DON PANOZ PASSES AWAY AT AGE 83 Serial entrepreneur Dr. Donald Panoz passed away Tuesday morning at age 83. He had been ill for several weeks and spent his final days in the company of his family and closest friends. Dr. Panoz, co-founder of Milan Pharmaceuticals in 1961, made his fortune there by creating and […]
BILL WARNER TO RECEIVE 2018 NICOLA BULGARI AWARD In ceremonies during the Wheels & Heels Annual Gala at the LeMay Car Museum in Tacoma, WA, this Sunday, Sept. 8, Bill Warner will receive the 2018 Nicola Bulgari Award. This award is presented annually based upon the recipient’s contributions to preserving America’s automotive heritage, the use […]
F1 DRIVER PIERRE GASLY IS LATEST SAFEisFAST ASK A PRO Toro Rosso F1 driver and former GP2 champion Pierre Gasly is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. Gasly is competing in his first full season of F1 with Toro Rosso ahead of a move to Red Bull Racing in 2019, where he will partner […]
CHOOSING YOUR SAFETY GEAR Today’s driver safety equipment is incredibly good. But it can also be incredibly expensive – $2500 for the newest trick helmet. $3000 for the latest, greatest driver’s suit. To find out what you need to be safe, we put together a group of industry safety experts who explain how to choose the best […]
DE FERRAN OPENS PROBLEM SOLVING TOOL BOX IN WOKING Late last month, McLaren F1 installed consultant Gil de Ferran as Sporting Director to replace Eric Boullier who stepped down in the lead up to the British Grand Prix. De Ferran will apply his personal self-improvement habits to helping the Formula 1 team identify and sort […]
DARIO FRANCHITTI IN 2019 MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS Dario Franchitti will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America as the Open Wheel honoree in the 2019 class of seven. The RRDC member’s lassmates include Augie Duesenberg (Historic category), Phil Remington (Sports Cars), Kevin Schwantz (Motorcycles), Don Schumacher (Drag Racing), Tony Stewart […]
JACKY ICKX AMELIA ISLAND HONOREE In his biography of Enzo Ferrari, Brock Yates summed up Jacky Ickx in one perfect phrase writing Jacky Ickx has ” . . . the heart of a lion.” “There is something heroic about Jacky Ickx,” said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “When things […]
DRIVING THE GREEN HELL If you’re like me, you grew up dreaming about racing on the original 12.9 mile Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit. With its tree-lined 154 corners and unpredictable weather, the ‘Ring has deservedly earned the nickname – “The Green Hell”. In our latest video, a group of the world’s best Ringmeisters reveal some of […]
LIME ROCK PARK SUPPORTS PARKINSON’S RESEARCH The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has been selected as Lime Rock Park’s official charity for this year’s season, announced Lime Rock Park President Skip Barber. “Each year, Lime Rock Park selects an official charity to support throughout the year and we’re pleased to select The Michael […]
LATEST SAFEisFAST VIDEO – THE ART OF PASSING It’s no secret that a good number of racing “incidents” occur when an optimistic passing maneuver doesn’t go quite according to plan. There really is an art to passing quickly, efficiently and safely. In our latest video, a group of Champions from Sports Car Racing, IndyCar and F1 […]
NEW ENGLAND AUTO MUSEUM TO SHOW LONG-LOST PENSKE/DONOHUE DOCUMENTARY “FOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL” “Four Hands on the Wheel,” a long-lost documentary chronicling the legendary auto-racing partnership between Roger Penske and Mark Donohue, will be presented on May 23 at the Ridgefield (Conn.) Playhouse as a fundraiser for the New England Auto Museum www.neautomuseum.org. This […]
I’m often asked by young drivers, “How do I make it to F1?” And I always respond, “You’re asking the wrong guy, ask Zak Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing – he actually hires young F1 drivers”. In our newest SAFEisFAST video, Zak answers that very question – and many more of great […]
WHAT IS FAST? SAFEisFAST has grown quickly over the last few years with a global following across its social media channels. Now we want your help to spread the word to benefit even more young and aspiring racers worldwide. To encourage this we’ve produced a short promo film, entitled What is Fast? We would […]
