1957 Vanwall 'Streamliner'

I took this photograph at the Donington Park museum in September 2014.

It's the 1957 Vanwall F1 car with the streamlined body that never actually raced. The Vanwall of 1956-58 was designed by Colin Chapman and the body by Frank Costin, and it used the Vanwall engine designed by Norton engineer Leo Kuzmicki which was basically an enlarged version of four single-cylinder 498cc Norton engines joined together. The streamlined body was taken to the high-speed Reims circuit (a triangular five-mile road circuit with just two sharp corners and a couple of long sweeping curves) in July of 1957 for the non-championship Reims Grand Prix for evaluation. Regular drivers Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks were unavailable and Roy Salvadori and Stuart Lewis-Evans were drafted in for the race. Both drivers tried the streamlined car in practice, but it proved no faster than the normal one, which both drivers preferred to use in the race.

1983 Williams FW08C

This is a photograph that I took at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It’s the 1983 Williams FW08C that was driven in the 1983 World Championship season by Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite. It was designed by Frank Dernie and had a 2,993cc Ford Cosworth DFV engine. The were 15 Grand Prix races that season and Keke Rosberg gained the only victory for the team in the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing the season in fifth place in the World Drivers’ Championship with 27 points. Jacques Lafite acquired 11 points to finish in eleventh place in the Championship and McLaren finished in fifth place in the World Constructors’ Championship.

1995 McLaren MP4/10B

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It’s a McLaren MP4/10B that competed in the 1995 season, mainly driven by Mark Blundell and Mika Häkkinen. The team switched from the Peugeot engines used the previous season to the Mercedes Benz 2,999cc V10 FO110 engine but the car was no more successful than in the 1994 season. Mark Blundell scored 13 points to finish in tenth place in the World Drivers’ Championship whilst Mika Häkkinen did slightly better with two second place finishes to end the season in seventh place with 17 points. McLaren managed fourth place in the World Constructors’ Championship with 30 points.

1959 Stanguellini FJ

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in October 1989.

It's a Stanguellini Formula Junior car from the late 1950s. Formula Junior was conceived in 1958 as a class of racing which would form a relatively inexpensive entry level class for drivers to take their first steps to a racing career. The engine, transmission and brakes of the car had to be sourced from production cars with a 1,000cc limit on cars weighing 360kg and 1,100cc for 400kg cars. Italian cars mostly using the Fiat 1,100cc engine were the most successful in the first two years as the British manufacturers still concentrated on the 500cc Formula 3 series. Cooper, Lotus and others soon started to produce mid-engined Formula Junior cars though, and by 1960 British cars were picking up most of the victories. This car was sold by the Museum in 1994 and in 2004 it was offered in auction by Bonhams who gave this information about the car.

1948 Maserati 4CLT

I took this photograph in the Donington Park Museum in May 1989.

It's a Maserati 4CLT which was a development of the pre-War 4CL and has a 4-cylinder inline 1,491cc supercharged engine. The first 4CLT was produced in 1947 and the 1948 variant made its debut at the San Remo Grand Prix, winning the race in the hands of Alberto Ascari. The 4CLT has ever since been known as the 'San Remo'. The museum car was apparently built up by Reg Parnell in late 1950, possibly using the chassis of 4CLT 1597 which was crashed in Brazil in March 1949 by Alberto Ascari. The figure behind the car seems to represent Juan Manuel Fangio who drove a Maserati 4CL in the late 1940s and early in 1950 before joining the Alfa Romeo team.

1973 Tyrrell 006

I took this photograph on a visit to the Donington Park Museum in March 1996.

It's the Tyrrell 006 that took Jackie Stewart to his third and last World Drivers' Championship title in 1973 and has a 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine. After driving the Tyrrell 005 for the first two races of the 1973 season in Argentina and Brazil, and finishing in third and second places respectively, Jackie Stewart drove the Tyrrell 006/2 for the rest of the season, winning five of the races and the World Drivers' Championship before the final race of the season in the USA at Watkins Glen. He had already made his mind up to retire after that race, but after team mate François Cevert was killed in an accident during practice for that race he walked away and announced his retirement.

1979 McLaren M28C

The Donington Park Museum had a large collection of McLaren F1 cars and this is one that I photographed in September 2014.

