It’s the British Grand Prix this weekend and the team takes a look at the history of the great event. Starting with pre-war races at Brooklands and Donington through Aintree, Brands Hatch and of course Silverstone. Jim Roller, Paul Jurd and Joe Bradley are the panellists on ‘Corridors of Power’ this month and each of them puts forward their own nomination for ‘The Most Memorable British Grand Prix’. Host Paul Tarsey has to pick a winner.
Historic Racing
Paul Tarsey talks to Alexander Hesketh about those heady times in the 1970s when he put together the ‘dream team’ of James Hunt, ‘Bubbles’ Horsley and Harvey Postlethwaite to challenge the established teams at the very front of Grand Prix racing, from the high point of winning the Dutch Grand Prix to the heartache of closing the doors at the end of 1975.
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.
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’.