Chris Nixon R.I.P.

British historian Chris Nixon died last week. A man with broad knowledge, his specialties were post-war Aston racing and the glory days of pre-war Mercedes and Auto Union.

A loner who worked as a PR man in the film industry, Nixon was never fully integrated into the historic fraternity.

He wrote many acclaimed books including Mon Ami Mate, the story of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins. IMHO, Nixon's analysis of the 1955 Le Mans accident in that book is, by far, the best thing I've read on the subject. His most recent publication is Kings of the Nurburgring, covering drivers who excelled at the legendary German course.

His titles, usually published by Transport Bookman, were in-depth explorations of fairly narrow subjects printed in runs of around 2500.

There have been rumors that Nixon was racer Sir John Horsefall, but it would appear that his age precluded that.

I am truly saddened to learn of Mr. Nixon's passing. I have been among the many who have enjoyed his work. Several of his titles are among my personal favorites on my bookshelves.

I will admit that I know virtually nothing about Chris Nixon, but the legacy of his contributions to my knowledge of motorsport shall remain with me always.

Very sad to hear of his passing. I have several of his books and value them highly. His two volumes of "Racing with the David Brown Aston Martins" is a must for any Aston fan. I still have yet to absorb "Mon Ami Mate" and the books on Rosemeyer and the "Silver Arrows" fully. Very sad.
David B

I'm so sad to here this...

I too don't know anything about him, but he was the motorsport writer that I always held in the highest regard. Much of what I learned of motor racing history was thanks to his books, and in the days before TNF - he WAS TNF for me. He was a man of details - his books were never to be read 'overnight'. It took me a month of careful reading to consume 'Mon Ami Mate' the first time around, and he made it possible for me to feel as though I was there, as if I knew these people and saw those races myself.

In many of the threads about motor racing books in different fora, his books always feature very highly on the 'must have' lists. I am glad that this is his legacy.

I wish I knew more about him, because I feel as though a major influence in my life has just passed away, and I know not who he was.

I managed to give him a name to contact over a recent book that turned out to be completely arse-about-face, I have a lovely letter, gently showing me the errors of may ways, and thanking me for what turned out in the end, I am pleased to say, to be all the answers he was looking for.

From my all too brief contact, so sorry to hear the news,

Andrew

Very sad. It was "Mon Ami Mate" that really awakened my interested in the history of the sport. It still ranks as my favourite historical work.

Edward

This is a great loss to the world of motor sporting literature.

Chris was very patient with me years ago when I was researching the inaccurate Reims circuit map and I have several of his books, all of which I regularly pull out and re-read.

Very sad.

Very sad news indeed. 'Mon Ami Mate' is a treasured book in my collection and I have enormous respect and admiration for anyone who can explore and convey the history of the sport we all love so well.

Thank you Chris Nixon. RIP.

RIP. Maybe six or seven years ago I sent him a letter, asking for a specific answer and got it in just a few weeks time. Unfortunately, I never wrote him back, even if I had a few details more on subject that could be of his interest... Always hoped that he'll join TNF but, sadly, it never happened.

I am staggered to find this terribly sad news here this morning - the first I have heard of it.

Chris and I had very little contact and what we did have indicated that we were simply never on the same wavelength but I genuinely admired much of his work greatly - especially the Aston Martin material which was not only truly superb in its breadth and depth but also in its humanity.

Cabianca/Michael - you wrote "There have been rumors that Nixon was racer Sir John Horsefall, but it would appear that his age precluded that" - indeed it would have done but regardless, while never having heard of any 'Sir John Horsefall', Aston Martin and ERA exponent St John 'Jock' Horsfall was killed in an ERA at Silverstone well over 50 years ago. I have never heard of any such rumour before. In fact Chris was a staff man on 'Autosport' from 1958 where he covered the 1959 World Championship-clinching Goodwood TT as won by Aston Martin. He left in 1963 understandably attracted by better reward in the TV and movie industries.

DCN

indeed a sad loss. Just the other night I was contemplating buying his Silver Arrows videos.

Sad news indeed.

I think partly because Chris stuck fairly closely to the 30s-50s, and because his books were rather sober and scholarly in tone, he wasn't as well-known as he might have been. "Mon Ami Mate" (which despite the monumental depth of research had a lightness of touch not often found in his work) and his Rosemeyer biography were the books that really got me interested in his work and to some extent they bookend his historic interests.

He'll probably be remembered most for "Mon Ami Mate", his two-volume Aston work, and "Racing The Silver Arrows". But everything he wrote - even the recent mostly-photographic books - was insightful, elegant and worth reading.

