Between 1962 and 1973, Rainer W. Schlegelmilch attended not only Formula 1 but also the great endurance races of this golden era: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1000 km Nürburgring, Targa Florio and many more. The master photographer has compiled a completely new selection of images from this huge archive of that period, 90% of which have never been published before!
Title is program
The title unmistakably reveals who the book was conceived for: Racing enthusiasts with a penchant for endurance classics during the most horsepower-heavy decade !
The chapters are either dedicated to a racing series or show photos of a particular racing legend:
- Le Mans, Nürburgring, Targa Florio, Monza, Spa, Brands Hatch, Österreichring, Watkins Glen, International Race of Champions, Can-Am (Canadian-American Challenge Cup)
- Jo Siffert, Pedro Rodriguez, Brian Redman, Phil Hill, Hans Herrmann, Jacky Ickx
- Ferdinand Piëch, Henri Pescarolo, John Wyer, Enzo Ferrari
Beautiful and comprehensive
The landscape-format book of around 540 pages is printed on thick, large-format paper (290 x 238 mm), the colors are vibrant and the layout with photos that mostly fill the pages really sets the scene.
From 1962 to 1968, the major teams and drivers are shown in black and white and from 1969 in color. Texts about drivers and team bosses are offered in eight languages.
This concentrated load of unique photos from the wildest motorsport era combined with the attractively low price of 30 euros makes the book a real hit, a "must have" for all those who already have similar books on their shelves.
For whom is the book interesting?
You may not be interested in photography and therefore not know Rainer W. Schlegelmilch: After studying photography in Munich, he set up his own studio in Frankfurt and concentrated on his passion, motorsport. Formula 1 and the races of the Sports Car World Championship became Schlegelmilch's stage. Today, nobody would argue with the claim that Rainer W. Schlegelmilch is the world's most important motorsport photographer. His influence on other photographers is also clearly recognizable. Schlegelmilch: a name that motorsport fans should know.
In the foreword to the book, Jacky Ickx describes very aptly why Rainer W. Schlegelmilch is one of the world's best motorsport photographers: "He always managed to give any subject a story, to bring it to life, he was almost always in the right place at the right time, every photo seems composed and well thought out and, last but not least, Schlegelmilch became famous for his special pull-and-zoom technique:
By now at the latest, it should be clear that the book is not an encyclopedia of the golden motorsport era and can serve as a basis for research. "Sportscar Racing" is a photo book and is one of the best about that era! Although the accompanying texts are informative, they are far from complete, which was certainly not the intention.
This photo book is also impressive because the selection of pictures is extremely varied and you can discover more and more familiar faces as you leaf through it. A delight for photo lovers!
1962 to 1973
Rainer W. Schlegelmilch explains his fascination with those years in the foreword:
1000-km races on the Nürburgring, 24 Hours of Le Mans, what magic emanates from these concepts: Car brands such as Ferrari, Porsche, Ford and model names such as 250LM, 512S, 908, 917 and GT40 stand for unforgettable material battles, hard-won successes but also human tragedies.
Huge starting fields, divided into performance classes, led by the technically advanced prototypes through to well-trimmed everyday sports cars in the GT class, ensured that the races were close to the people and provided long-lasting excitement.
After 1973, everything changed...
Book information
- Order the book 'Sportscar Racing 1962-1973' here
- Price approx. 30 Euro (incl. postage, duty free delivery)
- ISBN 978-3-86407-057-0
- 290 x 238 mm
- 800 photos on 540 pages
- Texts in English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish
- Foreword by Jacky Ickx
- Other texts by David Tremayne
- Published by Frechmann Kolón GmbH
