Second Place, First Class

The story of British Racing Green

British Racing Green is a shade with a colourful past. A tone that invokes a period of time and an attitude, as much as a specific set of pigments.

While most of us can probably bring the colour to mind, it’s interesting to note that it has to some extent defied a consensus definition. There is no one universally agreed-

upon hex-code (to use a graphic designer’s term) for British Racing Green. It is neither a Pantone shade, nor an option in the catalogue of Sanderson, daub-mixers of Royal Warrant. ’BRG’ is dark, yes, and has the feeling of a forest canopy in the gloaming – but the precise shade remains a matter for debate or interpretation.

What then of its origin? The name gives us a generous clue. Green was adopted by motor racers from Britain as their identifying colour at a time when nations not manufacturers formed the basis for international competitive teams. Italians drove in red, the Germans white and silver, the French in Gallic blue. The red Ferraris still seen in today’s F1 are a callback to this same practice.

It is said – although there is a whiff of the apocryphal about the story – that the colour was established when British car racers were invited over to the Republic of Ireland to compete at a time when to do so in the United Kingdom was illegal. According to legend, the visiting Brits selected green for their colour as an homage to the Emerald Isle itself. A way of saying ‘thank you for the hospitality’. It is a nice story and may very well be true – although it must be noted that neither emerald, nor the green of the Irish flag are particularly close to what we understand as British Racing Green.

What is known for certain is that from the early 1900s to the 1960s, the colour green was inextricably linked to British motor racing – and, to the rakish, debonair charm of its proponents. You see, Britain was never much of a force in the sport of driving very quickly. We grabbed a few wins here and there, but never dominated the field. This is perhaps best exemplified by the career of Stirling Moss.

Moss Green

"Moss was the inveterate underdog, the most gifted driver in a below-par car. […] It was as if he liked and needed a handicap. Winning was not everything."

For many fans of motorsport, particularly British ones, Stirling Moss is the epitome of a racing driver: handsome, charismatic and possessed of a dedication to egalitarian fair play that saw him effectively hand his best opportunity of winning a world championship over to his rival.

In 1958 at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Moss voluntarily appeared before the stewards to plead the case of Mike Hawthorn, who was being threatened with disqualification for apparently pushing his stalled car against the direction of the track after spinning out.

Moss, who had won the race, testified that his compatriot had, in fact, pushed the car on the pavement, rather than the circuit itself. Hawthorn was reinstated and scored six champion points. Three months later, when the season ended, Hawthorn won the title by the margin of a single point. Moss was in second place.

Moss later said he felt honoured to be known as the man who ‘never won the world championship’: it distinguished him from all those other drivers who were not quite as talented, but a little more fortunate.

In 2020, just after Moss passed away aged 90, author and one-time editor of Marxism Today, Martin Jacques, wrote for The Guardian about his boyhood idol:

“[…] he was almost invariably at the wheel of an inferior car. One reason for this was his loyalty to driving British. At the time, British cars were way off the pace in Formula One, with Ferraris and Maseratis dominant except in 1954-55 when Mercedes ruled. Moss was the inveterate underdog, the most gifted driver in a below-par car. […] It was as if he liked and needed a handicap. Winning was not everything.”

For Brooks, it is this last idea that resonates the loudest. The days of a Brooks leather saddle being used in the Tour de France are long since past, but the days of their unmatched style and comfort continue.

This is the meaning behind ‘second place, first class’ and this is what inspired us to produce a short-run collection of British Racing Green leather products, available from 30 September.