[Magazines] Motorsports history magazine

[bmhb]

In Britain there is a monthly magazine about formula one and sportscar races of the past. I have seen it in a little store here in Germany but I can´t remember the name of the magazine. Can anybody help me out?

[diz]

Motor Sport ?

[John Turner]

I'm with diz; certainly seems likely that it's MotorSport.

[Alan Raine]

I think it's Motorsport as well but for some reason it isn't as widely available in the shops as it used to be.

It's published by Haymarket (same as Autosport).

[bmhb]

Yes, that´s the one I was looking for
Thanks alot!

Does anybody know where I can buy this year`s back issues?

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by bmhb

Yes, that´s the one I was looking for
Thanks alot!

Does anybody know where I can buy this year`s back issues?

Haymarket Back Issues
Tel: 08456 777819
Fax: 08456 775555

[Remus]

Just subscibed to MSport after 20 years of occasional reading (one of my wifes more inspirational gifts) and really enjoying it. Glad to see Marcus Simmonds (sp?) has taken over editorial, and along with N Roebuck, G Watkins etc seems to have a good line up of writers. More depth than ASport, even though A Rowlinson and M Hughes seem on form at the moment.
I cant really get to grips with the original editor, W Body (again sp???), maybe it is that rather pompus looking photo they use, or maybe I'm just from the wrong era. I'm interested in his subject, but just find him rude somehow.
Sadly I think the time has come to end the weekly Thursday love affair with AS and just stick with MS and TTenths etc.

[John Turner]

It's William (Bill) Boddy; the picture is quite a severe one, but he is at least 80 years old now. He seems very much 'old school tie' and a bit brusque in manner with his writing, but motor racing enthusiasts and historians are mightily in his debt for this lifelong passion that has kept his pen to paper for over 60 years.

[TimD]

I might add that when I wrote to him as a cub of an enthusiast asking for some specific details about Brooklands, he sent a charming and helpful letter by return, in spite of having just suffered a family bereavement.

I'll always be in WB's debt for the volumes and volumes of good stuff he has set in print over the years. Not a week goes by without my diving into an old Motor Sport for some nugget or other even now. I'm more than happy to make allowances if his current output seems a little unfocused.

[Alan Raine]

Bill Boddy reminds me of the late John Bolster. An absolute enthusiast for Vintage motoring and a head full of facts and anecdotes. I find his articles are perhaps dated in style but they add to the balance of the magazine. A good contrast to the more modern stuff.

[Pete Fenelon]

I admire WB's scholarship and vast depth of experience, but I have increasingly found his articles rambling and unfocussed. WB's section of MS reads like it's essentially unedited - he writes whatever he likes about whatever subject happens to capture his enthusiasm that month, regardless of whether it's of interest to the magazine's readership. He's also been making a lot of "real" political comment since Labour were elected in '97, and it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to infer his own voting preferences from this. (Was he the same pre-79? - I don't have any older copies of MS around).

I think it's great that WB's still out there, and I think there is nobody in the world who knows the early history of British racing (specifically Brooklands - his history of it sets a benchmark for sheer depth of research) in anything like the same level of detail.

But that should not make him immune to being subbed like any other writer; I've read WB articles that essentially consist of nothing more than lists of Brooklands handicap results, which are probably of interest to WB and maybe two or three of his VSCC pals. He's always going to be writing about a specific niche of racing history, but as a revered contributor to the magazine it should be working with him to make his vast knowledge of racing's early years accessible to most of its audience.

[John Turner]

By coincidence, the March issue of The Automobile, carries a letter from Bill Boddy, in which he reveals that his first article was published in MotorSport (when it was called The Brooklands Gazette) in 1927 when he was 14! That makes him 93, this year! He 'ran' Motorsport from 1932. He handed the editorship over to Simon Arron during the course of 1991. The current issue of MotorSport lists the founding editor as 'Bill Boddy, MBE'.

[Pete Fenelon]

Originally Posted by John Turner

By coincidence, the March issue of The Automobile, carries a letter from Bill Boddy, in which he reveals that his first article was published in MotorSport (when it was called The Brooklands Gazette) in 1927 when he was 14! That makes him 93, this year! He 'ran' Motorsport from 1932. He handed the editorship over to Simon Arron during the course of 1991. The current issue of MotorSport lists the founding editor as 'Bill Boddy, MBE'.

I don't for a moment begrudge WB's contributions to Motor Sport - but I don't think he should be immune to the normal editing process. WB has a remarkable memory and can still be an evocative and informative writer, but there's not enough focus in a lot of his pieces these days. I don't even mind his discursive style, but I like there to be a point to an article!

[John Turner]

Pete, my post was by way of information; I wasn't disputing your view!

[ss_collins]

WB wrote to me when I was researching my first book - nice chap. Live out in Wales. But just how old is he?

[Pete Fenelon]

93, as was mentioned further up the thread.