppe Morandi, completed the course in just under 21 hours 5 minutes, averaging nearly 78 km/h in his 2-litre OM, tazio Nuvolari won the 1930 Mille Miglia in an Alfa Romeo 6C. Having started after his teammate and rival Achille Varzi, Nuvolari was leading the race, in the dim half-light of early dawn, Nuvolari tailed Varzi with his headlights off, thereby not being visible in the latters rear-view mirrors. He then overtook Varzi on the roads approaching the finish at Brescia, by pulling alongside. The event was dominated by local Italian drivers and marques. Caracciola had received little support from the factory due to the economic crisis at that time. He did not have mechanics to man all necessary service points. After performing a pit stop, they had to hurry across Italy, the race was briefly stopped by Italian leader Benito Mussolini after an accident in 1938 killed a number of spectators. When it resumed in 1940 during wartime, it was dubbed the Grand Prix of Brescia and this event saw the debut of the first Enzo Ferrari-owned marque AAC. The Italians continued to dominate their race after the war, now again on a single big lap through Italy, caracciola, in a comeback attempt, was fourth
18.
Firenzuola
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Firenzuola is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 40 kilometres northeast of Florence. The medieval jurist Giovanni dAndrea was born in the frazione of Rifredo around 1270, Firenzuola is one of the largest communes of the so-called “Tuscan Romagna”. Its territory includes the valley of the Santerno river, beyond the Apennines. Giovanni Villani gave Firenzuola its name, which means “small Florence” and to propose as its symbol a half lily, another characteristic of this small late-medieval ideal town is the presence of porticos that involve all the principal parts of the town center. During World War II the mountains in the area were crossed by the Gothic Line, on September 17,1944, after long and bloody clashes, the Allies broke down the Gothic Line, with the conquest of the Altuzzo Mountain, next to the Giogo pass. Firenzuola had already been destroyed by the bombardments of the Allies on September 12,1944. The reconstruction of Firenzuola immediately started as soon the war was over, ninety-eight percent of the inhabited area had been destroyed, so that the Prefecture of Florence declared Firenzuola the most damaged town in the province. Also the main church of the town, the “Propositura di St. Romanesque church of St. John the Baptist, on the external right wall is a triangular decoration, a chessboard-shaped marble intarsia made of green serpentine from Prato and white marble. Medieval fortress, begun in 1371 by the Republic of Florence, currently it houses the town hall, while the lower floor it is the seat of the Museum of “Pietra Serena”. Annunziata’s church Abbey of San Pietro a Moscheta, founded in 1034 by Giovanni Gualberto and it hosts the Museum of the historical Landscape of the Appennino, the regional mountain. Parish Church of St. firenzuola. info/ Flaminia Militare
19.
1965 World Sportscar Championship
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The 1965 World Sportscar Championship season was the 13th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship racing. It featured the 1965 International Championship of GT Manufacturers and the 1965 International Trophy for GT Prototypes, the season ran from 28 February 1965 to 19 September 1965 and comprised 20 races. The International Championship for GT Manufacturers was contested by Grand Touring Cars in three engine capacity divisions, the Over 2000cc division was won by Shelby ahead of Ferrari, while Porsche prevailed in the 2000cc division and Abarth-Simca took the 1300cc division. The International Trophy for GT Prototypes was won by Ferrari, ahead of Porsche, although composed of 20 races, each class did not compete in all events. Some events were for one class, while others were combined events
20.
1966 World Sportscar Championship
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The 1966 World Sportscar Championship season was the 14th season of the FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. The International Manufacturers Championship was open to Group 6 Sports-Prototypes and was contested in two engine capacity divisions, P1 and P2, the International Sports Car Championship was open to Group 4 Sports Cars and was contested in three engine capacity divisions, S1, S2 and S3. The 13 championship races each counted towards one or more of the five divisions, both championships scored points to the top six competitors in each class, under four different tables or Baréme. Baréme I corresponded with the old order of 9-6-4-3-2-1, Baréme II was in the order 10-7-5-4-3-2. Baréme III, valid only for Le Mans, was in the order 12-9-7-5-4-3, Baréme 0, valid only for the Grosser Bergpreis der Schweiz, was half of Baréme I,4. 5-3-2-1. 5-1-0.5. Constructors were only awarded points for their highest finishing car, other finishers from the same manufacturer were merely skipped in the points count. Only the best 4 results counted towards the championship, points earned but not counted towards the championship total are listed in. Note, The Hockenheim 500 km race did not count towards the Over 2000cc division of the International Manufacturers Championship, the following models contributed to the nett points awarded to their respective manufacturers in the two championships. racingsportscars. com
21.
