Sir Stirling Moss shares memories of his legendary 1955 Mille Miglia win at Cars international Kensington

Cars International, a leading worldwide supplier of high performance, road and racing cars hosted a special evening on Wednesday 7th May 2008 at its Kensington showroom.

The occasion was the preview of PLB23, a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing of extraordinary historical importance and impeccable provenance which until its discovery by Cars International had been lost from public view for over 30 years. Star guest Sir Stirling Moss O.B.E., who was a Mercedes works driver during the 1950’s recalled the car, commenting: “PLB23 featured in my book the Stirling Moss Scrapbook 1955.

I was photographed driving the car during the preparation period for my Mille Miglia victory in 1955. I’m delighted to find that PLB23 has survived in such fine form.” Sir Stirling went on to enthral the star-studded audience with tales of his famous Mille Miglia victory.

He shared the stage with TV chef James Martin who is to compete in this year’s Mille Miglia driving his 1948 Maserati A6GCS which was sourced and fully prepared by Cars International. Martin was delighted to receive some guidance and tips from Sir Stirling prior to the beginning of his adventure.

“It was extraordinary to meet Sir Stirling on the eve of my departure for Italy to compete in the legendary race,” commented the passionate car enthusiast who also boasts an F1 car in his collection. PLB23 remains on view at the showrooms of Cars International at Kendrick Place, Reece Mews in South Kensington.

Source: carsinternational.com

 

MONTEREY, Calif. (May 8, 2008) – Legendary race cars such as the Porsche 935, the “Spirit of Sebring” Greenwood Corvette, and Jaguar XJR-5 will duke it out much as they did in contributing to the incomparable history of world-renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s famed 2.238-mile permanent road course during the Monterey Festival of Speed May 16-18.

The sleek IMSA cars of 1974-1982 vintage will grace the twists and turns of the fabled track just as they did during one of the great eras of racing in the world and add to the diversity of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s 2008 season-opening event that will also feature some of the latest and greatest in both open- and closed-wheel racing.

Included in the fabulous opening weekend will be the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda and Formula BMW USA.

In their day, these IMSA race cars featured advanced design and technology for their time. Now, they can be considered the predecessors of the current crop of closed-cockpit race cars.

Some of these cars will be piloted by former IMSA drivers as well! Names such as Bruce Canepa, John Morton, and Jim Busby will all get behind the wheel and show the crowd they still have what it takes to put on a great show.

“The Historic IMSA race will be a fantastic opportunity for race fans of all ages to enjoy these cars where they belong, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,” said Gill Campbell, CEO of the track. “Bringing in these older race cars is a perfect tie-in for the Festival of Speed, as attendees get to watch the best of yesterday and today in one weekend!”

 

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The HSCC is aiming to put together the largest-ever grid of Formula 5000s at Brands Hatch for the 2008 Autoglym HSCC Historic Festival (June 28th and 29th). As part of the worldwide celebrations of F5000’s 40th anniversary, the Festival is hoping to see over 20 of these 600bhp Chevy-powered monsters on the startline for a spectacular – and ear-splitting – race.

Their presence at Brands is particularly fitting. When F5000 launched in the UK in 1968, the formula was promoted by John Webb, then MD of Brands Hatch. Joining teams from across Europe are five cars currently travelling over by sea from New Zealand. These include three state-of-the-art Lola 332s (drivers Stan Redmond, Sefton Gibb and Russell Greer), a McRae and a Lola 142 (drivers Stuart Lush and Steve Ross).

The jaw-dropping F5000 gathering is not the only record grid attempt for the Autoglym Festival. Over 100 Formula Juniors are also expected to take to the track, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Formula Junior, with the 1950s and ’60s single-seaters coming to the Kent circuit from across the world.

 

We'll have a great weekend, with so many great historic motorsports events: The Historic Acroppolis Rally, Classic Endurance Racing at Spa, the 24 hours of LeMons... and the 6th Historic Monaco Grand Prix.

The 6th Historic Monaco Grand Prix will be held on the 10th and 11th of May.

This is one of the unmissable events of the 2008 historic motorsports season.

The Historic Monaco Grand Prix is a retrospective of the golden age of racing in Monaco. Run on the world-famous Grand Prix Formula One circuit, it's considered one of the three top historic car races, with the Goodwood Revival Festival that will be held on september, 19 and Le Mans Classic that will take place on th famous Le Mans circuit on 11th of July. For sure another unmissable event of the 2008 Historic Motorsports season, as it's held every two years only.

The Historic Grand Prix was first held in 1997, and has been run every two years since 2000 by the Automobile Club of Monaco. This edition will comprise seven series and two retrospectives:

Race A - Pre 1947 Voiturettes and Grand Prix cars
Race B - Pre 1961 Front engined Grand Prix cars
Race C - Pre 1953 Sports and Sports Prototype cars
Race D - Formula Junior Cars
Race E - Pre 1966 Rear engined Grand Prix cars
Race F - Pre 1975 Formula One 3 liter
Race G - Formula One 3 liter from 1975 to the end of 1978
Ferrari F1 Historic Parade
* Parade celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the GP Moto de Monaco 1948

All trial heats will take place on Saturday 10th May. The races will be held on Sunday 11th May - 10 laps for Series A, B, C, D and E and 15 laps for Series F and G.

For further details visit acm.mc

 

The ceremonial start of the 7^th Historic Acropolis Rally will take place at the foothill of the Acropolis on Saturday May 10 at 18:00, with 184 cars built up until 1981 taking part at the event.

The high number of entries once more was expected since the Historic Acropolis Rally is one of the most important events of the FIA Historic European Rally Championship and admeasures with coefficient 4, which is the highest one. Among the entrants, 51 crews will compete for the Sporting category, while the 133 will take part at the Regularity category.

Among them, we can see last year’s Sporting winners Marco Bianchini – Emanuele Baldaccini in the Lancia Stratos HF, as well as the categories 1 and 2 Champions for 2007, Andrea Polli – Ms Vilma Salvi and Antonio Parisi & Giuseppe D' Angelo respectively. Also, in the rally will participate the 2007 European Regularity Trophy winners, who are our fellow countrymen Jason Fotopoulos – Aristotelis Georgiou, in the Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce.

On Sunday, May 11^th, at 08:00, 1^st car will take the start from Faliron Olympic Properties. We remind you, that the overnight regrouping during the rally will be taking place in the Hotel Casino Loutraki, where the Rally Headquarters, the Press Office and the Service Park of the event will be operating.

Source: Touring Club of Greece
7th Historic Acropolis Rally

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