Gifted with a rare blend of superior ability and unshakeable nerves, Michael Schumacher is the outstanding Formula One driver of his generation. Over the past 15 seasons he has won an unprecedented seven world drivers' championships and in the process has captured the imagination of fans all over the world. For all his success, Schumacher is also a controversial figure, feared for his ruthless tactics and despised for using extreme methods in pursuit of success. From his first Grand Prix with Jordan to his Benetton world championships and his attempt to win back Ferrari's crown, this is a thorough and engaging look at Schumacher's entire racing career. The story behind Schumacher's record five consecutive world titles is uncovered, and his impact on the racing world as a whole following his retirement is examined. Frank, honest, and adroit, this is an in-depth look at the life and career of a champion.

'I'm no angel.' Bernie Ecclestone Born into poverty, Bernie Ecclestone has made himself a billionaire by developing the world's second most popular sport - Formula One racing. Private, mysterious and some say sinister, the eighty-year-old criss-crosses the globe in his private jet, mixing with celebrities, statesmen and sporting heroes. His success is not just in creating a multibillion-pound global business but in resisting repeated attempts to snatch the glittering prize from his control. Ecclestone has never before revealed how he graduated from selling second-hand cars in London's notorious Warren Street to become the major player he is today. He has finally decided to reveal his secrets: the deals, the marriages, the disasters and the successes in Formula One racing, in Downing Street, in casinos, on yachts and in the air. Surprisingly, he has granted access to his inner circle to Tom Bower, described by Ecclestone as 'The Undertaker' - the man who buries reputations - and has given him access to all his friends and enemies. All have been told by Ecclestone, 'Tell him the truth, good or bad.' No Angel is a classic rags-to-riches story, the unique portrayal of a unique man and an intriguing insight into Formula One racing, business and the human spirit. Tom Bower is the author of nineteen books, including biographies of Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Fayed, Gordon Brown, Richard Branson, Conrad Black and more recently, Simon Cowell.

From nowhere to the winner's podium: the story of Jenson Button's astonishing domination of the F1 world championship. On 4 December 2008, just a few months before the new season was due to start, the Honda Racing F1 team, which Jenson Button had been driving for since 2006, pulled the plug on their involvement in Formula One. The media at the time reported that it was likely that the factory would be forced to shut, and it was unlikely that Jenson would be able to secure a drive at a top team at this late stage. Yet incredibly, in October 2009, Jenson Button was crowned World Champion, and the new team that had risen from the ashes of the Honda Racing F1 team - Brawn GP - secured the constructors' championship in their first season, a feat never before achieved. If this were a movie script you wouldn't believe it possible, so how did it happen? A CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR tells Jenson's incredible story of the 2009 season, from being written off pre-season to winning six of the first seven races, and finally securing the championship in brilliant style at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Jenson's personal commentary on the races is combined with notes on strategy, on-board radio exchanges, quotes from the team and even text messages to recreate the atmosphere of each race weekend. With a foreword by Ross Brawn, it is a fascinating account of an extraordinary grand prix year, and shows just what it takes to become world champion.

Jenson Button is one of the greatest racing drivers of his generation. His seventeen years in Formula 1 have seen him experience everything the sport has to offer, from nursing underpowered cars around the track to winning World Championships and everything in between.

Here, Jenson tells his full story for the first time in his own honest, intelligent and eloquent style. From growing up as part of a motor-racing-mad family under the guidance of his father, John, to arriving at Williams as a fresh-faced 20 year-old, to being written off by some as a playboy and his fight back to the very pinnacle of his sport. Jenson's World Championship victory for the unsponsored and unfancied Brawn GP team is one of the most extraordinary against-the-odds sports stories of the century.

