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EMKA Racing
EMKA Racing was a British racing team founded in 1980 by Steve O'Rourke, manager of the band Pink Floyd. The team occasionally ran under the name of EMKA Productions, the name of O'Rourke's management company. The team's name comes from O'Rourke's two daughters, Emma and Katheryne. O'Rourke and EMKA concentrated on sports car racing with brief interludes into British Formula One until 1985 when the team was broken up before returning again in 1991. The team was finally dissolved in early 2004 following O'Rourke's death. The team had won the drivers championship for O'Rourke and Tim Sugden in the British GT Championship in 1997 and 1998. History 1980–1985 Following Steve O'Rourke's years of amateur auto racing, he had succeeded in entering the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans where he took a respectable 12th-place finish in a Ferrari 512BB. With Pink Floyd's scheduling becoming less of a conflict, O'Rourke was able to fully concentrate on racing and formed EMKA Racing, a division of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve O'Rourke
Steve O'Rourke ( – ) was an English music manager and racing driver. He is known for being the manager of Pink Floyd, a position he held from 1968 until his death. Among his accomplishments is negotiating Pink Floyd's split with bass player and main songwriter Roger Waters. Life and Pink Floyd manager O'Rourke's father, Tommy O'Rourke, was a fisherman on the Aran Islands off the West of Ireland. He travelled to London for the premiere of the Robert Flaherty documentary film, ''Man of Aran'', in which he appeared as a shark hunter. He settled in London, where Steve was born in the suburb of Willesden. O'Rourke trained as an accountant and went to work with Bryan Morrison Agency, which became a part of NEMS Enterprises, as a junior agent and book keeper. Initially O'Rourke booked gigs for Pink Floyd, while the band was managed by Peter Jenner and Andrew King. When Pink Floyd parted company with Syd Barrett in 1968, King and Jenner remained with Barrett, and O'Rourke took over m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thruxton Circuit
The Thruxton Circuit is a motor-racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, about 30 miles north of Southampton. It has hosted motorsport events including the British Touring Car Championship, British GT Championship, British Formula One Championship, British Formula Three, and GB3 Championship. It is often referred to as the "Fastest Circuit in the UK" where drivers can reach speeds of over and has earned the reputation of being a true driver's track. To illustrate this, Damon Hill drove his Williams Formula One car around the circuit at an average speed of in 1993. The site also houses the headquarters of the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC). History The site was originally constructed in 1942 as RAF Thruxton, a World War II airfield which was home to both the RAF and USAAF and was used for troop-carrying aircraft and gliders, including operations during the D-Day landings. Also, the paratroopers who took part in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned by the Wheatcroft family, is currently under lease by MotorSport Vision until 2038. It has a capacity of 120,000, and is also the venue of the Download Festival. Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the period between the First and Second World Wars when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship. Used as a military vehicle storage depot during the Second World War, it fell into disrepair until bought by local construction entrepreneur Tom Wheatcroft. Revived under his ownership in the 1970s, it hosted a single Formula One race in 1993, but became the favoured home of the British round of the MotoGP motorcycling championship. Leased by Donington Ventures Leisure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circuit Paul Ricard
The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has hosted the FIA Formula One French Grand Prix intermittently from to , and every year from to as well as from to . History First years (1970–1990) Opened on 19 April 1970, the circuit's innovative facilities made it one of the safest motor racing circuits in the world at the time of its opening. The circuit had three track layout permutations, a large industrial park and an airstrip. The combination of modern facilities, mild winter weather and an airstrip made it popular amongst racing teams for car testing during the annual winter off-season. The original track was dominated by the long Mistral Straight that is followed by the high-speed right hand Signes corner. The long main straight and other fast sections made the track very ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Europe. The circuit's biggest event is the Italian Grand Prix. With the exception of the 1980 Italian Grand Prix, 1980 running, the race has been hosted there since 1949 Italian Grand Prix, 1949. Built in the Royal Villa of Monza park in a woodland setting, the site has three tracks – the Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix track, the Junior track, and a high speed oval track with steep bankings which was left unused for decades and had been decaying until it was restored in the 2010s. The major features of the main Grand Prix track include the ''Curva Grande'', the ''Curva di Lesmo'', the ''Variante Ascari'' and the ''Curva Alboreto'' (formerly ''Curv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 BPR Global GT Series Season
The 1996 BPR International Endurance GT Series was the third and final season of BPR Global GT Series. It is a series for Grand Touring style cars broken into two classes based on power and manufacturer involvement, called GT1 and GT2. It began on 3 March 1996 and ended 3 November 1996 after 11 races. After the end of the season, two promotional races were held in Brazil, in the circuits of Curitiba (8 December 1996) and Brasília (16 December 1996). This was the final season of the BPR series before it came under the control of the FIA to become the FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ... in 1997. This was also the first year that the classes of competitors were trimmed to just GT1 and GT2. Schedule Entries GT1 GT2 Season results Non-Champ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BPR Global GT Series
