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.

Graham Jarvis has been at the peak of off-road motorcycling for the best part of twenty-five years and has won the fabled and ridiculously perilous Erzberg Rodeo a record-equalling five times. Since moving into the high-octane world of Hard Enduro in 2011, Graham has won its five major races - the Erzberg Rodeo, the Red Bull Sea to Sky, the Red Bull Romaniacs, the Tough One and Hell's Gate - no fewer than twenty-six times. It has made him one of motorsport's most successful riders. In CONQUERING THE IRON GIANT, Graham takes us from his early years in Canterbury, where he started out on an old BMX bike that his dad had rescued from the tip, to competing against up to 1,800 riders in races where dozens are often airlifted to hospital, and only three or four finish . . . with Graham usually at the head of the field.

Villeneuve sheds new light on the Formula 1 legend through 48 illuminating interviews with his contemporaries and a stunning array of action and behind-the-scenes photographs, many previously unseen. Gilles Villeneuve, F1's last cavalier, lives on in the memories of his fans - his heritage all the more colourful thanks to Karoly Mehes' vivid tribute. Villeneuve's Formula 1 career only lasted for 67 grands prix between 1977 and 1982, yet he made an indelible impression as a driver who raced without limits. Having debuted for McLaren, the daredevil Canadian soon switched to F1's most charismatic team: Enzo Ferrari was Villeneuve's biggest fan. After his tragic death in May 1982, Villeneuve's legend has continued to grow globally. Karoly Mehes has interviewed Villeneuve's Ferrari team-mates, his opponents and journalists - as well as Gilles' widow, Joann, and son, Jacques (world champion of 1997). Nearly 40 years on, they speak about the incandescent star of Formula 1 - a man who gave everything for his beloved sport, ultimately his life.

Formula One is speed, glamour, danger - and eye-watering wealth. Driven: The Men Who Made Formula One tells how a small group of extraordinary men transformed Formula One from a niche sport played out on primitive tracks surrounded by hay bales and grass verges into a GBP1 billion circus performing in vast theatres of entertainment all over the world. Led by Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire ringmaster, this clique started by scraping a living to go racing and ended up creating space-age cars, turning drivers from amateur gladiators into multimillion-pound superstars, like Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton, while the names of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are now as familiar around the world as Manchester United or Real Madrid. For 20 years, Kevin Eason watched how these men operated like a sporting Mafia, protecting each other while squabbling over the vast wealth pouring into the sport. As motor racing correspondent for The Times and then with The Sunday Times, Eason was privileged to have a ringside seat as this cabal of wealthy characters ruled and then were pushed out of the sport they created. This colourful and compelling account of the extraordinary flourishing of Formula One explores the quirks and extravagances of the men who converged - in one generation - to shape their sport; disparate characters with a common impulse: they were racers - and they were driven.

When world rallying introduced a new formula for "World Rally Cars," Ford seized the opportunity. Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport organization was contracted to do the job, completed the design in less than a year, and spent the next 12 years campaigning this turbocharged, four-wheel-drive car all round the world.Working from state-of-the-art facilities, M-Sport built 97 Focus WRCs, all of which proved to be worthy of World level action when they won 44 World Championship events.Stellar drivers like Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Markko Martin, Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen all added to the mystique of an ultra-professional organization, along with substantial support and sponsorship from the likes of Martini, BP, and the state of Abu Dhabi.By building its in-house technical expertise, M-Sport not only engineered and developed the entire car on behalf of Ford, but gradually took over development of the 300bhp, 2.0-litre, turbocharged engine, and led the design of the complex four-wheel-drive transmissions provided by Xtrac.M-Sport's reputation exploded to the point that when regulations changed, the company immediately produced a new-generation Fiesta WRC, and kept the winning days rolling.

