View History of Motor Racing 50s
“The History of Motor Racing: The Magnificent 50’s”
DVD by Neville Hay
Review by Gregg Leary
Category:Auto Racing
The DVD jacket summarizes the decade of the 1950’s in motorsports nicely:
“The 1950’s was a magnificent era in which motor racing truly ‘came of age.’ It was during this golden decade that some of the world’s most influential manufacturers and drivers made their mark, leaving us with an extensive archive of dazzling technical innovation and exciting characters.”
What “Exciting Characters” are documented on the DVD? How about…
Giuseppe Farina: World Champion 1950
Juan Manuel Fangio: World Champion 1951, 54-57
Alberto Ascari: World Champion 1952-53
Mike Hawthorn: World Champion 1958
Jack Brabham: World Champion 1959-60
Jose Froilan Gonzalez
Luigi Villoresi
Stirling Moss
Tony Brooks
Peter Collins
Enzo Ferrari
John Cooper
Colin Chapman
Sir David Brown: Aston Martin
Sir William Lyons: Jaguar
Sir Alfred Owen: BRM
Guy Anthony Vandervell: Vanwall
Raymond Mays and Peter Bertham: BRM
Motoring historian Neville Hay “recalls the major stepping stones of this memorable period with a wealth of facts, anecdotes, research papers, interviews and glorious racing footage.” It’s the GLORIOUS RACING FOOTAGE that makes this DVD such a fantastic work. The archival footage covers most of the Formula One Grands Prix but also Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Nurburgring, Sebring and other major events. Drivers wore open-face helmets and clear goggles so we can see their expressions…and watch their arms flail and hands move on the steering wheel as they battle their open-cockpit monsters through the pages of history. What a treat!
My favorite moments in the DVD happen just six minutes into the 132 minute feast…the checkered flag flies off the flagman’s staff as he greets the winning driver and Alberto Ascari nearly drops the championship trophy…the expression on his face is priceless.
Some of the remarkable “facts and anecdotes” from the DVD…
The 1950 Mille Miglia had 743 entries!
Watch for the massive out of place Cadillac in the 1950 Le Mans footage.
In 1952-53 Alberto Ascari won 11 of 14 Grands Prix. (And both World Championships)
In the tragic 1955 Le Mans race, the Mercedes 300 SLR had a driver activated air brake/spoiler that helped to off-set Jaguar’s disc brake advantage. Juan Manuel Fangio in the Mercedes and Mike Hawthorn in the Jaguar “drove Le Mans like it was a Grand Prix,” setting lap records. When Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes launched into the crowd after hitting the rear of Lance Macklin’s Austin-Healey, over 80 spectators would perish and motor racing would never be the same. Why was the race not stopped after the tragedy? The DVD says that 200,000 spectators trying to leave the circuit would have crippled the rescue effort and made things worse. The sad footage is included on the DVD.
In the 1955 Mille Miglia, Stirling Moss’s co-driver, Dennis Jenkinson used “pace notes” (like in modern World Rally) to help Moss set a MM record of 98.5 MPH.
From 1950-59 Grand Prix points were paid for positions 1-5. Points were 8,6,4,3,2 and 1 point for the fastest lap of the race.
From 1950-56 drivers who shared a car also shared the points.
Spare parts and tools were left in the pits instead of in the cars at Le Mans starting in 1957.
In 1958 Stirling Moss won the Argentine GP in a rear-engined car. Stirling tells how he lost the World Championship by 1 point.
“The History of Motor Racing: 1950’s” is a fast forward trip down memory lane and rates four out of five lug nuts.