Jenson's book lifts the lid on the gilded and often hidden world of Formula 1. He reveals his relationships with some of the biggest names in Formula 1- Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso as well some of the most colourful characters like Flavio Briatore, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and serial winner Ross Brawn. Above all, he puts you right inside the cockpit, in the driving seat, travelling at over 200 miles per hour, battling the fear of death, showing you what happens when it goes wrong at high speed and allowing you to experience the euphoria of crossing the line first.

The Lola T70 was the car that Eric Broadley wanted to build for Ford instead of the GT40. He thought the GT40 too conservative in specification for a state-of-the-art sports racing car, so he split with the giant corporation to build the T70 under the aegis of his own company: Lola.Immediately successful, the T70 carried John Surtees to the Championship in the 1966 Can-Am series. The cars were also very successful in Group 7 races until the series ended in 1966, by which time the likes of Denny Hulme, David Hobbs and Brian Redman had all driven T70s to victory.Under continuous development until the Mk IIIb Coupe of 1969, the T70 was never a great endurance racer but achieved major successes in shorter events such as the TT and Martini races. Today, the T70 is a leading force in historic racing.Over many years, John Starkey - T70 owner and ex-Curator of the famous Donington racing car collection - has compiled a huge amount of information on the cars and interviewed many past and present owners and drivers about their experiences with the T70. Uniquely, this book contains the history and specification - where known - of each individual T70 chassis.Available again after an absence of several years, this book is the definitive development and racing history of the Lola T70.

A look at the drivers and teams who have won only one World Championship Grand Prix, since the formation of the championship in 1950. Updated for 2013 with all the latest information and statistics, plus photographs.

The 2013 Formula One season was dominated by the Vettel/ Red Bull-Renault package, which won 13 of the 19 races. Many reckon that Vettel is one of the great drivers. Some however argue that Vettel was fortunate in having the fastest car, the Red Bull-Renault. Just how good was Vettel compared with his peers? This publication compares grand prix and Formula One drivers, cars and packages in simple arithmetic terms. For the first time the driver has been separated from the car and each is expressed as separate performance elements that make up the performance package. Just how much current four-time champion Vettel contributes to the Red Bull-Renault's recent dominance is explained and quantified. The author's analysis starts from the first car race in 1894, from Paris to Rouen, and includes over 1,200 grand prix races. The Patrick O'Brien Grand Prix Rating System is divided into 13 volumes, one for each decade of the pre-Formula One era (1894-1949) and Formula One era (1950-2013). This book covers 1930-1939.

The "Indy 500" is the most exciting auto race, on the most famous track, before the largest in-attendance audience for any sporting event ever in history. Every driver wants to win this event, assuring him or her fame forever and probably a huge amount of money as well. Drivers at Indy seem willing to take that "extra chance" to win, such as Rick Mears did in his chapter in this book by going high into even more danger instead of the low, less risky line on the track. The author has driven on the track at the Speedway in a race car, and has covered the race more than forty times as a reporter. The 500 is, he admits, one of his favorite topics about which to write in his over 200 book career, and he has written several books on this subject. He always looks forward to it every year on Memorial Day, either at the track or on television. He advises that everyone should see this great race in person at least one time, but that it is possible you can see more of the event on television.

The 2013 Formula One season was dominated by the Vettel/ Red Bull-Renault package, which won 13 of the 19 races. Many reckon that Vettel is one of the great drivers. Some however argue that Vettel was fortunate in having the fastest car, the Red Bull-Renault. Just how good was Vettel compared with his peers? This publication compares grand prix and Formula One drivers, cars and packages in simple arithmetic terms. For the first time the driver has been separated from the car and each is expressed as separate performance elements that make up the performance package. Just how much current four-time champion Vettel contributes to the Red Bull-Renault's recent dominance is explained and quantified. The author's analysis starts from the first car race in 1894, from Paris to Rouen, and includes over 1,200 grand prix races. The Patrick O'Brien Grand Prix Rating System is divided into seven sections, one for each decade spanning the Formula One era (1950-2013). This book covers 2000-2009.

