Contributors

History always gets more interesting when it’s told by the people involved, so Gordon Cruickshank was pleased when he arrived at Silverstone to inspect one of Ford’s Sixties sports-racing supercars – the car he used to draw in his school jotter during double Latin – and found the party included the car’s first campaigner, its mechanic, its current racer and its chronicler. All he had to do was switch on his recorder. Easy…

Racing driver writes – shock! Aston Martin ace Sam Hancock drives and reports on the Argyll-patterned 787B that pierced spectators’ ears on its way to Le Mans victory in 1991, with Johnny Herbert at the wheel. As he tells us on p58, Sam was given very firm instructions not to crash the highly original machine. He could hear that plea because he’d rejected ear plugs in order to enjoy the rotary’s surreal shriek. And if you want a taste of that, click on our website to hear Herbert’s hilarious impression of the Mazda through the Porsche Curves…

You have to use what you’ve got, and as an experienced PR man, Tony Jardine knows how to find sponsors for his weekend rallying career. But as he says in his guide to getting into the sport, he’s made mistakes like anyone else – though we don’t think he’s counting the time he took the editor on as his co-driver.

It was touch and go for the Indian Grand Prix. We’re not talking about whether the track would be ready, but the panic over Adam Cooper’s visa. Getting his passport stamped was harder work than Vettel’s race win, but he managed it (eventually) and reported back for us on a fascinating first for Formula 1.