AUTHOR PROFILE No.14: TERRY O'NEIL

Terry O'Neil has written 4 books for Veloce, with another due to be published in 2015.



Born in the town of Ware, Hertfordshire, in the latter part of 1942, Terry O’Neil’s first memory was transport related – sitting in his pram in the back garden at his grandparents’ house in Buntingford, while his mother was working in a munitions factory helping with the war effort.

When Terry’s father returned home from duty in the Middle East,

the family moved to Coventry, his father’s home town. After attending a local grammar school, Terry took up employment at a tyre distributor before moving on to work in the general sales department of the Rootes Group, based at Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry. Here he gained his first insight into the manufacture of cars, and had his first taste of public relations work: taking new cars for photographic shoots throughout the country, then working in the showroom at the Ryton factory, where he oversaw the factory visit programme for foreign guests.

After helping to conduct a dealer franchise review for the Rootes

Group, Terry moved to British Leyland, based at Longbridge, Birmingham, to help carry out a similar review for it, before being moved to Sussex to take up the position of sales area manager for the company.

A similar job soon saw Terry and his family move back to the Midlands,

to Stourbridge – and forty years later they are still living there. With the demise of British Leyland/Austin-Morris, Terry took up self employment, and in 1999 began researching what turned out to be his first book, although it was initially intended as an article for the Ferrari Owners Club ...

Terry had been fortunate enough to achieve his lifelong aim of owning

a Ferrari, and having done so joined the FOC. His interest in motor racing history led him to write articles for the club magazine, and also for the Cavallino magazine in America, so when the club secretary asked Terry for an article with a difference, he came up with the idea of looking at the Bahamas Speed Weeks.

The author with his Ferrari at Spa in the mid 90s.

With Sir Stirling Moss circa 2000.
Terry had taken on two roles for the FOC: club archivist, and classic car show organiser. The former role allowed him the scope to gather material for the archives over a number of years, and at the same time the opportunity to increase his material for the Bahamas Speed Weeks project, until it eventually snowballed into enough content for a book, which Veloce's Rod Grainger agreed to publish in 2006. A large proportion of the research and sourcing of photographs was done in the Bahamas and America, and Terry has been fortunate enough to return to the Bahamas to enjoy the Speed Week Revival meetings over the past two years.

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!
Since then, three further books written by Terry have been published by Veloce. Runways and Racers covered the history of the Sports Car Club of America/Strategic Air Command sports car races in the early 1950s, Motor Racing at Nassau, part of Veloce’s ‘Those were the days’ series, and Northeast American Sports Car Races 1950-59, which is the first book of an intended series covering sports car and formula racing in northeast America, mid-America, and the mid-Atlantic states.

The author signing copies of his Motor Racing at Nassau book at the Speed Week Revival Meeting 2012.

The author and Derek Bell (driving) take on the Fort Charlotte hillclimb.
A fifth book is now nearing completion, and should be published early in 2015. This title is different from Terry’s previous work, as it concentrates on the racing achievements of one particular car: the Ferrari 333 SP.

The Ferrari Club of America meeting at Laguna Seca 1994. The author poses next to a Ferrari 333 SP.
Click here to view all Veloce books by Terry O'Neil.

AUTHOR PROFILE No.13: LINDSAY PORTER

Lindsay Porter is sometimes referred to as the UK's top-selling motoring author, and he has been writing motoring books since Veloce Publishing's director, Rod Grainger, first commissioned him in 1981.

Lindsay was amoung the first to develop the photo-intensive style for

which his how-to publications are known. He currently has 5 books published by Veloce, with another due in 2015.



“My first published work was a magazine article on converting and building our house, for DIY Magazine in 1979, while my latest, a book for Veloce, is the Renewable Energy Home Handbook. In between, all of my books and articles have been on motoring, caravanning, and other related technical subjects, so, after all this time, I feel as if I’ve come full circle.

Lindsay’s Dad restored this for Lindsay's 3rd birthday. He was slightly pleased it seems.
“I was born in 1949 in the industrial West Midlands, the main centre of the British motor industry of the time. I well remember, as a small boy, hearing a bloke talking to Dad, on the shop floor at John Thompson Motor Pressings, in early 1958. The bloke had spent his life building traditional ladder-frame chassis: heavy, rigid and strong. He said to my dad, then a young accountant at the factory, 'Doug, just look at this bloody thing – it ay no good at all! Yow wouldn’t get me in one of them things!' as he shook and wobbled a newly-pressed floorpan for the yet-to-be-launched 'Frogeye' Sprite.

