BOOKS, PRODUCTS, MODELS
Be careful, you’ll want to buy stuff
We’re reviewed a lot of books in Octane over the years, ranging in price from just a few pounds to literally thousands. Price notwithstanding,
Inside Track is probably the best we’ve ever had the pleasure of leafing through.
It’s actually two books presented in a very sturdy slipcase, at least in this Collector’s Edition; more on that in a moment. The two volumes are a comprehensive archive of the late racing driver Phil Hill’s own colour photographs, taken between 1950 and 1962 and mostly shot on Kodachrome film, with detailed captions in Phil’s own words thanks to interviews conducted by his friend Steve Dawson, son Derek and historian Doug Nye, who has masterminded the project. Each volume runs to nearly 500 pages, with images printed on the highest-quality Italian art paper so that they positively glow off the page.
As Doug Nye says in his foreword: ‘These volumes are designed to be dipped into, absolutely anywhere.’ Every page reveals a new treat, for Phil’s combination of a Leica 35mm camera and fine-grained Kodachrome means that even the humblest of snapshots have a clarity and precision rarely found in 1950s photographs. Not that the majority of these pictures are mere snaps; while there is a lot of candid pitlane photography, Phil was adept at panning shots of race cars in action – a real skill in the days before motordriven cameras. Starting with Phil’s days spannering on exotics at the International Motors car dealership, the pictures progress through his days spectating at Pikes Peak in 1951 (a fabulously evocative shot of Pete Woods kicking up dust in his ‘Johnson Special’ is a clear hint of what’s to come) and into his own racing career: the Carrera PanAmericana, Le Mans, and his years with Ferrari from 1957 to 1962, including winning the F1 Drivers’ World Championship in 1961. As so often with pictures of this era, it’s the background detail that is as compelling as the main subjects. Gleaming ‘Yank tank’ saloons, spectators and mechanics in their 1950s clothing, boxes of spare parts piled up in a paddock – you can lose yourself for hours, soaking up the period atmosphere.
There are three editions of this magnum opus to choose from: the two-volume Collector’s Edition; a single-volume ‘précis’ bookshop version, with fewer pictures, at around £250; and, eventually, a three-volume leather-bound set that will include Doug Nye’s biography of Phil (also to be available separately), expected to retail at about £1600. Without a doubt, any of them will prove a shrewd investment, as well as a joy to own.