| Synopsis: |
Stirling Moss became established during this period as the greatest racing driver in the world, bar none. He was quite simply in a class of his own. Based entirely on Sir Stirling's own archives and his personal scrapbooks, this is the story of his period of absolute supremacy, the successes against the odds, the fightback drives through the field, the frustrations of unreliable machinery, the worst period for tragedies, the wide variety of iconic cars and the ladies! Apart from stunning period photos, fascinating cuttings, personal correspondence and general ephemera, over 100 pages from Moss' private diaries are reproduced for the first time in this book. Uniquely, Kate Seiler, Sir Stirling's first wife, has spoken candidly, to Philip Porter, about their marriage and the dreadful strain that the many deaths imposed. This great era in motor racing encompassed the changeover from traditional front-engined Grand Prix cars to revolutionary rear-engined ones. The former are represented here by Maserati 250Fs and Vanwalls, and the latter by the ground-breaking Coopers and Lotuses.There are landmark victories - the first GP for Vanwall; the first British GP win by a British car and by British drivers; the first GP victory for Cooper; the first for Lotus. Sports cars and sports racing cars also feature very strongly, including Stirling's key role in Aston Martin winning the World Sports Car Championship. The story of some of Moss' more stirring, epic triumphs are recounted in detail with such charismatic cars as the Maserati 300S, Aston Martin DB3S, Bobtail Cooper, Maserati 450S, Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Porsche RSK, Ferrari 290S, Lister-Jaguar, Aston Martin DBR1, DBR2 & DBR3, Birdcage Maserati and Ferrari 250GT SWB. Much of the text is Sir Stirling's own words. Combining with all the period material, this book brings alive the colour, the atmosphere, the danger, the girls and the fun of this wonderful period in motor sport. |