A small world

Just an observation, really.

I was reading some old copies of Autosport from the early 60s a few nights ago. Obviously times were very different , but it struck me just what a relatively closed and insular world motor racing was back then. The tone of the magazine was very much on the lines of a small motor club journal, almost as if every one knew each other and very much on a personal level. Lots of pictures of people from the racing world at social gatherings, small snippets wishing Fred Bloggs a speedy recovery from his accident, politely worded letters from correspondents that had all the mark of exchanges between people who knew each other. It was all rather nice and charming, and even though it's years afterwards, I felt a part of it , somehow.

Fast forward a few years to when I started taking an interest in the late 60s. Even then, I felt I was a bit of a loner in my devotion to motor sport - only a couple of my mates had any kind of interest. Most people I knew obviously knew about Formula 1, but nothing else - apart from the likes of Graham Hill ( who I reckon everyone in the country must at least have heard of, even if they knew nothing more than the fact that he was a racing driver). The profile of the sport with Joe Public was distinctly low. When I started going to races, it was clear that there were large numbers of people with an interest, but it still felt like some kind of secret society.

What do we have now? I've never done any research on this, but I would guess that motor racing today has a higher public profile than ever before. More people are aware of it and what goes on. Most motor manufacturers are involved in some way, and the sport is drawn to people's attention through advertising and marketing like never before. But - arguably - we have never had such dull racing at most levels, and much of the attraction has gone. It makes me wonder, if I were starting out today, would I feel the same, would I have the same buzz that I felt all those years ago? It's almost certainly wrong to want motor sport to be some kind of clique with no outsiders, but I fear that a reasonable balance - or one that appealed to me, at least - has been lost.

Self indulgence here, I fear, so apologies if they are needed.

Very much like the pre-war "Speed". That was even more cliquey - they wouldn't even mention Fred Bloggs by name! Since everyone reading the magazine presumably knew where Fred Bloggs lived, there'd just be a cryptic note to the effect that best wishes were "sent to the chap currently with his leg in plaster in Stoke Poges. We hope he can get transport to the Waggon and Horses."

Or (and I'm extemporising here, not quoting), you'd get comments like:

"Interesting noises are emanating from a garage in Redhill. Rumour has it that its denizen was recently seen in the vicinity of Modena where he parted with a certain amount of cash."

Translation: "Jack Robinson's just bought a Maserati"!

Just to query one point, did Motor Racing have such a low profile in Britain in what might be termed the Moss Era? I seem to remember plenty of racing on programmes like Grandstand. People like Moss and Hawthorn were household names in a way that Button and Coulthard are not. The newspapers seemed to have plenty of motor sport coverage, not necessarily on the sports pages though. Every kid in the country played with Dinky representations of Fangio's Ferrari or Moss's Vanwall and comics and annuals had motor sport content. Perhaps my memory is playing tricks but surely Sir Stirling didn't get to be a national icon by excelling in a sporting backwater?

Way back then, Autosport was the baby of Gregor Grant and he, along with his wife Eba most probably did know everyone and if they didn't , they went out of their way to meet them. It was a fairly small group but they all travelled together and with no paddock restrictions and a prize giving dinnner that you had to go to collect the start money, I think we maybe got to know people better than now. Mr E has very cleverly segregated the paddock from the mere mortals the better to foster the myth that drivers are somehow different and must be kept in cool dark places until let out to perform.
I have tried fromula one from the inside and the out side too. at Silverstone if you do not have a grandstand seat you may as well forget it but if you do, especially round the Luffied complex you meet an extraordinary group of knowledgeable and dedicated race fans, sadly because of ticket prices, the young are not growing up knowing racing live.They may know all sorts of technical stuff they may worship the drivers from afar and have numerous web sites that can feed their obsessions but I don't know how many would recognise good racing it they saw it.
There is a nice story of someone who had spent years getting paddock accreditation who finally made it..... the turn style accepted the swipe card and in they swept.... only after a couple of hours they wondered......I this it? It's not what you have, it's what you think you are missing!
It's easy to say the good old days were better, in ways they were but in a lot the were not, pity the best of both could not be combined.
I keep hoping that 08 will bring some improvement to the present mess but I sort of doubt it.
Loti

