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Digest 11

Published by JasonB on Mar 18, 2024

Our weekly catch up on what’s new in the world of slots!

Digest 11, with three BRM Opel Kadetts

Slot Cars

Available Now

Scalextric cars on sale
Fly Safari Rally Cars
NSR Mosler, a tribute to Salvatore Noviello

Coming Soon

Two BRM Opel Kadetts

In the Pipeline

Slot.it Datsun 510 prototype photos

Tracks & Scenery

Slot Rally Hill, a scenic slot track

Events

Slot car event posters

Videos

Photos

Slot.it Porsche 956, Le Mans 1986

Slot.it Porsche 956, Disneyland livery

Photos by Mamoru Teranishi

More Issues

Updates

On This Day in History…

19-03-1972Le Mans programme cover
21-03-1960Ayrton Senna, Brazilian racing driver and three time World F1 champion, born in São Paulo, Brazil
21-03-1981Racer Sideways ZakSpeed Capr
Racer Sideways ZakSpeed Capri - Jürgen Hamelmann, DRM, Zolder Bergischer Löwe, 1981
Nonfractal takes an in depth look at the Racer Sideways Group5 ZakSpeed Capri, modelled on the car driven to fifth at Zolder by Jürgen Hamelmann on this day in 1981.
Read the full review

Features

BRM, the Inside Story

Published by JasonB on May 5, 2023 in Features, Updates

BRM Logo
A selection of BRM photos

We have a new and fairly substantial motor racing history section which we’ve added to the site. It could be encapsulated by just three letters, BRM, but in truth the full story would make a decent sized  book.

Graham Hill and Monaco harbour

The inspiration for our new section came from a British Racing Motors team mechanic, Dennis ‘Sheriff’ Perkins who worked for the team for well over a decade from the mid 1950s onwards, and who took photos throughout his time with the team.

Dennis Perkins and othe BRM mechanics

Of course Perkins wasn’t a professional photographer, he was first and foremost a BRM mechanic. In fact he was so good at his job that he was elected to membership of the BRDC, being proposed by Graham Hill and seconded by Jackie Stewart.

Scenes from Spa Francorchamps

But he took photos of some important motor racing events, and he took his photos from a different angle to the press, or the spectators. He snapped his pics from behind the scenes, from the oil stained pit boxes, from the workshops, or even from the team transporter which he drove across the continent in his slippers.

The BRM transporters travel through the mountains

Through his photos we will tell the story of British Racing Motors, from the disastrous and all too obvious failings in the early days, through to being world champions and one of the most consistently successful teams in Formula One at their peak, before they were brought back down to earth with a bump, as the team declined.

BRM mechanics

BRM had always set out to match and beat the best in Formula One. To do that, they absolutely insisted that they should build their own engines as well as the chassis. They wanted to take Ferrari’s approach, and when it worked, it really worked, but when it didn’t, it really didn’t.

BRM cars and engine

Nowadays of course, we can expect a netflix documentary for every F1 race, no matter how insignificant. But in those days there were a very limited cohort of press reporters and photographers. So this little treasure trove of photos from the pit lanes and paddocks of the 1950s and 1960s are important.

Ferraris at Zandvoort

We’ve tried our best to tell the stories of not just BRM, but of the individual races for which we have photos, many of which have their own fascinating tales to tell.

Scenes from the Moroccan Grand Prix

We’ve tried to tell the story of the BRM drivers and the BRM cars. We’ve used a wide variety of sources for all of the information, including contemporary reports.

Graham Hill and Dan Gurney

We’ve also included slot track plans for every circuit, and a comprehensive list of BRM slot cars.

Track plan of Nurbrurgring and a Cartrix P25

So there you go, that’s a rough outline of what we’ve got for you, hope you enjoy having a look and a read.

Many thanks to John Perkins, son of Dennis, for his kind permission to use these photos. Many thanks also to Dennis ‘Sheriff’ Perkins himself, not just for his sterling work with BRM, but also for recording his time with the team.

BRM, the Inside Story