Manfred Nord and his Crosslé 15F

Manfred Nord's heart has been beating for vehicles and engines since he was a child. No wonder. After all, he grew up with his grandparents - who ran one of the first BP petrol stations in the Speyer area - and had daily contact with cars and motorbikes from a young age. Historic racing is now his world, and Formula Vau in particular. The old spirit is still kept alive here, says Manfred, and he is already looking forward to being back at the next race with his Formula Vau Beach. But for the past five years he has been particularly proud of another vehicle in his garage: the Crosslé 15F - Fred Saunders' former vehicle. The Crosslé Car Company, founded in 1957 by John and Rosemary Crosslé, soon established itself as the largest manufacturer of high-quality racing cars in Ireland.

After the success of their 1600 cc Crosslé 12F in the American Formula B, Crosslé built 3 examples of the Crosslé 15F. Two were imported to the USA and one stayed in the UK. In 1970, Fred Saunders drove this vehicle in both the British Formula 5000 series and in Formula 1 races that were held outside the current championship. Famous names such as Graham Hill, Jackie Stuart, John Surtees, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni were among the competitors at the time.

It was a great pleasure for me to photograph this eye-catcher - immaculately restored - with its 8 cylinders, a displacement of 5400 cc and around 600 hp in the pit lane of the Hockenheimring as part of the ADAC Hockenheim Historic - The Jim Clark Revival. All I can say is: Chapeau, Manfred Nord.