Reg Parnell - The Quiet Man Who Helped to Engineer Britain's Post-war Motor Racing Revolution

A gruff Derbyshire pig farmer, Reg Parnell cut a distinctive figure in motorsport circles. His early wild driving style and a serious accident at Brooklands with a K3 MG led to the withdrawal of his racing licence by the RAC from 1937 to 1939. But, nothing daunted him, and ever the wheeler dealer , he kept faith with the sport, buying up unwanted racing cars like the BHW Bugatti ,and ERAs selling them to form the basis of Britain's post-war racing revival. A tireless supporter of British motor racing in the post war era when the Italian teams dominated, he ran an ERA and had Wilkie Wilkinson mechanic for him. He raced both a 4CL and 4CLT Maserati, as well as building his own racing car the Challenger, fitted with a prewar straight eight Delage engine to try to put Britain on the grand prix map. Teaming up with Count Lurani in Italy, he competed abroad for Scuderia Ambrosiana, and raced a factory Alfa Romeo 159, an original V16 BRM, a Connaught, and Aston Martins from the DB2 onwards. Pamell retired from racing in 1957. As team manager he took Aston Martin into Formula 1, and later ran the Yeoman Credit team, helped by his son Tim. Superb at spotting new talent he gave Jim Clark, John Surtees and Mike Hailwood their first taste of grand prix driving, brought Chris Amon over from New Zealand and, before his tragically early death in 1964 at the age of 53, formed his own team, Reg Parnell Racing. Graham Gauld has spent more than 40 years as a journalist, biographer, and historian of cars and motorsport. This book, written with Tim Pamell, includes details of letters, papers and contracts never before published.