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Sir,
I was absolutely amazed to read Denis Jenkinson’s comments on the Ford racing programme in “Continental Notes” in your May edition. I am not sure whether he dislikes Ford because they are American or because they are an extremely large organisation. One would hardly call Daimler-Benz, B.R.M. or Honda small organisations but none of these have been criticised because of the money they have spent on research and development.
The new Ford S-car is referred to disparagingly as a travelling laboratory but I always thought that one of the prime reasons for motor racing was to develop and improve motor cars in general and the great improvement in brakes, tyres, etc., we have seen in recent years is mainly due to racing.
What is even more peculiar is that in the closing paragraphs of the same feature Denis Jenkinson says, with apparent admiration, about the French Matra concern that “… facilities of the whole engineering group can be used for the benefit of the racing department”.
To describe, even jokingly, Ferraris as “home-made specials” seems to me to be insulting. One can only surmise that Denis Jenkinson would like to see racing cars built by poverty-stricken genii in back gardens. These cars. while interesting to their constructors, are hardly likely to make the same contribution to cars in general that large programmes like Ford’s undoubtedly will.
London, S.W.18. Malcolm Millais.