97 replies to this topic

[sonar]

An italian Autosprint journalist, Mario Donnini, wrote a short story in 2000 about a journalist who is taken to a parallel world where deceased drivers continue to race between themselves.... it's also about the excessive modernisation of F1 and it has a thrilling end.... a great story.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was such a world.......
Was this story ever translated in other languages?
I can read German, French and English but no Italian I'm afraid....

[MonzaDriver]

Dear David,
I suggest the book " Michael Schumacher the greatest of all " By Christopher Hilton
to me it sound fictional enough.

Ciao, MonzaDriver.

[LucaP]

An italian Autosprint journalist, Mario Donnini, wrote a short story in 2000 about a journalist who is taken to a parallel world where deceased drivers continue to race between themselves.... it's also about the excessive modernisation of F1 and it has a thrilling end.... a great story.

It's only in italian...

I could translate it to english, if there is enough request, but it's a very long article

[sonar]

It's only in italian...

I could translate it to english, if there is enough request, but it's a very long article

How long would that take you?
Longer than it would take me to learn how to read Italian.......?

[LucaP]

How long would that take you?
Longer than it would take me to learn how to read Italian.......?

Well... I can try to do it, but it will take a lot of time

[Gary Jarlson]

A good addition to any such list would be Deke Houlgate's "Blood on the Wall," a novel based around Indy car racing. Houlgate was, for many years, on the very inside of US racing, not only as a reporter but also in his role as the PR rep for Pennzoil"s involvement with both Jim Hall's Chaparral team and Roger Penske. He also had close contact with many of the past US and international stars through his work as the PR director at Riverside International Raceway.

[D-Type]

An italian Autosprint journalist, Mario Donnini, wrote a short story in 2000 about a journalist who is taken to a parallel world where deceased drivers continue to race between themselves.... it's also about the excessive modernisation of F1 and it has a thrilling end.... a great story.

An interesting concept. I considered starting a thread on the topic but couldn't think how to word the rules - Rosemeyer, Nuvolari and Gilles in 250F's, Caracciola and Fangio in W196's, Behra and Chiron in Bugattis, Farina and Senna in stock cars etc.

Edited by D-Type, 04 April 2011 - 16:21.

[Paolo]

Mario Donnini is a great, great writer; he is by far my favourite motorsport journalist, with an enchanting, epic prose.

Favourite quote from him, speaking about the brave drivers from the 70s:


"Senza paura che la vita potesse finire e col solo timore che non cominciasse mai"

"Without fear that life could end, only worried it would never start"

[Richard Jenkins]

https://www.performa...r-the-edge.html

There's a new comic racing fiction book out by Richard Heseltine. Judging by the synopsis, it's very similar to most TNFers experiences!

[BrmBoy]

The Coiled Cobra
Just a comic story but a “Ripping Yarn”. Grand Prix drivers are kidnaped by a Himalayan state and must race against each other to live!
Read more in next week’s exciting issue!

From The Rover and Adventure starting 9th September 1967
Featuring the cars from the start of “The Return To Power” three litre Formula One cars (1966 – on) including the BRM H16

Edited by BrmBoy, 10 August 2019 - 07:34.

[SamoanAttorney]

Fiction or faction? Malcolm Cracknell has written an account of the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours through the eyes of Ryan Smith, a race engineer with the Laser Strike team. Team boss Larry Payne bears an uncanny resemblance to Laurence Pearce and the Lister Storm outfit of the time...............find out what happens behind the scenes in this personal account of the great race.

 

https://world-by-storm.co.uk/

 

In the spirit of full disclosure I am the publisher of this book, however it is not intended as a profit making enterprise, just something the author wanted to get off his chest...............

[Vitesse2]

Milan's list above includes Knights of the Wheel, a novel for younger readers by one 'Alfred Edgar', whose real name was Alfred Edgar Frederick Higgs. He was actually a very prolific writer of juvenile fiction, both in book form and for comics and magazines, between about 1925 and 1939 and as well as that one, he published several more motor racing-themed books: I have traced (but not read) another five - Skid Kennedy, Speed King; Where the Cars Roar; Speed Fever; The Wandering Speedmen and Burst Tyres. Some of his later novels were illustrated by Raymond Groves, who became a successful motoring artist post-WW2 and also drew cartoons for Autosport.

 

He did also have another nom de plume, which he used for his adult journalism and books.

 

Alfred Edgar Frederick Higgs, aka Alfred Edgar, was also Barré Lyndon.

