Bill Thompson Australian Motor Racing Champion - review by Michael Stahl

 

Bill Thompson Australian Motor Racing Champion

AN IMPRESSIVE motorsport book that latterly caught my eye, did so not only  with its daunting size and historic photography, but with its subject matter. Bill Thompson— Australian Motor Racing Champion is a lavish homage to someone of whom I, and probably you, had never even heard.
Thompson, born in Sydney in 1906, was a three-time winner of the Australian Grand Prix (1930, '32-'33). Adelaide-based historic racer Kent Patrick relates Thompson's life and career with intriguing sidetracks and wry understatement that betray Patrick's former role as a stipendiary magistrate.
William Bethel "Bill" Thompson had a comfortable upbringing, though the larrikin kid left his expensive school at 16 to commence a career with various motor importers.

A 1925 tour of England's Brooldands circuit, followed by the opening of Sydney's treacherous concrete bowl at Maroubra, only fuelled Thompson's belief that he had been born to join the era's heroes like AV. Rimer, R.G. 'Phil' Garlick and Hope Bartlett.

Through his small, specialised garage, Thompson met a patron in professor Dr Arthur Burkitt, who funded a 1.5-litre Bugatti Type 37. They had missed the first Australian Grand Prix in 1928 by three months but Thompson, with Burkitt as riding mechanic, enjoyed immediate class success in various hillclimbs, dirt ovals, beach sprints and, at his second attempt, Maroubra.

Thompson was skilled, and blessed with top-flight machinery. Patrick's accounts of all the leading cars of the day are fascinating, often enhanced by asides on their current whereabouts: the front axle of Bartlett's Sunbeam, for example, is today part of a boat mooring.

In the 1929 AGP, the Thompson/Burkitt Bugatti retired after only five laps on the dusty, packed-dirt surface. What Thompson dismissed as a "blow-up", here invites a full page's discourse on the intricacies of Bugatti monobloc engines.

Burkitt bankrolled a new Bug, the supercharged 37A, in plenty of time for the 1930 AGP. After a costly early stop to cure a misfire, Thompson stormed back from 10th to second place. He inherited the lead when arch¬rival Arthur Terdich's 37A threw a rod on the 11th of 31 laps, and won the AGP.
Thompson was forced to sit out the following year's Depression-wracked race. His 37A had been 'sold' to Hope Bartlett, but the car would return, after a court battle, to Thompson the following year. The fully rebuilt 37A started the 1932 race as favourite and, despite an oil leak, Thompson duly became the first double winner of the AGP.

Six months later, the 37A was almost written off at a hillc_limb event. Thompson left his struggling Sydney garage to join new Riley importers Empire Motors, which brought him an ex-works Brooklands Riley for the 1933 AGP.

On a wet, choppy circuit, the Riley threatened to shake itself to pieces. But ahead of Thompson, the leading trio of Bugattis failed one by one, handing him his third AGP. It would be his last AGP win, but in both 1934 and '35, driving a K3 MG for his new employer Robert Lane, Thompson would miss victory by less than 30 seconds.

So, in six AGP starts, Thompson won three times, finished second twice and failed to finish once. Four times he set the fastest lap.

By mid-1935 Thompson had largely retired from racing. He took a job with Shell and, in late-1938,
the result of a long friendship with General Thomas Blarney, became a provisional lieutenant with the Australian Army Reserve.

Officially, he was involved in the sourcing of marine engine parts. Patrick cites evidence that Thompson was recruited for espionage. In either of these roles, he was aboard a US Air Force Coronado flying boat when it suffered a mild crash-landing in the Marshall islands in March, 1945. Thompson drowned in the accident.

The book concludes with comprehensive chapters on the whereabouts of the cars significant in Thompson's career. Here is revealed why the topic of Bill Thompson is so close to the author's heart:
his own Bugatti 37A beats with many of the parts from Thompson's most famous racer.

