Zo, en nu ophouden over dat wit niet bij Porsche past
Race kleurenDe meest uitvoerige beschrijving, ons bekend, over de kleuren van raceauto's, is geschreven in een uitgave van Road & Track uit 1960.
THE COLOR IN RACING (ROAD AND TRACK- 1960)
REFERENCES are often made, in R&T, to the "red'' cars from Ferrari or Maserati, the "green'' cars from Vanwall, Aston Martin or Jaguar and the "white'' or "silver" cars from Mercedes-Benz.
These are not arbitrary colors picked by each constructor for his cars (except in the case of strictly national, local or club competition, where anything goes), but are the result of a decision reached in the early days of racing. Cars were, and still are, distinguishable by assigned numbers, but further separation (prompted no doubt by nationalistic feelings) was felt desirable. This is why racing cars from Italy are red, the cars from England are green and the cars from Germany are white (or sometimes silver - the result of leaving the aluminium body unpainted).
A private owner will generally paint his car in the color(s) of his own country, rather than the manufacturer's. According to the C.S.I. of the F.I.A., "The use of distinctive colors of nationality is compulsory when the supplementary regulations of the competition require it. These colors are determined by the nationality of the competitor." So, a Ferrari owned by an Englishman would be painted green, even though it was an Italian car.
Thus, it has become a tradition for racing cars to be painted in the colors of the entrant, although they are occasionally seen with minor variations. Mercedes, for example, honored Englishman Richard Seaman, who was a Mercedes team driver, with a green border around the grille opening of his car. The shrewd Germans had also noted that this would allow quick identification if Seaman and one of the other Mercedes drivers (who would be in identical cars) chanced to pass rapidly by the pits at the same time.
Because these colors were assigned during the days when racing cars possessed chassis that were visible beneath the body, many countries have a combination of colors: one for the body, one for the, chassis and sometimes another for some other part, such as the wheels or hood. This presented a problem when streamlining came into fashion and the chassis disappeared from sight. As a consequence, the color formerly allotted to the chassis is now applied in the form of stripes or other trim over the color assigned to the body by the Code Sportif International of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.
To further simplify (or complicate) matters, green, the color assigned to the British Empire, is used as a basis for all cars from England and its possessions. The commonwealth countries use green as a body color with other colors, at their choice, as stripes. Canada, for example, uses two white stripes 4 in. wide, one on each side of the car's centerline and 6 in. apart. British racing green, to dispel some of the arguments, is not any particular shade of green, but Napier green is preferred. Stirling Moss drove a light sea-green BRM in the 1959 French Grand Prix. This was quite contrary to the accepted general opinion of what constitutes "British Racing Green" but was, nevertheless, acceptable.
The color applied to a racing car has also had its share of side effects. For many years U.S. drivers would not drive in, or in competition with, cars painted any shade of green; they believed the color to be unlucky. This has diminished in recent years, especially since the advent of more British international competition.
The chart lists the racing colors of each country as assigned by the C.S.I. The car number and its background color, a necessary aid to identity, are made to contrast as much as possible to aid race officials and lap scorers. Colors assigned to chassis or underframe in the chart are now applied to stripes or trim.
COUNTRY, COLORS OF CAR & NUMBERS
Argentina Body: blue
Hood: yellow
Chassis: black numbers: red on white
Belgium Body: yellow numbers: black
Brazil Body: pale numbers: yellow
Chassis and wheels: green numbers: black
Bulgaria Body: green
Hood: white numbers: red
Canada Body: green
Stripes: white numbers: white
Chile Body: red
Hood: blue
Underframe: white numbers: half blue-half red or all red on white
Cuba Body: yellow
Hood: black numbers: white on black
Czecho-slovakia Body: white
Hood: blue and white
Underframe: red numbers: blue
Egypt Pale violet numbers: red on white
Finland Black numbers: blue on white
France Blue numbers: white
Germany White numbers: red Great Britain Green numbers: white
Holland Orange numbers: white
Hungary Body, front: white
Body, rear: green
Hood: red numbers: black
Irish Free State Green with horizontal band of orange around body numbers: white
Italy Red numbers: white
Luxemburg Pearlgray numbers: white on red
Mexico Gold numbers: white on black
Monaco White with red horizontal band around body numbers: black on white
Poland Body and hood: white
Underframe: red numbers: red
Portugal Body and hood: red
Underframe: white numbers: white
Scotland Green numbers: white
SouthAfrica Body: Gold
Hood: green numbers: black on white
Spain Hood: yellow
Body and chassis: red numbers: white on red black on yellow
Sweden Body and hood, lower part: blue; upper: yellow
Three cross bands of blue on top of hood numbers: white
Switzerland Hood: white
Body and underframe: red numbers: black
Thailand Body and hood: pale blue with yellow horizontal band around body and hood
Wheels: pale yellow numbers: white on blue
United States Body and hood: white
Underframe: blue numbers: blue on white
Venezuela Body: white
Stripe:green
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