39 replies to this topic

[terry mcgrath]

Andrew Moore is doing a book titled
"Aintree Down Under - Warwick Farm and the Golden Age of Motor Sport"
does anyone have contact details for Andrew?
terry


Author: Andrew Moore
170 pages • 100 photographs (including 20 colour plates) • sources • index
Publication date: November 2017 (cover images used on our website might change, the weight to be determined later), limited edition will arrive about 3 weeks later

Aintree Down Under - Warwick Farm and the Golden Age of Australian Motor Sport - Limited edition of 120 copies numbered and individually signed. This deluxe edition is bound with green Buckram cloth covering boards, gold foil lettering on the spine and dust wrappers that feature front and back cover illustrations.
ISBN: 978-1-876718-26-8
Paperback edition
ISBN: 978-1-876718-27-5

Foreword by John Smaile
I've travelled the motor racing world for over 40 years but nothing — nothing — compares with how it was at Warwick Farm in the 1960s and 1970s. The cars, the drivers, the circuit, the paddock ... all of them, for me, defined motor racing in its purest form. Andrew Moore's book brings this greatest of Golden Eras back to life and colour. I'll treasure it always (Peter Windsor, award-winning motor racing journalist and former F1 team manager).
Aintree Down Under is a compelling account of a time in motor sport when Kings walked on our earth and we were all part of the court of Camelot … Warwick Farm was a magical place full of fun and fantasy (John Smailes, motoring journalist and author).
There's no question Andrew Moore is one of the most authoritative historians on the golden era of Australian motor racing but it’s his passion and excitement in Aintree Down Under that makes this book such a cracking read … (Warren Brown, former host Top Gear Australia).

Synopsis
Between 1960 and 1973, Warwick Farm was Australia’s motor racing mecca, its holy of holies, its sinuous 3.6 km track hosting some of the best motor racing Australia has ever seen before or since. Formula 1 stars like Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and Jochen Rindt excelled there, while local drivers like Frank Matich and Leo Geoghegan matched them wheel-to-wheel. ‘The Fabulous Farm’ changed the landscape of Australian motor racing.
Aintree Down Under is the first book on Warwick Farm’s motor racing and its contribution to motor sport. Using hitherto untapped sources, including those of the brilliant Englishman Geoff Sykes who ran it, this work tells the story of how Warwick Farm began and evolved into Australia’s most revered motor-racing track. From the glorious Tasman series for open-wheelers to increasingly muscular touring cars with drivers like Norm Beechey, Pete Geoghegan and Bob Jane pedal to the metal, the Farm had it all. Finally, this history delves into the murky, behind-the-scenes intrigues that brought about the Farm’s sad demise in 1973.
More than just a sports book, Aintree Down Under provides a snapshot of Sydney’s social and cultural history in the ‘Swinging Sixties’ and pays tribute to the full-time staff and volunteers who ran the Farm. It is also a study of nostalgia and memory, as the Farm influenced many people to become motor-racing enthusiasts for life. The book documents a golden era of Australian motor racing when the love of the sport was more paramount than mere money-making.

[Ray Bell]

I have spoken to Andrew but don't have contact details...

He is or was a lecturer at one of the Sydney universities and his primary focus is on people.

[Librules]

I haven't spoken to Andrew but here is a link with details that you could try...   https://www.westerns...or_andrew_moore

[GreenMachine]

Aintree down under   WTF? He must be a pommie transplant, that title means nothing to most of the people who humped their eskies in to watch their heroes clash.  And whose grey matter is still sufficiently active to make them potential purchasers.

 

Drop the first three words, the rest are all that are needed.

 

What were they thinking?

[Tim Murray]

The reason, surely, is that Geoff Sykes was the man chiefly responsible for getting motor racing going at Aintree before doing the same at Warwick Farm. Both circuits were laid out around horse racing tracks:

https://www.google.c...tor-racing/amp/

[Porsche718]

I bet Aintree never had many meetings in 100+ fahrenheit heat. Never had racing engines boiling their oil. Never had Stirling Moss and the like having to take panels off their cars' body work to keep cool. 

 

I'll shut up now

[GreenMachine]

Thank you Tim, I am well aware of the parallels between the two and the Sykes connection (but others may not). 

