Cliff Allison: From the Fells to Ferrari
"An absorbing book with wonderful period photographs ... A good read – the life of a first class racer but a countryman at heart." – Historic Grand Prix Cars AssociationSpeedscene, July 2008The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint associationDespite Cliff Allison’s substantial motorsport pedigree, particularly in sports cars and as a Ferrari Grand Prix works driver, he’ll perhaps go down in motor racing folklore as the man who, if the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix had lasted another lap, would probably have won both his and the Lotus 12’s first (and only) World Championship GP! As it was, towards the end of what was a relatively short ten-year career in motor racing, he never really achieved major status in Formula One even during his time with Ferrari. Brought up in Brough, in Westmorland, and based there all his life, it’s not surprising that Barbon hillclimb was a regular venue on his racing itinerary and he had some success there with the Cooper 500s that he raced regularly from 1951 up until, and even after, his association with Colin Chapman four years later (although his FTD in 1956 is not borne out by the Westmorland MC’s outright winners’ listing in every Barbon programme …) Once established at the wheel of Lotus sports cars and single seaters, Allison moved farther afield, eventually driving for Ferrari in F1 before returning to the Lotus marque in the privately-run UDT Laystall team. An accident at Spa in the 1961 Belgian GP finally prompted his retirement, but he remained in touch with his old racing acquaintances until his death from a heart attack in 2005. The little-known story of the racing career of this unassuming garage owner/farmer from the Cumbrian Fells, his base throughout his life, supported by many previously unpublished photographs from the Cliff Allison archive, is long overdue. Graham Gauld‘s welcome book fills a gap in the history of the long list of drivers who, although household names in their day to motorsport enthusiasts, never quite made the top flight.Club Lotus News, October 2008Magazine for Club Lotus, UKThis is a long overdue book about a tough yet unassuming man whose burning ambition was to race in Formula 1. Starting like so many others in the 1950s in a 500cc F3 Cooper, he soon began winning and joined up with Colin Chapman in 1955. He successfully raced Lotus Nine and Eleven sportscars and in 1957 won the coveted Index of Performance at Le Mans in 1957 with Keith Hall.  This was also the year he first drove a Lotus single-seater, the Mk 12 F2 car, which in 1958 took Lotus into F1 for the first time. The 12 was a difficult car but although Cliff struggled all season he scored Lotus' first World Championship points and his performances led to Ferrari making him an offer for 1959.  He was just beginning to establish himself as a Grand Prix driver when a bad accident at Monaco in 1960 ended his season. Cliff retired the following year after another big crash at Spa in a Lotus 18/21.  It's a fascinating read with many wonderful photographs from Cliff's private collection.