I highly recommend spending some time scouring YouTube for old racing footage. It’s likely you won’t find anything in high-definition, with fantastic audio—or even in English—but it seems like the entirety of racing history will one day be posted online for all to enjoy.
This week, I’ve prepared a selection of some interesting races, driver lineups, and documentaries. Oh, and Mark Webber as a TV commentator at the age of 21.
Porsche 908 @ Nürburgring in 1971—a race won by friend-of-Petrolicious Derek Bell.
These 1994 Supertouring cars racing at Spa-Francorchamps show something quite epic: front-, all-, and rear-wheel-drive vehicles pretty much like the ones you could buy at your local dealers dicing it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SgbjOyC8Tk
IROC @ Riverside in the late ’70s meant lots of Nascar drivers, Mario Andretti, and a small crowd together in what used to be a desert just outside of Los Angeles. The area is now a mall.
This French documentary follows the Alpine-Renault team during the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s like Audi’s Truth In 24, albeit with better-sounding race cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PS9K7t68HQ
1971 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway—though not with Formula 1 cars, as you may expect, but the then-latest and greatest Japanese classic sports cars dicing it up.
Should you seek out Formula Ford races from 1991? Probably not. But when they’re at Australia’s Bathurst, with 21-year-old Mark Webber providing commentary
THUNDERSALOONS, yes, Thundersaloons. Trust me when I say it’s a diverse grid and action-filled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c13YAqteG7c
Watching the start of the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans makes me wonder just how more than 20 years flew by so quickly. With one of the most intriguing grids ever assembled, it was also the first win for the McLaren F1.
Thumbnail image source: motorsportmagazine.com
