Founded in the year nineteen twenty-four February 1980
Founded in the year nineteen twenty-four February 1980
Founded in the year nineteen twenty-four February 1980
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MATTERS OF MOMENT<br />
■ TELEVISION AND THE MOTOR CAR<br />
“The liv<strong>in</strong>g need charity more than <strong>the</strong> dead” —<br />
George Arnold, 1834—1865.<br />
The motor car preceded television by some forty <strong>year</strong>s,<br />
although it might be said that whereas <strong>the</strong> former was<br />
practical transport by about 1905 (earlier if you possessed<br />
a Sixty Mercedes or similar), it wasn’t until <strong>the</strong> 1950s<br />
or <strong>the</strong>reabouts, that everyman’s TV arrived. Of this we<br />
were able to rem<strong>in</strong>d an irate cottage-dweller on <strong>the</strong> way<br />
home from Silverstone some <strong>year</strong>s ago, when we had left<br />
<strong>the</strong> eng<strong>in</strong>e of a v<strong>in</strong>tage Riley runn<strong>in</strong>g at a petrol station<br />
opposite his premises and he emerged, irate, yell<strong>in</strong>g at us<br />
to switch-off, as we were ru<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g reception on his screen<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Cup F<strong>in</strong>al. . . .<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong>n BBC and ITV television have become<br />
a vast force <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> land, as o<strong>the</strong>r TV services are<br />
throughout most of <strong>the</strong> world. Perhaps <strong>the</strong> horseless<br />
carriage and Baird’s <strong>in</strong>credible <strong>in</strong>vention should never<br />
have <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong>ed. But <strong>the</strong>y have, with some <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
and also some unfortunate, results. For <strong>in</strong>stance, not<br />
long ago we got very sparse coverage of motor rac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
on “<strong>the</strong> box,” compared to <strong>the</strong> time devoted to kick-ball,<br />
Rugby-football (a game <strong>in</strong> which hands play as great a<br />
part as <strong>the</strong> feet <strong>in</strong> transport<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> oval “ball”), tennis<br />
and horse-rac<strong>in</strong>g. The BBC used <strong>the</strong> excuse that such<br />
a Nasty Word appeared on certa<strong>in</strong> F1 cars <strong>the</strong>y could<br />
not permit it to be seen by viewers, thus mak<strong>in</strong>g John<br />
Surtees <strong>the</strong> scapegoat, — quite ironical, when you th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
of how much porn is shown <strong>in</strong> so many TV plays. Now<br />
<strong>the</strong> situation has swung quite <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r way, with <strong>the</strong><br />
dates of Championship Grands Prix adjusted to suit TV<br />
producers — which we <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> can only hope implies<br />
that this <strong>year</strong> viewers are go<strong>in</strong>g to get as much, or more,<br />
motor-rac<strong>in</strong>g coverage as <strong>the</strong>y have had from <strong>the</strong> BBC<br />
<strong>in</strong> recent times. Such “live” report<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Fl rac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
season provides us with enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and just enough<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation for avid followers of <strong>the</strong> Sport who have<br />
been unable to attend a race to satisfy <strong>the</strong>m until <strong>the</strong> full<br />
facts are available from D.S.J, or A.H. <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> next issue of<br />
MOTOR SPORT. So for such small crumbs of TV motorrace<br />
report<strong>in</strong>g as we may receive, let us be grateful.<br />
The younger generation of enthusiasts may not<br />
realise that coverage of motor<strong>in</strong>g events with a sport<strong>in</strong>g<br />
flavour goes back to pre-Television times. For <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re were those pioneer<strong>in</strong>g broadcasts on 2LO from<br />
“Vox Villa” at Shelsley Walsh, which started at one of <strong>the</strong><br />
1932 hill-climbs, BBC’s very first “outside” motor-rac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
programme. It was Eric F<strong>in</strong>don, Editor of The Light Car,<br />
who was “on <strong>the</strong> air” on that and subsequent occasions,<br />
aided by his wife and daughter, with Major Vernon<br />
Brooke at <strong>the</strong> “Esses” — <strong>the</strong> writer can well remember<br />
<strong>the</strong> excitement of listen<strong>in</strong>g-<strong>in</strong> to <strong>the</strong>se “live” broadcasts<br />
from <strong>the</strong> famous Worcestershire hill when he was unable<br />
to get <strong>the</strong>re <strong>in</strong> his Aust<strong>in</strong> Seven from South London, and<br />
of hop<strong>in</strong>g fervently that <strong>the</strong> wonderful sounds would not<br />
be cut off, be “returned to <strong>the</strong> studio <strong>in</strong> London”, before<br />
<strong>the</strong> crackle of GN-based, vee-tw<strong>in</strong> Shelsley Specials had<br />
