Indholdsfortegnelse for 18/01/24 i Autosport

Normally, our ‘Revealed’ Formula 1 issues begin by looking at the new rules for the season ahead and what impact they could have on the campaign to come. But, with such incredible stability in 2024, this week we take a different approach. Clearly, with Red Bull so dominant in 2023, many teams will follow the title-winning squad’s design concept. But understanding the concept and pushing it forward will be key to the competitive order. In our F1 2024 feature that starts on page 18, Jake Boxall-Legge delves into the likely battlegrounds, as well as outlining the few regulation tweaks you may have missed. We also pick out some of the motorsport stories we’re looking forward to this season on p26, while Stefan Mackley was in Mexico to see Pascal Wehrlein…

FORMULA 1 Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff has revealed that he has agreed to a new deal to remain at the helm until the end of 2026. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Wolff said that the three parties involved – Wolff himself, INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe and Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius – have agreed to keep the management stable as the team bids to get back to the front of the field. Wolff, who owns 33% of the team, said: “As a shareholder myself, I want the best return on investment. And the best return on investment is winning. I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me. I make sure that I have people…

McLaren has become the first out of the blocks in the 2024 ‘livery launch’ season. Any temptation from misty-eyed M23 aficionados to revisit the Yardley or Texaco Marlboro eras has been resisted with what the team describes as ‘the fan-favourite elements of papaya and anthracite with a touch of chrome’. The team’s MCL38 contender, which will carry the hopes of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, will be unveiled on 14 February. P15 MCLAREN’S 2024 CONFIDENCE…

WEC Raffaele Marciello will race BMW’s M Hybrid V8 LMDh in the World Endurance Championship as expected. The Italian was named this week as part of the factory WRT team’s Hypercar roster for the German manufacturer’s maiden assault on the class. Former Mercedes GT star Marciello, who was signed from under the nose of Lamborghini by BMW for 2024, was announced together with Marco Wittmann as Dries Vanthoor’s team-mate in one car. Sheldon van der Linde, who like Vanthoor was named on the WEC entry list in November, will be joined in the other LMDh by WRT regulars Rene Rast and Robin Frijns. BMW stalwart and two-time DTM champion Wittmann is switching full-time to the prototype ranks after making three appearances in the IMSA SportsCar Championship last year with the…

OBITUARY John Webb, who died last Thursday aged 92, 70 years after landing his first PR role at Brands Hatch in 1954, did more to promote British motor racing than any other individual, cementing its position on the global stage. An organisational tour de force, he became boss of the Kentish circuit and, having brokered its sale to Grovewood Securities, brought Oulton Park, Mallory Park and Snetterton under the umbrella. After 35 years at the helm, it says much of the esteem in which ‘Webbie’ was held that Jonathan Palmer recruited him as a consultant in launching MotorSport Vision in 2004. JP’s bid to imbue the new group (comprising Brands, Cadwell Park, Oulton, Snetterton and Bedford Autodrome) with much of the old spirit and personal touch squandered by the interim…

In days of yore, the response to a single team dominating a Formula 1 season might have been met with an arbitrary rules change with the intention of closing the pack for the following year. Remember when Ferrari’s run of dominance in the early 2000s was ‘miraculously’ ended by 2005’s no-tyre-changes rule, and Bridgestone got its compounds wrong? There have been no such kneejerk reactions to Red Bull’s total and utter devastation of the rest of the field in 2023. Unlike last year’s tweaks to the ground-effect formula, which detailed a small change to the floor height dimensions to limit the deleterious effects of porpoising, the 2024 rules are effectively the same as last year’s. ‘Convergence’ is the key buzzword here. The prevailing theory is that, with settled rules, Red…

On a weekend when Usain Bolt got to grips with a Formula E machine, the wait to officially declare a winner from the championship’s season-opening Mexico City E-Prix took a little longer than the world’s fastest man’s 9.58 seconds 100-metre world record. In fact, it took approximately four hours after the chequered flag had fallen at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for on-the-road winner Pascal Wehrlein to be credited with victory after a post-race technical investigation. It somewhat took the shine off a performance that by any metric was dominant and a sign of intent from the Porsche driver, who is targeting an elusive maiden Formula E title in 2024. Wehrlein led for 30 of the 37 laps, only relinquishing the lead when taking both his Attack Mode activations on…