It's a McLaren M28C that was driven by John Watson and Patrick Tambay in the 1979 season. The car was designed by Gordon Coppuck and powered by a 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine but was not a success and was roundly condemned by the two drivers. John Watson had a third place in Argentine, a fourth place in Monaco and a sixth place in Belgium to score 15 points and finish in ninth place in the World Drivers' Championship. Patrick Tambay's best result was a seventh place in the British Grand Prix and he scored no points in the Championship. The McLaren team finished in seventh place in the World Constructors' Championship. The Donington Park car bears the number 7 that marked  John Watson's cars in 1979  and appears to be M28/2.

 

1977 McLaren M26

 This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in March 1996.

These are two McLaren F1 cars, the nearest one being the 1977 McLaren M26 as driven by James Hunt for the second half of the 1977 season and in the 1978 season, and has a 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine. James Hunt finished in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship in 1977 with his team-mate Jochen Mass in sixth place, and McLaren took third place in the World Constructors' Championship. In 1978 James Hunt finished equal thirteenth with his team-mate Patrick Tambay in the Drivers' Championship, and McLaren were eighth in the Constructors' Championship.

The car behind it is the 1976 McLaren M23, the car with which James Hunt won the 1976 World Drivers' Championship. The McLaren M23 also had the 2,993 V8 Ford Cosworth engine and was raced by the McLaren team for five seasons from 1973, Emerson Fittipaldi winning the World Drivers' Championship in 1974, as well as finishing in second place in both 1973 and 1975. In 1976 James Hunt won six races to finish one point in front of Niki Lauda in his Ferrari in the World Drivers' Championship, the title being decided at the last race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, where James Hunt finished in third place and Niki Lauda withdrew before the end of the race because of the hazardous weather conditions.

1999 Lola T99-50

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's the West Competition team's Lola T99-50 that has a Zytek-Judd 3 litre engine and was driven by Nick Heidfeld in the 1999 European Formula 3 season. The board beside the car reads as follows:

1999

West Competition

Formula 3000 Lola

This is the car in which Nick Heidfeld won the 1999 European

Formula 3000 Championship.

All teams in the European Formula 3000 Series used Elf fuel,

and ran with the same Lola T99-50 chassis and Avon tyres.

Unlike Formula 1, slick tyres were still used as opposed to

grooved.

After a move from German Formula 3, Heidfeld started with

the West Competition team in 1998 and finished the year

second behind Juan Pablo Montaya (Williams F1 driver for

2001).

In 1999 he went one better and became the champion with

wins at Imola, Barcelona, Magny-Cours and the A1-Ring.

During 1998 and 1999, Heidfeld was also test driver for

McLaren, but as both Coulthard and Häkkinen were to be

retained for the 2000 season it was agreed that he should go

to another team and gain Grand Prix experience. So for 2000

Heidfeld drove for Prost and in 2001 he moved to Sauber.

1980 McLaren M29

The Donington Park museum had a large collection of McLaren cars and this is one that I photographed on a visit in September 2014.

It's a 1980 McLaren M29, chassis M29/5, and the last one built. The M29 was designed by Gordon Coppuck with a 2,993cc Ford Cosworth V8 DFV engine and raced by the team from half way through the 1979 season to the early part of the 1981 season but wasn't particularly successful, its best results being three fourth place finishes by John Watson in that time. Chassis 29/5's first race was the 1980 German Grand Prix driven by Alain Prost, who also drove it in the United States Grand Prix, and Andrea de Cesaris drove it in four races early in the 1981 season.

1939 Mercedes Benz W154

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in May 1989.

It's a 1939 Mercedes Benz W154, sometimes known as a W163 though it's actually a 1938 W154 with the M154 engine replaced by the 1939 M163 unit.

During the Second World War Mercedes Benz had stored its racing cars in and around the factory at Unterturkheim, but later in the war when the allied bombing became more of a threat many of the cars were taken to other, less targeted places for safety. They were usually stored in pairs and this car, chassis W154/10, together with W154/9, was walled up in the workshops of Czech pre-war racing driver Antonin Vitvar in Stará Paka. After the war W154/9 ended up in the USA and W154/10 was handed over to the National Technical Museum of Prague. Many years later the car was sent to Tom Wheatcroft's workshops at Donington Park for restoration and then had a period on loan at the Museum.