Never even knew he was ill.

Seemed to have links with Chaters, his ltd editions were always available there.

"Racing The Silver Arrows" was a wonderful book...history with an interesting twist - not strictly sequential but with the stories of individual drivers interspersed and the race reports so you could see how it was originally reported.

Further detail. Clive Stroud of Chaters, the London motoring bookshop and Chris's publishers under the Transport Bookman name, tells me he had been unable to contact Chris - who was single and lived alone without close family - for several days, so visited his house in Twickenham last Saturday. Neighbours had not seen him either. The shared concern was obvious. Police were called to enter the house. Chris was found deceased in his workroom. His last book - entitled I believe ' Kings of the Nurburgring' - was recently published by Transport Bookman and he and Clive jointly regarded it as his best yet....which is some recommendation.

DCN

I'm devastated.

Devastated is too mild a word.

"Racing the Silver Arrows" has become the benchmark and base history work for all of us who love and study the racing of the 1930s. It was obviously a labour of love on Chris' part and I am greatly, greatly saddened by the news of his passing.

His Rosemeyer book too is a wonderfully valuable resource and we are all the poorer for his loss.

I'm sure Clive and all the guys and girls at Chaters, TB and Menoshire are also devastated by this. Chris was one of their longest-established authors and his work was one of the main factors in the establishment of Transport Bookman as a serious player in motor sport publishing.

I have offered my condolences regarding the passing of Chris Nixon at the top of this thread, however it seems appropriate to provide a brief bit of context on my debt to this historian.

That I became a huge fan of Formula 1 in the mid-sixties while a teenager growing up in deepest NASCAR country is a paradox I am not sure I fully understand to this day. “Grand Prix”, Henry N. Manney, and Jim Clark’s victory at Indy were major factors in that unusual twist in this reader’s life.

While for many years I was simply a F1 fan of that era, I was fortunate to spend several years living in Europe in my early 30’s and access to events there firmly established the sport within my psyche. My reading of the sport was principally limited to annuals and books on contemporary F1 of the time.

After returning to the U.S. in the late 1980’s, I chanced upon a copy of “Racing the Silver Arrows” by an author named Chris Nixon. This book hit me like a bullet, and I was instantly entranced by the cars and personalities made so real by Mr. Nixon in this very enjoyable work.

Now almost twenty years on, the interest that was inspired by that single book has blossomed into many years of interest and enjoyment (and many, many books) regarding the history of motorsport.

I did not know Chris Nixon, and in fact I know almost nothing about him as a person. He never knew that his words had stimulated many years of interest in historic motorsport by this reader, and I am sure that he did not know the depths of my personal gratitude for his having done so.

I sincerely regret that I never took to opportunity to thank Chris Nixon during his life. It is all the more important that I do so now.

Thanks Chris.

An article signed by Chris Nixon in Italian "AUTOSPRINT" in late 1976.
(only for italian readers...)


