Motorsport legend stars in the story of the first disc brake
Creative consultancy Milk Crate Club and Jaguar Land Rover have collaborated to create the new Sky documentary, The Racers that Stopped the World.
Telling the story of the creation of the disc brake, the programme stars the late Sir Stirling Moss in formerly unseen footage and the late Norman Dewis MBE, as well as Sir Jackie Stewart, Derek Bell MBE, Martin Brundle, Andrew Frankel, and Murray Walker OBE.
It takes viewers back to 1952, when the drum brake was struggling to slow down more and more powerful cars – making roads more dangerous. As a result, a small team at Jaguar turned to the formerly aerospace limited disc brake. After it was installed in the Jaguar C-Type, two now-legendary drivers, Sir Stirling Moss and Norman Dewis OBE, were sent to test it out in the thousand-mile road race, the Mille Miglia, through Italy.
The project had originally been shelved back in 2012, but the passing of motorsport legend Sir Stirling Moss led to director Al Clark returning to the footage. After showing it to Milk Crate Club, they presented it to Jaguar with the idea of completing the film for Sky Documentaries – which Jaguar Land Rover sponsors.
Director Al Clark, who is also an associate member of the Milk Crate Club, said: “It’s incredible to finally see the film on the big screen, all these years after I filmed those interviews. Norman and Sir Stirling were incredibly generous with their time – meeting them is an experience I’ll never forget.”
Jonathan Campbell, Founding Member of the Milk Crate Club, said: “The word legend is definitely over-used, but these two great men didn’t just stop the world – they changed it for the better. We’re immensely proud to have been involved in bringing this documentary to life.”
Finally, Anthony Bradbury, marketing director at Jaguar Land Rover UK, stated: “When we announced Jaguar UK’s partnership with Sky Documentaries, The Milk Crate Club approached us with this incredible unseen footage and offered to help finish it.”
“‘The Racers that Stopped the World’ is a beautiful piece of storytelling and a fitting way to remember Norman Dewis and Sir Stirling Moss, two legends of racetrack and road.”
The Racers that Stopped the World is now available to stream via Sky on Demand or SkyGo, and will premiere on the Sky Documentaries channel at 8.20pm, Friday 7 August.