The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR.) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The series was founded by Jürgen Barth, , and Stéphane Ratel (their last names forming the BPR name) as an international endurance racing series to replace the World Sportscar Championship which had ended in 1992. History Following the demise of the World Sportscar Championship in 1992, there were no international sports car racing series in existence, only small national series or manufacturer cup races featuring nearly identical cars. Patrick Peter and Stéphane Ratel of the Venturi series in France along with Jürgen Barth of the German Porsche series entered into discussions to combine their one-make series into an international championship that would bring back endurance racing to most of Europe as well as the rest of the world. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porsche 911 GT2
The Porsche 911 GT2 is a high-performance, track-focused sports car built by the German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 1993 to 2009, and then since 2010 as the GT2 RS. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine enhancements, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration. The GT2 is significantly lighter than the Turbo due to its use of rear-wheel-drive instead of all-wheel-drive system and the reduction or removal of interior components. As a result, the GT2 (now GT2 RS) is the most expensive and fastest model among the 911 lineup. 993 generation The 993 GT2 was initially built in order to meet homologation requirements for GT2 class racing. Because the cars were built to meet the GT2 class regulations, the road cars were named accordingly (but badged as the 911 GT). The 993 GT2 featured widened plastic fenders and a larger rear wing with air scoops in the struts for improved engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British GT Championship
The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT Challenge. The series is currently run by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, while Pirelli began its first season as the championship's official sole tyre supplier in 2016. Two classes currently compete in the championship: GT3 and GT4. A consolidation of GT regulations and significant manufacturer support saw British GT first introduce a GT3 class in 2005. The category later mirrored FIA Group GT3 and used near-identical regulations to the FIA GT3 European Championship from 2006 onwards. GT3 rules include extensive Balance of Performance and handicap weights to make cars artificially more equal. Cost-saving measures saw the series' previous premier class, GT2, phased out at the end of 2006. The SRO GT4 class was adopted in 2008 intended ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porsche 935
The Porsche 935 was a race car developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 930, 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-Group 5 (racing), Group 5 rules, it was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR, Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype, the second place overall finisher in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans. Beginning with the 1977 World Championship for Makes season, 1977 season, Porsche offered the 935 to customers entering the World Championship for Makes, in the IMSA GT Championship and in the German Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM). The 935 went on to win the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, and other major endurance races, including Sebring, Daytona, and the 1,000 km Nürburgring. Of the 370 races it was entered, it won 123. Usually, no other make could challenge the 935, as other manufacturers did not supply customer cars as Porsche did. Each race, at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EMKA Aston Martin
The EMKA Aston Martin was a Group C racing car built for EMKA Production's owner Steve O'Rourke by Michael Cane Racing and powered by an Aston Martin engine. The EMKA C83/1 was initially introduced in 1983 and competed in the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 17th overall. The car was modified for 1985 and raced at the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing in 11th place after briefly leading the race in the opening hours. The EMKA Aston Martin failed to finish any of the other races it appeared at in 1985, and Steve O'Rourke of EMKA Racing decided to take a break from international motorsport. Development EMKA Aston Martin was designed by Len Bailey for the manager of the Pink Floyd, Steve O'Rourke. It was named after Steve O'Rourke's company EMKA Productions Ltd. The car was built by Michael Cane Racing. The monocoque was built by Maurice Gomm and the fibre glass body constructed by Protoco. The car was powered by an Aston Martin Tickford 5,340 cc V8 engine, which was redesigne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiff Needell
Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of ''Top Gear'' and ''Fifth Gear''. Biography Needell attended Ottershaw School followed by City University, London where he achieved an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering. Hired by George Wimpey & Co, his day job was as a Structural Design Engineer. Racing career Needell first raced at a driving school at Brands Hatch in 1970. He progressed to Formula Ford, his progress assisted by the use of a Lotus 69 FF he won in an ''Autosport'' magazine competition.DRIVERS: TIFF NEEDELL – GrandPrix.com He later sold his Lotus and used the money to buy and race an [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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