Sports & Recreation

The first edition of this book was groundbreaking: an entire book dedicated to F1 records and trivia, which proved hugely popular with F1 enthusiasts and fans of racing statistics. This new second edition is fully updated, with up-to-date stats, and an extended narrative including many amusing, and some serious, stories from the history of F1. There are performance records of every driver, every car constructor, and every engine make to have taken part, a detailed insight into the variety of qualifying procedures throughout the years, a summary of regulation changes since 1950 and a quick reference guide to every grand prix result.
Performances are analysed by nationality, youngest/oldest, fastest/slowest, consecutive wins, poles, most wins at different circuits, and lots more. It’s not just focused on drivers and cars, but circuits, engines and tyres too. A comprehensive photographic section depicts the changing scene of Formula 1 since its inception in 1950.
This book will be an invaluable reference book, that will both entertain and provide definitive data at your fingertips.

What reviewers said about the 1st edition:
“This is the most amazing book. In this latest thing, the author has surpassed himself. This book gives you the facts about every aspect of Formula 1 you could possibly want to know, and a good deal more besides.” – Bulletin of the British Racing Drivers’ Club

“The most comprehensive compilation of Formula 1 ever. Simply outstanding - you may know a lot about F1 - but here you have more, completely undiscovered items, oceans of F1 trivia to explore.” – Gran Turismo, Sweden

“A magnificent book. You can get to know absolutely everything on F1, rigorously documented compilation of the most exciting moments of F1 history. Essential for the 'geek' library all Formula 1. A new way of understanding F1.” – Auto-Hebdo Sports, Spain

“Weird triumphs, heroic failures, unfeasible stats, beyond belief coincidences! It’s the story of f1 like you’ve never read it before. A fest of nerdy entertainment as well as definitive data.” – Car Magazine

“Every Formula 1 fan will be amazed by this book, simply because they will discover so much they didn’t know. A treat for all fans. Nothing less than the best book for Formula 1 statistics and curiosities.” – Speedweek.com, Switzerland

Two Summers offers a fresh, revealing and highly personal look at the culture of Grand Prix racing as it was during the 1954 and 1955 championships, with individual portraits of the twelve races in which the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R participated.
This book explores the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R's historic roots, development, and its place in Grand Prix racing, detailing its triumphs, struggles and disappointments, as well as the spirited challenges from Maserati, Ferrari, Gordini and Lancia.
With carefully crafted observations and conclusions, given added drama by richly detailed illustrations, this book captures the energy and dynamic nature of these racing seasons, and shows that Juan Fangio was indeed the ultimate master of the art and science of racing a Grand Prix automobile; the W 196 R the instrument with which he honed his skills. This book captures the decisive moments when victory – hanging in the balance – tilted in Fangio's favor, due to his iron discipline, and steady hand on the wheel.
The W 196 R’s racing days may be long gone, but the car remains a shining star of Mercedes-Benz’ participation in motor sport heritage events worldwide. It is this timeless appeal of the W 196 R that gives Two Summers its vitality, charm and enduring attraction.

Now in paperback! In 1974, to rave reviews, Porsche produced the 930/911 Turbo to the public and set off on a new road. At the same time, the governing body of motorsport introduced a new ‘silhouette’ formula to sports car racing. Thus the immortal 934 and 935 were born.
This book tells the story of the 911 Turbo and its racing cousins, from the 1974 2.1-litre RSR Turbo Carrera to the tube-framed 750 horsepower final variants of the 935. These are the cars which still bring a gleam of pleasure to any of the drivers lucky enough to have sampled their enormous power and, sometimes, their wayward handling!

After saving Alfa Romeo from oblivion in 1987, it took Fiat nearly five years to debut the first new Alfa produced under its control. This is the story of how the competition versions of the 155/156/147 family of cars were developed and subsequently raced to many championship titles and race wins.
Alfa Romeo’s 155 saloon was a comprehensively successful racing touring car that won the German and world-wide DTM Championship, and later ITC races. The model also took on the role of representing the company in national touring car championships throughout the world, most notably winning the British Touring Car Championship in 1994.
The 156 was Alfa’s successor to the 155 and was also raced with much success. This book follows the development and competition history of this model too, along with its sibling, the 147. Together, these models kept the Alfa Romeo name at the pinnacle of motor sport for many years, from 1992 to 2006, and will become future motorsport classics.

