by Tim Beavis and Guy Loveridge
2020 review by James Loveridge
If you want to get a real feeling for how top level motor sport was in the 1960s then this is the book for you.
“Admission 7/6” by Tim Beavis and Guy Loveridge is based on a collection of outstanding photographs by an otherwise unknown, E. V. Starr. This is the book of the collection Tim Beavis talked about at a recent SAHB seminar. Mr Starr was not a Press Photographer, member of any team or a race official; he was just a keen and knowledgeable enthusiast who had the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
What his pictures make clear is how informal everything was, not casual but largely unrestricted. The cover image shows just how much; two Ferrari race cars standing beside a flat bed lorry with the team’s equipment spread out on it and two ice cream vans parked just behind – how different from now.
Not only do the photographs vividly catch the personalities and the activity but the authors have taken the opportunity of using friendships and contacts to talk to several of those who were very much involved at the time. This means that many of the stories behind the pictures are now, for the first time, being told as firsthand accounts of what it was like.
Particularly valuable are John Surtees’s reminiscences of his career in motor racing, his issues with Ferrari and his experiences with other teams, particularly Honda, leading to his building and racing cars under his own name. Shedding a different light are the memories of Christianne, the daughter of Innes Ireland, his highs and lows but also the fun and pleasure of being part of the motor racing “family”. Likewise Damon Hill talks of exploiting his connections to wander at will and thoroughly enjoy himself.
The real delight of Mr Starr’s pictures is that none of them are posed – not even Keith Jupp’s Formula 3 Brabham stood sideways on its wheels as shown on page 125. Mr Starr’s interest in everything around him means it is not just the stars, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, that we meet but less well known drivers like Willy Mairesse, Carel de Beaufort and Peter Arundel. Given coverage too are some virtual unknowns such as Jack Lewis, who tried to establish himself as the only Welsh Grand Prix driver in the hope that the French would look more favourably on him as an entrant than they then did the English, and South African Vic Wilson who drove a BRM run by Bernard White Racing.
Each photograph is fully explained, showing the depth of research undertaken by the authors and revealing what, I suspect, are several hitherto unknown facts.
If you want an expensive wallow in nostalgia then buy the Palawan Press’s recently issued “Racing Through Europe” by David Tremayne but, if you want to save £460 and get an equally enjoyable experience, buy this splendid book.
DISCLAIMER. Yes, one of the authors and the Publisher is my son but – you’ve got to encourage the kids haven’t you?
Publisher:Douglas Loveridge Publications, Moss View, 85 Warburton, Emley, Yorkshire, HD8 9QP, ISBN
Price: £40.00 plus postage. Special offer until 31 December 2020: postage within the UK included (see the News post on this site).
Description: 128 pages, Hardback with dust jacket. 21.6cm x 26.6cm. Photos in colour.
ISBN: 978-1-900113-14-4.
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