Michael Stahl (Wheels Magazine)

Automoto Bookshop - Bill Thompson Australian Motor Racing Champion (signed) - more info...

Automobile Year 2011 - 2012

Automobile year 2011 - 2012 Annual

Autocourse 2011 - 2012

(No. 61) Grand Prix Annual



Autocourse 2011 - 2012 Annual

 

Motocourse 2011 - 2012

(No. 36) Grand Prix and Superbike Annual

Motocourse 2001 - 2012 annual.

 

Bill Thompson Australian Motor Racing Champion - new book

Bill Thompson Australian Motor Racing Champion (signed by the author) - Description

Bill Thompson won the Australian Grand Prix in 1930, 1932 and 1933 but missed victory in the 1934 and 1935 events by the tantalizingly brief period of 41 seconds. In his dazzling 7 1/2 year career he won rallies, hillclimbs, sprints, circuit and speedway - races and his competition success rate far exceeded that of any other Australian motor sport champion. This 416 page book with nearly 300 photographs covers the early history of Australian motor sport along with Bill Thompson's life from birth until his premature death during the closing stages of World War ll.

It also covers his business activities - not always free of controversy - his careers with Shell, the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, his marriages and each known competition event and the fate of each of the cars and racing venues with which he was associated.
His racing contemporaries, friends and sponsors also are included in this Australian motor sport and social history book on a legendary figure, described by one observer as one of the two best racing drivers Australia ever had.

book details...

Ghosts in the Bull Pens: A Speedway Racing at the Sydney Showground Royale

by: Tony Loxley, Dennis Newlyn

Ghosts in the Bull Pens: A Speedway Racing at the Sydney Showground Royale - purchase the book from the Automoto Bookshop website (click here).

Forewords by Bryan Cunneen, Jim Airey, Doug Robson and Steve Raymond (OAM)
Over 350images covering the years from the '20s to 1996.
Due for Christmas 2011 ! ! !

Book Description

The Sydney Showground Speedway had a mystique about it that no other race track in Australia was able to reciprocate. From its early beginnings in the '20s to its final race meeting on 27 April, 1996, this hallowed and daunting race venue captured the imagination of competitors and race fans around the world — simply put, there was nothing like it — anywhere.
Today however, the majestic and monolithic Clock Tower still oversees this historic venue, now home to Rupert Murdoch's Fox Studios, yet despite the fact that much of the original venue is now hidden behind industrial and office facades, and the once lethal, narrow racing oval now removed to make way for a footpath, the aura of this amazing venue still echoes with the roar of racing engines, and the smells of burnt methanol, cooking hamburgers, chips in the fryer. Pluto pups, and of course, the murmurs and cheers of the massive crowds who freauented the track throughout each summer racing season for six, wonderful decades.
Gone too is the annual two week extravaganza of the Royal Easter Show, but if the imagination is allowed to run free, the specter of the Bull Pens turn, the race track's most lethal corner, is still present; so too, perhaps, the ghosts of the 29 riders and drivers who were lost racing at this imposing speedway.

About the Authors

Historian Dennis Newlyn, who covered the halcyon days of the '60s and '70s as a journalist for the periodicals and newspapers of the day, and who was a leading magazine publisher at the time, and publisher Tony Loxley, who attended on many occasions as a spectator and later photographer, have put together a treasure trove of images and memories of this much lamented venue that allows the reader to drift back into the past, and relive those glory days of racing at the Sydney Showground Royale that continues to mean so much to so many.