1994 Williams FW16B

This is one of the several Williams Cars on display at the Donington Park Museum when I visited in September 2014.

It's a 1994 Williams FW16, the car with which Damon Hill finished in second place in the 1994 World Championship to Michael Schumacher's Benetton B194. The car was designed by Adrian Newey and has a 3,500cc Renault RS6 V10 engine. The previous year’s World Champion, Alain Prost, had retired at the end of the 1993 season so the number 1 (which was always given to the previous year’s Champion) wasn’t used and Ayrton Senna had moved to Williams from the McLaren team to take the number 2 car, so Damon Hill’s car was given the number 0. Ayrton Senna tragically lost his life in a crash in the early stages of the third race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix, where Roland Ratzenberger had already suffered a fatal accident during practice. David Coulthard, and Nigel Mansell towards the end of the season, took over the number 2 Williams car and the three drivers managed to gain enough points for Williams to win the World Constructors’ Championship.

1990 Williams FW13B

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in March 1996.

It's a 1990 Williams FW13B, a car that was designed by Enrique Scalabroni and was powered by a 3,493cc Renault RS2 V10 engine. The number 6 car was driven by Riccardo Patrese who won the San Marino Grand Prix and finished in seventh place in the World Drivers' Championship. Thierry Boutson drove the number 5 car, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix and finished in sixth place in the Championship. Williams ended the season in fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship.

2004 Williams FW26

This is one of the large number of Williams F1 cars that were in the Donington Park Museum the last time I went there in September 2014.

It's a Williams FW26 that was campaigned by the Williams team in the 2004 season. The car was designed by Patrick Head, Gavin Fisher and Antonia Terzi, and had a 2,998cc V10 BMW engine. It was driven by Juan Pablo Montoya in all 18 races while the driving of the second car was shared by Ralf Schumacher, Antonio Pizzonia and Marc Gené. Juan Pablo Montoya finished in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship winning the last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, while Ralf Schumacher had a second place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix to end up in ninth place in the Championship. Williams finished in fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship.

1955 Vanwall

The Donington Grand Prix Collection at the Donington Park museum included a comprehensive display of Vanwall F1 cars. This is a photograph of one of those cars that I took on a visit there in September 2014.

It's the 1955 Vanwall that was driven in the 1955 season by Mike Hawthorn, Ken Wharton and Harry Schell. The engine was designed by Norton engineer Leo Kuzmicki, and was basically four Manx single-cylinder 498cc motorcycle engines which by 1955 has been bored out to a capacity of 2489cc. The car only managed one finish in the 1955 World Championship races, a ninth place in the British Grand Prix shared by Ken Wharton and Harry Schell. A couple of wins and a few podium finishes were recorded in minor British events.

1935 Austin 7 Twin Cam

I took this photograph on a visit to the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's one of the two remaining very successful Austin 7 single seater racing cars that were built in 1935, and the board next to the car reads as follows:

'1935

Austin 7 Twin Cam

 

These lovely little single seaters were Sir Herbert Austin’s reply

to the successful M.G. Midgets fielded by Sir William Morris in

the 1930s.

Designed by T. Murray-Jamieson, well known for his work on

super chargers, and assisted by W.V. Appleby & T. Brown, the

cars had a troubled debut in 1936, with most of the testing and

development carried out here at Donington Park.

With teething troubles rectified, these cars went from strength

to strength during the 1937/38/39 seasons. Usually driven by

L.P. Driscoll, C.L. Goodacre & “Bert” Hadley they competed in

everything from speed trials and hill climbs through to 500 mile

races at Brooklands. The two “twin cams” made many

appearances at Donington Park winning, along with numerous

sprints and handicap races, the Coronation Trophy here in 1937,

the British Empire Trophy race here in 1938 and the Imperial

Trophy at Crystal Palace in 1939.

Not only were these cars pretty to look at, the 747cc

Engine was an engineering masterpiece, very highly stressed

And reputedly capable of revving to 12,000 R.P.M.'

I understand that this car is now at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon.

