Ten motor-powered videos you simply have to see
1. Evel Knievel [click for video]
The iconic 1970s showman/stuntman never tired of trying to fly his motorbike over buses, shark pools and canyons while apparently dressed as Liberace. But his safety record was, frankly, not great. Knievel broke 433 bones doing his stunts, straddling the brave/foolhardy divide like a hare-brained colossus. Here he is at Wembley Stadium in 1975 – his first jump outside the US – delighting a crowd of 90,000 by speeding up a ramp and flying his bike over 13 buses, landing badly, breaking his pelvis and immediately announcing his retirement. Within six months he was back on the bike, jumping over 14 Greyhound buses in Ohio, this time without breaking a single bone.
2.The world's longest Scalextric.
What eight-year-old (or 48-year-old) boy doesn't dream of re-creating the Nurburgring in miniature somewhere between the living room and the kitchen? Is it as good as you imagine though? Answer: yes; yes it is. Especially when you can take it outside to somewhere with a bit more space. Like Brooklands. Here, James May (and friends) create a three-mile track out of 20,000 pieces. Got you thinking?
3 World land speed record, 1964
Pathe News report of Donald Campbell (and his teddy bear) hitting 403 mph in the Bluebird in the Australian desert.
4 James Hunt wins GP without breaking sweat
After winning the 1976 British Grand Prix at a sunny Brands Hatch, James Hunt – relaxed, unruffled, not apparently having broken sweat – gets out of his car, gives an impromptu press conference and asks bystanders for a cigarette. "What does winning mean to you?" asks a young (ish) Murray Walker. "Nine points, $20,000 and a lot of happiness," says the great man. (Hunt was later disqualified and the race awarded to Niki Lauda.)
5 Off-roading in a Red Bull F1 car
The US Grand Prix is back on the calendar for the first time in five years this November, at a brand new track in Austin, Texas. Here, in a film shot last year, David Coulthard drives round the dusty dirt roads that will form the route of the track, BEFORE it's been built.
6 Rally car vs Road car vs F1 car
Who wins over a single three-and-a-half-mile lap at Silverstone, if a road car is given 44 seconds start over a rally car and half a la's start on an F1 car? Answer: it's closer than you might think.
7 Barry Sheene
The opening titles from a 1975 documentary about the late Barry Sheene's attempt at the Daytona 500 race – a helmetless Sheene horses around on a bike somewhere in the country...
8 Stirling Moss’ house of gadgets
Sir Stirling presses a button and a TV appears; he sits in his armchair and a giant tray descends from the ceiling with his tea on it; a secret door behind a mirror opens to reveal a secret lift made by the Williams F1 team. Of course it does. A little peak into the James Bond-ish home life of (probably) the greatest racing driver never to win the world title.
9 Congestion madness
If mild infringements of the Highway Code are enough to get you writing in to CSMA Club magazine, what would you make of life on the roads in India where, apparently, there is no Highway Code. Or even any set preferred side on which to drive. And yet – in this remarkable clip at least – there are no accidents, either. Work that one out if you can.
10 Michael Schumacher goal
The seven-times world champ is not a sporting one-trick pony – famously, he has played football for the Swiss third division side Echichens and, knocking 40, was invited to play in the Champions League for a San Marino-based club side who were short of a striker (and/or a bit of publicity). Anyway, he looks pretty good here, locking onto a through ball and coolly taking it past the keeper.
Evel Knievel at Wembley photo: Getty Images
