Originally posted by jumperjarier
hi everybody,
last week i received a copy of Phil Kerr's new book "To finnish first" which is all about his days as a mechanic
for cooper and mclaren, although a bit on the pricey side £59.99 it is a very good read and i can highly recommend it,
there are only 300 copies published, and all copies are signed by Phil Kerr and the artist Michael Turner.
I really enjoy the comments on this forum and i hope i can contribute something worthwhile in the future
regards jumperjarier
May I correct a couple of jumperjarier's comments concerning 'To Finish First'? Although Phil Kerr began his motorsport life as a driver who was prepared to get his hands dirty, I'm not sure he would appreciate the label of mechanic. In fact, when he came to the UK (firstly to join Jack Brabham during his highly successful Cooper years and then follow him as a co-director when Jack formed the Brabham Racing Organisation), he was very much his business manager.
Later, of course, he left to join his lifetime pal Bruce McLaren when Bruce in turn left Cooper to build and run his own show, of which Phil would become joint managing director.
So his autobiography 'To Finish First' is very much the story of a man who was at the top in F1, CanAm and Indy 500 racing and privy to everything that was happening in all three disciplines at that time.
Rest assured that 300 is not the entire print run! Those are books which, as jumperjarier explains, are a limited run carrying the signatures of Phil Kerr and Michael Turner, one of whose paintings adorns the front cover (there are many more inside). MRP's co-edition is currently on the high seas and will become available in March at a UK price of £29.95 in all markets outside of Australasia.
JB