First allow me to educate those of you who did not recognise my reference
to Motor Sport (incorporating the Brooklands Gazette) which has been
published monthly since 1924. If you have any interest in racing over the
past 70 odd years you are missing by far the best publication ever
produced. If you don't know who WB, DSJ (Jenks) or current editor Andrew
Frankel are, then it is long over due time you did. This month features
Martin Brundle (does TV, used to race) testing 5 generations of GP cars.
The following is from the July issue.
"In the case of Sir Charles Cheers Wakefield, later Baron Wakefield of
Hythe, the sweet smell of success was more than a metaphor. You still
catch the scent of the substance that made his company a household name in
the early 1900's wherever older racing engines are exercised: that
distinctive, heady perfume of Castrol R. Although castor oil, the origin
of thew smell, was still the purgative bane of many a childhood when CC
Wakefield & Co introduced its Castrol range in 1909 (the name being a
contraction of castor oil) , to high performance engines on the road and in
the air it was to become a more welcome part of the diet.........
...........Only in 1953 was Castrol R superseded by R20, again containing
castor oil but this time mixed with semi-synthetic, and the successes began
all over again. Mercedes-Benz immediately chose it for the advanced W196,
Fangio scoring a first-time-out victory for both oil and car when he won
the French GP in '54..........."
These two sections should give you a favour of what I mean. If "Barney &
Noddy" don't carry it you can contact them at +44 1795 414 819 and get 3
issues for £1.00 (last month they were giving that 1067 GP game as part of
the subscription).
I admit to being an unabashed fan, I have subscribed since 1967. It is now
published by Haymarket (as is Autosport, Motoring News, Classic and Sports
Car [Classic Cars in U.K.]) so any of those publications will guide you in
the right direction.
Cheers,
Martyn
The Journey, not the destination, becomes a source of wonder.
(Loreena McKennitt - liner notes - 'The Book of Secrets')
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