19 March: Today in Racing

There was only one Formula 1 Grand Prix over the years on 19 March. That was 2005 in Malaysia, where Giancarlo Fisichella drove his Renault to the last of his three F1 victories over teammate Fernando Alonso, who extended his drivers' championship advantage in the process. Jenson Button gave Honda its first podium of that return with third place. 

There was another F1 race on this day — Emerson Fittipaldi drove his Lotus to victory in the 1972 non-championship Brands Hatch Race of Champions from Peter Gethin's McLaren and Mike Hailwood in a Surtees.

Looking further back, Lewis Strang won the 550km 1900 Georgia US Stock Car Challenge in an Isotta-Fraschini, while Teddy Tetzlaff’s Lozier beat Ralph DePalma's Fiat on the Playa del Rey Motordrome in Los Angeles in 1910. A half century later at Goodwood in 1960, Jim Clark (Lotus) beat bike world champion John Surtees’ Cooper to Formula Junior victory on Surtees' car race debut, while Paul Tracy won the 1995 Australian CART Indycar GP and Sam Hornish the 2005 Indy 200.  

In sportscar racing, Hans Heyer, Toine Hezemans and John Fitzpatrick won the 1978 Mugello 6-hour in a Porsche 935-77A on the same day that Brian Redman, Charles Mendez and Bob Garretson Porsche took another 935 to Sebring 12-hour victory. Also at Sebring, Jacky Ickx and Mario Andretti drove their Ferrari 312 PB to the 1972 12-hour win and Wayne Baker, Jim Mullen and Kees van Nierop took it in ’83 in a Porsche 934A.

Geoff Brabham, Arie Luyendyk and Chip Robinson Nissan's GTP ZX-Turbo won in ’89, Andy Evans, Fermín Vélez and Eric van de Poele's Ferrari 333 SP in 1995, Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto and Marco Werner's Audi in 2005, Loic Duval, Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis won in a Peugeot in 2011 and Pipo Derani, Scott Sharp, Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek took 2017 honours in 2017 in a Ligier-Honda.

In NASCAR action on this day, Wayne Smith, David Pearson and Bobby Allison took Grand National wins on 19 March over the years, while Allison also joined Darrell Waltrip, Ward Burton and Ryan Newman in winning Cup races on this day. Bob Jane, Craig Lowndes, Marcos Ambrose, Garth Tander and Jamie Whincup meanwhile all won Australian Touring Car races and off the beaten track, Richard Burns and Robert Reid powered their Subaru to 2000 World Rally Portugal honours

19 March birthdays include veteran sportscar racer Vern Schuppan and F1, Sports  and Touring Car driver Nicola Larini, while South African F1 driver Trevor Blokdyk died of a heart attack on his farm at the age of 59.