[GregThomas]

Found in an anthology Speed, speed speed. Published probably mid 50's.

 

Excerpt from Thunder Road  by William Campbell Gault 1952   Hotrodder works his way to Indy. Probably one of the seminal US motor racing fiction books.

 

Short story "Won By Inches"  by Sir Malcolm Campbell  from "Boys Life" 1939  Brooklands based.If he did write it, it's a pity he didn't write more.

[Vitesse2]

Malcolm Campbell is also credited as the author of a 1935 novel entitled Salute to the Gods, the plot of which was used as the basis of a 1939 Hollywood film called Burn 'Em Up O'Connor. The original story is based in Europe, but the film was made using American dirt ovals, so it's not exactly true to the original. Joel Thorne, Ronney Householder and several other US racers were involved in the filming and Clayton 'The Lone Ranger' Moore has a minor role.

 

Circumstantially, based on some research I'm doing at present, it might have been ghosted by Alfred Edgar/Barré Lyndon, who - again circumstantially - might also have had an uncredited part in the film script.

[GregThomas]

Simply for the sake of inclusion for completeness of the publishing in this genre I'll mention that Harlequin Books publish a NASCAR series.

They are authorised by NASCAR and come under The NASCAR Library Collection.

Best described as romantic fiction in a NASCAR setting.

Edited by GregThomas, 03 November 2022 - 22:49.

[BRG]

Best described as romantic fiction in a NASCAR setting.

That must be one of the funniest things I have ever read on this forum!!

 

"Billy-Bob first met Lucy-Sue when he went to confront her brother Cleetus about bump-drafting him at 'Dega"

[PayasYouRace]

Seeing this has made me want to go back to my “family history in motorsport” project where I used Forza Motorspot to depict the fictional motor racing escapades of my family going back to my great grandfather between the wars.

[GregThomas]

That must be one of the funniest things I have ever read on this forum!!

 

"Billy-Bob first met Lucy-Sue when he went to confront her brother Cleetus about bump-drafting him at 'Dega"

 

"Authorised by NASCAR"  gave me a chuckle, even when I typed it. True though. 

[amerikalei]

"Authorised by NASCAR"  gave me a chuckle, even when I typed it. True though. 

OK off motorsports, but similarly amusing from a sporting perspective, on the US public radio program "Wait, wait, don't tell me" recently I learned that retired football star Rob Gronkowski had made a contribution to the romance novel genre: 

A Gronking to Remember: Book One in the Rob Gronkowski Erotica Series

[Glengavel]

Simply for the sake of inclusion for completeness of the publishing in this genre I'll mention that Harlequin Books publish a NASCAR series.

They are authorised by NASCAR and come under The NASCAR Library Collection.

Best described as romantic fiction in a NASCAR setting.

 

"The NASCAR Rulebook, or, Fifty Shades of Grey"

[marksixman]

"The NASCAR Rulebook, or, Fifty Shades of Grey"

Or perhaps "500 Shades of Grey" ?

[GregThomas]

Could have been worse. What if Mills and Boon had approached Bernie for the OK to do a "Formula One romances" series ?

 

If there was money in it does anyone think Bernie would have refused permission ?

[RS2000]

That must be one of the funniest things I have ever read on this forum!!

 

"Billy-Bob first met Lucy-Sue when he went to confront her brother Cleetus about bump-drafting him at 'Dega"

 

Some Janet Evanovitch novels have a NASCAR setting. I've only ever sampled one but that included the heroine (acting as team spotter) with the immortal words; "I realised I was the only one on the spotters' platform wearing a pink thong,,.,......at least I think I was". 

That book also included the entire Winston Cup field leaping into their transporters and chasing and cornering the criminals down the road.

[RS2000]

Could have been worse. What if Mills and Boon had approached Bernie for the OK to do a "Formula One romances" series ?

 

 

 

Bob Judd was close.....

[Lee Nicolle]

I want to build a section on my website covering Motorsport Fiction. I'm looking for suggestions on books I should include. I'm especially interested in older works and multiple volumes by the same author.

We here in Oz had a magazine often known as AutoFiction. It has made a comeback in recent years.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 05 November 2022 - 04:13.

[DCapps]

Russ Catlin was an interesting and enduring source of racing fiction over the years.

[Jim Thurman]

Russ Catlin was an interesting and enduring source of racing fiction over the years.

BOOM, Don. I was going to suggest a huge number of books portrayed as motor racing history fall into the "fiction" category.

 

That's not even counting Scalzo's highly creative fiction or Yates' "Against Death and Time" and its ilk.

