Category Archives: Paddocks of the Past

2015 Thanksgiving Run Photos

Well, it was a touch damp this morning. Okay, okay, it was rather wet. But still! 49 cars braved the weather and met in North Vancouver for the start of the CCA Thanksgiving Run. Following our slightly damp drive to Squamish, we stopped at the base of the Sea to Sky Gondola. We found the coffee shop not only featured fantastic Galileo Coffee, but a warm and dry spot to hang out as well!

With coffee finished, and the draw prizes all pulled, we figured we were done…but there was the small matter of push-starting a couple cars for their departure. Oh, and the Hagerty Spring Thaw…

“Hagerty Spring Thaw?”, I can hear you asking, yup! We put all the draw tags back in the hat, added the names and cars of anyone how hadn’t filled out a draw tag, and then pulled a lucky winner out of the hat. Ian Steward will have car number 1 reserved for his entry, no rushing to the mail required!

Here’s a small gallery from today:

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Paddocks of the Past: Silverstone 1973

Yardley McLaren Transporter, Silverstone 1973

Yardley McLaren Transporter, Silverstone 1973 (Click to Enlarge)

Yardley McLaren team members start to unload their team transporter at the 1973 John Player Special British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Compared to the multi-level transforming ‘hospitality suites’ the F1 circus has now, the transporters of 1973 were little more than a shed on wheels.

The two McLaren M23 F1 cars epitomize the “wings and slicks” era. With their massive whale-tail wings, aeroquip hoses, and tall airboxes, they look impressive, with the car on top for Jody Sheckter, and the bottom for American racer, Peter Revson. Revson would go on to win the Grand Prix that weekend, after a huge startline pile-up forced a restart (see video below). Can’t quite figure out what the man with the headset has in his hand, and what the two people on the ground are up to.  Perhaps a TV crew?

Paddocks of the Past: Riverside 1967

Here’s the first of an ongoing series of archive snapshots of paddock and pit areas from days gone by. There’s so much character and intriguing little details in these photos – they never get tiring!  Today’s is a walk-by snapshot from a 1967 round of the US National Championship Road Races at Riverside International Raceway in California. The TR3’s owner seems to be trying to up the pressure on his MOWOG rivals (The MOWOG acronym for Morris-Wolseley Garages is cast into engine parts and other pieces of BMC/MG cars), and his crew are hoping to keep him focused on the task at hand with a big “Go Faster!” reminder on the dash. Racing was simpler in those days.

TR4A at Riverside

[Image from the Girvan Patterson/AB3 Racing/Formula Photographic Archive]