Come è purtoppo sempre più abitudine nei moderni GP, tranne qualche raro
caso nel '76, dovuto alla volontà di recupero di Hunt, le gare F1, col
compromesso tecnico e agonistico vigente, spesso diventano più una
processione che una lotta vera, un confronto all'ultimo... colpo di
acceleratore. Chi era presente qualche mese fa a Long Beach, al GP USA
West, ha avuto persino occasione di fare un paragone clamoroso. Il
giorno prima una esibizione (così era annunciata) è diventata una vera
corsa, che faceva bollire il sangue a tutti coloro che vi hanno
assistito, per non parlare di coloro che vi hanno preso parte.
Questa "processione " dimostrativa era delle cosidette macchine d'epoca
dei GP: nei dieci giri che furono concessi loro, hanno dimostrato con
magnifica chiarezza proprio ciò che manca alle monderne corse di GP, il
vero spettacolo, cioè l'elemento umano.
Negli ambienti automobilistici britannici quel parallelo causò un bel
po'di agitazione! Indusse Peter Windsor di Autocar a scrivere uno
splendido pezzo su Stirling Moss, accompagnato da alcuni superbi
fotocolor di quelle macchine e dei piloti in azione con grande abilità.
Abilità. Questa è una parola che ormai si avverte raramente nelle corse
automobilistiche di questi tempi. Chi ha conosciuto la simpatia di
Farina, Fangio, Moss, Ascari al loro culmine, non attribuirà mai abilità
a Lauda o Hunt. Può entrarci un naturale pregiudizio, però non
dimentichiamoci che c'è una componente essenziale: nelle macchine di
oggi non si vede il pilota pilotare! Ed è così che rimane inavvertita
molta delle sua abilità.
Per questo deve essere incolpato Colin Chapman, perchè è stato lui che
ha per primo nascosto i piloti nelle macchine. Non lo ha fatto perchè
non poteva sopportare la loro vista. E non si trattava neanche di un
colpo di genialità che aveva a che fare con la riduzione della parte
frontale, come è stato sostenuto. No! Era semplicemente perchè aveva
spesso difficoltà di tirar giù dal letto degli individui sonnolenti
comme Jimmy Clark e Trevor Taylor, e così ha creato una macchina, la
Lotus 25, che permetteva loro di... lavorare coricati! Ecco, amici, come
è nata una grande macchina da corsa e da allora Chapman viene acclamato
come genio!...
Ma, scherzi a parte, dal punto di vista del pubblico la posizione
sdraiata del pilota è diventata la maledizione della macchina da corsa a
motore centrale. Per il costruttore questo ha significato una zona
frontale più piccola e il dover distribuire il carburante attorno al
pilota. Il fuoco è sempre stato un grosso rischio per le corse, però con
l'avvento della macchina a motore centrale, è diventato perfino
maggiore: I piloti si sono trovati seduti in una vasca di carburante.
Nello stesso tempo c'è stato un grande miglioramento nella progettazione
e nella costruzione dei caschi, culminati nel tipo integrale che si
conosce oggi. Questo tipo, che copre tutto, è stato creato non tanto per
proteggere il viso del pilota in un incidente, ma piuttosto per
offrirgli un sistema di sicurezza per il fuoco, quando la mancanza di
ossigeno è la vera ragione della morte. Così i caschi moderni hanno
incorporato il sistema di fornitura di ossigeno che da la possibilità al
pilota di sopravvivere per i secondi iniziali. Poichè le cose stanno
così, si può difficilmente chiedere ai piloti di oggi di tornare ai
caschi aperti, ma bisogna ammettere che, una volta diventato "de rigeur"
il casco integrale, le corse automobilistiche hanno perso la loro anima:
quando non si riesce più a vedere gli occhi di una persona, non si
riesce più a vedere la persona stessa! Vedere i "pattini a rotelle
troppo cresciuti" di oggi correre attorno i loro circuiti Polistil in
"kingsize" è come vedere una macchina pilotata da un altro. Ancora
meglio, il pubblico poteva effettivamente vedere guidare i piloti. Deve
essere stato una grossa sorpresa per i giovani tifosi scoprire negli USA
quelle vecchie vetture veramente pilotate da persone. "Ehi, babbo,
questa macchina è passata con un uomo dentro!". E il babbo (stava
sorridendo): "Perchè si diverte, figliolo". "Vuoi vedere che pilotare
una macchina da corsa è divertente? Gesummaria. Non lo avrei mai
saputo!".
Vedendo le macchine di GP attuali, posso solo ringraziare la mia fortuna
per aver visto molte corse, prima che i piloti sparissero e le lotte
ruota a ruota non erano diventante un ricordo. E che ricordi!
Ricordate Farina, il maestro degli sitilisti che ha guidato come un dio
la sua Alfa 159? Era seduto come se fosse in casa in poltrona, leggendo
un libro. (Un buon libro naturalmente).
E Fangio, che aveva disputato il suo primo GP europeo quando aveva già
39 anni? Riuscite a richimare in mente la sua autorità imponente dietro
il volante? Come si può dimenticarlo?
E Moss, che tutti avrebbero voluto vedere correre a Long Beach anche con
le F1 attuali? Che spettacolo avrebbe potuto essere! Moss era l'artista
supremo, un autentico allievo della scuola Nuvolari-Farina, che ha
portato la sua propria e unica abilità alle corse, una abilità simile al
glorioso atteggiamento del tipo "non dire mai morire" che non si vede
più in questi tempi di "coraggio della paura".
E Hawthorn, che portava sempre una cravatta a farfalla, cosa che sembra
incredibile adesso? Portava anche quasi sempre una visisera, così che
quando, in alcune rare occasioni, portava gli occhialoni, si doveva
guardarlo due volte per stabilire chi fosse! Nell'abitacolo egli era
quasi l'opposto alla guida liscia di Moss.
E Collins, il compagno "mon ami" di Mike? Ho sempre ritenuto che Collins
fosse stato migliore di quanto egli mostrasse, perchè a volte sembrava
libero di preoccupazioni nel suo atteggiamento verso le corse. Eppure,
