VeloceToday correspondent Graham Gauld has been invited to speak at the Italian National Motor Museum de Gianni Agnelli in Turin on the early life of Jim Clark, scheduled for Saturday, February 16, 2019. Famed Italian journalist Gianni Cancillieri will also talk of his own experiences with Jim followed by questions and answers. The conference is held by the AISA – Italian Association for the History of the Automobile and is free and open to all. [Read more…] about Graham Gauld to Speak at AISA Conference
Graham Gauld
Fiat Grand Prix Race Driver, Felice Nazzaro
Story by Graham Gauld
If you read the first article in this series you will recall the photograph of Felice Nazzaro at the wheel of the 18 liter Fiat S-B 4 Corsa “ Mephistopheles” that was sent to England to race against the Napier race car at Brooklands. [Read more…] about Fiat Grand Prix Race Driver, Felice Nazzaro
Vignale’s Fiat 8V, Castagna’s Alfa
Story by Graham Gauld
From time to time I go through photographs that have been taken years ago, printed up and then forgotten in boxes. Obviously, some get ditched as they are unlikely to be relevant to anything I intend to write in the future, but others come as interesting surprises. As VeloceToday seems to attract people who appreciate and admire coachbuilding I set aside one or two which I thought might be worth mentioning. These are two such examples.
Circuit du Grand Sambuc
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
For around twenty years I had known of the existence of a private racing circuit beside a reconstructed Chateau up in the hills behind Aix en Provence in the South of France and I had heard how it had been built by an enthusiast and used for testing.
So it came as a surprise to be invited to a Festival of Motor Sport to be held at the Domaine du Sambuc circuit on June 23. There was little advance information and so, perplexed, I arrived to find that the event proposed by Hugo Riperd and Clive Rigby, who now own the circuit and chateau, had been scaled down. This was due to the local mayor announcing they could not set up some track records but instead could only put on demonstrations. which meant the event either had to be cancelled or else go ahead on a very relaxed scale: thankfully they chose the latter as they had arranged something special. [Read more…] about Circuit du Grand Sambuc
And How! Moto Guzzi’s Remarkable V8
And How! features open and innovative formats for notices, short articles and posts
It is Brandes Elitch’s best loved motorcycle. “This is my absolute favorite bike and my vote for the most desirable bike ever made.” It captivated Graham Gauld at this year’s Monaco Historics. It even lit a fire under the Editorial bum. Find out why. Ed.
Story by Graham Gauld
For a reason I never completely understood, the Monaco Club invited a bunch of people with vintage racing bikes to drive round the circuit and wave to the crowd. But one bike, a Moto Guzzi of 1957, caught my eye. [Read more…] about And How! Moto Guzzi’s Remarkable V8
Monaco Historic Grand Prix 2018
Story and color photos by Graham Gauld
The Monaco Historic Grand Prix meeting (May 11-13) has come and gone and, my, how time flies when you are having fun. As readers will know, I go to those events, never do reportage on the races, but keep looking for oddities and interesting sidelights that the others may not have noticed. Monaco this year was a rich source of items so let’s start off with an oddity, the Assegai Formula 1 car. [Read more…] about Monaco Historic Grand Prix 2018
Graham Gauld on the Tour Auto 2018
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
Last Saturday, April 28t, the Tour Auto came to town. When I say town, I mean the small town of Fayence in the Var region of Provence in the South of France. Fayence is about 20 minutes from my home here and when I realized the cars were not only passing through the town but would have a rest stop before the last two Special Stages before the finish at Nice, then I had to pay a visit.
Graham Gauld and the Motoring Aristocracy
Story by Graham Gauld
Throughout the history of European motor sport the aristocrats and the titled were the true pioneers, mainly because they were the only people who had the money to indulge in this new and gentlemanly sport. Many embraced racing with great enthusiasm.
A number of them were Scots and since that is a topic dear to my heart, I would like to tell you the stories of three of them who were as different as chalk and cheese, from three distinctly different eras of motorsport.
Graham Gauld at Avignon
Story by Graham Gauld
Color photos by Graham Gauld
The Avignon Auto Show took place last weekend (March 23-25) and as usual I went there to see what cars would turn up. This year they decided to honor the 70th anniversary of Porsche so the main show area featured the German make.
I hate to admit this but I am really not a Porsche fan but I must say the organizers had gathered a very representative array of racing Porsches and the whole show and car park looked like the factory car park in Stuttgart.
Graham Gauld Interview with Teo Zeccoli
Teo Zeccoli passed away last week and it seemed fitting that we should republish Graham Gauld’s wonderful interview with Zeccoli in 2001, first published in VeloceToday.com on January 24 2013.
Story by Graham Gauld
In the alphabet of the world’s racing drivers, Teodoro Zeccoli comes somewhere near the end. He is a driver we have all heard about, due to his particular exploits with Alfa Romeo, but he is more than just a young Italian who grew up wanting to be a racing driver; Zeccoli was one of the favored test drivers of Carlo Chiti. Apart from being one of Chiti’s principals at Autodelta he was also the test driver for Chiti’s Formula 1 bad-egg, the ATS. [Read more…] about Graham Gauld Interview with Teo Zeccoli
Graham Gauld at Retromobile 2018
By Graham Gauld
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Graham Gauld has covered Retro for VeloceToday since 2012
Press day in Paris last Wednesday was quite chaotic as the heavens opened and dumped a load of snow turning this dramatic city into a winter wonderland. But the local taxi drivers seem to have forgotten what happens to a car if, you maintain your usual mad dash through the traffic. That evening taxis were bouncing off the tails of buses or hitting other taxis. So Retromobile had a lively start.
Retromobile this year was the usual mélange of cars we know and as always, hidden away, were one or two cars we had either never seen before or else had interesting histories. [Read more…] about Graham Gauld at Retromobile 2018
The Italian American Copper Cobra
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
Over the years I have attended scores of motor shows and seen many prototypes and oddities on display, some of which went on to have interesting histories and consequences.
Take, for example, the Mercer Cobra that halted me in my tracks at the 1966 Paris Automobile Salon because it looked different; very different indeed. However, it started ringing bells in the memory. [Read more…] about The Italian American Copper Cobra