Half a century on, Lindsay restored his own ’59 2CV (see Lindsay's and Veloce’s 2CV Restoration Manual) and took it back to Quai André Citroën, adjacent to where it was built.
“Dad sympathised, probably thought something Scottish, and on we went to see ‘the biggest press in the world’ (as it then was), passing by badly-shielded canvas bays with their bitter smoke, unearthly, shadowy blue lights, and guttural growls of powerful arc welders at work. And my fascination with the way things were made was well under way.

“I became a school teacher in 1972. I found my time in the profession deeply rewarding, but left in the early '80s as my writing work began to take off, though I have done a little more work in the classroom in recent years, some of it voluntary. Along with rescuing a suffering dog or cat, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a child discover they can achieve things that they previously hadn’t thought possible.

“But back to publishing: that first piece of professional writing, in 1979, explained how my wife, Shan, and I built and extended our own country house – the one we still live in today. The article was produced after encouragement from our friend, publisher and leading Jaguar authority Paul Skilleter.

“I was still teaching when we became friends with Paul and June Skilleter. I had read in Thoroughbred & Classic Cars that they had moved to a house a few miles from ours, that his E-type – externally almost identical to the one we owned at the time – had broken down locally, and that he hadn’t known who to contact for help. We swapped E-type tales, discovered a shared interest in both mechanical and domestic cats (we ‘inherited’ a wonderful Siamese called Tigger from the Skilleters when ill-health forced a rehome), and became firm friends.

“Paul encouraged me to write that first article, and must have liked what he saw, because, when he launched Practical Classics magazine, he employed me to write for them as a freelance. I was already a keen photographer, but he also taught me how to take ‘proper’ car photographs. Incidentally, Shan – who has a great eye for picture composition – has always been on hand with the camera, and quite a number of ‘my’ pictures are actually hers!

“In 1980, Paul introduced me to Rod Grainger, then Managing Editor at Haynes Publishing, and the man responsible for a number of lasting innovations there. Rod was immediately helpful and encouraging, and as a result the MGB Restoration Manual – first published in 1982, and like most of my books still in print today – became the first, heavily-illustrated, step-by-step manual of its type, guiding the reader through every stage of the technical processes, using pictures in conjunction with friendly, helpful text.

“In 1985, I launched Porter Publishing Ltd, and produced the first commercial range of classic car videos, in association with Castrol, eventually building up to over 70 titles. The printed word soon followed, and Porter Publishing was commissioned by Fiat, Perkins Engines and Halfords, among others, to produce workshop manuals, including the first all-colour ones for modern cars. At the same time, I continued to write, including books and magazine articles on caravanning and motor caravanning. I was for many years the Technical Editor at Land Rover Monthly magazine.

Before getting to Paris, an enthusiastic local – and former Citroën employee – came out unbidden in his slippers to carry out essential adjustments.
“Now in our mid-sixties and around 50 years since we first met, Shan and I still live in the house in Herefordshire that sparked off the whole thing. My greatest passions, apart from Shan, of course, are our nine (last time I looked) ‘rescue’ dogs and cats; our small patch of woodland, and the classic, compact tractor I just had to buy to go with it; my immaculate, low mileage 1989 Audi 200 Turbo Quattro Avant – oh, that engine sound! – and then there’s my involvement in the whole area of renewable energy, which is where I’d like to concentrate most of my writing from now on. We’ve got some great nieces and nephews, and, in all probability, they’ll have children, too. We owe it to them – and to everyone else’s kids of the future – to do our best to pass on a more sustainable planet than the one we’re living on now.

“I am now involved in developing publications that will deal with the practicalities of eco-energy for the home and car owner. I'm still writing books, and am extremely happy to be published by Veloce’s Publisher, Rod Grainger, once again.”
Lindsay Porter

Fortunately, all of the Porters’ rescue dogs are keen classic car
enthusiasts, too.
Click here to view all Veloce books by Lindsay Porter.

THE HAPLESS BIKER IS BACK! KEVIN TURNER AUTHOR INTERVIEW VIDEO

The Hapless Biker is back! Check out this exclusive video interview with Kevin Turner, talking about his forthcoming book From Crystal Palace to Red Square – A Hapless Biker's Road to Russia (published later this month).