 

If the book's target audience is in UK, ok .  If it is targeted at us locals, and surely a big proportion of sales would be Australian, the Aintree reference is unnecessary and distracting, and it implies (to me at least) a forelock tugging attitude to 'the old country'.  I thought we had outgrown the 'mother land' complex, but maybe not ...

 

I am not unhappy that the text may/will address the parallels/connections between the two, but the title should be short and simple, and focus on the main game - 'The Farm'.  Hence my suggestion to edit the title.

[Ray Bell]

Geoffrey Percival Frederick Sykes certainly deserves the kudos this book undoubtedly imparts...

But I feel that with only 120 copies to sell, the title won't deter the people who will buy it. Like I said, Andrew told me it is mainly about the people.

[Librules]

There are only 120 of the limited leatherbound edition,  but there is also a paperback version for $50 or so which I'm sure they hope to sell a few more of.....

[Ray Bell]

Ah well...

I looked at the paragraphs Terry posted and saw nothing about that! I'm blind as a bat, it seems. I'm sure I'll be a taker for the paperback, even at that price.

[GreenMachine]

Yes, me too.  Even if the title is wonkers, and the cover down plays WF even more than the title.  At least Terry got the thread title right   Onya Terry

 

ETA: Thanks for posting Terry, and drawing our attention to the book.

Edited by GreenMachine, 17 October 2017 - 08:14.

[TerryS]

I see that the Warwick Farm book has finally been released.

http://autopics.com....an-motor-sport/

I personally think the title and cover design is absolutely ridiculous.

Having been an attendee at Warwick Farm from 1962 I view it as a disgrace.

What does "Aintree" mean to average Aussie, who will be the prime market for this book?

The book would have NO shelf appeal in OZ.

Surely it could have been just Warwick Farm in big letters, followed by Golden Era etc.

I thought the times had changed from comparing everything to the old "mother" country.

[Ray Bell]

There's already a thread about this book, Terry...

Maybe Richard will merge the threads?

I'm expecting to have a look at it some time in a couple of weeks. Apparently it is selling fairly well.

I do know that some who have read it are somewhat disappointed about the content, as it was written by someone who looks more at the people involved than the racing and the cars. I was told that by a quarter of the way into the book it was just up to when Geoff Sykes arrived on the scene.

[TerryS]

There's already a thread about this book, Terry...

Maybe Richard will merge the threads?

I'm expecting to have a look at it some time in a couple of weeks. Apparently it is selling fairly well.

I do know that some who have read it are somewhat disappointed about the content, as it was written by someone who looks more at the people involved than the racing and the cars. I was told that by a quarter of the way into the book it was just up to when Geoff Sykes arrived on the scene.

Ray I did look at the other thread, and you will note I was the last poster there in December 2016.

As an avid WF attendee Ray, what do you personally and honestly think of the book's cover?

[DanTra2858]

Terry if I remember correctly it was described by all concerned in its Promation details as the equilavent of the Famous English track Aintree and Publised through all media in Australias as such, capturing the name "Warick Farm the Aintree Down Under".

The PR WORK ADDED A NEW MEANING AS TO HAVING A HORSE RACING TRACK THAT ALSO RUN CARS, great work, stroke of jenious by all concerned bring the thought of British style racing to Oz & enhancing this thought by running the CLUB CIRCUIT.

For me and many more I know the name is exactly what it should be.

[gkennedy]

I don't like the title, but it's hardly worth arguing about. I've just ordered the paperback and I'm looking forward to receiving my copy. Warwick Farm was a big part of my life, as (in various guises) I attended every national meeting and almost all practice days, as well as a few club meetings, from October 1962 until late '72. By 1973 with WF in decline and a lot happening in my life, I had moved on - but with many great memories that live on today. "Do not come from behind the safety barriers until we give you the official OK" (and all that) while as 13 year olds, we waited to run to the pits to see our heroes and cars up close.

 

This book I'm sure will help me relive that great place - the heat, the rain, the sunburn, the waiting, and all not withstanding. I'm not expecting an historical record, but having read a couple of Andrew Moore's other books as well as numerous articles over the years, I'm sure I will appreciate and enjoy his efforts. If it's more about the people than a record of results etc, even more reason for me to look forward to it. Even if this book was solely about GPF Sykes I would buy it.

