On this episode we cover Post War racing and the inaugural FIA World Championship of Drivers in 1950 where Alfa Romeo dominated and were then challenged by Ferrari in 1952.
In 1952 Alfa Romeo, without funding for a new car, withdrew from racing leaving the door wide open for Ferrari to make their mark. Now with a World Championship win with Alberto Ascari, Ferrari entered the 1953 season with hopes of another World Championship in one of the great seasons for sportscar racing which included most of the major manufacturer's bringing close and competitive results.
Mercedes re-entered the Grand Prix for the 1st time since the Second World War with Juan Manuel Fangio at the helm after switching from Maserati and winning in both cars during the 1954 season. Tragically, the 1955 Season brought dark days to racing with the infamous Pierre Lavegh crash at Le Mans and the loss of racing champion Albertoa Ascari.
After the Le Mans disaster a number of races were cancelled resulting in a short season and brought a second straight win to Juan Manuel Fangio. Entering the 1956 season Fangio was going to go for a thrid straight win but would get challenged by Stirling Moss and Peter Collins.
1957 brought the last race of the Milla Miglia due to two fatal crashes and was cancelled by the Italian Government and also had Juan Manuel Fangio racing for his fourth straight win. In 1958, the Formula One season was one of the most tragic seasons in it's history with the death of four drivers in four different races. And this was the first time the Manufacturers title was awarded.
On this episode we continue the 1958 racing season with Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss in a tight race for the Driver's Championship along with the retirement of Juan Manuel Fangio from racing half way through the season. In the following year Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori take their Aston Martin to victory and in Formula One Jack Brabham and Tony Brooks compete for the World Championship.
The start of the new decade showed that Cooper-Climax and Jack Brabham were at the top of the tree in the Grand Prix and saw Lotus, Porsche and BRM campaigning rear-engined cars. But, that would change in 1961 with Ferrari's drivers Phil Hill and Wolfgang Von Trips battling for the Championship.
An internal dispute with Enzo Ferrari left Ferrari completely eclipsed in 1962 leaving BRM and Graham Hill to take the lead but would be challenged by Jim Clark in a Lotus the following year.
Jim Clark, John Surtees and Graham Hill gave racing fans a tense battle for the World Championship of Driver's that would be decided on the last race of the season. 1964 also saw Honda making it's debut on the Grand Prix cirucuit. 1965 saw the emergance of Jackie Stewart.
Grand Prix in 1966 saw the first of 3 litre formula, which saw maximum engine capacity doubled from the previous season. 1966 also saw the battle between Ford and Ferrari in the World Sportscar Championship season and Denny Hulme garnering attention.
The 1968 FIA Formula One season brought a couple innovations. The first was the introduction of unrestricted sponsorship due to the withdrawl of support from automobile related firms. The second was the addition of wings on the vehicles. And in 1969 there was a brief interest in 4 wheel drive cars.
On this episode we focus on GT racing, Prototype racing, Saloon Car racing and Touring Car racing during the 60's as well as the battle between Ford and Ferrari.