Fangio In-Car 1957

A different world in so many ways. Look at the track surface!

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The best for sure...

This footage is also included in '50 Years of Formula 1 On-Board' another one of my favorite vids of all time.....

Cheers

Great footage at Ferrari's test track, the curbs and tall grass make the place look like an unfinished housing development.
Here's another, with footage of the Nordschlife...

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I've just been reading the Pirelli/Mercedes book about Fangio's career. In the 30's and 40's he was participating in South American road races (Tourisimo Carretera) that were between 2000 and 4500 miles. Over mountain ranges, deserts, river crossings, swamps, through torrential rain, all on dirt roads. In Fords and Chevys with the fenders cut back to let the mud escape. One race was from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Caracas, Venezuela, and some of the one day stages were 850 miles. Crazy!

After cutting his teeth in South America, that rough concrete track probably seemed like a pool table. :D

I highly recommend the book if you can find a copy. Titled FANGIO, published in 1991 by Pavilion, 168 pages, written by Doug Nye and Stirling Moss.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

Look at the track surface!

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The story as I've read it is that this Modena test track used by Maserati and Ferrari during that period was an old aerodrome that the town had grown around and hedged-in. Kind of like Sebring, the surfaces were not originally intended for racing cars. That's why it was so broken-up and over-grown. However, many of the Grand Prix circuits were in similarly bad shape and used closed public roads, so the surface variations were perfect for testing.

When Steve Earle featured Juan Manuel Fangio at the Historics in 1991 I had the privilege of watching him drive a Maser 250F like the car in the video and a W196 Mercedes. Narrow tires, drum brakes, and wheel travel necessary for uneven surfaces meant that Grand Prix cars of their day were all about drifting and momentum. "More throttle. Less brake," as the man supposedly said to Brian Redman. The Maestro was 80 years old, but he could still make it look easy with the skills he learned on the Andean gravel. Great stuff.

EDIT: I just searched YouTube and found this clip taken by somebody who must have been standing right next to me (after the 500SL camera car spun, the Maestro picked up the pace in subsequent laps -- and refused to be waved-off):

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