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I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to give this book a strong heads up among the motorsport-fan community within gtplanet, but there is no "books" subforum and no thread here where this would fit.
I just read a review about this book that really made me WANT to own (and read) it.
My love for race cars and - specifically - Formula 1 and Sports Cars comes from a very early age and is the result of the direct influence of my own grandfather (Fangio fan) father (Clark fan), older brother (J. Rindt fan). The first F1 racing I can recall seeing (on TV) happened in the 1971 season. And, you guessed it, at the age of 6, I became a Jackie Stewart and Tyrrell fan
Later in 1973, Stewart withdrew, Cevert got killed, and Tyrrell was never again the dominant team. I kept my love for them though.
The Lauda years came and went, he was clearly the best (I still regard Lauda as one of the best EVER) but I didn't like him much, Regazzoni had a nicer face and a broader smile.
And then I was hit by the Villeneuve phenomenon. Never saw anything like that before, never saw anything like that after. When he died, in 1982, my fanboyism died too. From that point on, my love for Formula 1 was about all of it. I can say the drivers I disliked, and the ones I admired ever since. But never again I felt that fan-love I had for Villeneuve.
Where does Lotus fit in here? Nowhere, really. Unlike my father and older brother, I never was the fan of a Lotus driver. But one thing must be said about Lotus, when you look at it using the 70's and 80's glasses. Besides Enzo Ferrari and, to a certain point, Guy Ligier, with their respective 12 cylinder engines, you had mainly british teams using the DFV Ford V8. Of all these, the most charismatic, and successful, was Lotus. And its leader, Colin Chapman. Not to belitle Ken Tyrrell, Frank Williams, Ted Mayer, Bernie Ecclestone, Morris Nunn, or even that delightful character that was Lord Hesketh, but Lotus was something else, in a way Colin was Ferrari's new nemesis (the "old one being Neubauer, but that's from an era before my existence) because they could have their bad years, but you knew that they were one of those select teams where only victory mattered. Like Ferrari.
I have to say this because, by reading the "F1 Zodiac" thread I understand how much older I am compared to almost everyone in this forum (but daan
), and because for some of the younger ones Lotus is either an historical reference (like Vanwall is to me, I suspect), a green/yellow Tony Fernandes' F1 car now renamed Caterham, or a black/gold livery and badge you can put on pretty much everything, from Lola/Toyotas, to Genii/Renaults.But not me. I've seen them race to win, I've seen them winning championships, I've seen them being bigger than what McLaren is now, I've seen them being, season after season, after season ... decades on ... a true force in Formula 1, driven by passion and engineering excellence (I know about the flaws too).
Somehow, McLaren never quite filled that gap when Lotus faded. I guess Ron Dennis lacked the exuberance (and brilliance) of Colin Chapman. And don't let me start on Whitmarsh (quite a likable fellow, mind you).
Well, enough of this old man's rambling, to end ... I recommend you guys to read
I envy the brits here that will be able to buy this book from the shelf, but I'll figure out a way to bring a copy to my home too.
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It kind of ruined him.