[D-Type]

While we're in this neck of the woods, can I suggest some of the Ayrton Senna hagiographies.

[BRG]

There is a writer of crime fiction called Sara Sheridan who has a series set in 1950s Brighton.  One of her books is called 'Operation Goodwood' and centres around smuggling involving a racing driver.  The cover is illustrated by a suspiciously Mercedes SLR-looking sports race in a splendid British Racing Green livery ( ) apparently racing on the public road.     

 

The book credits someone called Nye as a technical adviser....

[Nick Planas]

Well I'm not usually very good at self-promotion but in 2019 I wrote this murder mystery (the 2nd of three books so far) based around a fictitious Grand Prix in 1937 (with real drivers of the day) ... it'll set you back the price of a couple of coffees and seems to be going down well with folks who have read it - racers and non-racers alike.

 

https://www.amazon.c...y/dp/1799117669

 

I did have to insert about half a square mile of land at the top of the Avon Gorge to fit my track in, and naturally there's always one driver who ends up going over the edge into the river below - although judging by my research at the time building a track here would not have raised too many safety concerns when you consider what else was out there.

[Henk Vasmel]

Well I'm not usually very good at self-promotion but in 2019 I wrote this murder mystery (the 2nd of three books so far) based around a fictitious Grand Prix in 1937 (with real drivers of the day) ... it'll set you back the price of a couple of coffees and seems to be going down well with folks who have read it - racers and non-racers alike.

 

https://www.amazon.c...y/dp/1799117669

 

I did have to insert about half a square mile of land at the top of the Avon Gorge to fit my track in, and naturally there's always one driver who ends up going over the edge into the river below - although judging by my research at the time building a track here would not have raised too many safety concerns when you consider what else was out there.

 

 

Well, advertising works. I ordered the book and it arrived yesterday, in time for Christmas. Looking forward to read it.

[Nick Planas]

Well, advertising works. I ordered the book and it arrived yesterday, in time for Christmas. Looking forward to read it.

Thank you! - Hope you enjoy it... Best Wishes for Christmas.

[BrmBoy]

 By Richard Nisley ..."The Ragged Edge is the story of a man who is running -- after the Grand Prix world championship he seems destined not to win, and after the woman who has left him. It's a heart-stopping ride across three continents, on famed international circuits as glittering and intoxicating as Monaco and as beguiling and lethal as Germany's 'green hell' Nurburg Ring."

 

Those of you who remember the days of Eagle-Weslake, Brabham-Repco, Cooper-Maserati and the BRM H16 may enjoy the challenge of picking out some of the dramatic events in this work of fiction that hint at factual incidents from an era where anything could happen and usually did !
ISBN-10: 1585004952
ISBN-13: 978-1585004959

[Henk Vasmel]

Thank you! - Hope you enjoy it... Best Wishes for Christmas.

To come back to "Missing in Plain View". i took it with me for my summer holiday, among with some 8 other books, and when I started reading it, i couldn't put it down anymore. So this morning, I finished it.

I have to say that I enjoyed the story a lot and surprises keep on popping up, right until the end. The link with motor racing is obiously there, throughout the book but it doesn't become dominant.

It has been years since I last read a detective story, which apart from the ghost story, it really is, and I was pleasantly surprised by the use of modern technology in the story.

Now, please, can we also get Chapter 57, which seems to be missing from the book?

[rl1856]

Ian Fleming and James Bond:

 

http://jamesbondmeme...tor-racing.html

 

 

Relevant summary:

 

https://jamesbond.fa...iki/Nürburgring

 

Unsure of their chances against Lancy Smith at the 1957 Grand Prix, the Soviets plan on cheating by forcing a violent crash during the race. Their man, Ivan Dimitrov, a racer with an unsavory reputation, is sent to compete in the race driving their new race car, the "Krassny". The British Secret Service become aware of the threat and send their best driver - James Bond - to dispatch Dimitrov before he can get a chance to crash Smith. After practicing at Foxton Hall Circuit in Wiltshire, Bond travels to the West German racing track. Later that day, he oversees a meeting between SMERSH Chief, Colonel Gaspanov, Dimitrov, and a third suspicious man; a wealthy American-Korean businessman named Jason Sin.^[4] On the day of the race, Bond gambles on Dimitrov acting early in the race and has his Maserati 4CLT filled with a mere quarter tank of fuel. On the second lap Bond's hunch is proven correct and while on an isolated stretch of track, the Russian attempts to ram Smith's Vanwall. However, before he can succeed he is crashed by 007, who drags the burnt Russian from his mangled vehicle in an act of mercy.

