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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Motor sports > General
The most definitive and compelling book about the legendary racing
driver, now a BAFTA award-winning documentary. 'For the casual
racing fan it's a mighty good read, for the Senna fan it's
indispensable' Time Out Millions of people around the world watched
in horror on that fateful day in Imola at the 1994 San Marino Grand
Prix when Ayrton Senna's car careered off the track at 190mph. The
greatest driver in Formula One history was dead. In this classic
sports book, Richard Williams explores the complex Brazilian who
was a hero in his own country and an icon to everyone who loved not
just motor-racing but sport itself. In his drive to win and his
desire always to test himself to the limit, Senna embodied all that
is best and most thrilling in sport.
This revised reprint of a classic title covers the history and
development of the racing Corvettes, from the car's beginnings in
the 1950s with just 250 horsepower, through the Corvette GTP of the
1980s, with over 1000 horsepower, and on to 1996, when 4th
generation cars give way to the 5th generation. Included are many
interviews with the drivers who raced these exciting, weighty and
always fast cars, including John Greenwood, Dick Gulstrand, Jerry
Grant and `Fast' Phil Curring, amongst others. The book is
illustrated with many quality photographs, supplied by General
Motors and well-known motoring photographers; it also contains
detailed specifications of the production cars, and road test
reports.
Contrary to popular belief, ‘Fluxie’ did not enter the world on
full opposite-lock, nor did he have a cigarette in one hand and a
pint in the other. Destined to race, he never got the biggest
breaks but he did become one of motorsport’s most colourful and
best-loved characters, someone who has always lived life to the
full. His autobiography tells it how it was, covering not only the
highs — including five championship titles — but also the many
setbacks. Along the way we laugh with him about much of it,
particularly the pranks, but also learn about some dark times that
he has never previously divulged. This is a very different kind of
racing driver’s memoir. Key content • Early days: growing up on
a farm, first kart aged 6, muddling through in the classroom, lots
of laughs — but also sexual abuse from a schoolmaster and an
early racing mentor. • The spark ignites: starting to race in
1970 with a Formula 6 kart, then onwards to Formula Vee; brushing
shoulders with Formula 1 working for the Token and Graham Hill
teams. • Grabbing the chances: a Formula Vee title in 1975 leads
to Formula 3 and Formula Atlantic, but still with various jobs to
make ends meet, including as mechanic to motorcycle racing legend
Giacomo Agostini for his four-wheel efforts. • Diversifying into
sports cars: successful adventures in Sports 2000 and
Thundersports, winning championships in both, plus Thundersaloons.
• A true all-rounder: going into the British Touring Car
Championship from 1988 in a wide range of tin-tops; racing a Jaguar
XJR-15 in the big-money 1991 series held at Grand Prix races,
including Monaco. • Championship double in 1996: the ‘golden
year’ in the TVR Tuscan Challenge and the British GT
Championship, the latter with a McLaren F1 GTR. • So much else:
racing on into recent times, notching up nearly 50 years on track;
testing competition cars for Motorsport News; driver tuition and
track-day demonstrations
The history of the rear-engined Birdcage Maseratis: Tipo 63, 64 and
65. 1959-1965. The competition history and technical specifications
of all 10 rear-engined Birdcage Maseratis constructed, and their
direct competition: Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus,
Cooper, Lister, Scarab, Chaparral, Sting Ray and Old Yaller Also
included is the background of the private team owners who bought
the cars: Briggs Cunningham, Count Volpi, Lucky Casner, and John
Simone.
