Favourite Souvenirs???

[Garrett]

I was just wondering what everybodys favorite sourvenirs were from a race they attened to. Mine would have to be the luvers I got from the 2003 Joest Audi R8 that fell off when it hit the wall at Petit Le Mans that year. I also have a piston out of the Panoz LMP01 and LMP-07 that a friend gave me from working on the cars and I have the two rear tires that were on the Riley & Scott when the car crashed at the 2002 Petit Le Mans and a tire from one of the Saleens S7Rs that ran at the 2001 PLM.

[MulsanneMike]

Hot diggity, you got some good stuff. My own personal favorite is the gravel I dug out of the Mazda-Kudzu DLM after it returned from Le Mans in 1996. I intend to return the gravel to Le Mans one day, hopefully next year!

[paul-collins]

I have a tire from the winning XJR-5 (Mosport, 83). Lovely coffee table.

[KevinS]

My Carsport Holland 2000 Le Mans team clothing: An orange Le Mans 2000 shirt bought at the track with the Carsport logo sewed on by Hezemans Sr.'s wife and a beige Mr.Zap (sponsor) cap. And ofcourse the level 4 pass "Concurrent nom: 57".

Ahh memories...

[Garrett]

I saw someone walking out with a side piece of one of the Lola B2k/40 cars that was painted yellow and crashed during Friday qual at PLM. I have been trying for sometime to get a tire, or even better, a wheel off one of the Audis. It is very unlikely though. Hopefully I can go to LM in 2005 and get something surprising there.

[Bob Riebe]

I personally prefer beer bottle openers with the track name on it, that way I can look at it real often.

[skycafe]

Originally posted by Garrett
I have been trying for sometime to get a tire, or even better, a wheel off one of the Audis. It is very unlikely though.

I hope you can pull this off! I figure if you take the right front from both Champion cars, then Dyson can win Laguna!!!!!!

[RacingManiac]

I got a 2001 C5R Goodyear front from Mosport that year....

[Graham Goodwin]

My lad has the front wing from the 1999 #2 Toyota GT-One crashed by Boutsen - We saw the crash happen right in front of us and James was quite shaken up - A UK marshal came over and talked to us after Thierry had been removed from the car to reassure him that all was (relatively) OK - He then went back to the pile of wreckage and handed him the piece of bodywork with the race number on it - Its now been signed by Boutsen, McNish and Kelleners.

[The Badger]

I got the rear wing from the BMW V12LMR that Lehto crashed exiting the esses at LeMans on the practice day . It proudly hangs on our sitting room wall and glows in the dark too . I took a bit back to LeMans for the race and got it autographed by Muller-Lehto-Kristensen but sadly the marker pen is slowly fading !!! Looks great though ..... oh and a nose scoop intake from same car but I dont know what to do with it .....

[Hugewally]

I think that the Hawaiian Tropic or Pirelli girls would make nice souvenirs..

[pounetbf]

my favourite :
...the eyes of the drivers, through the helmet, during specific events.
top 2 :
- P. Belmondo, when driving the leading Jaguar XJ 220, when stoping for the last time in the night, due to overheating.

- M. Alboretto, coming back to the pits, just afterdoing the pole position with the "old" Joest Porsche prototype. (98?)



BTW, I also have a part of the door blown away by the Jaguar in the Hunaudieres straight

[Tim Northcutt]

Tried to get a piece of the Bucknum Pilbeam's engine cover that blew off between the Esses and the Tower Turn at Sebring last March, but it was too dark.....couldn't even find a chunk of it....


But I do have a small piece of "STP Day-Glo Red" fiberglass that came from Graham Hill's STP Lotus Turbine that he wrecked in the 1968 Indy 500...the piece is only about the size of my thumb, but it is off of a very historic car...

and finally, as a guy who likes to get souveniers of this type myself, I did give another Forum member...GPRacer....a handful of the gravel trap that sits between turns 4 and 5 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course as a memento for his visit to the USGP last June....

During May, the IMS lets people park in the infield for practice sessions, on qualifying days, etc...and on "pole day," the personnel parked me on that portion of the road course....

[PaulSands]

The champagne cork Martin Short popped after Rollcentre secured the British GT championship last year

[xterra48]

did you guys get these momentos as corner workers or as spectators?

[KevinS]

Originally posted by xterra48
did you guys get these momentos as corner workers or as spectators?

Better! Internship with Team Carsport Holland in 2000.
Although... better? I had to work 40 hours straight and guests ate our food while we were doing a pitstop. Plus those loud Panoz'es kept waking me when I dozed off between stops.

It seems I'm the only person without a car part. But I think they would have let me walk home if I broke off a rearview mirror from the car to add to my collection... Had to buy a Minichamps 1:43 scale model of the car later.

