Today in Racing: 26 April

26 April was kind to British drivers in the two Formula 1 races run on this day over the years. David Coulthard’s McLaren MP4/13 Mercedes beat Ferrari duo Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine to  the 1998 San Marino Grand Prix, while Jenson Button rose from sixth on the grid to beat Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull Renault and Jarno Trulli’s Toyota to the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix win.

Looking further back, Achille Varzi dominated the pre-War 1931 Alexandria Gran Premio Bordino in the new twin-cam 2.3-litre Bugatti 51 and Rhodesian John Love drove his Lotus 49B Cosworth 1969 South African Formula 1 Rand Autumn Trophy victory at Kyalami.

Formula 1’s prerenal bridesmaid, Chris Amon said, "I've been trying to win a Formula 1 race for seven years, and it's nice to have done it at last," after driving his March 701 -Cosworth to 1970 Silverstone International Trophy victory, the same day Max Stewart drove his Mildren Waggott to win the 1970 Aussie Tasman race at Lakeside.

In American racing, Jimmy Murphy won the 1923 Raisin Day Classic for Duesenberg, Lloyd Ruby out-duelled Mario Andretti and Al Unser to win the 1970 Trenton 200, Scott Dixon won the 2009 Roadrunner 300 and  

Josef Newgarden added yet another Grand Prix of Alabama trophy to his collection in 2015.

Moving over to sportscars, Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara’s Ferrari 340MM won the 1953 Mille Miglia after Juan Manuel Fangio's Alfa Romeo retired late following a race-long duel between the two. 490 cars  raced the 1000 mile epic from Brecia to Rome and back  

Colin Davis and Antonio Pucci ‘s Porsche 904 GTS won the 1964 Targa Florio, Jo Siffert and Brian Redman’s  Porsche 908LH the ‘69 Monza 1000 and Jim Busby and John Fitzpatrick’s  Porsche 935 won at Riverside in ’81.

Off the beaten track, Didier Auriol took his Lancia Delta Integrale to 1988 World Rally Corsica victory, while Sebastien Loeb Citroen C4 won in Argentina in 2000 and Kris Meeke Citroen DS3 in Argentina in 2015. Johan Kristoffersson meanwhile drove his Volkswagen Polo to 2015 Montalegre World Rallycross honours in Portugal

26 April birthdays include F1 stars Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Johnny Dumfries and Daniil Kvyat.