The gradual move away from reliance on fossil fuels in motorsport is well under way. Since 2021, a steady stream of championships have jumped on the bandwagon with fully or partially sustainable fuels, with GT World Challenge Europe and Goodwood among the latest to mandate what goes into their competitors’ machines for 2024. But with Formula 1 not set to embrace 100% renewable fuels until 2026, it’s a process that some believe needs to happen faster. Speaking at the Business Forum chaired by former F1 strategist Bernie Collins, partnership and sales manager of the World Rally Championship’s sustainable fuel supplier P1 Fuels Benjamin Cuyt was clear that grand prix racing “could have done it already”. What he perceives as F1 “going late into this application” – although it was ranked…

BRITISH GT British GT pairing Lewis Plato and Carl Cavers will step up to the championship’s top class this season and are among the first two crews to be confirmed in the GT3 ranks. The duo will remain with the Century Motorsport squad that carried them to sixth in the GT4 standings in 2023 and guided Dan Harper and Darren Leung to the overall title. The M4 GT3 (right) of Plato and Cavers will run a livery highlighting the work of the Solving Kids’ Cancer charity, while further driver announcements from the team in both GT3 and GT4 are expected in the coming weeks. “Carl and I enjoyed a tremendous season last year and now feel ready to mix it with the cream of GT3’s crop,” said Plato. “The class…

RACING HONDAS The Racing Hondas championship has announced a 34-car season-long entry for the second season of the Club Time Attack category. Series sponsor Tegiwa Imports’ initiative to fund entry fees for 34 drivers resulted in a surge of interest. Inaugural champion Phil Wright continues in his K24-powered Civic EP3 in Class A, while Class B features several former Civic Cup drivers, including race winner Dave Buky and one-time Production Class champion Alfie Jeakins. “Some of our events will have 10,000 spectators,” said championship coordinator Simon Slade. “We want to entertain them, and what better way than with 34 cars on a grid split into three classes with equal specifications?” Drivers unable to fulfil their entries can nominate substitutes or be replaced by championship reserves, but will be fined the…

UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON A new programme, launched last week by University of Wolverhampton Racing, will result in a car that students have designed and built from scratch competing in national motorsport. The scheme, endorsed by Motorsport UK, offers an alternative to Formula Student, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ longstanding inter-university competition. While that produces autocross or sprint-style cars, not eligible for circuit racing, Wolf RS will adopt Motorsport UK’s regulations for competition cars. “We want to run the same sort of activity as Formula Student, but running to Appendix J in the Blue Book, and build a real race car,” explained UWR driver and team manager Shane Kelly. “We’re going through the same process as we would with Formula Student, as in crash tests, chassis tests, but we want to…

TCR UK supremo Stewart Lines doesn’t shy away from the inevitable comparison with the British Touring Car Championship, but neither does he seek to fan the flames. “We need to exist in the same space, don’t we?” he reasons. A former BTCC racer himself, Lines competed in the inaugural season of TCR UK in 2018 when grid sizes hovered around 10 cars. The following year he took over the promotion, initially incorporated within the Touring Car Trophy, which allowed other two-litre tin-top machinery. But since 2022, TCR UK has stood on its own two feet once more, with grids regularly topping 20 cars. The past two TCR UK champions are former BTCC racers, so how different are the cars to drive? Carl Boardley, last year’s title winner, has driven versions…

Some drivers take a while to nominate their favourite race car. Garth Tander only needs a second to name his. “It was the 2007 championship winner, for sure,” replies the five-time Bathurst 1000 conqueror. “I won a lot of races in it, so it was the most successful Supercar of my career, in terms of wins and podiums.” It sure was. From the 37 races in the championship, Tander took 19 podium finishes – and 15 of those were wins. Tander and HSV Dealer Team stablemate Rick Kelly, who had won the title the previous year, were driving Holden’s new Commodore VE racer, developed by Walkinshaw Performance for them and the factory Holden Racing Team. “We were, probably unfairly, compared to HRT,” Tander says. “We were probably lighter and more…

