Letters - January 2026

What has MG done to have incurred your displeasure to such an extent that you seem to seldom miss an opportunity to ignore their past achievements.

It was virtually them alone who held the flag flying in the years between the two world wars and who at Abingdon built the Austin-Healeys and Minis that you seem so willing to praise.

Who knows what they could have achieved were it not for the petty ego of William Morris (later Sir and then Lord Nuffield) and the mindless team of vindictive senior managers he put in post in subsequent years. Leonard Lord and Lord Stokes to name but two.

Your article 50 greatest drives by women [November] seems to do it again by omitting to consider and mention George Eyston’s all-girl MG team that competed in and completed the 1935 Le Mans 24 Hours in three P-type MG Midgets.

Eyston’s team of ladies consisted of Mesdames Skinner, Evans, Simpson, Richmond, Eaton and Allan.

After the La Sarthe event the three cars were successfully used as trials cars showing the remarkable adaptability, usability and reliability of Cecil Kimber’s remarkable little cars.

Rex Pengilly, Poole

I thought this photo of Stirling Moss driving Fangio around Brands Hatch, above, would go with the article featuring the Mercedes which Moss drove to victory [“Just me, in a 300 SLR on an empty track”, November]. I can never recall those two greats being in the same car together at all! I think it was taken at a meeting which was a tribute to Stirling with Fangio as an invited guest. What a day!

Terry Fletcher, Standon, Hertfordshire

Watching F1 has become an endless discussion about tyre choice, graining, heat management, etc, etc, ad nauseam, as if that is the primary consideration separating the cars which are in many respects so close. Has the time come to take tyre choice completely out of the equation, making the playing field identical for all each race weekend. For example, aside from intermediates and wets, let’s have all teams run on just one type of tyre per race weekend – soft, medium or hard – determined in advance by the authority running the event, with each team getting exactly the same number of identical sets of tyres for the entire weekend.

Tyre management in its truest sense would then come into play, rather than lady luck favouring, for example, someone like Max Verstappen who due to his and the Red Bull team’s bad choices of set-up missed out in Q1 at Brazil and so landed up with great tyre choices in the race.

Michael J Crofton, Naples, Florida

I enjoyed Doug Nye’s article about the Lotus 33 and Lotus 35 [1965, December]. Here in Ireland in 1967 Luke Duffy appeared in a Lotus 35 fitted with a twin cam engine and as a 12-year-old I recall it clearly. About 10 years ago I was buying some old slot cars and the dealer also had a number of static models made by Ron Platt, the chief designer of what eventually became Wills Finecast – the model maker. These were approximately 1:20 scale and included a plastic Lotus 18 FJ, a Lotus 25 and the Lotus 35. I bought all three of them.

As can be seen from the photo, above, the Lotus 35 is highly detailed, painted beautifully and even included brake hoses front and rear. Just a lovely model.

Simon Thomas, Comber, County Down

The From the Archives item in the October issue [Nigel Mansell interview from 2015] prompted memories of a visit in 1995 to a London bookshop where Nigel Mansell was signing copies of his autobiography. Some hefty individuals were part of the publisher’s team, and one of these snatched my book and thrust it in front of Nigel who provided his signature.

Roseanne Mansell was present, but, to quote Mauro Forghieri, she was definitely “not part of the circus”. She was chatting with an elderly gentleman who seemed to be pleased to be receiving her undivided attention.

Later, I saw the Mansell entourage emerge, and two of the heavies tried to usher Nigel towards the offside rear door of the car waiting to collect him. But he walked purposefully to the nearside rear where he opened and held the door for Roseanne to enter the car first. Actions often speak louder than words.

John Parr, Romsey, Hampshire