Books: March 2018
In The Zone: How Champions Think and Win Big
Clyde Brolin
We’ve all had it: that feeling while watching a race, or a match that one of the competitors is operating on an entirely different plane to rivals.
Clyde Brolin, a former Formula 1 reporter, calls this state “the zone”, and over the course of his career has become so hooked on exploring it that he has written two books on the phenomenon. His first, Overdrive: Formula 1 in the Zone, was published in 2010 and now there’s a paperback version of last year’s In the Zone.
Inspired by Ayrton Senna’s famous description of his qualifying lap at Monaco in 1988 – where he ran 1.427sec faster than his team-mate Alain Prost and claimed he drove beyond his “conscious understanding” – Brolin attempts to explain how to reach such peaks of performance.
He speaks to dozens of athletes – from tennis players to golfers as well as drivers – and the result is a fascinating book that sheds some much-needed light onto a little-known area of sports psychology. JD
Published by Blink Publishing
SBN-10: 1911274570, £8.99
Rallying 1967
John Davenport, Reinhard Klein
This is a tome of considerable heft – and the content reflects the pedigree of its contributors. Davenport is an accomplished co-driver whose past credits include stints as rallies editor of Motoring News and competition manager at British Leyland, as well as being a regular Motor Sport contributor. And Klein is patriarch of rallying’s finest photographic archive, bar none – though these are mostly from a time before his trademark panoramic style had fully evolved.
The book is subtitled ‘everything you want to know about the 1967 rally season’ and meanders through a broad range of events, from obvious choices such as the Monte Carlo and East African Safari to the Marathon de la Route at the Nordschleife, Rajd Polksi, rallycross at Lydden Hill and atmospheric shots from the RAC Rally HQ, shortly before the event was cancelled due to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
It isn’t all action sequences: there are photo essays from selected workshops and the text is backed up with entry lists, results sheets, route maps and similar paraphernalia.
Pick of the photos, for reasons of curiosity rather than technical virtuosity, is perhaps that on page 138. It shows a Mk2 Ford Cortina GT and the caption relates how driver Peter Hughes did much to raise the marque’s profile in Africa. It neglects to mention, however, that there is a lion perched on the roof… SA
Published by McKlein
ISBN: 978-3-927458-99-4, €99.90
Ferrari In Art
Paul Chenard
Author Chenard’s approach to book publishing is very much like his preferred subject matter. Racing teams went about their business in a fairly relaxed manner during the ’50s and ’60s – and Chenard applies that ethos to his sketches and paintings.
This charming collection of Ferrari art isn’t about to grace the walls of the V&A any time soon, but that rather misses the point. A few pieces here rely on photographs as base material, so consequently feel a little familiar and simplistic, but when he relies on his graphic design background and creates something from scratch, the result is much more appealing. DC
Published by Blurb Books
ISBN: 978-1-36-457791-9, $68.79
Porsche Victory 2017
René de Boer, Tim Upietz
Three Le Mans wins equates to three consecutive large-format Porsche Victory books from Messrs de Boer and Upietz. The concept is as before, taking Porsche fans inside the Weissach factory’s campaigns in GTE-Am, GTE-Pro and LMP1.
In that sense it isn’t a full recap or memento of the race, but a Porsche product for Porsche enthusiasts. It also has the best 2017 Porsche photos you’ll see in one place. The often stunning pictures take precedence over the words, which are in German, English and French. As is usual at Le Mans, there’s something special about dawn and dusk shots. But equally arresting are the behind-the-scenes images as the dramatic race unfolded.
The production is good, it is hardback and the thick expensive pages more than match the quality of the shots within. This will be the last of the series for now, you’d suspect, and that might add to its appeal. JP
Published by Gruppe C
ISBN: 978-3-928540-92-6, €40
Austin-Healey 3000: The Story Of DD300
Simon Ham
Mention Big Healey achievements and the mind turns initially to European rallies. But this first entry in Porter Press’s new Profile series – a sort of publishing F2 to the firm’s Great Cars brand – reminds us of the model’s success on the track too, and especially what one example achieved. Originally a BMC works Sebring entry, DD300 gained fame in the hands of marque devotee John Chatham who raced it for more than 40 years, challenging Cobras and E-types and even mixing it with Lola T70s and GT40s.
Author Ham steers us through the car’s astonishingly rich career, which includes three Le Mans, the TT and the Kyalami 9 Hours plus endless GT, club racing and now historic events, while its drivers have numbered Jack Sears and even Stirling Moss. So it’s a well-storied machine to commence this new project, which at £20 offers a good-value auto-biography.
Presentation is neat rather than stylish and the story thorough more than thrilling, with studio shots of the car today, still campaigning – having shrugged off its lairy 1960s Modsports modifications. GC
Published by Porter Press
ISBN: 978-1-907085-70-3, £20