Brabham Ralt Honda The Ron Tauranac Story

purchase a copy signed by Ron Tauranac from our official website

 

 

Until now, the man whose racing cars have won more victories than anyone else's, and whose design skills have brought fame to hundreds of drivers and made champions of a good many of them, has remained in the background.
Ron Tauranac - British-born, but brought up in Australia - always preferred to let his cars sing his praises where it really mattered - on the race tracks of the world. They have never been known as Tauranacs, but the names Brabham and Ralt will be very familiar to anyone who has followed motor racing since the Sixties. And so, of course, is Honda, the company which supplied the engines for some of Tauranac's most successful Brabham and Ralt racing cars and with which he still retains close links as a design consultant, working behind the scenes on several of their motor racing activities.
Author Mike Lawrence was one of a growing number of people who felt that Ron Tauranac's significant contribution to modern motor racing should be shielded from public view no longer, for there was a fascinating story to be told. It is one which weaves the familiar motor racing fabric of brilliant success laced with occasional bitter disappointment, and it has at its centre a man who throughout his life has never walked when he could run, has at times been insufferably demanding and a pain to work for, but whose skills, dedication to hard work, honesty and integrity have been such that those who have suffered the most from his tongue remain amongst his most fervent admirers.
Sir Jack Brabham, in his foreword to this long overdue biography, pays generous tribute to his former business partner into whose hands he entrusted the design and construction of all his own racing cars from 1962 until his retirement from driving in 1970, plus all the production Brabhams which brought so much success to many other top drivers during their formative years.
Sir Jack himself and his team-mate Denny Hulme both became Formula One World Champions in Tauranac-designed cars, many other drivers have won National and International championships in them, and nearly everyone who sits on a Grand Prix starting grid today has previously been a Ralt driver, along with former stars like Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Derek Warwick and Martin Brundle.
Many of Ron Tauranac's former colleagues and customers - amongst them the most powerful people in motor racing today - speak candidly about the man they have known and worked with, someone who has never courted popularity, but whose talents have been such that his contribution to the motor racing scene is possibly beyond measure. Anyone who is either involved in the sport or fascinated by it will be delighted that through this book The Ron Tauranac Story has finally been told.
Ron Tauranac has designed racing cars for over forty years and Mike Lawrence's book documents his work in detail - particularly with regard to Brabham, Honda and his own Ralt firm. It is a superb biography of one of the pivotal figures in motor sport. It provides an educational outing into the world of open-wheel race car productions. Virtually anybody who was somebody in racing has made an appearance here. If you are looking to learn the truths of who, why and when, then this is the book for you.
With 288 pages and 62 photos and illustrations. (First published by Motor Racing Publications in 1999). SB.

Holden Monaro: It's a Legend (book signed by Gavin Farmer)

Introduction

 

this publication is available for purchase on our official website

Holden was the last of the General Motors' divisions to market a pillarless hardtop coupe. All of its US divisions had been producing coupes for many years and during the 60s Opel ventured into the coupe market with its large Admiral coupe that could be had with a Chevrolet 283cid V8 in its top version. Smaller Opel coupes followed. Even arch conservative Vauxhall had coupes long before Holden.
The European and Japanese companies successfully began selling coupes in small but consistent numbers from the mid-to-late 60s; Holden's great rival in Australia, Ford, introduced the Falcon hardtop coupe with its XP range and while initial success was had, buyer interest waned and Ford also lost interest. Adding the Monaro to the HK range knowing the way the Falcon had blossomed and died must have taken guts. We, the motoring enthusiast of Australia, thank the executives who backed the decision and the talented people who made it happen.
That the third generation should have been called Monaro was quite remarkable. Mike Simcoe was against the name but the dealers and the media had christened it Monaro from the get go once they had seen the Concept Coupe and public opinion in a way forced Holden to go with the name.
The excitement that the Concept Coupe generated for Holden was remarkable, buyers only too willing to place large deposits with their dealer which put an enormous amount of pressure on Holden who in some ways seemed reluctant to go with the coupe. The deal with Pontiac was really icing on the cake and assisted in gaining international exposure for the Holden product but more importantly for the talented people who were able to show that they could design and manufacture a new model in a fraction of the time and cost that it would have taken in America.

