Welcome to the Yorath.co slightly-difficult or sometimes fiendishly-hard motorsporting quiz. These are the answers. If you’re looking for the questions, click here first, or you’ll ruin the quiz for yourself. There’s a series of questions, and one answer links all of them. Good luck!
- Which two unrelated drivers raced for BMW in the World Touring Car Championship with the same surname, at the same time, and took it in turn to finish vice-champion in consecutive seasons?
Dirk and Jörg Müller, in 2005 and 2006. Both had long careers with the German manufacturer, racing together and against each other several times during the 2000s. They’re both still active – 47-year old Dirk has just been announced as part of Ford’s return to GT racing, while 54-year old Jörg is largely involved in Nordschleife endurance events.
- Who is the only driver to have completed the “Triple Crown”, winning the Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and Formula 1 championship?
Graham Hill. Some contend that the “real” triple crown replaces the F1 title with the Monaco GP – no matter, Graham’s the only one to have done that one, too.
- I won Le Mans twice, for two French manufacturers. I shared with Jean Rondeau, the only man to win the race in a car bearing his name, on the way to victory in 1980.
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, quite possibly the most French-sounding man of all time. Jaussaud made his debut in the race sharing with Henri Pescarolo, and also shared cars with Bob Wollek, Patrick Tambay and Didier Pironi, with whom he triumped in 1978, for Renault Alpine. Quite a roster!
- Which brand links Lewis Hamilton, Brad Keselowski, the Gran Turismo movie, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, and Cruz Pedregon?
Bell Helmets. F1 stars Hamilton, Sainz and Ocon, NASCAR ace Keselowski and drag racer Pedregon all wear Bell, and the brand supplied lids for Gran Turismo.
- I’ve won the WTCC four times, the British and French touring car titles once each, and have never scored a WRC point. Who am I?
Yvan Muller. Muller thrice entered the Rallye de France, finishing each time but not troubling the points places. He’d later be team-mate to multi-WRC king Sébastien Loeb in the WTCC.
- What links: Paddock; Clay; Lydden; Phil?
They’re all Hills. Paddock at Brands Hatch, Clay at Oulton Park, Lydden the British venue most known for rallycross, and American Le Mans winner Phil.
- Which F1 driver graced the big screen as one of the drivers behind the superb car chases in the movie Ronin?
Jean-Pierre Jarier. The Frenchman was a sportscar world champion with Matra, but never had the luck to succeed in F1, twice taking pole and seeing mechanical problems deny him a victory for the Shadow team. Similarly, and unfortunately for Jarier, his Le Mans record was mostly characterised by three letters: D, N and F.
- Who is the most successful British Le Mans driver?
Derek Bell. Bell’s won the race five times, thrice with Jacky Ickx (in 1975, ’81, and ’82) and twice with Hans Stuck (in ’86 and ’87). Woolf Barnato, who won the race three times on the bounce between 1928 and 1930, and Allan McNish, who triumphed in 1998, 2008 and 2013, are next.
And what’s the link? The answers match in pairs. Answers 1 and 5 are Müller and Muller, 2 and 6 are Hill and Hill, 3 and 7 both Jean-Pierres, while 4 and 8 are Bells.