MIKE HAWTHORN, BRITAIN'S FIRST WORLD MOTOR RACING CHAMPION, was internationally famous by the time of his death. The dashing young Englishman had just won an epic battle for the title against Stirling Moss in a classic last race duel; similar to that between James Hunt and Nicki Lauda in 1976, and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2014. However, back in the 1950s, Formula 1 was a quasi-amateur sport, in which prizes were modest, the risk of death unimaginably high and where there was scant reporting of the drivers' off-track activities. Mike's penchant for fast driving was matched by an appetite for pretty girls, beer, aeroplanes and practical jokes - all of which got him into a great many scrapes. What usually got him out was his charm. In this re-telling of Mike's story, 'Too Fast A Life' endeavours to paint an unbiased picture of a troubled young man, focusing more on feelings than feeler-gauges, and uniquely questions whether his life could have ended differently.

The "BBC Sport World Formula One Records 2013" fully revised and updated to include the conclusion of the fascinating 2011 season and the thrilling first part of 2012, is the latest in Carlton Books' million-selling "World Records" series. Focusing exclusively on the world of Formula One, the biggest and most glamorous of all motor sports championships, this volume highlights the great battles for the World Drivers Championship and the Constructors Cup since they began in the 1950s. There are also hundreds of stories and statistics on the legendary drivers, teams and tracks who have helped to make Formula 1 one of the most exciting and popular sports in the world. The stories, features, lists and tables are brought to life by fantastic action photography. All fans of Formula One will love "BBC Sport World Formula One Records 2013", and feel confident about winning any argument about this thrilling sport.

On a cold February day in 1979, when most of the Northeast was snowed in by a blizzard, NASCAR entered the American consciousness with a dramatic telecast of the Daytona 500. It was the first 500-mile race to be broadcast live on national television and featured the heroes and legends of the sport racing on a hallowed track. With one of the wildest finishes in sports history--a finish that was just the start of the drama--everything changed for what is now America's second most popular sport.
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HE CRASHED ME SO I CRASHED HIM BACK is the story of an emerging sport trying to find its feet. It's the story of how Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, A.J. Foyt, and Kyle Petty came together in an unforgettable season that featured the first nationally televised NASCAR races. There were rivalries--even the sibling kind--and plenty of fistfights, feuds, and frenzied finishes. Rollicking and full of larger-than-life characters, HE CRASHED ME SO I CRASHED HIM BACK is the remarkable tale of the birth of modern stock-car racing.

The growth of sports car racing in Northeast America was not painless. Tragedy, mystery, subterfuge, intrigue, and an adherence to a particular club philosophy all featured in its story during the 1950s, when professionalism in the sport was always bubbling under the surface. The northeast area of America has long been considered the cradle of post World War II sports car racing; the Sports Car Club of America was founded there, and it was the entry point to America for a host of European sports cars. Early in the 1950s, road races had been permitted by some State authorities, but due to fatal accidents a ban on such racing came into effect. Forced to find alternative venues, the motor clubs were attracted to civil airports and a few military bases. But the drivers craved more challenging venues on which to hone their skills. This resulted in a few individuals chancing their reputation - and a great deal of money - and opening purpose-built circuits. This book gives a unique insight into this intriguing journey through the decade. Extensively researched, the compelling story and stunning contemporary photos, many previously unpublished, paint a fascinating portrait of a nascent sport coming into its own.

