Month: September 2023

Coming Next Week:

by James Page

Hesketh Racing was a Grand Prix phenomenon. In a time of increasing commercialisation and cars that had forsaken national racing colours in favour of sponsors’ logos, the team was privately funded by Lord Hesketh – a patriotic 22-year-old who was determined to take his promising young driver, James Hunt, to World Championship glory. Their car stood out on the track thanks to its pure white livery – and the team stood out in the paddock thanks to its lavish hospitality, its helicopter and yachts, and its infectious sense of fun. But behind the playboy image was a highly professional team, expertly organised by Bubbles Horsley and including talents such as designer Harvey Postlethwaite, engineer Nigel Stroud and chief mechanic Dave ‘Beaky’ Sims. Having arrived in Formula 1 in 1973 with a rented March, Hesketh Racing then set about building its own car. It won the 1974 International Trophy at Silverstone and the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort – putting James Hunt on the road to superstardom.

This new book from Porter Press International is the first to tell the amazing full story of Hesketh Racing. ‘The biggest little team in the world’ captured the imagination of enthusiasts all around the world thanks to its unique approach and its famous teddy bear logo, and it continues to be one of the most evocative and charismatic names in Formula 1 history.

The full story of Hesketh Racing, from its Formula 3 debut in 1972 to its final Formula 1 race in 1978.In-depth interviews with key team members such as Lord Hesketh, Bubbles Horsley, Nigel Stroud, Dave Sims, Peter Gaydon, Rupert Keegan and Frank Dernie. Never-before-seen images from Lord Hesketh’s personal scrapbooks and photo albums. A chapter devoted to the inside story of the Hesketh motorcycle. A collection of superb archive photographs in colour and black and white, with detailed captions.

THE AUTHOR
James Page inherited his passion for motorsport from his father and was fortunate enough to grow up around racing cars. Having contributed race reports to Autosport and Motoring News while still at university, he joined Future Publishing in 2005 and went on to become deputy editor of Classics Monthly. In 2011, he joined Classic & Sports Car in the same role before becoming editor three years later. He has been freelance since 2017, but still contributes to C&SC as well as Octane and ASTON. He edits the monthly magazine of The International XK Club, and his previous books for Porter Press International include Jaguar E-type Lightweight – the Autobiography of 49 FXN and Ultimate Ferrari 250 GTO.

Hardbound | 264 pages

$125.00 Reserve your copy HERE!

Sorry for the lack of updates here the past couple of weeks. Since our last posting, we have uploaded 200+ new models announced by Spark, LookSmart, TSM Model, TopSpeed and Tecnomodel with various deadlines from September 25 (today!) out to October 10. You can find all the specific lists HERE.

Advance orders are more important than ever these days. US distributors are ordering few – if any – extra stock from the manufacturers after the deadline date. Don’t get caught out!

Before naming their new US distributor, Spark Model released their annual list of 1/43 scale Le Mans entries. That list finally arrived here this morning – with a deadline two days off, no usable jpeg images and several misprints in the part numbers and descriptions. I spent the morning uploading all 49 entries to MotorsportCollector.com, making corrections along the way, so hopefully there there won’t be more than the usual typos here or in the descriptions. Check out the complete list HERE. Jeff has edited the original pdf file (attached HERE) so between the two sources, you should have enough accurate information to make your choices.

We will be Closed Saturday, September 16 Several other New Product lists arrived this morning. All have ‘normal’ deadline dates and should be uploaded to MotorsportCollector.com before the weekend.  Although the official deadline for the 1/43 Le Mans entrants is Friday, I’m told orders placed by Monday morning will be OK. A few brief notes: The new Tyrrell book has arrived. Shipping now.  I was just informed that the restock of the Le Mans Centenary book should be here next week.  Tecnomodel’s 1/18 Lotus 38s are due by the end of September. We have a couple of each version still available.

Spark Model has announced 25 different 1/43 scale models from the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship along with 16 1/43 scale entries from the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.

All of the IMSA releases, with the exception of the 2022 Sebring winning Cadillac, will be produced in Limited Editions as part of their US National Series. Click on the links for details.

Tecnomodel has announced 5 new 1/18 scale models for future release. Please reserve by Monday, September 11.

Porsche 356 SL – 75th Anniversary Limited Edition

To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Porsche racing cars, we are glad to reproduce this special edition of the first Le Mans winner of catagory in 1951 – Limited Edition Series with guarantee paper included.

$280.00 Reserve HERE

BRM P153 (1970) – 4 versions offered – Above: BRM P153 – Pedro Rodriguez – 1970 Belgium Grand Prix

Lancia Stratos Turbo Gruppo 5 – 5 versions offered – Above: #598, Winner – Giro d’Italia 1976

Ferrari 410S – 4 versions offered – Above: #98 Carroll Shelby – Winner Palm Springs 1958

Ferrari Dino 156 F2 – Four versions offered – Above: #7 Wolfgang von Trips – Winner, 1960 Solitude GP

As Indycar closes out their 2023 season (Congratulations to Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing!) this weekend, the focus turns to 2024.

As announced earlier this year, Kyle Larson will attempt to ‘Do the Double’ next year with the support of Hendrick Racing, Arrow McLaren SP and Chevrolet. The livery for Larson’s Indy 500 ride has been made public and Greenlight has announced plans to produce a 1/18 scale replica to be released next spring.

$74.99, we are now accepting advance reservations HERE.

We will again be offering Greenlight’s popular 1/64 scale Indianapolis 500 Podium set ($24.99).

Reserve your set HERE.