Das Borgen Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/10/temple-of-speed-crystal-palace/ Speedhunters had this awesome special on Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace building which gave this area of Sydenham in South London its name was a masterpiece of Victorian engineering: a breath-taking edifice, 2,000-foot long with 990,000 square-foot of floor-space, a cast-iron and plate-glass exhibition hall built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition. http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Crystal_Palace_Circuit-003.jpg In 1935, plans were laid down for a fully-tarred course of two miles in length, using the original twisting layout around the park’s pathways, and two years later work began – just three days after a huge fire that destroyed the Palace itself. It was described as a miniature Nürburgring at the time, and even the Silver Arrows drove the track: a 645bhp Mercedes Benz W125 was demonstrated in 1937. This period was short-lived though: with war breaking out in 1939 racing around the country ended and the area was requisitioned by the military. http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Crystal_Palace_Circuit-006.jpg All the walls and buildings are long gone, but despite the council’s efforts, the great thing is that the trace of both of the track’s layouts are still both there. A combination of new access roads, repaved paths and original tarmac still keep the spirit of Crystal Palace alive. http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Crystal_Palace_Circuit-011.jpg http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Crystal_Palace_Circuit-032.jpg Some genuinely brilliant early 70s touring car racing. 5.7l Chevy Camaro vs 1.6l Ford Escort vs 2.5l Vauxhall Viva Enjoy the racing vids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Thanks, Rich! I gasped when that Camaro cooked it on the 13th lap in the last video...wifey wondered WTF I was watching . SUPERB RACING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Borgen Posted December 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 I was pulling for the Camaro. Those fender flares make it look so badass. I too threw my hands up when it spun but I was sooooo entranced in the action. British Touring Cars has always been intense apparently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenger1647545502 Posted December 28, 2012 Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 The Escort was an incredible racing platform. There just wasn't anything that it didn't do well. They were at their best on twisty circuits like that where the lower weight and better suspension favored them over cars with 3 times their HP. Look at all the body roll on those cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Borgen Posted December 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 Look at all the body roll on those cars! Yea, they do look pretty softly sprung...you can see them bounce over bumps and nosedive under braking It was probably engineered that way for the setup they ran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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