gearboxman

Playing for 5 litres of Full Synthetic gear oil.......

.....to the first person to post the FULL story of when and how "British Racing Green" came to be.

It's a lovely story, by the way.

Jim Galbally

www.ask.co.uk

gearboxman

And your answer is?

Stu.H

On June 27, 1922, Prince Albert I died in Paris. Louis Grimaldi ascended to the throne as Louis II, Prince of Monaco. While his reign could never achieve the grandeur of his father, Louis II left an indelible imprint on the tiny principality. In 1924 the Monaco Football Club was formed and in 1929, the first Grand Prix of Monaco automobile race was held, won by Charles Grover (aka "Williams") driving a Bugatti painted in what would become the famous British racing green color.

Adam_BlackRS

In 1929 when the first Grand Prix of Monaco automobile race was held. The inaugural race was won by William Grover-Williams (aka "Williams") driving a Bugatti 35B painted in what would become the famous British racing green color.

Any good ?

adamS2RST

Looks Like Stu beat u Adam

timb551

doesnt say why its called british racing green though?......

Stu.H

this is a good 'un

Stu.H

These are not arbitrary colors picked by each construc-
tor for his cars (except in the case of strictly national,
local or club competition, where anything goes), but are
the result of a decision reached in the early days of racing.
Cars were, and still are, distinguishable by assigned num-
bers, but further separation (prompted no doubt by na-
tionalistic feelings) was felt desirable. This is why racing
cars from Italy are red, the cars from England are green
and the cars from Germany are white (or sometimes sil-
ver-the result of leaving the aluminum body unpainted).
A private owner will generally paint his car in the
color(s) of his own country, rather than the manufactur-
er's. According to the C.S.I. of the F.I.A., "The use of
distinctive colors of nationality is compulsory when the
supplementary regulations of the competition require it.
These colors are determined by the nationality of the
competitor." So, a Ferrari owned by an Englishman
would be painted green, even though it was an Italian car.
Thus, it has become a tradition for racing cars to be
painted in the colors of the entrant, although they are oc-
casionally seen with minor variations. Mercedes, for ex-
ample, honored Englishman Richard Seaman, who was a
Mercedes team driver, with a green border around the
grille opening of his car. The shrewd Germans had also
noted that this would allow quick identification if Seaman
and one of the other Mercedes drivers (who would be in
identical cars) chanced to pass rapidly by the pits at the
same time.
Because these colors were assigned during the days
when racing cars possessed chassis that were visible be-
neath the body, many countries have a combination of
colors: one for the body, one for the, chassis and some-
times another for some other part, such as the wheels or
hood. This presented a problem when streamlining came
into fashion and the chassis disappeared from sight. As a
consequence, the color formerly allotted to the chassis is
now applied in the form of stripes or other trim over the
color assigned to the body by the Code Sportif Interna-
tional of the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile.
To further simplify (or complicate) matters, green, the
color assigned to the British Empire, is used as a basis for
all cars from England and its possessions. The common-
wealth countries use green as a body color with other
colors, at their choice, as stripes. Canada, for example,
uses two white stripes 4 in. wide, one on each side of the
car's centerline and 6 in. apart.
British racing green, to dispel some of the arguments,
is not any particular shade of green, but Napier green is
preferred. Stirling Moss drove a light sea-green BRM in
the 1959 French Grand Prix. This was quite contrary to
the accepted general opinion of what constitutes "British
Racing Green" but was, nevertheless, acceptable.
The color applied to a racing car has also had its share
of side effects. For many years U.S. drivers would not
drive in, or in competition with, cars painted any shade
of green; they believed the color to be unlucky. This has
diminished in recent years, especially since the advent of
more British international competition.
The chart lists the racing colors of each country as as-
signed by the C.S.I. The car number and its background
color, a necessary aid to identity, are made to contrast as
as much as possible to aid race officials and lap scorers.
Colors assigned to chassis or underframe in the chart are
now applied to stripes or trim.

Stu.H

Yet there was a time when branding of any sort was nowhere to be seen and racing cars in anything other than base colours were a very bold statement.

British cars were green, French ones blue, Italians red and so on. It was an unwritten protocol that survived until Colin Chapman and Team Lotus changed the order, bringing cigarette sponsorship to grand prix racing and opening the floodgates for corporate involvement.

It was one of the many things Lotus pioneered back then that are now accepted as the norm.

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

That still doesn't answer Bernie's question .

gearboxman

You're all wrong so far

Stu.H

never mind the

RichardPON

There's also a lot of copying and pasting going on too

Stu.H

SF Edge and the Honourable Charles Rolls drove a 16 hp Napier in the Paris-Toulouse race. Later Edge had a victory in the 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup, which resulted in Napier Green becoming the official British racing colour.

zvhturbo

The idea of using colour to differentiate drivers was adopted for more formal racing with the French in blue, the Germans in white, the Italians in red and the British in green. The F1 world championship that we know today started in 1950. It was decided by seven races, one of which was held in Britain. The 50s also saw the start of British ‘Racing Green’ dominance with the 1957 Grand Prix featuring no less than eight cars sporting the colour and a British winner in Stirling Moss – one of many stars of the past, who you are still likely to find competing in the UK at major historic events at circuits like Silverstone and Goodwood

Phil

iTrader: (1)

The same reason why PON should paint his taxi yellow..

To camaflouge it in the run off area of the period!

Stu.H

The "Napier Green" and "British Racing Green" might have been the same for
"Indian", but it certainly was not for "Napier". "British Racing Green" was
derived from the British entry into the "Gordon Bennett" race of 1903, which
was to be held in Great Britain. Because S F Edge (Napier) had won the race
for Great Britain the previous year, the onus was on the ACGBI to organise
the event. As road racing was banned in Britain, and Ireland had no such
ban, Ireland volunteered its roads for the race. The Napier's were painted
in a shade of "Emerald Green" as suggested by Count Zborowski in honour of
the venue. Napier was the first to wear the "Racing Green", but " Napier
Green" was the colour used around the factory at Acton and on the "works
cars". The 1903 colour was only used for that one race and the "factory"
colour was resumed thereafter.

Stu.H

The 1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy road race could not be held in Great Britain, although the United Kingdom was due to host it, as a result of concern over the deaths in earlier continental versions. The UK organisers, however, decided to run the event in Ireland and lobbied Irish opinion, including the Irish bishops. A special Act of Parliament was passed to allow road closures for the event and to give competitors a temporary exemption from the speed limits. One member of the House of Lords, Earl Spencer, commented that the debate on this piece of legislation was the first occasion on which all members of both houses had been in harmony on anything to do with Ireland. For the Gordon Bennett event the British entries were painted green, to mark the fact that the race was being held in Ireland, and the shade chosen became known as British racing green. The race is also significant since it laid down the basic rules on which modern Formula 1 racing is based.

gearboxman

Well done Stu, did you know all that?
Or copy and paste?

Send me a pm with your address details and I'll send you your oil

EssexBoyRacer

adamS2RST

stage 3 box sounds good

Stu.H

adamS2RST

Im up for that, mind u seeing how Rudey drives, I dont think I woiuld win

Deerhunter

iTrader: (2)

dunno adam, look wheres ruds coming from " the alpha cwodrant" lol.

adamS2RST