.......when the cars had self-starters and you could actually see the engine! I took these photos back in July 1992 at the vintage event at Seattle International Raceway. This is David Livingston's 312/69, which did not participate in the actual racing, but did exhibition laps during the lunch break. That was better, since it was the only car on the track and the wail of the V-12 could be heard all the way around the circuit! Fortunately, Livingston, wearing a Chris-Amon-lookalike helmet, drove the car with suitable brio. Sorry for the poor image quality, but these were scanned from slides on my inexpensive flatbed scanner.
Incidentally, I was standing about 8 feet away from the car, behind and to the side, when Livingston got in and started the V-12. As he blipped the throttle, a shiver went up my spine and I was grinning from ear to ear! What an absolutely incredible sound! And if anyone says "that's not a 1968 engine" they'd be right. Late in '69 the team got so fed up with the '69 engine (Amon had already quit), they pulled out the '68-spec engine and put it in the car. It didn't help; Pedro Rodriguez had some lackluster outings, but did score points in two races. It's hard to believe that Ferrari's point total for the 1969 season was only seven!
i remember those days. so now when people say the races are boring. i think back to when i would have gave a limb to have seen such a boring race. there may be nothing like a dame, but i,m sure there's nothing like the sound of a v 12 in full song. swwweeettt!!!