Kevin Turner is a freelance motorcycle journalist, and the author of the critically acclaimed Bonjour! Is this Italy – A Hapless Biker's Guide to Europe. Following the success of his first book, Turner decided to embark on another trip, this time heading into Northen Europe and Scandinavia. In typcially hapless fashion, planning and preparation were kept to a minimum, ensuring a journey of discovery, excitement, and occasional peril, in the grand tradition of foolhardy adventure. The resulting story blends Turner's eloquent and often hilarious writing with some truly inspirational locations, resulting in a unique adventure for bikers and non-bikers alike.

Coming soon!
From Crystal Palace to Red Square - A Hapless Biker's Road to Russia
By Kevin Turner.

Critically acclaimed author Kevin Turner (Bonjour! Is This Italy? A Hapless Biker's Guide to Europe) heads off on another ill-thought out adventure, aiming his heavily laden Kawasaki north towards the towering waterfalls of Norway, before heading east on a long and treacherous journey to Moscow. This fascinating adventure - part sprint, part marathon - charts the perils, pitfalls and thrills of a 6000 mile solo motorcycle journey across Europe, Scandinavia and into Asia. The author's observations and anecdotes transform this motorcycle guidebook into a laugh-a-minute page turner, which inspires and entertains in equal measure. More info.

CHARLIE LAMBERT TT TALKING INTERVIEW

Charlie Lambert has recorded a great interview with Manx.net about his new book TT Talking. Click the image below to view it!

Charlie has also been busy during the 2014 Isle of Man TT. Pictured below being interviewed by Manx Radio, BBC, and a book signing session at Lexicon Bookshop, in Douglas, Isle of Man.

Available now!
TT Talking - The TT’s most exciting era – As seen by Manx Radio TT’s lead commentator 2004-2012
By Charlie Lambert.
Foreword by John McGuninness.

The 2007 centenary of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy launched the TT into a new era of success. In TT Talking, Charlie Lambert tells the story of this sensational upturn, from his own role behind the microphone, to the pressures, controversies, laughs and sadness that go with being the man at the heart of the world’s most famous motorcycle road race. More info.

AN INTERVIEW WITH KARL LUDWIGSEN

Many thanks to Margus-Hans Kuuse from Estonia for sending us this set of questions with automotive writing legend Karl Ludwigsen.

1. We have all inherited something from our childhood. Do you remember your first ever automotive book, important article, association with autos, or racing event, or maybe it was your family members or relatives who influenced you in that particular way?

I was exposed to the world of cars at an early age. My father was vice president and general manager of the Fuller Manufacturing Company in Kalamazoo, where we lived, a leading maker of transmissions for medium and heavy trucks. My father, a graduate in mechanical engineering, had played an important role in its success. He regularly received the magazines such as Commercial Car Journal, Automotive Industries and SAE Journal that reported on industry activities. We also received Fortune, then a wonderful magazine, from which I extracted all the automotive advertisements of the 1930s. Sadly they didn’t survive a flood in my school’s cellar.
On Saturdays my father would go down to the works to catch up on things in his office and I would come along. We then might walk through some of the production floors to see what was happening.
My father, Elliot L. Ludvigsen, was car-aware. The first one I remember was a Lincoln Zephyr in which we drove to visit his parents in Minnesota. My mother had a 1935 Ford convertible with rumble seat. Then he had a 1941 Buick Super sedan and my mother a 1940 Buick convertible—nice cars that we had through the war.
I started getting other information on cars through Mechanix Illustrated and Popular Science, which I preferred to Popular Mechanics. True magazine’s Ken Purdy also wrote movingly about sports cars and his ‘Kings of the Road’ was an important early source. A friend introduced me to Floyd Clymer’s Motor Scrapbooks, all of which I bought and through which I learned about many kinds of cars at an early age.
I scoured our local news stands for car magazines, buying Road & Track as soon as it was nationally distributed, Motor Trend and Hot Rod as well. In 1948, when I was 14, I started receiving The Motor weekly from England, thanks to a subscription offer by Floyd Clymer. This was a revelation, opening up a great world of cars and racing. I immediately wrote to the British distributors of all interesting cars and received many brochures and photos in return.
My aim became to be technical editor of a car magazine like Laurence Pomeroy, Jr., who I thought had the best job in the world for a car enthusiast. I attained that ambition in 1956, at the age of 22, when I became technical editor of Sports Cars Illustrated.