FORMULA 1 Guenther Steiner has opened up about his shock departure from the Haas Formula 1 team, after team owner Gene Haas decided to oust the Italian in favour of its long-time engineer Ayao Komatsu. Steiner was informed by Haas shortly before the turn of this year that his expiring contract would not be renewed, 10 years after he helped found the American-owned team. “In the end, the contract was up and for me, it’s like it always was: ‘If it doesn’t work, just let me know’,” Steiner told Autosport after his appearance at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham. “I’m not hung on anything. Gene Haas owns the team and obviously has got the right to decide what he wants to do. Simple as this. If he doesn’t want…

WEC Long-time Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director Pascal Vasselon has been replaced after nearly 20 years. He joined the Cologne-based organisation during its Formula 1 era as head of chassis research and development in 2005, and moved into the top technical job in place of Mike Gascoyne the following year. The Frenchman (pictured), 60, has been replaced on a temporary basis by David Floury at the operation that masterminds Toyota’s World Endurance Championship programme, develops the engines for its World Rally Championship GR Yaris Rally1, and builds the GR Supra GT4 customer racer. The move was described in a short statement from TGR-E as part of a drive “to develop the next generation of company leadership as part of a commitment to continuous improvement and making ever-better motorsport-bred cars”.…

FORMULA REGIONAL/F4 British single-seater talents Taylor Barnard and Freddie Slater were both on winning form as the Formula Regional Middle East and UAE Formula 4 championships kicked off last weekend at Yas Marina, with each topping their respective points table. Barnard topped both FR qualifying sessions and dominated the opening race in his PHM Racing machine to win from R-ace GP’s Ferrari protege Tuukka Taponen, while F3-bound Martinius Stenshorne completed an R-ace 2-3 after fighting through from seventh on the grid. Stenshorne qualified better for the final race, in third place, jumped the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons car of McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu at the start, and closed in on Barnard. The Norwegian’s move to take the lead came on the outside of the right-handed Turn 12. Barnard’s trajectory forced Stenshorne…

FORMULA 3 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award winner Joseph Loake will graduate to Formula 3 this season with Rodin Motorsport. The 18-year-old won four races on his way to third in the 2023 GB3 standings with JHR Developments. He had been weighing up another title challenge in GB3, but winning the Award and the £200,000 prize has helped him step up to the F1-supporting series for 2024. “Winning the Award put my name on the radar and I started getting phone calls,” said Loake, who will partner GB3 champion Callum Voisin at the team formerly known as Rodin Carlin. “Rodin managed to do a really good deal.” Rodin Carlin finished last in the 2023 F3 teams’ standings and has yet to take a victory with…

McLaren’s ‘whatever it takes’ trailer video using, among others, headlines posted on Autosport.com during the difficult early part of the team’s 2023 campaign, was an artistic way of saying, ‘We are going to prove something in 2024’. A bit of fire can be a very good thing. Sure, it runs the risk of a team in any sport being burned by future poor performance. But, for now, McLaren’s efforts to publicise its 2024 livery unveiling show a team seemingly brimming with confidence. That demonstrates again how good it was after its early summer upgrade plan came into reality in 2023 with those nine podiums, plus a sprint win and a pole. And it also highlights how far McLaren has come since that downbeat car launch last year, with a package…

Returning to Autosport International once more, the Live Action Arena was a highlight of any fan’s weekend, bringing squealing and burning rubber to the NEC. Hosted by Sky Formula 1 commentator David Croft and presenter Emma Walsh, Thursday’s show kicked off with an appearance from Swamp Thing – the much-loved green monster truck – before Croft entered in one of stunt legend Terry Grant’s cars, although he stalled while attempting a donut. After ‘Crofty’ had been helped out in a comedy moment, the action was introduced to welcome cheers from an eager crowd before a race from the Autograss Class 7 saloons, which put on a thrilling display and prompted Croft to quip: “It’s the first race I’ve seen in ages where the Dutch guy didn’t win!” Thursday may usually…

BWRDC A new initiative has been launched by the British Women Racing Drivers Club aimed at encouraging more female drivers to enter motorsport using hillclimb events as a starting point. ‘Into Speed’ has received the support of Motorsport UK and features a three-stage process. The hillclimbing discipline has been chosen as the entry point because road-going cars can take part. Initially, a taster day will be held at Yorkshire hill Harewood in March that will introduce people to the sport, explain how to get a competition licence and give them the chance to get behind the wheel, with kit provided, all designed to make the initial step less daunting for newcomers. The next stage will be at Staffordshire sprint venue Curborough, with a focus on improving each driver’s skills with…

