Commercial Break: Norton Commando 750, 1971 (US)

The 14th Kyalami 9 Hours, 6th November 1971

The Jacky Ickx/ Mario Andretti car was brand new and built to conform to the new FIA regulations regarding width. It suffered from early problems; Andretti, who had won the Grand Prix on this circuit back in March, lost time at the start when he knocked the fuel pump switch off and then the car was delayed for almost 45 minutes when it stopped out on the circuit due to the battery coming loose. After that it pulled rapidly up the field and snatched second place near the end from the David Piper Porsche 917 driven by Tony Adamowicz and Italian Mario Casoni.
The eventual winners were Clay Regazzoni and Brian Redman who led most of the way in the older 312P 'B' (the B designation was given to the car to differentiate it from the earlier 1969 car of the same name), but were delayed first by damaged bodywork and were then docked two laps for having more than the allowed number of mechanics working on the car.
The race also marked a new first, as it was the first time that the winning speed of this event exceeded 160km/h. Top speed at the track was also over 200mph, a level only beaten years later by the turbo-era F1 racers.

Monaco GP, May 23, 1971

Qualifying was extremely wet and so it was Friday morning times that really counted for the grid; for Mario Andretti this was particularly unfortunate, as his Ferrari 312B2 was stranded out on the track at this time so he was unable to qualify despite lying second in the World Championship. Jackie Stewart claimed a stunning pole position over a second ahead of his front row companion Jacky Ickx and in the race shot into an immediate lead from the fast-starting Jo Siffert, Ickx, Pedro Rodríguez, Ronnie Peterson and Denny Hulme. Chris Amon stalled on the grid and Graham Hill - seeking a 6th Monaco win - made a rare mistake, hitting the wall at Tabac on lap 2.

Stewart extended his lead from Siffert and Ickx, despite being painfully ill from fumes leaking into the cockpit. Peterson was astonishing the crowd with his valiant attempts to take 4th place from Rodríguez, who was baulking him as much as was legally possible. Hulme managed to join the battle and pass Peterson on one lap. Eventually the Mexican slipped up under pressure and locked up a wheel to let both Peterson and Hulme through. Stewart went on to win the race.

Motorsport At The Palace 2014

25th-26th May 2014, Crystal Palace Park, Anerley Hill, London, SE19.

Regular visitors to this show know that the car park is usually a pretty good aperitif/digestif to the main meal:

Once inside, the cars are of equal quality: 

How often do you see a first generation Honda Accord these days?

Rover 12 tourer:

Looks like a 60's 4/4; crossflow engine with supercharger?

Small-block Chevy in a Mini. In the wet. Brave.

More engine lunacy; two Kawasaki ZX9 engines in a Tiger Z100:

TR6 rims on this Daimler SP250 look ACES. A natural wheels choice really, seeing as it uses TR3 underpinnings:

Reliant Sabre, predecessor to the Scimitar below that. A pretty sharp tool it's own right:

Honda S800, with that gorgeous 791cc  jewel of a 4 cylinder engine with twin cams, a roller bearing crankshaft and two twin-choke carburettors in original tune; 71bhp at 9000 rpm!

McLaren 650s, always great to look at up close:

The new Alfa 4C:

And an older relative:

Monte Carlo or bust:

Now to the competitors. The rain wasn't deterring these guys:

Amazons in the forest:

This year’s event focused on the legendary 1971 Osram Saloon Car Championship race, which saw Mike Crabtree, Martin Thomas and Gerry Marshall wage an epic battle for victory in one of the great races of the era, a race so thrilling that the BBC featured it in their 100 Great Sporting Moments series.

Both Crabtree and Thomas attended this year’s Motorsport at the Palace as special guests, along with the actual cars they raced 43 years ago. The late Gerry Marshall was represented by his son Gregor, with an identical replica of the Viva GT in which Marshall won the ’71 race.

The Thomas Camaro:

The Crabtree Escort:

And the Marshall Viva replica:

The '70 lineup also included the George Whitehead WRA Engineering Anglia. Campaigned by him in 1971; it featured in the May '69 issue of Car & Car Conversion. It fell into disrepair, but was restored in 2009:

And the Derek 'Doc' Merfiled/Jon Doubleday 'Fraud Cortina'. originally wit a Coventry-Climax FWMV V8 engine designed for F1. It currently runs a small-block Chevy V8:

1928 Salmson Grand Sport Special:

Ready to launch:

Beautiful Sunbeam-Talbot 90:

Austin-Healey 100/4:

It rained...

..and rained:

Racing, standing still:

FIN