About the author

Gavin Farmer has had a lifetime involvement with cars one way or another. He was still in high school when he bought his first car magazine—Modern Motor, September 1959—that began a collection that today numbers in the hundreds. Once he had a job he began adding books to his collection and then model cars.
Today he is one of Australia's leading motoring historians and regularly contributes to such prestigious publications as Automobile Quarterly, Collectible Automobiles, The Automobile, Bimmer, Sports Car International and others. in addition he has written several books including Tickford: The Joy of Driving; Imprezive WRX: Subaru's Turbo Legend; Hey Charger: The Sensational Chrysler Valiant Charger, Leyland P76: Anything but Average, Great Ideas in Motion: A History of Chrysler in Australila 1946-1981 and Aerodynamic Tatras.
From the 70s through to the 90s he worked in the automobile industry in various roles from manufacturing, sales—wholesale and retail—and public relations before turning his abilities to writing. His original professional training was for teaching but he was looking for wider challenges in life. To this end he has been a State Manager for a multimedia educational publisher as well as a company that marketed computerised dispensary systems.
All the while he was adding to his knowledge of automobiles, the industry and the many new technologies. A colleague once described him as a barefoot engineer!" A man who is passionate about the automobile and its history, Gavin lives with his wife on a small property in the beautiful Adelaide hills where he enjoys occasional drives in his Subaru ff-1 and has begun restoring his 1949 Jowett Javelin.

see more details about the Holden Monaro book on our official website

The Fabulous Farm: Warwick Farm (reprint of the original publication)

The Fabulous Farm: Warwick Farm (reprint of the original publication) - buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop:

"reprint of the original book from 1979


A history of the Tasman Cup races contested at Sydney's Warwick Farm circuit by the cream of International and Australian stars... Brabham, McLaren, Moss, Clark, Stewart, Amon, Rindt, Hill and many more...



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Historic Racing Cars in Australia

Historic Racing Cars in Australia - buy a book from the Automoto Bookshop
by John B. Blanden

This second and greatly expanded edition of John Blanden's ground-breaking 1979 book now covers Historic racing cars in Australia built from the early days up to 1970. Whilst some cars from the earlier edition have been omitted, the history of those that remain, in most cases up-dated, is shown together with details of many well-known Australian racing cars from the following decade.

Some 460 photographs accompany detailed information about these much sought-after cars and their ownership history.

more info about the book by John Blanden...

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Liverpool City Raceway: The Place of Pace 1967 - 1989 (signed by the author)

Liverpool City Raceway: The Place of Pace 1967 - 1989- buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop



This edition is limited to 1000 copies individually numbered and signed by Tony Loxley.
Book Description

The colour, the excitement and the magnificent contribution Liverpool City Raceway made to Australian speedway history has been captured in a new book soon to be released by author Tony Loxley.

Titled Liverpool City Raceway: the Place of Pace 1967-1989, this book covers the incredible era of the venue in 352 gloss pages of words and superb photos.

"Originally I only wanted to do 220 pages, but soon found that the quality of images and fantastic interest from former competitors ensured that more pages needed to be added ... and more, and more," Loxley explained.
"There was something unique about Liverpool that no other track was able to duplicate ... and I've been to most of them.
"No racetrack matched Liverpool in relation to the publicity it gained throughout its lifetime. It may have run for only 22 years, but it had an impact around the world like no other... and it was a quarter-mile track in the outskirts of Sydney.
"Who would have thought this track in a place called Green Valley could have pulled such enormous crowds week in, week out right up until it closed its gates in 1989?
"The Sydney Showground Royale was the most cherished of Australia's speedway venues, but in all honesty, Liverpool was right behind it. The fact that it went from a flat dirt track, to a high-banked pavement surface, and then back to a high-banked clay surface -and stayed successful, will never be repeated again."
"Mike Raymond's words are just brilliant ... he has told the Liverpool story just like it was.
"The Place of Pace - in my opinion - is the finest work ever put together on Australian speedway racing, and is certainly my favourite book thus far. The track had an enormous impact on my life, and was the source of some of my most cherished childhood and teenage memories," Loxley concluded.