1967 World Sportscar Championship
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The 1967 World Sportscar Championship season were the 15th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship racing. It featured the International Championship for Sports-Prototypes and the International Championship for Sports Cars, the former was open to Group 6 Sports-Prototypes and the latter to Group 4 Sports Cars. The season ran from 4 February 1967 to 3 September 1967 and this was the last championship season to include a hill climb event, due to safety concerns. Also, growing speed at Le Mans caused a controversial CSI decision to limit the capacity of Group 6 Sports-Prototypes to 3 litres. Although the season was composed of 14 races, not all races counted as rounds for both championships and each class did not compete in all events, some events also included classes for GT cars and Touring Cars although these cars were not eligible to score championship points. All championships scored points to the top six competitors in each class, only the best five finishes counted towards the championship, with skipped points marked in parentheses. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car, and this championship was for all Prototype class cars over 2000 cc. Controversy arose about the Mirage of John Wyer, which had won at Spa. As it was a modified Ford GT40 with Ford engines, Ford argued that it should count towards Fords tally, as the CSI declined and Ford had no remaining chances to defend the championship prior to the final round at Brands Hatch, Ford did not send its prototypes. Only the highest placed car from each manufacturer in each division was eligible to score points for its manufacturer, not all race results could be counted towards the championship totals and discarded points are shown within brackets in the table below. 1967 Championship race results at wspr-racing. com 1967 Championship images and race programs at www. racingsportscars. com
22.
Gerhard Mitter
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Gerhard Karl Mitter was a German Formula One and sportscar driver. Mitter was born in Schönlinde in Czechoslovakia, but his family was expelled from there, after racing motorbikes, he switched to Formula Junior, becoming the best German driver with 40 victories. In addition, he sold two-stroke engines for FJ, in 1963, Mitter won the Formula Junior Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring. Mitter also participated in seven Grands Prix, debuting on 23 June 1963 and he scored a total of three championship points in his home 1963 German Grand Prix with an old Porsche 718 from 1961. Impressed by this, Team Lotus gave him a chance in the following years, due to the long Nürburgring track, it was possible to take part in the German Grand Prix with Formula 2 cars that were classified in their own contest. Mitter was killed there at Schwedenkreuz while practising for the 1969 German Grand Prix with BMWs 269 F2 project. As a suspension or steering failure was suspected, the BMW team with Hubert Hahne and Dieter Quester withdrew from the race, as did Mitters teammate at Porsche, Hans Herrmann
23.
Porsche 910
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The Porsche 910 or Carrera 10 was a race car from Porsche, based upon the Porsche 906. 29 were produced and entered in 1966 and 1967, the factory name for the 910 was the 906/10. The 910 was considered the sequence in the 906 line. The main difference to the original 906 is the use of 13 inch wheels and tyres as in Formula One and this made the car unsuitable for street use, but it saved time in pitstops. Overall, the 910 was lighter and shorter than the 906, the Porsche 910 was entered in mid 1966, starting with the 1966 European Hill Climb Championship from Sierre to Crans-Montana in Switzerland. Engines used were either the 2000cc 6-cylinder with 200 hp or the 2200cc 8-cylinder with up to 270 hp, the Porsche 910 is 4113 mm long,1680 mm wide and only 980 mm high. The 910 was only raced for one year by the factory. At the 1000 km Nürburgring in 1967, a fleet of six cars were entered in an attempt to score the first overall win in Porsches home event. Two of the three 8-cyl broke, and the remaining one finished fourth, in Le Mans, the new Porsche 907 long tails were already entered, finishing 5th in front of a 910 and two 906. In hillclimbing, the career of the short and light open-top 910 Bergspyder version with its 8-cylinder continued, winning the 1967 and 1968 European championships
24.
