David Richards at Brooklands on 7th October 2025 talking about his life in Motorsport and Prodrive. David Richards CBE first gained prominence in motorsport by navigating Ari Vatanen to the World Rally Championship in 1981. David then established ProDrive which, over 40 years, has won events and championships across multiple motorsport disciplines including rallying, touring cars, Le Mans and Dakar. Colin McRae and Richard Burns both drove ProDrive cars to World Rally Championship success. In 1998 David became chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team and later was brought in to run the BAR Formula One team, guiding it to second place in the 2004 Formula One constructors championship, driven by Jenson Button. David continues to oversee ProDrive automotive and engineering projects, and combines this with chairing the Board of Motorsport UK.

In the pipeline for nearly a decade, 2025 saw the publication of "Formula 2 – The Glory Years". The book celebrates the wonderful era of the European Formula 2 Championship, which began in 1967 and concluded in 1984. Formula 2 pitted emerging heroes against the greats of the day and in its earlier years virtually all the top F1 drivers — names like Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson and Bruce McLaren — battled with young chargers in races that thrilled huge crowds at the best European circuits. We welcome to Brooklands Simon Taylor talking with Chris Chitty, Bob Constandurous and Ian Phillips who covered this epic era of motorsport. Double World Sportscar Champion and five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell is also part of the panel. Derek finished second in the 1970 European Formula 2 Championship driving a Brabham, and he also raced a works Ferrari in Formula 2.

BMtv's Gareth Tarr talks with Sir William's grandson Michael Quinn and author Giles Chapman about the compilation and delivery of the book. This is a Jaguar book with a difference. In 1969 Sir William Lyons gave an address to the Institute of the Motor Industry under the title ‘The History of the Jaguar and the future of the Specialised car in the British Motor Industry’. Delivered just after the launch of the seminal XJ6 saloon, it is a captivating personal account that explains how he built up Jaguar and what, in his view, made Jaguars special and distinctive. His extensive text forms the heart of this book, supported by a vivid array of archive photographs and rounded off with a preface by Michael Quinn (Sir William’s grandson) and an epilogue by Giles Chapman (the book’s originator and compiler) examining Sir William’s lasting legacy and the future of the great British brand he created. Here, uniquely, is the essence of Jaguar by the man who started it all, and who so rarely aired his thoughts in public.

Recorded at his home on 5th August 2025, Karl talks with BMtv's Gareth Tarr about his latest three volume set of books "POWER UNLEASHED. TRAILBLAZERS WHO ENERGISED ENGINES WITH SUPERCHARGING AND TURBOCHARGING". Award-winning author Karl Ludvigsen takes the reader behind the scenes of the roller-coaster ride of supercharging, turbocharging and even more exotic power-boosting inventions throughout automotive and aviation history. Supercharging in all its forms is the most exciting feature ever created to go under the bonnet of a motor car. Blowers were rare yet highly desirable devices in their early heyday of the 1920s and ’30s, an era in which compressors graced supremely glamorous and race-winning cars. They also won respect from aviators eager to exploit high altitudes. Prolific use of forced induction in the air in World War II brought forth the many engineering geniuses who populate these pages. Having seemed abandoned on land, supercharging found new acolytes who perfected blowers for road and track. They rescued the turbocharger to open new avenues for high-pressure boosting in the 1970s and ’80s. Into the 21st century turbocharging has found its way into more and more cars to enhance both performance and fuel efficiency. Power Unleashed is a three-volume work of astonishing depth and detail. Greatly respected for his ability to communicate information while telling a compelling story, Karl Ludvigsen explores the global saga of supercharging and turbocharging. Complete with reader-friendly technical descriptions and magnificent illustrations, he introduces the fascinating individuals who bet their businesses on boosting. This is a landmark work in the histories of the automobile and aeroplane.

Recorded at his home on 5th August 2025, Karl talks with BMtv's Gareth Tarr about his chequered career in the automotive industries and as an author spanning 60 years. In this part he talks about the Porsche, Mercedes and Ferrari book collections.