- Total images within publication: over 900 - all scanned from the original David Cumming negatives in High Resolution

- Written contributions from:

USA — AJ Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Mel Kenyon, Johnny and Billy Anderson, John Cooper (former CEO International Speedway Corp.), Dee Tattersall, Ron "Sleepy" Tripp, Ed Wilbur, Gene Welch, Pam Bennett, Bobby Schwartz, Dennis Sigalos, Chuck Jones, Steve and Randy Kinser and George Snider.

UK — Peter Collins (MBE), Bill Landels, Bert Harkins, Howard Cole and Nigel Boocock.

AUST — Jim Airey, Greg Kentwell, Trevor Harding, John Langfield, Ricky Day, Dave Mills, Phil Herne, Bert Kingston, Phil Crump, Craig Boyce, Paul Ash, Barry Pinchbeck, Barry Graham, Howard Revell, Kevin Park, Michael Meyer, Brooke Tatnell, Steve Brazier, Gordon Smee, Peter Crick, Jack Porritt, Bob Blacklaw, Geoff Grocott, Doug Robson, Tony Bennetts, Bruce Maxwell, officials Tom and Betty Stewart, Ray Millerd, Clive Pollett, Wally Kermond, Dick Briton, Bob Tunks, Doug McQuinn, Gordon Rundle, Garry Pollock, Ron Hutchinson, Allen Skene, Owen Bateman, John Harvey, Allan Moffatt, Bobby Baker, Graham Young, David House, Dave Wignall, Peter Taunton, Frank Van Sebille, Brian Callaghan, Doug Tyerman, Phil McCurtayne, Bob Levy, Bill Wigzell, Garry Treloar, Gary McLenahan, Carl Askew, Peter McKay, Steve Raymond (OAM), Phil Christensen, Dennis Newlyn, Peter White, Bob Christie, Sid Hopping, Walter Giles and Jim Winterbottom.

NZ — Ivan Mauger (OBE, MBE) and Mitch Shirra. Sweden — Ove Fundin. Denmark — Ole Olsen. 

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Rear Vision: An Autobiography of Pedr Davis

Rear Vision: An Autobiography of Pedr Davis - Buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop

Book Description

During six decades of motor journalism, Pedr Davis knew Stirling Moss when he was a tyro, wrote articles for Jack Brabham and was chauffeured at high speed by five-time World Formula One Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio.

He has tested prototype cars in East Africa against a background of Mau Mau terrorism and chatted with industry legends. In a memorable 1962 interview, motorcycle-maker Soichiro Honda told Davis of his plans to make 'the best cars in the world' and predicted that Japan would become the world's leading caretaker.

Davis was one of the few journalists allowed to drive the first real car, the 1885 Benz, and the first journalist to drive the car powered by Ralph Sarich's amazing engine.

His story is packed with anecdotes and fascinating snapshots of such characters as`Abe Safron, Leslie Thiess, Soichiro Honda and Dick Smith. He followed the demise of BMC, the highs and lows of Holden and Toyota's incredible climb from obscurity to best seller.

Rear Vision charts the adventures of a singular man of Welsh background and his expansive work in television, book-writing and publishing.

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Mark Webber Merchandise

	Mark Webber - 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix Print	Greg McNeill
	Mark Webber - Germany 2009 Print	Greg McNeill
	Mark Webber - Monaco 2010 Print	Greg McNeill
	Mark Webber: Two Steps Forward - A Formula One Pictorial History	John Morris

The Formula 1 Young Guns

Nick Garton

Christmas Cards / Gift Cards coming soon...