Originally posted by KJJ
Just to query one point, did Motor Racing have such a low profile in Britain in what might be termed the Moss Era? I seem to remember plenty of racing on programmes like Grandstand. People like Moss and Hawthorn were household names in a way that Button and Coulthard are not. The newspapers seemed to have plenty of motor sport coverage, not necessarily on the sports pages though. Every kid in the country played with Dinky representations of Fangio's Ferrari or Moss's Vanwall and comics and annuals had motor sport content. Perhaps my memory is playing tricks but surely Sir Stirling didn't get to be a national icon by excelling in a sporting backwater?

Fair comment, and I agree with much of what you say. Motor racing was by no means a sporting backwater, and certain drivers such as those you mention were very much in the public conscience. But I suspect Joe P was only aroused occasionally - there were only a few Grands Prixs in those days, and along with ( I guess) Le Mans and the Monte Carlo rally, mass media coverage would have been relatively spasmodic and based only on those events. Nowadays, blanket coverage of F1 at least is all around us, and I suspect that many people who otherwise have no interest at all in racing are aware that Michael Schumacher drives a Ferrari. Would the equivalent punter in, say, 1961, know what Moss drove?

But this is all full of contradictions, of course. As you say, there was motor racing on Grandstand and the like - even club racing. Seems almost incredible, these days, when every sporting activity is packaged and sold to the highest bidder, and audience ratings are paramount.

I find it convenient these days to think of "F1 fans" and "motorsport enthusiasts". I'm aware of some people that are both, but not many. I count myself in the latter group, and don't really understand the former - they seem to have adopted the behavioural tropes of the soccer tribe.

Originally posted by ian senior


Fair comment, and I agree with much of what you say. Motor racing was by no means a sporting backwater, and certain drivers such as those you mention were very much in the public conscience. But I suspect Joe P was only aroused occasionally - there were only a few Grands Prixs in those days, and along with ( I guess) Le Mans and the Monte Carlo rally, mass media coverage would have been relatively spasmodic and based only on those events. Nowadays, blanket coverage of F1 at least is all around us, and I suspect that many people who otherwise have no interest at all in racing are aware that Michael Schumacher drives a Ferrari. Would the equivalent punter in, say, 1961, know what Moss drove?

But this is all full of contradictions, of course. As you say, there was motor racing on Grandstand and the like - even club racing. Seems almost incredible, these days, when every sporting activity is packaged and sold to the highest bidder, and audience ratings are paramount.

Agreed there were only a few World Championship GPs but if you take 1962 as an example, there were 8 meetings in Great Britain that featured Formula One races.

Schumacher in a Ferrari? Well he has been driving nothing else for the best part of a decade whereas a Moss was turning out in a huge variety of cars. I bet Joe Public would be hard pressed to name Coulthard's current mount, I know I'd have to think about it!

Given the huge choice of TV stations available today I wonder how ITV's Grand Prix viewing figures compare with some of those club races on Grandstand back then?

Can't see it's changed a lot from "who you are and who you know". Don't think I missed any fundamental change like the UK motorsport governing body becoming a democratically elected organisation.

Here’s a list of race meetings covered live on British TV in 1962, an era with just two channels and consequent high viewing figures.

April 7, Oulton Park (BBC)
April 14, Silverstone (ITV)
April 23, Goodwood (ITV)
April 28, Aintree (BBC)
May 12, Silverstone (ITV)
May 26, Goodwood (ITV)
June 3, Monaco GP (BBC)
June 11, Mallory Park (BBC)
June 11, Goodwood (ITV)
June 23/24, Le Mans (BBC)
June 23, Goodwood (ITV)
June 30, Scotland? (BBC)
July 7, French GP (BBC)
July 21, British GP (BBC)
August 4, Silverstone (ITV)
August 6, Brands Hatch (BBC)
August 11, Silverstone (ITV)
August 18, Goodwood (ITV)
September 16, Italian GP (BBC)
September 22, Goodwood (ITV)
October 6, Silverstone (ITV)
December 26, Brands Hatch (BBC)

Now where’s my anorak?