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33
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The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a sports racing prototype raced by the Alfa Romeo factory-backed team between 1967 and 1977. These cars took part for Sport Cars World Championship, Nordic Challenge Cup, Interserie, a small number of road going cars were derived from it in 1967, called Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. With the 33TT12 Alfa Romeo won the 1975 World Championship for Makes, Alfa Romeo started development of the Tipo 33 in the early 1960s, with the first car being built in 1965. It was sent to Autodelta to be completed and for changes to be made. It used an Alfa Romeo TZ2 straight-4 engine, but Autodelta produced its 2.0 litre V8 soon after, the 2000 cc Tipo 33 mid-engined prototype debuted on 12 March 1967 at the Belgian hillclimbing event at Fléron, with Teodoro Zeccoli winning. The first version was named as “periscope” because it had very characteristic air inlet and it was powered by a 1995 cc 90° V8 of 270 hp, with a large-diameter tube frame. The original T33 proved unreliable and uncompetitive in the 1967 World Sportscar Championship season, its best result a 5th at the Nürburgring 1000, co-driven by Zeccoli, in 1968, Alfas subsidiary, Autodelta, created an evolution model called 33/2. A road version, dubbed Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, was also introduced, win was repeated at the Targa Florio, where Nanni Galli and Ignazio Giunti also took second place overall, followed by teammates Lucien Bianchi and Mario Casoni. Galli and Giunti then won the class at the Nürburgring 1000 km, however, in most races, the Alfa drivers were outclassed by their Porsche rivals which used bigger engines. In 1968, the car was used mainly by privateers, winning its class in the 1000km Monza, Targa Florio, at the end of season Alfa Romeo had finished third in the 1968 International Championship for Makes. A total of 28 cars were built during 1968, allowing the 33/2 to be homologated as a Group 4 Sports Car for 1969, the Alfa Romeo 33/3 made its debut in 1969 at the 12 Hours of Sebring. The engine was enlarged to 2998 cc with 400 hp, which put the 33/3 in the class as the Porsche 908. The chassis was now a monocoque, the new car did poorly at Sebring and Alfa did not take part in Le Mans after Lucien Bianchis death in a practice session. The car took a couple of wins in smaller competitions but overall the 1969 season was not a successful one, also in 1970, an Alfa T 33/3 was one of the actors of Steve McQueens movie Le Mans, released in 1971. In 1971 the Alfa Romeo racing effort was finally successful, rolf Stommelen and Nanni Galli won their class at the 1000km Buenos Aires, before taking another class win at Sebring. De Adamich and Pescarolo later won outright at the 1000km Brands Hatch and they then took a class win at Monza and another one at Spa. At the Targa Florio, Vaccarella and Hezemans won outright, followed by teammates De Adamich, Hezemans and Vaccarella won their class at Zeltweg, and De Adamich and Ronnie Peterson won overall at Watkins Glen. Alfa Romeo finished the second place in the championship
25.
Lucien Bianchi
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Lucien Bianchi, born Luciano Bianchi, was an Italian-Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One World Championship races and he died in a testing crash in preparation for the 196924 Hours of Le Mans. Lucien Bianchis first race event was at the Alpine Rally in 1951 and he won the 1957,1958 and 1959 Tour de France as well as the Paris 1000 sports car race in the latter two years. He entered Formula One in 1959, although only with sporadic appearances at first and he drove various cars under the banner of the ENB team, including a Cooper T51, a Lotus 18 and an Emeryson. After a couple of races for the UDT Laystall team in 1961, driving another Lotus and he finally secured a more regular drive in Formula One in 1968, with the Cooper-BRM team, although success was elusive despite a bright start. Bianchi managed his best Formula One performance, finishing third at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix and he was also leading the London-Sydney Marathon when his Citroën DS collided with a non-competing car. He was killed when his Alfa Romeo T33 spun into a pole during Le Mans testing in 1969. GrandPrix. com — Bianchis entry at GrandPrix. com
26.
Nanni Galli
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Giovanni Giuseppe Gilberto Nanni Galli is an Italian former saloon, sports-car and Formula One driver of the 1960s and 1970s. Galli won the Circuit of Mugello race in 1968 and was second in the Targa Florio, in the 196824 Hours of Le Mans, he finished 4th in an Alfa Romeo T33/2. The following year at Le Mans, he finished 7th in a Matra, in 1970, both Alfa Romeo T33/3 did not finish. His one shot at the big time came that year when he drove for Ferrari in the 1972 French Grand Prix at Circuit Charade near Clermont-Ferrand but he made no impression, after half a dozen outings for Frank Williams the following year, he announced his retirement. Galli participated in 20 World Championship grands prix in total, scoring no championship points
27.
Nino Vaccarella
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Nino Vaccarella is an Italian former sports car racing and Formula One driver. His principal achievements include winning the 196424 Hours of Le Mans, and the Targa Florio in 1965,1971 and 1975, sicily-born Vaccarella was well known for being a Targa Florio specialist. According to Vic Elford he knew the roads on Sicily like the back of his hand and he was teamed with Umberto Maglioli for the 1960 Targa Florio in a birdcage Maserati, which was owned by the Camoradi team. Maglioli had previously won the race twice, Vaccarella was a schoolteacher in Palermo with a passion for motorsport. They took the lead in the afternoon on 8 May. The event was won by Joakim Bonnier and Hans Herrmann in a small silver Porsche, Vaccarella was paired with Lorenzo Bandini in the 1965 Targa Florio when they won with an average speed of 63.7 miles per hour, finishing in 7 hours and 1 minute. In 1966 Vaccarella and Bandini led most of the race until their Ferrari 330 ran off the track after seven laps and was too damaged to continue, while waving his hand to acknowledge the crowd, Vaccarella made eye contact with a retaining wall that carried the inscription Viva Nino. Maglioli and Vaccarella drove a Ford GT-40 to fifth place in the 196712 Hours of Sebring, the 8 May 1968 edition of Giornale Di Sicilia proclaimed in its headline, Only Vaccarella Can Bring Off The Miracle. The meaning had to do with the Sicilian drivers great task of gaining victory in the Targa Florio in his 2. 5-litre Alfa Romeo and he was up against four German competitors who were driving Porsche 910 models. The Porsches had recently swept the races at Daytona and Sebring. Few experts gave the four Alfa Romeos much of a chance against the flawless Porsches, Vaccarella qualified eighth for the 197024 Hours of Daytona in a Ferrari 512S. He also drove the big V12-powered Ferrari 512S in a heroic yet ultimately losing effort in 1970 and this was one of a series of 11 endurance events held in Europe and North America for the 1970 world manufacturers championship. Vaccarella and Toine Hezemans won the 1971 Targa Florio in an Alfa Romeo and they crossed the finish line over a minute ahead of Andrea de Adamich and Gijs van Lennep, who also drove an Alfa Romeo. This race ended the dominance of Porsche, which had finished first in the previous five Targa Florio races, Vaccarella competed in the 197212 Hours of Sebring in one of four Alfa Romeo 33/3TTs to be entered in the event. His driving partner was Nanni Galli and they qualified fifth after another Alfa Romeo of Rolf Stommelen and Peter Revson, who started third. Vacarella was selected for the 1962 Ferrari Formula One race team by Enzo Ferrari and he was joined by John Surtees, Mike Parkes, Willy Mairesse, Bandini, and Ludovico Scarfiotti. He participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 10 September 1961 and he also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races
28.
