My first visit to Donington Park motor racing circuit was as an 11 year old lad, with my father. It was a rather prestigious meeting, organized by Derby & District Motor Club, the 1938 Donington Grand Prix. It was the fourth time Donington had held such an event, and obviously, the last time a race of this magnitude was held in the UK until after World War II. There had been some difficulty with its organization as it had been called off. However, Mr. Chamberlain, our Prime Minister returned to London from Germany famously announcing the infamous words “peace in our time,” and all was back on. Mercedes, Auto Union, Delahaye, and Maserati came from overseas. ERA, MG, Riley, and Alta made up the British contingent. Tazio Nuvolari won the race in his Auto Union. The crowds were completely spellbound by his race craft, thus leaving me superbly impressed. My burning ambition was to be a racer, just like Nuvolari. I distinctly remember returning home and putting pieces of cardboard onto the forks of my bicycle. When I rode it, it made, to me, the sound of Nuvolari’s car. I was Nuvolari for the next couple of weeks.
John Rhodes
My father was interested in motorsport and that led me to becoming a mechanic. Apart from my dream of being Nuvolari, realistically that is what I always wanted to do. The first step of my dream to becoming a racing driver was when, in 1958, I raced a Turner owned by John Handley in various speed events and hill climbs. My racing career really started in Formula Juniors with the Midland Racing Partnership. For one year I drove with Alan Evans. Alan was a super guy who was studying to be an accountant. He got a bit stressed out, as you would say nowadays. We were in our local pub one day when Alan’s doctor walked in. He told him he should do something other than studying. I knew John Cooper was building a kit for a Formula Junior. I suggested to Alan that he buy the kit, I would build it, and we would share the drive. The first time out at Oulton Park was the end for Alan. He said, “I’m not going through that again…through Gerard’s at that speed with 30 others around me.” So I had the drive for the rest of the year. It gave me tremendous opportunities.
