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Review from Top Gear, July 2008 UK magazine Circulation: 166,000
BOOK OF THE MONTH
If you're ever feeling down, here's an image to cheer you up: Gian Carlo Minardi, circa 1978, chasing Ron Dennis down the Mugello pit lane ... armed with a hammer. Not that we'd ever wish harm on Big Ron, of course - the confrontation, of course, came to nothing - but you can't deny it's an appealing vision.
It's the finest set piece in this comprehensive history of the Minardi race team: a team that spent 20 years in F1 amassing a total of 38 championship points; a team that failed to score a pole position or even a podium in 340 races; a team that, despite near-permanent bankruptcy, managed to stay on the right side of everyone on the F1 circuit (well, except Big Ron) and fostered some of F1's top talent, Mr Alonso begrudgingly included.
Hammer-chasing aside, it's the book's appendix that provides that finest entertainment, detailing Minardi's technical woes race-by-race since 1985. Electrics, spin, turbo, accident, accident, turbo, transmission ... and so on for 19 pages. It's only schadenfreude but we like it.
Great book Simon. My missus got me the book for my b'day and had it read by the next day. Awesome stuff mate, well done. It also made book of the month in the first edition of Top Gear Australia.
Thanks very much Oz. Its one year since I sent off the manuscript to the publisher and almost three years since I started collecting the interviews!
I have just framed a letter and envelope with a rather distinctive yellow shield on them; Aldo Costa from TOIT was very helpful and seems to like the book.
Comments
UK magazine
Circulation: 166,000
BOOK OF THE MONTH
If you're ever feeling down, here's an image to cheer you up: Gian Carlo Minardi, circa 1978, chasing Ron Dennis down the Mugello pit lane ... armed with a hammer. Not that we'd ever wish harm on Big Ron, of course - the confrontation, of course, came to nothing - but you can't deny it's an appealing vision.
It's the finest set piece in this comprehensive history of the Minardi race team: a team that spent 20 years in F1 amassing a total of 38 championship points; a team that failed to score a pole position or even a podium in 340 races; a team that, despite near-permanent bankruptcy, managed to stay on the right side of everyone on the F1 circuit (well, except Big Ron) and fostered some of F1's top talent, Mr Alonso begrudgingly included.
Hammer-chasing aside, it's the book's appendix that provides that finest entertainment, detailing Minardi's technical woes race-by-race since 1985. Electrics, spin, turbo, accident, accident, turbo, transmission ... and so on for 19 pages. It's only schadenfreude but we like it.
I have just framed a letter and envelope with a rather distinctive yellow shield on them; Aldo Costa from TOIT was very helpful and seems to like the book.