Johnny Tipler

[For SpeedReaders.info]

La Carrera Panamericana: “The World’s Greatest Road Race!”
by Johnny Tipler

When you talk to participants of La Carrera Panamericana, you hear nothing but good things about this book—and they ought to know!

After briefly interrupting his journalistic activities by going back to school to study art history and doing a stint as conservator of medieval wall paintings author Tipler returned to the world of tire smoke and wrote over 30 marque-specific books and racing biographies since 1990 and edited or contributed to a string of magazines. And he certainly has the street cred to write a book like this. In 2006 and 2007 he accompanied the Panam as a journalist, trading rides in the press van for the occasional hitch in a service crew vehicle, which put him about as close to the action as you can get short of participating yourself.

The original race ran only from 1950-1954 before being suspended until 1988 and was invented to celebrate the opening of the Mexican section of the Panamerican Highway that runs from Alaska to Argentina. Two thousand miles in five (now seven) days, traversing the length of Mexico as an “open test of speed,” the race was hard on man and machine—and still is. Tipler devotes almost a third of the book to the early years in an easygoing travelogue style, describing the Panam’s origins, modalities, and conditions. The many period photos are of great interest and accompanied by posters, brochures, book covers, maps, race results, and even a few photos of some of the old cars in their restored state, sometimes even with the same drivers from yesteryear (in their not so restored state). All the photos are credited and the selection gives a good impression of the types of cars, the camaraderie on the road, the hundreds of thousands of spectators cheering the cars on, and the atmosphere and even the vastness of the landscape. Several interviews with the luminaries of the day—such as Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, John Fitch, Hans Herrmann— and other personnel make the story personal.

The modern races make up the bulk of the book. The 1988–2005era is dispensed with in all of 15 pages that detail the new route/s, new format, new rules, and new cars including a few words about building your own Panam warrior. Readers new to rallying will appreciate the excellent portrayal of the dynamic between driver and navigator, the cockpit interaction, and the supreme importance of pace notes. (If you thought the navigator is just there for ballast, prepare to be impressed.) This section, short as it is, lays the groundwork for the in-depth day-by-day coverage of the 2006 and 2007 events that follows. From uncrating the racecars to scrutineering and from briefings to banquets, the story paints a picture of the hubbub of pre-race activities and then portrays the rally day by day. The photos follow the text fairly closely but not all the delectable cars mentioned in the text are shown. Who wouldn’t want to see a Facel Vega with a Porsche engine! The photos are large, colorful, and as in the historic section give a gripping overall sense of the flavor of the race. There’s much going on and one only wishes Tipler could be in more than one place at a time. Many of the photos are full-page and the layout and typography are fresh and smart. One thing that no amount of words can describe are the vast elevation changes—from sea level to over 10,500 feet—and a graph overlaid on the map would have driven that point home very well.

Not to forget, the inspired foreword is by Jo Ramirez, a la Carrera participant himself who cut his teeth working as mechanic to his countrymen Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez in the 1960s before becoming a test driver for several motor racing teams, including Dan Gurney’s Eagle squad, and then team coordinator for McLaren’s F1 operation. A quiet man but a Big Name in the racing world. After his first Panam he ruminated, “It’s a damn shame we have to wait another year to come back to heaven.”

And you won’t be able to wait to turn the page and read all about it.

Appended are race results for the top five finishers in each class 1950-2007 and Resources (books, films, etc.); the index is very good with people, car, and place names but light in every other regard.

Copyright 2010, Sabu Advani (speedreaders.info).