una volta in macchina, il suo viso ha spesso assunto un aspetto di
tranquilla arroganza. E quando questo accadeva era praticamente
imbattibile.
E Brooks, con la meravigliosa abilità di correre assurdamente veloce con
una facilità disinvolta, che era tanto ingannevole quanto piacevole da
osservare?
E Gonzales? All'inizio egli era veramente una visione fantastica. Un
toro delle Pampas in cerca di un negozio di porcellana cinese. Sembrava
sviluppare più potenza nell'abitacolo di un motore Ferrari o BRM sotto
il cofano. E sembrava scagliare fisicamente la sua macchina lungo la
pista.
E Ascari?, un genio leggermente corpulento in una camicia aperta? Alcuni
lo hanno ritenuto più grande addirittura di Fangio.
E Graham Hill? Quando guidava aveva un viso che era alla pari dello
stesso Old Stone Face (vecchia faccia di pietra), Buster Keaton. A
Graham non è stato regalato niente, ha semplicemente proseguito con il
suo lavoro con una determinazione di ferro.
E Clark? In notevole contrasto con il suo avversario maggiore, Hill, il
volto di Jimmy era un genere di contatore di giri: più forte spingeva,
più facce faceva.
E Brabham? Era curvo sul volante come un uomo che sta cercando di
allacciare i laccetti delle scarpe senza piegare le ginocchia! Black
Jack non ha mai completamente perso il suo stile di guida da pista da
terra. Forse non è stato il più pulito nella guida, ma perbacco, era
bello da vedere!
D'accordo, sto nuotando nella nostagia. Ma, ditemi, qualcuno mi dica,
per piacere - come corre Regazzoni? Che aspetto ha Hunt quando è
inseguito? O come Fittipaldi sta combattendo quando è sotto pressione?
Pace, quante volte fa una smorfia? Come lotta Pryce? Nilsson (Gunnar)
celebra Nillson (Harry) quando è seduto nella vasca (Lotus)? Non potete
dirmelo, vero? Perchè non li avete mai visti al lavoro!
La triste verità è che, negli ultimi anni, le corse di GP stanno dando
al pubblico sempre meno valore per maggiore costo di denaro. Non
soltanto i piloti sono stati tolti dalla vista, ma i circuiti vengono
costantemente alterati, perchè i piloti li considerano "troppo veloci".
Che stupidaggini! Come può un circuito essere troppo veloce, per l'amor
del cielo? Sono le vetture che sono troppo veloci e i costruttori
dovrebbero ricordarsi che è il pubblico, alla fine, che paga le loro
fatture. E perciò dovrebbero produrre macchine che danno al pubblico il
meglio su ogni circuito.
Il GP d'Italia a Monza era un sogno degli spettatori, una delle più
grandi corse della stagione, dove le macchine sfruttavano la scia
dell'altra come matti. Però i big hanno deciso che fosse troppo veloce
(il circuito, naturalmente, non le macchine) e hanno chiesto
l'inserimento delle chicanes. Di conseguenza da allora non c'è più stata
una vera corsa a Monza e le chicanes sul rettineo dei box hanno mandato
un bel numero di vetture fuori pista, fortunatamente senza ferite per i
piloti. (Fino adesso...)
Per anni la Woodcote Corner a Silverstone è stata una delle scene più
spettacolari delle corse automobilistiche. Ma, come Monza, è diventata
"troppo veloce". Oggi un incidente lì, si sosteneva, potrebbe benissimo
mandare una macchina nella tribuna sempre piena di gente. Perciò, invece
di rendere le macchine più lente ma conservando lo spettacolo, si è
fatta una chicane. E Silverstone è stata evirata.
No, non sono i circuiti che sono sbagliati, sono le macchine che stanno
diventando troppo veloci per far del bene a qualcuno. Ogni velocità che
aumenta, il centesimo di secondo guadagnato per giro ogni anno, non è
tutto e dove finisce tutto nelle corse. In termini di velocità, le corse
di motociclette si sono praticamente trovate in una fase di stasi per
anni, però non ha importanza per nessuno. Migliaia di spettatori si
riuniscono ad ogni meeting di gara , perchè sanno che "vedranno
correre". I motociclisti non sono nascosti nella carrozzeria!
La gente preferisce di gran lunga vedere un pilota guidare una macchina
in curva a 100 all'ora, piuttosto che vedere una macchina che passa a
150, che quasi non la si vede come se fosse su rotaie.
Un altro risultato della mania dell'anti velocità è che il pubblico
viene sempre più spostato indietro, più lontano dalla pista. Più vanno
veloci le macchine, più bisogna allontanare il pubblico dalla pista. E
ciò per un possibile incidente. Se volete fare dei soldi in una corsa in
questi giorni, non vendete gelati, noleggiate piuttosto binocoli del
tipo da teatro a buon mercato. Farete una fortuna!
Moss ha fatto alcune osservazioni molto pertinenti su questo argomento
dopo la sua corsa a Long Beach. "...Mi sembrava di trovarmi su una
strada, ma avevo l'impressione come se non ci fosse nessuno attorno a
me. Ero abituato a correre su una pista veloce, piena di gente. A Long
Beach sono stati tenuti dietro"... "Per me vedi, le corse moderne
impediscono di maniferstarsi al pubblico... è molto come per un mago,
quando questo si trova troppo lontano dal pubblico, nel fondo del
palcoscenico, non si riesce veramente a credere a cosa sta facendo" Ben
detto!
I maghi delle corse di GP sono troppo distanti, sul fondo del
palcosenico e spetta ai propretari dei circuiti rimettere a posto questa
faccenda. Dovrebbero mettersi insieme con la FIA e dire ai costruttori
che le macchine da corsa dovranno fornire un più alto valore per il
pubblico. Proprio adesso sarebbe nell'interesse di tutti di rendere le
vetture più lente, prima che la situazione sfugga del tutto di mano. Le
corse automobilistiche sono tutto (posso osare dirlo?) nella correre,
nella competizione! Il pubblico vuole vedere correre le macchine da
corsa, e non ronzare monotonamente attorno alla pista in una triste
processione, per quanto possa essere veloce.


