REVIEW: Powered by Gibson, From F1 To Le Mans

A book about the company that builds the spec engine for LMP2 doesn’t sound like a winning formula (apart from in LMP2 of course where it wins every race!), but this is far, far more than that.

Gibson Technology’s roots go rather deeper than the 2017 LMP2 formula, right back in fact, to 1981 when founder Bill Gibson established his first racing business Electronic Racing Aids.

That grew into the much more readily recognisable Zytek and on to the Gibson brand we know today.

The journey has taken the company through a variety of roles in Formula One, Group C, and the British Touring Car Championship as well as groundbreaking roles in the development of hybrid drive systems for both road and racegoing applications.

It’s a company that has had a somewhat ‘dynamic’ past in more ways than one with market strength built, developed and moved on to new ownership more than once, but throughout the key theme has always been excellence. Excellence in systems, engine and chassis design.

The story is told with plenty of insight from the individuals who have ‘been there and done that’ including founder Bill Gibson, long-time Director John Manchester, former MD Trevor Foster, ex-chief designer Tim Holloway (who was charged with adapting the ex-Reynard 02S chassis into the package that went on to be a force in LMP1 and LMP2 for over a decade), and a host of other vital human cogs in the Gibson machine.

The story is told by sportscar racing veteran writer and broadcaster Mark Cole and it makes for an engaging read, tale-telling and dot-joining.

All in all, this is a book that explains well how talent and ambition can bring a motivated group to make major contributions to a wide range of motorsport applications. Gibson (and Zytek) may not have the public profile of an Ayrton Senna, Jaguar, Jaguar or even Panoz, but their contributions made a telling difference to the winning records and potential of all of the above.

The book is well illustrated with pics from the company archives and is equipped with tables of the results gained by the company’s sportscars from 2002 – 2016.

Recommended!

240mm x 280mm | Jacketed Hardback |128 pages | Over 150 images | Price: £40 | ISBN: 978-1-913089-65-8