been heard and Raymond Mays had had his second run<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Vauxhall Villiers Supercharge. . . .<br />
Even before that, motor rac<strong>in</strong>g had been reported<br />
on <strong>the</strong> radio, for does not <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>imitable S. G. H.<br />
(“Sammy”) Davis tell, <strong>in</strong> his book “Motor Rac<strong>in</strong>g”, of<br />
switch<strong>in</strong>g-on his set one Sunday even<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 1924 and of<br />
its loudspeaker confirm<strong>in</strong>g his worst fears, namely that<br />
his friend Lou Zborowski had crashed fatally at Monza,<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> GP Mercedes? I have often wondered whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
this was a 2LO news item or whe<strong>the</strong>r Sammy had one<br />
of those <strong>the</strong>n-covetable radios (or “wireless sets”) of <strong>the</strong><br />
multi-valve, super-heterodyne variety that could receive<br />
foreign stations at loudspeaker strength, and whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
<strong>the</strong> report gave <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>ner of <strong>the</strong> Italian Grand Prix<br />
(Antonio Ascari <strong>in</strong> a P2 Alfa Romeo) or only mentioned<br />
<strong>the</strong> fatality? These early motor-rac<strong>in</strong>g broadcasts led<br />
on to wider coverage <strong>in</strong> this media, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g support<br />
from <strong>the</strong> BBC for <strong>the</strong> ten-lap “Broadcast Trophy” Race at<br />
Brooklands <strong>in</strong> 1937, won by John Cobb’s Napier-Railton<br />
at over 136 m.p.h., <strong>the</strong> commentary given by Alan Hess,<br />
today a Vice-President of <strong>the</strong> Brooklands Society.<br />
In those pre-war days of less leisure, fewer cars<br />
and slower journeys, such broadcasts helped to publicise<br />
motor rac<strong>in</strong>g among those who could not normally<br />
attend <strong>the</strong> different venues, and probably encouraged<br />
<strong>the</strong> large attendances at Don<strong>in</strong>gton Park <strong>in</strong> 1937 and 1938<br />
when <strong>the</strong> German Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union GP<br />
teams raced <strong>the</strong>re, with victory twice go<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> latter.<br />
* * *<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> war <strong>year</strong>s Television has escalated <strong>in</strong>to a fulltime,<br />
nearly non-stop, Show-Biz enterta<strong>in</strong>ment Industry.<br />
It has encompassed motor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r than rac<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
rally<strong>in</strong>g forms. The number of v<strong>in</strong>tage and o<strong>the</strong>r prewar<br />
vehicles which now earn lolly for <strong>the</strong>ir fortunate<br />
owners by appear<strong>in</strong>g before <strong>the</strong> cameras is legion. We<br />
have also had plays about motor rac<strong>in</strong>g and have seen<br />
rac<strong>in</strong>g drivers tak<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> role of actors. There was,<br />
for <strong>in</strong>stance, that fearful farce featur<strong>in</strong>g Stirl<strong>in</strong>g Moss<br />
and Denis Jenk<strong>in</strong>son on <strong>the</strong> eve of <strong>the</strong> 1955 Mille Miglia,<br />
which <strong>in</strong> real life <strong>the</strong>y won for Mercedes-Benz at a record<br />
average-speed of 97.96 m.p.h. The playwright made a<br />
fiasco of it by concentrat<strong>in</strong>g on mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> two heroes<br />
dwell morbidly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir bedroom with thoughts of death<br />
and destruction on <strong>the</strong> morrow, which <strong>in</strong> reality would<br />
have been totally out of character from ei<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong>m,<br />
a scene made worse because <strong>the</strong> actors formed a poor<br />
parody of Moss and a quite impossible Jenk<strong>in</strong>son. It has.<br />
we believe, mercifully never been repeated. Then <strong>the</strong>re<br />
was Graham Hill dressed as Daddy Christmas at those<br />
Box<strong>in</strong>g-Day Brands Hatch Race Meet<strong>in</strong>gs, to draw <strong>the</strong> TV<br />
cameras away from some fairly serious rac<strong>in</strong>g, and more<br />
recently we have had James Hunt play<strong>in</strong>g his trumpet to<br />
Variety Show audiences.<br />
This rem<strong>in</strong>ds us that when, some nights ago,<br />
drugged as TV tends to make one, we <strong>in</strong>advertently sat<br />
on <strong>in</strong>to a “Friday Night-Saturday Morn<strong>in</strong>g” frolic, it was<br />
to f<strong>in</strong>d Jackie Stewart act<strong>in</strong>g as <strong>the</strong> compere, <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g<br />
James Hunt and Henry Cooper. All we wish to say is<br />
that Henry Cooper did his best and generously said he<br />
wouldn’t get <strong>in</strong>to a rac<strong>in</strong>g car at any price, although<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to a Sunday Times survey professional box<strong>in</strong>g<br />
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