Archive for Items Categorized 'Racing, Rally', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Northeast American Sports Car Races 1950–1959

by Terry O’Neil

This book documents the progression from amateur to professional sports car racing in North America over the course of a decade and the emergence of purpose-built racetracks that began to replace road circuits.

Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then . . . And Back Now

by Derek Lawson

Inspired by the success of the Can-Am series with its unlimited formula and powerful V8 engines this initially low-cost racing series for cars with a maximum engine capacity of 5L attracted many of the names we would recognize from the “big leagues.”

Formula 1 Technical Analysis 2009–2010

by Giorgio Piola

You may watch every race of the season and faithfully snip every technical article in specialist magazines, and you may even have contacts in the F1 community—and you still wouldn’t know all the technical intricacies this book series has been able to clarify since its launch in 1994.

Behind the Wheel: The Great Automobile Aficionados

by Robert Puyal

Puyal takes a cerebral approach to his subject. The lives of 54 people are enlisted to tell stories of wo/man’s relationship with the car through the ages.

Nissan GT-R Supercar: Born to Race

by Dennis Gorodji

Even if you only pay peripheral attention to current cars you are probably vaguely aware that the GT-R is often singled out for its sophisticated handling. If you follow motorsports you already know that that is quite the understatement and that the GT-R can well be said to have revolutionized sports car dynamics.

Le Mans 1960–69: The Official History of the World’s Greatest Motor Race

by Quentin Spurring

Note the word “official”—this book is indeed published in association with l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organizer. Thus Spurring had access to the ACO’s own archive of photographs and race data although it is not the first or the only book to have had that benefit.

BRM: A Mechanic’s Tale

by Dick Salmon

A linguist might point out the negative connotations of the word “tale” (fiction, untruth even), but here—absent any evidence to the contrary—we take it to mean “narrative of events,” in other words a story. Think of it as a memoir, interrupted by frequent elbow jabs. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.

Can-Am Cars in Detail: Machines and Minds Racing Unrestrained

by Pete Lyons & Peter Harholdt

If you know your cars and you saw the cover photo without any text, you’d know right away you’re looking at a Can-Am car. Ain’t nothin’ like it. The subtitle says it all: Unrestrained. Unrestricted. Formula Libre. Anything goes.

Go Faster: The Graphic Design of Racing Cars

by Sven Voelker

If you are a motorsports enthusiast you already know that there must be hundreds, thousands of race cars that could be discussed. If you bought this book sight unseen on the strength of its title, you’d probably expect a visual primer on the evolution, purpose, and practical application of the use of graphics on racecars. Well . . .

Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970

by Jean François Bouzanquet

This is the English translation of a French book. The topic of female racing drivers has been a wildly neglected one in the literature and even this book scratches only the surface by focusing only on European drivers (with two American exceptions, McCluggage and Skelton) and on only 49 of them in detail.

Grand Prix Battlegrounds: A Comprehensive Guide to All Formula 1 Circuits Since 1950

by Christopher Hilton

This well-thought out book is another feather in Hilton’s already crowded cap. He isn’t just disgorging dates and facts and figures but paints a picture. In this book he is your tour guide, and like every good tour guide, he shows you things even the locals don’t know.