Motor Racing's Strangest Races Extraordinary but True Stories from Over a Century of Motor Racing

by Tibballs, Geoff

• ISBN13: 9781907554650
• ISBN10: 1907554653
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-01
• Publisher: Portico

Summary

In 1894, when the motley assortment of steam and petrol-powered vehicles lined up at the start of the trial from Paris to Rouen, motor-racing's colourful history was launched. Many of the pioneering events were death-defying, trans-continental marathons, in which the competitors were obliged to negotiate basic dirt tracks, muddy bogs, fast-flowing rivers, over-zealous policemen and a seemingly ednless supply of stray dogs. Barely contained in this new hardback edition are 80+ bizarre, brilliant and bonkers stories from over a century of motor racing. They include the Frenchman who drove 25 miles in reverse; the Grand Prix where the leading drivers were so far ahead that they stopped for a meal in the pits; the Le Mans 24-hour race won by a car patched up with chewing gum; and the driver who drunk six bottles of champagne on the way to winning the Indianapolis 500. Word count: 45,000

Author Biography

Geoff Tibballs has written more than 100 books including The Mammoth Book of Dirty, Sick, X-Rated and Politically Incorrect Jokes; The Mammoth Book of Humor; Ripley's Believe It Or Not! The Remarkable Revealed; and The Seniors' Survival Guide.