2. At which point in your early career, having possibilities of advancing in either engineering or design, did you decide that putting words to paper was the thing you wanted to do more than anything else?

Writing about cars and writing in general has always been a security blanket for me. I gained a good grasp of composition at my high school, Phillips Exeter Academy. But I have always found it interesting to work in the industry. This I did for some six years at GM, two years with Fiat and four years with Ford of Europe. Then for 15 years I owned and ran a management consulting company that served the world motor industry, based in London. This was extremely involving and demanding, drawing as it did on all my experience, knowledge and interest in the world of auto making. But researching and writing has always been attractive and absorbing for a person who is — let’s face it — comfortable with working on his own. Since 2000 I’ve been committed to this as my main way of working although I still advise on industry matters.

3. Do you agree that technical journalism (auto journalism included), is a demanding profession and can only be done properly when a writer is well educated and/or self-taught in a wide variety of subjects? Which ones are often neglected/overlooked in journalism?

This is a difficult subject. If there were a strong demand among the public at large for detailed technical insights into auto design, then the press would gear up to meet it. If on the other hand people were mainly interested in the features that they understand and other aspects of car equipment — as they are — they would get the stories and publications that meet their expectations.
For me, writing books gives me the best opportunity to explored technical developments in depth as I enjoy doing. My interest is in finding out why and how things happened in the car world, a topic that is hard to deal with in journalism.

4. Please name some of the most important qualities which makes a good researcher and historian.

Curiosity, curiosity and curiosity, coupled with a determination to get to the bottom of things. But in the real world this must be coupled with an ability to stop researching and start writing!

5. Perhaps everyone in our profession had heroes among engineers, designers, racers, industrialists, even writers, auto artists and photographers. Can you name a few?

As I said earlier, in his versatility and expressiveness Laurence Pomeroy, Jr. was a role model. I also greatly appreciated the skills and achievements of my friend and colleague Griff Borgeson. In the motor industry GM designer Bill Mitchell was an important mentor, an amazing individual, as were friends Chuck Jordan and John DeLorean. Bob Lutz is both a friend and a boss who brought me to Europe, where I remain!

6. The role of a technical journalist as a teacher and educator, seems to me, has generally downgraded over past few decades, thanks to a number of factors, some seemingly inevitable. Do you agree?

Here we return to the answer to question 3. We get what we deserve in this respect. Some publications I think are doing a very good job. I cite in particular my old stamping grounds of Car and Driver, where Don Sherman is among those contributors who achieve a remarkably high level of engineering analysis and interpretation. There are also magazines devoted to racing technology that cover new developments in depth and detail. So not all is lost, thank goodness.

7. We have heard tales that industry bigwigs are worried when opening a newspaper with a critical article of Keith Bradsher and the like. Do you believe that a top writer can actually influence the industry (excessive and greedy a priority ... people like Ralph Nader tell you) for better?

No car maker likes to get bad reviews. The first instinct of top executives is to ask their PR people to do something to change the writer’s opinion! The last thing they consider is changing the car to get a better review next time. I experienced this when Fiat’s Vittorio Ghidella asked me to investigate Which? Magazine in the UK, which was being mean to Fiat’s products. He clearly felt that somehow Fiat wasn’t taking care of the right people there. I had to tell him that the cars themselves were the problem, that, like Vauxhall, it was possible to get better reviews with better products.
Some car-company people will pay close attention to the judgements of writers whom they respect. But today there are few towering figures in the field like Pomeroy, Paul Frere, John Bond, David E. Davis, Jr. and others of yore.

8. Internet and author rights clash every second. Hi-res images, some for restricted or one-time usage only, have been taken from password-protected sites by irresponsible people, put on various non-professional sites, and are now available worldwide. What will the future bring?

This is an alarming trend which fortunately had not developed to its present extent before we sold our picture library several years ago. The solution will be in more rigorous policing of such transgressions and better technology to prevent such illegal usage.

9. You were owner of the Ludvigsen Library, possessing immense amounts of rare and invaluable information. Behind every great writing must be an immense amount of first-hand information and illustrations. How has an age of digitizing etc influenced the accessibility of really important information for researchers?

Well, as I said we sold our automotive library several years ago. I still have a number of books that I consider important and useful on topics in which I am interested. Being in this position I often resort to the internet and am pleasantly surprised by the amount of information available there. I believe that I have enough knowledge in my fields to sort the wheat from the chaff.

