"Private Entrant"

This book, by an author who was for two years with the Rob Walker independent racing stable, takes the reader behind the scenes of motor racing and shows some of the almost insuperable difficulties from which independent teams suffer when endeavouring to compete in Grand Prix racing against works teams. The opening chapter gives an interesting insight into how Rob Walker first became interested in motor racing when seeing the Boulogne races of 1924 while on holiday in France with his mother, and of his subsequent motor-racing activities and career. The chapters which follow deal with almost every aspect of preparing and organising for motor racing, as seen from behind the scenes, but unfortunately the book is already dated in some respects, notably where it deals with racing tyres. It is copiously illustrated with very good pictures and there are reproductions of Rob Walker’s lap charts, while the text contains many fascinating technical details of the cars prepared by the well-known Rob Walker stable. The Foreword is by Stirling Moss.—W. B.