With much talk of the Le Mans centenary we take a chance to look back at that first-ever race. There was no official winner declared in those early days, it was a car’s performance over three consecutive years which counted, and the original racetrack was more like a gravel rally stage than a race circuit. You can hear why a last minute change of heart by W.O. Bentley changed the course of his eponymous brand forever.
Historic Racing News
Paul Jurd and Paul Tarsey are in the UK and at Le Mans are the full team of contestants. Regulars Joe Bradley, Jim Roller and Peter Snowdon are joined by ‘the voice of Radio Le Mans’ John Hindhaugh. Their challenge is to choose any car, any driver and any circuit layout since 1923. The difficult bit is that they each need to be from a different era!
Jim Roller talks about some of the fabulous cars coming to market at Le Mans next month and also the Ferrari 312PB which is going under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s in Italy this weekend with an estimate of $14-18,000,000! Paul Jurd talks about the 1962 accident at Goodwood which cut short the frontline career of Stirling Moss. To this day the accident is unexplained, Moss had no memory of what happened, and PJ, Jim Roller and Paul Tarsey discuss the “what might have been” scenario. Lara Platman has spent years researching the lives of the hardy pre-war female racing drivers. Creating successful careers in what was very much a man’s world brought about some amazing stories, which Lara shares with the team.
Joe Bradley, Jim Roller and Peter Snowdon look for the ‘Greatest Sports Car Drivers of the 1970s’. Redman, Ickx, Follmer, Haywood, Pescarolo and Elford plus many more get discussed as well as some of the great races like not only Le Mans and Daytona but the Targa Florio and Sebring too. Paul Jurd and Paul Tarsey look at the calendar for the next few weeks and Scott Stringfellow talks to Joe Bradley about over forty years in motor sport.
Joe Bradley and Jim Roller talk about HSR’s annual springtime trip to Road Atlanta for “The Mitty” (pictured) and inevitably reminisce about fun times at the beautiful Georgia racetrack. Jim also talks about the auction scene and he and Paul Tarsey take a look at Bonhams recent Goodwood Members Meeting sale.
It’s time for the Goodwood Members Meeting and we talk to the General Manager of the Goodwood Road Racing Club about a packed weekend. Paul Tarsey talks to Gordon Murray about his early career at Brabham and McLaren and how Gordon invented the ‘strategic pit stop’. Paul Jurd looks at what’s on during April and Jim Roller provides a heartfelt tribute to the late Lady Susie Moss. Peter Snowdon joins the team for Corridors of Power this time round, their subject for discussion is ‘The greatest-ever all-round driver’.
The Racer’s Concours is the unofficial name of ‘The Amelia’ and Jim Roller and Paul Tarsey took a trip to Florida to see what was happening. Tarsey took a detour on the way and talked to George Levy at the Motorsport Hall of Fame of America in Daytona and then met with Jim to visit the auctions at Amelia before the concours itself. Hans Wurl from Gooding and Co gives us a peek behind the curtain and talks about the world of high quality auctions and Kevin Jeannette talks about a secret passion in a vehicle which isn’t a Porsche!
The Historic Racing News Radio Show is back on the road, this time at Race Retro. The show is very much aimed at the club racing historic competitor and we will talk to friends we met at the show. Paul Jurd looks at events happening around the world in March and Jim Roller previews the first big auction weekend of the year when The Amelia opens its doors. Four separate auctions are being held on Amelia Island over the weekend which is traditionally known as the “Racer’s Concours” because of the huge number of race cars on display.
Paul Tarsey dons his beret to be your guide around the Parisian extravaganza that is Retromobile. The annual show features some of the most valuable cars in the world which are for sale, plus jaw-dropping displays. Paul talks to some of the major players in the marketplace such as William I’Anson, Florent Moulin from Art & Revs and Eliot Artignan from Osenat auctioneers. Plus exciting news from David Hinton about plans for Historic NASCAR in his HSR calendar and a look at the on-site Artcurial auction too. Joe Bradley talks to Simon Owen about the amazing new range of cars from Scalextric, including (Joe is delighted to see) a Brabham Fan Car!
Lee Masters talks about the upcoming Race Retro show where a full-on exhibition is outside action including a full-on rally stage exhibition. And in Corridors of Power, who from the world of motor sport would you choose to sit next to on a long-haul flight? Paul Jurd, Jim Roller and Nick Padmore fight for their choices.