TCR UK Former British Touring Car driver Will Powell will return to TCR UK in a tie-up between his Sport77 team and Bert Taylor’s new Taylor Racing Developments squad. Powell contested three rounds of the series in 2021, and has further TCR experience in endurance racing, before two partial BTCC campaigns. Taylor, meanwhile, ran Chris Smiley to the 2022 TCR UK title through the Restart Racing team he operated alongside son Ben. “I think the championship’s come a long way in a short period of time,” said Powell (above), who is set to start the season in the ex-Scott Sumpton FK7-shape Honda Civic run last year by Restart, with support from Italian-based car builder JAS Motorsport. “It’s looking like its most competitive year ever and I’ve always loved touring car…

BRITCAR TROPHY Additional prizes of a Spanish Endurance outing at Barcelona and a test in a TCR car have been added to this year’s second edition of the Dragon Sport Scholarship, alongside a fully funded season in a Renault Clio in the Britcar Trophy. The scheme was devised by racers Rhys Lloyd and Max Coates, who had competed together in the series. Applications for this year’s scholarship are open until 2 February, ahead of an assessment day at Blyton Park. “We wanted to give them the experience of racing in Europe, and the Spanish series has got a really strong Clio Cup class with the same format as Britcar,” explained Lloyd about the additional prizes for this year. “We also wanted to focus on putting more structure in place to…

RALLYING Reigning Junior British Rally champion Kyle White has become the first driver to formally register for the revamped series’ top class in 2024 after progressing to a Hyundai i20 Rally2. The Northern Irishman, who claimed JBRC honours at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 Rally4 at his third attempt, bought the Hyundai from Europe and revealed it at last week’s Autosport International show. Part of his prize for winning the JBRC was free entries for each 2024 round in the BRC1 division, and that has helped White’s climb to the top class. “It’s surreal to say that I own a Hyundai i20, and to have the opportunity to step up into the BRC1 category is mindblowing,” he said. “From watching the series as a young boy with the likes…

SPORTS PROTOTYPE CUP Morgan and Marcus Short, the sons of former Le Mans and British GT frontrunner Martin, will graduate to the pan-European Sports Prototype Cup this year driving a factory-run Revolution. The brothers, who both had extensive sim-racing experience before starting their on-track careers aboard their father’s Rover 216 GTI in the MG Cup, spent last year in the GT Cup. Their 2023 season in the raucous Mosler MT900 included a win on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, while elder sibling Morgan, 21, also made his British GT debut in a Ginetta G56 GT4 at the same venue. After testing a Revolution – the latest 500 Evo version of which was launched at Autosport International last week – at Silverstone, they will now contest a full season in…

BOOK REVIEW 100 YEARS OF LEGENDS Denis Bernard, Basile Davione, Gerard Holtz and Julien Holtz RRP £70.00 The first thing to know about 100 Years of Legends from Evro Publishing is that it’s not a linear history of the Le Mans 24 Hours from its 1923 inception to the present day. Instead, it’s a book that dots thematically around every aspect of the race, making it one that’s easy to pick up and put down. And pick it up you will, because this comprehensive and engaging deep-dive into the world’s most famous endurance race is packed with information that will keep sportscar fans new and old coming back for more. This official book written by French authors Denis Bernard, Basile Davione and father-and-son Gerard and Julien Holtz, and translated by…

FORMULA 1 Former Alpine sporting director Alan Permane is set for a return to Formula 1, with sources linking him with a move to AlphaTauri. F1 veteran Permane spent 34 years at his previous Enstone employer under its various guises as Benetton, Renault, Lotus and most recently Alpine. But he left the team last summer in the wake of a shake-up at the organisation that also resulted in the departure of team principal Otmar Szafnauer. Permane’s vast experience, which includes being part of title successes with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, meant he was always going to be a target for other teams once he was contractually available. AlphaTauri has yet to offer any confirmation about staff changes. That Permane has been picked by the Red Bull-owned operation, which is…