Jo Siffert
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Joseph Jo Siffert was a Swiss racing driver. Affectionately known as Seppi to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland and he initially made his name in racing on two wheels, winning the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax and he later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walkers private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix and he won two races in Formula One for the Rob Walker Racing Team and BRM. He died at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, having his car roll over after a crash caused by a mechanical failure, Siffert was married twice and to his second wife Simone during the height of his career in the late 1960s and at the time of his death. They had two children together, Véronique and Philippe and this is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer. While Sifferts status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a driver for the factory Porsche effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. Later on, Sifferts driving displays in the Porsche 917 earned him several major wins in Europe, in addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development programme, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries. In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio and that same year, Porsche bankrolled Sifferts seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was pleased to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season. Siffert won the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and was killed in the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap one incident with Ronnie Peterson and this was not admitted by BRM until much later when it was accidentally divulged by a BRM ex-mechanic. The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire, Siffert could not free himself from the burning car. This accident led to an overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club investigation, it was discovered that the crash itself caused non-fatal injuries, none of the trackside fire extinguishers worked, and it was found to be impossible to reach the car and extract Siffert because of the intense fire. On-board fire extinguishers became mandatory and also piped air for the drivers and his funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer led the hearse and procession through the streets of Fribourg. Benoit was a period Formula 1 sports reporter and knew Siffert well and he was also present at Sifferts tragic last Brands Hatch race in 1971. The night before the race, Benoit took pictures of Siffert, his wife Simone and he then also took the very last picture of Siffert alive as he sat waiting in his BRM in the pole position on the starting line five minutes before the start of the race
29.
Leo Kinnunen
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Leo Juhani Leksa Kinnunen is a Finnish former car racer, the first Formula One driver from his country. He is also remembered for his success in racing and rallying. Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969, the Interserie from 1971–1973, in 1974, he switched to Formula One, but in addition to the problems with the underpowered Surtees TS16, his team soon ran into financial problems. He was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet, Kinnunen started his racing career on motorcycles, but switched to four wheels after receiving his drivers license in the early 1960s. He quickly gained success in rallying, autocross and ice racing and he finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen. He was then invited to test a Porsche 917 at Österreichring, the pair surprised the racing world by winning the first race,24 Hours of Daytona, and went on to win the overall championship for Porsche. For Kinnunen, however, this was unsatisfying time, the car was built for Rodriguez measurements and driving style, and after Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasnt allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore. His chance to shine finally came at Targa Florio as Rodriguez was ill on the day with the new Porsche 908/03. On the final lap of the race, Kinnunen set a time of 3336min and this is still the fastest ever time recorded for the track. Kinnunen then moved on to drive Porsche 917 for Finnish AAW Racing Team in the Interserie and he won the championship in his debut year, despite withdrawing from the race at Norisring after seeing his former team-mate Rodriguez crash into the barriers and lose his life. He eventually went on to win the three times in a row, in 1971,1972 and 1973, with a total of 18 heat and 11 outright wins. In 1973, he participated in the World Rally Championship event 23rd 1000 Lakes Rally and finished third with his Porsche Carrera, behind Timo Mäkinen. Kinnunen was close to moving to Formula One already for the 1971 season, with the help of Jochen Rindt he was negotiating for a race seat with Team Lotus, which was controlling the series at the time and eventually won the World Constructors Championship that season. After Rindts sudden death at Monza, the negotiations came to a halt, according to Kinnunen, Bernie Ecclestone wanted him to drive for free. Kinnunen turned down the offer and demanded a wage for his services and this ended his Formula One career even before it had actually started, and he went to drive in the Interserie instead. In 1974, Kinnunen was looking for a job and John Surtees offered him one of his new Formula One cars, Surtees TS16, Kinnunen accepted the offer since the Surtees TS14 had done well the previous season. After finally finding sponsorship, Kinnunen entered the series with a new team, antti Aarnio-Wihuri allowed the team to use the name AAW Racing Team, which was recognized and had a good reputation in racing circles. AAW Racings first Grand Prix at Nivelles turned out to be a disaster, the TS16 arrived in time for the race weekend, but Kinnunen had never even sat in the car before
30.
