"There's no replacement for displacement" - this collection of racing films from the BP Video Library seems to be testament to that mantra.

 

Start with a visit to Laguna Seca Raceway for the Can-Am Monterey Castrol Grand Prix of 1969, where Bruce McLaren was victorious in his 7 litre Chevrolet-powered McLaren M8B. Stirling Moss is on hand to offer his insights.

 

Next we head to Silverstone, for a very different sort of action: Drag Racing. Drag on a Summer's Day showcases the National Drag Racing Club's 1973 meeting. Everything from production machines up to top fuel, funny cars to twin-engined drag bikes. This is a riot of noise and speed.

 

Racecraft sees the cameras move from trackside to inside the cockpit with Frank Gardner at Oulton Park. Frank is at the wheel of an SCA Chevrolet Camaro touring car as he narrates the fast laps of a very rough looking Oulton.

 

Next we're off to the Monte Carlo Rally, then Aix-les-Bains for the World motorboat championship, Mont Ventoux for a hill climb won by Porsche, the Tour de France at Bordeaux and finally Monaco for the 1966 Grand Prix as we explore the intricacies of timing in sports.

 

Filmed in colour throughout, this compilation of fascinating films is at once a look into the vanished past and yet still feels right on the cutting edge of power, speed and excitement.