10. The scope of the themes you have touched in your innumerous books is unbelievable. But having returned to the Porsche theme so profoundly over the decades makes me feel that legendary Stuttgart marque is your all-time favourite? Am I right?

Yes, I think you’ve rumbled me there. Porsche as a company producing great sports and racing cars has been a subject of continued interest. This has been linked with my researches and writing on the subject of Ferdinand Porsche, in which I have been encouraged not only by Bentley Publishers but also by his oldest grandson Ernst Piëch. I still have much t say about both the man and the company.
Not far behind however is Mercedes-Benz, a remarkable company that I have been able to study in some depth and detail. I also enjoy recording the history of Chevrolet’s Corvette. And of course racing cars of any kind are high on my interest scale.

11. The socialist countries separated themselves from the world’s automobiliana from 1917, 1940 or 1945 and most of them have not done enough for compensating those lost decades. I think the enthusiasts deserve to be given hugely missing information about the period 1886-1991 in their respective languages, but people in those comparatively poor countries can’t generally afford books. What should we do in these circumstances?

The answer lies in the internet. This is able to provide not only mini-squibs of information but also lengthy reports and reviews that are of high educational value. As an example I give you and your readers http://www.grandprixengines.co.uk, a truly remarkable source of information and interpretation on a subject close to my heart. I also commend http://www.forix.com for those interested in racing more generally. I should mention http://www.enginehistory.org, the website of the Aircraft Engine Historical Society, of which I am a member. These are good examples of the great value of the web as a source of such ‘missing information’.

12. Can you give our readers an idea about your 2014 agenda, or even just this month, as a start? Can you reveal some of your publishing plans or book ideas? Any new titles, second or third editions on the horizon? Any books in digital format planned?

It’s a pleasure. In June Bentley will publish Volume 1 of my completely revised and updated history of the Chevrolet Corvette, in more than 700 pages covering the C1 through C3, 1953 to 1982. In September Pen & Sword will publish Professor Porsche’s Wars, my book about the military work of Ferdinand Porsche in both world wars and between them as well, bringing many surprises for students of both Porsche and military machinery.
Right now I’m working on a complete and final update and revision of my Porsche history, which in its new format will extend to four volumes. This is a big job but my Porsche readers will only be happy with the best that I can deliver—a very demanding constituency! After that I will write the biography of one of the greatest-ever auto engineers, Reid Railton, designer of land speed record cars for both John Cobb and Malcolm Campbell. And then I need to write Corvette Volume 2!
In the middle of all this I am half-way through my history of supercharging and turbocharging, a huge but satisfying undertaking. And a German publisher wants me to write an autobiography …

Available from Veloce!
BRM V16 by Karl Ludwigsen

Few racing cars of any kind have a more exotic and exciting reputation among enthusiasts than the first BRM, a 16-cylinder wonder machine that was a bright beacon of promise in Britain’s drab post-war years. Packed with photos from the author’s collection, this is the story of a bold but ultimately misguided venture that delivered too much, too late. More info.

REARVIEW: 2013 VELOCE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Here's a look back at some of our exclusive video interviews from last year. Highlights included Mike Brewer, Tony Mason, Roy Smith, Jonathan Yates & Nigel Bennett. Which was your favourite? Stay tuned for many more new videos on the Veloce YouTube channel in 2014!

NIGEL BENNETT'S SOLUTIONS FOR F1 & INDYCAR – INTERVIEW BY GORON KIRBY

Article reproduced under kind permission from www.gordonkirby.com

Nigel Bennett enjoyed a long career designing Formula One and Indy cars. He started his career in the seventies as a Firestone tire engineer in Formula One and worked at Lotus, Ensign and Theodore before turning his hand to Indy cars with Lola. After producing a few successful Lola Indy cars, Bennett was hired by Roger Penske and through the late eighties and nineties he designed a series of beautiful and very successful Penske Indy cars.

A longtime boating and yachting enthusiast Bennett does some boat design work these days to keep him occupied in his retirement. He's also kept his hand in the racing business in recent years by doing some technical consulting work for the FIA and after reading last week's column, ‘Losing our way', Nigel sent me an email saying he had some suggestions for improving the show in F1 and IndyCar. I called him and we enjoyed a pleasant chat about the state of the sport.

