BMC Competition Department Secrets
With Marcus Chambers, Stuart Turner, and Peter Browning
While the name of the book is somewhat misleading, the premise of the book is unique. What the publisher has done is to collect the internal memos, letters, and documentation of three administrations worth of BMC competition department managers, added some introductory text and period photographs, and created a sort of scrapbook of BMC’s racing efforts from 1965–1970.
Now if, as the title implied, you were looking for the way the factory ported cylinder heads or some other demon tweak, you’ll be sorely disappointed. While each of the three managers provides their own introductory text, the vast majority of the book is devoted to the reproduction of documents such as internal minutes of competition department meetings and offer letters to various drivers. If you are a die-hard BMC fan, you will find plenty of interesting facts and details that were previously not known to the public, such as how BMC raced the Mini in the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally with a number of technical improvements that had not actually been fully homologated yet! Other interesting insights include management discussions of the relative merits of all the drivers of the day and what they were to be paid. However, if you’re not a dyed-in-the-wool BMC fanatic, you’ll likely find the vast majority of this book about as interesting to read as a stock prospectus. With that said, this will be a good book, for the right audience.
Available directly from Veloce Press for $49.95 (£24.99) at www.veloce.co.uk or from Classic Motorbooks (800) 458-0454 at www.motorbooks.com
