September 2005

The Amazing Summer of ’55

By Eoin Young

There is no logic why 1955 was destined to ring throughout the history of post-war motor racing. Of course if you’re turning the big 50 this year, 1955 was indeed significant but when it comes to motor racing it was also a year of the most tragic, the most dramatic and the greatest victories. Following on from a foreword by Tony Brooks, who, as a young dental student, won the 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix in a works Connaught, writer Eoin Young takes us along a roller coaster ride of the year’s significant events. The book starts with Prince Birabongse Bhanutej Bhanubandh of Thailand’s win in the New Zealand Grand Prix in an Osca-Maserati and then on to a recount of the murder of English racing driver David Blakeley. I found myself smiling at Young’s retelling of the magnificent victory of Moss and Jenkinson in the Mille Miglia. This was followed by wonderment at the desperation of Ferrari at building a 2.5-liter, two-cylinder engine especially for Monaco. Alberto Ascari features large for his dive into the harbor while leading the Monaco GP and again when he was killed just a few days later at Monza. Young reminds us that 1955 was a sad and tragic year with the disaster at Le Mans when more than 80 people were killed, Bill Vukovich’s death at Indy while he was trying for his third successive win and the demise of James Dean in his Porsche Spyder 550RS. However, all was not doom and gloom, as it was also the year motor racing fan Peter Ustinov recorded “The Grand Prix of Gibraltar” in one day and without a script. Stirling Moss became the first Briton to win the British GP and in his first-ever Grand Epreuve win, and there was also a young Australian bloke by the name of Brabham running a car called a Cooper with its engine in the rear. This and many other renditions make this a most enjoyable visit to a significant year. Highly recommended.