Chris Nixon

We all must say a very big 'Thank You' to Chris for his enormous contribution in research of motorsport history.

RIP, Chris

Over six years back I had a fax exchange with Chris about inaccuracies of his Neubauer story in the January 1999 MotorSport issue. At that time I also faxed him my basic findings about the controversial 1939 European Championship but he never responded, which ended our brief correspondence.

May he RIP.

As Richard says, 'devastated' is not enough to express my feelings, but what other words are there?

Originally posted by bira
I wish I knew more about him, because I feel as though a major influence in my life has just passed away, and I know not who he was.

Agree absolutely. Thank you Chris, for all your great work.

Another sad day for the motor racing history community.

While I did not find Chris Nixon to be very communicative -- my experiences at corresponding with him were the same as those of my good friend Hans -- I certainly found his work interesting and fascinating. He will certainly be missed.

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Devastated is too mild a word.

"Racing the Silver Arrows" has become the benchmark and base history work for all of us who love and study the racing of the 1930s. It was obviously a labour of love on Chris' part and I am greatly, greatly saddened by the news of his passing.

I can only agree to that. Without his "Racing the Silver Arrows" there wouldn't be any "Golden Era" web page of mine.

Thank you Chris!

RIP

Quite a shock, I've always looked forward to the latest Chris Nixon release, just looking at the bookshelf above my PC I see,

Klemantaski & Aston Martin,
Rosemayer,
Sportscar Heaven,
The Robert Fellowes Collection,
Auto Union Album,
Shooting Star,
Rivals,
Racing the Silver Arrows,
Mon Ami Mate,
Kings of the Nuerburgring.

I'll miss the fact there will be no more, a sad lose to the historical motorsport community.

I can only agree with others, that this comes as a shock.

I met him once,only briefly, when he offered to sign the Auto Union Album I was buying at Chaters shop at Silverstone in 1999. This wasn't an official signing session, he was just there chatting at the counter and asked if I wanted it signing.

"Racing the Silver Arrows" remains a superb piece of work.

The news was a shock to me. Of course I have "Racing..." but I had some contact with him, thanks to Tony Watson (argentinian correspondent of Autosport), and I exchanged some correspondence with Mr. Nixon when he was searching for his books. I gave him some photos for the books on the Lancia-Ferrari and the Aston-Martin team (but I never actually saw the books, so I never found the acknowledgements), and he sent me some material for a piece I was planning on Fangio and the 1957 German Grand Prix. I promised to me one day I would restart the contact, so when I saw the news I felt sad.

I'm as saddened as I am shocked to hear this news. His biography of Rosemeyer went a long way to cementing my love of motor sport history.

A few years ago I was doing some research, and I contacted him a couple of times: first for information, and secondly to source some photos. He obviously didn't know me from Adam, but was still very helpful and courteous.

RIP Chris

Willie

RIP

My tribute is to quote myself from the "Introduce yourself thread" written back when I joined in.

Originally posted by jcbc3
...
But mostly the interest is maintained by reading of books, magazines and the internet. Besides being interested in motor sport, I also have some interest in motoring in general, and will also confess to having a copy of DCN's update of Hans Tanners work on Ferrai on the book shelf. It, along with Nixon's 'Racing the Silver Arrows' are my two favourite motor books.

