| Author | Message | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
New member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 25 Registered: 2-2003 |
That Alligator, it looks weird. You sit on it like a Harley but it looks like a superbike. Is there a race series in this world that will accept it? | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 2532 Registered: 8-2002 |
James, thanks, i'm honored... really...  | ||
| James Selevan (Jselevan)
Member Username: Jselevan Post Number: 423 Registered: 6-2002 |
Wayne - yes - he was on his motorcycle - the one he has developed and is now producing. I happened to sit next to him on an airplane approximately 6 years ago, and he showed me the design of this bike, and how he was raising capital and going into production. Several friends of mine have purchased them. He arrived on an early prototype (I believe). Looked ready for racing. Jim S. | ||
| Geronimo S. Realzola (Geronimo)
New member Username: Geronimo Post Number: 4 Registered: 1-2003 |
Here is an interesting link on the birth of the "Gurney flap." http://www.allamericanracers.com/gurney_flap.html | ||
| L. Wayne Ausbrooks (Lwausbrooks)
Intermediate Member Username: Lwausbrooks Post Number: 1099 Registered: 8-2002 |
"...who shows up on his motorcycle..." Jim, was he on the Aligator? | ||
| Mike Tinker (Mikeyt)
New member Username: Mikeyt Post Number: 14 Registered: 1-2003 |
Man, oh man, you guys are so lucky...Gurney's been my hero since I was 12. I only hope I get to meet him sometime... | ||
| PSk (Psk)
Junior Member Username: Psk Post Number: 205 Registered: 11-2002 |
What about the Gurney flap ... the small vertical part of a wing. This flap is still used in F1 and Cart and in Cart allows for quick small adjustments of the wings. Cannot remember how this came about, but this was his invention. Pete | ||
| Dr Tommy Cosgrove (Vwalfa4re)
Member Username: Vwalfa4re Post Number: 618 Registered: 5-2001 |
I was fortunate enough to get to meet him at the FCA National last year in L.A. | ||
| James Selevan (Jselevan)
Member Username: Jselevan Post Number: 422 Registered: 6-2002 |
DES - you, or anyone you designate, can jack my thread anytime. Jim S. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 2529 Registered: 8-2002 |
Wow, i wanna have coffee with YOU guys...! (Ok, how 'bout a coke, i don't like coffee )- These are some really cool stories... Thanks for the info, everyone... Please, by all means, don't let me stop you all from telling more stories (without 'jacking Selevan's thread)... | ||
| Bill Sawyer (Wsawyer)
Member Username: Wsawyer Post Number: 707 Registered: 2-2002 |
MFZ: I probably came on stronger than I expected to. Your reasoning sounds logical. Still, calling it his most famous contribution to motorsports was a bit over the edge, just like my rebuttal. | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
New member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 24 Registered: 2-2003 |
Bill, I meant no disrespect when I wrote that his most famous contribution was his champagne-spraying on the podium. I don't know if DES was just being sarcastic, but I purposely mentioned the champagne-spraying because that incident would be immediately recognizable and almost legendary. Like you yourself has written, he has too many accomplishments to list, that's why I wrote down his official site, so people who are interested, can find out in greater detail, straight from the eagle's beak. Oh yeah, I did mention that he won Le Mans already. Also, he won the Cannonball Run in a Ferrari Daytona, just to keep this on topic. | ||
| GERONIMO S. REALZOLA (Geronimo)
New member Username: Geronimo Post Number: 3 Registered: 1-2003 |
In 1999 I met Mr. Gurney at the now gone Grand Prix of Houston.You're right Ron he is an exceptional man.Won the 1967 Belgium Grand Prix in a car he built,Ferrari driver amongst other teams.I asked him what stood out from his racing career,he said it was his fastest laps he had racing Grand Prix cars.That was the best 30 minutes of racing talk that i've ever had.If you ever get a chance to meet him, do so. | ||
| Bill Sawyer (Wsawyer)
Member Username: Wsawyer Post Number: 706 Registered: 2-2002 |
I'm not 100% certain that the Eagle F-1 cars were built in the U.S. If I remember correctly, Gurney had 2 operations, All-American Racers in Santa Ana and Anglo-American Racers in England. The Eagle Indy cars and F-1 cars were both based on the same Len Terry design that was a refinement of a design Terry had done for Lotus (the Lotus 38?). This was done to save money and time. My memory tells me that the F-1 cars were done in England, but I can't find anything that confirms it, and the fact that the two designs were fairly similar could mean that the F-1 cars were built alongside the Indy cars in Santa Ana, but I doubt it. | ||
| arthur chambers (Art355)
Intermediate Member Username: Art355 Post Number: 1001 Registered: 6-2001 |