KX125 (1982-1991), KX250 (1982-1991), KX500 (1983-2004)
In this book of over 500 pages Ermanno Cozza, the true historic
memory of Maserati, passionately tells a story packed with behind
the scenes truths - right up to today - that have never before been
published. He covers half a century of the company's life, which he
lived in close contact with the great motor racing champions,
ingenious technicians, designers and, naturally, company life as
well, of course, as the unforgettable cars. A carefully chosen
collection of photographs and other illustrations complete this
invaluable book. "Over 66 years have passed since I walked through
the gates of Officine Alfieri Maserati (the Alfieri Maserati
Workshops). It was in 1951, and in all that time I can truly say
that Maserati took hold of my heart. The factory, the men and the
cars have indelibly marked moments in my life. Today, many people
consider me to be the living memory of Maserati and, in that way,
take me back to those earlier days. In this book, I have tried to
convey the excitement of living the Maserati legend so that, step
by step, I cover the most important moments of my long and
extraordinary experience: the excitement of participation, the joy
and pain, the cars and the defeats, the ambitions and the
professional difficulties. While I have always enjoyed good health,
over the years I have been infected with the Maserati `virus' of
which I believe I have been a carrier all this time - and it is a
virus of which I never want to be cured" Ermanno Cozza"
People lie, cheat, steal and even kill for a variety of reasons,
one of which is to go motor racing, a particularly expensive and
egotistical sport. This intriguing book, the result of years of
research, encompasses not just those who have been 'driven to
crime' in order to pay for their sport but also characters within
motor racing who have been involved in wrongdoing, sometimes
through no fault of their own. Over 60 true stories cover webs of
deceit and numerous crimes including drug trafficking, corruption,
embezzlement, robbery, fraud, murder and money laundering. The
author investigates misdemeanours at all levels, from drivers,
designers and mechanics to team owners, entrants and sponsors. This
book will appeal not only to motor racing enthusiasts and
cognoscenti on both sides of the Atlantic but also to anyone who
enjoys reading about crime. Key content * Stories of motorsport
chicanery from all over the world, including... * Fraud: Southern
Organs (lay preachers who faked suicide and hid on a remote
Scottish island); Jerry Dominelli (a Ponzi scheme that funded
top-level racing Porsches); Jean-Pierre Van Rossem (self-styled
stock-market guru who bankrolled an F1 team); Dominic Chappell
(serial bankrupt racer brought down after purchasing a British
department store); David Thieme (the Lotus sponsor who vanished). *
Murder: David Blakely (the driver killed by his lover Ruth Ellis);
Franco Ambrosio (F1 sponsor of Shadow and Arrows); Elmer George
(American racer who married into Indy 'royalty'); Ricardo
Londono-Bridge (Colombia's first F1 driver); Mickey Thompson (1960s
American drag-racing icon); Nick Whiting (casualty of the biggest
gold bullion heist in British history). * Swindles: James Munroe
(accounts manager who embezzled his way to a racing McLaren F1
GTR); Lord Brocket (jailed for staging the theft of his classic
cars, including Ferraris); Andrea Harkness (stripper who ripped off
NASCAR). * Drugs: Ian Burgess (sometime British F1 racer); Randy
Lanier (drug-smuggling IMSA champion); John Paul Sr and Jr
(talented son dragged into a racing father's drug-running); Vic Lee
(super-successful team owner with a dodgy transporter); the
Whittington brothers (more misdeeds in IMSA circles). * Other
misdemeanours: Roy James (Great Train Robbery getaway driver);
Bertrand Gachot (jailed after road rage in London); Juan Manuel
Fangio (kidnapped by Cuban rebels in 1958); Colin Chapman (the
unresolved 'DeLorean Affair'); 'Spygate' (Ferrari design secrets
passed to McLaren).
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s only authorized book revealing the inside track on
his final
year of racing and retirement from the driver's seat.
"Time was running out on my charade. . . . My secrets were about to be
exposed to the world."
When NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from professional stock car
racing in
2017, he walked away as a healthy man. But for years he had worried
that the
worsening effects of multiple racing-related concussions would end not
only his time
on the track but also his ability to live a full and happy life.
Torn between a race-at-all-costs culture and the fear that something
was terribly
wrong, Earnhardt started keeping private notes about his escalating
symptoms. They
showed a vicious cycle: suffering injuries on Sunday, struggling
through the week,
then recovering in time to race again. For the first time he shares
these notes and
fully reveals the physical and emotional struggles he faced as he
fought to close out
his career on this own terms.
In this candid reflection Earnhardt opens up about his frustration with
the slow
recovery, his admiration for the woman who stood by him through it all,
and his
determination to share his own experience so others don't have to
suffer in silence.
Steering his way to the final checkered flag of his storied career
proved to be the
most challenging race-and most rewarding finish-of his life.
