Book Review: BRM by Raymond Mays and Peter Roberts
British Racing Motors (BRM) was established after World War II by former ERA leading light, Raymond Mays, as a means to galvanize the UK’s automotive and technology sectors and present a British challenge to the dominant Continental teams in Grand Prix racing. Nowadays it’s hard to imagine a time when the F1 grid was not UK-based but this was a time before the emergence of Lotus, Vanwall, Cooper, McLaren, Brabham and others changed the balance of power for good.
I read a disintegrating second edition of Mays’ history of the marque he created, co-written with Peter Roberts and published in 1964 – two years after Graham Hill secured the team’s only World Drivers’ Championship and with its dark-green, unsponsored cars still riding high. But the heart of the story is the long struggle to the front of the grid – from the delays in getting the original, V16-powered single-seater to the track, via the famous humiliation at the Daily Express International Trophy Race at Silverstone in 1950, to the perpetual poor reliability and finally to the first win by Jo Bonnier at Zandvoort in 1959.
This is primary source material rather than balanced judgement or a well-rounded account that delves deeper into the colourful personalities involved. But Mays’ insights into the technical challenge and political machinations behind the scenes – the team was originally controlled by a trust of prominent British industrial companies and supported by a large club of fans – hold your attention.
For example, he knew the car wasn’t ready for that ill-starred debut but was forced into it by pressure from the race organizers and sponsor. Having grown up with the story of a family member who was there that day, it’s revealing to hear what really happened. You can’t help but wonder how things might have been different if the original V16s had benefited from the modern materials quality afforded to the recent P15 V16 continuations – not to mention better financial and engineering management.
BRM continued under the patronage of Alfred Owen until 1974, after which brother-in-law Louis Stanley took over and oversaw the team’s final decline and fall. There are retrospective monographs that cover the team’s entire history, notably by Doug Nye and Ian Wagstaff. But part of the charm of his book is that Mays had no knowledge of how the story would end.
BRM
by Raymond Mays and Peter Roberts
Pan, 1964.
Find it on eBay
I read a disintegrating second edition of Mays’ history of the marque he created, co-written with Peter Roberts and published in 1964 – two years after Graham Hill secured the team’s only World Drivers’ Championship and with its dark-green, unsponsored cars still riding high. But the heart of the story is the long struggle to the front of the grid – from the delays in getting the original, V16-powered single-seater to the track, via the famous humiliation at the Daily Express International Trophy Race at Silverstone in 1950, to the perpetual poor reliability and finally to the first win by Jo Bonnier at Zandvoort in 1959.
This is primary source material rather than balanced judgement or a well-rounded account that delves deeper into the colourful personalities involved. But Mays’ insights into the technical challenge and political machinations behind the scenes – the team was originally controlled by a trust of prominent British industrial companies and supported by a large club of fans – hold your attention.
For example, he knew the car wasn’t ready for that ill-starred debut but was forced into it by pressure from the race organizers and sponsor. Having grown up with the story of a family member who was there that day, it’s revealing to hear what really happened. You can’t help but wonder how things might have been different if the original V16s had benefited from the modern materials quality afforded to the recent P15 V16 continuations – not to mention better financial and engineering management.
BRM continued under the patronage of Alfred Owen until 1974, after which brother-in-law Louis Stanley took over and oversaw the team’s final decline and fall. There are retrospective monographs that cover the team’s entire history, notably by Doug Nye and Ian Wagstaff. But part of the charm of his book is that Mays had no knowledge of how the story would end.
BRM
by Raymond Mays and Peter Roberts
Pan, 1964.
Find it on eBay