...

Yesterday I even bought - for the first time ever - an issue of Octane, a magazine I don't hold in high esteem, mainly because of Nixon's article on Alberto Ascari. Most probably the last article ever written by him but suprisingly unremarkable one, I have to say, even with some mistakes a not too knowledgeable reader like me can spot at a glance (Fangio driving overnight from Ireland to Monza, for example). With "Rosemeyer" and "Mon Ami Mate" very high on my shopping list I'd rather like to believe (and I certainly do, judging from comments of fellow posters here) that those titles are much more representative of Nixon's work than Ascari article.

Truely saddened, I have just popped back in to check something and found this news, I feel so guilty for being so behind the times. For a young fella like me (29) living away from the real bustle of historic racing (Ireland) I have come to rely on so many great writers, contributors here both amateur and professional and on the recommendations here for reading material including the late, great Mr. Nixon. He inspired my reading, his books are my prized possesions, their knowledge filled gapping holes but always inticed me to go dig for more. My feeling for the times is all moulded by this great mans writtings.

I am lost.

RIP

Very sad to hear of his passing.
His books are simply brilliant. Without doubt some of the best work on the history of motorsport.
Sadly I don't know much about him. Did he come from a historical background or was he a motorsport writer only?

Originally posted by cabianca
IMHO, Nixon's analysis of the 1955 Le Mans accident in that book is, by far, the best thing I've read on the subject.[/B]

I couldn't agree more, very saddened to hear this.

I only have "Mon Ami Mate" which, on it's own, defines him as a great motor racing writer.

RIP Chris.

I heard of Chris Nixon's death from Doug Nye, after returning home from a trip and picking up a strange message from Jim Sitz in California that something was wrong with Chris, whom we both knew well.

Back some 15 years ago, Chris put Louis Klemantaski back in people's consciousness and the then fledgling Klemantaski Collection on the map with his enthusiastic review of "Klemantaski & Ferrari" in Autosport, something for which I shall always thank him. I had the great pleasure and honor to work with Chris on several book projects over the past decade, among them Louis Klemantaski's monumental autobiography "Klemantaski Himself," then "Klemantaski & Aston Martin," and most recently the book of Peter Coltrin's color work "Racing in Color." Just a couple of weeks ago Chris and I were discussing a new potential project for a photo book with an almost forgotten Swiss photographer of great talent. Chris was also very helpful in introducing me to a number of his longtime photographer friends.

Chris was a loner in many ways - as Doug says he lived completely alone, but all the same a very sweet and gentle guy with a wonderful background of knowledge and a superb writing style. Nevertheless, he had strong opinions! He was a pleasure to know and to work with and I greatly enjoyed his visits with us here in America. We shall all miss him greatly. God speed my friend.

Peter Sachs
The Klemantaski Collection

Without Chris Nixon, the small fraternity of motor history writers is poorer and smaller, yet I do think that we have to remember Chris for his best books. They are many, and I fully agree with the mentions of Mon ami mate and Racing the Silver Arrows. I completely disagree on Rosemeyer! A new biography.
It's by far better to forget such a junk, which destroyed all the values, the style, and the pathos of the original German text. What added by Chris, alas, strongly contributed to such negative feelings.
In the foreword, Chris correctly reported that he used the English translation due to be published in 1939, which is (his own words): "... very Germanic English, which often made no sense at all". Unfortunately such "no sense" is still in the pages, despite the good editing in proper English.
I know that the book, published in 1986 and 1989, was not an outstanding success: it got what it deserved. Let's forget it and remember Chris for what else he wrote.

BTW, the original 1938 edition is very common in Germany, where it can be bought for 20-30 euro. That is the real thing.

Shame that no body has posted a photo of Chris Nixon - I found one on page 122 in 'Motor Racing Today' by Innes Ireland.
The copyright cops maybe will growl if it is posted?

I was just talking about his Mon Ami Mate, a book still have to buy,
in the Le Mans 1955 tread before
I found out that Chris Nixon had in fact died earlier last week.
A very sad thing, I enjoyed many of his books in the last few years.
His Great Racing the Silver arrows is one of my favourites of all books I own.

Paul Hooft

I'll risk it:




Taken at St Thomas's Hospital while Innes was rehydrating after his 1961 Monaco tunnel crash.

I only knew him through his writings. A bit sad that his latest on the Nurburgring receieved poor reviews. I thought it was typical of Nixion; a damned good book..