'AN EXCEPTIONAL READ' - Motor Cycle News 'STUART BARKER IS TO
WRITING WHAT VALENTINO ROSSI IS TO RIDING [...] A MUST-READ FOR ALL
BIKE NUTS' - DAILY MIRROR 'At high speed everything becomes more
difficult and more beautiful. When you're racing at 180mph, the
semi-bends become bends, the little holes become big holes,
everything becomes extreme and bigger. And then it becomes
beautiful.' Valentino Rossi is an icon: the most successful and
most loved motorcycle racer of all time, he has transcended MotoGP
to become a symbol of courage, risk and daring. To race for
twenty-three years at the very highest level of the world's most
dangerous sport is unprecedented. But then, there has never been a
motorcycle racer like Valentino Rossi. He is a modern-day
gladiator, a man who still risks his life every time he throws a
leg over a motorcycle. Yet for all his two-wheel talents, it is
Rossi's endearing character that has seen him transcend the sport.
For Rossi, every race is a home race. He turns MotoGP grandstands
across the world a sea of yellow - his traditional lucky colour. In
more than two decades of Grand Prix racing, he has seen it all. The
deaths of rivals and friends, the glory of unprecedented success,
serious injuries, fabulous wealth, the greatest battles ever seen
on two wheels, the infamous on and off-track clashes with his
fiercest rivals . . . Using exclusive new interviews with those who
have been part of Rossi's story from start to finish,
critically-acclaimed and bestselling motorsport author Stuart
Barker has produced the most in-depth book ever written about the
Italian superstar - a tale of speed, love and loss, told in full
for the very first time, in all its adrenalin-charged, high-octane
glory.
For nearly 25 years, the Catchpole cartoon was a hugely popular
feature in Autosport magazine. Every week, Catchpole and his
friends passed comment on events in motor sport through the skill
and humour of artist Barry Foley. Now, Catchpole is back, with the
publication of this collection of nearly 400 cartoons as printed in
Autosport between 1970 and 1994. This is a unique title, capturing
the humour and wisdom of the sport and re-visiting a host of
characters including Demon Tweak (the ever-scruffy mechanic), the
glamorous Booby Galore, accident-prone Mad Log Malone and veteran
German racer Von Turnips.
One of the greatest drivers of his generation, Jim Hall is even
better known as an innovator. From his tiny shop in Midland, Texas
emerged a series of Chaparrals that changed the face of racing. His
high-winged Chaparral 2E Can-Am car and 2F World Sportscar
Championship contender may be the most influential race vehicles of
the 20th century. Today, every Formula 1 car uses net downforce,
driver-adjustable wings, composite chassis, side-mounted radiators,
semi-automatic gearboxes and advanced telemetry to optimize vehicle
performance - all things Hall pioneered in the mid-1960s. Here he
tells his story - his life, his cars, his relationship with
Chevrolet, his battles with sanctioning body bureaucracies - for
the first time to award-winning author George Levy in this
authorized biography.
The North East has been a hotbed of motorsport since the early
years of the last century. In this book motorsport broadcaster and
journalist Larry Carter presents a selection of memorable
motorsport events, competitors, venues and personalities in the
region from the 1920s onwards. The circuit at Croft is justly
famous, witnessing the early days of stars such as James Hunt,
Barry Sheene, Niki Lauda and Wilson Fittipaldi, but the huge
variety of motorsports, both cars and bikes, in the region are
represented in this book, including circuit racing, rallying,
rallycross and trials. The North East has spawned many great racers
over the years, both men and women, some of whom died tragically
young, such as motorcyclist Ken Redfern and sidecar legend Mac
Hobson. Also included are famous clubs such as the Darlington &
District Motor Cub and lesser-known venues at Catterick military
base and Albemarle Barracks. This book is also a tribute to events
that have declined or disappeared - grass track racing, sand racing
on the Cleveland beaches, hill-climbs, scrambling, speedway and
stock car racing. Delving through archives, Larry Carter has
unearthed a fascinating collection of the most memorable
motor-sporting events and achievements of the last 100 years in the
North East which will appeal to all motorsport enthusiasts in the
area.
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