The April 12 RRDC Evening with Johnny Rutherford Presented by Firestone was held in front of a capacity crowd of auto racing dignitaries, corporate executives and champion race-car drivers, as the three-time Indy 500 champion was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club, prior to the running of the 44th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In the audience were […]
Last night, April 12, the Road Racing Drivers Club honored Johnny Rutherford at its annual Long Beach Legends Banquet. Here is the video that kicked off the evening’s entertainment – RRDC President Bobby Rahal’s Letterman-style interview with Lone Star J.R. Produced by Tom Davey and Jeff Drake with the assistance of Jeremy Shaw and Sam […]
JEFF ZWART TO MENTOR NEW PORSCHE CLASS AT PIKES PEAK Jeff Zwart will be instrumental in the rollout of a new class for Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport at the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb June 24. Zwart and defending champion Romain Dumas will represent Porsche Motorsport North America and compete on the weekend. “The […]
NEW SiF VIDEO: FERNANDO ALONSO’S 7 TIPS FOR YOUNG DRIVERS It’s my great pleasure to announce that our newest Online Driving Instructor is none other than two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso. Talk about learning from the best! And in our latest video, Fernando gives his seven key tips for young drivers. Check it out, I […]
Time is running out to vote for inductees to the 2018 Class of the Motor Sport Hall of Fame. The annual voting includes nominees from Formula 1, Sports Cars, Motorcycles, U.S. Racing and Iconic Race Cars. Eight RRDC members are among the 2018 HoF nominees: Emerson Fittipaldi (F1); Emanuele Pirro, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Vic Elford (Sports […]
LIMITED EDITION BRIAN REDMAN PRINT BY ANDREW HILL New to the Motorsport Magazine shop by Andrew Hill – a recently commissioned spectacular print to commemorate one of Brian Redman’s most significant victories when – together with Jo Siffert – he won the 1970 Targa Florio in the Porsche 908/03 in its iconic Gulf livery. Supplied with a certificate […]
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA IS LATEST SAFEisFAST ASK A PRO Juan Pablo Montoya, two-time Indy 500 champion and current IMSA driver with Team Penske, is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. Montoya’s extensive motor sport career spans from being CART champion in 1999, to competing in Formula One, and in NASCAR with Chip Ganassi Racing. […]
GURNEY TO BE HONORED IN HEART ASSOCIATION WALK All-American Racers vice president Kathy Weida has participated in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk every year since 2011, the year Dan Gurney suffered a heart attack. “I walked for him,” said Weida. “Sadly, he passed away January 14, 2018 due to complications of pneumonia, so now I […]
David Hobbs has been a faithful friend of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance since its beginning in 1996. The 2009 Amelia honoree has chosen the 23rd annual Amelia Island Concours to launch his long awaited memoir HOBBO, MOTOR RACER, MOTOR MOUTH. Although he was born in England, Americans consider David Hobbs one of our own. […]
SAFEisFAST VIDEO – SPORTS CAR RACING: DRIVING AS A TEAM Fellow racers, When you race an IndyCar, the driving position and car set-up are tailored just for you. It’s your car. But when you go endurance racing, it’s quite different. Here you must share the car with other drivers of different sizes – and different driving […]
LONE STAR JR RRDC LONG BEACH DINNER HONOREE He raced in what is called IndyCar’s golden era, when the cars were lightning fast and the drivers bad-ass – the likes of Foyt, Andretti, Parnelli, Mears and the Unsers. And Johnny Rutherford not only ran with that fast crowd, he kicked some serious butt along the […]
[Front page image by Bernard Cahier from the Cahier Archives] BRUCE MacINNES AND DIVINA GALICA JOIN BERTIL ROOS SCHOOL [From RACER.com] Bertil Roos Racing School has merged the best assets of the original Skip Barber Racing School with the hiring of top-rated driving instructors and the purchase and meticulous restoration of their fleet of […]
In the Feb. 6 edition of Autoweek, Hurley Haywood talked to Steven Cole Smith about his life and the dramatic change that’s recently come about and why, all documented in his soon-to-be-released autobiography, “Hurley: From the Beginning”. This a must-read article where Hurley tells of a recent exchange with a youngster who was interviewing him […]