The field of aerodynamics has had an increasingly significant effect on performance enhancement over the past 50 years. Competition Car Aerodynamics 3rd Edition continues the practical, hands-on approach of its popular predecessors to cover all aspects of motorsport aerodynamics and features yet more CFD and wind tunnel project material and case studies.
Aerodynamic theory is tackled in a comprehensive yet comprehensible way by author Simon McBeath, who has been granted unprecedented access to state of the art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, as well as regular access to the MIRA full-scale wind tunnel in the UK. Photographs, graphs, CFD-generated images and wind tunnel data – much of which has appeared in the successful Aerobytes series in Racecar Engineering – are used to explain with unrivalled clarity how aerodynamic performance benefits are obtained in practice. With case studies from Formula 1, sports prototypes, Formula 3, GT and saloon cars, club single-seaters and karts, this book will appeal to anyone, whether a designer, competitor, student or armchair enthusiast, wishing to gain an understanding of aerodynamics and how it can benefit the performance of all types of competition cars.

The annual Temporada (racing season), held in the 1940s and 1950s, were a time of transition in Argentine motorsport, progressing from racing circuits on rough tracks to more refined venues in Argentina’s public parks. After WWII, the Temporadas were organised in the Torreon in Mar del Plata, Parque Independencia in Rosario, Palermo, Constanera and Retiro in Buenos Aires, and Sarmiento in Córdoba. Thanks to these races, Argentina began to be seen as a suitable destination for a Formula 1 Grands Prix, and for the World Sports Car Championship, the Buenos Aires 1000km. The circuits hosted the likes of Villoresi, Varzi, Farina, Wimille, Ascari, Moss and Prince Bira, and arguably taught Juan Manuel Fangio how to drive race cars.
Wonderfully illustrated with 220 contemporary photographs, including many that have never been published before: images that will take you back in time, to the unique atmosphere of top motorsport in South America from 1950 to 1960.

This is the complete history of British international rally events, starting with the very first RAC rally of 1932, which included 1000 miles of road motoring, when a mere three driving tests were needed to produce a result. By 1951 an international permit had been achieved, a speed element was included, and the ‘Rally of the Tests’ ran until 1960. From 1961, the event took on a number of high-speed, loose-surfaced Special Stages, the Scandinavian influence became clear, and the event took on a World Championship qualification in 1973. In that time, competing cars had progressed from having perhaps 50bhp to at least 300bhp, and even more high-tech machines with 500bhp and four-wheel-drive would follow.
By then the RAC Rally was – and remains in its present form as Wales Rally GB – one of the three most important rallies in the world. Every ‘works’ team makes sure that it is represented, and it has a very important image throughout the world. Major sponsors embraced the event from the 1960s – first The Sun and Daily Mirror, then Lombard, and Network Q, and finally the Welsh government – which in recent years has become a very high-profile showcase for the world’s most exciting cars. Few other British International events have such a long and distinguished record. The 75th running of this event takes place in 2019.
With year-by-year accounts of all events in the Rally’s history, copiously illustrated with period photographs, and covering the various challenges posed by such crises as foot and mouth disease, weather conditions and controversy over rules and regulations, this book is the definitive guide.

The berlinettes were fragile, beautifully designed, lightweight road rockets. For the first time, Alpine Renault enthusiasts around the world can read the complete history of these cars in English.
This book is not just for owners of Alpine Renaults, but for all those interested in rallying and its spectacular period of rapid development in the late 1960s and early '70s. Hear from the men who built the cars, some of the great drivers who became famous driving them, the team manager, the Rédélé family – creators of the car – and the mechanics who kept the cars going. The story covers the concept, the first cars, the early road cars, and their entry into competition on the European rallying circuit, with full charted documentary details.
The Alpine A110 berlinette was a car born to compete, born to win. This is its story.

