Brooklands Members Talks

Driven to Crime. True stories of wrongdoing in motor racing.

The author Crispian Besley is in conversation with Harry Sherrard. People lie, cheat, steal and even kill for a variety of reasons, one of which is to go motor racing, a particularly expensive and egotistical sport. Join author Crispian Besley as he shares salacious tales from the track as featured in his award-winning book. ‘Driven to Crime’, was the result of years of research, and it encompasses not just those who have been ‘driven to crime’ in order to pay for their sport but also characters within motor racing who have been involved in wrongdoing. From true stories of deceit and crimes of drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement, robbery, fraud, murder, and money laundering, Crispian lifts the lid on his investigations and misdemeanours at all levels, from drivers, designers and mechanics to team owners, entrants, and sponsors.

Le Mans The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race 2000 - 2009, with the author John Brooks

BMtv's Gareth Tarr talks with the author John Brooks about the creation of this volume. Officially licensed with the ACO, the organisers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this authoritative book is the eighth title in Evro’s acclaimed decade-by-decade coverage of the world’s greatest motor race. As described by Motor Sport magazine, this multi-volume set covering every race since 1923 is ‘one of the modern age’s finest reference series’. Each year is exhaustively covered in magnificent photographs, a detailed and insightful commentary, and full results data. Written and photographed by an aficionado of Le Mans in the modern era, this latest instalment covering Audi’s decade of supremacy will be treasured by all enthusiasts of sports-car racing.

"Goldie – the amazing story of Alfred Goldie Gardner, the world's most successful speed record driver".

We welcome to Brooklands John Mayhead, award-winning author of "Goldie – the amazing story of Alfred Goldie Gardner, the world's most successful speed record driver". Despite suffering severe injuries in the First World War and ongoing disabilities, Goldie Gardner became a successful Brooklands racer between the wars. But it was his record-breaking that came to define him, driving diminutive MG based specials to a host of speed records before and after the Second World War. Of the book, one reviewer wrote "A captivating read which really transports you back to the sounds, smells and emotions of an early – and lethal – era of motorsport."

The Track Episode 57

In this episode Tim Morris looks at the recent Motor Proud LGBTQ+ event at Brooklands including Stories Uncovered and the Eikon charity and in the second half a tribute to Brooklands stalwart and legend Julian Grimwade who lost his life last Saturday whilst competing at Donnington Park

Shackleton - By Endurance We Conquer

Sir Ernest Shackleton became a national icon after venturing on four epic voyages of discovery to the Antarctic a century ago, including the famous HMS Endurance expedition. But after the Endurance was trapped by pack ice—and slowly succumbed to its crushing pressure—the expedition's fate, and that of its crew, looked bleak. Hundreds of miles from inhabited territory, and far from any shipping lanes, what followed is one of the greatest stories of endurance and survival ever told. The crew wouldn’t be rescued for more than a year and a half, but incredibly all 28 made it back alive. More than a century later, the wreck of the Endurance was finally located. In March 2022, a team of scientists released stunning images of the three-masted, wooden ship where it had lodged 10,000 feet deep at the bottom of the Antarctic. Our speaker is leading polar historian Michael Smith, who books have received wide critical acclaim and he is assisting with the development of a major international film about Shackleton.