Back to the Future?

Sir,

Though I lament the new direction of MOTOR SPORIT as a reader of 50 years standing, may I add my congratulations to your 75 years of publication. Of course the present magazine is entertaining and beautifully produced. Furthermore I gather its new policy is a commercial success, so the counters are no doubt happy and the die is cast. However the fact that you can make a success of the nostalgic emphasis is because you have a wonderful archive both written and visual to draw on. That archive was created by talented enthusiast journalists whose passion was the present, but with their opinions and judgements formed by knowledge and understanding of the past. You are now no longer keeping that archive refreshed and so MOTOR SPORT is not now in a self-sustaining mode, which means it will eventually be dependent on sources other than its own when the current era becomes the subject of reflection in 25 years time.

Today there is no credible motorsport journal available to the intelligent and informed reader. It has been said that television coverage of Formula One has made the notion of a monthly magazine redundant. I believe this is not the case. There is a crying need for a monthly magazine dedicated to the highest standards of scholarly reflective writing, supported by the marvellous capabilities of contemporary printing. Such a magazine should take an interest in all branches and levels of the sport, and be written with a sense of insider authority. A monthly would allow contributors to reflect on and authenticate their offerings and so the magazine would become the reliable and covetable journal of the sport.

I am, yours, etc. Gavin T N Ross, Alford, Aberdeenshire