Letters - June 2023

I write in praise of Lady Susie Moss, a very special friend. I was so saddened to learn of her passing. Devoted to Sir Stirling, she always had time to talk and laugh. I met them both many years ago at Goodwood events and shared many precious times at Sir Stirling’s book signings – I have all his books signed over the years – or after dinner at the Goodwood hotel or the prize giving at the Revival, when Sir Stirling and Lady Susie arrived at Goodwood House for the Gala Dinner. So often a hug from Susie before they went in, to the very biggest cheer for them both. Wonderful memories.

I recently enjoyed a lovely lunch with Lady Susie in London and we didn’t stop talking for hours. I was looking forward to seeing her again, but sadly not now. Such lovely friends, so sadly missed.

RIP Lady Susie, you are now with the love of your life, Sir Stirling.

Gordon Wallace, Royston, Hertfordshire

I was sorry to read about the demise of Avon Tyres’ motor sport division [Matters of Moment, May]. I was there at the beginning of its current incarnation, in 1981, and spent a wonderful decade working around the world with them across a number of racing categories.

What many people may not know is that the origin of this success was Bernie Ecclestone’s International Race Tire Service. The whole brief F1 life cycle (1981 to mid-82) was driven by IRTS – Avon simply facilitated the building of the tyres. With an uncertain F1 tyre supply for 1981 (as Goodyear had quit the sport, only to return months later) Bernie Ecclestone needed a guaranteed supply and IRTS recruited ex-Goodyear designers to design the tyres should the need arise for their use during the 1981 season.

The chaotic 1981 South African Grand Prix as the FISA/FOCA ‘war’ raged was run on Goodyear tyres supplied and fitted not by Goodyear staff but by the crew from IRTS.

And so it started, although Avon runners garnered only a few top-six positions before they quit the F1 scene after the 1982 Monaco GP. The farcical 1982 San Marino GP credits Eliseo Salazar with fifth on Avons in the ATS but if this is correct these must be have been old worn tyres because I drove the tyre transporter and all the new tyre stock out of the paddock the night before practice began and was back at home to watch the race on TV on the Sunday.

With the demise of F1 supply, Avon ramped up production of its commercial racing tyre production at the behest of IRTS, achieving its first international podium finish at the final F2 race of the 1981 season. The first international “grand prix” win came at the 1981 Australian GP, run for Formula Pacific cars and including some F1 drivers.

1982 saw IRTS expand its commercial Avon operation, but during 1983 the commercial arrangement between Avon and IRTS began to sour. In true Bernie Ecclestone fashion the IRTS staff were called to a meeting room in a Heathrow hotel where Bernie breezed in and told us that if Avon were to offer us jobs his recommendation was to accept. Pretty much everyone in the room did. Avon needed the know-how and we all needed jobs!

Avon recovered all of its stock from the IRTS warehouse and the Avon Tyres Racing Division was set up, everyone eventually relocating to the Melksham base that has been the home to date.

Jonathan Bayley, Shuttleworth, Lancs

Your article on Avon tyres implied that Goodyear can supply tyres from their back catalogue. I asked the Goodyear representative at Race Retro about GT40 road tyres for Europe: “We don’t have a legal tyre for Europe,” was his reply. Sad day for many European enthusiasts.

Bob Bull, Portishead, Bristol

So the antics at the Australian Grand Prix have reignited the arguments from the 2021 Abu Dhabi race about whether it is sport or entertainment. Isn’t it obvious? It is entertainment. That is what they get paid the big money for. The 130,000 people packed into Albert Park were there to be entertained.

If Formula 1 wants pure racing without media interference for the sake of ‘the show’ they could race on closed circuits with no television cameras. Or, if they want pure racing without the media razzmatazz and the need to entertain the Netflix generation, they can get themselves a Formula Ford and go racing at a local club meeting. There, the results will not be orchestrated for televisual drama.

They won’t get paid millions of pounds, but they will be allowed to race without the pesky television companies expecting the drivers to entertain in return for their money. But I can think of 55 million reasons why Max Verstappen wouldn’t want to do that.

Getting back to the Australian Grand Prix, what is wrong with a waved yellow flag in the sector where there is a problem, and green flags when next sector is clear? Oh, I think I’ve worked it out: safety cars and restarts lead to drama and excitement, which is what television wants. And since television pays a lot of money, that’s what television will get.

There’s no business like show business.

Ian McRae, North Lanarkshire

As an avid fan of F1 since the Mexican GP of 1964, I’ve watched the ups and downs of the sport, the impact of corporate-isation and the sport’s global expansion. Going from a bunch of creative engineers and team owners to engineers and owners throttled by regulation and the need for an audience, I now find myself more tired after a race than the drivers.

I am tired from having to pay attention to all the penalties, accusations, delayed results from pending investigations, and spending more than a second on picayune regulations. Did it really matter that Alonso was just slightly left of his grid position? Sadly, the sport is dominated by media personalities and rivalry rather than driving expertise and engineering smarts.

The famous writer Russell Baker wrote, when referencing real estate development on the lovely New England island of Nantucket, that: “The rich ruin everything.”

Now that it is even more of a show, I’ve reached that point in F1. I’d rather watch WEC or IndyCar. More exciting than the F1 procession and them arguing about the regs.

Frank Faeth, Bronxville, NY, USA

In 1962 at Goodwood for the Tourist Trophy, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Andrew Frankel wrote about in the May issue [Seventh heaven] was crashed not by Chris Kerrison, the then owner, but by co-driver Chris Benson.

John Starkey, Pasadena, florida, usa

Many of your readers will know the name of Stanley Sedgwick, former president of the Bentley Drivers Club and owner of OLGA, his pre-production Bentley R-type Mulliner Continental. He was renowned for high-speed trips across pre-autoroute France such as driving to Monte Carlo for lunch, then back home for dinner!

Perhaps less well known is that he also owned the other ex-Walker/Moss Ferrari 250 GT SWB, sister to your May feature car and now owned by Ross Brawn, which he bought for £15,000 in the mid-1960s.

In 1968 he drove with his nephew (and my neighbour) Andrew Jackson to Modena. The conditions were appalling with strong winds, snow and debris-strewn roads. The trip was made worse by regular blown fuses, which Andrew had to repair, and an oil consumption of a gallon every 500 miles. It was therefore of no surprise to learn that the purpose of the journey was to deliver the car to Modena for a complete engine rebuild and at the same time sort out the electrics.

Your article on Clive Beecham’s 250 GT mentioned that Stirling had trouble leaving his Haileybury School contemporary, Mike Parkes, behind initially. Stirling was a highly experienced long-distance driver aware of the need to drive smoothly, whereas Mike was used to shorter events where the tyre degradation from power slides was of less significance. Great to watch though!

John Hindle, Penshurst, Kent

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