Tazio Nuvolari - Targa Florio 1932

Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on Strathmore Steel Gray archival stock, image 10"x 22"
� Paul Chenard 2009

Tazio Nuvolari was a driver of great passion, and drove with his heart and his head.

For the 1932 Targa Florio, he drove an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, prepared for him by the Alfa Romeo racing team manager Enzo Ferrari.

The diminutive Nuvolari wanted riding mechanic smaller than he, so enlisted a new and inexperienced Ferrari mechanic Paride Mambelli to ride with him. He told the young mechanic to duck down low for tricky turns. For the race, Nuvolari drove as Nuvolari always drove and they won.

After the race, Ferrari asked the young man how it went, and he told him that he stayed ducked down for the whole race and basically missed it.

Private collection
Limited editions are vailable.

Porsche RS60: the �Giant Killer�

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock, 12"x 9" � Paul Chenard 2008

Philip Powell Collection

Porsche AG entered into racing in 1951 with a modified 356 Coup� but their first fully purpose-built racing car came in 1953 in the form of the 550 Spyder.

The first major win for the updated 550A came at the 1956 Targa Florio, driven by Umberto Maglioli. The 550A was further developed into the 718 RSK, another successful winning racer.

These wins by the light small-displacement Porsche race cars against large-displacement 12-cylinder racers such as Ferraris gave them the reputation as �Giant-killers�.

For 1960, Porsche introduced the RS60, a further development of the RSK. Like the RSK, it sported sleek light-weight aluminum bodywork, a low center of gravity and a mid-engine layout. The 4-cylinder, 4-cam engines used were either 1.5 litres (150bhp) or 1.6 litres (160bhp). With a weight of less than 1,300 lbs, the RS60 was very nibble indeed!

For the 1960 season, the FIA stipulated that sports racing cars match more closely the specifications of production sports cars. The racers had to sport a full-width windshield with a minimum height of 25 cm, a luggage compartment and a streamline fairing behind the driver�s head.

The RS60 was very successful out of the box, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in the hands of Olivier Gendebien and Hans Hermann, followed by Porsche�s third Targa Florio win in the hands of Jo Bonnier, Hans Hermann and Graham Hill. It also won the European Hill Climb Championship.

These wins helped solidify Porsche�s position in North America, with Porsche going from class winners to overall winners.

In 2007, Porsche introduced the special edition Boxster RS60 in homage to the great racer.

1959 N�rburgring 1000 km Race

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock
� Paul Chenard 2008

In 1959, Sir Stirling Moss convinced Aston Martin Company owner Sir David Brown to lend him an Aston Martin DBR1 sports car to participate in the N�rburgring 1000 km. Brown�s only real goal for 1959 was to win at Le Mans, so allowed only one car to go.

Moss was completely convinced that he could repeat his previous year�s win there, against some strong Ferrari opposition.

Driving at 10/10ths for the whole race, Moss did indeed reel in his second consecutive Aston Martin win at N�rburgring, with the assistance of his co-driver Jack Fairman.

In the illustration, Sir Stirling Moss gets ahead of second place winner Phil Hill; Moss� win gave Aston Martin the additional points required to clinch the World GT Championship.

Gilles Villeneuve vs Ren� Arnoux � Dijon 1979

Pen & ink with Prismacolor pencils 22"x 12"
� Paul Chenard 2008

This illustration is for sale; please contact me if you are interested.

The 1979 French Grand Prix had all the ingredients for public relations gold the Renault team.

Previous to the race, Renault had 5 weeks to fine tune and improve their French-designed turbo-charged cars. The cars were raced by 2 French drivers, Jean Pierre Jabouille and Ren� Arnoux, fueled by French fuel (elf) and shod in French tires (Michelin).

The race was started and though Jabouille had to get by a very determined Villeneuve in Ferrari, he advanced easily into a lead that he would not relinquish.

Arnoux had only to do the same, and near the end of the race, he did. But because of a fuel pick-up problem, it was not as easy. The powers that be started popping corks for what was supposed to be a Renault sweep.

Of course, Villeneuve saw things differently. He noticed that Arnoux did not readily pull away, so saw that he had a slim but possible chance to fight for 2nd place, which is exactly what he did.

With worn out tires and a slight power deficit, Villeneuve proceed to regain the lead with a wreckless control that has become legend. He and Arnoux swapped leads a few times, bumping tires and moving on and off the track, with Villeneuve finally taking the flag for 2nd.

The media jumped on the story, almost forgetting who actually won. But Villeneuve exemplified the winning spirit.

Herbert M�ller - 1973 Targa Florio

Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on grey archival stock � Paul Chenard 2008

Swiss race driver Herbert M�ller found some successes in long distance racing in the Ford GT40, the Ferrari 512 M, and a variety of Porsches.

In 1966, teamed up with Willy Mairesse in a Porsche 906 Carrera 6, he won the Targa Florio. He came in 2nd at Le Mans in both 1971 and 1974, and in 1973, teamed up with Gijs van Lennep, he again won the Targa Florio driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

Sadly, this popular racer lost his life in a fiery crash on the 24th of May, 1981 of Porsche 908 Spyder he was piloting at the 1000 km of the N�rburgring.

Limited edition of 25 (11.5" x 22"),
numbered and signed premium archival Giclee prints
$150 plus shipping/handling.