John Sullivan driving his Morgan 4/4 (Malcolm Grubb). The routes took us along some narrow, single-
track roads which, thankfully, we managed to navigate without any major hiccups. However, there were one or two heart-stopping moments caused by cars coming in the opposite direction and not wanting to either slow down or give way! Being in such a beautiful location afforded us the pleasure of visiting several National Trust properties, one of the highlights being Castle Drogo, the last castle to be constructed in England
(1911 to 1930), designed by Edwin Lutyens. The routes took us through pretty villages and picturesque scenery throughout the moor as well as past the prison at Princetown. As with every rally a huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes and thanks must go to the organisers and volunteers for all their efforts in providing another fine Brooklands tour, without such a great team we would be lost.
Bill Williams
BTM TALK –MOTOR SPORT LEGENDS – TONY BROOKS
Trust Members’ talk with Simon Taylor, the modest dentist/driver had a different approach to racing and its dangers. Not that he was anything other than top-drawer when it came to speed. This is, after all, a man who won the first Grand Prix he entered in a car he had never driven and at a circuit he had never seen. What’s more, he won Grands Prix on the three classic circuits – Spa, Nürburgring and Monza – in the same season (1958).
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So why is a man who was one of three great British drivers of the 1950s (Sir Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn being the other two), not so well known to the general public? Simon Taylor opened by asking Tony if he felt he didn’t get the recognition that he deserved. The answer was no, Brooks never wanted to publicise himself. Stirling was the fully professional driver from beginning to end, maximising his publicity value which is why he is still so well known today. Brooks, in contrast, was happy just to earn the basic salary and prize money. Having said that, Brooks emphasised that he was just as professional as anyone else once he got in the car. His racing career started in his mother’s Healey Silverstone which Tony had somehow managed
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ot all racing drivers are the same and, as became clear in Tony Brooks’s Brooklands
News
Tony Brooks (left) and his book Poetry in Motion with Simon Taylor (Cliff Bolton).
to persuade her to buy as replacement for an MG TC. From this he progressed to a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica which brought him to the attention of the Aldington brothers (owners of Frazer Nash) who gave him a drive for the works team. His exploits were to get him a place in the Aston Martin team, racing its DB3S sports cars and for whom he would eventually win the Nürburgring 1,000kms.
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