La Carrera Panamericana: “The World’s Greatest Road Race!”
Johnny Tipler
Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2008 http://www.veloce.co.uk
272 pages, 350 color & b/w photos
List Price: $89.95/£45
ISBN-13: 978-1-84584-170-6

Together with editor Caroline and photographer Jason I drove an Evora to Geneva last week. It was painted ‘brown’ and fitted with ski racks to replicate the James Bond (Roger Moore) Esprit in ‘For Your Eyes Only’ so they could make a promo video in the snows of Chamonix (not Cortina where the film was set). It wasn’t just a drive story for the Lotus magazine; a big action was planned including other lifestyle journos and the promo. Caroline drove another Evora down and Jason brought a Galaxy pursuit car. This caused problems when the regular tyres it was fitted with couldn’t grip on the snowy backroads the GPSs had routed us on northwest of Geneva. So I had to buy ‘chausettes’, socks that cover the tyres and give instant grip, like chains but easier to get on and off. Fab hotel, the Hotel d’Angleterre overlooking Lake Geneva – fab prices too.
We did a recce down to Serre Chevalier ice racing stadium near Briancon, a 3 hour drive from Geneva, where I’d been two years earlier covering the Historic Monte Carlo Rally. Next day we went over to Argentiere past Chamonix to do some statics of the blue and 007 brown cars, plus tracking shots on snowy roads. By now we’d swapped the Galaxy for an A4 quattro, a much better piece of kit.
Next day was driving day and I co-drove journo Jenny Forsyth from City AM paper on a route to Morzine ski resort, via lakeside Evian-les-Bains where the bottled water comes from: source could be a fountain in the town, or maybe just from the lake!
Saturday was an early start down to Serre Chevalier again, with Matt Becker and Andreas Maener from Lotus and another Evora. The hotel concierge had wrecked the 007 car’s ski rack and rear clamshell by putting it through a carwash instead of cleaning it by hand. Lotus flew out someone to mend it as it was crucial to their promo plans this week. So we put studded Pirellis on the blue car and black one Andreas brought from Germany, and one by one the assembled party got to skate around the stadium. Top fun! Then snapper Jason slipped on an icy path and snapped his leg and ankle and got taken to hospital.
Lotus made arrangements to fly him home on Sunday with me as carer. And that was fine till we got to third world Stansted where they tried to amputate his leg with a lift door instead of a machete. Poor sod will need pinning and plating. An interesting week, where Murphy was definitely on the guest list, uninvited or not.

Spent most of last week on the trail of the Historic Monte Carlo Rally in a ginger Porsche 997 C4 Targa. Covering for Octane, 911 & Porsche World, Classic Cars, Autosport and other on-make mags.
341 starters, 271 finishers, amazing Ardeche gorges, cloudless blue skies, snow and ice on the high stages. Stars were Bjorn Waldegaard and Lars Helmer in a pair of 911s (paired with Hans Sylvan and Mauritz Lange respectively) who won the Monte for Porsche in 1969 and 1970. Snapper Fraser and I joined the Swedish contingent for dinner in Valence two nights, then away at 6.00am to make the first service halt down the Route Napoleon on the way down to Monaco. Some sunset snappery of our 911 high above Monte Carlo, then up to Col de Turini to catch the night stages. Amazing never-ending hairpins up and down – and so cold! 12 hour drive back to Calais via Route Napoleon again (for more photos).
Called to interview Henry Pearman en route back home – he just bought 3 ex-works Lotus Cortinas plus another one used in the Great Train Robbery.

Together with photographer Antony Fraser I took the new Porsche 911 Turbo across northern England to Scotland’s central lowlands the week before Christmas. Our trip coincided with the first snows of winter, and the Cheviot hills were barely visible in the blizzards. Photographing the car was prefixed by first cleaning the salt off it, then drying off a fresh dump of snow. Worth it though. Snow-laden firs, drystone walls defining white-out hillsides presented innumerable Christmas card scenes. Heading back across the ungritted Northumbrian and Cumbrian moorland roads up around Alston gave me the chance to test the Porsche’s four-wheel drive and traction control systems to the full – great fun. It was a Cabriolet and when the sun shone we had the top down, heater cranked up and sheepskins to the fore, much to the amusement of local farmers. Good gig, home before the holiday chaos.

Spent four days with an Evora driving the Suffolk lanes, visiting the local honeypots for a Lotus Club International magazine write-up. Snape Maltings in the rain, Sunrise at Southwold by the fishermen’s huts, and Dunwich in the sunset. And a thorough soaking for good measure. Orford, Lavenham and Newmarket were other highlights.