Atlas F1 Magazine: The Bookworm Critique

ATLAS F1 - THE JOURNAL OF FORMULA ONE MOTORSPORT

The Bookworm Critique

By Mark Glendenning, Australia
Atlas F1 Columnist

COLIN CHAPMAN:
THE MAN AND HIS CARS

By Gerard 'Jabby' Crombac.
Reissued by Haynes Publishing.

Coco Chanel (now there's a name you probably never expected to encounter on a motorsport website) once said: "Innovation! I cannot always be innovating! I want to create classics!" Had Coco sat down for a glass of red with Colin Chapman, it may have become apparent that it's sometimes possible to do both.

Conversations about innovation in Grand Prix car design are invariably spiked with � and frequently started by � references to Chapman. As for classics, it takes little searching to find F1 fans for whom the phrase 'Grand Prix car' brings to mind images of a JPS-liveried Lotus long before they think of the latest Arrows or Ferrari. Going outside the Formula One circle you encounter the Lotus Seven � a car that all but redefined the term 'classic' as it applies to automobiles.

As we approach the twentieth anniversary of Chapman's death, it is highly appropriate that Crombac's biography, first released late in 1986, is once again made easily available. And I can think of few titles whose reissue is more welcome.

Veteran French journalist Crombac was perfectly placed to write the definitive book about one of the great engineering geniuses of the twentieth century. Crombac enjoyed a close friendship with Chapman that began with the writer being one of the fledgling manufacturer's first customers back in the early 1950s. Later he became Champan's go-to man in all manner of situations.

In a practical sense, Crombac's connections in the motoring industry, particularly where French companies were concerned, provided Chapman with an invaluable foot in the door when he was seeking assistance or a partnership. But in later years, Crombac's dual role as Chairman of the Technical Board of the FFSA (the French national motorsport authority) and the French delegate on the FISA Technical Commission � appointments which he eventually lost as a direct result of an incident involving Lotus � came in extremely handy as the F1 sporting regulations fell increasingly short of being able to accommodate Chapman's innovations.

Despite his close relationship with - and obvious affection for - Chapman, Crombac remains true to the facts as he sees them. If he feels that Chapman or the team were dealt with unfairly in a particular episode he says so, but at the same time he will also highlight any shortcomings on Colin's part where necessary.

While there has been a little bit of extra material tacked on to the end of the reissued version of the book, the main body has been left unchanged. This leads to a couple of drawbacks; the first being that it has become a little removed from the present. There are, for example, references to 'recent interviews' with individuals who have now been dead for some time. Similarly, a comment late in the book mentions that the Lotus F1 team is still competing in the wake of the loss of its founder.

It also leaves many unanswered questions, particularly on such sticky topics as Chapman's business dealings late in his life. For example, the following passage represents the entirety of the reference made to De Lorean in the book:

"Once such consultancy contract at around this time, and which no doubt helped the company to maintain its solvency, was that placed by the now somewhat notorious De Lorean Motor Company, based in Northern Ireland and heavily subsidized by the British Labour Government. Even at this time of writing, a number of questions relating to this contract are still unanswered, and may remain so for some time." (p.306)

Perhaps Crombac skipped over the De Lorean issue for legal reasons, perhaps he didn't want to upset family members and others close to Chapman just four years after his death, or maybe this was the one moment where Crombac's bond with his subject let him down. Either way, this is one of the few elements of Chapman's life that this book does not adequately explain.

In virtually every other respect, though, this is a stupendously good read. Crombac has interviewed a huge range of people close to Chapman, as well as drawing upon earlier conversations with Colin himself. It's beautifully written, conveying an impression of trustworthy authority while remaining steadfastly amiable and engaging.

Usually the process of selecting an excerpt to reproduce in the review is fairly easy � something just leaps out. This, though, was more a case of being spoilt for choice. Dave Kelsey's account of building the earliest Mk VIs in Chapman's shed seems an OK choice:

"The first Mk VI took us about six weeks to make. We had a rudimentary drawing, but much of the design was on the basis of 'bung that bit in here, and weld some tubes to hold it'! The drawing was gradually consumed by careless welding torches, and by the time we finished the car what was left � being badly fixed photographic paper � had faded away ...
"We were very surprised to be asked to build another one ... By the time we finished the second car, in about a month, the drawing had completely vanished, and all the subsequent VIs were build entirely from my memory of the dimensions of the eighty tubes, brackets, suspension parts, engine mountings, and so on. Fortunately, at the age of 22, I had total recall of numbers and we made no mistakes ...
"Our plant and machinery consisted of two old hacksaws, two ancient vices, a couple of 14-in bastard files, a heavy hammer or two, a hand-turned 'gut-buster' drill and � the pride of the works � a Wolf �-in electric drill. Our precision measuring kit was composed of one Stanley tape and a wooden yardstick, rather charred. The chassis jig was an old iron bedstead to which we clamped the chassis tubes with G-clamps, and corrected distortions with 4-ft sash clamps.
"Since the jig was a good deal flimsier than the chassis, we became expert in welding in sequence to avoid distortion, and tacking in temporary braces to support panels which would later be covered with aluminum. John (Teychenne) and I worked every night after our day jobs until at least 1am and all day and evening on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. The sole exception to this rule was Thursdays, when I worked alone while John went to play poker to raise the bread for the next batch of materials." (p44-45)

And you thought that putting that IKEA wall unit together was hard work!

Normally at the end of a review I try to think of who, of all the Atlas F1 readers, a particular book might appeal to. In this case, it's a harder job trying to think of someone who wouldn't find this biography intriguing. Chapman was a rare individual, and motor racing was lucky to have him. Indeed, many aspects of modern F1 cars can be traced directly to Lotus innovations (but don't hold that against him!).

There were contradictions and flaws in Chapman's character that, for whatever reason, 'The Man and His Cars' fails to adequately address, but the rest of the book compensates for this many, many times over. If there was a Grand Prix Racing 101 course offered at a university (and we can only hope), then this would be on the first-year reading list. Give it a look.

© 2007 autosport.com . This service is provided under the Atlas F1 terms and conditions.
Please Contact Us for permission to republish this or any other material from Atlas F1.