"I think Formula One does a good job with the television commentaries here in the UK and the build up to each race," Bennett remarked. "They've got informed, experienced guys who are past drivers and team owners and provide you with lots of good information and they do it in an entertaining way.

© Bob Tronolone
"But the racing is not very inspiring, particularly when one guy is winning all the races. Okay, there's some overtaking because of KERS and feathering the wings with the DRS thing, but a lot of people don't seem to think much of that stuff. They think it's artificial. A lot of people who used to be motor racing fans don't bother to watch F1 anymore."

Bennett emphasized that extreme cost is F1's biggest problem.

"The main problem with Formula One is that it's just too expensive for all but about four teams," he said. "The rest of them are taking paying drivers who are less skilled than many others. There are some really good drivers like Hulkenberg and di Resta who may not have drives next year.

"I have to say that what goes on inside some of these big teams is absolutely ludicrous. There are drawing offices going off into the distance as far as you can see with eighty or ninety people working away at computer screens.

"The cars are incredibly complicated. They're beautifully made but unbelievably complicated with all kinds of stuff that's largely unnecessary and unappreciated by the fans and media. It makes for paying jobs for the young engineers but as far as the general public is concerned I don't think there's much interest in that.

"Look at the front wings with all the little bits and pieces stuck on them. And for what? Yes, they're producing phenomenal aerodynamic performance figures but none of that stuff bares any relation to anything else in the world and it doesn't look nice.

"Airplanes don't have bits like that stuck all over them. They're sleek, the way racing cars used to be, and there's no place for that kind of stuff on road cars. It's just jobs for the boys to spend the money they've been given."

Bennett believes big cuts in downforce and tire grip are essential to making F1 a better show.

Kirby, Bennett & Danny Sullivan, Pocono 1989
© Racemaker/Torres
"In my opinion, they need to reduce downforce by 50 percent, reduce the front tire and wheel width by 20 percent and increase the rear tire width by 10 percent," he itemized. "They also need to free up the weight distribution rules and change the tire construction so that the tires produce their maximum cornering force at much higher slip angles than the current radials.

"I suspect this would mean going back to bias or cross-ply tires as they were in the ‘70s and ‘80s. So what if that is not the way road car tires are made? Road cars are completely different from racing cars in so many ways.

You still wouldn't see the driver's arms flailing around but the driver's skill would be on view as the cars would drift and braking distances would be much longer and cornering speeds much lower so that overtaking would be more frequent.

"Right now, the braking distances are so short and the cornering speeds are so high that there's just no time to outbrake the other guy. So a huge reduction in downforce and a similar, huge reduction in tire performance is required. If you had half the size of front tire you wouldn't be able to brake so hard in such a short distance.

"I think the reason the cars used to be so much more spectacular was largely due to the type of tires. Cross-ply tires made for bigger slip angles and more sliding than we have today with radial tires.

"People say we can't go back to cross-ply tires, but why not? If you have one tire manufacturer you can ask them to do anything. Formula One persuaded Pirelli to build tires that wear out after ten laps, which is not good for their public image. But that's what Formula One wanted and that's what Pirelli have done. So surely you can ask a tire company to build smaller, cross-ply tires.

"I'm sure they've got the technology to do it and the cars would be more spectacular to watch. I would also suggest they would be a greater test of the drivers' skills."

Bennett believes narrower tires also would be a benefit to IndyCar.

"There's been a lot of criticism over recent years about Indy cars having too much downforce and too little power so that they run closely together on some tracks so you get pack racing which is very dangerous on a track where they're flat-out all the way around whether it's a one-mile oval or a banked track like NASCAR.

"To me, a reduction in tire size would be very effective for IndyCar in these circumstances. The cornering speeds would be less, the straightaway speeds would be greater and at a stroke it would break up the field and allow it to open up a bit so there would be more passing and racing.

"If you reduce the tire sizes by fifteen percent then the compounds have to get harder to withstand the temperature. Straightaway speeds would go up because the drag would be reduced and you would get braking into the corners because the apex speed would be lower. It's one way out of this problem that's never been suggested."

© Paul Webb
Bennett says F1 is unable to make major changes because of the need for unanimity under the Concorde Agreement.

"I'm glad they're getting rid of the high noses next year because they look pretty stupid," he remarked. "That's a step in the right direction, but they need to reduce downforce substantially.

