Sir Jack Brabham � World Class

Now that we are well into the 2010 Formula 1 season, it's easy to forget that 50 years ago, Australian Sir Jack Brabham, AO, OBE won his second consecutive F1 World Driver�s Championship, driving a rear-engined Cooper T53 to success in 1960.

Sir Jack Brabham - detail

Pen&ink and Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2009

Available as a limited edition

Sir Brabham started racing in 1948, racing open-wheeled midgets on dirt tracks. He competed successfully at various levels and series thoughout Australia, and in 1955, made his move to European racing, basing himself in the United Kingdom.

He quickly hooked up with the Cooper Car Company, working with them as both a mechanic and driver. This successful alliance lead to his first F1 World Driver�s Championship in 1959, and his second in 1960.

1960 Cooper T53

Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2009

After driving for Cooper for 1961, Brabham set out on his own, teaming up with New Zealander Ron Tauranac, to build and race his own cars. Their cars had limited success for a few years.

 

1964 BT11

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2008

The FIA brought in new rules for 1966, including a change to 3-litre engines. Brabham convinced the Australian engineering company Repco to develop a competition V-8 engine for his BT19 F1 racecar, designed by Tauranac.

1966 BT19

Pencils on white archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2006
Available as a limited edition

The results were stunning, with Brabham winning four races, and the F1 World Driver�s Championship for the third time. He also took the F1 Constructors Championship, the only driver to have done it. He was also the first of only three drivers to have won a Championship race in a car of his own construction.
At the end of the season, the Queen appointed him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
The following year, he again took the F1 Constructors Championship, with his driver/teammate Denny Hulme taking the F1 World Driver�s Championship.
He retired from Formula 1 in 1970. His three sons Geoff, Gary and David have all gone into successful professional racing careers.

50 years of Porsche Legacy at Sebring

This weekend celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Porsche�s first victory at the 12 Hrs of Sebring.

Porsche RS60 - Sebring 1960
Prismacolor on Strathmore gray archival paper 9"x 4"
� Paul Chenard 2008
Philip Powell Collection

A Porsche RS60, masterfully driven by Olivier Gendebien and Hans Hermann, took that win in 1960.

This wonderful video is produced by videographer J.F Musial; it touches beautifully on the past and the present of Porsche at Sebring.

Bravo!

Porsche 917 � 40th Anniversary of the Legend - Part 1

Racing in their Blood
Porsche�s history in motor sports started in baby steps.
First there were the regular cars modified for racing, such as the Gmund racers.

With their cars potential clearly evident, Porsche developed it�s own racers: there was, from that point on, a steady succession of more and more powerful purpose-made racers.

Porsche RS60 - Sebring 1960
Prismacolor on Strathmore gray archival paper 9"x 4"
� Paul Chenard 2008
Philip Powell Collection

The 550, the 718, the RSK, the RS60, the 904, 906, 908, 910 all met with success. As each new racer emerged, Porsche eyed more and more closely the possibility of an outright win at the 24 hours Le Mans.

The Beginning of the Legend
For 1968, the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) decided that the International Championship of Makes would run 5-liter engines and to qualify, each maker had to produce a minimum of 25 cars. Porsche decided it was time to act. They took the 908 chassis, modified and strengthened it to carry a 4.5-liter flat-12 engine, while moving the cockpit forward; the 917 was born!




Corgi #385 Porsche 917 (England) 1970's

On April 20, 1969, Porsche stunned the CSI inspectors by having all 25 of the new racers ready for their viewing.

917K - The Le Mans Dynasty
The first attempt at Le Mans with the basically undeveloped new car was not successful. It was incredibly unstable at speed, with its body and suspension in need of more development. After a fatal first-lap crash of one of the new racers, all the other 917�s failed to finish, and one lone 908 finishing an extremely close second, driven by Hans Herrmann and G�rard Larrousse.

For 1970, under John Wyer�s JWA Team guidance, Porsche chopped the tail off, reshaped the body, and tweaked the suspension and tire choice. Combined, these changes created a huge difference it the 917, which became the 917K.


Porsche 917K - Le Mans 1970
Prismacolor on Strathmore black archival paper 19"x 12"
� Paul Chenard 2009
Original art available, as are limited editions.

At Le Mans, the car was unbeatable, with a win by the Porsche Salzburg team 917K No.23, masterfully driven by Hans Herrmann and Richard �Dickie� Attwood. Porsche goal to win the celebrated race came to fruition.

The wins did not stop there, with the 917Ks of JWA, Martini Racing, and Porsche Salzburg teams also winning the 24 hours of Daytona, the 1000 km of Brands Hatch, the 1000 km of Monza, the 1000 km of Spa, the 6 hours of Watkins Glen, the 500 km of Imola, the 1000 km of Zeltweg, just to name a few.

It was also had a staring role Steve McQueen�s movie �Le Mans�.

For 1971, the amazing 917 kept on winning; Le Mans, Buenos Aires, Daytona, Sebring, the Nurburgring, Monza, Spa, Zeltweg all fell to the powerful racer.

Including that first Le Mans win in 1970, Porsche has won the historic race a record sixteen times!

Steve McQueen & Le Mans 1970
Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted
� Paul Chenard 2007

Porsche RS60: the �Giant Killer�

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock, 12"x 9" � Paul Chenard 2008

Philip Powell Collection

Porsche AG entered into racing in 1951 with a modified 356 Coup� but their first fully purpose-built racing car came in 1953 in the form of the 550 Spyder.

The first major win for the updated 550A came at the 1956 Targa Florio, driven by Umberto Maglioli. The 550A was further developed into the 718 RSK, another successful winning racer.

These wins by the light small-displacement Porsche race cars against large-displacement 12-cylinder racers such as Ferraris gave them the reputation as �Giant-killers�.

For 1960, Porsche introduced the RS60, a further development of the RSK. Like the RSK, it sported sleek light-weight aluminum bodywork, a low center of gravity and a mid-engine layout. The 4-cylinder, 4-cam engines used were either 1.5 litres (150bhp) or 1.6 litres (160bhp). With a weight of less than 1,300 lbs, the RS60 was very nibble indeed!

For the 1960 season, the FIA stipulated that sports racing cars match more closely the specifications of production sports cars. The racers had to sport a full-width windshield with a minimum height of 25 cm, a luggage compartment and a streamline fairing behind the driver�s head.

The RS60 was very successful out of the box, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in the hands of Olivier Gendebien and Hans Hermann, followed by Porsche�s third Targa Florio win in the hands of Jo Bonnier, Hans Hermann and Graham Hill. It also won the European Hill Climb Championship.

These wins helped solidify Porsche�s position in North America, with Porsche going from class winners to overall winners.

In 2007, Porsche introduced the special edition Boxster RS60 in homage to the great racer.

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.

Phil Hill - Ferrari 246 F1 - Reims 1960

Pen & ink on white archival stock, digitally coloured, 9"x 6" � Paul Chenard 2006

Phil Hill started with Ferrari in 1956, he was driving sports cars, and quite successfully at that.

In 1959, he got his break in F1. In 1960, he won his first Formula 1 race, driving the 246 F1 at Monza. It happened to be the last front-engined F1 Ferrari win, too.

Of course, in 1961, he became Formula 1 World Driver Champion in a Ferrari 156 F1 "Sharknose".

A brilliant man, and brilliant racer.