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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Motor sports > Motorcycle racing
This is the remarkable story of Barry Sheene, the cheeky cockney boy who grew up to become a sporting legend. He won the British motorcycling 125cc championship aged just twenty and twice became World Champion in the 500cc class, despite two life-threatening crashes. In an era when sport and its personalities rarely made it off the back pages, Barry Sheene crossed the bridge between sport and celebrity in a style that only George Best had achieved previously. Barry is an intimate and revealing account told by three people who knew him better than most. Steve Parrish, fellow bike racer and now BBC commentator, Nick Harris, who wrote and broadcast on all Barry's major successes, and Barry's widow, Stephanie. Frank and fascinating, Barry is an exclusive look into the extraordinary life of a charming and complex man.
Speedway continues to attract larger crowds season by season and television coverage is also on the increase. This work features each team and rider in British speedway, with a statistical review and illustrations from celebrated speedway photographer Mike Patrick.
Born and raised in California, Shawn and Kelly Moran spent the majority of their highly successful speedway careers racing in the United Kingdom. Shawn's clubs included Hull, Sheffield (where he spent a total of ten years in two spells) and Belle Vue (five years). Kelly rode for Hull, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Sheffield Belle Vue and Swindon. The brothers began riding motorcycles as young boys in the desers around Los Angeles, and found themselves rubbing shoulders with Hollywood legends like Steve McQueen. As part of the mini-bikes craze of the 1970s, the Morans learned their skills and Jeff Ward, before choosing a career in speedway racing. They began their British careers at Hull, where they went, the brothers were two of the most colourful characters in speedway during the 1980s. They won the World Team Cup twice and were prominent in the World Championship event for many yeats. They were amng the first wave of Americans to race in Britain, and were instrumental in setting the standards for their fellow countrymen to follow.
Gary `Sox' Hocking raced against the likes of Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood and John Surtees, and eventually became double world champion - yet his name remains largely forgotten. He retired at an early stage in his career, and the explanation so often given for this ultimately proved far removed from the real reason. Roger Hughes' fascinating book is a positive celebration of Hocking's life and career. Stories reveal how he went from riding a motorbike to work to becoming world champion - a riveting journey, made more so by being told by those who were close to him. Gary's decision to move to car racing because it was safer, only to then be killed in a car, makes for a tragic end to his tale. This book explores the many suggestions as to how the accident happened. With photos covering Hocking's early career racing Nortons in South Africa, through to his final motorcycle ride, at the 1962 Isle of Man TT - a win that was, in many ways, so important to him - this book is a fitting tribute to a forgotten champion. This popular book is now available in paperback.
On May 30, 1958, thousands of racing fans poured into the infield at dawn to claim the best seats of the Indianapolis 500, unaware that they were going to witness one of the most notorious wrecks in racing history. Seconds after the green flag, a game of chicken spiraled out of control into a fiery 16-car pile-up that claimed the life of 29-year-old Indiana native and rising star Pat O'Connor. The other drivers escaped death, but the tragic 1958 Indy 500 seemed to leave its mark on them: the surviving drivers were hounded by accidents and terrible crashes, and most would die at tracks around the country. But the tragedy also prompted new regulations and safety precautions like roll bars that would ultimately save hundreds of lives. In The Curse of Indy 500: 1958's Tragic Legacy, veteran sportswriter Stan Sutton profiles the ill-fated race and the careers of the drivers involved, highlighting their lives in the dangerous world of auto racing.
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.
Larry Linkogle was a child-prodigy motocross racer who turned pro at age 15. A daredevil and rebel from the start, he quit the sport in spectacular fashion during a major national event and went home to create a new extreme sport,Freestyle Motocross (FMX),marked by high-flying stunts and death-defying action. From there, the ride just got wilder. On a lark, he and a friend created The Metal Mulisha,now a top brand in FMX,and he was on a fast track to the good life. But after a near-fatal accident, Link"made a series of decisions that almost finished him off for good,getting involved in prescription drugs, drug and gun running, underground fistfighting, and other behaviour that compromised his health, his relationships, and his career. After hitting rock bottom and experiencing a moment of clarity, Link began to turn things around, salvaging and strengthening the things that mattered most. Now an icon to millions of extreme sports fans, Link is well on the road to a happy ending.
"Ivan Mauger "is the first book to detail the complete career of one of Speedway's greatest legends. With wide appeal in both Europe and worldwide, this book contains a wealth of images of his magnificent career. John Chaplin reveals the complex personality that is Ivan Mauger, the dedicated and often ruthlessly efficient ambition that made him a virtual sporting automaton. His achievements in motorcycle track racing (nine individual world titles on long track and speedway) are legendary, but here Chaplin exposes the magic behind the myth, the soft center concealed by the steely resolve that enabled Mauger to emerge from the obscurity of his small-town New Zealand origins to earn a worldwide acclaim which he continues to enjoy. He elevated a minority sport to a new dimension with a unique professionalism that made him at once feared, hated, envied and admired. In the words of opponents, friends, enemies, business associates, employers and colleagues, this is uniquely Ivan Mauger, the man behind the myth.
Ballington Unkorked is the story of a South African boy who fell in love with motorcycle racing after watching international stars at his home town circuit. His pure passion drove him onwards and upwards as he began living out his dream. A chance trip to Europe to take part in the big time triggered a phase where, against the odds, guts and perseverance took him to the very pinnacle of success, World Champion Road Racer.