1985 Toleman 185

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in October 1989.

It's the 1985 Toleman TG185 that was driven by Teo Fabi and Piercarlo Ghinzani. The car was designed by Rory Byrne, very similar to the previous year's TG184 that had been driven by Ayrton Senna and powered by the same 4-cylinder inline Hart 415T 1,459cc turbocharged engine. The highlight of the season was Teo Fabi's pole position in the German Grand Prix, but he only managed two finishes, a 14th place in France and 12th in Italy, while Piercarlo Ghinzani failed to finish any of the five races in which he started. The team was bought out by Benetton at the end of the season. 

2004 BAR 060

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's the BAR-Honda 060 that Jenson Button and Takuma Sato drove in the 2004 season. The board at the side of the car reads like this:

2004     B.A.R.   060

The BAR 060 car was driven by Jenson Button in the

2004 Formula One Championship. This car helped bring

Jenson Button home third in the drivers’ series and take

BAR to second place in the manufacturers’

championship.

In the last weeks of 2001, Prodrive was brought in by

BAR to take over the management of the then

underperforming Formula One team.

As part of the agreement, a team of Prodrive

management, including chairman David Richards, was

seconded to the team. Prodrive restructured the BAR,

operation, gave it a distinct new identity and most

importantly, made the team truly competitive for the

first time in its short history.

By the end of 2004, the team was second only to Ferrari

In terms of performance and, off the track, was meeting

Its budget targets. As a result, its major shareholder

BAT was able to sell the business to Honda and

Prodrive’s task was completed.

Jenson Button had 4 second place and 6 third place finishes to finish with 85 points in third place in the World Drivers' Championship in 2004, while Takuma Sato had one third place and a number of minor points-scoring finishes to earn 34 points for eighth place. BAR-Honda ended up in second place in the World Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari.

1959 BRM P25

I took this photograph on a visit to the Donington Park Museum in March 1996.

It's a 1959 BRM P25 and is finished in the colours of the British Racing Partnership who had one of the cars on loan in the 1959 season. BRM - British Racing Motors - was founded in the late 1940s to produce a car capable of challenging the dominant foreign racing teams, mainly Italian, in the major Grand Prix races. The first cars, the 1½ litre V16 supercharged P15 and P30, promised much but delivered little, only beginning to run well when the 1½ litre supercharged/4½ litre unsupercharged Formula was dying out through lack of competition. The P25, built for the new 2½ litre Formula fared little better and was just beginning to become competitive when the rear-engined Cooper started to dominate the sport. The engine of the P25, designed by Stuart Tresilian, was 'oversquare', with a very large bore in relation to its stroke to accommodate the massive inlet valves. These, with the large ports and carburettors, enabled very high rpm to be achieved - some 9,000 rpm - producing 248bhp. The car made its debut in 1955, but it was 1959 before it gained its first major victory, a win by Jo Bonnier in the Dutch Grand Prix. In an attempt to compete with the rear-engined Coopers, BRM quickly designed a rear-engined car, the P48, which was essentially a P25 with the engine at the back instead of the front. The P25's were cannibalised to provide parts for this new car which made its debut in late 1959 but it was unable to bring success to the team, and it was 1962 before they finally had a winner with the P578 which brought the World Drivers' Championship to Graham Hill. The Donington Park workshops rebuilt three of the 1959 P25 cars from original bits and pieces including the pale green car above, chassis 2510, which was driven for the British Racing Partnership by Stirling Moss, but is perhaps best known for its accident in the German Grand Prix at Avus when brake failure caused Hans Herrmann to crash in spectacular fashion. The large picture on the wall behind the BRM shows a 1936 Alfa Romeo 8C-35, probably the one once owned by Dennis Poore that was for a time part of the Donington Collection.

1999 Penske PC-27B

This is a photograph that I took at the Donington Park Museum on my final visit there in September 2014.

It's the Penske PC-27B that Al Unser drove in the 1999 Cart season for the Marlboro Team Penske but without much success, his best result being a seventh position in the final race of the season at the California Speedway in Fontana. The car was designed by John Travis and built by Penske Cars in Poole, Dorset, and was powered by a 2,650cc Mercedes Benz IC108E V8 engine.