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B. T. Batsford Ltd., Published 1961. Hardcover, 196 pp.; 23 cm; First Edition; illustrated with black-and-white line drawings by John Dunscombe. Printed in Great Britain by Jarrold and Sons. In Very Good condition with a Good dust jacket. Dark olive green textured cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering, rule banding, and "Batsford" stamped at the foot of the spine; light bumping to edges and corners and mild shelf wear. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. Pictorial dust jacket with a diagonal split design (dark olive green and golden orange) featuring black line drawings of vintage and modern racing cars; in Good+ condition with a 1-inch tear to the paper over the top edge of the front cover near the spine, several smaller nicks and tears, and creasing to edges; mild to moderate overall shelf wear with some light soiling and color loss to edges and spine. Original "18s net" price retained on front flap. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover. A landmark reference compendium of historic motor racing facts and figures, much sought after by motoring historians and racing enthusiasts since publication. [From front jacket flap] Motoring historians and racing enthusiasts have long felt the need for a vade mecum of motor racing facts and statistics. This gap is now admirably filled by this chronological compendium. Rodney Walkerley (until recently "Grande Vitesse" of The Motor) gives details of the winning drivers, cars and speeds for every major, and many minor, Grand Prix and Sports Car race, in Europe and America, from the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race of 1894 up to the end of the 2.5-litre Grand Prix formula in 1960. However, the exceptional scope of this compilation is shown by the introduction on the pre-history of the racing car, and by the survey of the period concerned which precedes each of the five sections into which the book is divided. In addition, he pinpoints outstanding races, highlights famous incidents, appraises design developments and record-breaking attempts. Appendices are included giving first victories of cars and drivers through the years, the inauguration of the classic races and circuits and a wealth of similar factual information. The text, enhanced by the attractive decorations of John Dunscombe, is very thoroughly indexed, and the book may thus truly lay claim to being "a valuable work of reference essential to every motoring library." Contents: Preface; Introduction; The First Decades, 1894-1914; Ancient to Modern, 1919-1933; Climax, 1934-1939; Renaissance, 1940-1953; The Seven-Year Formula, 1954-1960; Appendix I 500 c.c. Racing; Appendix II First Victories by Historic Makes; Appendix III Classic Races held in Series, 1900-1960; Appendix IV Some Notable Records, 1945-1960; Appendix V Lap Records of the World's Major Circuits; Appendix VI Shelsley Walsh and Prescott Hill-Climb Winners, 1905-1960; Appendix VII First Successes of Historic Drivers and In Memoriam; Appendix VIII Inauguration of the Classics; Index of Persons; Index of Cars; Index of Places, Races and Events.
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