"The next instant was curiously drawn out, like a film suddenly in slow motion. I could see the under part of the Mercedes as it passed over my head, still in one piece and identifiable as a car with driver aboard. It seemed to fly on as leisurely as the horses going over Becher’s Brook in the newsreel.

Though I did not realise it at the time it snapped a wire at a point eighteen inches above my head and sprinkled the hair of the lady on my right with tiny morsels of silver coachwork.

Even while the silver car was still hurtling to earth again there was time to feel emotion. First came anguish for the driver, imprisoned in that airborne car, utterly committed to the crash. Then came the sensation of violation, of tremendous forces out of control. Last and most terrible was the realisation that the machine was falling amongst a mass of humans and must surely crush them."

Douglas Rutherford attended most of the major races of 1955, and this is his story of these races, which made 1955 one of the most momentous, memorable and tragic years in the history of motor racing.

This is probably the book, which did it for me. This is the book which, as an eleven year old, I got out of the local library time and again to read of the exploits of drivers and cars of a previous decade. This is the book, which stimulated me to read, and buy, more books about motor racing and its history until I accumulated what is now a collection of over 150 tomes. I did not manage to purchase my own copy of this book until much later. In the early sixties though, I didn’t really need to own it – I knew it virtually of by heart, knew the names (but not all the pronunciations), had devoured the sharp black and white photographs for every detail, and had been stimulated to widen my knowledge of the people, marques and races mentioned in the enthralling, wonderful text.

Chapter 1 is entitled " The First Fifty Years", where Rutherford initially philosophises on the qualities required to make a racing driver.

"…the first is a sense of vocation – that inexplicable compulsion to race which draws a man day after day to the brink of doom. We all have our different ways of breaking the chains that bind our mortal feet to the earth, some petty and some noble. The real racing driver has the spirit that takes mountaineers to the summit of Everest and matadors to the bullring……..Next come the inborn physical qualities; an especial sense of line and balance and a lightning quickness of reflex. He needs an instinctive ability to assess and adjust the forces under his control, engine power and braking power, against the forces which seek to destroy him, impetus and centrifugal force……A man may be born with these qualities but to possess them is not enough. Experience must be added……..Over and above all this he must have courage, for without courage who can face the unremitting danger, the frights, the disappointments and even the tragedies that racing inevitably brings? That is why the great drivers in any decade can be numbered on your fingers, and that is why the death of such a man as Alberto Ascari means a serious loss to us all."

He then embarks on a whistle stop tour of Grand Prix racing history, concentrating on later years as a build up to 1955, and indeed finishes the chapter with a short report on the first round of the World Championship, the Argentine Grand Prix of 16th January.

"The Drive of the Century" is about Moss and Jenkinson’s epic victory in the Mille Miglia. Rutherford’s skill is in setting the scene and communicating the atmosphere of the races he describes.

"Long before the Mille Miglia, in cafes and on street corners, you could hear the famous names being bandied to and fro with a wealth of gesture and expression which re-created the event before your very eyes. The Bresciani call the week before the Mille Miglia their settimana di passione. Up and down the length of Italy, appetites had been whetted by the spectacle of fast cars passing as drivers attempted to familiarise themselves with the thousand-mile circuit. But Brescia, the very cradle of the race as well as the start and finish, was subjected to an intensified form of preparation. In the city and surrounding villages, garages had been turned into racing stables…..Any moment as you rounded a corner in your car you might be confronted with the spectacle of a race car coming towards you at over a hundred miles an hour."

"Ascari’s Last Race" describes the almost overpowering excitement of the Monaco Grand Prix, as well as Ascari’s life – and death.

"The Way of the Expert" is a report on the relatively uneventful Belgian GP, enlivened by a biography of Fangio.

"If you met Fangio by chance you would never guess that he was the world’s fastest driver. He is small, heavily built and walks with a rolling gait. His movements are slow and controlled. His eyes are remarkably calm and express a deep understanding of human nature. He talks quietly, without many gestures, and speaks Italian as well as Spanish. In repose his features have a sad though tranquil cast. Even when he is at the racetrack he gives above all an impression of relaxation. Until he gets into the car he seems almost sleepy………"

"The End of an Epoch" is about the disastrous Le Mans 24-hour race. The excitement of the duel between Jaguar and Mercedes Benz in the first part of the race is almost breathtaking when described by the author. As can be seen from the initial extract, he was a close observer of the tragedy, standing only eighteen feet from the point of disaster.

The next chapter is called "The Continent Comes to Britain" and describes the Mercedes Benz 1-2-3-4 at Aintree. Again Rutherford’s eye for detail and descriptive powers are amazing.

"By now the official Maserati and Ferrari teams had each only one car left. Every British made car except one was out of the race. But what was this? In front of the grandstands Harry Schell had sailed past Sparken’s Gordini and given the driver a happy smile. In a less public place certain rude signals might have been made, for Schell was out to enjoy himself. Each time he passed the pits he gave the mechanics a cheery thumbs-up signal, which clearly meant: "Thanks for getting me going again. The engine’s fine." The Vanwall mechanics sat in a row on the pit-counter and swung their legs happily every time their car went by…….When Moss and Fangio caught him up Schell gave way politely and then proceeded to demonstrate that the Vanwall was almost as fast as the German cars. He sailed round behind them for several laps and gave the crowd to wonder what might have happened if his throttle linkage had not broken in the early stages. The Vanwall was very fast"

Because of the Le Mans disaster, four Grands Prix were cancelled, and only six races counted towards the World Championship. The final chapter, entitled "Faster Faster" tells the story of the Italian GP, which in 1955 used the full Monza circuit, banking included.

At the end of the book, Douglas Rutherford states that he covered over 10 000 miles of continental roads between the races in a 1932 Alvis!

The only disappointing thing about this book is that it appears to be the only non-fiction book about motor racing written by the author. He wrote mainly fiction, notably "Grand Prix Murder" (Collins 1955). It is hard to imagine any fiction more dramatic than the actual events of the 1955 motor racing season…….

If you love motor racing, especially that of an age when drivers could be seen and driving personalities easily spotted, then you cannot afford not to read this book. This book is Fifties Motor Racing.

Rutherford, Douglas. Collins, 1956, 224 pp.,

Book review provided by Douglas S Brown (June 1998)