Free Eye of the Cobra by Christopher Sherlock Page A

attention.
    ‘Last month Jack Phelps, the American billionaire, bought out Chase Racing,’ the newscaster said. ‘This week, in a deal with Aito Shensu of the Shensu Motor Corporation and Bruce de Villiers, ex-manager of McCabe racing, Phelps formed Calibre-Shensu. The name Chase Racing will disappear.’
    The picture cut to the headquarters of the Formula One Constructors’ Association, with Ronnie Halliday, the president of FOCA, being interviewed.
    ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘We’re very pleased about this new team. I believe they will challenge the dominance of McCabe and Roger de Rosner. This move by Jack Phelps is welcomed by everyone in Formula One.’
    The next picture was of Phelps, Shensu and de Villiers signing the agreement.
    ‘This historic agreement was signed at Phelps Plaza in New York,’ the newscaster announced. ‘Phelps, Shensu and de Villiers are the founding members and shareholders in Calibre-Shensu, a formidable new force on the 1991 Grand Prix circuit. If the track record of any of these three men is anything to go by, Calibre-Shensu will be the team to watch in the coming season.’
    The camera closed in on Bruce de Villiers, standing next to a reporter, and the interviewer asked: ‘Bruce, how would you describe your involvement in this venture?’
    De Villiers squared up in front of the camera. ‘Look, I’m totally involved, totally committed. We are all very clear about our objectives in international Grand Prix racing. We want to win.’
    ‘Isn’t that being a bit optimistic on your first outing with a new team and a new engine?’
    ‘Shensu have developed a superb V8 engine - we’re already into our first week of development on a car.’
    ‘But your old team, McCabe, has the best driver?’
    ‘The best perceived driver. We have Ricardo Sartori, the former world champion. We’re still looking for a second driver.’
    Wyatt switched off the set. There was no doubt in his mind about what he had to do now.
     
    The Lotus Super Seven, with a highly modified two-litre Ford Cosworth engine, shot down the narrow Buckinghamshire lanes at near suicidal speed.
    Wyatt thought about Bruce de Villiers. The man was a fanatic. His meteoric career had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with determination. He had made McCabe the best Formula One team for five successive years. Wyatt was certain that Calibre-Shensu was going to be the new McCabe, and he wanted to be in on the team from the ground floor. This was his best chance - he knew de Villiers always got to work early.
    He pulled off the tree-lined road and coasted down the tarmac drive. The memories came flooding back. He remembered his mother cutting the ribbon across this road; the sunlight filtering through the oak trees and his father smiling easily and talking to the reporters.
    The old Chase Racing sign was gone. He felt a stab of bitterness that the last vestige of everything his father had built up had now been removed. But then he remembered the voice of his Japanese instructor, ‘The greatest advances are made when, having accepted the tradition, you have the courage to break it.’ Wyatt had severed his ties with the legacy his father had left him, but this place, the home of Chase Racing, was still a part of him.
    The road dropped down and he looked out to see the building which had been designed in the early 1970s. It was typical of that time, with rough concrete finishes and lots of glass. His father had commissioned an American architect of considerable reputation to draw up the plans, and his wisdom was reflected in the fact that, nearly twenty years on, the building still looked impressive.
    Behind the building was the test track, weaving its way in and out of the trees.
    He pulled up in front of a set of high gates that blocked the road, flanked on each side by a wire security-fence. That was de Villiers’ influence. A military-looking man with a neatly trimmed moustache and closely cropped grey hair stepped out. He