Lotus 18 Formula One & Stirling Moss F1 Grand Prix of Monaco first victory 1960

Description: A superb and rare photo of the magnificent Stirling Moss with his winning Lotus - Coventry Climax 18 Formula One factory racing car (nr. 28), photographed during the Grand Prix of Monaco which was ridden on the famous street circuit of Monaco on the 29TH of May 1960. Stirling Moss won the race! Not only that, he would also score pole position during practice with a time of 1’36”3, which was a second quicker then Jack Brabham with his Cooper CIimax T53 who started the race in 2ND position. Stirling Moss won the race with an average speed of 67.459,79 mph (108.566 km/h), before Bruce McLaren (Cooper Climax, 2ND) and Phil Hill (Ferrari, 3RD). The Lotus 18 is a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. It was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus, and a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only moderately successful front-engined formula cars, the Lotus 12 and Lotus 16. It was introduced for the 1960 F1, F2 and FJ seasons. As a stop-gap before the introduction of the 18's successor models, the Lotus 20 and 21, some 18 chassis were rebodied with 21 skins to create the interim Lotus 18/21 hybrid derivative. The car was a classic Chapman design, being extremely light and simple; the body was made up of lightweight panels bolted to heavily-triangulated tube frame (almost spaceframe) chassis. Thus the car was rigid and strong. It was powered initially by a 2.5 litre Coventry Climax four cylinder engine, inherited from the 16, which produced 239 hp (178 kW) from a weight of only 290 pd (132 kg), and had a wide torque range. Chapman, to capitalize on this, designed a light, sleek machine, only 28 inches (71cm) high (except for windscreen, and weighing just 980pd (440 kg). To help facilitate this, the driver was placed in a semi-reclining position, pioneered about a decade before by Gustav Baumm of NSU. Chapman gave the 18 remarkably good handling with a unique suspension system which drastically reduced weight transfer and body roll in cornering. Shortly, the Lotus 18 was proving to be faster than any car Grand Prix racing had ever seen, eclipsing even the legendary Auto Unions, and being widely copied (as well as built as a two-seat sports-racer, the 19 or Monte Carlo). The car took Lotus' first F1 victory, albeit by privateer Rob Walker, who leased the car from Chapman. Driven by Stirling Moss, the car took a dominant win at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix. It was an early taste of things to come. Moss also won the American Grand Prix at the end of the season, helping Lotus finish third in the constructors' championship. Moss repeated his win in a legendary race at Monaco the following year, beating off the more powerful and faster 'sharknose' Ferraris, and then won at the fearsome Nürburgring in changeable weather, while Innes Ireland took a third win in the USA to help Lotus finish second in the constructors' championship that year. The car was notable for giving Jim Clark his first Grand Prix start in 1960. The 2.5 liter was replaced by a 1.5 litre Climax with new Formula One engine rules in 1961, and a Formula Junior variant used a 998 cc Ford MAE. The Formula Junior version also used smaller gauge chassis tubing and also used Alfin drum brakes on all four corners, as it did not have to cope with so much power. The 18 was replaced by the Lotus 21 in Formula One, and the Lotus 20 in Formula Junior in 1961. The magnificent Stirling Moss, who raced from 1948 to 1962, won 194 of the 497 races he entered, including 16 Formula One Grands Prix. He once told an interviewer that he had participated in 525 races overall, as many as 62 in a single year, in 84 different cars. Like many drivers of the era, he competed in several formulae – sometimes on the same day. He was a true pioneer in the British Formula One racing scene and placed second in the Drivers' Championship four times in a row from 1955 to 1958. Moss's first Formula One win was in 1955 at his home race, the British Grand Prix at Aintree, driving the superb Mercedes-Benz W196 Single Seater for a convincing German 1-2-3-4 win, with Karl Kling and Piero Taruffi in the international driver line-up. It was the only race where he finished in front of Juan Manuel Fangio, his teammate, friend, mentor and arch rival at Mercedes. One of his most famous drives was in the 1955 Mille Miglia, the Italian 1597 km open-road endurance race, which he won in the record time of 10 hours and 8 minutes, finishing almost half an hour ahead of teammate Fangio in second place. His navigator in the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR #722 (indicating the time of the start) was journalist Denis Jenkinson. As navigator, he supported Moss with notes about details of the long road trip, then an innovative technique. In 1957 Moss won on the longest circuit to ever hold a Grand Prix, the daunting 25 kilometre Pescara Circuit, again demonstrating his skills at high speed, long distance driving. He beat Fangio, who started on pole, by a little over 3 minutes over the course of a grueling 3 hour race. Moss believed the manner in which the battle was fought was as important as the outcome. This sporting attitude cost him the 1958 World Championship. When rival Mike Hawthorn was threatened with a penalty in a Portugal race, Moss defended Hawthorn's actions. Hawthorn went on to beat Moss by one point, even though he had only won one race that year to Moss's four, making Hawthorn Britain's first World Champion. Moss was as gifted at the wheel of a sports car as he was in a Grand Prix car. For three consecutive years (1958–1960) he won the grueling 1000 km race at Germany's Nürburgring, the first two years in an Aston Martin (where he won almost single-handedly) and the third in the memorable "birdcage" Maserati. For the 1961 F1 season, which was run under 1.5-litre rules, Enzo Ferrari rolled out his state-of-the-art Ferrari 156, also known as Sharknose. Moss was stuck with an underpowered Coventry-Climax-powered Lotus, but managed to win the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix by 3.6 seconds, and later also the partially wet 1961 German Grand Prix. In 1962, Moss was badly injured in a crash at Goodwood while driving a Lotus. The accident put him in a coma and partially paralyzed the left side of his body. He recovered but decided to retire from racing after a private test session the next year. He made a brief comeback in the British Touring Car Championship in 1980 with Audi, and in recent years has continued to race in historic cars. During his career, Moss drove a private Jaguar, and raced for Maserati, Vanwall, Cooper, and Lotus, as well as Mercedes-Benz. He preferred to race British cars stating "Better to lose honorably in a British car than win in a foreign one". This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Lotus ‘ automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 9” (ca. 20 x 24 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing. Contact us for more Lotus and other automotive photos! Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy. For 5 or more photos, shipping is free! (Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only) No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources. All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files and board backed envelopes. We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality. After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club! First come - first served. And you can always contact us for your requests. Please ask any questions before the auction ends.

Price: 9.95 USD

Location: Utr.

End Time: 2025-01-01T08:32:08.000Z

Shipping Cost: 7 USD