I have just watched “The Italian Job,” the 1969 original. At the time of writing, the remake has not hit...
Champ Car racing is in the middle of an ongoing drama, which can be best described as character building. Starting...
At the end of May, I was in Italy following the Mille Miglia Retrospective. There was a time when I...
In the summer of 1980, I was at Goodwood for a test session. Before I reached the pits, I bumped...
The aspect of motor racing which I admire the most is the production racing car industry. You can make a...
Under most circumstances, I run a mile from making predictions. At an early age, I noticed that all bookmakers lived in a big house and drove a big car, while everybody I knew who poured over form books for hours, got very excited if – once in a blue moon...
When I was at school I used to sit at the back of the French class and I always looked...
Early in 1996, I met up with some fellow hacks and someone mentioned that so-and-so was working on Jacques Villeneuve’s biography. At the time, Jacques had enjoyed one terrific year in CART and had driven in three or four Grands Prix. I could not help but remark that it was...
In my last column, I cited the Connew as one of my favorite stories in motor racing. The Connew PC1...
What do the following all have in common: Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Nigel Mansell and...
I was going through a pile of papers when I found the order of service for John Cooper’s funeral. I smiled. I have never found it possible to think of Cooper without smiling. Cooper had that effect on people. John was the public face of Cooper Cars, because he attended...
Last October, I was in the paddock at Indianapolis where all the historic racers were assembled. I found myself in...
Is Renault French? Is the Pope a Catholic? I ask because Renault has bought the Benetton team and has renamed it, but the team’s headquarters is at Enstone in Oxfordshire and most of the employees are British. Benetton began life as Toleman, which was British. Benetton continued to be British...
To write this column I am taking time off from completing my contribution to a book. I need to take...
I was watching the German Grand Prix, and the TV commentator said that the sea of Ferrari flags indicated the level of support that Michael Schumacher commanded. That sounded reasonable until I recalled that there was a sea of Ferrari flags at Hockenheim before Michael signed for Maranello. When Schumacher...
Have you noticed how old cars are getting faster and faster? I wish I got faster as I grow older....
There I was driving a 1931 V16 Cadillac built to the command of a maharajah – a car which has...
It depends which Nelson you mean – and which Victory. In Portsmouth, there once was a station called Radio Victory, named after Horatio Nelson’s flagship, the pride of Portsmouth and still a commissioned ship of what remains of the Royal Navy. I was the first English “journo” to interview Nelson...
