Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

As months go, this was one we’ll never forget. The pages were flowing and the deadline was looming as usual when we heard Bill Boddy had died. We’d had some warning that the sad day was coming, but still it shook us all. WB, our founder editor, was 98 years old. As someone said, that’s a lot of laps and it was a more than a decent stint. But he was so vital to this magazine for so long, and to the whole automotive world for that matter, that his passing was always going to hit us hard, no matter how old he might be.

Bill had already filed his stories for the September issue, which goes on sale this week, and we thought it fitting to run them as usual. Elsewhere, we cleared some space and deputy editor Gordon Cruickshank set to work polishing the obituary he always knew we’d have to publish one day.

For Gordon, this was a busy and difficult time. Thankfully, he’d already finished his fabulous cover story on taking a factory semi-Lightweight Jaguar E-type and Stirling Moss’s famous Ferrari 250SWB to the Scottish highlands, for the (significant) pleasure of modern Jaguar design guru Ian Callum. Now he prepared to pay his respects to WB, the man he had worked for and with for 30 years. As we passed The Bod’s final pages, we both paused for a moment. It felt odd that we’d never be doing this again.

You might have read obituaries in the UK’s broadsheet papers, but if you’ve read Motor Sport for some time and the WB initials mean anything to you, please do take the time to read our tribute. Gordon, you’ve done him proud.

The cover story took a lot of organising and there was a collective sigh of relief when it all came together so beautifully. The idea sprung from our old 20 Questions road car column, which ran last year. Ian Callum had been quizzed, and when asked what would be his dream drive, he replied 250SWB on the fantastic roads surrounding Ullapool.

A few weeks later, Gordon received a message from his friend Clive Beecham who happens to own the 250SWB – the Rob Walker Moss car that Stirling twirled so effectively around Goodwood and such during 1961. Clive said to Gordon, “if Ian would like to do it, he can”. It was an offer Ian was not about to turn down – even if our scheduling meant a clash with the launch of his new Jaguar C-X75 supercar, itself a significant day in the history of his beloved employer.

In this E-type 50th anniversary year, we knew this was the perfect opportunity to get a Lightweight involved. Comparing the two standout GT cars of this – and any other – generation just seemed obvious. Oh, and I guess I don’t really need to tell you this, but Ian had a ball…

Fortunately for Gordon, he didn’t have to write everything in the issue. Our regular team also pitched in with some great stories. Editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck reflects on a great British GP and the Indy 500 celebrations at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and also discusses modern F1 with a typically forthright Niki Lauda; Andrew Frankel delivers an exclusive track test in the super-rare and very special Mercedes-Benz W165 Silver Arrow (see below); and Simon Taylor meets saloon and sports car ace John Fitzpatrick for lunch. I remember squelching around a sopping Brands Hatch in 1983 watching him win the 1000Kms in his J David Porsche 956, sharing with Derek Warwick. It was the last big win of an amazing career, and when he met Simon the stories flowed thick and fast.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fitz caps a special issue of Motor Sport. But it’s WB who, for me, has made it one that will always be a landmark. An era is at an end.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Moments like this are always difficult. The motor racing world has lost two good people in recent days – two very different people but both passionate about the sport.

Tom Walkinshaw, racing driver, Grand Prix team owner, entrepreneur and rugby fan has died after a long and brave battle with cancer. Walkinshaw, a successful racer in his own right, made his mark as a team manager, a man who made things happen and who was intensely competitive. In 1984 he won the European Touring Car championship in a Jaguar XJS. His own TWR team later gave Jaguar its first win at Le Mans in 30 years and a World Sportscar Championship for Martin Brundle, who recently said he’d still be selling Toyotas in Norfolk if it hadn’t been for Walkinshaw.

Tom went on to be engineering director at Benetton, with Ross Brawn as technical director, and this partnership – along with Flavio Briatore – gave Michael Schumacher the first of his seven Formula 1 world titles. He famously took a young Schumacher away from the Jordan team, causing a great deal of publicity and not a little controversy. As well as being a passionate racing fan, Walkinshaw was a tough negotiator who built up his TWR Engineering empire on the back of his success as a driver and team owner.

After Benetton he bought a 50 per cent stake in Ligier before moving on again to take over the Arrows F1 team, employing Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever, both of whom had driven sports cars for him. Arrows was the end of his F1 career but he went on to run an Australian touring car team, putting Holden back in the winners’ circle. A devoted rugby fan, he was chairman of Gloucester Rugby Club.

A memorial service will be held at Gloucester Cathedral on February 4, 2011 at midday.

Christopher Hilton, author of a huge number of motor racing books and biographies, died suddenly at the end of last month. He was a prolific writer who did much to popularise the sport and his Grand Prix Century will remain a useful and very readable reference book, which contains not only facts and figures, but also some good tales of seasons gone by. He is also known for his biographies of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, James Hunt and Ken Tyrrell among many others, as well as a long and interesting look at the business of being a racer entitled Inside the Mind of the Grand Prix Driver.

A memorial service will be held at Harlow Crematorium at midday on December 22 followed by a celebration of his life at the Manor of Groves in Harlow.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Is this the greatest grid we’ve ever seen in 60 years of Formula 1? That’s a key question we couldn’t resist asking within our 2010 Grand Prix season preview, the cornerstone of the April issue of Motor Sport.

Now, I know better than anyone that making ‘greatest ever’ claims risks the wrath of many readers! So let’s be clear here: we’re not saying the 2010 is the greatest ever – we’re just asking the question! It should at least provoke some debate…

What isn’t in doubt is that this is the most anticipated F1 season for many a year – because of the strength of the line-up. Schumacher in a Mercedes versus Alonso in a Ferrari versus Hamilton and Button in McLarens versus Vettel and Webber in Red Bulls, not to mention true strength in depth throughout the supporting cast… We can’t wait for Bahrain on March 14.

As always in Motor Sport, we have one eye on the past as we look to the future, which is why we’d like to know how you think the grid compares to the great years of F1. Which is your favourite F1 season and which years featured the strongest line-up of aces? Do let us know what you think.

One decision for our season preview issue was particularly easy this year: who to put on the cover. Michael Schumacher isn’t exactly as well loved as some era-defining drivers from the past, but it cannot be denied that his comeback captures the imagination of anyone with even the slightest interest in F1. “So how will Schumacher get on, then?” is the question I’ve most been asked in recent weeks by anyone I’ve met who finds out what I do for a living, mostly from people with little interest in the sport, too.

In our preview, Adam Cooper has spoken to Schumacher’s closest aide to get the background story on the comeback of the century. Sabine Kehm has worked with Schuey for 10 years and she offers a fascinating insight into the sequence of events that led to the big return. The preview also features editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck in typically entertaining and forthright discussion with Martin Brundle, Anthony Rowlinson on that ‘greatest ever’ grid and that man Cooper again on the new rules that will change the face of the races in 2010.

Away from modern F1, Simon Taylor meets Derek Warwick for lunch in Jersey, Eoin Young profiles Louis Klemantaski – one of the sport’s greatest photographers (and I’m safe on that hyperbole) – and design legend Tony Southgate brings us tales of Shadow, from his forthcoming autobiography.

All this, plus a review of our inaugural Motor Sport Hall of Fame, an event that promises to become an established curtain-raiser for many racing seasons to come.

Enjoy the issue.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine