Green light

“We love the magazine — but when are you going to bring back the green cover?” It’s a mantra we’ve heard many times since the decision was taken for Motor Sport to ‘go red’ from the October 2004 issue, not just from our loyal, longtime readers but once, memorably, from a current up-and-coming grand prix driver! (I’ll give you a clue — he’s Australian and drives for Williams.)

In last month’s editorial I remarked on the fact that the publishing rights now belong to Stratfield Limited, and that “there are exciting plans for the magazine as we move forward into a new era.” Well, we’ve stayed true to my word and, beginning with the June issue (on sale May 12), Motor Sport will revive the much-loved green cover.

That’s not all. The magazine will also look considerably different. Not only has the design been improved, but the world of current historic racing and cars will be covered in considerably more depth. As well as this, we will remain true to our commitment to providing you with superb features on the history of the sport from our renowned team of top-class writers.

We kick off the ‘new green era’ with the story of Ford’s amazingly successful attack on the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours. Continuing the theme, Mario Andretti will talk us through his nine attempts on the great race, and Jaguar’s defeat of Porsche in 1988 will be covered in our technical feature by Keith Howard. Going further into the sportscar world, we will also bring you the inside story from the day Ayrton Senna raced a Porsche 956.

Moving onto single-seaters, we have an exclusive interview with Jackie Stewart (though we’ll try and squeeze his Can-Am exploits in somewhere!) and a test drive on cars from the thriving Formula Junior movement. Look also for previews on the Targa Florio Centenary, and the best news and reports coverage from the current historic scene.

We pride ourselves on our strong relationship and interaction with our readers and are determined to build on this so that Motor Sport really does feel like your magazine. To that end we would welcome your feedback on the changes: write to us at the address on the left of this page, or send us an e-mail to editorial@motorsportmagazine.co.uk

• We’ve carried on pushing the boat out for our May issue, starting with our cover story on Brabham-Repco. Our thanks go to, among others, the Donington Collection, Sir Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac. We hope you enjoy it while you look forward to the changes.