Powered by Porsche – the Alternative Race Cars is a thorough and fascinating account of the racing cars that were powered by Porsche engines, but where the chassis and development of the car was carried out by others.
The Porsche company in Zuffenhausen, Germany, can probably be said to be the most successful marque ever for victories in the motor racing scene. Likewise many firsts in innovation have come with the name Porsche attached.
Many major racing car producers such as Elva, Lotus, Lola, or March, as well as many smaller independents, at some time featured a Porsche engine in their chassis. Demand for the services and supply of cars, chassis, and parts from Porsche, often outstripped their ability to deliver during the late ’70s to early ’80s. With many new projects in the rapidly expanding Porsche organisation, race car projects had to be prioritised. This would lead to the creation of the replicas, as opposed to the factory-built works race cars, and even Porsche was building ‘replica’ 935s to supply to clients, continuing into the 962 era. In turn, a whole new, highly specialised, high quality industry grew up to meet the demand for Porsche-powered racers.
In this fascinating book we meet the racing cars, the teams and the people who turned to Porsche to utilise the power from, perhaps, the greatest of all engine makers.
This is thought to be first book on the subject, covering the entire history of Porsche engines, detailed engine specifications, non-Porsche chassis, and race details, as well as team histories with anecdotes from drivers. It is illustrated with many previously unpublished photos, and provides fascinating reading for all racing fans, as well as Porsche enthusiasts.

Back in print after a long absence!
Since the early 1920s the name Bluebird has been synonymous with world speed record breaking on land and water. Driven first by Sir Malcolm Campbell, then his son Donald, and latterly by Donald’s nephew Donald Wales in electric powered vehicles, they have consistently pushed records ever higher.
This book is the story of the design and construction of the fastest of the Bluebirds, the Campbell-Norris 7 (CN7). This car, now resident in the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in England, is the most sophisticated design ever produced for a wheel-driven record breaker. Using methods and materials developed for the aircraft industry, the CN7, given suitable running conditions, was capable in 1960 of a speed exceeding that produced by the present wheel-driven record holder 19 years later.
Donald Stevens, the author, was first employed by the designers Norris Brothers Ltd as a design draughtsman on the Bluebird K7 hydroplane. After completing his National Service in the RAF, he rejoined the company to work with the two chief designers developing the specification for CN7, and he later became project co-ordinator for its construction.

The decade between 1960 and 1970 saw British racing singles reach the peak of their development, a time in which exciting racing unfolded at circuits across the land every weekend, and the decade of Bob McIntyre, Derek Minter, Mike Hailwood, Phil Read, Bill Ivy and Peter Williams.
Racing Line documents the period from the introduction of the G50 Matchless, up to the advent of the Yamaha TR2, and the birth of the two-stroke era – a period of immense change. Britain during the 1960s wasn’t only a nation of pop music and fashion; it was a decade crammed with the most competitive racing in the history of motorcycle sport. Racing Line tells this story – the riders, the machines, the drama and the excitement.

In June 1978, 11 years after he quit Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Mike Hailwood returned to the Isle of Man TT races, probably the most prestigious, and certainly the most demanding, road race in the world. On a privately entered V-twin Ducati he won the Formula One race, beating the works Hondas of Phil Read and the late John Williams, and breaking the lap and race records.
It may have seemed a fluke; it was certainly a fairy tale that continued into 1979, when he was fifth in the Formula One race, despite losing top gear and his battery, first in the Senior, and second by only 3.4 seconds in the Classic – probably the finest and closest-fought race the Island has ever seen, Hailwood proved, if anyone doubted, that he was still the greatest motorcycle racer of all time.
This book, written by his manager and friend, Ted Macauley, is the account of his dramatic comeback, from the original wild idea to his final race. More than this, though, it is a study of a remarkable man in a remarkable world, and of the races, the machines, and the men
who ride them.
This edition contains new images and an interview with Pauline Hawthorne.

Reprinted in paperback after a long absence!
The Lola T70 was the car that Eric Broadley wanted to build for Ford instead of the GT40. He thought the GT40 too conservative in specification for a state-of-the-art sports racing car, so he split with the giant corporation to build the T70 under the aegis of his own company: Lola.
Immediately successful, the T70 carried John Surtees to the Championship in the 1966 Can-Am series. The cars were also very successful in Group 7 races until the series ended in 1966, by which time the likes of Denny Hulme, David Hobbs and Brian Redman had all driven T70s to victory.
Under continuous development until the Mk IIIb Coupé of 1969, the T70 was never a great endurance racer but achieved major successes in shorter events such as the TT and Martini races. Today, the T70 is a leading force in historic racing.
Over many years, John Starkey – T70 owner and ex-Curator of the famous Donington racing car collection – has compiled a huge amount of information on the cars and interviewed many past and present owners and drivers about their experiences with the T70. Uniquely, this book contains the history and specification – where known – of each individual T70 chassis.
Available again after an absence of several years, this book is the definitive development and racing history of the Lola T70.

