By Ian Wagstaff, Andrew Marriott, Jon Saltinstall and Darren Banks.
2025 review by Peter McFadyen
Readers will recall that, in 2017, the first book written by author Darren Banks, Stephen South: The Way It Was was shortlisted for both the Michael Sedgwick and RAC Motoring Book awards. It told the story of a rising British star already competing in the upper ranks of motor racing whose career was cut short in 1980 by a dreadful accident at Trois Rivières, Canada. Since then, Darren has authored three more books on a similar theme chronicling the lives of Gerry Birrell, Tom Pryce and Roger Williamson, the latter two written in collaboration with Kevin Guthrie, Darren’s partner at BHP Publishing.
For this, his latest book, Darren has teamed up with three more authors, Jon Saltinstall, Ian Wagstaff and Andrew Marriott to tell the stories of six very talented drivers all of whom were lost before their time. It’s a sad fact that all of the above are remembered more for their tragic ends than for what they had already achieved and the promise of what undoubtedly lay ahead. The books go a long way towards correcting that.
The opening two chapters by Ian Wagstaff recount, race by race, the careers of Stuart Lewis-Evans (1930-1958) and Chris Bristow (1937-1960). Lewis-Evans was a dominant force in 500cc Formula 3 in the 1950s along with Jim Russell, Don Parker et al and even his father, ‘Pop’ Lewis-Evans and although he quickly moved on via Connaughts to become a member of the successful Vanwall F1 team in 1957 alongside Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks, he continued to race in the category throughout. Bristow had a rapid rise through sports cars to Formula 1 with the British Racing Partnership (BRP) team founded by Alfred Moss and Ken Gregory. He had developed a reputation in some quarters for sometimes driving beyond his own limits, a judgement denied by those, including Stirling Moss, who had witnessed his performance first hand and close up and who believed he was quite simply a very fast and talented driver. He died at Spa during the Belgian Grand Prix which also claimed the life of Lotus driver Alan Stacey.
Darren Banks writes about the life and racing career of Bert Hawthorne (1943-1972), born in Northern Ireland but often described as a New Zealander after his family emigrated there in 1956. A crash at Hockenheim as Hawthorne was practising for his first European F2 championship race outside the UK ended his life. Jon Saltinstall’s chapter is about another ‘Bert’, the French Canadian Bertrand Fabi (1960-1986) who had just embarked upon a season in Formula 3 which he believed would give him his fastest route into F1 when a pre-season testing accident at Goodwood cruelly ended that ambition.
Journalist and broadcaster Andrew Marriott also contributes two chapters, the first on Chris Lambert (1944-1968) whom he knew well both professionally and personally and who perished in a Formula 2 race at Zandvoort and the final chapter of the book about Paul Warwick (1944-1968). Paul was the son of GP driver Derek Warwick who contributes the Foreword to the book saying that he had even learned new things about his talented son and that “the stories of those who strived but paid the ultimate price should not be forgotten”.
Publisher: BHP Publishing (https://www.bhp-publishing.co.uk)
Price: £40.00 plus postage.
Description: 152 pages, hardback, 21.0cm x 29.7cm. Many illustrations in black & white and colour.
ISBN: 978-1-7385085-4-9
Leave a Comment