This is a story of excitement, laughs, astonishment and anger - a story of the determination of a man with a dream and a passion for motor racing in the big leagues. It is the first time that the history of the always under-financed Gordini racing team has been documented in English, and the first complete story of Gordini himself in any language. This volume will appeal to new enthusiasts and old hands of Formula 1 and sports prototypes, especially those who have owned a Gordini engined-car. It charts Gordini's early life and beginnings in motorsport, up to 1969 when Renault took over the Gordini company, keeping his name on all the racing engines until 1986, before finally resurrecting it for a performance version of the Renault Twingo and Clio in 2009. The book is packed with evocative period images from important collections, supplementary transcripts in English from many contemporary interviews, plus recollections from former employees remembering their time working with Gordini, and an exhaustive set of statistics. All the way it's a roller coaster of joy, despair, humour, and stunning images. The racing legend of 'Le Sorcier' lives on.

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.

Stirling Moss is a national treasure. Arguably, the world's greatest all-round racing driver, he was a hero to several generations of schoolboys and countless enthusiasts throughout the world. He is still held in the highest esteem and is mobbed whenever he attends events. He was one of the first of the jet-setters, living a glamorous life of high octane motor sport and beautiful women. He only had to be seen with a fabulous female twice and all the papers would be reporting they were engaged. If he sneezed, the Press wrote about it. He was the Beckham of his era. Above all, he was a dedicated sportsman and probably the first to make motor racing his sole profession. He had to make a living out of it. He went rallying in the winter, not just for the fun of it, but to make some money during the racing off-season. Throughout his career he created his personal scrapbooks, several volumes per year, and he kept a diary. This book dips into his personal records and is spiced throughout with treasures to delight and fascinate. These are supplemented by period comments and many of his anecdotes. Moss has a fund of stories and is refreshingly non-PC! In spite of being adored and respected by the public for more than 50 years, Stirling remains the modest man he always was. Long-term friends and former colleagues have shared their fond memories with Philip Porter for this book. The year 1955 was a truly remarkable one for Stirling Moss. Yet to really establish himself at the highest levels after gamely persevering with uncompetitive British machinery, he finished the year second only to the great Fangio in the World Championship and a household name, a mega-star. If there had been a world championship for sports cars, he would have won it by a handsome margin for he recorded some extraordinary victories in possibly his greatest year. In 1955, Moss won his first Grand Prix, won the uniquely gruelling Targa Florio, won the classic Tourist Trophy for the third time and, most amazing of all, brilliantly won the Mille Miglia, the sensationally dangerous 1,000 race around the roads of Italy, reaching over 170mph! This book is a light-hearted look at the fun, the excitement, the lifestyle, the challenges, the tragedies, and the victories.

For nearly two decades 'A Twist of the Wrist' has been the high performance rider's bible of cornering. Enthusiasts worldwide have used Keith Code's unique perspective on the cornering art to improve there own skills and enjoyment. When Keith began his investigations into cornering in 1976 he left no stone unturned. Code translated his research into the world's number one rider training organisation, The California Superbike School. In addition, his private tutoring work with dozens of roadracers who later became champions is part of the sport's history. This studio recorded, 4 CD audio set is read by the author and contains dozens of new notes and comments that enhance the original work and includes four time World Champion Eddie Lawson's comments on the text.

The Hero's Body is a memoir of what it means to be a man in modern America. At just forty-seven years old, William Giraldi's father was killed in a horrific motorcycle accident. Writing here with searing honesty about grief, obsession, shame and identity, he looks back on three generations of men from the blue-collar town of Manville, New Jersey, and tells their stories in tandem: the speed-crazed cult of his father's 'superbikes', each Sunday spent racing fate along the winding back roads of Pennsylvania; the trauma of a son's ultimate loss, and William's attempts to rebuild a self in the manliest costume he knew. For a teen consumed by hardcore bodybuilding, pumping iron was so much more than a sport-it was a hallowed lifeline for a bookish tenth-grader, a way to forge himself a spot amongst his family's imperious patriarchs. A work of lasting literary beauty, lauded by the New Yorker for its 'unrelenting, perfectly paced prose', The Hero's Body is a tale of the working-class male, the codes of machismo and the unspoken bond between father and son.