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<\/a>What is it and where is it? All part of the legend of \u201cThe Racers\u201d. <\/em><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Zealous car hunters and restorers have long ago discovered the chassis numbers, whereabouts, and current fate of the Maseratis, Ferraris and HWM that were the stars of the legendary 1954 classic movie \u201cThe Racers\u201d. <\/p>\n But there was one car that had a small role in the movie and was perhaps as beautiful as the female lead in the movie, Bella Darvi. And now, that too, has been discovered.<\/p>\n Or so we think. Find out next week and perhaps our readers can help us determine if it\u2019s the real thing. In the meantime, with image artist, writer and photographer Peter Darnall\u2019s help we offer up this story about the book and the movie to provide some background to the recent find. <\/em><\/p>\n Yes, Darvi was actually that beautiful. Trouble was, she couldn\u2019t act<\/em>.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Although Hollywood had dabbled in racing movies before 1955, none had ever used the European racing scene as a backdrop; no Hollywood director had carried the cameras to the Nurburgring or to Spa or the Mille Miglia until 20th Century Fox decided to film a movie based on a novel, \u201cThe Racer,\u201d by writer\/racedriver Hans Ruesch, which had appeared as a hardback and -paperback in 1953. Alfa Romeo-owning Ruesch himself was a true character, and Peter Darnall will tell us more about him in a future article. Here, Darnall recalls when he first got his hands a copy of Ruesch\u2019s \u201cThe Racer\u201d only to have it rudely taken away:<\/p>\n There are a few books that are just special. My copy of \u201cThe Racer\u201d falls into this category and it sits in a place of honor. The book is quite worn now. The scotch tape holding the torn jacket together is brittle and has turned yellow with age. The \u201cEx Libris\u201d stamp with my name on it is still there proudly displayed on the inside of the front cover. Good thing\u2014I probably wouldn\u2019t have the book today if that stamp hadn\u2019t been there. Let\u2019s start in the beginning.<\/p>\n It seems like only yesterday, but it was 62 years ago. The spring of 1954, to be exact, and I was fifteen years old at the time. I can still remember the bookstore owner\u2019s disapproving frown as he followed me to the magazine rack and watched me take down the latest issue of \u201cPhotography\u201d magazine. Out of the corner of my eye, however, I caught a glimpse of something interesting. I put the unopened magazine back on the shelf and walked over to the new book display. It was the book\u2019s cover that had drawn me like a magnet\u2014an artist\u2019s rendition of race cars against a background of a winding road racing circuit. What a find! My whole world revolved around sports cars and road racing at that time. I paid the $1.50 hardcover price and walked out with my new purchase. Take my word for it, you can judge a book by its cover. <\/em><\/p>\n The 1953 Ballantine paperback edition of Ruesch\u2019s book had a sprint car on dirt in the background, no doubt to catch the attention of Americans who knew only oval car racing. <\/em><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n You can stay son but the book\u2019s gotta go\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n The book\u2019s main character is Erich Lester. His ruthless driving style had earned him a position on the dominant German team. His ambition to be the best costs him dearly and he is badly injured in a crash. I\u2019ve read the book from cover to cover several times over the years. Thumbing through the pages now brings back the exact feelings I felt when I read the book for the first time. I was well into the story. Erich Lester was on the pole position and was starting his first race for the German team. The text on page 61 reads: \u201c\u2026 at five seconds the starter began counting on his outspread fingers, closing one after the other, and Lester released his handbrake. The car began nosing forward\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n I remember a smell of stale cigarette smoke and garlic filling the classroom. An arm suddenly appeared from above and grabbed my book. An angry voice rasped, \u201cI\u2019ll take that book, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n My world of motor racing was suddenly shattered. I hadn\u2019t noticed that my physics teacher, \u201cWild Bill\u201d Emery, had walked up behind me. Wild Bill now had my book in his right hand and was holding it up like a trophy.<\/p>\n The whole class was laughing\u2014not a good moment. I was sent to the principal\u2019s office and was not see my book again for a long time.<\/p>\n It took a written note signed by my parents and a lot of talking on my part to get my book returned. It had been in exile for about six months. Wild Bill\u2019s drawer was crammed full of reading material and other paraphernalia which he had taken from students over the years.<\/p>\n Fortunately my \u201cEx Libris\u201d label on the inside cover had my name on it providing positive identification. My book was grudgingly handed back but it had suffered considerable damage during its captivity. Today the torn cover appears to me like a mark of honor, akin to the dueling scars sported years ago by young Austrian university students. <\/em> <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nHans Ruesch in 1993. Wiki photo<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThat\u2019s when the trouble began. . .<\/p>\n