Here's a quirky little video from 1962, one of the earliest films from Bruce Kessler, who became a noted film and TV producer after a serious racing accident in 1959. Kessler entered just one World Championship F1 Grand Prix, with a Connaught owned by Bernie Ecclestone, but failed to qualify. He passed away in April 2024.
The film features no dialogue and no one it it is identified until the final credits (see if you know any of them by their appearances; I did not.) Any serious racing buff should recognize three of the names immediately.
There's quite a bit of color shift in this rare remastered item, but the real appeal is the glorious engine sounds from the Scarab Formula Libre car that is basically the star of the show. Shot at Riverside Raceway, this film shows just how barren a place it was in the early days.
According to Wikipedia, "Kessler and [his good friend] Reventlow, driving Reventlow's Mercedes-Benz SL aluminum coupe, had stopped at Blackwells Corner on CA Rt. 466/133 on September 30, 1955, on their way to the Salinas Road Races when James Dean and his mechanic, Rolf Wutherich, pulled in with Dean's Porsche Spyder. They all agreed to meet for dinner at Paso Robles, about 60 miles away that evening. Reventlow and Kessler took off 10 minutes earlier. Dean never made it as he was involved in a fatal two-car crash at Rt. 466/41 near Cholame 30 miles away. Kessler remained the last person alive who spoke with James Dean before his death."
