The years from 1963 to 1968 were perhaps the truly golden years for Colin Chapman and Lotus, for this was a period when the skill and ability of the late, great, Jim Clark brought the team some of the most prized awards in motorsport. In 1963 and 1965 Lotus triumphed over BRM and Ferrari, with Clark winning the championship despite a strong challenge from Graham Hill, John Surtees, Jackie Stewart and Lorenzo Bandini, as well as Brabham and Gurney. Across the Atlantic a similar revolution was underway in Indy Car racing. Ford made its entrance at Indianapolis, where the Americans claimed a disputed win and Clark took the honours for Lotus at Milwaukee. In this compelling programme, the third volume in this exciting Lotus Story, we continue the full and fascinating history of one of Britain’s best-loved motor racing teams. We feature Clark’s battle against the surprising Brabham resurgence and the strengthening of the link between Lotus and Ford with the Mark 1 Lotus Cortina.
Colin Chapman’s Team Lotus were the technological front-runners of the Seventies and Lotus enjoyed many more GP successes with racing legends Rindt, Fittipaldi, Peterson, Ickx and Andretti. Volume Four in the Lotus Story details the development of the Type 72 - the most successful GP car of all time until 1986 (when McLaren’s TAG Turbo MP4/2 took over its record), the lighter and stronger John Player Special 9, the aerodynamic Lotus 78, which showed the way ahead in producing a true ‘grounds-effect’ car and the ‘Black Beauty’ Lotus 79, a genuine classic whose innovative technology - building upon that of the Lotus 78 - totally redirected the course of all racing car design. Rindt was the 1970 World Champion, Fittipaldi 1972 Champion and Andretti lifted the crown in 1978 for Lotus and these successes brought the team a further three Constructors Championships. After this success in the Seventies, a downwards trend followed which Senna, Mansell and others could not reverse.
The Lotus Story Volume One takes viewers from the birth of the company to the rise to Grand Prix racing in the late fifties. The programme features nostalgic archive footage, interviews with Chapman’s friends and family, and drivers such as Hill, Clark, Ireland and Allison plus a look at the early careers of Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin of Cosworth. A rare interview with Chapman’s wife Hazel illustrates her immense contribution and sheds light on a man whose genius covered over three decades of GP success.
A decade on from its auspicious start the company had run into problems and by 1960 company founder Colin Chapman was increasingly aware that a reversal of fortune depended on a change of course. The result? The Lotus 18 followed by a race version designed and built in collaboration with Keith Duckworth. Not only was this the start of an association with Cosworth but also the debut of Scottish driver Jim Clark. The company was to enjoy new success in the Formula Junior Class; the Elite a role in GT racing; and a new GP car debuted at Argentina with Innes Ireland. Neville Hay recounts the events of these three intensive years in the Lotus story. All the major races and personalities of the era are featured, including Moss and Surtees at the 1960 GP de Monaco, 1960 Le Mans 24 hour, Dutch GP debut of the Lotus 25, 1962 Goodwood Easter meeting, British, German and South African GP. You also hear from major players of the era - Duckworth, Ireland, Wagstaff, Surtees, Moss, Taylor and Lovely.
Villeneuve Pironi tells the astonishing story of Canadian Formula 1 legend Gilles Villeneuve and French star Didier Pironi, two fearless Ferrari Formula 1 racing drivers, forever torn apart by a historic and hugely controversial moment in time.
Through the images we review with Fernando a career of success but also of suffering. An icon who has touched glory although it has not been easy to fight with the best. But the Asturian's is, without a doubt, a career marked by an unbreakable passion for Formula 1. A passion that never went away and that today is more alive than ever.
Verstappen: Maximized
Ronnie Peterson nicknamed “Superswede” was the fastest formula 1-driver in the 70s who never became a world champion.
This sports documentary tells the story of the Williams Formula 1 team founded by the legendary Sir Frank Williams
Through exclusive interviews and archival footage, this documentary traces an intimate portrait of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher.
Documentary film that tells the story of Toninho and Cristiano da Matta, father and son who dedicated their lives to one big passion: Motorsport. Going though thier battles, comebacks, tragedies and glories in one of the world's most competitive and dangerous sports.
The story of Sergio "Checo" Perez as it's never been told before. Successes and failures that led him to be one of the best pilots in the world. Sergio Perez's career has been spectacular throughout his 12 years in Formula 1; in this documentary the Mexican talks about his dreams and how difficult it has been to reach the top in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Born To Win
A promotional film for the Ford Company detailing the introduction of the Cosworth engine into Formula 1 in conjunction with Lotus.
An ESPN documentary detailing Logan Sargeant's entry into Formula 1.
The remarkable story of Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of Senna, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend's years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later.
Intended to be about the passing of the torch from Stewart to Cevert; One By One is a documentary chronicling the lives of Formula 1 racers in the seventies.
Directed by Claude Du Boc and narrated by Stacey Keach the film centers on the fragility of life and the possibility of death for Formula One drivers of the 70's. This film includes access to the top F1 drivers like Jackie Stewart, Francois Cevert, Mike Hailwood and Peter Revson which would seem all but impossible in today's F1 world.
'The Seat' is an unprecedented inside look that led to a once-in-a-generation driver change in Mercedes and F1 history. It reveals the private conversations that led the Mercedes team and Toto Wolff, its Team Principal and CEO, to its decision to promote 18-year-old Italian-born Kimi Antonelli to a Formula 1 Driver, making him the third-youngest rookie in the sport's history. The film follows Kimi, in the lead up to his first Formula 1 season as he takes on his destiny.
GUERRA EN EL BOX: CARLOS REUTEMANN VS ALAN JONES