 

Edit to add: Merging this thread with the original on the same topic seems logical.  

Edited by gkennedy, 13 January 2018 - 03:53.

[eldougo]

What a waste of time ,and i will not buy it .....

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by gkennedy
.....I attended every national meeting and almost all practice days, as well as a few club meetings, from October 1962 until late '72.....

So Tony Hill's win was your first race too?

There's something very memorable about that Hordern Trophy meeting, but so many meetings there were similarly memorable. A shame you couldn't hang around for another year.

Terry, it's still going to be the same discussion. As for the cover, it's a shame the picture isn't in colour, otherwise the only thing you could say is that they selected the one part of the track which doesn't resemble Aintree to represent the theme.

[gkennedy]

Yes, well not counting Mount Druitt 6-7 years earlier. I drove my parents mad from an early age, and family friends took me there a couple of times.

 

Tony Hill from Churchill Ave Strathfield, who lived just a few meters from his sponsor, Motoria. Yes, indeed. In his Morris 850 that became Laurie Stewart's first race car. Race 1, for Appendix J saloons 0-1500cc, was it? Setting a lap record of 2:03.00 or something like that. I think I recall eagerly searching the SMH the next morning to see if motor racing got a mention. It did, although 13 y.o. me was annoyed to see Bib Stillwell being recorded as Bob Stillwell - but we digress...

 

Eldougo, you may well be right, although one man's fish is another man's poisson. I'll read it and let you know.

Edited by gkennedy, 13 January 2018 - 10:25.

[Ray Bell]

Let's just get the ad out of the way...





.

Edited by Ray Bell, 13 January 2018 - 13:20.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by gkennedy
Tony Hill from Churchill Ave Strathfield, who lived just a few meters from his sponsor, Motoria. Yes, indeed. In his Morris 850 that became Laurie Stewart's first race car. Race 1, for Appendix J saloons 0-1500cc, was it? Setting a lap record of 2:03.00 or something like that.....

Oh, here's Bob... err... Bib now:



Notice how even here, not even halfway down Hume Straight, he's moving across so David McKay can't look for an inside run into Creek. We're not aware at this stage that David would make a bid at Polo which would lead to him taking an unconventional line into a little boys' room.

And what have we here?



The first lap of the first race you ever saw?

For the record, Tony Hill didn't go that quickly. He had done a 2:07.1 at the previous meeting on his way to second place. And 2:09.1 at the 1963 International meeting. But it seems even taking the engine out to 995cc for the October event didn't allow him to take any records. Perhaps when I get home and check the race report I'll find he did?

Whatever, it was a good meeting to instil in us a desire to come back for more, and to keep on coming back.

[TerryS]

I see that this thread I started has been merged with another. No problem. Good idea

But I note there are still another two threads on this book that have not been merged, including one I referred to in post 14 above as I was last poster in December 2016

Ray, what has happened to the book you were involved with on WF.

[Ray Bell]

We haven't got any funds together for it yet...

But it hasn't been forgotten.

[Ray Bell]

The word that has come through to me about the book, now a few have read it, includes the following comments...

It does recount some of the highlights of the Farm, bringing to mind the great times people used to enjoy there.

There is not much about the actual racing, but a lot about the management, the creation and the collapse of the circuit.

Some people might struggle with some of the language used.

As I'm told that I'm quoted quite a number of times through the book, I'm very much looking forward to learning the source of those quotes!

[gkennedy]

My copy arrived today, and I am halfway through reading it. I don't know what the struggle with the some of the language is about. Maybe it's phrases like: "It is salient to note...", or "none-the-less, there was an element of pique". There's no bad language, so maybe it's the style, rather than the language. There are quite a few typos and errors. Nothing glaring, but there are errors like: "Lex Davison's  HMW Jaguar", "Nick Petrelli", "FIAT tuned by Nardin", and a number of typos such as starting a new sentence with no space between the full-stop and the following capital letter. Getting past things like that, it's an absorbing book. You get a few mentions, Ray - and I was surprised to see a post I posted on this forum quoted almost word for word. It was my post about GPF seeing me sitting on my bike at the Paddock Bend box near Franco with the white cap and coat (I just found out that old bloke's name) and inviting me to join him on a lap of the circuit, and then access to the pits for the day. I'm glad to see that in there. Not for me - I'm anonymous anyway, but as an example of the kind of man Geoff Sykes was. That reminds me of another little memory of that day: I had my autograph book and ballpoint pen with me, and when Bill Patterson went to sign my book, the pen stopped writing. Bill was chatting to people, and started scribbling on the thigh of his Dunlop race suit. Still no ink. He kept scribbling and talking until I tapped him to stop, as there was now a lot of blue squiggles on his race suit. He shook his head, winked and smiled at me, and signed anyway.