Having been away at the Indy 500 and elsewhere in the States recently I was unaware of the tragic news about Chris Nixon.

I spoke to him about six weeks ago and he told me that he was considering republishing his 1980 tomes on Aston Martin in an improved version with decent graphic design and photo repro. However he told me that he was having problems with the original photos many of which have either disappeared or been assimilated into collections and therefore subject to commercial copyright and high user fees.

Always a very nice and pleasant man, this is indeed very sad.

Very sad news indeed. By coincidence, I'm just reading perhaps his most famous book, Mon Ami Mate and there's no need to tell you how good that volume is. I have purchased 'Racing The Silver Arrows' for 40 quid when it was re-realeased in 2003. After reading it I realized that it was the best investment on books that I have ever made. What I like in Nixon's books is that they always tell me more about the persons who formed the history of motor sport and the machines are of lesser importance. RIP C. Nixon.

Originally posted by Geza Sury

What I like in Nixon's books is that they always tell me more about the persons who formed the history of motor sport and the machines are of lesser importance.

That is the appeal for me too.

A great shame, and I'm honoured that I had my opportunity to ask Chris to sign my copy of his wonderful Mon Ami Mate...

Very sad to learn of Chris passing. I have enjoyed reading his books tremendously.

Moshe Pinchevsky

It seems sad to me that Chris Nixon's passing goes by unmarked with comment by anybody who knew him well, albeit with heartfelt appreciation from his many readers.

I too enjoyed Chris's books, and through one Racing the Silver Arrows I did at least get to know him slightly: this was not long before that book was first published. At the time, I worked for BP in Sunbury and my friend and colleague Ted Marshall had brought back from Germany a selection of original black-and-white prints for Chris. These were loaned by Chris von Eberhorst, Auto Union (and then Aston Martin) development engineer/designer Robert von Eberhorst's son. Chris von Eberhorst then worked for BP in Hamburg, and Ted was acting as courier. Knowing my enthusiasm for the prewar cars, Ted kindly entrusted me with final delivery to Chris Nixon.

My brother and I contacted Chris and were invited round to his flat, just off Twickenham Bridge. Chris proved to be a dry sort of chap, but he did warm to his two anorakish visitors and uncorked a bottle of red. We talked about Mercedes and Auto Union cars and he filled in some detail on the von Eberhorst pictures. He had already been in touch with Elly Beinhorn, and told us how she had lost irreplaceable prints – pictures of her long lost husband Berndt Rosemeyer – to writers who had 'borrowed' them to copy. Chris – very much a 'people person' – was clearly not about to repeat such dreary behaviour. I think that beside his natural gentlemanly demeanour, his regard for other people's photographs came from his experience in film promotion (he told us he'd been involved in Lawrence of Arabia with David Lean).

At the time I fancied myself as a rechnical illustrator, and offered to do Chris some detail drawings of AU suspension etc. He declined, saying that his real interest was in the human story. (This shows in both the Silver Arrows book and Mon Ami Mate .) As an aside, I have the feeling that Chris was rather unsettled by some of the goings on he discovered in researching racing drivers lives...

Years after this meeting, my brother made a serious effort to get underway a feature film, centred on Neubauer and the Mercedes team of the 1930s. He made contact with Chris, and they came to a licence agreement on material from Silver Arrows – although Matthew unearthed further material unknown to Chris. In any event, this was again a happy relationship – and that word 'gentlemanly' came up in describing how Matthew found the man.

Finally, when my brother and late father were involved in more recent times in video production (and making a film about Philip Vincent and the Black Shadow), I contacted Chris. Knowing of his 'Terrific Stuff' videos/DVDs, I was looking for some advice on the economics/viability of the whole thing. Chris remembered our early 1980s meeting and could not have been more helpful in offering advice, based on his experience.

I can't say a knew him much more than slightly, but I would say we've lost a nice man and a great contributor to our mutual knowledge about and enthisiam for motor racing.

It seems sad to me that Chris Nixon's passing goes by unmarked with comment by anybody who knew him well, albeit with heartfelt appreciation from his many readers.

I too enjoyed Chris's books, and through one Racing the Silver Arrows I did at least get to know him slightly: this was not long before that book was first published. At the time, I worked for BP in Sunbury and my friend and colleague Ted Marshall had brought back from Germany a selection of original black-and-white prints for Chris. These were loaned by Chris von Eberhorst, Auto Union (and then Aston Martin) development engineer/designer Robert von Eberhorst's son. Chris von Eberhorst then worked for BP in Hamburg, and Ted was acting as courier. Knowing my enthusiasm for the prewar cars, Ted kindly entrusted me with final delivery to Chris Nixon.

