Weekend Heroes 2.0

The new edition of this epic book is much more than a simple reprint of the original. The result is a 3-volume set of 1560 pages, more than double the original edition. The print run is limited to just 750 copies. The first edition started with the fourth event at Palm Springs in March 1952, Tony now starts with the earliest events in April 1950 and goes all the way through the 5th Paramount Ranch event in 1957.

The strength of Weekend Heroes is its remarkable period color photography. All color images in these three volumes were scanned from original 35mm Kodachrome and Anscochrome slides, and 120mm Ektachrome transparencies. Our main source are collections we gathered over the years from amateur photographers (Joe and Margaret Smith, Bob Lytle, Al Long, etc.) who usually wandered around the track and pits shooting pictures. So much different from professional photography who always used black&white film (magazines were not printed in color yet) and had to make sure they had every competitor in action from one or two vantage points. This results in the same images, only with a different car; he had to make sure to have at least on action shot of the eventual winner, something he obviously didn’t know at the start of the race.

To experience 1950s California sports car racing in vivid color zipps you right back to those days as it it were yesterday. This makes Weekend Heroes unique among motor sport books.

Next to the vivid color photography, corsaresearch also acquired a vast number of large size, 4×5 in. negatives. These were also taken by amateurs carrying the big Speed Graphic cameras. Others come from professional guys like Joe Al Denker whose pictures were used in early issues of Road & Track magazine. These large size negatives give excellent detail and are suitable for double-spread use, always taking care not to ruin the subject in the spine of the book.                                                  

Bob Gurr, famous for his connection with the Disney Studios, was a flagman working at both CSCC and SCCA events. He carried around his Leica, again with terrific full action results.

Next to this wealth of period images, we tried to find as many gadgets as possible. Items like pit passes, entry tickets and Mobil key chains specially-made for each individual race meeting give extra color to the b/w pages.

There’s no doubt you will enjoy the new Weekend Heroes over and over again, a true time machine that brings you back to the California sports car racing scene in the 1950s.