The art of endurance racing

The beauty of going the distance 

If you have ever attended an endurance race like those at Daytona, Sebring and LeMans you know all about atmosphere. There’s so much going on at long races. Drivers duking it out on the track and teams duking it out on pit lane. Perfectly clean cars that started the race become ragged and dirty over the hours. Drivers, crews and race fans show wear and tear just like the race cars. The art of endurance racing is the promise of daylight and the unknown of the dark night thrown in.

Endurance racing is a fertile subject and you can see lots of it described on this website. Herewith a few more prime examples presented for your viewing pleasure.

Penske art by Gavin MacLeod

Most racing fans will agree that the dark blue Ferrari 512M entered by Roger Penske at Daytona and LeMans was one of the prettiest endurance cars ever. Gavin MacLeod captures that beauty precisely in this fine example of air-brushed art.

This piece portrays the car as it appeared at LeMans in 1971. The overhead perspective of what looks like the car hurrying along the Mulsanne Straight captures the ultra-clean presentation of any Penske race car.

While the Penske team was unable to translate their only entry thus far at LeMans into a win, fans will always remember that gorgeous Ferrari race car.

Penske will have another chance to win at LeMans as he heads up Porsche’s LMDh effort in the USA and around the globe starting in 2023.

You can find this piece and more endurance art at the Gavin MacLeod website.

Endurance art by Yurly Shevchuk

We’ve visited Yurly Shevchuk’s contemporary take on racing art before. I am quite taken by his style combining accurate depictions of race cars with splashes of color to lend movement to a static canvas. Shevchuk deals in many mediums to create his artworks and all are effective.

The BMW shown here is from the Spa 24 Hour race. Shevchuk’s colorful approach to art is readily apparent in this wonderful piece. I particularly like that orange swash coming from the back of the car insinuating the rounding of a corner.

The open pit lane at old LeMans is on display in this Ferrari pit stop. There’s that extra color again in the pit lane surface even as the red of the Ferrari dominates the scene. The accuracy of the art is still there despite the soft tones of watercolor art.

You can see more endurance racing art and so much more from the prolific Yurly Shevchuk right here.

A Porsche 917 by Peter Chilelli

Few would disagree that the Porsche 917 was the epitome of the early 1970s endurance race cars. It was a monstrously fast and dangerous car with a giant flat-12 engine and a flexible tube frame. The car scared the best drivers of the day with its quirky handling characteristics and massive power.

This piece show the #20 with lights shining ahead and a party behind. I believe the car is exiting Tertre Rouge on the old circuit from the ’70s.

You can see this piece and others at Fine Art America.

Need more?

You can find more great racing art here and a world of motorsport joy here.