[F3lollipops]

Originally posted by PaulSands
The champagne cork Martin Short popped after Rollcentre secured the British GT championship last year

I can almost say 'snap!' here... I have Alan van der Merwe's champagne cork from Castle Combe 2002 which was his first F3 win

I get given a variety of bits and bobs, most of which I hang on to even if, in the case of the baseball caps I don't wear them...

The most useful thing in recent times was a small folding Ernesto Viso mirror

On the other side of the coin I have been known to give daft gifts to drivers too!

[Williamp]

You will probably frown at me here:
at silverstone in August for the LMES race, I found a media bib. I thought long and hard about whether I shoudl hand it in or wear it.

I chose the latter, and as a member of the public I was able to get into the press faciltiies, in front of the fencing to watch the race and into the pits for the pit changes.

Very naughty I know, and yes I was aware of the dangers. But also very excited and I felt very privelidged to see the pit stops from the pit lane

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally posted by xterra48
did you guys get these momentos as corner workers or as spectators?

As a spectator.....when Graham Hill hit the wal, he hit very hard...small bits of the fiberglass chassis flew up into the stands, and the one i have fell onto the aisle right next to where I was sitting....

A friend of mine is a journalistic & sports photographer...

He was right next to where Ralf Schumacher hit the wall at the USGP this year, and pieces of the car flew all around him as he was taking pictures of the crash....

I asked him if he grabbed a piece for a souvenier and he said, "God, I didn't even think to do that at the time...I wish I had"

[Bramzel]

2x Dunlop from the Zwaans Viper rearwheels, RfH teamclothes incl. cap signed by Lammers himself, Henrik Roos Motorsport teamclothes and various passes from several raceweekends wich now hang behind my monitor as trophies

[TRuss]

How do you do guys do? I've been lurking around the forum for just a short while and I have decided that I would enjoy chatting with you. If an introduction is needed, just let me know.

Now for my favorite souvenir. It is the left end plate of the BMW V12LMR that flipped at Road Atlanta at the 2000 Petit. It was the first one that my Dad and I ever attended. We had just wandered over to the back straight from the esses. We couldn't have been there for any more than five minutes before Bill Auberlin had his blowover. We were just past the Porsche bridge, and with the way the car seemed to be drifting in the air I was sure that it was going to land on top of us. So, we ducked behind the parked cars. I heard it land (so to speak) and slide against the wall. When the noise stopped, I jumped up looking to see if everything was alright. By that time Bill was already out of the car and sitting on the ground. It was such a relief to see that he was ok.

Anyway, during the cleanup, on of the course workers through the endplate of the wing over the first fence and into the ditch. So, my first instinct was to jump the second fence, get the piece and get the hell out. I actually ended up racing a few people for it, but I guess all of those years of basketball and cross country finally paid off, as I came away the victor.

Last year I finally had the presence of mind to take the piece along with me, and to see if Bill would be willing to sign it. He joked about how pieces of that car continue to show up, and he gladly (or at least it appeared to be gladly) signed the endplate for me. So that is my favorite, and aside from a ton of photos my only souvenir.

Sorry for the long story.

[mikmx]

Good story Truss. I have a tube with oil from a mazda 787B . I didn't get it out myself (duh) but I got it from someone at Mazda who told me it was from the 55 car and used in qualifying. I trust him but oil is a quite common good.

[racerkeke]

I have a small handful of flints from the gravel trap at the second chicane on the Mulsanne. They have pride of place on my bookshelf, with a piece of slag from the gravel traps at Monterrey Mexico and from the side of the road at Pikes Peak.

For awhile this past June I thought we would end up with an entire Silk Cut Jag at Poste 61, but they all continued. Sigh.

keke

[pounetbf]

Originally posted by racerkeke


For awhile this past June I thought we would end up with an entire Silk Cut Jag at Poste 61, but they all continued. Sigh.

keke

My piece of a Silk Cut Jaguar isalso comming from the poste 61;

Quite impreesive : I was looking at the car and suddendy, where was the car, there was a lot of small pieces, flying away as buterflies....
.. a door had been blown away from the car, just a few meters before the car pass me.

[Bob Riebe]

Originally posted by mikmx
Good story Truss. I have a tube with oil from a mazda 787B . I didn't get it out myself (duh) but I got it from someone at Mazda who told me it was from the 55 car and used in qualifying. I trust him but oil is a quite common good.

I am not a parts collector but now that you said you have oil, I find that quite interesting.
Imagine a shelf with the old glass oil dispensers and each containing oil from different race car or even different brands, used by different teams, as new oil color can, or at least used to, be used as a way to sometimes determine a brand.
I remember Greenwood (I think) draining oil from his car and it was a deffinite red.

Good choice Mik.

Bob