18 / 28
18
Book Review:
Stirling Moss
-
The Definitive Biography
Volume 1 1929-55 by Philip Porter
Written by Philip Porter, who produced the wonderful
Stirling Moss Scrapbooks, this substantial tome (640
pages including results list and index) covers the first
half of Moss’s remarkable career, from his first forays
into motor sport with his father’s BMW 328 to his year
as Fangio’s number two in Mercedes-Benz Formula 1
and sports cars.
It actually starts earlier than that with a brief history of
Moss’s family leading to his birth and childhood and his
adventures with the Austin Seven called “The Jeep”.
His mother was an accomplished horsewoman and saw
to it that Stirling and his younger sister Pat learned to
ride. Both competed successfully on horseback,
although Pat was more successful, becoming one of the
British Showjumping Team.
It tells of how Stirling had a Morgan three-wheeler to
dive when he made his first abortive attempt to get into
motor racing, sending a £50 cheque as deposit on a
500cc racer. His father spotted the cheque and not only
cancelled the transaction but confiscated the Morgan
for a time, leaving young Moss to get about on his bicycle.
As a former racing driver, Alfred Moss was convinced that nobody could make a decent
living in the sport and was extremely discouraging to Stirling. However, Stirling did manage
to persuade his father to allow him to enter local events
in his BMW 328. That was the start of something big.
Stirling graduated to 500 cc racing in 1948 with limited
support from his father
―
the family horsebox was
converted to carry the Cooper racing car and Stirling
was given 12 months to make good. Moss senior also
advised his son, his own racing experience being useful.
From there the book takes us through the familiar
story. The Jaguar XK120 drive in the TT, racing for
Jaguar and HWM and on to the purchase of a Maserati
250F for the 1954 season, which led to a Mercedes-Benz
works drive and the wonderful 1955 season when
Stirling played understudy to the great Juan Manuel
Fangio.
The detail in this excellent account makes this book a
worthwhile addition to any motor racing fan's library. It
has everything other Moss biographies has plus much
more. We await Volume 2 with great enthusiasm.
Bob Campbell