Gijs van Lennep
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Gijsbert van Lennep is a Dutch esquire and former racing driver who competed in eight Formula One races. However his main achievements were in sports car racing and he is a member of the Dutch nobility with the title Jonkheer. Van Lennep drove for the Porsche sportscar team beginning in 1967 and he shared the number 22 Martini Racing Porsche 917K with Helmut Marko, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971. They set a record, covering 5,335 km. Also in 1971, the Stichting Autoraces Nederland hired a Surtees TS7 for him to make his F1 debut in his home GP where he finished a creditable eighth in a very wet GP. The following year Van Lennep won the 1972 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship driving a Surtees TS11 and he also drove twice for the Williams GP team, earning his first World Championship point with sixth place in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. In 1973 he won the last Targa Florio, sharing the Martini Porsche Carrera RSR with Herbert Müller and he continued with sportscar racing]], sharing a Porsche 936 Turbo with Jacky Ickx to win Le Mans 24 for a second time in 1976, before retiring from racing
31.
2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
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The 2012 Formula One season was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March, the 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar. The early season was tumultuous, with seven different drivers winning the first seven races of the championship, a record for the series. It was not until the European Grand Prix in June that a driver, Ferraris Fernando Alonso, won his race of the year. Alonso maintained his hold on the lead for the next seven races, taking his third win in Germany and finishing on the podium in the United Kingdom, Italy. Vettel entered the race of the season with a thirteen-point lead over Alonso. In the World Constructors Championship, Red Bull Racing secured their third consecutive title when Sebastian Vettel finished second at the United States Grand Prix, in addition to seeing seven drivers win the first seven races, the 2012 season broke several records. The calendar for the season included twenty races, breaking the record of nineteen. The following twelve teams and twenty-five race drivers competed in the 2012 Formula One World Championship, the FIA published a provisional entry list on 30 November 2011, and the grid was finalised on 17 February. Renault changed its name to Lotus after Lotus Cars expanded its title sponsorship program to include teams in Formula One and support series GP2. Virgin became Marussia, following increased ownership of the team by Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors. As a result of the changes, Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP declared that their ongoing dispute over the use of the Lotus name was over after they had reached an amicable conclusion. Although the exact terms of the settlement were confidential, the joint statement detailed the transfer of the rights to the Lotus. Williams announced that they would be using Renault engines for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Renault had previously supplied engines to Williams from 1989 to 1997, when the team won four World Drivers Championships and five World Constructors Championships. Likewise, Marussia underwent a restructuring, splitting with Wirth Research mid-season after a review by Marussia Motors. The team also announced a partnership with McLaren that granted them access to McLarens testing facilities as well as the purchase of Wirth Research facilities. In the week before the 2011 Indian Grand Prix, Force India announced that the Sahara Group had purchased a 42. 5% stake in the team, valued at US$100 million
32.
