In a room above a Knightsbridge mews garage, three men were arguing long and loud about the coming season. One of them thought it was a good idea to take on all comers with a car that was basically 10 years old. The others told him he must have lost his mind. Voices were raised.
But since the lone voice was Giulio Ramponi, the weight of his arguments forced the others to give way. The Italian engineer had forgotten more about what made a racing car work than the other two - Dick Seaman and his photographer friend George Monkhouse - would ever know.
At 22, Seaman had just finished a 1935 season that began in disappointment but ended in glory. His parents' money had bought him one of the new ERAs, to be run in the 1.5 litre voiturette class with works support.