"It's easy to design a set of rules to achieve that, but it's not easy to get people to agree. They've all invested millions of dollars in wind tunnel testing and aerodynamic work and they don't want to lose the advantages they've gained.

"They've talked endlessly for some years about cost reduction but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. In fact, I've been involved in some of those discussions and the problem is nobody trusts anybody else to do it properly.

"Until the governing body comes up with some way of controlling budgets there's not going to be any changes. If you stop them spending money in one area then they'll spend more on their motorhomes and marketing. Do you need fifty or sixty people per team at the racetrack? Or a dozen trucks, like several of the bigger teams takes to a race?"

Bennett believes next year's new turbo formula will prove to be very costly.

"It sounds like the engine package is going to be very expensive next year," he observed. "It looks like the split between the haves and the have nots is going to become even bigger."

I mentioned to Bennett that Adrian Newey remarked to my colleague Maurice Hamilton a few weeks ago that he was worried that next year's new F1 cars will be even uglier than this year's cars.

"It's funny how you very quickly get used to something new and different," Bennett remarked. "When they brought in narrow rear wings and wider front wings to F1 everyone said they looked ugly and worried about it. But they seem to have grown on everyone and nobody complains so much anymore, although the front ends are pretty ugly."

Bennett doesn't expect anyone in F1 or the FIA to act on any of his suggestions.

"I don't suppose that whatever we say will have much effect," he chuckled. "One thing I found with the FIA is they say we can't change Formula One too much because GP2 or Formula Renault will then be too quick. It seems to me that the FIA doesn't have the guts to make big decisions or maybe it's because the teams have got too much say over what they've invested. They have to get unanimous agreement among the teams to make any big changes and they can't get it."

Power and political struggling always come first in big-time motor racing, ahead of rational thinking. Thus it ever was and is likely to continue.

Source: Gordon Kirby

Available now from Veloce! Inspired to Design – F1 cars, Indycars & racing tyres: the autobiography of Nigel Bennett

The true life story of one of Britain’s most successful racing car designers of the 80s and 90s.
Nigel Bennett’s unique autobiography describes his life and career, from growing-up influenced by car design, to his education and the building of his 750 specials. He describes his work as Firestone Development Manager, recounting many tales of the outstanding designers and drivers of the period. Detailing his work in Formula 1, as a Team Lotus engineer, and then as Team Ensign designer, he also covers his Indycar designs at Theodore, Lola Cars and Penske Cars. Life after his retirement, his involvement in boat design and with modern F1 teams, are also recounted. More info.

NIGEL BENNETT INSPIRED TO DESIGN TRAILER

Ever wondered what it would have been like to work in F1 at Team Lotus in the 1960s & 1970s alongside the maverick Colin Chapman? Or with James Hunt during his F3 spell at Hesketh Racing? We asked a man who has done both, and much more! That man is Nigel Bennett, the author of brand new autobiography Inspired to Design. We've recorded a fascinating interview with Nigel, which we'll publish on our YouTube channel in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy this short 2-minute trailer ...

New! Inspired to Design – F1 cars, Indycars & racing tyres: the autobiography of Nigel Bennett

The true life story of one of Britain’s most successful racing car designers of the 80s and 90s.
Nigel Bennett’s unique autobiography describes his life and career, from growing-up influenced by car design, to his education and the building of his 750 specials. He describes his work as Firestone Development Manager, recounting many tales of the outstanding designers and drivers of the period. Detailing his work in Formula 1, as a Team Lotus engineer, and then as Team Ensign designer, he also covers his Indycar designs at Theodore, Lola Cars and Penske Cars. Life after his retirement, his involvement in boat design and with modern F1 teams, are also recounted. More info.

Nigel Bennett was one of Britain’s most successful racing car designers of the 80s and 90s. His Indycars won 79 races, five National Drivers Championships, five Constructers Championships and five Indy 500 wins.
He raced his home-built 750F car, and was Development Manager for the Firestone Racing Division, working with Team Lotus, Ferrari, BRM, Hesketh, Porsche and JW Automotive.
He worked at Hesketh Racing before moving on to Team Lotus, and was engineer to Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson, becoming Chief Engineer to Colin Chapman. Designer of the Ensign F1 and Theodore Indy cars, Nigel was head-hunted by Lola Cars, later becoming Penske Cars’ Chief Designer, a position he held for eight years.

