Photographed in their prime at Riverside.
Text by Andrew Bornhop (R&T)
The year was 1960. In the fall, many of the world’s best drivers came to Riverside, California, for two races: the Los Angeles Times-Mirror Grand Prix for Sports Cars, an October event that paid $4000 to the winner, and the U.S. Grand Prix held in November, which was won by Stirling Moss at the wheel of Rob Walker’s Lotus-Climax. Prior to these events, several of the drivers gathered at the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside to have their portraits taken by Christian Du Bois Larson, who sought to show these racers as distinguished gentlemen, not a bunch of speed-thirsty guys in greasy coveralls. The photos, commissioned for the Inn’s Hall of Fame, did just that, and they hung there on the walls for years until the hotel changed ownership.
In 1962, Larson sent the portraits to Road & Track for possible publication, only to hear back from Editor Dean Batchelor, who graciously wrote that he’d be unable to publish them in color (our magazine was largely black and white back then). “I feel we would be unable to pay you what they’re worth if used in black & white,” wrote Batchelor.
Fast forward to today. In the spirit of “what’s old is new again,” Larson, now 85, sent in the images again—printed from the original color negatives. This time, though, we took the bait, and we’re glad we did—these are classic portraits of racing legends in their prime, of great interest and historical value. And we agree with Larson—they’re much better displayed in our magazine than stored in some metal file cabinet.
For added perspective, we shared the portraits with our friend Dan Gurney, who competed in both races and was among the drivers photographed. Dan, fittingly, put his name on the international road racing map in the inaugural Riverside Grand Prix (1957) with a masterful drive of an ill-handling 4.9-liter Ferrari. Following that, he became a vital part of the F1 fraternity for nearly a decade, the tall blond American first competing with Ferrari and then with BRM, Porsche, Brabham and his own All-American Racers team. In the process, he won Grands Prix for Porsche, Brabham and AAR in the Eagle he built.
The portraits include those of Innes Ireland, Olivier Gendebien, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Joakim Bonnier, Roger Penske, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, John Surtees, Wolfgang von Trips, Jim Clark, Jim Hall, Carroll Shelby, Stirling Moss and Phil Hill.
For more information about this great exhibit, please contact the Riverside International Automotive Museum.
Edited by T54, 16 October 2012 - 21:57.
