I am enclosing some cuttings that my late dad, Ray Lock sent me about motor racing in South Africa. Most are from Frank Hoal’s excellent series in Classic Car Africa
Hope you enjoy the memories…
“The important thing is not to win, but to take part.
The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle.
The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well.”
The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle.
The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well.”
*
THE WILL TO WIN
“To drive fearlessly to win is to win another race – the race against fear -
(trophies themselves are but symbols to delight old age);
To challenge your fellow man in peaceful pursuit
Of courage is the epitome of courage;
To lose the race with grace is the embodiment of grace itself.
To triumph is to achieve glory
But glory is empty without the overthrow of fear, the acquisition
Of courage, of grace -
For the possession of these is the true glory.
Good breeding is displayed in the ability to lose well
And is primarily engendered by respect:
Respect is created by the acknowledgement not of the other man’s shortcomings or faults
But essentially the acknowledgement of his virtues -
For without virtue
What is man – be he on the track challenging the fates,
Or on a bed of sleep?
(trophies themselves are but symbols to delight old age);
To challenge your fellow man in peaceful pursuit
Of courage is the epitome of courage;
To lose the race with grace is the embodiment of grace itself.
To triumph is to achieve glory
But glory is empty without the overthrow of fear, the acquisition
Of courage, of grace -
For the possession of these is the true glory.
Good breeding is displayed in the ability to lose well
And is primarily engendered by respect:
Respect is created by the acknowledgement not of the other man’s shortcomings or faults
But essentially the acknowledgement of his virtues -
For without virtue
What is man – be he on the track challenging the fates,
Or on a bed of sleep?
L.F.
(from the International Grand Prix Book of Motor Racing (Edited by Michael Frewin and first published by Leslie Frewin, London in 1965)