NEW VIDEO! ALPINE RENAULT – THE FABULOUS BERLINETTES ... AN INTERVIEW WITH ROY SMITH

The first comprehensive history of the ‘berlinette’ in English, is published this month by Veloce.

Coming soon! Alpine Renault – The fabulous berlinettes by Roy Smith.
- Limited to 1500 copies -
The berlinettes were fragile, beautifully designed, lightweight road rockets. For the first time, Alpine Renault enthusiasts around the world can read the complete history of them in English.
This book is not just for owners of Alpine Renaults, but for all those interested in rallying and its spectacular period of rapid development in the late 1960s and early '70s. Hear from the men who built the cars, some of the great drivers who became famous driving them, the team manager, the Redele family – creators of the car – and the mechanics who kept the cars going. The story covers the concept, the first cars, the early road cars, and their entry into competition on the European rallying circuit, with full charted documentary details.
The Alpine A110 berlinette was a car born to compete, born to win. This is its story.

Click here for more info about the book!

AUTHOR PROFILE No.6: ROY SMITH

Roy Smith is the author of 5 Veloce books. His latest, Alpine Renault - the fabulous berlinettes, is published this month.

Roy Smith has owned over 50 cars since the age of 17! His love of the four-wheeled machines began at an early age, coming from his grandfather who had engines and machinery in his blood. Roy’s middle childhood years saw his interest spread to aircraft – not unnaturally, as it was only a few years after the war and Spitfires and Meteors could still be seen flying around on a regular basis. But in his teens it was racing cars that commandeered Roy’s thoughts, along with girls ... both expensive!

In a Vampire Fighter at RAF Benson aged around 7.

The F1200 race car self-built aged around 19.

The rallying Mini Van in 1968.
At 18 Roy joined the Craven Motor club in Reading, at the time a hot bed of rallying. A few years later, having been sick in other people’s cars so many times whilst navigating that no one would give him a ride, he built a Mini Van Rally car and got behind the wheel himself.
Roy soon began writing articles for local clubs. His first interview was with John Horseman and the JW Gulf team, then running Jo Sieffert and Pedro Rodriguez in the 917 Porsches (1969/70). Over the coming years, various cars passed through Roy’s hands. A Ford Anglia, A Viva SL 90, several Minis including Coopers. He built the Formula 1200 race car whilst functioning as Reading Centre Secretary of the 750 Motor Club.

Hillclimbing a Ford Anglia in 1969.

Cycle racing team in the early 1980's (Roy second from left).

Testing a factory Alpine A110 berlinette in 1984.
The motoring life was always a learning curve, sometimes easy, sometimes steep. Roy continued writing for several years until work, marriage and a family intervened. The Formula 1200 car was sold unraced. Life settled down in a career that would span 40 years in sales – first in retail, then advertising, then machine tools, onto special equipment for chemical and pharmaceutical companies, and latterly water treatment works equipment, including entire plant contracts. As a company director for French and German companies until his retirement in 2003, BMWs, Citroëns, Peugeots, Alfa Romeos, Alpine Renaults and Porsches all came his way.

Castle Combe trackday in the 1990s.

Spoils of victory in 1996.

Hillclimb Championship winning A110 berlinette in 1997.

Racing an MV Agusta in 2001.
Roy hillclimbed and sprinted with a single-seater Jedi in the early ’90s, winning five regional championships. In 1997 he won a classic hillclimb championship with an Alpine Renault A110 berlinette, and raced an MV Augusta not so successfully in the late ’90s. But it was after his retirement that he returned to writing; for magazines at first, before moving on to books. So far he has given the motoring world five specialist titles: four about Alpine and Renault – three covering their Formula 1 and Sports Prototypes stories, plus his latest about the berlinette A110s – and a book about the life and times of racing engine legend Amédée Gordini. Roy is currently working on a book about the almost forgotten Porsche 924 Carreras. His hallmarks are intricate research, sourcing hundreds of photos, first-person interviews, detailed diagrams, and a talent for uncovering fresh new information about a rare subject. Roy won the Mercedes Benz Prize and Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy in 2010 for his work on the Sports Prototype Alpines.

Who knows what the future may bring? Roy’s current stable of cars includes a Morgan +4, a Porsche 911 and one of the 924 Carrera Porsches that form the subject of his next work. A member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, Roy continues to look for new and interesting subjects, preferably to be the first to document their history in English before it is all forgotten.

Click here to view all books by Roy Smith.