 

It's a book about the creation and demise of Warwick Farm, an insight into the people behind it, a look back at the era of the '60s and '70s, and the various characters that were part of it all. It's not in any way a record of the racing, nor a coffee table book of action photos. Most pics I hadn't seen before. There's one early on of the first site inspection with the AJC and police in 1959, with the place looking very much like it does now, with no evidence of a motor racing circuit existing at all. By the way, the developments currently happening around Warwick Farm make the place almost unrecognisable to Warwick Farm in it's 'Golden Age'.

 

The title of the book still bugs me, but overall, for anyone who was part of Warwick Farm - as a spectator or anything else, it's a great read.

 

PS to Ray: I'm sure Tony Hill held a lap record at 2:03.something in the early '60s. Maybe not from October '62, but around that time. Still, as Andrew Moore makes mention of "anorak types" pretty close to mentioning your name, let's not get typecast.

Edited by gkennedy, 18 January 2018 - 05:24.

[Ray Bell]

Yes, that was the 'language' problem to which I referred...

One person reading it was quite tossed by the words used. I guess I'll find out more when I get my copy tomorrow.

And typos are terribly hard to keep out. I've had a lot of experience with that!

[Stinky]

Hullo All;

I too have received my copy and am about a quarter of the way through.

Yes, I agree that there are few typos.

But you have to remember that all of the manuscript is now done on computer.

Only thing to check spelling , punctuation etc  is Spellcheck.

Unfortunately this manuscript ( and a lot of other literature including newspapers ) does not now have the luxury of a  proof reader.

Sadly the proof reader and his blue pencil are as dead as a DoDo!!

Do!!

Suppose it is progress.

Cheers.

Roger.

[gkennedy]

Most books I read have less errors and typos - and in the 'Acknowledgements' at the beginning of the book, Andrew Moore says that he gave the manuscript to John Smailes to check for "obvious clangers". Maybe he should have given it to Ray. Anyway, we shouldn't let our little gripes detract from a well-detailed look at the inside history of WF.   

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Stinky
.....Sadly the proof reader and his blue pencil are as dead as a DoDo!!
Do!!
Suppose it is progress.

While it's easy enough to miss errors on paper, it's true that it's even easier on the computer monitor...

Having had a major part in editing the F5000 book and proof-reading the Tasman Cup book, I've also seen the difficulty in conveying the errors to the 'artist' who is charged with doing the corrections.

I'm pretty sure that dozens of errors I found in the latter book were not fixed.



.

Edited by Ray Bell, 18 January 2018 - 22:11.

[Dick Willis]

Someone notable once "it doesn't matter how many times you re-read your own copy some errors are bound to persist"  Anyway, and this applies to the Adrian Newey book on another thread too, why not just enjoy both books for the great books they both are without trying to pick them to pieces, and remember, most of the critics haven't written a book themselves so are unaware of the many traps involved.

[Ray Bell]

They weren't quite right, Dick...

You can pick up errors in your own work. And it's true that in times past you could read a book with zero errors in it.

But today it's a different matter and we simply tolerate the way it's become.

[TerryS]

I can't agree. No need to tolerate sloppy editing. Just laziness on part of editor.

 

I have just finished reading the autobiography of Ray Warren, the rugby league and swimming commentator, and I don't recall one error in it, so it can be done.

 

Just take pride in your work, whatever it is.

[opplock]

 

Sadly the proof reader and his blue pencil are as dead as a DoDo!!

 

 

The art does survive. A friend has worked as a proofreader for many years on behalf of a publisher of scientific, legal and academic publications. Her job is to review these for spelling and grammatical errors. Specialists in the particular field are employed to check facts and figures. The volume of work she has received has declined in recent years but the demand still exists for this sort of publication. The people who buy these have a very low tolerance for errors and are prepared to pay the inevitably higher costs.  