I met Gurney in the early 80s. It was at the last AMA national at Riverside. At the time I was running a bevel drive Ducati, and passengering (monkey) on a side car (Hack) The Hack I was passengering on had very stiff steering and my driver, during the race, asked me to drive. We changed places on the back straight, just before turn 9 (without slowing down) ABC was filming and they got a good shot of that. We changed one more time during the race, and after the race, the officals, along with Gurney (who wanted to met those lunatics) came over to discuss what we had done. It turned out there was nothing in the rules to prevent what we had done, so they couldn't do anyting. Gurney was with Robert Blake, and James Garner, all of whom were good guys, and in stiches over what we'd done (got 4th in the race too). | ||
| James Glickenhaus (Napolis)
Member Username: Napolis Post Number: 679 Registered: 10-2002 |
Bryan The first car made in America driven by an American driver to win a Grand Prix race was a Duesenberg which won the French Grand Prix in 1927 or thereabouts. Best Jim | ||
| Bryan Phillips (Bryanp)
Junior Member Username: Bryanp Post Number: 64 Registered: 8-2002 |
For DES's edification, I believe Dan Gurney was the first (or only?) American to drive an American-made car, the Gurney Eagle, in Formula 1. He's an amazing guy - another story he told on the Car Crazy episode was about when he was invited to test drive for Ferrari in the late 50s. He had stuffed a big wad of 10,000 lira notes in his racing suit back pocket just before he started some hot laps at Monza. He realized after a few laps that the wad was causing his throttle foot to fall asleep at 160mph!! I can't imagine having a casual car chat w/ him over coffee. Lucky, lucky, lucky! | ||
| Bill Sawyer (Wsawyer)
Member Username: Wsawyer Post Number: 704 Registered: 2-2002 |
I would hardly say that spraying champagne was Gurney's most famous contribution to motorsports history. What about bringing Team Lotus to Indianapolis? Writing the white paper that became the basis for CART? Winning a Grand Prix in a car he manufactured? Driving the only Ford-powered car to win a Can-Am race? Winning five Riverside 500s in six starts? Winning the 24 hrs. of Le Mans? Winning in F1, sports cars, stock cars, Trans-Am, Can-Am and just about anything else he tried? | ||
| James Glickenhaus (Napolis)
Member Username: Napolis Post Number: 674 Registered: 10-2002 |
James One misty moring at the Goodwod festival of speed I, having just finished my run was standing at the top besides my MK-IV. At Goodwood a group of 20 cars run, you wait at the top and then you all drive back down to the pits. I heard the shriek of the Eagle F1 before I saw it fly past the finish line, slow down, make a slow turn and park next to me. Dan got out and walked over to my car. He looked at me and smiled. He reached out and gently touched the top of the Gurney bubble. Nick Mason walked over from his GTO. He looked over the field taking in Davids P4, my MK-IV, Evan's Aston Lola, His GTO, Dan's Eagle. "Pretty lucky we are." He said | ||
| Craig Dewey (Craigfl)
Member Username: Craigfl Post Number: 554 Registered: 1-2001 |
I just watched Dan on a Car Crazy episode on Speed. He told of a situation about Jimmy Clark respecting him as a driver and still was touched and broken up after all these years. I'm sure this program will run again. | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
New member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 23 Registered: 2-2003 |
Go here: http://www.allamericanracers.com/ His most famous contribution to motorsport history was that he started the champagne-spraying tradition on the winner's podium after he won the 1967 edition of the Le Mans 24 hour race with (Indy 500 legend) A.J. Foyt on a Ford GT40 Mark IV. Damn, that's a long run-on sentence! | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 2524 Registered: 8-2002 |
Ok, wait... Let me put in my mouth piece and head guard before i ask this... ... ...ok... Who's Dan Gurney...? | ||
| Ron Shirley (Easy_rider)
Junior Member Username: Easy_rider Post Number: 243 Registered: 12-2002 |
I got to meet Dan and talk to him a bit when I was with the Long Beach Grand Prix (he was a board member and I think an original shareholder). He is an exceptional man. | ||
| James Selevan (Jselevan)
Member Username: Jselevan Post Number: 415 Registered: 6-2002 |
Apropos to my earlier threads concerning old photographs, had an interesting morning to share. In Laguna Beach, there is a Starbucks that attracts a rather interesting assortment of hot rods and exotics each Saturday morning (now upwards of 80 cars). I took the C4 for coffee (yes, it prefers latte), and sure enough, there was another C4 there. Turns out that there are 5 C4s in Southern Orange county. Anyway, while strolling with my wife looking at the beautiful Cobras (many original), Shelby's, 550s, 360s, who shows up on his motorcycle other than Dan Gurney. Had a nice conversation concerning Watkins Glen in 1967-68 (strange though, he didn't remember me). Only in Southern California can one sip coffee on the ocean, in a T-shirt, needing sunglasses, in February, strolling past 80 beautiful cars, and have Dan Gurney to share past experiences with. You guys do this sort of thing in Indiana, don't you? Sorry for the rub - that kind of special morning. Jim S. (Hope this is not off topic) |