"Joined up writing this time please!"

What started as a small brown book clutched by an 8-year old schoolboy has metamorphised over 60 years later into this colourful volume. At the heart of it is Martin Tomlinson’s enduring passion for motor sport. It started when his grandfather and father took him to motor races around Britain, went marshalling and left him to his own devices.

As many youngsters of that age, collecting autographs was a hobby which briefly put them in direct contact with the stars of their chosen genre or sport. Some collected the signatures of politicians or film stars, others cricketers or footballers but Martin was only interested in racing drivers.

There is also a World Champion bike racer, drivers whose careers straddled WW2 as well as some of the best known team owners, designers, broadcasters, journalists and commentators of the era. All their autographs are faithfully re-produced here, but that is just a start.

Martin’s career took him into commercial art and then as one of the elite band of full-time motor racing artists whose works are widely collected and exhibited. Thus many of the autographs are appropriately accompanied by one of Martin’s paintings or sketches – most of which have been produced especially for this book.