Lancy Smith

Lancy Smith
Character information
Age	Late 20s
Hair	Blond
Nationality	British
Occupation	Professional racing driver
Status	Active
Behind the scenes
Role	Ally
First seen	Trigger Mortis
Last seen	Trigger Mortis

Lancy Smith was a fictional British professional racing driver and the target of a SMERSH assassination attempt. The character appeared in Anthony Horowitz's 2015 James Bond continuation novel Trigger Mortis, where he raced in the 1957 Nürburgring Grand Prix.

Biography

Trigger Mortis

Born into a wealthy family, Lancy Smith's parents were titled with an ancestral pile in Berkshire, England. In his late 20s, with fair hair, an easy smile and a scattering of freckles, Smith was a British Formula One racing driver whose list of achievements included winning at Monaco in 1956 and Monza. By 1957, Smith is described as "a national hero" with "something of the dash of those Battle of Britain pilots". Unsure of their chances against Smith in his Vanwall at the 1957 Nürburgring Grand Prix, the Soviets plan on cheating by forcing a violent crash during the race. Their man, Ivan Dimitrov, a racer with an unsavory reputation, is sent to compete in the race driving their new race car, the "Krassny". The British Secret Service become aware of the threat and send their best driver - James Bond - to dispatch Dimitrov before he can get a chance to crash Smith.

With only a week's notice to train for the assignment, 007 is sent by M to meet his instructor, Logan Fairfax. A family friend of Smith, she arranges for him to look after the spy at Nürburgring - unaware that 007 has been assigned to protect him. Travelling to the West German racing track, Bond meets Smith at the pits and is shown around the track in the driver's white MG A Roadster. He is oblivious to the fact that his life is in danger, and has been informed that 007 is a wealthy playboy looking to buy his way into the race. Later that day, Bond meets Smith at The Blaue Ecke for drinks and oversees a meeting between SMERSH Chief, Colonel Gaspanov, Dimitrov, and a third suspicious man; whom Smith explains is a wealthy American-Korean businessman named Jason Sin. On the day of the race, Bond's hunch that Dimitrov would act early was proven correct. While on an isolated stretch of track, the Russian attempts to ram Smith's Vanwall. However, before he can succeed he is crashed by 007, who drags the burnt Russian from his mangled vehicle in an act of mercy. Bond later encounters Smith for the final time during a lavish post-race party held at Sin's opulent castle residence, the Schloss Bronsart; still unaware of how close he had come to being maimed or killed.

Behind the scenes

The character Lancy Smith was inspired by British racing legend, Sir Stirling Moss, OBE. Trigger Mortis uses unpublished material created by Ian Fleming - a story outline titled Murder on Wheels, which was originally conceived as an episode of an aborted television show for CBS in 1958. In Murder on Wheels, Fleming had Bond save Stirling Moss, one of the most recognised celebrities in Britain in the late 1950s, from an assassination attempt. Speaking of his decision to create Lancy Smith, writer Anthony Horowitz notes, "as much as I admire Sir Stirling, I decided not to use him in the story - real celebrities do not tend to make appearances in the Bond novels and anyway, he might not have been amused." Notably, Stirling Moss was one of several celebrities with cameo appearances in the 1967 James Bond spoof film Casino Royale in which he played Evelyn Tremble's driver.