HRT Formula 1 Team
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HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010 and it was the first Spanish team to race in Formula One, a previous effort known as Bravo F1 failed to enter the sport in 1993. In November 2012, HRTs owners announced that they were looking to sell the team, when they were unable to find a buyer before the deadline of 30 November, the team was subsequently omitted from the 2013 entry list. The team began as a collaboration between Adrián Campos of Campos Racing and Enrique Rodríguez of Meta Image, under the name of Campos Meta, Campos Racing currently runs a team in the European F3 Open Championship and used to run the GP2 Series team known as Addax Team. Campos was running the Formula One operation in conjunction with Meta Image, a Madrid-based sports agency, Campos and Rodríguez began looking at the possibility of creating Spains first Formula One team in February 2009. In March, the team gained shareholders such as Spanish businessman José Ramón Carabante and basketball players Pau Gasol and Jorge Garbajosa. In October 2009 the team completed a deal with the government of the Region of Murcia to build new facilities for the team at the Parque Tecnológico Fuente Álamo science park. Italian constructor Dallara built the 2010 cars in Parma, which used Cosworth engines, on 12 June, Campos Meta were named by the FIA as one of three new teams granted entry to the 2010 season, along with US F1 Team and Manor Grand Prix. On the weekend of the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Campos confirmed that Bruno Senna, on 22 December 2009, Bernie Ecclestone voiced concerns about the teams ability to be on the grid for the first race of the 2010 F1 season. In January 2010, A1 Grand Prix principal Tony Teixeira was one of potential investors linked to the team in an effort to open up a revenue stream in the build-up to the 2010 testing season. Teixeira, who had previously been rumoured as a buyer of Honda at the end of 2008 has stated his intentions to make Campos the Formula One arm of the struggling A1 Grand Prix series. On 27 January, the team admitted that they may not be able to participate in the 2010 winter testing season at all and that their second driver may not be announced until the eve of their first race. Despite this admission, Teixeira claimed the team was aiming to make the second test session, however, it was reported in early February that Teixeiras proposed buy-out of the team was being met with resistance from the established teams. On 5 February 2010, Campos boss Adrián Campos told BBC Sport that the team were struggling to find funding and it was paying the €7 million to Dallara stating that sometime we have the money sometime we dont. He confirmed that the funding should be finalised and within place the following week and he also denied the fact that F1-hopefuls Stefan GP had taken the Campos car stating that weve got a contract and as long as were paying the contract is valid. Later in February, speculation began to spread as to whether Campos would actually make the 2010 field, and the team admitted budgetary problems. On 19 February, it was announced that majority shareholder José Ramón Carabante had taken full control of the team from Adrián Campos. The team was renamed to Hispania Racing F1 Team ahead of their first race, with the name taken from Grupo Hispania, the teams headquarters were moved from Meta Images offices in Madrid to Grupo Hispanias offices in Murcia
33.
Mark Webber
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After some racing success in Australia driving Formula Ford and Formula Holden, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career. He also beat future F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, then 19, Webber made his Formula One debut in 2002, scoring Minardis first points in three years at his and Stoddarts home race. After his first season, Jaguar took him on as lead driver, during two years with the generally uncompetitive team, Webber qualified on the front two rows of the grid several times and outperformed his teammates. His first F1 win was with Red Bull at the 2009 German Grand Prix, by the end of 2009, Webber had scored eight podiums, including another victory in Brazil. His eight podiums in 2009 compares to only two podiums in the first seven years of his career and he added ten more podiums in 2010, including victories in Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary. Webber finished the 2010 season in place having led for a long period. Webber added another victory in the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, as he once again finished third behind champion Vettel. He finished the season in sixth position, Webber was also a long-term director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, the Formula One drivers union. On 27 June 2013, Webber announced he would be retiring from Formula One at the end of the season and he began to race for Porsche in 2014, on a long-term deal, racing LMP1 Sportscars in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Webber is one of six drivers of the Porsche 919 Hybrid, the trio race with the #1 on their car in 2016. Webber was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, son of Alan Webber, a motorcycle dealer. Webber has one sister, Leanne, and two nieces. He attended Karabar High School in Queanbeyan for his secondary education and he began his relationship with sport at a young age, working as a ball boy for premiership winning rugby league team, the Canberra Raiders, during the late 1980s. However, motorsport was where his interest lay, listing Formula One World Champion Alain Prost, starting out racing motorcycles, Webber moved to four wheels in 1991, taking up karting at age 14. He won the New South Wales state championship in 1993, working as a driving instructor at Sydneys Oran Park Raceway between races, Webber finished 14th overall in his debut season. Continuing in the series in 1995, Webber scored several victories, Webber was given a test at Snetterton with the Van Diemen team, and subsequently earned a works drive for the team at the 1995 Formula Ford Festival, at Brands Hatch, where he finished third. That was good enough to prompt the team to signing him for the 1996 championship, before moving to Europe permanently, Webber won the Formula Holden race at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. During the 1996 British Formula Ford Championship, he took four victories on his way to second place overall and he also won the Spa-Francorchamps race of the Formula Ford Euro Cup, taking third in the series despite competing in only two of the three rounds
34.
Yas Marina Circuit
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The Yas Marina Circuit is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, about 30 minutes from the capital of the UAE, Yas Marina is the second Formula One track in the Middle East, with the first being in Bahrain. A two-day GP2 Asia Series test was held to open the circuit. It also hosted the event for the Australian V8 Supercars series. Outside motorsport the circuit was used for the stage of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour cycle race in 2015. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license, the marina-based development includes a theme park, a water park, as well as residential areas, hotels and beaches. The circuit has five areas and part of its pit lane exit runs underneath the track. It also houses a building behind the pit building, Media Center, Dragster Track, VIP Tower. Additionally, one of the gravel traps runs underneath the West grandstand. Seating Capacity –41,093 Area –161.9 ha Length –5.5 km Longest straight –1140 metres The circuit was built by main contractor Cebarco-WCT WLL, under contract from developer Aldar Properties. The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by Musco Lighting, Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world, previously that title was held by Losail. The surface of the track is made of aggregate, shipped to Abu Dhabi from a Bayston Hill quarry in Shropshire. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula One drivers for the level of grip it offers. The same aggregate material is used at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix, on 7 October 2009, the circuit was granted final approval to hold Formula One races by the FIA. Bruno Senna was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit, gP3 visited Abu Dhabi for the first time at the end of the 2013 season. Force Indias Adrian Sutil rated the circuit as being better than Formula Ones other night race in Singapore as he felt there was too much light at Marina Bay. Not all of the drivers were complimentary, with Giancarlo Fisichella expressing a dislike of the pit exit. Although the pit exit remained free of incidents for the practice sessions
35.