When world rallying introduced a new formula for ‘World Rally Cars,’ Ford needed a completely new car to meet the new rules. Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport organisation, then small but soon to expand considerably, 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 premises at Dovenby Hall, near Cockermouth, in Cumbria, M-Sport built a total of no fewer than 97 Focus WRCs, which were always competitive at World level, this being proved by the fact that they won 44 World Championship events. In that time, stellar drivers such as Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Markko Märtin, Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen all added to the mystique of an ultra-professional organisation, along with substantial support, and sponsorship, from the drinks giant Martini, the oil company BP (and its major subsidiary Castrol), and the state of Abu Dhabi.
In building up its own in-house technical expertise, M-Sport not only engineered and developed the entire car on behalf of Ford, but gradually took over development (and eventually manufacture) of the 300bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, and led the design of the complex four-wheel-drive transmissions provided, at first, by Xtrac, and later by Ricardo.
M-Sport’s reputation within the sport of rallying was such that, when the regulations once again changed, the company was immediately able to produce a new-generation Fiesta WRC, and continue with its winning ways.

The decade between 2004 and 2014 was one of the most dramatic eras in the century-old history of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, which began with the races in decline, and many observers fearing that they would soon be killed off by a combination of rising costs, political correctness and logistical practicalities. But, just a few years later, the triumphant 2007 celebration of the races’ centenary launched the TT into a whole new era of public and commercial success.
With growing public interest and awareness, road racing became established as a specialist sport in its own right. Media interest soared; a feature length documentary took cinemas by storm worldwide, and a new generation of technocrats hastened to the island to develop zero emissions motorbike racing.
All of these events unfolded under the gaze of Charlie Lambert, appointed TT Anchor Commentator by Manx Radio in 2004. In TT Talking, Charlie tells the story of the TT’s sensational turn of fortune, whilst simultaneously lifting the lid on his role behind the microphone in this story. Revealing the pressures, the controversies, the laughs and the sadness that go with being at the heart of the world’s most famous – and controversial – road races.

This unique book is the third in the series of “Wonderful Walks from Dog-friendly Campsites”. Like the previous two books it combines the joys of camping with the delights of walking with your dog. Here can be found information on a variety of good value campsites throughout the UK, all of which welcome dogs, with some providing special facilities for your pet.

All the campsites are located very close to footpaths and walking trails. In addition to identifying the distinctive characteristic of the area, there are detailed instructions and maps for two walks of varying lengths from each campsite. This provides the opportunity to explore the area in the immediate vicinity of the campsite and appreciate the diverse environments to be found in Britain. In this book all the campsites are reasonably priced, and were chosen with value for money in mind.

So, if you like camping and you love taking your dog but do not know where to go, this book will help you find the answer for either a weekend jaunt, to explore a region or even to plan a tour of the UK.

The Le Mans 24 Hours is the ultimate endurance race, a true test of man and machine. It is a classic feature of the motorsport calendar, attracting more than 250,000 people to the track every year to see one of the greatest spectacles in racing.
Shot over two years, this book’s unique panoramic photographs (60cm/almost 2 feet wide!) give an incredibly real sense of the many aspects that make up the total Le Mans experience: the sun setting on night time qualifying, sprawling fan camp sites, and the elation as battered cars complete the epic race.
The photos in the book were taken at the height of the battle between Audi and Peugeot for dominance of the track. Featuring the R15, 908 and R18, as well as the other great marques of Le Mans, including Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, and Porsche, this book is a timeless tribute to the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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.

In this hilarious and heart-warming collection of essays, writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie reflects on a life spent exploring the British countryside on foot. From the splendour of the Pennines and the Lake District to the drama of the Dorset coast; from the canals of the Midlands to wildest Scotland, this book is an attempt to explain a passion for walking and the delights it can bring. Culled from his monthly column in Country Walking magazine, it’s full of the beautiful places, magical moments and wonderful characters Stuart has encountered on his travels. It discusses such intrepid adventures as taking on the famous ‘Wainwright’ fells of the Lake District, walking Hadrian’s Wall with colleague Mark Radcliffe, and why the most important things to carry in a rucksack are a transistor radio and a small bottle of red wine.