Harry Sherrard runs a leading specialist employment law firm from offices in Sussex and Heathrow. This successful firm has been praised for providing commercially driven and practical advice with an impressive international reach and is a leading firm in the Chambers Legal 500. So far, so good, but what many of his clients will not know is that once the business suit comes off, the overalls go on as Harry has spent 33 years in motorsport with a resume that comprises some of the most exciting and glorious events in the calendar.
Harry’s new book, Taking Part, is a wonderful romp through the past three decades of adrenaline filled racing and adventure, from a 4x4 mission across the Sahara, his time at the Brighton Speed Trials in his Van Diemen Multisports car to stories about Paddy Hopkirk, racing at the Goodwood Revival and his time with Eddie Jordan racing, the birth of which came in 1982 when he was found sleeping in the back of Jordan’s pickup truck.
As with all motorsports, it’s an array of joy and horror in equal measure and one of the more hilarious recollections is when Harry took part in the British Cross Country Championship which, inadvertently, resulted in an appearance on the television programme ‘Best of Crash’.
Harry recalls: “On an event in the Brecon Beacons, l put the Land Rover into a glorious four-wheel drift only to run out of road. In tarmac racing terms, ‘running out of road’ means a visit to a friendly gravel trap but in the Brecon Beacons it has a somewhat more literal meaning. The road really did run out and all we had was fresh air. As we rolled down the ravine, my concern was for Ivor, my co-driver, but when we came to rest against a tree stump, the right way up as it happened, he took it all in his stride and we extracted ourselves calmly from the battered vehicle. That evening, the car was winched out of the ravine and returned to the service park and despite every panel being damaged, it still ran.”
The book is full of fascinating details from his racing career and spans road racing, off-road adventure and everything in between, across the globe.
The title Taking Part is derived from his mothers reaction when she learnt of his interest in motorsports and remarked “It’s not as if you’ll ever take part”. How wrong she was.
To get a copy, go to www.taking-part.com where you will find an overview of the book and a copy can be purchased.
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than absorbed in Harry’s book and if you think you have been involved in motorsports, read this book and think again.