Sebastian Vettel
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Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is a four-time Formula One World Champion, having won the championship in 2010,2011,2012 and 2013 with Red Bull Racing and he is among the most successful F1 drivers of all time. He is one of four drivers to have won four or more drivers titles. He is contracted to remain as a Formula One driver with Scuderia Ferrari until at least the end of 2017. Vettel started his career in Formula One as a test driver for BMW Sauber and made his debut with the team at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, later in the season, he signed with Toro Rosso and stayed with the team into 2008. He became the youngest race winner at the time when he took victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, in his first year driving for Red Bull in 2009, Vettel finished the season as the youngest-ever World Drivers Championship runner-up. The following year he went on to become the youngest driver ever to win the World Drivers Championship, in the same year he helped Red Bull win the teams first World Constructors Championship. He followed up his first championship with three titles, becoming the youngest double, triple and quadruple world champion in Formula One. The 2011 and 2013 titles saw Vettel dominating the seasons and wrapping up the titles early, after his winless 2014 season he returned to winning ways in his first Ferrari season, being the closest challenger to the dominant Mercedes cars and winning three races. He is also currently in place among all time race winners. Vettel was born in Heppenheim, then West Germany, to Norbert and he has one younger brother, Fabian, and two older sisters, Melanie, a dental technician, and Stefanie, a physiotherapist for disabled children. Vettel suggested in an interview that he was terrible at school, Vettel is also a fan of The Beatles, collecting several records, including Abbey Road and his favourite song being Drive My Car. In an interview on Top Gear, Vettel stated that he was a fan of British comedy such as Little Britain, Vettel lives in Thurgovia, Switzerland amongst other racing drivers and is a fan of German football team Eintracht Frankfurt. Vettel has described himself as competitive, private, and impatient, Vettel also appears in advertisements for Head & Shoulders. Vettel provided the voice of character Sebastian Schnell in the version of the movie Cars 2 dubbed for German-speaking audiences, Vettel is in a relationship with Hanna Prater, a childhood friend. In January 2014, Vettel became a father for the first time with the birth of his daughter, in September 2015, Vettel became a father for the second time with the birth of his second daughter, Matilda. In 2015, Forbes estimated that Vettels annual income was $33 million, on the Formula One circuit, Kimi Räikkönen, his Ferrari teammate for 2015 to 2017, is a close friend. Vettel also shows to have a friendship with fellow drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg with whom he repeatedly showcases a close
36.
Vitaly Petrov
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Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov is a Russian racing driver who drove in Formula One for Caterham in 2012 and Renault in 2010 and 2011. Born in Vyborg, he is known as the Vyborg Rocket in Russia and he was the first Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship. Unlike most top drivers, Petrov did not begin his career in karting and he began competing in motorsport in 1998, when he took part in rally sprints and ice races. Afterwards he began competing in the Russian Lada Cup in 2001 and he remained in the series for 2002 dominating the championship, winning each round to amass the maximum points total of 500. In 2003, Petrov began racing in the Formula Renault championships and his main campaign was in the Italian Formula Renault Championship for Euronova Racing, finishing 19th overall. He also made his debut in Euro Formula 3000 at Cagliari, in 2004, Petrov turned his attention to the inaugural season of the Russian Lada Revolution championship. He started every race from pole position, but finished as runner-up and he also made selected appearances in Formula Renault and Euro F3000. Petrov remained in Russia for 2005, winning the Lada Revolution Championship with ten wins, in 2006, Petrov raced in Euroseries 3000 with Euronova Racing. He finished third in the standings, scoring nine podiums in eighteen races including four wins at Hungaroring, Mugello Circuit, also he participated in the Brno round of the 2006 F3000 International Masters season, where he took a pole position. During the 2006 season Petrov made his debut in the GP2 Series for David Price Racing and he replaced French driver Olivier Pla, who lost his sponsorship from Direxiv in the team from the German round onwards. In 2007 he moved to Campos Grand Prix, where he joined Giorgio Pantano and he scored five point-scoring positions from 21 races and took his first victory at Valencia on his way to finishing 13th in the standings. He competed in several Le Mans Series races throughout the year, the car completed 198 laps before retiring from the race, being classified in 38th. Petrov finished in position with one win at Sepang International Circuit in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series season for Campos, behind champion Romain Grosjean. In the main series Petrov remained with the Campos team and he finished seventh in final standings, taking a win at the Valencia Street Circuit. He finished fifth, with a win in the Sepang sprint race, Petrov was linked to joining Sauber, Renault F1 and Campos for the 2010 season. He was announced as a Renault driver on 31 January and thus he has become the first Russian driver in the Formula One World Championship and he was signed for a one-year deal, with an option for a further two. He was very close to signing for Campos but he felt Renault was the best option for him and he also mentioned that he had no major sponsors from Russia backing him just his dad and some of his friends. Petrov stated that his goal is to start scoring points by mid-season and his teammate for his debut season was Robert Kubica, who like Petrov – who stands at 185 cm tall – is one of the tallest drivers on the grid
37.