The illustrated biography of the former Speedway World Champion Bruce Penhall, who not only won everything individually in a career that established him as one of the all-time great riders, but also turned Cradley Heath into League Champions. Speedway is resurgent at present with high attendances and television coverage. Cradley Heath have a large fan base and previous Heathens titles have sold extremely well.
The Southampton Speedway team was one of the founder members of the first speedway league in 1929. Indeed, it was the Southampton promoter at the time, George 'Jimmy' Baxter, who had the idea that dirt-track racing - as it was then called - needed competitive league racing, consisting of teams with which fans could identify, to remain popular. This collection of team groups, action photographs, portraits and other memorabilia compiled by Paul Eustace, charts the history of speedway at Banister Court Stadium from the pioneer days of 1928 to its sad demise in 1963. Special mention is made of Charlie Knott, the 'Guv'nor' as he was fondly known, who was the man behind Southampton Speedway. With his fellow directors and loyal workforce, he brought the best of speedway entertainment to the Hampshire Public. Many of speedway's biggest names wore the Saints' race jacket and are included in the book. Rider such as 'Sprouts' Elder, Jack and Norman Parker, Phil Bishop, Alec Stratham, Cordy Milne, Gus Kuhn, Dicky Smythe, Les Wotton, Dick Bradley, Brian Crutcher, 'Split' Waterman, Geoff Mardon, Bjorn Knutsson, Olle Nygren, Cyril Roger and Barry Briggs brought the thrills to thousands at Banister Court, as did many local favourites who are also featured. This book, with over two hundred illustrations and accompanying text, is sure to revive memories for Saints fans and will also be of great interest to all speedway enthusiasts.
This is the definitive portrait of a small-town man who became an American icon. Evel Knievel may have jumped the Snake River Canyon and posed on every kid's lunchbox in the 70s, but few know the story of this kid from a small, lawless mining town who invented a persona that would captivate, and embody, the 1970s and beyond.
The story of speedway's premier event. This annual competition pits the biggest riding stars against each other to decide who is the best. The most widely anticipated competition in the sport, it is this event that confirms reputations and showcases the greatest riders. The book covers from the early World Championships in the 1930s to the modern Grand Prix of the twenty-first century.
This is a concise history of what many regard as the Cinderella team of British speedway. Tracing its history from its first match in 1947 to forced closure 5 years later and resurrection in 1960, the book vividly evokes the highs and lows of a team perched on the precarious brink of financial collapse.
Jamie Dobb is this country's most successful Motocross racer of recent times after becoming Britain's first ever 125cc World Champion at the age of twenty-nine. This action-packed book recounts the twists and turns of his 2002 250cc World Championship campaign as a factory rider with KTM. The story includes flashbacks to his season of glory in 2001 and the rest of his sixteen-year career, working and often fighting to reach the pinnacle of the sport. Offering a fascinating glimpse into the life of a Motocross World Champion with all that it entails - fear, crashes, broken bones, excitement, training and gritty determination - this book also explores what it is like to be a professional athlete and experience the spectrum of emotions that only the thrilling world of motorsport can deliver.
Tom Farndon, a shy young man from Coventry, set out on the road to speedway stardom in 1929. Within five years he had reached celebrity status matched only by today's sporting idols. His skill, daring and remarkable ability had seen him achieve a fame and fortune unsurpassed on the speedway track. His good looks and sheer charisma brought him a huge fan following, particularly among young women, and his incredible talent for speedway racing brought him not only the admiration of his peers but the solid achievement of winning every dirt-track championship there was to be won. In 1935, just as he had reached the height of his fame, tragedy struck; he was killed in a track accident at the age of just twenty-four. To this day, Farndon is still revered throughout the speedway world as arguably the greatest rider of all time. Written by respected speedway historians Norman Jacobs and John Chaplin, and with the support and aid of his family, this is the story of Tom Farndon's remarkable life and his unquenchable spirit of adventurous youth; a must-have for any fan of speedway and its heroes.
Leigh Adams has been one of the most successful speedway riders in the world. Having been a regular World Championship contender since 1996, he's spent over twenty years racing in the top leagues throughout Europe - winning countless individual and team honours. Leaving his family behind in Australia, teenager Adams arrived in Britain to ride for the Poole Pirates in 1989 where we made an immediate impact. He soon established himself as one of Australia's leading riders and a top-scorer for his team. Although he's raced for a variety of clubs, it's Swindon where he's regarded as a legend and he holds many club records. Famed for his professionalism and classy style, he reveals who really taught him the most during his early days, talks candidly about his clashed and rivalries with the top riders, his disputes with some of the sport's officials and the extraordinary lengths some teams go to in order to secure an advantage. From the training ground in Midura, Australia, to the glamour of the Millennium Stadium in Wales, the Australian also reflects on the triumphs, frustrations and bitter disappointment which is part and parcel of speedway racing. This remarkable biography combines Leigh's own revealing insight, with recollections from his rivals, family and team-mates to present an unrivalled account of life as an international speedway rider.
Sam Ermolenko has been at the forefront of speedway for the last two decades. He has won four world team gold medals with the USA side and has Best Pairs champion and British League Riders champion. A biography.
A history of speedway in the North West
The Wembley Lions enjoyed early success, and then became even stronger after the Second World War to win seven out of eight league titles between 1946 and 1953. This book tells the story of the pre-war years when the foundations for this success was laid and when tens of thousands of supporters would turn out for meetings.
Chris Morton is regarded as one of Britain's greatest riders as he won almost every title except the world crown. Starting from a small village in Cheshire, to the glamour of the world's speedway circuits, this book describes the journey to the highest level of speedway racing - a ruthless place where all that matters is to be a winner. |
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