Who doesn’t love stories and images of old Grand Prix cars? I know I certainly do, especially when there are such oddities as a biscuit jar with Coopers and Vanwalls on them!

Our man on the east coast, Paul Chenard, has some tales of the British marque. Oh yes, you can also pick up some of Paul’s work for the den!

I managed to catch the last 14 laps of today’s Grand Prix from Spa, just in time to watch the monumental battle between the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari. Mixed wet & dry surfaces, run off roads, errant spinners and big brass balls all came together to produce one of the best finishes F1 has produced in years. At the end, it was Hamilton who kept it on the island and earned a very much deserved place atop the podium.

Oh yes, I yelled so much I woke up the teenager! Oh well, she should have been awake anyway!

Phil Hill has passed away… There I said it, something I hoped never would cross my lips. There are some great men who we wish would never leave us, and possibly Phil Hill is just such a man and because of his many legendary accomplishments just maybe he never will. Anyone that knows anything about racing knows Phil Hill was one of racing’s greatest icons.

In the history of the international Formula 1 Grand Prix Championship, the highest prize in the world, only two Americans have taken home the coveted GT Crown: Phil Hill in 1961 and Mario Andretti in 1978. Phil was the first American to win the classic 24 Hour race at Le Mans, the first American to win three times at Sebring, the first American to win a modern championship Grand Prix and the finally become the first American Champion. Besides a list of accomplishments too long to list, between his sports car and Grand Prix victories, Phil Hill won more races for the Ferrari team than any other driver to date.

My son Will and I are truly blessed that we both got to spend a day with Phil and to experience first hand one the greatest drivers of all time. Will said to Phil, “Mr Hill, what an honor it has been to meet someone like you who has won so many championships, great races, endurance races and so on.” But Phil put his hand on Will’s shoulder, leaned over and said, “Yeah, but I never won a 25 hour race like you guys did,” (Referring to us winning the 25 Hours of Thunderhill.) He was all about making those around him feel as special as he did.

Phil loved racing and did everything he could to make sure everyone around him enjoyed it as much as he did. As we walked around the paddock we came up to a car that was on display and in front of it was a placard describing how many races the car had won driven by Phil Hill. When the man seated next to the car saw us examining it he began telling us more about the car and it quickly became apparent he didn’t realize he was talking to Phil Hill himself. After we walked away I asked Phil why he didn’t tell the man he who he was. Phil said, “I have never seen that car in my life.” Then I asked why he didn’t set him straight and he said, “Why? Besides, someone probably sold him the car telling him all those lies and who am I to ruin his day? Let’s just let him go on living his dream.”

Dreams about racing are in fact what Phil Hill left us with. Thank you Phil. God’s speed.

There was a time when race cars were finished in the colours of the nation from which they hailed. National pride often ebbed and flowed when the national colours were winning or losing. Back in those days, the Grand Prix cars boasted magnificent engines that were as much mechanical works of art as they were the heart of a racing car.

Good friend of The Garage, Paul Chenard has recently completed a limited edition series that captures the essence of this era of machinery. The premium archival Giclee prints measure 14.5′x 11′ and will be limited to a run of 125. They are available for $100 cdn each or an even better deal of $325 for all 4 plus shipping. They can be ordered by clicking on the Automobiliart button at the top right of this page.

Above is the Maserati 250F and the rest of the series can be seen after the break
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1972 was the year Alice Cooper released School’s Out and I’m sure it could be heard in The Pit at Mosport during the Grand Prix weekend, even though school had just started for the fall. I’m sure all those Mutton Chop wearing Grand Prix types in the paddock were more into the Euro bands like ABBA.

Sitting on the pole was Peter Revson, with a time of 1:13.6 which is still a smokin’ fast time today. The man with the turtleneck, Jackie Stewart won the race in his Ford powered Tyrrell, beating Revson by less than 1 second.

Complete results after the break

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In an unprecedented marketing move, Fiat has chosen to place it’s CaseIH brand logos on it’s Ferrari F1 cars for the Canadian and US Grand Prix. While the press release proclaims how this partnership shows the importance of the Case brand to parent company Fiat, The Garage thinks it is a clever marketing ploy. America is a huge farming nation. Farmers purchase tractors. Farmers also watch NASCAR. Farmers don’t watch Formula One. Maybe this is actually an attempt to market F1 through the farm network, along with a push on tractors.

Could Ferrari be planning to sell it’s own line of farm implements to compete with those long time competitors from across the home town of Modena? I can see it now, Michael Schumacher does an in store in Witchita and nobody shows up. Michael who?

The 1963 Player’s 200 at Mosport featured theheadlining sports racing cars, production sports cars, touring cars and Formula Junior. Feature race entrants included such racing legends as Graham Hill, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske and the list goes on. There are several Grand Prix drivers in the field. Eventual winner, Chuck Daigh was driving a Lotus 19 owned by Arciero Brothers Racing.

The 1967 Player’s Grand Prix of Canada was held at Mosport. Reigning World Champion Jack Brabham was the winner, driving a Brabham B19-Repco. The program holds some pretty cool advertising for the 67 US GP as well as an ad featuring Graham Hill Girl’s Driving Gloves for $9.95

This wonderful magazine, published after the Grand Prix includes shots of pit & on track action. On the cover we see BRM crew members filling the fuel tank of Graham Hill’s BRM. Eventual winner Innes Ireland had an eventful weekend on the way to his first Grand Prix victory. Friday’s practice session saw the steering wheel come off in his hands, sending the Lotus into the trees. Luckily, with no major impacts, Ireland was fine to race and the Lotus was repaired in time for qualifying on Saturday. 105.08 was was the fastest lap he could turn, placing him 8th on the grid, before the engine blew up. After crew members worked 8 hours replacing the engine, Ireland did his job on Sunday and won the 1961 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.