Thursday 18th February 2021

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies

Rootes Maestros “In their own words.”

With over 140 books to his credit, following a lifetime in the automobile industry and sport as engineer, competitor and journalist, any book written by serial author Robson is worth reading, but Rootes Maestros “In their own words.” – originally published in 2008 – surpassed expectations and provides lots of rich content for students of post-war racing and rallying endeavours by British motor manufacturer works teams.


During the austerity of the immediate post-war period, no one motor manufacturer held a monopoly of success in international competition and to scan through the results of this era shows an eclectic mix of European manufacturers and models, with British teams coming to the fore as the 1950s progressed into the 1960s, Rootes achieving more than their share of these successes.

The book charts the progress of the team, first led first by Norman Garrad – himself a competent rally driver – followed by ex-BMC manager Marcus Chambers, and lastly former Rootes development engineer Des O’Dell, who in turn operated a competitive works team on a tight budget from what first started as a talented group of resourceful, and financially independent, amateur drivers.

Set against a background of modest ‘competitions department’ budgets, the Rootes family were never passionate motorsport fans, but became aware of marketing opportunities that followed success on iconic events, at glamorous locations, against teams fielded by international competitors. Generally, the Coventry-based manufacturer made good use of the resulting publicity success, and sometimes failure, provided.


Spanning over 20 years, the Rootes team scored regular success on the Monte Carlo, Tulip and Alpine Rallies as well as Sebring and Le Mans, using regular drivers such as Peter Harper, Andrew Cowan, Sheila Van Damm and Rosemary Smith. They were joined on some blue riband events by celebrity drivers such as Peter Collins, Ivor Bueb, Mike Hawthorn, and Stirling Moss, the most celebrated with successes on the Alpine and Monte Carlo rallies, and all remunerated by humble retainers. Such was the attitude to sport.


Racing success meant Rootes could claim their second-generation Sunbeam Alpine was a class winner at Le Mans – even though the subsequent V8 Tiger was an unmitigated disaster – as well as international touring car racing class success for the Sunbeam Rapier and Hillman Imp. In fact, during the final years of Rootes, before becoming Chrysler, a George Bevan-prepared Rallye Imp won the prestigious class-based British Saloon Car Championship outright on three consecutive years, 1970-72, driven by Bill McGovern.

Possibly, Rootes’ most high-profile motorsport success, although perhaps never fully exploited for its unique publicity value, was overall victory on 1968’s gruelling 16,000-mile London to Sydney Marathon. Using a well-prepared four-door Hillman Hunter rep-mobile the talented, resilient and resourceful trio of Cowan, Malkin and Coyle took on the world’s best, and better funded, rally teams – and won against the odds!

Your reviewer is notoriously pernickety but, regardless of a few irritating typos, this compelling 350-page tome arranged in 22 clearly defined chapters, enables readers to select eras, events, and cars at will, rather than read right through. Complete with countless unique images, this is a good value hard back book.

Rootes Maestros “In their own words.”
Written by Graham Robson
ISBN: 978-1-903088-46-3
Published by Mercian Manuals, Coventry
Price £34.95