This book examines the popularity of NASCAR and its role as sport, business, and religion in America. When Dale Earnhardt died in a fiery crash at Daytona Motor Speedway on February 18, 2001, the world stopped turning for millions of race fans. Lovers of the sport enshrined his iconic number 8 car and his racing legacy with a worship and reverence never before seen in the sport of car racing. Fascinated by the response of the media and the fans to Earnhardt's death - and grieving himself over such an untimely loss - L. D. Russell began exploring the deep attraction to cars, tracks, and speed driving fan's love of stock car racing and their adulation of Earnhardt. "Godspeed" records Russell's visits to rural race tracks, to races at Darlington Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway, and Richmond International Raceway, and his conversations with NASCAR chaplains and fans about their love of the sport. Russell weaves his own reflections on the meaning of speed, death, and religion into a colorful story that covers the thrill and agony of racing as well as its tremendous popularity. Over the last decade, NASCAR has become the fastest-growing spectator sport in America. First, this phenomenon indicates that the sport has moved well beyond its Southern blue-collar roots to capture the hearts and souls of Americans at every socioeconomic level. Second, the mourning over Earnhardt indicates that at its deepest level NASCAR, like every religion, satisfies a basic human need: it is at the same time a celebration of life and a way of dealing with death. For seasoned NASCAR fans, "Godspeed" offers reflections on the history of racing and the lore and legends of the sport. For first-time fans, the book provides an in-depth look at the reasons that so many are attracted to the roar of engines and possibility of witnessing death on a Sunday afternoon at the track. For the uninitiated, "Godspeed" offers an absorbing introduction to enthralling appeal of car racing. Russell looks at both the intangible and tangible rewards that NASCAR offers its followers, as well as the ways it meets its followers' needs, particularly in the experience of transcending life's limitations. For anyone who's ever been spellbound by the electrifying power of speeding cars hurtling hellbound toward a checkered flag, "Godspeed" takes you behind the wheel to experience the exhilarating thrills of NASCAR and its tremendous existential appeal.

Created in 1950, the Formula One World Championship is the pinnacle of auto racing. The most popular form of motor sports on Earth, some of its marquee teams are known throughout the world, such as Ferrari, McLaren, and Lotus. Formula One's glamorous outlook and incredible marketing power make one believe that it is a fantasy world of expensive machinery and super hero drivers, a dazzling array of lines and colors. But if one looks closer into the history of the world Championship, one will notice another side to Formula one, a side of failure. It is obvious that not every car can be a Lotus 49 or a Williams FW 14B. And not every engine can have the impact of a Ford Cosworth DFV or a Honda turbo, in fact very few are, but some stand out as some of Formula One's most famous failures. What are the worst? That is certainly open to debate. Each year, for every winner, there are numerous disappointments, but this novel hopes to illustrate the fights and famines of the Grand Prix World.

This book tells the little-known story of a highly celebrated auto-racing event for African Americans, the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes. These races were held in Indiana and throughout the Midwest during the racial turbulence of the 1920s and 1930s, when the Ku Klux Klan cast a shadow over the social and political landscape of the state and region. The story is told through the eyes and emotions of Indianapolis auto mechanic Charlie Wiggins. The greatest African American driver of the era, Wiggins was known as the "Negro Speed King." Set against the colorful backdrop of gangsters, bootleggers, the birth of jazz, and the early history of auto racing in the United States, For Gold and Glory chronicles the tragedies and triumphs of a dedicated group of individuals who overcame tremendous odds to chase their dreams.

Drifting is the newest, most exciting motorsport we have seen in the United States since the invention of the limited slip differential - it may be the most exhilarating contest of man and machine ever devised From the winding mountain passes and desolate industrial roads of Japan, this unique sport of sliding a car sideways through a series of corners has become a huge hit in America. Drifting, or dorifto as they call it in Japan, extracts the most exciting aspect auto racing, extreme oversteer, and makes it the focus of an intense and visually intoxicating new motor sport. How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer is a comprehensive guide to both the driving technique and car setup required for drifting. The author defines various precision driving techniques used in drifting and explains them from a racecar driver's point of view. How to Drift illustrates the finer elements of car control required in drifting with technical descriptions, detailed line art and intense photography. This book even includes a budget drift car build-up with detailed suspension, chassis, and engine modifications that will help you turn your economy car into a drift machine-on top of that, there's a chapter detailing the finer aspects of an SR20DET swap