Category Archives: Books

The Perfect Car The Biography Of John Barnard By Nick Skeen

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Here’s a last minute suggestion for a stocking filler for motorsports enthusiasts as Christmas 2018 looms large.

THE PERFECT CAR THE BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BARNARD by Nick Skeen is a wart’s and all account of the life of one of the most innovative Formula One design engineers in the sport’s history. With co-operation from Barnard himself and with input from his peers and former Formula One drivers, Skeen provides a fascinating insight into the life of a man driven in his search for perfection.

Born an only child into a working-class family that prided itself on being self-reliant, and with both a mother and father proficient in all things technical, it created an environment that nurtured Barnard’s tendencies to be an independent thinker and helped develop his almost obsessive attention to detail.

Although his education did not take him to university, the technical colleges gave him a good grounding in the use of different materials and sound engineering formulae that eventually led to a job at Lola cars where he cut his teeth working for Eric Broadley and given a chance to complete his first racing car design. The successful Lola T250 Super Vee. Some time spent across “the pond” in the U.S. saw Barnard continue to grow as a designer, culminating with the first ground-effect Indycar, the Chaparral 2K.

But the road to Barnard’s future successes was not an easy one for the headstrong designer.  In the competitive cauldron that is Formula One, Barnard’s approach of taking time to develop a car put him at odds with teams he worked for such as Ferrari, and also the politics that swirled around those involved, which on many occasions saw him move on before his brilliant designs achieved their full potential.

The list of Barnard’s innovations is long, and many are taken for granted in Formula One today, such as the carbon fibre monocoque chassis, the paddle shift semi-automatic gearbox, the steering wheel instrument panel to name just a few. But, more importantly, Barnard’s success forced his competitors to embrace aerospace technology and to question processes they had been reluctant to change.

And unusually for a biography, there is also a “happy ending” to Skeen’s book.  After decades of animosity between Barnard and Ron Dennis, who together made the Mclaren International Formula One team a winning force during the mid-1980s, are brought together again by Skeen in a fascinating final chapter.

Well worth a read and available from the Book Depository

Words © Geoff Dawes 2018.

HOW TO BUILD A CAR by Adrian Newey

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HOW TO BUILD A CAR is the understated title of Adrian Newey O.B.E.’s new autobiography. Recognised as the most successful aerodynamicist and design engineer in Formula 1 history, Newey’s book reveals the hard work and personal sacrifices that it takes to design and develop World Championship-winning racing cars.

As a boy, Newey was greatly influenced by his father, a Vet by profession but a prodigious tinkerer and owner of a number of interesting cars. Famously expelled from Repton Boarding School, Newey followed a different path to reach the career, even as a child, he knew he wanted to pursue.

In many ways, this book revolves around the story behind each of the winning cars he designed but stitched together by the thread of his personal life story. The illustrations of his design ideas are insightful and well explained and Newey does not evade mistakes he has made along the way but worked so hard to rectify and finally succeed.

Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in 1994 in the Newey designed Williams FW16 is a sobering account of the responsibility that the design team have to the driver in a sport where winning is everything. The book is also peppered with humorous stories and anecdotes, so whether you are an F1 fan or have just passing interest in the sport, it’s well worth a read.

Highly recommended.

Available from the Book Depository

Words Geoff Dawes © 2017.

 

 

Freddie Spencer: FEEL My Story

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I have been an enthusiast of Grand Prix motorcycle racing since the early 1970’s and always relished reading the latest news, race reports and interviews in the specialist press. To a degree, it allows a certain amount of insight into the character of our racing heroes, but like anyone who is thrust into the media spotlight, the public image does not fully reveal the person.

For example, triple World Champion, Freddie Spencer, was presented by many in the media as a devout Christian who hailed from the Bible belt town of Shreveport Louisiana USA. It was alleged his faith helped him to his first 500cc World Championship in 1983 defeating “King” Kenny Roberts by just two points. The truth though is somewhat different.

Freddie Spencer’s autobiography (with Rick Broadbent) is an openly disarming account of his life. From the early days racing with his Dad, Frederick Snr, to the highs and the lows of his racing career and the many injuries he sustained but hid from the press. Freddie reveals that he was not a churchgoer or deeply religious, but he has faith, and his journey has been in many ways a spiritual one.

