The M4 test track

I enjoyed Gordon Cruickshank’s article about John Wyer in the 1950s. I worked for Wyer from 1959, as sales and showroom manager at the London Piccadilly showrooms where David Brown had his main office. This gave me the opportunity to meet many famous names of the time, including John Horsman who with Wyer went on to fame with GT40s. One day Horsman took me out in a DB4 Zagato they were preparing. We reached 170mph on that convenient test track known as the M4.

Another time Wyer ordered me to take a car from the Chequered Flag garage down to Feltham. He didn’t warn me that it was DBR1/1, sitting on the pavement with a sign saying ‘For Sale – £1495’. Le Mans ratios on the Lower Richmond Road, in the rain, didn’t make for an easy trip.

Gordon mentioned Carroll Shelby’s dungarees and slip-on crocodile shoes. To him they were just normal wear, and he was amused that they tickled British sensibilities. I enclose a photo of him behind the Silverstone pits, which shows his natural charm and sense of humour.

Tony Gosnell, Greatham, Hants