Matra goes Racing

In the 1960’s, the French high-tech company Matra decided to start building racing cars as a way to promote their capabilities in a very public way.

They started designing and building Formula 3 and Formula 2 cars which relied on Matra’s knowledge of aeronautics and aircraft building methods.

These new racers quickly met with success, which encouraged Matra in 1968 to after the top level of racing, Formula 1.

With Scottish driver Sir Jackie Stewart at the wheel, they took 3 races in the season.



Pen&ink and markers on blue archival paper
© Paul Chenard

For 1969, they introduced a new car, and Stewart took the Championship.

With this first mission accomplished, they expanded into sports car racing, with the goal of winning at the 24 heures du Mans and the World Championship for Makes.


Latex house paint on oak plywood
© Paul Chenard

They won at Le Mans in 1972, 1973, and 1974, and took the Championship for 1973 and 1974. Driving home those 3 wins was French driver Henri Pescarolo, partnered with Graham Hill (Great Britain) the first year in a Matra MS670, and Gérard Larousse (France) for the next two, diving the Matra MS670B, then the MS670C.


 Pen&ink and markers on watercolour paper
© Paul Chenard

After 1974, they stopped building racecars, and instead focused on racecar engine development and design.

Phil Hill – America's First Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Phil Hill’s Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.

1961 Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion Phil Hill and the Ferrari 156 F1 "Sharknose"
Pen& ink and Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock 
© Paul Chenard 2011
Available as a limited edition of 50.

50 years ago, there were more Americans involved in Formula 1; Phil Hill was joined by Dan Gurney and Richie Ginther in high echelons of international racing, and more were to follow.

Hill made his mark successfully racing sports cars, including Ferraris. This got the attention of the man himself, Mr. Ferrari, and Hill was recruited to the team. He started racing in Formula 1 in 1958, finally winning his first race in 1960 at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The following year, he took the Championship, racing the famous Ferrari 156 F1 “Sharknose”.

Phil Hill’s accomplishment is being celebrated at the Danville Tours D’Élégance on September 17th and 18th. Please try to attend this wonderful event; proceeds from it will go in support of Parkinson’s research and patient care.

I’ve had the honour of designing the poster for the event; Phil Hill is one of my heroes, too!

Juan Manuel Fangio - El Maestro

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Juan Manuel Fangio's birth. This five-time Formula 1 Drivers' World Champion from Balcarce, Argentina passed away on July 17, 1995.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, El Maestro!

Juan Manuel Fangio 1911-1995

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth 
of Juan Manuel Fangio.

Limited edition archival Giclee print
Edition of 100 - Signed/numbered - 11"x 17" (28cm x 43cm)
$125 USD plus shipping© Paul Chenard 2011

Many, including myself, consider this Argentinian racer as the greatest driver of the post-war era.

Born in Balcarce in 1911 to Italian immigrants, Fangio started racing in 1934, driving a Ford Model A that he built. He later raced long-distance road races driving a Chevrolet to success, becoming Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941.

In 1948, he went racing in Europe, capturing a few wins, and the notice of the Grand Prix teams. He was hired by Alfa Romeo in 1950, and finished 2nd in the Championship. In 1951, he won his first of five Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championships, again driving for Alfa Romeo. He finished 2nd again in 1953 with Maserati.

In 1953, he also won the La Carrera Panamericana, driving a Lancia D24.

In 1954, he started with Maserati, winning two races, then switched to Mercedes, and won four more races, taking his second Championship.

He won again in 1955, driving for Mercedes, in 1956, driving for Ferrari , and in 1957, driving again with Maserati.

His most famous win came in the 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where he beat a strong Ferrari opposition, driving the famous Maserati 250F. At the same time, he established a new track record.

He retired to Argentina in 1958 at the age of 47. He made countless guest appearances at many automotive events worldwide, and even appeared as himself in John Frankenheimer’s film “Grand Prix”.

The Juan Manuel Fangio Museum opened in Balcarce in 1986. This fine gentleman racer died in 1995 in Buenos Aires at the age of 84.

Alfred Neubauer

Born on March 29 1901, Alfred Neubauer fell in love with the automobile as a young boy.

After WWI, he became a racecar driver for Astro-Daimler. He then moved with Ferdinand Porsche to Mercedes, where he would find his life-long professional home. By 1926, it was apparent that Neubauer was a much better manager than driver. He was soon recruiting quality drivers such Rudolf Caracciola to the team.

While manager of the race team, he brought into play various ways to communicate to the drivers during the races, such as hand signals and pit-boards, presenting them with useful information like race position, laps remaining, when to pit for fuel, etc. These communications methods have been adopted for races worldwide.

As a large man with a booming voice, Neubauer commanded attention and respect from his team and the officials. He was strict but fair on the track, and incredibly entertaining as a dinner host.

He led his team to great success before and after WWII, with Mercedes winning the Mille Miglia (1931, 1955), the Targa Florio (1955), six European and Grand Prix Championships (1935, 1937, 1938, 1954, 1955), along with wins at Le Mans (1952) and La Carrera Panamericana (1952).

Neubauer retired as race team manager in 1955, and passed away in 1980.

Red No.5

British driver Nigel Mansell was Formula 1 Champion in 1992, quickly followed by CART Champion in 1993, a feat never matched by any other driver.

The tifosi (Ferrari fans) gave him the nickname "il leone" ("the lion") when he drove for Ferrari (1989-1990) because of his fearless driving style.

He won his F1 Championship racing a Williams-Renault, but in 1986, his Williams FW11 was powered by the Honda engine.

Pen&ink and Prismacolor sticks on white archival stock 12"x 9" © Paul Chenard 2011

He won five races in 1986, and finished 2^nd in the Championship to winner Alain Prost.

His car was famously labeled with a red No.5, which was carried on his later Williams racecars.

Phil Hill 1927-2008

Sadly, yesterday was the first anniversary of Phil Hill's passing.


He was a great man, a Championship-winning racer, a master restorer, an enthralling writer, and a classical music lover.

He represents a time of heroes, and thankfully survived a dangerous period in racing.

He missed by all who've had the privilege of knowing him and knowing of him.

Sir Jack Brabham - 50th Anniversary

Recently, I have been corresponding with Sir Jack Brabham, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first of three F1 Driver's Championship wins. He suffers from kidney failure and is on dialysis; he lends his image and name to Australian Kidney Foundation, now Kidney Health Australia (KHA), for their fund-raising.

In his honour, I did a portrait featuring his wins. Though I will retain the image copyright world-wide, I decided to lend it, with unrestricted usage, to KHA for all and any of their fund-raising within Australia.





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

Available as a limited edition of 50 Giclee prints.

I emailed Sir Brabham for his approval of this idea, and at the same time, requested a quote related to the image that I could add directly to the piece.

A week and a half ago, he has emailed back his approval, copying KHA at the same time; he also gave me the requested quote!

KHA even emailed me their thanks, and the pleasure at being able to use the artwork. This is huge honour for me, with Sir Brabham's endorsement of my piece as a representative image for fund-raising.

Phil Hill in winning Ferraris - 4 Print Series

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted © Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great successes in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win. This is the only series ever created on Phil Hill.

Each illustration is available as a limited edition of 250 signed and numbered 22" x 17" premium archival Giclee prints.

Mr Hill signed the first 25 of each of the 4 illustrations, which are available directly through me.

Formula 1 Prints - Driver/Constructor/Winner Series

1 Brabham BT19 1966
2 Eagle Weslake T1G 1967
3 McLaren M7A 1968

Pencil on paper © Paul Chenard 2007

The series highlights the 3 Formula 1 driver/constructors who won a race and gained championship points in the car they built.

Sir Jack Brabham won the World Driver's Championship for 1966, and Dan Gurney and Bruce McLaren both won a race in Spa in 1967, and 1968, respectively.

Sir Jack Brabham sent me a note when he saw the BT19 sketch:
Dear Paul,
Thank you for the very nice pencil sketch of the BT19.
Jack Brabham
Wow! I was thrilled to hear from Sir Jack directly.

Each illustration is available as a limited edition of 250 signed and numbered 17" x 14.5" premium archival Giclee prints for $125 CDN each plus shipping/handling.

Phil Hill 1927-2008: An American Hero

Working drawing for future serigraph limited edition, pencil on board © Paul Chenard 2007


Hand-drawn birthday card, pen and ink on card
© Paul Chenard 2007
Phil Hill Collection

I’m very sad to hear that Phil Hill, one of my great heroes, has passed away.

Here is a quote from the Race Legends website:
Hill had a varied racing career beginning in 1947 and stretching over 20 years. He was remarkable in winning both his first and last race outings. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times for the team of Enzo Ferrari, Sebring 12 Hours three times and a host of sports car, endurance and Formula One races. He was also the fastest man in an MG, setting a land-speed record for the British firm. Hill was a long-time contributing editor to Road & Track Magazine.

I actually never heard of him until I started reading his Salon features in Road & Track magazine. His articulate and retrospective analysis’s actually nurtured my curiosity in the history of motor sports, and pushed me to find out more, to read as much as I could on the subject.

