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I have to agree with the other comment on how the old race cars and their drivers are by far the best Petrolicious has to offer. These are the guys we wanted to be. These are the men and the machines that made most of us hungry for automobiles. These “old men” were kind to us today. To be given a little insight to the reality we all have dreamed about. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you Petrolicious.
As wonderful as most Petrolicious films are, the ones featuring vintage/historic RACE CARS, are untouchable. Period.
Yes- its great to see a guy with his civilian car that’s been in the family or that he resorted.. etc. etc..
BUT seeing competition cars, on a track, especially with commentary from the actual Supermen that campaigned them… pure joy…
thanks Petrolicious- this one is in the top 5 Ever.. (the other 4 are also about old race cars… 😉
– Kurt
Wonderful video.
I was fortunate enough to witness the #30 Alfa T33-3 win, outright, at the Watkins Glen 6 hours Endurance Race in July of 1971. The “little” three-liter Alfa whipped the large bore (5L) Porsches and Ferraris in the rain — winning by two, repeat, two laps. The rooster tails behind the cars on the main straight seemed to shoot up twenty feet, leaving a completely opaque cloud of spray for a hundred feet.
The victorious drivers were Andrea de Adamich and Ronnie Peterson.
My most lasting memory is the bravery of the drivers in keeping up a desperately fast pace in a driving (no pun) rain. The race was especially dangerous as the production cars in the circuit were vastly slower — thus, there were a dozen or so “moving chicanes” on the track while the rain poured down. If my 71 year-old memory serves, the top speeds dropped only 5-7 mph from dry racing conditions. It was a sight to behold; the likes of which I will never see again.
It was a happy coincidence that I had a chance to see the race in person. That summer of ’71 my friend, Ted, and I were on an 8 week drive around America from Arcadia CA to South Florida to Quebec to Idaho (Sun Valley) and finally back to So Cal. The road trip was the first real chance I had to “unwind”, having been discharged from the Army a year earlier; what a fantastic journey it was.
These guys are great! Arturo is such a character, he and Nanni just epitomize Italian spirit, and Derek Bell seems such a warm person. And these cars! My lord, how exquisite! My only problem was that the white nosed car got no close up attention. That must have been due to some sort of legality. I got to see the TIPO 33s race against the Ferrari 312s at Watkins Glen. What epic sounds! Thanks for the memories Petro.