Chas Parker – författare

"I will build a car for the great multitude," stated Henry Ford, and so he did. The Ford Model T, or the ‘Tin Lizzie’ and the ‘Flivver’ as it was also known, transformed American society, bringing mobility through car ownership to millions of middle-class Americans at a time when the horse and the railroad were the only real viable means of transport. Using moving assembly lines and the best possible materials, between October 1908 and May 1927, Ford built around 16.5 million examples of this extraordinary car. By 1918, half of all cars built in America were Model Ts and by 1925 around 8,000 a day were being produced, making Henry Ford one of the world’s best-known manufacturers of automobiles. The selection of body styles varied from two- and four-seat open and closed models – tourers, town cars, runabouts, landaulettes and cabriolets – to vans and pick-up trucks, and customers could also have colours other than black!

By the start of the 1980s, the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in Kent had become firmly established as one of the world''s classic tracks. It had grown from humble beginnings as a motor cycle grass track to become an internationally renowned facility, hosting top-class motor sport. During the following decade, under the stewardship of its entrepreneurial managing director, John Webb, this enviable position was reinforced, with the circuit hosting five consecutive Grands Prix, two at very short notice, from 1982-86, along with a host of other major international meetings as well as smaller, club events. Chas Parker spent many years visiting the track, and amassed an impressive collection of thousands of colour transparencies, the majority of which are previously unpublished. This book picks up where his previous volume, Motor Racing at Brands Hatch in the Seventies, left off. It offers a very personal account of visits to the world''s busiest motor racing circuit during a decade of excitement and change, both on and off track, in the form of a scrapbook using the author''s own photographs, taken as an ordinary spectator from the public enclosures.

During the 1970s, Brands Hatch was the busiest motor racing circuit in the world. Using previously unpublished photographs and accounts of events, this book provides a personal view of activities and changes at the track during its heyday and paints an affectionate picture of motor racing at its very best.

This superb book tells the story of one of the most historically interesting of all Jaguar D-types, the XKD 504. This is a car that has raced more than any other D-type across its long and varied life, and this life is recounted in full. From its role as a works car used extensively for testing fuel injection, to two seasons of racing throughout Europe with Ecurie Ecosse, to four busy years of national competition in the hands of first Mike Salmon and then Peter Sutcliffe, it’s all here. This book provides fascinating insight into every aspect of this D-type’s history, supported by a fine collection of period photographs.

This glorious book tells the story of the celebrated lightweight Jaguar C-type, chassis number XKC 051, that Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt drove to victory in the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours. The car went on to have a busy post-works racing career, first with Ecurie Ecosse, then with privateer drivers Bill Smith and Geoffrey Allison. Among its small number of collector custodians in later years, the names Briggs Cunningham in America and Adrian Hamilton (son of Duncan) in the UK stand out. The development of the C-type is described, focusing on the three lightweights of 1953 with thinner-gauge aluminum bodies, pioneering disc brakes, and aircraft-style fuel tanks. All this is covered in fascinating detail, supported by interviews with drivers and mechanics, a fine collection of period images and studio photographs.

This book tells the story of one of the six alloy-bodied XK 120s that were prepared by Jaguar in 1950 for racing and rallying. This one, known as JWK 651 because of the registration number, was owned by Leslie Johnson and raced by him in some of the most prestigious events of the time, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Mille Miglia (twice) and the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod. Beyond that, Johnson and up-and-coming racing driver Stirling Moss visited the speed bowl at Montlhery for a record-breaking attempt, and Johnson also took part in the RAC Rally. In 1950, the car lay in second place in the Le Mans 24 Hours after 15 hours and was gaining on the leaders when the clutch failed. Besides this diverse and distinguished period competition career, the book tells the story of the later life of this most significant XK 120. The book includes a wealth of period photographs as well as a portfolio of magnificent studio images

The former wartime airfield at Silverstone is Britain’s mostimportant motor racing circuit, best known as the home of the British GrandPrix and where the first Formula 1 World Championship race was staged in 1950.This magnificent book, originally published in 2013 and now comprehensivelyupdated in this second edition with 64 extra pages, tells Silverstone’s entirehistory, covering the great races, influential characters and unforgettableevents, as well as the evolution of the circuit itself. The book is profuselyillustrated, including plenty of great photographs that have rarely beenpublished. Produced with the full assistance of the British Racing Drivers’Club (BRDC) and Silverstone Circuits Ltd, this is the last word on the historyof the much-loved home of British motor racing, from its beginnings in theaftermath of the Second World War to its status now as a world-class motorsportvenue.