The Immortals of Australian Motor Racing


Book Description

This book takes the Immortals concept made famous in cricket and applies it to motorsport, choosing the best of the best from Bathurst and the Australian Touring Car Championship (now the Supercars Championship) and other local series. It delves into the careers and characteristics of icons Peter Brock, Allan Moffat and Dick Johnson along with modern-era champions such as Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup: heroes who are not just high achievers but influential identities who set a new benchmark and changed local racing forever through skill, determination and sheer will. It tells the remarkable stories behind each Immortal's rise, from the fabled tale of rock star Johnson to the little-known facts surrounding Lowndes' Bathurst arrival in 1994 that, a few hours earlier, teetered on the brink of disaster. The Immortals of Australian Motor Racing: the Local Heroes is the third instalment in Gelding Street Press's Immortals of Australian Sport series. In it, motorsport writer Luke West gives readers insights into his 10 chosen immortals and their influence on the national scene.




The Jaguar XK in Australia


Book Description







Speed Kings


Book Description

The fascinating, definitive story of Australia and New Zealand's quest to win the world's greatest motor race Winning the Indianapolis 500, the greatest spectacle in motorsport, has been a quest for Australians and New Zealanders since the first race in 1911. Seventeen have tried and two have succeeded: Scott Dixon in 2008 and Will Power in 2018. Rupert Jeffkins, Australia's original speed king, entered the first Indy 500 and on his second attempt in 1912 came within five kilometres of victory. He and Italian Ralph De Palma created legend when they pushed their car to the finish line after it blew up while leading. Speed Kings tells Jeffkins' full story for the first time. The lure of the Brickyard, paved with 3.2 million bricks, has drawn champions from both sides of the Tasman. Sir Jack Brabham, his son Geoffrey and grandson Matthew have each tried to win. So have the 'big three' of New Zealand motor racing: Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon. Now Scott McLaughlin looks set to become the next driver from down under to chase American motor racing's greatest prize. Indy doesn't offer up victory lightly. Blinding speed - nudging 380 km/h and averaging 280 km/h over 500 miles - makes the Brickyard one of the most precarious racetracks in the world. Forty-two drivers have died attempting the 500. Speed Kings tells the story of the Australian and New Zealand drivers, team owners, engineers, even commentators who've made the Brickyard their quest.




Racing the Lion


Book Description

Holden has been a major part of Australian motorsport history and, in this special edition hardcover 400-page release from the V8 Sleuth team, they celebrate and honour the brand's history in racing.An illustrated racing history publication assembled by Aaron Noonan, Will Dale and the V8 Sleuth team, this book features a massive range of photos never-before-published.Whether it's the memorable Monaros, Toranas or Commodores or the star drivers that achieved great feats behind the wheel, there will be something for everyone in this book.We also include a range of motorsport activities undertaken by Holden in racing from touring cars to rallying and trials, rallycross, production cars and much, much more.With chunky captions outlining the history, statistics and interesting facts related to each image, this is the sort of book you'll pick up, put down and pick up again many times over.Our editorial team has searched high and low through our photo archives to find Holden motorsport history of all sorts, the book our tribute to the brand as it comes to an end prior to 2021.




Niki Lauda


Book Description

This is the story of Niki Luada's racing career. Climbing the ladder: starting against his family’s wishes with a Mini in 1968, Niki Lauda drove a Formula Vee Kaimann in 1969 and had a disastrous Formula 3 season with McNamara in 1970 before switching to a Porsche sports car; with progress stalling, he took out a loan to buy a Formula 2 seat at March in 1971. Faltering in Formula 1: he debuted with March at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, then stayed with the team in 1972; he moved to BRM for 1973, still paying his way with further borrowing and some income from racing touring cars — but in all this time he had only one points-scoring Formula 1 finish. The Ferrari years: finally Lauda fulfilled his promise after receiving the call to Maranello, winning the World Championship twice in his four years there, in 1975 and 1977, but he left after tensions with the team arose in his final season. The Brabham years: Lauda famously won the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix in Brabham's 'fan car.' but thereafter the team’s competitiveness declined and he retired at the end of 1979, tired of driving round in circles’ and focused instead on his new airline, Lauda Air. The McLaren years: tempted by a salary of unprecedented size, Lauda returned in 1982 after a two-year absence, silenced doubters by winning his third race, and in 1984 secured his third World Championship; at the end of 1985, with a career tally of 25 Grand Prix victories, he hung up his helmet for good.




Australia's Greatest Racecars


Book Description

Fully illustrated chapters showcasing the most famous Aussie racing muscle cars. Australia's Greatest Racecars showcases the most spectacular machines to hit the track. These are the V8 beasts that created the legend of Brock, Moffat, Johnson, Bathurst and many more household names. This book rolls out a full grid of legendary metal with magnetic attraction for racing enthusiasts. This fully illustrated hardcover includes dedicated chapters on 25 famous Aussie racing muscle cars. With over 300 full colour photos and great design, this is a book every Australian with petrol in their veins should have on their bookshelf.




Great Australian Sporting Moments


Book Description

"This is a fully illustrated book highlighting some memorable moments in Australian sporting history."--Provided by publisher.




Birthplaces of Australian Motor Racing


Book Description

This book records and now preserves the history of Australian motorsport. Huge proportions of it were just on the very edge of being lost. By the time you have read this book, you will be unbeatable at Australian motor racing trivia around any race campground fire pit or BBQ. You will know what the deadliest day was trackside in this country, the speedway promoter who discovered and named one of Australia’s biggest international rock groups, the most extreme financial car racing venue disaster of all time, why many residential roads have names the people who live there don’t appreciate, and what venue built its own railway station which is still in use today. You will discover places worth dragging the family off to so you can take photos of rusting artefacts and sprout knowledgeable but boring nostalgic conversations. You’ll also be amazed at some of the historic car racing locations you’ve unknowingly been driving past. How do you locate old car venues when some were utterly demolished 90 years ago, an industrial complex built on the same spot, which was in turn torn down and replaced with a university, a lake or a multi-storey housing estate? This roll call of mine started out with two simple questions that most petrol heads in this country ask themselves sooner or later. How many car racing facilities have closed in Australia – and why?