Reviews
Speedscene, October 2008 The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint association Circ: unknown Another in the excellent 'Those were the days' series published by Veloce, this is former Autosport photographer and correspondent Peter McFadyen's follow-up to his book about racing at the Cheshire circuit a decade earlier. lt's a similar nostalgia trip to the first one, but happily free of the intermittent publisher's adverts and the 'bleached out photo' space fillers that peppered the previous volume. In fact this is the best book yet in this popular series, with the reproduction of the numerous black and white photographs (there are several color ones too, of course), many of them previously unpublished, to a superbly high standard for such an inexpensive volume. A succinct and accurate commentary by the author, who as a confirmed Lotus enthusiast currently races an Elan in classic events, brings the whole thing to life. Fans of Formula 5000, F3, Formula Ford, saloons and early historic racing, all of which thrived at Oulton during the seventies and indeed of Motor Sport per se, before the advent of endless one-make formulae blunted the diversity and fascination of the sport at club and national level won't be able to put this one down!, "Nearly 100 pages of interesting anecdotes, fact and a few 'tall' stories; throw into the mix 100 photographs of cars and drivers of the era, makes for a very interesting read." ' The Octagon, "This small softcover is an entertaining and useful addition to the vintage and racing collector's library." ' Victory Lane - "The photography, which conveys much more than just cars on a track, is excellent, with many racing incidents and paddock shots of drivers and half-dismantled machinery." ' The Automobile - " M otor Racing at Oulton Parkin the '70s provides a useful compact insight into events at the Cheshire circuit, with well-written text by McFadyen, who has attended and photographed many of the races." ' M otor Sport, Review from British Racing News, December 2008 The magazine of the British Racing & Sports Car Club Some of 'those of a certain age' are extremely fortunate not through health issues, wealth, or other such considerations; simply because of where and when they were born. If you grew up near Manchester and Sheffield in the '50s, '60s and '70s, then you know what this is pubs; the Twisted Wheel (if you don't know what that is, you weren't there), serious road rallies ... and Oulton Park. This reviewer's jaded memory doesn't recall a great deal about the Manchester and Sheffield pubs and clubs (if you were there you don't, and all that), but I do still remember vividly my first sight of the Napier Railton thundering up Clay Hill. And the Bentley Napier, and the Barnato/Hassan Bentley; the Gold Cup and some really good racing. Oulton was and still is, in its longest form a great track; in UK terms probably just second only to Cadwell, in this reviewer's opinion. Much of my early racing viewing is covered within these pages, with some good photography; which is to be expected, because the book's author took many of them during his days contributing to 'Autosport' and 'Motoring News.' The accompanying text is to the point, accurate ... and memory-jerking for this reviewer. Yet, someone who's never visited the Cheshire track would doubtless enjoy this book's content. This book is one of Veloce Publishing's 'Those were the days ...' series; if you're a stalwart, a student or simply a racing fan, for $25.95 you can't go wrong. Read it., Classic & Sports Car, October 2008 UK magazine There's something instantly compelling about the 'Those were the days ...' series. This second study of the Cheshire circuit inevitably kicks off with its blue ribbon meet, the Gold Cup. And that's no bad thing, with the likes of Gethin and Schuppan head-to-head in Lolas. Plus there's the surreal sight of F5000s in the snow, over a freak Easter in '75. Big names also crop up in 'Rising stars,' such as Eddie Jordan dicing with Tiff Needell and Derek Warwick in FF1600s. There's some great tin-top action, too, with Steve Soper and Alan Curnow's epic Mini Clubman battle, Andy Rouse and 'Yogi' Muir wheel-to-wheel in Dolly Sprints and James Hunts sideways in Richard Lloyd's Camaro on the Tour of Britain. All that's missing is Colin Crabbe's Mercedes W125. An ideal early stocking filler. - Review from Track & Race Cars, October 2008 UK magazine In the 70s Formula 1 had some many championship races they no longer wanted to enter non-championship races. This left the racing fans wanting something else they can watch locally. At Oulton Park Formula 5000 filled the gap as did the traditional Gold Cup. The book is very brief and contains little detail, it mainly concentrates on photos with little history of stories of the circuit in this era. The photos are very good and show what Oulton Park was like in the 70s. This is good for a simple flick through with good pictures but has little more to offer.