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Superbears - The Story of Hesketh Racing
£89.00
Lord Hesketh to recall Hunt's F1 rise at Motoring Literary Festival
F1
Lord Hesketh will be at this December's Motoring Literary and Art Festival to discuss the rise of his inimitable F1 team and its star driver James Hunt
Hunt rocketed to F1 stardom with his first team – Lord Hesketh will remember the high-points and high-jinks
Grand Prix Photo
50 years before F1’s modern-day ‘disruptors’ Red Bull began breaking multiple records in its march to 2023 world championship domination, grand prix racing’s first renegade, Hesketh, was just starting out.
At the inaugural Motoring Literary and Art Festival at Silverstone on December 3-4, the team’s eponymous founder Lord Hesketh will look back his squad’s rollercoaster ride and the unlikely career springboard it provided to 1976 F1 champion James Hunt.
Joining Lord Hesketh will be James Page, author of Superbears – The Story of Hesketh Racing, with the two discussing the continued popularity of an outfit billed ‘the biggest little team in the world’.
Unlikely lads: the late Prince Phillip, Lord Hesketh and James Hunt
Bernard Cahier/Getty Images)
The book has been nominated for various awards, and in Motor Sport’s July 2023 review, Gordon Cruickshank points out that it more than holds its worth.
“Where this generous account really scores is its interviews,” he says. “Hesketh and Horsley both talk with mild bitterness about their portrayal as Hooray Henrys born with silver spoons. None of them had, claims Hesketh. Hmm. Perhaps people have different definitions of silver spoons; the book makes clear that the glossy crowd who partied on the yachts were the people that Hesketh, Horsley et al would be socialising with in any case.
“Page provides plenty of history and some great photos including many from Hesketh’s personal album and one of his lordship hanging out a pitboard with the instruction ‘In – Cocktails’ when Charles Lucas is way ahead in a historic event in the team’s Maserati Birdcage.”
Cruickshank also emphasises how the team approached the sport in stark contrast to a rarefied racing community which was used to showing a stiff upper lip.
“Alexander [Hesketh] soon got bored so he went for lunch at nearby Petworth House, only for the butler to come in and say he was needed back at Goodwood. Hesketh also reflected that he loved Nürburgring ‘because you get 7min of peace'”.
These tales and many more are likely to be elaborated on in what promises to be a fascinating and entertaining talk with one of F1’s true originals.
Also featured across will be former F1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok in conversation with former Jordan and Stewart F1 designer Gary Anderson and Lee MacKenzie, world-renowned road car engineer Peter Stevens discussing his cult classic Jaguar XJR-15 and Damien Smith talking about his new book on another rock and roll F1 team – Benetton: Rebels of Formula 1.
The Motoring Literary and Art Festival will be held on December 3-4 at Silverstone – you can buy tickets here.