Racing in the Dark
eBook - ePub

Racing in the Dark

How the Bentley Boys Conquered Le Mans

  1. 320 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Racing in the Dark

How the Bentley Boys Conquered Le Mans

About this book

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RAC MOTORSPORT BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Glorious...gripping and sometimes tragic' Robbie Coltrane
The inspirational story of the Bentley Boys and Le Mans – the race they made their own.
Le Mans, 1927. W.O. Bentley peered into the dusk. His three cars, which had led from the start, were missing.Two years running he had failed to finish. Once again he was staring into a void. Racing, his shareholders told him, was a waste of money. This race looked like being his last. W.O's engineering skills had been forged on the Great Northern railway and in the skies of the First World War, where Bentley-powered Sopwith Camels took the fight to Germany's Red Baron.Determined to build and race his own cars, he assembled a crack team from all strata of 1920s Britain, from East End boys Leslie Pennal and Wally Hassan to multi-millionaires Woolf Barnato and Tim Birkin, men in search of adventures to blaze their way out of the dark past. They dedicated themselves to building the perfect road and racing car. In the hayloft above their workshop, the first Bentley was born and soon it was the car of choice for the fast-living upper classes. They raced at the fashionable Brooklands circuit and then set their sights on the fledgling 24 Hours Le Mans race. An audacious goal for a British car, yet the Bentley Boys rose to the challenge. But on that night in 1927, after the biggest crash in racing history claimed their cars, could they still pull it off and put British motor racing on the map? In the 1920s, Bentley Motors burned brightly but all too briefly; yet its tale, filled with drama, tragedy, determination and glory still shines a century on.

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Yes, you can access Racing in the Dark by Peter Grimsdale in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Simon & Schuster UK
Year
2021
Print ISBN
9781471198267
eBook ISBN
9781471198274

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. Le Mans Circuit (1923–28)
  6. Prologue: Duel on a Golf Course
  7. Chapter 1: Dangerous Men
  8. Chapter 2: Seven Tons of Coal
  9. Chapter 3: The Outlaws
  10. Chapter 4: Smiling Through the Dust
  11. Chapter 5: The Paperweight
  12. Chapter 6: ‘Le Virage du Mort’
  13. Chapter 7: A Savage Elation
  14. Chapter 8: Sent to Coventry
  15. Chapter 9: Dawn Patrol
  16. Chapter 10: The Morning Destroyer
  17. Chapter 11: The Invisible Foe
  18. Chapter 12: Out of the Firestorm
  19. Chapter 13: Best in Class
  20. Chapter 14: Market Fever
  21. Chapter 15: Bentley Boys Assemble
  22. Chapter 16: A Lovely Sound to Die to
  23. Chapter 17: The Song of Roland
  24. Chapter 18: Endangered Species
  25. Chapter 19: The Serpent of Speed
  26. Chapter 20: The Tourist Trophy
  27. Chapter 21: Leading from the Front
  28. Chapter 22: The Road to the Sarthe
  29. Chapter 23: The Birth of Endurance
  30. Chapter 24: Twice Round the Clock
  31. Chapter 25: Chasing the Phantom
  32. Chapter 26: Neck and Neck
  33. Chapter 27: A Presumably Respectable Doctor
  34. Chapter 28: Sound and Fury
  35. Chapter 29: A Diamond-Encrusted Spoon
  36. Chapter 30: That Bloody Thump
  37. Chapter 31: The Brooklands Squad
  38. Chapter 32: The Slug
  39. Chapter 33: Going All Out
  40. Chapter 34: The Desolation of W.O.
  41. Chapter 35: A Bit Like an Animal
  42. Chapter 36: Carnage at Maison Blanche
  43. Chapter 37: The Schoolboy and the Playboy
  44. Chapter 38: Full Throttle
  45. Chapter 39: Bentley v. Bentley
  46. Chapter 40: The Other Bentley Girl
  47. Chapter 41: The Real Bentley Boys
  48. Chapter 42: The Smile of the Tiger
  49. Chapter 43: ‘Les Camions Rapides’
  50. Chapter 44: The Maharajah’s Displeasure
  51. Chapter 45: Return of the Sphinx
  52. Epilogue
  53. Photographs
  54. Acknowledgements
  55. Endnotes
  56. Bibliography and Further Reading
  57. Index
  58. Copyright