The team are once again sitting round the table in the virtual pub chatting about another strange year for the world of Historic Motor Sport. After a year when nobody had been trackside as much as they would like, they each discuss the highs and lows of their year.but also what 2022 might hold in store. Joe Bradley talks about his interview with Rob Smedley, Jim Roller had a great time at Amelia Island and had a great chat to Lyn St. James and Paul Jurd remembers when he tried (and failed) to keep Jochen Mass, Derek Bell and Richard Attwood under control at a live Porsche event in the autumn. Paul Tarsey likewise talks about sharing the stage with MSV’s Dr Jonathan Palmer and the perils of only having one microphone, when there really needed to be two! (Photo: L>R Tarsey,Jurd, Bradley, Roller)
Historic Racing News
As the racing year begins to slow down, the team are still on full power discussing the contentious issue of ‘The Luckiest Racing Drivers of All Time’. There are some VERY contentious choices in here and Joe Bradley, Jim Roller and Paul Jurd will argue for their own.
The global pandemic has caused havoc throughout our motorsport world and the challenges faced by Goodwood are no exception. Having spent over £1 million on the infrastructure for the Members Meeting in 2020, the event had to be cancelled at the last minute. In this episode of the Historic Racing News Radio Show, Paul Tarsey talks to Alan Brewer, General Manager of the Goodwood Road Racing Club, about the way they battled through, talking everything from the 2020 ‘SpeedWeek’ to the full 2021 programme. Alan talks about the successes as well as the challenges and looks forward to 2022, talking about some of the plans GRRC have already put in place.
Perry McCarthy talks about his early experiences in Formula Ford, funded by working on the oil rigs, through the dangerous times in F3000 and what he hoped was his big break into Formula One. This turned out to be with one of the most disastrous cars in F1’s history, the woeful Andrea Moda. Plus, Paul Tarsey, Jim Roller and Paul Jurd are joined by Peter Snowdon to talk about the worst single seater racing cars of all time.
Joe Bradley talks to the ultimate race engineer, Rob Smedley. Rob talks about his early days working for Pilbeam, his amazing first encounter with a very young Fernando Alonso, what it was like working for Ferrari, his relationship with Sir Frank Williams and how he cried uncontrollably when Felipe Massa lost the 2008 World Championship on the last corner of the final race.
This month the team looks at those heady days before WW2 when the Silver Arrows arrived in England for the Grand Prix only months before war was declared. Paul Jurd found an old copy of Chris Nixon’s book ‘Racing the Silver Arrows in his local secondhand book shop and it got him thinking about some of the ‘what might have beens..’ There is always that debate when it comes to whether racing cars belong on a Concours lawn or whether they should really only be seen on a racetrack. The HRN team is no different from any other group of enthusiasts when it comes to this discussion! Lots of different viewpoints. In ‘Corridors of Power’ this month the hot debate is about ‘The Greatest Single Seater Rivalries’. Ayrton Senna appears more than once but so do some very unexpected names. Paul Jurd, Jim Roller and Joe Bradley state their cases and Paul Tarsey tries to keep order.
The second part of the ‘Jaguars in Competition’ specia looks at some of the more successful times for Jaguar. Their success in the early days of GTP and later at Le Mans, was spearheaded by Bob Tullius and his Group 44 team, who created the sublime XJR5. Jim Roller talks to the first man to drive it in anger, Bill Adam. Joe Bradley finds out from Rob Beere just how you build a 7 litre V12 E Type racer, and Paul Jurd looks at the very strange XJR15 mini series, when drivers left the start line not knowing how long the race would be. Plus lots of nuggets and comments along the way!
Jim Roller looks back at Monterey Car Week. The Pebble Beach Concours is the highlight but, as Jim explains, there is too much going on to be able to see everything. High-prestige auctions, car shows and two weekends of historic racing at Laguna Seca make this a very special event. And talking of special events, we take an in depth look at the upcoming Goodwood Revival. Corridors of Power, our game of opinionated nonsense, takes a different turn this month with each team member choosing their weirdest cars ever to take to the grid! Join Joe Bradley, Jim Roller, Paul Jurd and Paul Tarsey for lots of chat and stories.
It’s hard to underestimate the impact that the Jaguar brand has had on motor racing for over seventy years and this month’s ‘Insider Special’ looks at Jaguars in Competition. Paul Jurd looks at the early days and at some of the failures as well as the successes, Jim Roller talks about Jaguar in the USA and Joe Bradley examines the bumpy road which was Jaguar F1. Part 2 will be broadcast on September 15th.
Kenny Brack talks about his role as Chief Test Driver for McLaren, Martin Warner gives an insight into the Shere Hill Climb and Steve Holter gives us a view of the daredevil record breaker John Cobb. ‘Corridors of Power’, our gameshow of opinionated nonsense, this month looks at the greatest drivers NEVER to have won Le Mans.