When I was a young man, keen on becoming a race driver, I purchased a book called "The Technique of Motor Racing" by Piero Taruffi. Nicknamed The Silver Fox because of his prematurely gray hair, the handsome Taruffi had raced for Alfa Romeo and Ferrari as a Grand Prix driver, finishing third in the championship in 1952, but later concentrated on sports car endurance races. It was 55 years ago today that he and luigi Chinetti won the Carrera Panamericana in a Lancia, which is what prompted me to post this blog. Taruffi also won the Targa Florio for Lancia in 1954 and at the age of 51 was victorious in the last-ever Mille Miglia. Trained as an engineer, the highly respected Piero Taruffi was capable of analysing the skills required to win races and as a writer expressed those concepts clearly. What I learned from his book (which was first published in 1959 and has a forward by Juan Manuel Fangio) I applied on the track with some success, though my efforts were confined to class wins on road racing circuits. The fact that I still drive in the classic lean-back/arms-outstretched position is the result of what Taruffi wrote. As a technique it's no longer in fashion but old habits die hard, especially when acquired through the knowledge of a world-class racer.