rec.autos.simulators

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Hoked up as the story is, the footage is fantastic, especially Monaco
and Spa, and some of the acting -- like Graham Hill, the original party
animal, as "Bob Turner" -- is a hoot. Consider the people you get to see
onscreen: Phil Hill (in a fine piece of histrionics when James Garner's
car comes into the pits on fire), Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Bob
Bondurant, Jo Siffert, Paul Frere, Juan Fangio (!), Michael Parkes,
Chris Amon (Check James Garner's helmet -- the distance shots of him
driving are Chris Amon), Jack Brabham, Richie Ginther, Jochen Rindt --
in fact, the main person conspicuous by his absence is Jim Clark. Maybe
he was just annoyed at Frankenheimer's crews all over the place that
year -- a LOT of racing journalists sure were!
--
Bart Brown

Has anyone else seen the movie "Grand Prix"?  I saw it a few months
ago, on some cable channel, Encore I think, and it's very exciting
because it was made in I think 1966, approximately the time frame
Papyrus is modeling with GPL.

I'm not sure if this movie is available on video or not, but if it is,
I would recommend it just for the racing clips (the story itself is a
bit melodramatic).

Tim

J. Norton

        Verne

I agree that the story is pretty trite - but worth sitting through.

Highlight for me was the comment made by my mother as we left the
cinema  "I don't think that the casting was very good - some of the
drivers looked more like bankers"  I then realised that she was
referring to Graham Hill, who had a small speaking part in the film!

James Holgate

GREAT movie for racing car fans... probably the first time an in-car camera
was ever used in a open-wheel car. If you get the chance, though, go and
try to find a copy of "Le Mans", with Steve McQueen.

--

    ________
   /    |__ \     Eduardo Piovani Dias - Systems Programmer
  /     |  \ \    State University of Campinas, SP        (UNICAMP)
 /      |   ) \   "Gleb Wataghin" Institute of Physics       (IFGW)
(------ |__/   )  "John David Rogers"  Computing Center     (CCJDR)

  \     |    /    http://www.ifi.unicamp.br/~epiovani

Sadly, when we went to the opening of the movie, the WG-USGP scenes had
been left on the cutting room floor.  There is just a short scene
with the trophy being given to the winner (forgot who was supposed
to have won).

-- Doug

Dan
--

Mattel Fort Wayne, IN
*Mattel, Inc. has their opinions; I have mine. Occasionally they are
*the same. The above is not one of those occasions.

---Jim

Brandon

Number 6

                Every Other Man Productions
                                      Reed Racing & Enginering
http://www.***highway.net/~blreed
"Save the Texas Prarie Chicken!"

Brandon

Number 6

                Every Other Man Productions
                                      Reed Racing & Enginering
http://www.***highway.net/~blreed
"Save the Texas Prarie Chicken!"

Brandon

Number 6

                Every Other Man Productions
                                      Reed Racing & Enginering
http://www.***highway.net/~blreed
"Save the Texas Prarie Chicken!"

---Jim

<<I seem to remember that
at least one of the camera cars was a mid-engined sports-racer with a
_big_ camera mounted in the front trunk area.  I think it was one of the
few "customer" Ford GT-40 cars [but this could be my bad memory, I was
only 10-11 years old].>>

Good memory! It was, in fact, a Ford GT MkII -- I have photos of it from
the 1966 race...

BTW, are you by chance, THE Doug Milliken, co-author of "Race Car
Vehicle Dynamics"?
--
Bart Brown

Most of the footage shown from an "in car" viewpoint came from cameras
mounted on cars driven by Denny Hulme and Jochen Rindt.

Whilst the year depicted was intended to represent the first of the 3.0
litre era, the cars used by the film team (as distinct from footage of the
genuine cars in genuine races) were actually the previous 1.5 litre cars,
dummied up with injector intakes and spaghetti-like exhausts!
In fact, if you have a close look during some of the shots of the Monaco
race, you'll see the dummy exhausts shaking around so much that they look
as if they will collapse and the intake trumpets on some of the cars are so
out of alignment that they look as if they were stuck on with chewing gum!!

I saw this movie at its initial release here in Oz....I was in my twenties
at the time (sigh!)....and it was sensational!  
--
Bruce
----
(At work......well, place of employment, okay?!)