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.

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.

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."

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

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.

Lois Pryce is a British motorcyclist, adventurer, author, journalist and speaker. She quit her job with the BBC, passed her motorcycle test and rode 20,000 miles from Alaska to the tip of South America on a small dirt bike. Her next expedition saw her ride the length of Africa solo from London to Cape Town via the Sahara, Congo and Angola. Then came an epic 3000 mile solo motorcycle ride around Iran – a country where women are not even allowed to ride motorcycles. Lois' resulting book, Revolutionary Ride, was named a Book of the Year by National Geographic Traveller Magazine, describing it as a "joyful, moving and stereotype-busting tale." Lois is an ebullient and highly entertaining speaker, and we welcomed her to Brooklands to hear more about her incredible adventures.

Brooklands Members Talks Host Harry Sherrard talks with Ian Flux about his life in motorsport. Ian Flux never got biggest breaks to move him up the international motor racing ladder, but he did become one of British motorsport’s most colourful and best-loved characters, and someone who has always lived life to the full. Fluxie has notched up nearly 50 years on track, from being a mechanic to motorcycle racing legend Giacomo Agostini to his stints in Formula 3, Thundersports and the British Touring Car Championship in a wide range of tin-tops, and his championship double in 1996 – the TVR Tuscan Challenge and the British GT Championship, driving a McLaren F1 GTR. Fluxie tells it how it was, covering not only the highs — including five championship titles — but also the many setbacks. Along the way you’ll laugh with him about much of it, particularly the pranks, but also learn about some dark times that he has never previously divulged. Come and strap yourself in for an evening of lots of laughs!

John Tye, Concorde pilot and Brooklands volunteer talks with Alan Smith, Concorde test pilot about Alan's time working with Brian Trubshaw on 002 and Delta Golf during the 1970s.

Former land speed record holder Richard Noble returned to Brooklands to tell us about his new project, an attempt on the water speed record. Inspired by the exploits of John Cobb and his designer Reid Railton, the Thrust team has set out to break the current WSR of 317.596mph, which was set by Australian Ken Warby back in 1978. That the record has stood for so long indicates both the danger and the difficulty involved in mounting a challenge. Since that record was set, two challengers have died in the process. The Thrust WSH (water speed hydrofoil) team is therefore proceeding with maximum research and risk mitigation efforts. To produce a truly innovative design the team has access to advanced technologies and resources not available to earlier challengers.

Richard Noble came to Brooklands on the 23rd January to talk about his World Speed Records. In part one he recounts his land speed record challenges. What a story!

When Eric Fernihough lost control of his motorcycle at over 170mph, he was the last British rider to have been the ‘world’s fastest’ on two wheels. An orphan, an adopted son, a public schoolboy, a Cambridge graduate, an engineer, a noted tuner, a European motorcycle champion, a multiple Brooklands race winner, ‘Ferni’ was a motorcycling household name in the nineteen thirties. On a new road in far-away Hungary, he rode to his death on 23 April 1938. His life story, which this book tells, spanned more than thirty year’s of furious competition for the world’s absolute motorcycle speed record before World War 2. First in 1900 was a Frenchman on an American motorcycle. French motorcycles took the lead in 1902 until an American boardtrack rider rode his best ever at England’s Brooklands Motor Course in 1911. An English rider and machine promptly took the title back before the Americans recovered it. With the world at war, in 1916 an Australian was the fastest on a remote dirt road near Adelaide. After a short period of American supremacy on the sands of America’s Daytona Beach, Brooklands was the setting for more world’s record efforts before the long, straight roads of France became the new battleground. British riders and motorcycles were unbeatable until German technical ingenuity, and a BMW rider Ernst Henne, became dominant during the lean years of the Great Depression. Eric Fernihough set out to challenge this German hegemony. With supercharged big-twin JAP engines in Brough Superior motorcycles, he drove to the south of Budapest and set the absolute world’s motorcycle speed record there at 169.79mph in April 1937. Gilera-mounted Piero Taruffi just squeezed past him before Henne took the title again at 173.68mph. Back in Hungary, Fernihough was aiming for over 175mph when he crashed and was killed. Drawing on Fernihough’s personal papers and photographs at Brooklands Museum, the Mutschler collection in Germany, Henne’s private albums at the BMW archives and many other sources, this book has hundreds of never-before-published photographs and drawings. It is the first detailed history of the world’s absolute motorcycle speed record and the first biography of a great motorcycle rider. Most of the images are reproduced from 'Speed Monarch: the short life of Eric Fernihough and the world's motorcycle speed record' by Terry Wright which is published by Loose Fillings Publishing and can be ordered online at www.loosefillings.com or leading motoring booksellers. Credit to Katy Coubrough for the excellent image production as seen in the book.