[Glengavel]

If anyone turned up at the 1957 German GP with a 4CLT, would they not be politely told to sling their hook?

[Nick Planas]

To come back to "Missing in Plain View". i took it with me for my summer holiday, among with some 8 other books, and when I started reading it, i couldn't put it down anymore. So this morning, I finished it.

I have to say that I enjoyed the story a lot and surprises keep on popping up, right until the end. The link with motor racing is obiously there, throughout the book but it doesn't become dominant.

It has been years since I last read a detective story, which apart from the ghost story, it really is, and I was pleasantly surprised by the use of modern technology in the story.

Now, please, can we also get Chapter 57, which seems to be missing from the book?

All the proof reading, all the people who've read this book, and no-one (until now) noticed the missing chapter number - including this very embarrassed author! Thank you Henk!

 

I'm currently working on Book 4, perhaps I should add a book 5 and call it "57"...!

 

Anyway I'm glad you enjoyed the story - I enjoyed researching it to try and make it as authentic as possible, and so much of the paddock scene from Brands 1969 was based on my actual experience (although I saw no ghosts), and George Green is just down the road from my childhood village of Iver Heath. Oh, and Opera Anywhere actually exists too - I'm their woodwind player and occasional conductor.

 

Nick

Edited by Nick Planas, 13 July 2023 - 22:19.

[Lee Nicolle]

Dust and Glory is a fictional work so realistic that it just could be true... by Evan Green, author of many novels after he wrote the fantastic account of his experience in the London to Munich Rally of 1974, A Boot Full of Right Arms.

It's modeled on the heroic round-Australia trials (rallies) of the fifties. The characters didn't have to be fictionalised...

There is a recent book about Round Australi trials with Jack Davey and Gelignite Jack that I have read. Female author whose name escapes me. Book was quite good

[Lee Nicolle]

The worldwide GP viewing figures published ?

Now that would be pure fiction,, as well as crowd numbers.

[Dick Dastardly]

Anyone seen or read this?

 

Harry Flatters eBook : Lardy, Carruthers J., Collins, Neil: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

[milestone 11]

Something not mentioned, likely because it doesn't really warrant it, is Super Ego by Julia Wurz. A story about a young woman, Kate Ellison, who becomes press officer for a F1 team. Entertaining enough if you don't take things too seriously. Incidentally, googling Kate Ellison seems to bring up nothing other than my Fantasy League team.

[john winfield]

Something not mentioned, likely because it doesn't really warrant it, is Super Ego by Julia Wurz. A story about a young woman, Kate Ellison, who becomes press officer for a F1 team. Entertaining enough if you don't take things too seriously. Incidentally, googling Kate Ellison seems to bring up nothing other than my Fantasy League team.

I know nothing about this book, but it should have a degree of authenticity. Julia Wurz was press officer for Benetton, and is married to ex-driver Alex Wurz.

[milestone 11]

I know nothing about this book, but it should have a degree of authenticity. Julia Wurz was press officer for Benetton, and is married to ex-driver Alex Wurz.

It was for those reasons that I bought it. I'm sure many of the anecdotes are based on personal experience.

[lustigson]

There's a book about Senna versus Schumacher and other Formula One rivalries that never happened. 

[milestone 11]

There's a book about Senna versus Schumacher and other Formula One rivalries that never happened. 

Enjoyed by me Christiaan.

[lustigson]

Enjoyed by me Christiaan.

 

Ah, that's great to hear! 

[milestone 11]

Thoroughly enjoyed Early One Morning by Robert Ryan. Managed to find an original hardback copy in nice condition. I'd not heard of the book until reading Joe Saward's The Grand Prix Saboteurs where he mentions it as a source.

[D-Type]

Thoroughly enjoyed Early One Morning by Robert Ryan. Managed to find an original hardback copy in nice condition. I'd not heard of the book until reading Joe Saward's The Grand Prix Saboteurs where he mentions it as a source.

I don't think Early One Morning can honestly be considered as a source for The Grand Prix Saboteurs.  If anything Robert Ryan got wind of Joe Saward's research and either had sight of an early draft or followed the same route as Joe S but far less thoroughly.  Being a work of fiction he could invent to cover gaps in the researched story and bend facts to suit his narrative. 

 

Having said that, I did find Early One Morning to be far more readable than The Grand Prix Saboteurs.

Edited by D-Type, 25 July 2023 - 11:00.