[Editor: Scott Pruett sent the following thank you letter to friends and colleagues who offered kind words in a video tribute to one of America’s great all-around race drivers on the occasion of his final race.] My last race is now in the history books, the Rolex Daytona 24hrs. In a perfect world it would […]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 3, 2018) – Eric Prill, of Topeka, Kan., was presented the RRDC Mark Donohue Award at the annual RRDC members’ dinner at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 24. The dinner preceded the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Prill, who serves as the Vice […]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2018) – David Hobbs, whose career as a championship race-car driver has spanned three decades and his stint as a television commentator for more than four, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club with the 2018 Phil Hill Award. RRDC president Bobby Rahal made the presentation at the annual RRDC members’ dinner […]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 26, 2018) – Bobby Rahal, a principal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which runs BMW Team RLL in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, has been named the recipient of the 2017 Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence, presented by Gorsline Company. The announcement was made by Bob Snodgrass’ son Harris during […]
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2018) – Archie Urciuoli, an SCCA racer in the 1950s and ’60s, a former marine, and head of a private investment and consulting firm, was named the 2017 recipient of the RRDC Bob Akin Award. He was presented the award at the annual Road Racing Drivers Club members’ dinner on Jan. 24, prior to […]
SAFEisFAST – NO WEATHER STOPS A RALLY DRIVER FROM HIS APPOINTED ROUNDS Almost every road racing driver I know concedes that rally drivers are the most amazing of all – constantly on the edge. And they do it over all kinds of surfaces, all the time trying to keep the car at maximum attack and […]
CAN AMERICANS COMPETE IN F1? OUR PRESIDENT SAYS, “YES!” In an article in USAToday, Bobby Rahal stated emphatically that American race drivers have the skills to compete in Formula 1. Reporter Jim Avello caught up with the RRDC president at the Detroit Auto Show seeking rebuttals to recent Twitter posts by Haas F1 team principal […]
RRDC PRESIDENT BOBBY RAHAL ON THE DEATH OF DAN GURNEY “It is with the deepest sadness and regret that we have to say goodbye to one of the most magnificent people to have represented our sport on this earth. He was not only an outrageously talented race-car driver, influential businessman, team owner and car constructor, […]
DORSEY SCHROEDER NEW TRANS AM CHIEF STEWARD Dorsey Schroeder had been named Chief Steward of the Trans Am Series for the upcoming 2018 season by the parent Trans Am Race Company. He was most recently Race Director for Pirelli World Challenge. Schroeder campaigned in Trans Am for 10 years, winning the series championship in his […]
THE RACING LADDER IS LATEST SAFEisFAST VIDEO The racing ladder starts with a group of young lions champing at the bit, and all going for the same brass ring – F1. Only a few will make it. So what does it take? In our latest SAFEisFAST video a group of top international drivers – at […]
FIA HALL OF FAME – INAUGURAL CLASS In ceremonies Monday night in the library of the ACF in Paris, FIA President Jean Todt honored the Inaugural Class of the FIA Hall of Fame comprised entirely of the 33 FIA Formula 1 World Champions of whom nine were in attendance. RRDC members Sir Jackie Stewart and […]
Here’s a selection of member-created items that hit the market this year and a few from last year. PETE LYONS’ 2-FER CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Pete Lyons’ 2018 Can-Am Calendar plus his Memorable Moments in Motorsports anthology are a package deal for the holidays. Check out the ordering information here. Also peruse the plethora of other great […]
F1 ANNOUNCE TEAM SIGNS OFF WITH A SHOEY The nonpareil F1 broadcast team of Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett celebrated its last hurrah Sunday, closing the F1 season finale wrap with a “Shoey” – drinking champagne from a shoe, a celebratory podium antic regularly practiced by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo using his own […]
TEAM USA PRESIDENT JEREMY SHAW IS LATEST “ASK A PRO” Jeremy Shaw, President of the Team USA Scholarship and leading TV and radio announcer, is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. An internationally-acclaimed motor racing writer and broadcaster for more than 40 years, Shaw is the founder of the Team USA Scholarship which […]