Doug Nye is one of the world’s foremost motorsport journalists and authors. In 2023 he celebrated his 60th year as a racing journalist, having joined Motor Racing magazine in 1963. He went on to work for Motoring News and Motor Sport before going freelance. He remains a regular contributor to many racing and classic car publications in the UK and worldwide. He is the multiple award-winning author of more than 70 books covering motor sporting history. His books include works on Lotus, Cooper, BRM, Ferrari and McLaren, and biographies of pre-war British ace Dick Seaman, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jack Brabham, Phil Hill and Jim Clark. Doug is consultant historian to Goodwood Motorsport, and is one of the co-founders of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival Meeting. In much demand throughout the world for his unrivalled motorsport knowledge, we look welcome Doug to Brooklands for a most insightful and entertaining evening.

Max Chilton talks with Harry Sherrard about his fascinating and varied career in Motorsport. After starting his career in karts aged 10, Max Chilton progressed up the racing ladder through Formula 3 and GP2, reaching Formula One in 2013 with the Marussia team. He achieved the distinction of being the only driver to finish every race of his rookie season. A further season in Formula One followed, then Max moved stateside to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar series. In the 2017 Indianapolis 500, Max dominated the latter part of the race, leading 47 of the last 72 laps, ultimately finishing fourth. Further IndyCar seasons followed, before a switch to the World Endurance Championship, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. In June 2022, with a performance that anyone who witnessed it will never forget, Max took the electric McMurtry active-downforce car up the Goodwood hillclimb in 39.08 seconds, to set an astonishing new Festival of Speed shoot out record.

From bamboo biplanes to supersonic airliners and the pioneer designers who created them A History of Aviation at Brooklands in 100 Objects. The author Nigel Spooner writes; The book is a history of aviation at Brooklands in 100 objects that are arranged into seven episodes, each of which covers a particular era of that history. Choosing what to include and what to leave out has been a difficult task – there can be no such thing as a perfect list! The objects include aircraft, engines, places and many other elements that played a role in the transformation of Brooklands from a marshy water meadow to one of Europe’s largest aircraft factories. The intent with each one is not to indulge in too many technical details but rather to explore the stories and people behind them. I have also included relatively brief biographies on each of the six featured designers that are intended to show their personal contributions to the Brooklands history.

Although Derek never won in Formula 1, due to ill fortune and so often being in the wrong car at the wrong time, he did achieve the results he deserved in sports car racing, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Championship in 1992, plus finishing series runner-up with Jaguar in 1986 and 1991. In the twilight of his racing career, that world title was a fitting companion to the one he had earned as a short-track oval racer nearly 20 years earlier. Derek Warwick has been a popular and highly respected figure in motor racing for nearly 50 years, known for his tough and determined personality as well as his talent and bravery behind the wheel. He was always a fan favourite for his humility and straightforwardness, which earned him respect and admiration from the motorsports world. Now, with characteristic honesty and humour, his forthcoming book will tell his inspiring story in a memoir that holds nothing back, published by EVRO.