Bolt upright Tazio!

Sir,

Presumably Joe Bayley’s “Laid Back” letter (Motor Sport, April 1987) was a stir? In the photos, Nuvolari’s head is further forward than his shoulders, whilst Farina’s head is angled backwards.

Nuvolari was described by the motoring Press as “sitting bolt upright with arms flailing at the wheel” or “hunched over the wheel”, and in some photos he is leaning forward like a jockey urging his steed on.

Moreover, in the cars Nuvolari drove there was not much room for lying back, and if he’d tried it (being a bit on the short side) he would not have been able to see where he was going! Watching Nuvolari drive an Auto Union was the greatest sight in motor racing ever, and the like will not be seen again.

Tony Brooke Harrogate, Yorkshire