Romain Grosjean
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Romain Grosjean is a racing driver, currently racing for the Haas F1 Team. He races under the French flag in Formula One although he was born in Geneva and he dominated the 2005 French Formula Renault championship at his first attempt and joined the Renault young driver programme. He was the 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series drivers champion, in 2008 he became the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion and came 4th in his first year in GP2. In 2009 he made his Formula One debut for Renault at the European Grand Prix, due to the Asia and Main GP2 series being combined, it is likely that this will remain true for the foreseeable future. In 2012, Grosjean returned to Formula One with the Lotus F1 Team and he took his first podium in Formula One at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix and took his first fastest lap in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. He became the first driver since 1994 to receive a ban after causing a multi-car pile up at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. In 2013 he remained with Lotus, taking 6 podiums and he drove for Lotus again alongside Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in the 2014 season. This line up was continued for 2015, on 29 September 2015, the Haas F1 Team announced that Grosjean would be racing for the team in the 2016 season alongside Esteban Gutiérrez. Grosjean was born in Geneva, Switzerland and he won all ten rounds of the 2003 Formula Lista Junior championship and moved to the French Formula Renault championship for 2004. He was seventh in that first season one win and was champion in 2005 with ten victories. Grosjean also appeared in the Formula Renault Eurocup and finished on the podium twice in Valencia, with his results and potential in the Formula Renault series, Grosjean joined the Renault Driver Development programme for the continuation of his career. Grosjean made his Formula Three debut at the 2005 Macau Grand Prix and he qualified 19th and raced to ninth, beating team-mates Fábio Carbone and Guillaume Moreau. He did a season in the 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series but had a tough year, taking only one podium finish. In a one-off appearance in the British Formula Three Championship he started on pole position for both races at Pau, won both and set fastest lap in each. He stayed in the Formula 3 Euro Series for 2007 but moved to the ASM team, for which Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton, Sébastien Buemi led the championship in the early stages but Grosjean moved ahead with a victory in the ninth race of the season at Mugello. He maintained a lead in the standings from that point onwards, Grosjean took pole position for the prestigious Masters of Formula 3 race at Zolder but finished 14th after stalling at the start. Grosjean drove for ART in the inaugural GP2 Asia Series season alongside Stephen Jelley and he went on to win the championship with four race victories and sixty-one points overall. He stayed with ART Grand Prix team for the 2008 GP2 Series and his team-mates were Luca Filippi and Sakon Yamamoto
38.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
39.
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
40.
Formula 3000
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Formula 3000 was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3000 cc engines, while the International series is usually synonymous with F3000, other series racing to F3000 specification have existed. A small British Formula 3000 series ran for years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Founded in 1989 as the British Formula 3000 Championship, the series was renamed the British Formula Two Championship in 1992 and it was restarted in 1996 and cancelled once more the following year, after one race had been held with only three cars. Two other attempts at restarting F3000 racing in the UK failed, an Italian series evolved into a second-level one, Euro Formula 3000, running the previous generation of spec Lolas. An Italian national series started in 2005 with the arrival of the GP2 Series, as of 2010, it is renamed Auto GP, using old A1 Grand Prix cars and engines in place of F3000 regulations. The American Racing Series, a predecessor of Indy Lights, ran with March F3000 chassis and Buick V6 engines, japan persisted with Formula Two rules for a couple of years after the demise of F2 in Europe, but then adopted basically F3000 rules in 1987. The Mugen engine dominated this series, and was competitive in European F3000. Japanese F3000 was renamed Formula Nippon in 1996, and completely split off from European racing in 2009 with the new Swift chassis, in Australia Formula 4000 continued to use old F3000 chassis until 2006, as had its predecessors Formula Brabham and Formula Holden
Ricardo Sperafico
Alessandro Zanardi
Mike Thackwell
Jonathan Palmer
Derek Daly
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Lucien Bianchi
Gerhard Mitter
Gastone Brilli-Peri