Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
MINI Fun Fact of the Day!
All four Beatles owned Minis, the most famous being George Harrison's psychedelic version which appeared in the 1967 film the Magical Mystery Tour (and has been remade in the new model of Mini - see photo below). Built by Harold Radford Ltd in 1965, Austin Cooper S LGF 965D was originally black but was painted in psychedelic colours in 1967 using ideas from an art book. George Harrison also had a wall of his house painted in the same style, much to the annoyance of his neighbours. It was in that mini that Goerge, John, Cynthia Lennon and Patti Boyd apparently had their first LSD trip after leaving the home of a freind who had slipped it into their cups of tea. George recalled driving very slowely because they didn't know what was happening to them. After Magical Mystery Tour, the car was given to Eric Clapton, but George got it back in the 1970's, lovingly maintained it and showed it at Goodwood as recently as 1998, three years before his death.
John Lennon brought his wife Cynthia a Mini in 1964 but because he didn't pass his driving test until 1965, he waited until then before getting a black Radford-built Austin Cooper S (LGF 696D). The following year he told a journalist: "I decided I'd been a bit extravagant and brought too many cars, so I put the Ferarri and the Mini up for sale. Then one of the accountants said I was all right, so I got the cars back". On August 28 1967, Lennon arrived at Apple Studios in his Radford Mini after hearing of the death of the Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
In 1965, Paul McCartney aqcuired a sage green Radford Mini Cooper S (GGJ 382C), which boasted rear lights from the Aston Martin factory, black leather interior, inside map lighting and a sunroof. He drovethe Mini to Primrose Hill, North London, in early 1967 and saw a strange man walking about. This was the inspiration for his song "The Fool on the Hill". The car now resides in a museum in Florida. Ringo Starr owned Radford Austin Mini Cooper S (LLO 836D). The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein brought it originally in 1966 and the next owner shown in the logbook in Richard Starkey, who took possession of it on June 15, 1967. Epstein had an arrangement with dealer Terry Doran to get cars for the Beatles at trade prices. Doran is the 'man from the motor trade' referred to in "She's Leaving Home" on the Sergeant Pepper album.Courtesy of Johncooperworks.net
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
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Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Baltimore Sports Car Challenge
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – September 1, 2012… BMW Team RLL experienced a disappointing day at the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge after a controversial call by the race steward took the lead of the race away from the No. 55 M3 GT on lap 21 with a one minute penalty for avoidable contact. Ultimately finishing in eighth place, the call ended what could have been a great day for Bill Auberlen and Jörg Müller.
The No. 56 M3 GT of Joey Hand and Dirk Müller finished fourth after starting from the rear of the field. The move was required after the team elected to change to a new set of Dunlop tires for the race. Hand started the car and by lap 15 had moved up to sixth. Pitting from fourth on lap 26 he handed off to Müller. Müller challenged for third a number of times but was unable to make it stick, finishing fourth at the checkered flag. The first 20 laps of Jörg Muller’s race was outstanding. He started the No. 55 M3 GT on the outside of the front row and made it through a first turn of spinning prototype class cars with only minor damage. He moved to second as the race went back to green and on lap nine he took the lead with a quick thinking inside move in turn one after the leader was held up. Twelve laps later he was forced to the pits to serve the penalty that was determined to occur in the front straight chicane. Auberlen entered the car on lap 24, returning at the rear of the field. He pitted once more from the tenth spot during the next caution period for softer tires. He made up two more positions to take the checkered flag in eighth. This race is only the second time this season where at least one of the team cars did not finish on the podium. Now with two wins and four additional podium finishes in the first eight races of the season, BMW continues to stand second in the GT Class Manufacturer points. Dirk Müller holds onto the third spot in Driver points. Hand stands fourth. Bill Auberlen and Jörg Müller drop to seventh. “It's very disappointing for Jörg and Bill,” said Team Principal Bobby Rahal. “Jörg didn't touch the car that crashed. Frankly it was close and someone is looking for any kind of infraction. We paid the price. It's just a shame because we were leading the race pretty handily and ahead of the car that ended up winning the race. The No. 56 car had a good strong race. It's clear that the Ferrari is faster than us on the long straights, so we couldn't pass it there. It is the same with the Corvettes. We try and make it up in the corners, but there are just not enough of them. We scored points, but we were certainly hurt in the championship.” Round 9 of the 2012 American Le Mans Series will be held at Virginia International Raceway, in Danville, Virginia, on September 15. The four-hour race will take the green flag at 2:30 p.m. ET with live streaming coverage available on ESPN3.com starting at 2:15 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will broadcast the race at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept 16th. The Series’ website offers additional content such as live in-car cameras, and timing and scoring for all users around the world. Viewers outside the U.S. can watch all ALMS races live on ALMS.com.Courtesy of BMW USA News
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