 

 

But today it's a different matter and we simply tolerate the way it's become.

 

 I suspect that this is the crux of the matter. After reading comments on the Johnny Herbert book I will wait for a decent biography. Having been present for his triumphs (FF Festival, British GP and Le Mans wins) and the Brands Hatch accident I believe it is a story that deserves a first rate book. I won't pay for a poor one but it seems enough people will to justify publication.  

[ensign14]

There is no chance that there is enough of a market for a Johnny Herbert biography as well as an autobiography. 

 

Anyway.  As far as the title of the book is concerned, I agree it is ridiculous and utterly misleading.  Australia is nowhere near Warwick.  And how can they call it a farm without any livestock?

[Ray Bell]

Plenty of livestock there...

Horses abound, then there was always a pair of black swans on the lake.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by gkennedy
.....Moore says that he gave the manuscript to John Smailes to check for "obvious clangers". Maybe he should have given it to Ray.....

Well, I don't know what 'clangers' Smailesy found...

But I've read to P50 and I do have a list going. I was surprised the way Andrew has phrased a statement from me telling of the financial arrangement between the AJC and the AARC. I would not have quoted those figures had Geoffrey not told me them himself. Similarly the details of John Stranger's sudden change of fortunes in 1959.

In many ways it is an absorbing story that Andrew tells, very revealing in terms of relationships and attitudes of people involved.

[E1pix]

The smarter computers get, the more typos we'll see.

A friend of mine has a great song lyric, "The smarter the phone, the dumber the girl." Amen.

[gkennedy]

More merging, please. It's getting confusing with these two threads now merged and another thread still around about 'Warwick Farm and new books'.

 

In response to Dick and "Why not just enjoy both books for the great read books they both are without trying to pick them to pieces?" : I don't think anyone is picking them to pieces, and I'm not either. I've read Andrew Moore's book thoroughly, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I said it was an absorbing book and a great read. I looked forward to it and I wasn't disappointed - but on a dedicated motorsport forum where we are discussing motorsport with like minds, I'm sure we can tell it as we see it without being overly negative. There are a quite a few mistakes and typos - far more than in almost all books I've read in recent years, which do let the book down. Could I do better? Nope, but I can still have an opinion. OTOH, compared to Bill Woods' 'Legends of Speed', Andrew Moore's book is great and almost error and typo free. If you haven't read it... do yourself a favour.   

[Catalina Park]

I'm halfway through this dreadful book and contemplating if I should continue or simply throw it in the bin.
It isn't the title or the typos, it's the absolute bollocks that the author has written.

My concern is that people reading this book will mistake it for a factual account.

BTW, I do hope Mr Matich got his money back from Mr Chapman for the dreadful works Lotus 19 that he bought.

[Ian G]

I'm halfway through this dreadful book and contemplating if I should continue or simply throw it in the bin.
It isn't the title or the typos, it's the absolute bollocks that the author has written.

My concern is that people reading this book will mistake it for a factual account.

.

 

I haven't read the Book yet but rarely over the last 50 years do the various essays/book/comments etc on WF resemble fact.

Opinions on its History,operations and demise are more often than not fantasy pieces.

As i posted before my next door neighbour in Willoughby was Sir Franks,and later Kerry Packers, Accountant,the AJC Board decided in the early 1970's they were fed up with Motor Racing and the AARC in general..

There was more than one reason for this, GS had lost interest and did not have the passion to run the circuit and spent his days flying around NSW/Qld much to the ire of the AJC,trying to find room for a Airstrip at WF was not one of GS best decisions,to many he had lost the plot.

Residents who purchased Land at the back of Creek Corner were complaining about the noise.

CAMS had approached the AJC about updates to the circuit which were costly and unbeknown to the Chairman of the AJC certain Directors had approached Trainers to agitate about the Horse crossing and Noise issues and other lesser matters,the motive behind this according to the WF caretaker at the time was to turn the area into an Equestrian Park, they had KP's backing for this as he was obsessed with Polo at the time. 

Perfect storm to end motor racing at the farm.

There are the facts about one issue as i remember them.

 

http://www.thoroughb...ction=Australia

Edited by Ian G, 14 April 2019 - 02:44.