My brother and I contacted Chris and were invited round to his flat, just off Twickenham Bridge. Chris proved to be a dry sort of chap, but he did warm to his two anorakish visitors and uncorked a bottle of red. We talked about Mercedes and Auto Union cars and he filled in some detail on the von Eberhorst pictures. He had already been in touch with Elly Beinhorn, and told us how she had lost irreplaceable prints – pictures of her long lost husband Berndt Rosemeyer – to writers who had 'borrowed' them to copy. Chris – very much a 'people person' – was clearly not about to repeat such dreary behaviour. I think that beside his natural gentlemanly demeanour, his regard for other people's photographs came from his experience in film promotion (he told us he'd been involved in Lawrence of Arabia with David Lean).

At the time I fancied myself as a rechnical illustrator, and offered to do Chris some detail drawings of AU suspension etc. He declined, saying that his real interest was in the human story. (This shows in both the Silver Arrows book and Mon Ami Mate .) As an aside, I have the feeling that Chris was rather unsettled by some of the goings on he discovered in researching racing drivers lives...

Years after this meeting, my brother made a serious effort to get underway a feature film, centred on Neubauer and the Mercedes team of the 1930s. He made contact with Chris, and they came to a licence agreement on material from Silver Arrows – although Matthew unearthed further material unknown to Chris. In any event, this was again a happy relationship – and that word 'gentlemanly' came up in describing how Matthew found the man.

Finally, when my brother and late father were involved in more recent times in video production (and making a film about Philip Vincent and the Black Shadow), I contacted Chris. Knowing of his 'Terrific Stuff' videos/DVDs, I was looking for some advice on the economics/viability of the whole thing. Chris remembered our early 1980s meeting and could not have been more helpful in offering advice, based on his experience.

I can't say a knew him much more than slightly, but I would say we've lost a nice man and a great contributor to our mutual knowledge about and enthusiam for motor racing.

Yet another loss for Motor racing history.
Rest in peace Chris, and thank you for your efforts we all enjoy and cherish.

Originally posted by aldo
Without Chris Nixon, the small fraternity of motor history writers is poorer and smaller, yet I do think that we have to remember Chris for his best books. They are many, and I fully agree with the mentions of Mon ami mate and Racing the Silver Arrows. I completely disagree on Rosemeyer! A new biography.
It's by far better to forget such a junk, which destroyed all the values, the style, and the pathos of the original German text. What added by Chris, alas, strongly contributed to such negative feelings.
In the foreword, Chris correctly reported that he used the English translation due to be published in 1939, which is (his own words): "... very Germanic English, which often made no sense at all". Unfortunately such "no sense" is still in the pages, despite the good editing in proper English.
I know that the book, published in 1986 and 1989, was not an outstanding success: it got what it deserved. Let's forget it and remember Chris for what else he wrote.

BTW, the original 1938 edition is very common in Germany, where it can be bought for 20-30 euro. That is the real thing.

Aldo,


I write this with the utmost respect and respect for your opinion.
I agree with you that bad boods better be ignored.
But sometimes a bad book is better than nothing as long as historically it is correct, the facts are right and the data correct.
If it is poorly written because of translation errors or flaws, I can live with that.
I rather have a poorly translated book, still giving the correct facts and data than nothing at all because I am not blessed with sufficient knowledge of the language of the original book.
And in this case: Nixon has done at least something to make the myth Rosemeyer more accessable for a larger number of race fans worldwide (A highly interesting book in English at last!), something I give him credits for and feel I owe him for.
Hope you won't take this personal and be offended because of it but do understand what I mean.


Henri

I was sad to read this news - particularly as like many people, my interest in the history of motor racing, especially the pre-war era, was sparked off when I got a copy of Silver Arrows a good few years ago.

I now have many of Chris's books, and was thinking of getting the new Nurburgring book but it is expensive - is it worth investing in? I'm not sentimental enough to buy it just because it was his last book!

With the untimely passing of Chris Nixon, will "Mon Ami Mate" continue to be reprinted ??

For reasons I don't understand, a thread I started was linked to this thread and then the whole lot vanished !!

Sooooooooo!!

Will "Mon Ami Mate" continue to be printed even after the untimely death of it's author ??

Out of respect, I got the copy of Mon Ami Mate out of my local public library to read again. Sadly it didn't appear to have been out on loan for some time. Maybe I should have left it there in the hope it would have gone into the surplus book sale and I could have bought it? Strange local library system - entire walls devoted to WW2, railways etc. but most car books, leave alone motorsport, are "slow moving".