I have just finished reading Mr. Brooks' excellent memoir and I have a few observations.
First and foremost, congratulations should be given to his parents for rearing such a level headed and intelligent young man, one who exhibited great maturity beyond his yearsfans from an early age.
As a reader and fan, I appreciated his meticulous chronicle of lap times for himself and principle competitors. I was able to gauge his relative progress as he improved his craft. Based on times and results, one can make a compelling case that he was Moss' equal by 1958.... Speaking of the later, much insight is provided into the approach and character of Moss. Mr. Brooks did not retire from relaying both the positive and negative consequences of Moss' type of professionalism.
Since I was born a few years after Brooks retired, I have relied upon old race reports, profiles, articles, etc to learn about post war GP history. The prevailing sentiment seemed to be that after the birth of his first child, Brooks' performance suffered. Referring to the lap times quoted for 1960, Brooks was generally the fastest of the drivers using 1959 cars, and frequently was able to keep up with those in more current mounts. It is clear he was let down by unreliable cars rather than any diminishment of ability. For 61 he cast his lot with BRM. As has been made plain in other publications, Graham Hill used 1961 to consolidate the team around him. A dedicated professional looks for every edge, both on and off the track. Initially, Brooks was treated as the proverbial "red headed step child", but when given half of a chance, outperformed Hill. It is clear to this reader at least, that if he had been given a true equal chance in 61, his results would have been better. The irony (or tragedy) was that the P57-Climax was a good handling car, frequently out qualifying the Lotus and Cooper entries.
Many years ago I read an article concerning racing driver reaction times in a c1960 issue of Sports Cars Illustrated. What stuck out for me was that Moss did not have the best recorded time, it was Brooks. A good portion of the article concerned how drivers approached high speed competition, and the physiological changes they experienced while competeing. A compelling insight was provided by Brabham when he described in detail how when he was driving, events seemed to slow down in front of him. If he was prepared, he knew what to anticipate, thus giving himself crucial extra milliseconds to react, causing events to take place almost in slow motion. All of the other drivers concurred. Given Brooks' superior reflexes, and his noted level of preparation, could this be a clue to his smooth and effortless speed? Perhaps events were unfolding at a "slower" rate for Brooks compared to others, allowing him to anticipate and react in a smoother fashion?
It is to our collective disappointment that there have been few others like CAS Brooks.
Best, Ross
Edited by rl1856, 01 August 2012 - 14:46.