“The Bahamas Speed Weeks” was originally published in 2006 by Veloce Publishing (no relation). In 2013 a second, enlarged edition was published by Dalton Watson. This review, originally published in 2006, has been updated to include the most recent edition.
Terry O’Neil’s “The Bahamas Speed Weeks” is a one-topic book focusing on a series of very social, season ending races held at a third world airport with a tropical setting near Nassau from 1954 to 1966. Indeed, the story of the Nassau Speedweeks deserves a book, (for Ferrari, Maserati and OSCA fans in particular) and O’Neil has covered the races well, documenting every single event which took place at both venues, finding results, name, and serial numbers enough to fill 3/4 of the pages in the volume.
1954: De Portago sitting in his black Ferrari 750 Monza (0428 MD) poses for the camera. (Bahamas News Agency. Terry O’Neil Bahamas Collection)
“O’Neil has performed a real service for the historian,” said Michael Lynch, who helped contribute to the book. “The races were notoriously under-reported, either because the scribes didn’t have the budget to stay all week or were too hung over from the legendary parties held every night.” He has ferreted out obscure race reports from the scant media reports, both local and international, and O’Neil interviewed a goodly number of people, one being the late Denise McCluggage, who also wrote the foreword.
O’Neil admits that his search did not reveal 100% of the answers 100% of the time. “Visiting the Island, and also speaking to competitors and race officials who were in attendance…has provided valuable input and clarified some issues, though many others will remain a mystery,” he wrote in the introduction. But the early events were not taken too seriously by anyone, including the press, newspapers, participants or spectators, leading to a dearth of complete documentation regarding entries and results. O’Neil find rare sources to fill in the gaps and come up with a great narrative and relatively complete results data.
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As everyone who has ever read anything out the Bahamas Speedweeks has learned, the drivers came to relax, have fun, party, and get away from the European and US winters. Not much room in O’Neil’s book for this, so we went out and found two Nassau survivors to tell us a story or two. The first was Ruth Levy, now Ruth Levy Raymond, whose tremendous 1957 duel with McCluggage was detailed by O’Neil.
1957: Ruth Levy and Denise McCluggage enjoy a joke before the Ladies’ Race. (Bahamas News Agency. Terry O’Neil Bahamas Collection)
“The parties, at least for me, were the best part of racing,” recalled Ruth. “Raving out doing the limbo at the Junkanoo an in-club, avoiding Nassau. Black tie-stuffy affairs. Most of the time I hung out with Stirling Moss’s wife, Joe Bonnier, Bruce Kessler and Lance Reventlow.” “I was trying to out-brake Denise? Wrong! Denise spun out in the corner, the corner before the long back straightaway. I know. I was there! It’s how come I got by her. But down the straightaway, into the last corner was definitely driver error.” Her mistake cost her the race, wrecked Stirling’s Aston Martin, and made a good bit of news.
The second was Toly Aruntonoff, who competed there in 1964 with the same Lancia Flaminia he drove at the Targa Florio read “Toly at the Targa”. Toly recalled this anecdote:
“I’ve heard this story at the very time it occurred and seen it mentioned in print once long ago: I can’t remember the principals, but someone with more than one Corvette hired local Bahamians to watch over his cars in an airport hangar. He then welshed to some degree on their payment and during the night at least one car was started and run wide open until engine parts were embedded in the concrete floor. It is written: ‘the laborer is worth of his hire.'”
While working on the Bahamas Speed Weeks epic, O’Neil had an “Ah Ha” moment and realized that there was a need to chronicle the other sports car races in the U.S. during roughly the same time period. It was a huge opportunity but a daunting task. Willem Oosthoek was already working on a book covering sports car racing in the south, a variety of guys were working on the west coast races, but there was nothing on the midwest, northeast, or mid atlantic states. Little did he realize that when he finished this excellent and thorough coverage of the Bahamas Speed Weeks, that he would be busy for the next 12 years, completing the northeast and mid-Atlantic race record books.
More photos from the second edition
1957: Stirling Moss, driving the Aston Martin DBR2 in the Governor’s Trophy race. He was not too happy with the performance of the car. (Bahamas News Agency. Terry O’Neil Bahamas Collection)
1958: Many of the cars arrived at Nassau aboard the SS Florida. Typical of so many of the private entries, Ray Heppenstall transported race equipment in the car. (Charles Stockey. Alexis Callier Collection)
1957: Masten Gregory celebrates his victory in the Nassau Tourist Trophy race. Standing by his side is Temple Buell. (Bahamas News Agency. Terry O’Neil Bahamas Collection)
1963: The start to the Nassau Tourist Trophy race, with Corvette Grand Sports and the Lola out in front of the rest of the field. (Courtesy Willem Oosthoek Collection)
1966: Hap Sharp in the Chaparral, side by side with Foster’s McLaren in the Nassau Trophy race. (J Owen. Terry O’Neil Bahamas Collection)
The Ferrari 375 MM belonging to Andreas Mohringer displayed on Arawak Cay in company with a Bahamas Speed Week girl. The OSCA belonging to Stirling Moss is displayed to the rear of the Ferrari with another Speed Week girl in attendance. Which of the four enhances the view? (Courtesy Keith Bluemel)Old and new, Editons one and two
And Then
In 2013, O’Neil wrote a second edition and published with Dalton Watson. The revised edition includes 300 additional photos, a greatly expanded index, new information and new chapters highlight the 2011 and 2012 Revival Meetings.
Bahamas Speed Weeks by Terry O’Neil
ISBN 978-185443268-1
240mm x 330mm (portrait)
472 pages
800 B&W and Color photographs
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