Talk Steer: Tony Dodgins on...

This time last year we reported, somewhat prematurely as it turned out, the demise of Magny-Cours as a world championship grand prix venue.

The Nievre region of France is not everyone's tasse de the and the French GP is often portrayed as a race in the middle of nowhere with nothing going on. Hence periodic attempts to come up with a venue near Paris, where sponsors and gladhanders can enjoy a better time once the business of the day is done.

Red Bull caused a bit of a rumpus a few years back when it issued a press release about France and the race that was amusing and rude in roughly equal measure. This time it contented itself with a sheet of items you could tick off on the way home once spotted - a field, a cow, a traffic jam, executive accommodation (a single-berth caravan), another field, another cow, etcetera. You get the picture.

Here's one I made earlier

For all that, I like the place. Rural France can be gorgeous with its stunning chateaux tucked away near tiny villages. At one such, Burgundy's Chateau de Prye, we attended the launch of a new book: McLaren - The Cars 1964-2008.

It's a 304-page hardback chronicling every McLaren built and has clearly been a labour of love for photographer William Taylor. But there's one missing. We know that because we had Gary Anderson round for a barbecue the previous night. And Gary made it.

Back in 1978 Lotus was cleaning up with Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson in its ground effect Lotus 79s. At first they hadn't been very quick on the straights but once they solved an aerodynamic pressure conundrum they turned up at Paul Ricard and suddenly they were. Everyone else realised how deeply in the mire they now were.

Gary reckoned he knew how Lotus was generating its downforce and was sent back to the factory to 'have a go'. Problem was, he was supposed to be on his honeymoon...

Anorak's corner

"I left Jenny on the beach in Bandol and went back to base to start carving a few pieces of tin around..." he grinned. "You could call it a bit of a cut-and-shut ground effect car but we appeared with it at Brands Hatch. James Hunt practised it and admitted it had a lot more downforce, but didn't actually race it. I can't quite remember why - I think we just thought we'd better refine things a bit. I can't actually remember what it was called..."

"It was the M26E," piped up Mark Hughes, zipping up his anorak. "The E was for 'effort' and I remember reading about it in James's Autosport column." "Yes, you're right," Gary confirmed. "James gave us an 'A' for the effort!"

Unsurprisingly, anoraks also played a part in the continuation of the story...

Once it had done a bit of tinkering McLaren decided to take a car over to test in secret at Watkins Glen with John Watson on driving duties.

"It was autumn and it was beautiful in the fall at The Glen," Anderson remembers. "Only problem was, all the leaves had fallen on the track, which was as slippery as hell and Wattie was about 20 seconds off the pace. You couldn't learn anything. Then, while we had the front up on a trestle, which was how we used to drain the fuel, Davey Ryan [still McLaren's team manager today!] leaned on one of the front wheels. He only put one arm on but I noticed the chassis twisting. It was like papier maché. I thought, 'Bloody hell, we'd better go home and do this properly.'"

Next time out was in the States again, this time in Lockheed's windtunnel.

"We had rigged up a block of wood that was jamming the brake pedal on and we'd left it like that overnight. Unfortunately, one of the calliper seals sprung a leak due to the constant pressure and all the fluid came out. Next day we went back into the tunnel. One minute we're looking at the car and the next minute it's gone!

"There was a bit of damage but we patched up the car and the tunnel as best we could. The Lockheed people weren't deeply impressed. The only way they'd let us continue was if someone sat in the cockpit with his foot on the brake. So Davey Ryan sat there for the next couple of days freezing his wotsits off with an anorak over his head!"

Times change a bit...