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Prix at Aintree, and won – the first Englishman ever to do so.
Rising star Peter Collins also asked Gregory to become his
manager later that year. For Gregory it was a markedly
different experience, the 24-year-old Collins being
“delightfully vague” in sharp contrast to Moss’s single-
mindedness. Their association saw Collins take victory in
three GPs, driving for Ferrari. But it was also all too brief:
in August 1958 Collins was killed when his car overturned
on the track of the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.
Despite the personal and professional blow Gregory
remained active in the racing community for several more
years, managing the British Racing Partnership (BRP) at
world championship level from 1958 to 1964. Established
by himself and Albert Moss for Stirling’s benefit, in 1960
the BRP was approached by the Yeoman Credit Company,
which wished to finance an entire team under the
company banner. It was the first such sponsorship deal in
F1 history, and a source of some consternation among racing purists at the time. Though
BRP’s success was patchy, it provided opportunities to several driving talents, including Cliff
Allison, Henry Taylor, Hans Herrmann and Masten Gregory.
Moss, meanwhile, was recording ever more successes, until
his 1962 crash at Goodwood put an end to both his
professional career and to his partnership with Ken
Gregory; but not before the manager had dealt with the
media fallout from the accident. “Stirling received 400
letters a day, and the press were desperate to get to him. I
eventually sold the rights to a bedside interview for
£10,000!”
‘Behind The Scenes of Motor Racing’ by Ken Gregory with
his insider’s view of the 1950-60’s motor racing world,
describes all of the above and more! Once again a book
with some excellent black and white photos from the
golden era of motor sport.
Read it!
Mark L. Jones
VSCC Librarian
Moment of victory: Stirling and
Jenks share the success of the
1955 Mille Miglia
Hans Herman miraculously
escapes from the somersaulting
British Racing Partnership
prepared BRM after approaching
the South Curve at Avus
practically brakeless
Missing Fire Trailer
One of the items stolen from the clubrooms area
was our fire trailer, pictured at left. The ladder was
not on the trailer when it was stolen, but it was
otherwise as shown.
It is a Weis Craft Fire Fli trailer, made in Henderson
Colorado and is almost certainly the only one in
Australia according to Ted Williams, who donated
the trailer to the club.
If you see or hear anything about it please contact
the police or Ron Fabry on (08) 9457 9179.