WEC Cadillac looks set to fill the vacant seat in its World Endurance Championship line-up on a race-by-race basis this year. The American manufacturer has hinted at a rolling cast of team-mates for Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn in place of the departed Richard Westbrook in its solo Ganassi-run V-Series.R in 2024. And it hasn’t ruled out running just two drivers in some races. Laura Wontrop Klauser, boss of sportscar racing at Cadillac parent General Motors, explained that there is a desire to be “flexible” in the marque’s second season in the WEC’s Hypercar division. “We have a great driver pool within GM sportscar racing,” she said. “We have some really cool people that we can tap on the shoulder if we need their help. We are not going to…

INDYCAR Italian single-seater juggernaut Prema Racing is evaluating an entry into the IndyCar Series. The team would not confirm or deny the story, but indications are that a Prema programme could come to fruition for the 2025 season. At the team’s recent celebration of its 40th anniversary, Prema founder Angelo Rosin and son Rene made clear their desire to spread beyond their current heartlands in Formula 2, F3, Formula Regional and F4. The team has often carried drivers through all the levels of its ladder, and then had to let them go when they enter the realm of professional championships. More recently, the team has competed successfully in LMP2 in the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, but the sportscar activities – spearheaded by the new Lamborghini LMDh…

DAYTONA 24 HOURS Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Romain Dumas will get to race a third generation of Porsche prototype at this month’s Daytona 24 Hours. The veteran of the marque’s RS Spyder LMP2 and 919 LMP1 programmes has been drafted into the line-up in Proton Competition’s 963 LMDh for the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship opener. Long-time Porsche factory driver Dumas, who was part of Glickenhaus’s World Endurance Championship campaigns in 2021-23, was named by Proton last week along with Alessio Picariello when it filled the vacancies in its line-up for Daytona. They have joined Gianmaria Bruni and Neel Jani. Dumas (below) described Proton’s IMSA campaign as “an exciting programme”, and said it was great to be “back at Daytona in the lead category”. His last outing in the…

DAKAR RALLY Carlos Sainz Sr held a comfortable 20m33s advantage in the Dakar Rally as Autosport went to press on Tuesday after the ninth stage, but with a charging Sebastien Loeb in hot pursuit of the Audi driver. Sainz moved back into the lead when Yazeed Al-Rajhi rolled his Overdrive Toyota Hilux at the start of the 48-hour stage six, bringing a premature end to the Saudi driver’s 10th appearance in the event. The Spaniard has since stayed at the front through a series of consistent performances in his electric-powered Audi RS Q e-tron, despite not adding a single stage win to his tally. Instead, Sainz has finished inside the top five every single day, and was able to maintain the 20-minute lead he inherited from Al-Rajhi by balancing outright…

I never got to meet John Webb. More’s the pity, because I didn’t get the chance to say thank you. And there’s a lot I have to thank him for. If not for Webb and all that he did at Brands Hatch and beyond, I probably wouldn’t be sitting at my desk right now writing about motor racing. Brands, thanks to its proximity to my home through my childhood and adolescence, played a key role in firing my passion for the sport that became my living. (Close enough, I have always insisted, for me to hear the bark of a Cosworth DFV when Formula 1 cars were on track if the wind was in the right direction.) I was barely in my teens when I was allowed to go up to…

AN EXPLOSIVE F1 DRIVER MARKET? Watching the driver market for 2024 unfold was a wholly predictable experience, with no changes made from the 20 drivers who ended 2023. Set against the backdrop of the Max Verstappen-Red Bull dyad steamrolling the field, driver transfers would have been a palate cleanser had they actually arrived from the kitchen. The market for 2025 might be a little bit more intriguing. Five drivers have contracts locked in for next year: Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc looks to be committed at Ferrari too, but everything beyond that? Up for debate. Red Bull’s second seat alongside Verstappen is the hottest property on the market; if Sergio Perez underperforms again, there will be numerous suitors all seeking to turn Christian…

STEINER’S SURPRISE FAREWELL Guenther Steiner made his first public appearance since his ousting as Haas Formula 1 team principal, as he honoured an agreement to appear at ASI despite the news of his sudden unemployment in grand prix racing breaking only three days earlier. After opening the post-trade show on Saturday, Steiner appeared on the ‘Motorsport Driveway Stage – in association with Autosport’ and took part in a Q&A with Sky Sports F1 TV commentator David Croft. He spoke graciously about the situation, particularly his reaction to Haas team owner Gene Haas’s decision, delivered in a phone call that had interrupted Steiner’s Christmas holiday in Italy. But he also admitted it “stung” that the situation meant he had not been able to deliver a personal goodbye to the Haas team…

