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Racing Nostalgia
Dec. 4th, 2007 03:06 amMister Splashy Pants is now at 73%.
*****
I happened across vintage Can-Am racing from Monterey on TV earlier. There's not a lot of awareness of it anymore outside of Canadia and the States, but it was remarkable while it lasted. From 1966 to 1970, they basically had no rules for car design. It had to have at least four wheels, and couldn't present a hazard to other competitors or bystanders, and that was about it.
I was too young to really appreciate the awesome and horrifying machines that this philosophy produced. I had no memory of anything before, and it seemed normal to me that every season someone came up with something new and radical. The two cars that finally pushed things too far were the Chapparal J, with its suction fans (it could stick to a wall), and the tiny little AVS Shadow, basically a go-kart with an 800BHP engine.
They had the Shadow today. I was amazed. There was only one of those, and I had no idea it had survived.
It's as small as it looks. Note the little 10" wheels in front. The helmet and firesuit are there to make the driver look cool, as far as I can tell. They'd certainly have no effect in the event of a crash, considering that he's just sitting out in the open. It doesn't show here, but there's no real tub or cockpit at all. The driver sits in a go-kart seat on the frame, and they put the fibreglas cowling in place after he's strapped in. It really is just a go-kart.
When you're nine years old, it's difficult to get a handle on what a Darwinizer this thing really is. It was fast, though - remarkably fast. They have to have that much wing on there to keep the tires from breaking loose, it's so light.
The guy they had driving it today didn't really push it, and I can't blame him. Two of the McLaren drivers did, though. One guy had Denny Hulme's 1970 works M8, and some guy in a privateer M6 that I didn't recognize. They went at it hammer and tongs for a good 20 minutes, with the M6 driver managing to hang onto the tail of the M8 the whole way. It's nice to see people in the old cars actually going at it, instead of just motoring around. It was nice too in that Hulme was my favourite Can-Am driver. I've watched that car dominate the field many times :)
If the Chaparral J was there, it had already broken down by the time I tuned in. That'd be about normal for that car. Much of the excitement there lay in guessing how many laps it would lead before the fan system exploded again.
They had to start imposing rules after 1970, because the designs were getting too insane. By 1974, it was gone. Still, remarkable fun while it lasted. My uncle Billy and I used to watch Can-Am on Wide World of Sports constantly.
*****
I happened across vintage Can-Am racing from Monterey on TV earlier. There's not a lot of awareness of it anymore outside of Canadia and the States, but it was remarkable while it lasted. From 1966 to 1970, they basically had no rules for car design. It had to have at least four wheels, and couldn't present a hazard to other competitors or bystanders, and that was about it.
I was too young to really appreciate the awesome and horrifying machines that this philosophy produced. I had no memory of anything before, and it seemed normal to me that every season someone came up with something new and radical. The two cars that finally pushed things too far were the Chapparal J, with its suction fans (it could stick to a wall), and the tiny little AVS Shadow, basically a go-kart with an 800BHP engine.
They had the Shadow today. I was amazed. There was only one of those, and I had no idea it had survived.
It's as small as it looks. Note the little 10" wheels in front. The helmet and firesuit are there to make the driver look cool, as far as I can tell. They'd certainly have no effect in the event of a crash, considering that he's just sitting out in the open. It doesn't show here, but there's no real tub or cockpit at all. The driver sits in a go-kart seat on the frame, and they put the fibreglas cowling in place after he's strapped in. It really is just a go-kart.
When you're nine years old, it's difficult to get a handle on what a Darwinizer this thing really is. It was fast, though - remarkably fast. They have to have that much wing on there to keep the tires from breaking loose, it's so light.
The guy they had driving it today didn't really push it, and I can't blame him. Two of the McLaren drivers did, though. One guy had Denny Hulme's 1970 works M8, and some guy in a privateer M6 that I didn't recognize. They went at it hammer and tongs for a good 20 minutes, with the M6 driver managing to hang onto the tail of the M8 the whole way. It's nice to see people in the old cars actually going at it, instead of just motoring around. It was nice too in that Hulme was my favourite Can-Am driver. I've watched that car dominate the field many times :)
If the Chaparral J was there, it had already broken down by the time I tuned in. That'd be about normal for that car. Much of the excitement there lay in guessing how many laps it would lead before the fan system exploded again.
They had to start imposing rules after 1970, because the designs were getting too insane. By 1974, it was gone. Still, remarkable fun while it lasted. My uncle Billy and I used to watch Can-Am on Wide World of Sports constantly.
