Categories: Look backRace and classic pictures

Lap record

And not just any lap: 72 kilometres through the Sicilian countryside on dangerous roads had to be completed 11 times just to reach the end of the Targa Florio in 1972. It was in this year that Helmut Marko set the lap record in an Alfa Romeo 33 TT3 in 33m41s, averaging nearly 130km/h on tight and twisty roads. A winner of Le Mans in a Porsche 917 the previous year, the current Red Bull consultant was also a rising star in Formula One when his career was abruptly halted in the 1972 French Grand Prix. Racing at Clermont Ferrand, a stone flicked up, pierced Marko's visor and blinded the exciting Austrian talent in his left eye.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.