The Autosport International show organisers would like to thank everyone involved in A24, for playing their part in making the event such a success. We can’t overstate how much we appreciate the efforts of the drivers, team bosses, designers and industry specialists who generously gave us their time, and for their valued contributions to this year’s event. We would like to extend our special thanks to Guenther Steiner, James Calado, Ash Sutton, Tom Ingram and Colin Turkington, Callum Ilott and Team Jota, Matt Neal, Jack Aitken, Joseph Loake and Robin Shute. We’d also like to thank M-Sport, Prodrive, the 750 Motor Club, NASCAR Whelen, BriSCA F1, Josh Irfan, TCR, the MissionH24 team, the BTRDA, OMG British Superbikes, Tom Gamble and ‘Baggsy’ for their support. Thanks too to all the expert…

MEV Two specially adapted MEV Exocet cars have joined the fleet of the Speed of Sight charity, which offers driving experiences for people with disabilities. The new cars are set to significantly increase the organisation’s offering and enable it to cater for a wider variety of individuals’ needs. The cars were unveiled at last week’s Autosport International show, and the second was an added bonus from Stewart and Sylvia Mutch from MEV, who were inspired by the charity’s work. “It’s unbelievable – I’m speechless!” said Speed of Sight co-founder John Galloway about the surprise second car. “The problem we’ve had in the past with our track cars is, if you’re of a certain build, you’re not going to be able to drive those cars. “The philosophy we have is to…

CIVIC CUP Multiple touring car champion Josh Files will seek to add another title to his CV in this year’s Civic Cup after completing a deal with leading team Area Motorsport. Files won both the Renault UK Clio Cup and Clio Eurocup in 2013, before concentrating his racing on Europe. He went on to take TCR titles in Germany, Europe and the Middle East but, in recent years, has focused on coaching, including with Area’s TCR UK drivers. A one-off in Luke Sargeant’s Hyundai Elantra last year yielded pole position, a podium and a blown engine on his local Snetterton circuit. It also provided an opportunity for a run in the Civic that Sargeant was racing that weekend. “Josh jumped in for five laps,” said Area boss Rob Baker, “and…

SPECIAL SALOONS Kentish club racing veteran Peter Thurston is set to make a Special Saloon comeback this season with an outrageous Citroen 2CV clone powered by a 4.6-litre Rover V8 engine. Remembered for his spectacular tail-happy exploits in a Rover-engined Ford Escort Mk1, the 61-year-old Herne Bay Jaguar specialist started the wacky project during the COVID pandemic of 2020-21. Based on a ‘Lotus Seven-esque’ chassis, thought to be a GTS Panther frame spotted in Rally Design’s workshop nearby, the ‘2CV8’ features a steel shell with fibreglass flip front, rear wings and bootlid. The engine drives via a Rover LT77 gearbox and Ford Sierra axle. “I’ve no idea if it will work, but decided to create it on a budget using parts I had,” said second-generation racer Thurston, who debuted in…

“It’s relit my fire for motorsport again,” reflects Carl Boardley after winning the TCR UK title at his first attempt last season in a self-entered Cupra Leon Competicion. Following four years in the British Touring Car Championship, Boardley spent 2022 largely on the sidelines, demoralised by a difficult 2021 campaign. A ride alongside title winner Ash Sutton in the Infiniti line-up had promised much but failed to deliver. It took a switch to the burgeoning TCR UK series to revitalise the Suffolk racer and deliver his first championship success since an ultra-successful National Hot Rod career. A long and varied path for the 48-year-old, who has defied doctors’ expectations and battled ill health, began in the non-contact short oval formula of Stock Rods as a teenager, after growing up watching…

Jim Clark’s expression combines untrammelled glee with the effort of peering over the foliage of his lavish victory garland as he celebrates winning the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, his fourth triumph at the seaside circuit – which remains a record. More significantly, it was of course the first appearance of both the Lotus 49 and the Ford Cosworth DFV – a car/engine combination so new that Clark had not even seen it before arriving in the Netherlands. This unfamiliarity meant he qualified only eighth, but went on to dominate following the retirement of team-mate and early leader Graham Hill. For classic motorsport DVDs and downloads head to dukevideo.com For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…