Peter Brock: Road to Glory

Peter Brock: Road to Glory - Buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop

The amazing story of a legend's rise to fame

A dramatic look at Peter Brock's life - in particular the period which fashioned his character, created the legend and made him a household name in Australia - as told by people who knew him from the start.

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Can-Am Cars in Detail

Can-Am Cars in Detail - Buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop


a book by: Pete Lyons, Peter Harholdt

Giant engines. Revolutionary aeroforms. Thunderous power, lap speeds faster than those of Formula One cars, and a freedom from regulation that today’s racers may not even be able to dream of. That was the Can-Am.

The original Canadian-American Challenge Cup series only lasted from 1966 to 1974, but what ground-shaking, carshaping years those were. With minimal rules and lavish prize money, the Can-Am attracted top-flight teams and superstar drivers from sports cars, F1, and Indy car racing. It also encouraged innovation, and for almost every round, racing’s most inventive minds brought out novel and astounding ideas.

Chaparral produced cars with wings and suction fans and two engines. McKee made a car shaped like a wedge. Lola tried a car shaped like a bullet. Shadow investigated Tiny Tires. Ferrari built its biggest-ever engine for the Can-Am. And the first successfully turbocharged road racer was a Can-Am Porsche.

But the most successful Can-Am cars were those built to survive on North America’s most demanding road courses. McLarens were big and powerful and fast, but they were also technically conservative, with each season’s car no more advanced than was necessary to win. And win they did: McLaren cars dominated the series, winning five championships and better than 60 percent of all Can-Am races.

Can-Am Cars in Detail revisits 22 of these epic machines through stunning studio photography by Peter Harholdt and vivid descriptions by Pete Lyons, long considered the dean of Can-Am journalists. Can-Am cars are beautiful blends of art and action, pinnacles of engineering and craftsmanship that express the heights of human imagination and ambition and achievement. Seen in the chronological order that they appeared at Bridgehampton, Mosport, Laguna Seca and other classic road courses, these machines invite us to join them on a journey.

1. Chaparral 2E
2. Lola T70-Ford
3. Genie Mk 10B
4. McLaren M6A
5. Honker II
6. Caldwell D7
7. McLeagle
8. McLaren M8B
9. Ferrari 612 P
10. Ford 429’er
11. McKee Mk 10 “Wedge”
12. Chaparral 2H
13. AVS Shadow Mk 1
14. Porsche 917PA
15. Chaparral 2J
16. McLaren M8F
17. Lola T260
18. Porsche 917/10K
19. McLaren M20
20. Lola T310
21. Porsche 917/30
22. Shadow DN4

Aviation Books - Automoto Bookshop

Aviation Books - Automoto Bookshop:
Aviation Books - A range of military and civil aircraft books.

Aviation Books A range of military and civil aircraft books.

Product Name Author Price Aerospatiale BAC Concorde 1969 onwards (All Models) Owners' Workshop Manual David Leney, David Macdonald AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95 Avro Lancaster 1941 Onwards (all marks) Owners' Workshop Manual Jarrod Cotter, Paul Blackah AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95 Avro Vulcan (B2 Model) 1952 Onwards Owners' Workshop Manual Alfred Price, Tony Blackman, Andrew Edmondson AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95 De Havilland Tiger Moth 1931 - 1945 Owners' Workshop Manual Stephen Slater AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95 Messerschmitt Bf109 1935 onwards (all marks) Owners' Workshop Manual Paul Blackah, Malcolm V. Lowe AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95 Nasa Mission AS-506 Apollo 11 1969 (including Saturn V, CM-107, SM-107, LM-5) Owners' Workshop Manual Christopher Riley, Phil Dolling AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95 Supermarine Spitfire 1936 onwards (all marks) Owners' Workshop Manual Alfred Price, Paul Blackah AUD $49.95 AUD $32.95

A History Of The Vintage Sports Car Club Of Australia: Broken Hill Division (Sig

A History Of The Vintage Sports Car Club Of Australia: Broken Hill Division - buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop

