The 1957 Cuban Grand Prix

Though it was called the Cuban “Grand Prix”, the race series was for sports cars.

It ran for 1957 and 1958 under the Battista Government. For 1959, it was not held as the Battista Regime collapsed and was taken over by Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Government.

In that first year, Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss raced team Maserati 300s’.


Fangio chats with his mechanic pre-race
Pen&ink and watercolour pencils on watercolour paper © Paul Chenard 2014

Fangio always had a great rapport with his mechanics, showing them respect and loyalty. He gave them 10% of his winnings to show it, and in return, they would return that loyalty, and worked hard making sure his car would last the race.

With his well-sorted Maserati, he easily won the 1957 race.

Before the 1958 race, Fangio was kidnapped by Castro supporters as to embarrass the Battista Government, but was released unharmed soon after the checkered flag fell, with Moss winning in a Ferrari 335 S.

The race returned one last time in 1960, but by then the great Fangio had retired from racing.

The Centered Driver - Part II

On January 28th, renowned automotive racer, journalist, writer, editor and photographer Denise McCluggage presented her workshop The Centered Driver, based on her best-selling book The Centered Skier.

Peter Bourassa introducing Denise McCluggage

Denise McCluggage giving her workshop

The workshop, organized by Peter Bourassa, took place at European Motorsports in Lawrence, Massachusetts, hosted by owner Michael Ricciardi.

The Centered Driver
It was a not-to-be-missed opportunity to get serious driving insights from someone who knows!

In the days before the event, I created a large 2-part mural that was the backdrop to Denise's presentation.
Peter, me, Denise and Michael
It was a huge honour to be part of it, and I've made many new wonderful friends.

Jaguar’s Return to Le Mans

At the end of the 1940's, Jaguar the car company decided to enter the world of racing, fielding their successful XK 120 sports car. And they went after one of the biggest motor sports, the 1950 24 Heures du Mans. Unfortunately, clutch failure ended their quest.

For 1951, they created a lightened, rebodied version labeled the C-Type, and succeeded. Their C-type won again the prestigious race for 1953.

They followed up with a totally new racer christened the D-Type, and won the 1955, 1956, and 1957 Le Mans races.


The Office – Jaguar D-Type CockpitPen&ink and watercolour pencils on white archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

The company continued with the development of other racers, but with little success.

In the early 1980's, Tom Walkingshaw Racing (TWR) took a Jaguar XJS to a win of the 1984 European Touring Car. With this success, Jaguar decided to get officially back to racing.

With company support, TWR developed the Jaguar XJR-6 for the 1987 season, and it finished 5th at Le Mans. With their other successes in the season, Jaguar won the World Sports Car Championship.


Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9LMPen&ink, paint markers and markers on purple archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2012
For the 1988, TWR built the all-new XJR-9LM. For their assault of the famous French endurance classic, Jaguar had Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace driving their beautiful racer.

Thirty-one years after their previous Le Mans victory, Jaguar was finally in the winner’s circle again.

Fangio Monaco T-shirt Launched

Retro Formula 1 in the UK has just launched a new t-shirt based on my “Fangio Monaco 1957” pen & ink sketch.

Pen&ink of vellum 8"x 10"
© Paul Chenard

In my opinion, they’ve done a lovely job of the art on this t-shirt.
© Retro Formula 1

You can pick one up through this link to their website:

http://www.retroformula1.com/Fangio/formula1_Fangio57_SHOP.html
This reads pretty high of the “Cool” meter!

The 1957 Mille Miglia

1957 spelled the official end of the famous Italian Mille Miglia road race, which started in 1927. As the name suggest, the route snaked its way through a thousand miles of Italy on public roads, starting and ending in Brescia.




















That last race was won by Piero Taruffi in a works Ferrari 315 S, but was marred by the crash and death of Count Alfonso De Portago, his navigator Edmund Nelson, and thirteen spectators; Portago was in one of the Scuderia Ferrari team racers. There had been grumblings as a result of deaths in previous races, but this was the last straw, and the Mille Miglia was banded.

Taruffi’s other teammate was Peter Collins, driving a Scuderia Ferrari 335 S, navigated by photographer Louis Klemantaski; they unfortunately broke down, and never finished the race.

Peter Collins' Ferrari 335 S at tech inspection before the race

Working drawing, pencil on light gray archival paper, 12”x 9” © Paul Chenard 2009

I did this sketch while sitting in the car at a soccer tournament, which my son was coaching (not cool for dad to be around the pitch).

The Office Series – 1955 Jaguar D-Type

Not long after the Second World War, the Jaguar car company decided that they needed to promote themselves with an attention-getting product.

Pen & ink, watercolour pencil on white archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

Needless to say, they shook the automotive world by introducing the powerful and sleek XK-120 sports car. Powered by a straight-6 and clothed in a stunning sleek and low body, its performance matched its looks and orders flooded in.

A clocked speed of at least 120 mph suggested that it had potential as racing car, so Jaguar created a lighter, more streamlined of the car, calling it an XK-120-C, or C-Type.The racer won the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans for 1951 and 1953.

To build on their success, Jaguar created an all-new racer for 1954, and christened it the D-Type. As a factory-built racer, it introduced the strong yet lightweight monocoque chassis. Designed by Malcolm Sayer, it sported a gorgeous aerodynamic body, producing minimal drag. It was powered by a modified XK straight-six engine, and sported disk brakes all around.

The first of it's 3 Le Mans wins came in 1955, under very sad circumstances, when Pierre Levegh’s Mercerdes SLR lost control and crashed, killing him and 80 spectators. Mike Hawthorn was the winning D-type’s driver, along with Ivor Bueb.



Pen & ink, watercolour pencil and Prismacolor on white archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

The D-type won again in 1956, under Écurie-Écosse Team management, with Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson driving, and again in 1957, with again Flockhart, this time teamed up with Ivor Bueb.

By 1958, the D-type was no longer competitive, so the remaining cars were converted to road-specification as the XKSS.

The Office Series – 1957 Ferrari 250 TR Scaglietti Testa Rosa

Pencil and markers on white archival Canson stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

The Ferrari 250 Testa Rosa is a famous racer that helped propagate the Ferrari legend. The name comes from the Italian words for “red head”, reflecting its 12-cylinder engine’s red-painted cam covers.

The Testa Rosa were produced from 1956 to 1961. They were bodied by various carrozzerias, including Pininfarina and Touring.

Scaglietti created the famous “pontoon” fendered 250TR (Testa Rosas). 22 of these beautiful cars were built in the years 1957–58.

A few years ago, I wanted to create a unique clock, based on the 1957 Testa Rosa dash instruments. I bought a new retro-looking clock, took it apart and repainted the case and hands. I recreated the clock-face using the TR tachometer aesthetics, printed it out and covered the old face. Here is the result, which hangs on the wall of our computer room.








Sports Car Market reports that RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, announced that it will be auctioning off one of these stunning Testa Rosa’s, chassis no. 0714TR, during their May 17, 2009 auction. You can read more about it here.