2000s at Motor Sport magazine

The new ‘old’ Motor Sport won favour first under Andrew Frankel, then Paul Fearnley and from mid-decade Damien Smith. But doubts had sunk in at Haymarket. In a desperate attempt to bolster faltering newsstand copy sales, management ditched the signature green for a catchier masthead in… red. Then the letters began arriving. After a brief spell under Marcus Simmons, the magazine was leased in 2006 and then eventually sold, celebrating its 1000th issue in December 2008. Edward Atkin – who’d grown up hooked on Jenks’s every word – became the sole proprietor in 2009, and with Smith back at the helm and new editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck as the forthright figurehead Motor Sport soared once more, from a bright new office in Chelsea Wharf (a world away from Bonhill Street). Oh, and the masthead had returned to its familiar hue, winning back lost goodwill at a stroke.