It is appropriate that I apologise in advance for the surfeit of the photographs press cutting and data related to my own vehicles included in this "History"
Neville Webb 2009

Readers may understand that we all tend to collect and treasure any printed references to our own memorable happenings — as I did in the happy years of my association with the Broken Hill Division of the Vintage Sports Car Club of Australia from 1952 to 1960. Fortunately many photos and some data included in this collection has been provided by previous members of the Club, a lot of photographs being enlargements of small Box Brownie type, taken long before coloured prints and digital cameras were available. In this respect my thanks are due to Bob Jervies, Don Mudie, Ian Virgo and Don Evans together with some ex members no longer with us, notably John Cann, Arthur Johnston and Graham Lawler who, before his recent tragic passing, provided most of the coloured photographs. Graham was also in the process of completing a DVD featuring the Club's social activities and the personalities involved in them. Hopefully his efforts will see fruition by the completion of his historic DVD.
Don Mudie not only produced a video tape of many of the competitive events but organized a reunion in June 1988 of ex members of the VSCC of A Broken Hill. The reunion coincided with the Annual Presentation Dinner of the Veteran & Vintage Car Club of Broken Hill to which the ex members were invited. Whilst addressing the dinner guests on their behalf, I promised to donate to the VVCC my own collection of photographs, programmes, circulars and magazines so that some permanent record of the old club could be preserved. The sort-out of the material together with that donated to the "history" has finally been completed and forms the basis of this small volume, a copy of which will pass to the WCC.

Don Mudie as a member of that Club and also of the Historical Society will become carer of the original material which hopefully may be preserved by the Society.

Shunt: The Story of James Hunt

Shunt: The Story of James Hunt - Buy The Book From The Automoto Bookshop

Stock Code: B14972B Publisher Code: 978095656500 ISBN 13: 978095656500 Published: 2010 Pages: 602 Dimensions: 160x240mm Illustrations: Hard Cover, Colour ill Click to enlarge Description James Hunt is remembered more for his girlfriends and wild personal exploits than for his skills in a race car. But the excesses of his glamorous life cannot hide the fact that he was, in many people's opinion, the fastest driver on the Formula One circuits in the 1970s. In an era dominated by the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda and Ronnie Peterson, Hunt stood out in terms of raw speed and his seemingly effortless ability to plant a Formula One car on pole position. In this first full and comprehensive account of the life of James Hunt, the author and his researchers have examined every detail of the driver's life - from his very earliest days to the last hours of his existence - as well as the lives of the people he left behind. It is a story many have tried to tell - but never in such a complete way.This is that story. An icon of the 1970s ...the story of a life Chapter 1 Death: the unexpected -1993 Chapter 2. Early Life – 1947-1965 Chapter 3 Metamorphis: doctor to driver –1965-1967 Chapter 4 Mini Racer –1967 Chapter 5 Into Formula Ford –1968-1969 Chapter 6 The first big accident –1968 Chapter 7 The Vallelunga Incident Chapter 8 Fateful meeting with John Hogan – 1970 Chapter 9 The Formula 3 years – 1969-1972 Chapter 10 Flattening Dave Morgan and the shunts Chapter 11 Character building and the lack of a 'Plan B' Chapter 12 The Turning Point: meeting Bubbles and Alexander – 1971 Chapter 13 Formula 2 proves the springboard to Fl –1972-1973 Chapter 14 Formula One finally beckons – 1973 Chapter 15 Established in Formula One -1974 Chapter 16 Spain and tax exile – 1974 Chapter 17 Marriage to Suzy and Richard Burton to the rescue Chapter 18 The First Win – 1975 Chapter 19 Nearly down and out of Formula One – 1975 Chapter 20 The Championship Year – 1976 Chapter 21 Fiasco at Brands Hatch – 1976 Chapter 22 Near-Death Experience: Niki Lauda Chapter 23 Showdown in Japan Chapter 24 Reigning World Champion –1976- 1977 Chapter 25 Girls, Girls, Girls then Jane – 1975-1977 Chapter 26 A desperately disappointing title defence –1977 Chapter 27 A fear of death hold Chapter 28 The end of the road with McLaren – 1978 Chapter 29 The death of Ronnie Peterson –1978 Chapter 30 --Sudden retirement and gone –1979 Chapter 31 The return to Britain – 1980 Chapter 32 Disaster on the ski slopes – 982 Chapter 33 Fleetwood Mac, the BBC and all that –1980 Chapter 34 Meeting Sarah and wedding number two – 1982 Chapter 35 Family Life: Freddie and Tom and . . . the budgerigars Chapter 36 Black dog and his lost decade Chapter 37 Separation from Sarah and financial disaster Chapter 38 Helen's arrival sparks a personal revival – 1990-1993 Chapter 39 Premature goodbye to a great champion –1994 Chapter 40 Life after James

