The authorised biography of one of the best-liked bad boys in British motorsport, John Chatham - driver, racer, repairer, rebuilder, tuner, trader and lover of Austin-Healeys. John is so synonymous with Austin-Healeys that the most famous racing Healey in the world, DD300, is so well-known mainly because John campaigned it for decades, notching up tens of thousands of racing miles. But his career embraces far more than one car, and until this biography no-one had attempted to fill in the gaps. With 150 photographs, many previously unpublished, this is an important and entertaining account of one of motorsport's biggest characters.
A full, frank and hilarious account of Tony Mason's hectic life, from humble beginnings in the Lake District to stardom on television and in motorsport. His story includes his business life, TV mistakes, rallying crashes, appearances on stage and travels to many far-flung places, all packed with laughs along the way.
This is the authorised biography of one of the best-liked bad boys in British motorsport. John Chatham, driver, racer, repairer, rebuilder, tuner, trader and lover of Austin-Healeys, was, according to Geoffrey Healey, “uncontrollable” in his youth, and has only mildly mellowed with age. Burly and genial, but formidably competitive, and not above bending the rules when he thought he could get away with it, to many he is the archetypal club racer. John is so synonymous with Austin-Healeys that the most famous racing Healey in the world, DD300, is so well-known mainly because John campaigned it for decades, notching up tens of thousands of racing miles. But his career embraces far more than one car, and until this biography no-one had attempted to fill in the gaps. John Chatham - Mr. Big Healey is not a dry description of one club race after another. It does include a list of John’s principal sporting achievements, but no complete record exists of the hundreds of events which made up his competitive career, so the writer has not attempted to compile one. Instead Norman Burr, who was himself acquainted with John in his youth, has created a more rounded and personal account, full of motoring and sporting anecdotes, but also telling the story of John’s family, his work, his business, his three wives and his lovers. John has a comprehensive photo library from which the book is generously illustrated, with cartoons added to illustrate some of the moments that a camera was not around to record. Thoroughly politically incorrect even by the standards of the 1960s, it’s an account which will strike a chord not only with admirers of Big Healeys, but also with anyone who believes that independent thinking, and the courage to apply and enjoy it, is the greatest virtue of all. This book is now available in paperback format, due to popular demand.
Luigi Chinetti's association with Ferrari, and the origins, formation and racing history of NART (North American Racing Team). A complex organisation, inextricably linked to Luigi Chinetti Motors Inc, NART enjoyed success on the race tracks of the US and Europe for three decades - as well as financial difficulties and arguments with organisers -Â to rightly become a legend.
This book focuses on the different aspects that contributed to the development of Northeast American sports car racing during the 1950s. The evolution from amateur drivers racing on public roads in 1950, to both professional and amateur drivers racing at private, purpose-built tracks in 1959, demanded huge leaps of faith, trust and understanding. The transition was neither easy nor uneventful for drivers, clubs or track owners, and the tragedy, politics and intrigue that came to characterise the period are covered here in fascinating detail.
This is the story of a man, a team, and their life and times, as well as a complete record of all their achievements and failures. It logs the financial and personal cost of racing in the prewar and postwar periods. It tells of how the mighty car company Renault became involved with them in the late 1950s, and how Amedee Gordini became known throughout the world as one of the greatest engine tuners of his time.
This book chronicles the development and racing career of a car regarded as the ultimate example of the purebred sports car of the 20th century and the epitome of functional beauty and extraordinary performance: the 1952 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Taking second place at its 1952 Mille Miglia debut, it went on to win every one of its races that season.
Runways and Racers focuses on sports car races held at military installations throughout America in the early 1950s. It was a marriage of convenience for the Sports Car Club of America and the Strategic Air Command, with both parties gaining advantages from the arrangement. The thorn in the side turned out to be a Congressman whose own aspirations exceeded his standing, but who found himself in a position to be able to influence the outcome of events ...
