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.




Motor Racing Heroes - The Stories of 100 Greats


Book Description

Covering the period from the first Grand Prix win in 1906, to Michael Schumacher’s 2006 retirement, this book is one man’s idea of the 20th century’s motor racing heroes. The sport has attracted many men and women whose determination, raw courage, and skill at the wheel has driven them into that special, rarified atmosphere of heroism – this book tells the stories of 100 of these heroes.




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?




Australian Books


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The Nota Files


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The Jaguar XK in Australia


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AJ


Book Description

Few names in international motorsport are treated with the same reverence as Alan Jones. When he speaks, they listen. He is one of only two Australians to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the first driver to do it for the now famous Williams team. His efforts brought Formula One to Australian TV screens, and today he is the voice of Formula One on Network Ten and a board member of the Australian Grand Prix. He is also a Formula One Steward at a couple of Grands Prix a season. AJ is the son of Stan Jones, the winner of the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, and from an early age he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and race cars. He started with billycarts in Balwyn and climbed to the top of the motorsport tree in Formula One. His career was potted with highs and lows, the latter coming mainly from a lack of financial support compared with his rivals. But when he hit the big time with Williams, he turned that into the 1980 World Championship and all the fame and fortune that brought with it. But he stopped enjoying himself, the cars were painful to drive and he didn’t feel he could give it his all, so he quite at the height of his powers. He did return to F1, but he wasn’t the same driver and it wasn’t the same team and it didn’t last. He finished his racing career in touring cars in Australia. His no-nonsense style brought him both admirers and detractors, but he always spoke as he saw it. He still does that today. There are many stories to tell from his racing career, his personal life and business. Some stories that only time allows them to be told.




The Oxford Companion to Australian Sport


Book Description

The Oxford Companion to Australian Sport appears in a revised, updated and greatly expanded new edition. Produced by the Australian Society for Sports History, this is the first authoritative and encyclopedic reference work on all sports played in Australia. It provides a comprehensive overview of the history and character of the innumerable codes that constitute the Australian sporting character. All sports are covered - not just the major ones like cricket, Australian Rules, lawn tennis, and horse-racing. The Companion offers succinct and informative entries on famous sportsmen and women, and on major institutions, competitions and venues. The Companion also offers thematic essays on crucial aspects of the history, culture and professionalization of sport in Australia. For the first time readers have access to biographies of sporting champions from different codes, all of whom rub shoulders in this literary pantheon. For the second edition, the editors have commissionedfour major new thematic essays: Coaching, Disabled Sportsmen and Women, Regionalism, and the Olympic Winter Games. Seven more sports have been added (badminton, bicycle racing, curling, fives, petanque, ring bowls, and surfing), along with 38 additional clubs. The second edition boasts 240 new biographies. One of its major features is a `list of lists', which provides full details about major competitions such as the Stawell Gift, Davis Cup finals, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Sheffield Shield, Brownlow Medallists - to name just a few of the lists contained in this Appendix. Greatly expanded and offering a readable cultural history of Australian sport, the Oxford Companion to Australian Sport is essential reading for sportsmen and women, administrators, journalists and sports followers.




Lonely Planet Australia's Best Trips


Book Description

Discover the freedom of the open road with Lonely Planet’s Australia’s Best Trips. This trusted travel companion features 38 amazing road trips, from 2-day escapes to 2-week adventures. Explore the outback, marvel at the Daintree, and discover Tasmania’s Heritage Trail. Get to Australia, rent a car, and hit the road! Inside Lonely Planet’s Australia’s Best Trips: Lavish colour and gorgeous photography throughout Itineraries and planning advice to pick the right tailored trips for your needs and interests Get around easily - easy-to-read, full-colour route maps, detailed directions Insider tips to get around like a local, avoid trouble spots and be safe on the road - local driving rules, parking, toll roads Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Useful features - including Stretch Your Legs, Detours, Link Your Trip Covers New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Western Australia and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Australia's Best Trips is perfect for exploring Australia via the road and discovering sights that are more accessible by car. Planning an Australia trip sans a car? Lonely Planet’s Australia, our most comprehensive guide to Australia, is perfect for exploring both top sights and lesser-known gems. Looking for a guide focused on a specific city? Check out Lonely Planet’s Sydney and Melbourne & Victoria guides for a comprehensive look at all that these cities have to offer, or Pocket Sydney, Pocket Melbourne, Pocket Hobart, handy-sized guides focused on the can't-miss sights for a quick trip. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' – New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' – Fairfax Media (Australia)