You were there special

The world felt like a bigger place in the early 1970s, but that didn’t deter Don Larsen…

Writing from California, Don Larsen contacted Motor Sport to say he had several pictures “for possible inclusion in You Were There”. Possible? He does himself rather a disservice.

His interest in the sport piqued by TV coverage of the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix, he subsequently took up racing photography – and earned himself official accreditation at local events. “By 1971 I was in touch with a fledgling paper, Auto Racing News, through which I obtained credentials for Le Mans and Zandvoort – but the Monaco press centre turned me away. A couple of Italian photographers told me to ‘become Italian – wave your arms, your children will be thrown into the street if you don’t get your pictures’. It worked, but ARN sadly went under before any cheques arrived…” He was armed with two Nikon F bodies, five prime lenses – from 24 to 400mm – and a light meter.