View British Racing Green
“British Racing Green:
Drivers, Cars and Triumphs of British Motor Racing”
By David Venables
Book Review by Gregg Leary
Category:Auto Racing
“British Racing Green” is the first of the “Racing Colours” books. Also included in the series are:
“Italian Racing Red”
“French Racing Blue”
“German Racing Silver”
“British Racing Green” merits first review only because I studied at Exeter University in Devon in 1975 and just bought a British Racing Green Mini Cooper. How’s that for a complete lack of objectivity? I promise my review will be fair and balanced.
The book jacket copy says:
“This stunning book by David Venables dramatically portrays that it was only after World War II that Britain really got the hang of Formula 1 racing, but once it did, there was no stopping British cars and drivers. Breakthroughs came in the 1950s with Connaught, Vanwall and BRM, followed by the rear-engined revolution led by Cooper and Lotus, and great champions including Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Jackie Stewart became household names. Meanwhile Jaguar and Aston Martin flew the Union Jack with pride at Le Mans. Williams, Tyrrell, McLaren and Brabham joined Lotus at the forefront of Grand Prix racing with the likes of James Hunt, Damon Hill, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton at their wheels. British expertise even prevailed at Indianapolis with wins for Lotus, Lola and March”
20 Chapters divide the beautiful 176 page hardcover work. “Rare illustrations from the world-renowned Ludvigsen Library and beautifully detailed portraits of great racing cars
(are) specially commissioned for this book.”
1: All a Matter of Colour
2: Napier: First to Wear the Green
3: Sunbeam: Grand Prix Pioneers
4: Bentley: The Cars, the Man and the Boys
5: MG: Racing Cars for Everyman
6: ERA: Enduring Racing Automobile
7: Aston Martin: The Long Quest for Glory
8: Noble Ventures: Austin, Lagonda and Riley
9: Alta, HWM and Connaught: Big Talent, Big Enthusiasm, Little Money
10: BRM: Failure to Triumph…to Failure
11: Vanwall: One Man’s Passion
12: Cooper: From Backyard Specials to World Champions
13: Jaguar: Lyons-Hearted Racers
14: Lotus: The Appliances of Science
15: Brabham: Dual Champion
16: Tyrrell and March: Kit-car Winners
17: Lola: Mass-produced Success
18: Williams: Triumph over Adversity
19: McLaren: From Small Acorns…
20: The Rest: Minor Triumphs, Noble Failures
Karl Ludvigsen pens in the Foreword, “Motor racing, which has no equal in the ecstasy of victory and agony of defeat, comes vividly to life in this volume’s colorful pages.” Well said.
Page 7 contains a map of the British Isles with the locations of the Manufacturers and famous racing circuits illustrated and numbered with a key. What a simple but effective way to help concisely tell the story. (30 Manufacturers and 9 Circuits are identified.)
Why national colors? “The 1900 Gordon Bennett Trophy attracted entries from France, the United States, Germany and Belgium. The organizers decreed that the cars of each team should be painted in a distinctive color. The French cars should be painted blue, the American red, the German white and the Belgian yellow. Britain was allocated green in the 1905 race.” This loosely held until 1968 when cars were painted in sponsor’s colors, not the national colors.
Fascinating factoids from “British Racing Green:”
The first British car to score an international victory?
The 1902 D50 Napier at the 1902 Gordon Bennett Trophy Race. S.F. Edge and his riding mechanic cousin were the only finishers.
The first purpose-built motor course in the world?
Brooklands. The 2.76 mile track opened in 1907.
He held the World Land Speed Record continuously for 23 years.
John Cobb. (His record of 394.16 MPH at Bonneville stood from 1947-1964)
The first British car to win a Grand Prix race?
Henry Segrave’s 2.0 liter Sunbeam won the 1923 French Grand Prix at Tours. (He went over 200MPH at Daytona in 1927 to set a World Land Speed record in his twin-engined 1000HP Sunbeam streamliner.)
What does “MG” stand for?
Morris Garages
What famous British car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 as well as the World Sports Car Championship?
The Aston Martin DBR1 driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby won Le Mans and the car won the Nurburgring 1000K, the TT at Goodwood and the World Sports Car Championship.
This circuit contains famous straights and curves called Copse, Maggots, Becketts, Hangar Straight, Stowe, Vale, Club, Priory and Woodcote.
Silverstone. It was a bomber airfield during World War II. (Like Sebring in the USA.)
He’s been called, “The greatest driver never to win a World Championship.”
Stirling Moss “Perhaps he would be better described as one of the most versatile drivers of all time,” says David Venables. He missed winning the 1958 World Championship by 1 point.
He won World Championships for Cooper in 1959 and 1960.
Jack Brabham. In 1966 he won his third World Championship in a car bearing his own name.
This car won the 1964, 1965 and 1967 Monte Carlo Rally.
Mini-Cooper S.
This “leaping cat” won the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1955-57.
The Jaguar D-Type. “The Jaguar’s good aerodynamics and straight-line speed made it an ideal car for the fast Le Mans circuit.”
He was the first British Formula One World Champion.
Mike Hawthorn in 1958.
He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 in a Lotus-Ford 38.
Jim Clark.
How many Grands Prix did the Cosworth-Ford engine win?
155.
He bought the Brabham F1 team in 1972.
Bernie Ecclestone. Yes, THAT Bernie Ecclestone.
He won three World Championships but perhaps will best be remembered for his tireless work in making Formula One safer.
Jackie Stewart.
This is only an appetizer. The main course of “British Racing Green” awaits. It receives four out of five lug nuts and may be purchased at SPEEDtv.com, Keyword, “Books.”