Mark Webber: Two Steps Forward - A Formula One Pictorial History

Mark Webber: Two Steps Forward - A Formula One Pictorial History - Buy the book from the Automoto Bookshop

Stock Code: B14983B Publisher Code: WEBB ISBN 13: 9780980524857 Published: 2010 Pages: 170 Dimensions: 290x210mm Illustrations: Soft Bound, colour ill Description Mark Webber is one of the "unsung" international stars of Australian sport. To get to the very top level of world motorsport without family wealth or substantial corporate support or contacts is a massive achievement. To get there was one thing; to make his mark on Formula 1 has been another. Mark is an individual who remains completely grounded, and a typical Aussie, despite the rarified air and occasionally bizarre bubble that F1 drivers live in.

Speed, Style, and Beauty: Cars From The Ralph Lauren Collection

Speed, Style, and Beauty: Cars From The Ralph Lauren Collection - Buy The Book from the Automoto Bookshop Official Website.

The Cars
by Beverly Rae Kimes & Winston S. Goodfellow

• 1929 BLOWER BENTLEY 2
• 1930 MERCEDES-BENZ COUNT TROSSI SSK 10
• 1955 MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL GULLwING COUPE 20
• 1958 MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL ROADSTER 28
• 1931 ALFA ROMEO MONZA 8C 2300 34
• 1938 ALFA ROMEO 8C 2900 MILLE M/GLIA 42
• 1933 BUGATTI TYPE 59 GRAND PRIX 50
• 1937 BUGATTI TYPE 57SC GANGLOFF DROP HEAD COUPE 58
• 1938 BUGATTI TYPE 57SC ATLANTIC COUPE 64
• 1954 MORGAN PLUS FOUR 72
• 1950 JAGUAR XIC120 ALLOY ROADSTER 78
• 1955 JAGUAR XKD 86
• 1957 JAGUAR XKSS 92
• 1954 FERRARI 375 PLUS 98
• 1958 FERRARI 250 TESTA ROSSA 106
• 1961 FERRARI 250 TR 61 SPYDER FANTUZZI 112
• 1962 FERRARI 250 GTO 120
• 1955 PORSCHE 550 SPYDER 128
• 1959 PORSCHE RSK 134
• 1965 ASTON MARTIN DB5 VOLANTE 140
• 1960 FERRARI 250 GT SWB BERLINETTA SCAGLIETTI 146
• 1960 FERRARI 250 GT SPYDER CALIFORNIA 152
• 1964 FERRARI 250LM 158
• 1965 FERRARI 275 P2/3 SPYDER DROGO 164
• 1967 FERRARI 275 GTB/4 NART SPYDER 170
• 1973 FERRARI 365 GTB/4 DAYTONA SPYDER 174
• 1996 McLAREN Fl 180

American Heritage

• 1948 FORD WOODY STATION WAGON 188
• 1951 WILLYS JEEP 194