This is a story of excitement, laughs, astonishment and anger – a story of the determination of a man with a dream and a passion for motor racing in the big leagues. It is the first time that the history of the always under-financed Gordini racing team has been documented in English, and the first complete story of Gordini himself in any language.
This volume will appeal to new enthusiasts and old hands of Formula 1 and sports prototype racing, especially those who have owned a Gordini-badged high-performance Renault road car. It charts Gordini's early life and beginnings in motorsport, up to 1969 when Renault took over the Gordini company, keeping his name on all the racing engines until 1986, before finally resurrecting it for a performance version of the Renault Twingo and Clio in 2009.
The book is packed with evocative period images from important collections, supplementary transcripts in English from many contemporary interviews, plus recollections from former employees remembering their time working with Gordini, and an exhaustive set of statistics. All the way it's a roller coaster of joy, despair, humour, and stunning images. The racing legend of ‘Le Sorcier' lives on.
This is a story of excitement, laughs, astonishment and anger – a story of the determination of a man with a dream and a passion for motor racing in the big leagues. It is the first time that the history of the always under-financed Gordini racing team has been documented in English, and the first complete story of Gordini himself in any language.
This volume will appeal to new enthusiasts and old hands of Formula 1 and sports prototype racing, especially those who have owned a Gordini-badged high-performance Renault road car. It charts Gordini's early life and beginnings in motorsport, up to 1969 when Renault took over the Gordini company, keeping his name on all the racing engines until 1986, before finally resurrecting it for a performance version of the Renault Twingo and Clio in 2009.
The book is packed with evocative period images from important collections, supplementary transcripts in English from many contemporary interviews, plus recollections from former employees remembering their time working with Gordini, and an exhaustive set of statistics. All the way it's a roller coaster of joy, despair, humour, and stunning images. The racing legend of ‘Le Sorcier' lives on.
1. Origin of the species 1899-1924 2. Birth of an enterprise 1925 -1936 3. Good times, bad times 1937-1944 4. Recovery 1945-1949 5. Struggle and strife 1950-1952 6. David vs Goliath 1953-1955 7. The chequered flag comes down 1956- 1957 8. Gordinis for the road 1958 to 1964 9. Return to racing 1963 to 1969 10. The last hurrah 1970 to 1973 11. The name on the engine 1974 to 2010 12. The stats Appendix
Roy Smith is a retired company director, now an award winning writer. His lifetime passion for motor sport began in the 1960s with articles for club magazines, mainly interviews with notables of the time. A 40-year business career in sales and marketing developed an attention to detail that is crucial to writing a work such as "Amedee Gordini" and his previous works about the development of the first turbo Formula 1 car, and two books covering the complete history of the Alpine Renault sports prototypes, for which he won the Guild of Motoring Writers Mercedes Benz Prize and the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy in 2010. His aim is always to record a little known part of motoring history for future generations before it is forgotten. Once again Roy has written a “first in English” story with the same desire to provide a good read to newcomers and hardened enthusiasts alike. He has written many specialist articles for magazines in France and internationally as a UK historic correspondent. He is already planning his next work, which will again be published by Veloce in 2013: this too will be a “first in English”, entitled Alpine Renault - The Fabulous Berlinettes.
'At last, an English account of this fascinating French turner and constructor - As well as design development, the extensive race history is recorded, plus fascinating human stories [and] a superb selection of historic photos, circuit maps and cutaway drawings - Book of the month.' Classic & Sports Car, May 2013. 'The wealth of information here is staggering, and the race-by-race summary is particularly welcome.' Octane, May 2013. 'Utterly absorbing.' Classic Cars, May 2013. 'Gordini's endless enthusiasm and prolific output make for an involving tale.' Motor Sport, May 2013. Deliciously told, in 288 hardcover pages fabulously illustrated with more than 400 historic photos and technical drawings, this is the definitive Gordini story ... This is a terrific work that will thrill any automotive Francophile. Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car A story that ought to appeal to anyone with an interest in the David and Goliath aspect so common to the human condition and not just to aficionados of GP racing or quirky French road cars. Add to that the fact that this is the first time the Gordini story has been recorded in English and the only time it has been brought up to date and you have a book you can't very well do without ... The writing in this ... book is supremely fluid, fleshed out, and utterly engaging. Also, and important in its own way, this book for once evidences complete command of the conventions of proper punctuation that UK writers have for years made a sport of ignoring! ... there's simply nothing not to like in this book! The Flying Lady. Recommended. – Alpine Revue.
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