EDWARD TURNER BLUE PLAQUE EVENT

The weather was fine encouraging mass support on Sunday afternoon and London ITV news covered the event on their 6pm news programme that evening. Veloce author John Rosamond and Tony Benn were among the guest speakers at the event which marked the unveiling of the Edward Turner plaque by Edward Turner Junior at 8 Philip Walk, Peckham, London SE15.





John Rosamond and Edward Turner Junior.

The Plaque top left

Erum Waheed, whose two year campaign helped bring about the blue plaque event. John Rosamond & Mayor of Southwark – Cllr Jeff Hook.



Tony Benn (courtesy Pierre Drown)

John Rosamond, Erum Waheed and Duncan Saunders who also made a speech as the Daimler representative. (courtesy Pierre Drown).



John Rosamond's speech



Edward Turner - the man behind the motorcycles

By Jeff Clew.

The deeply researched biography of the man who was probably the most important individual in the history of the British motorcycle industry.

In the words of Triumph's famous sales slogan, Edward Turner designed "The Best Motorcycle in the World". Records details of all the world famous motorcycles designed by Edward Turner. More info.

MICHAEL OLIVER INTERVIEW - TALES FROM THE TOOLBOX

Tales from the Toolbox – A collection of behind-the-scenes tales from Grand Prix mechanics
By Michael Oliver.
Foreword by Sir Jackie Stewart OBE
A unique collection of behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes as told, in their own words, by former Grand Prix mechanics who have worked at the top level of the sport during the past 50 years.
More info.

STOCK NEWS: RACING FOR MERCEDES-BENZ NOW IN PRINT!

How to handle chicanes: Victory for Lewis Hamilton at Monaco in 2008, a key component in his successful world championship campaign.

Image taken from Racing for Mercedes-Benz – A Dictionary of the 240 Fastest Drivers of the Marque.
By Hartmut Lehbrink
From the vast number of drivers who have competed for Mercedes-Benz and its ancestors in the past 115 years, legends such as Hermann Lang, Karl Kling, Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher stand out. However, history should not forget all those other works drivers and privateers whose exploits added to the fame of the company at the wheel of formula, sports racing and touring cars; drivers whose names have often unjustly faded from view. Famous or obscure, the 240 fastest of these drivers are presented in this volume, which has been compiled in close co-operation with Mercedes-Benz Classic. More info.

WELL DONE JENSON!

Image source: BrawnGP News

Congratulations to Jenson Button as he yesterday became the 10th British driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship.
The 29-year-old recovered from 14th to finish fifth in Sao Paulo to take the title. An achievement that puts him up there with last year's winner Lewis Hamilton, and also the likes of Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell and Sir Jackie Stewart in the coveted Hall-of-Fame.

Jenson, started his motor-racing career in karting, up the road at the Clay Pigeon Kart Club near Dorchester, which he joined at the age of eight, winning his first competitive race in 1989.

Chairman Mike Wellington said: “He won in his first year as a cadet and quickly went on to win British and European championships.

“We’re very proud of our association with him from his earliest days of racing.” Read the full story here.

Click here to head over to the sign up page and receive November's edition of the Veloce Publishing On the Grid newsletter. Get the chequered flag by being the first to find out about new Veloce books, news, offers and competitions. This month we are offering a huge discount on Veloce books exclusively to subscribers to the newsletter. Sign up now to find out what we will be offering to our readers next month!

NEW VELOCE SERIES - TRUCKMAKERS

Trucks - lorries if you prefer - are the Cinderellas of the automotive publishing world with just a handful of magazines devoted to the subject and a paltry number of books. Veloce intends to put this injustice to rights with its new Truckmakers series, each book putting an individual brand under the spotlight in a highly illustrated format.

Great value for money, these books are packed with pictures, facts and feats, and will build into a superb truck reference library!

Coming soon!
DAF TRUCKS since 1949
By Colin Peck.
This book chronicles the fascinating first 80 years of DAF’s history, from being a small Dutch trailer manufacturer through to its acquisition by US truck giant Paccar, and the development of the company to its present position as the top-selling truck in the UK and a major global brand. Buses, cars and army trucks are also covered, as well as details of how DAF has worked with various other truck makers, such as Leyland, International Harvester, Renault, RABA and GINAF, making the book essential reading for truck enthusiasts everywhere. More info.