Spencer is also the only rider to have won both the 250cc (Moto2) and 500cc (MotoGP) World Championship in the same season, a feat that is unlikely to be emulated. FEEL: My Story, is the book that fills in the blanks surrounding Freddie’s career and reveals a fascinating insight into his search for meaning.

Highly recommended.

Available from the Book Depository.

Review © Geoff Dawes 2017.

 

 

 

 

Two Titans

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With Christmas 2016 upon us here are two books which any motorcycle racing enthusiast would like to find under the Christmas tree.

They say a picture paints a thousand words and these two photo-autobiographies “GIACOMO AGOSTINI A LIFE IN PICTURES” and “JOHN SURTEES MY INCREDIBLE LIFE ON TWO WHEELS AND FOUR” certainly do that.  Both are primarily photographic accounts of the lives of these two motor racing giants, beautifully presented on high-quality glossy paper as hardback coffee table size publications.

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Agostini’s book is co-authored by Italian Mario Donnino, a long-serving reporter for well-known motorsport magazine Autosprint, Donino’s almost poetic narrative is combined with quotes provided by Agostini that reveal his highly competitive nature and a search for perfection in his racing.  This is hardly surprising for a man who has won eight 500cc (MotoGP) and seven 350cc World Championships accumulating along the way 122 Grand Prix victories.

It is the photographs, however, most of which are from Agostini’s own collection, that enrich this book so much,. It allows the reader to look back in time, from the late 1950’s to the mid 1970”s, to an era considered to be “Golden” in the sport of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and sometimes also deadly to its participants.

The photographs, such as the MV Agusta mechanics working in the factory workshop, and those of Giacomo socialising with his racing rivals are priceless.

Highly recommended.

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John Surtees’ book is co-authored by well-known journalist Mike Nicks who has contributed to specialist magazines such as MCN, Classic Bike among many others. The format is very similar to Agostini’s tome with the photographs accompanied by Surtee’s own description that gives an intimate voice to the book.

Surtees, of course, is the only man to ever win both the 500cc (MotoGP) World Championship (four times) and the F1 World Championship with Ferrari in 1964.  Surtees also won the inaugural CAN-AM series in 1966 and later became an F1 car constructor in 1970 with his cars winning the European Formula 2 title with Mike Hailwood in 1972.  But these are just headlines of a long and enduring career, and this book reveals so much more.

Highly recommended.

Royalties from “JOHN SURTEES MY INCREDIBLE LIFE ON TWO WHEELS AND FOUR” go to the  Henry Surtees Foundation which was set up to honour the memory of John’s son Henry, who was killed in a freak accident at Brands Hatch in 2009.

The above books are available from the Book Depository.

Review by Geoff Dawes (C) 2016

Casey Stoner Pushing The Limits

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For a large number of MotoGP followers, and in particular fans of Casey Stoner, his new autobiography (with Matthew Roberts), “Casey Stoner Pushing The Limits” subtitled ‘The controversial and explosive autobiography of a two-time World Moto GP Champion” holds very few surprises. Many of the events in Stoner’s career and early life have already been well documented in the media.9781409129219

But the book draws all the elements of Casey’s life together in a single volume that gives him the freedom to set the record straight after years muted media statements often due to the politics and pressure of the MotoGP paddock.  Stoner does not like being in the public spotlight and has found it difficult to fit the “Superstar” persona that the commercialised sports owners, Dorna, and the ensuing and often frenzied media pack try to demand.

Casey’s early life and his  love of motorcycles and racing is intriguing, and it’s clear that his upbringing played such an important part in shaping his career

However, the greatest revelation, I personally found, was his reasons for leaving Australia to compete overseas.  Although forced upon him, it was this decision that set Casey and his parents on the long and hard road to success.

“Casey Stoner Pushing The Limits” is well worth reading if you have little or no knowledge of this great Champions career. For those who follow the sport, or are a Stoner fan, it will clear the muddied waters of MotoGP politics, revealing how incredibly special the talent of Casey Stoner is.

Highly recommended.  Available from the Book Depository in hardback or paperback.

Words Geoff Dawes (C) 2013.