A classic case of motoring literature in Ireland

Past Imperfect: an Irish classic : It has always been a source of wonder to the author that there are relatively few classics of motoring literature compared to the many in aviation literature. Among the small number that exist, however, is an Irish book which has achieved classic status.

That book is, of course, Wheel Patter - Memoirs of Irish Motor Sport written by the irrepressible Dudley Colley in 1950. With encouragement from his friend and fellow motorsport competitor, Wilford ("Wilf") Fitzsimmons, a publisher, the manuscript of Wheel Patter was published by The Talbot Press in November 1951.

Stanley Woods supplied the introduction, and Dudley Colley also supplied the many simple humorous sketches that appear throughout the book's pages.

Wheel Patter is an often hilarious account of a long-gone period in Irish motorsport when the participants certainly knew how to enjoy themselves, while taking their competition very seriously.

A large part of the book is taken up with the trials and tribulations of competing in a certain Frazer Nash car (which has served to endear the book to Frazer Nash fans everywhere) culminating in a famous victory at the Cork Grand Prix Meeting in 1938.

In between Dudley Colley managed to have fun with a GN cycle car and a supercharged "Ulster"' Austin, which among other adventures became the first, and as far as I know the only, car to cross Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge.

The acquisition of the Frazer Nash provided a car suitable for all sorts of motorsport and the "Nash" appeared in hillclimbs, reliability trials and races on the road circuits for which Ireland was then famous.

Along the way Dudley Colley collected Ireland's top motor sport prize, the famous Walter Sexton Memorial Trophy, and of course that famous win in Cork.

Wheel Patter was long out of print and copies had become particularly difficult to find when Dudley's son, Tony, had the idea of reprinting it in 2003.

What made the idea so good was that Tony still has the Frazer Nash driven by his father, and regularly competes in motorsport events with it.

As a result, the reprint benefited from the addition of an extra section devoted to the story of the "Nash" since 1950, making this a unique père et fils account of a very special car and its owners. In addition, the recent edition benefits from many more photographs and sketches.

Appropriately, it was Wilf Fitzsimmons who provided the foreword of the reprinted book 52 years after he had published the original edition.

In his foreword Wilf recalled: "This was the era of the GN cycle car and of course Frazer Nash, both chain-driven and hugely popular with a large number of enthusiasts indeed - who came to be known affectionately as the Chain Gang. Surely Dudley Colley typified the very essence of their attractive, if somewhat unconventional breed."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times