AUTO HEADLINES: IN THE NEWS

Peer pressure putting unprepared young drivers at greater risk on UK roads

Peer pressure, not wearing seatbelts and poor training are all major factors in the numbers of young drivers killed on the nation’s roads, according to new research by insurance giant Aviva.

A third of 17-21-year-olds admitted to driving differently when they have more than one friend in the car.

The research took an in-depth look at young motorists’ behaviour and their attitudes to driving in a bid to better understand why they drive the way they do.

And the findings help to explain why young driver deaths and accidents are declining more slowly than all other driver groups’ year on year, according to The Department for Transport 2008 statistics, says Aviva.

The results reveal that young drivers are dangerously influenced by peer pressure when driving with friends in the car, with:

* One in five (21%) paying less attention to the road
* A quarter (24%) taking their hands off the wheel
* 15% performing illegal driving manoeuvres.

The report also highlights that some young drivers are unprepared for driving, with one in 10 (9%) admitting that they wouldn’t have awarded themselves a licence when they passed their test.

According to the young drivers questioned, one in four (27%) only had paid driving lessons with no practice time and even more worrying is that the results indicate that some driving schools may be priming students to merely pass their test, with one in five (19%) young drivers having only practiced on the driving test route with their instructor, it is claimed.

Nigel Bartram, Aviva motoring expert, said: “Young drivers remain the age group with the highest proportion of insurance claims, accidents and fatalities on our roads.”

The largest proportion of Aviva claims costs for young drivers are for injuries rather than vehicle damage with 58% of the cost of all young driver claims consisting of personal injury costs, mainly to friends of the young driver being carried as passengers.

“In order to reduce these statistics young drivers and passengers alike need to take personal responsibility for their own actions - this means wearing a seatbelt at all times regardless of who is in the car, driving with fewer passengers and not conforming to peer pressure whilst behind the wheel,” said Mr Bartram.

“If young drivers take this advice on board and drive more responsibly we have every reason to expect the number of claims will reduce and claims costs will fall. If we see reduction in our claims costs for young drivers we expect that our premiums for younger drivers should fall in line with this.” (Aviva: October 13).

DREAM RIDES GET THE 'NOD' AT THE CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW

Fundraising extraordinaires The Sporting Bears Motor Club will be bringing their popular ‘Dream Rides’ feature to the Classic Motor Show at Birmingham’s NEC (13-15 November) offering the public the chance of a passenger ride in their dream car in exchange for a charitable donation.



Visitors can make an agreed minimum donation to the Sporting Bears and in exchange will be able to experience an 8-10 mile ride in a variety of cars. As in previous years, marques such as rare Lamborghinis, Ferraris, TVRs, Jaguars, and Morgans are expected to be on offer. Classics from yesteryear will mix with modern supercars and those destined to be icons of motoring history to provide a mouth watering choice.



Each day between 60-80 cars are expected on display in the Sporting Bears Dream Rides garage in Hall 2. A 1930 eight litre Bentley will rub shoulders with a stunning Jaguar XJ220 whilst a ferocious Lola T70 will try to outdo a 1934 Lagonda with its exhaust sounds.



Those whose bedroom walls have been adorned with posters of an Italian supercar stand a good chance of finding their Dream Ride ready and waiting as do those who crave the more British feel of a Morgan or Jaguar E-Type. With over around 100 cars expected for the duration of the show, there should be something for everyone with donations starting at a very affordable £10.



And whilst legally the Bears are unable to offer rides for anyone under six-years-old, there is even the opportunity for some lucky people to go for a ride with ‘Just NOD’ in his bright red and yellow car reminiscent of Toy Town and the lovable children’s story book characters. Purchased by Just NOD around a year ago the Acrea Zest, with its 505cc Lambardini engine has a top speed of around 60 mph and has provoked amazing interest from people aged eight to eighty and the road legal car has the appropriate registration JU57 NOD.

For more information, visit www.necclassicmotorshow.com.