That’s when I really learned of his amazing accomplishments in a great variety of racers, and his artistry in Ferraris. My research also showed me that no one had encapsulated his success for the Ferrari Team in art. This led me to create a series of illustrations on his wins with them.

Mr Hill not only chose to feature them on his website, but also agreed to sign 100 prints of the series. Keep in mind that this happened just over a year ago, so it was an incredibly difficult task for him. His signature was obviously effected by the Parkinsons, but he none-the-less pushed on and did the series.

His son Derek was kind enough to take some snapshots of his dad signing, and sent them out to me, and they are now my treasured keepsakes.

Godspeed, Phil Hill 1927-2008...

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted © Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great success in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win.

* Note: At a request of Phil Hill's Family, all Phil Hill artworks are removed from his website until sometime in November, 2008.

John Surtees OBE

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock 22.5"x 11"
© Paul Chenard 2008

John Surtees, the only person to win World Championships on both two (1956) and four wheels (1964), was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on the weekend, for his services to motor sports and charity.

Though it is wonderful that his great accomplishments are being recognized, I do believe that "Big John" Surtees is deserving of a higher level of recognition.

In the above sketch, Jim Clark is racing a Lotus 33 to a win of the closely fought Solitude F1 race in 1964. Left to right, we find Clark, second place finisher John Surtees in a Ferrari 158, Graham Hill in a BRM P261 and Sir Jack Braham in a Brabham BT7-Climax; both Hill and Brabham crashed out in the race. John Surtees finished the year as F1 Driver's World Champion with Ferrari.

In fact, everyone represented here was a Driver's World Champion. John Surtees took it 1964 , Clark took it in 1963 and 1965, Hill took it in 1962 and 1968, and Brabham took it in 1959, 1960 and 1966. Brabham also took it as a Constructor in 1966 and 1967. Lots of talent in one place!

Mr Surtees was kind enough to send me a comment on my illustration:

Dear Paul,

Yes a nice little piece of history. While it was very wet I of course had taken the lead and pulled away, it was only when the track started to dry up that Jim caught me. But of course I got my own back at the following race, the German GP, which I won.

Kind regards,
John

John Surtees

Available as a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered 22" x 11.25" premium archival Giclee prints for $150 plus S&H. (Includes the above quote from John Surtees O.B.E.)

Sir Stirling Moss OBE - a British National Treasure

Pencil on white archival stock © Paul Chenard 2007

Born on September 17, 1929, Sir Stirling Moss OBE is one of the world's premier drivers of the 1950's and early 1960's.

He excelled in all types of vehicles in all types of races – he is often called "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship". He was successful in race and sports cars made by Aston Martin, Cooper, Ferrari, Lotus, Jaguar, Maserati, Mercedes, Sunbeam, and Vanwall.

He made history in 1955 by winning, along with his navigator, journalist Denis Jenkinson, the Mille Miglia in a record time of 10 hrs, 7 mins, 48 secs, nearly a half an hour ahead of second place Juan Manuel Fangio.

Sir Moss is now a very popular attendee and participant at vintage racing festivals around the world.

Emerson Fittpaldi in a Lotus 72D

Primacolor pencils on yellow archival stock 12"x 9"
© Paul Chenard 2008

Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1972 F1 Driver's World Championship driving Colin Chapman's Lotus 72D John Player Special. At the age of 25, he was then the youngest driver to win the title. Two years later, Fittipaldi won the Championship again, driving an M23 for Team McLaren.

He left Formula 1 for the American CART series driving for Patrick Racing, taking the Championship in 1989. He won the Indianapolis 500 in his Championship year, and again in 1993 driving for Penske Racing.

Jim Clark - Solitude 1964

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock 22.5"x 11"
© Paul Chenard 2008

Jim Clark died tragically 40 years ago this year.
He crashed in an F2 race at the Hockenheimring in Germany in a Lotus 48.

In this sketch, Jim Clark is racing a Lotus 33 to a win of the Solitude F1 race in 1964. Left to right, we find Clark, second place finisher John Surtees in a Ferrari 158, Graham Hill in a BRM P261 and Sir Jack Braham in a Brabham BT7-Climax. Both Hill and Brabham crashed out in the race; Surtees finished the year as F1 Driver's World Champion. In fact, everyone here was a Driver's World Champion. Clark took it in 1963 and 1965, Hill took it in 1962 and 1968, and Brabham took it in 1959, 1960 and 1966. Brabham also took it as a Constructor in 1966 and 1967. Lots of talent in one place!

The following poster advertised the race ... beautiful artwork!