Product Description

Around Europe lie a number of long forgotten monuments, windswept and abandoned, the derelict buildings and crumbling tarmac are all that remain of once great motor racing circuits. From the great speed bowls of Monza and Brooklands, to the parkland of Crystal Palace. All photographed as they are now, but remembered in their prime. Nine of Europe's greatest abandoned circuits recalled and revisited;Previously forgotten events remembered;Track diagrams help chart the history of the autodromes;Many unique and unpublished period photos, as well as program covers and event posters;S.S.Collins' writing captures the spirit of these forgotten places;Photography by Gavin D.Ireland evokes the faded glory of the 'lost circuits'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200122 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Review
f1fanatic.co.uk, March 2007 Mika Hakkinen, Keke Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen - plenty of great Finnish F1 drivers, and yet there's never been a Finnish Grand Prix. Finland had a particularly fine racing circuit in Keimola, but it fell into disuse and thus is one of the tracks that forms the subject of this book. "Autodrome" tells the histories of nine European racing circuits that have fallen into disuse with pages of remarkable photographs. The most striking picture of all is one of Keimola - taken in 2003, when the old pit building went up in flames following a tyre fire. If its destruction was brief and violent, the other subjects have lapsed into a slow disintegration. The books features a host of former Grand Prix venues that once played host to the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Tazio Nuvolari and the giants of yesteryear. The Nurburgring Sudschleife, Brooklands, Monza oval and AVUS are just a few of the tracks covered, all of which have interesting stories to tell. The back stories benefit from plenty of well-researched information and detailed histories. The book is beautifully presented with pages of excellent photographs specially commissioned for the publication, as well as track diagrams and period race programmes. We could all nit-pick over which courses would most befit this type of approach but I think the authors have chosen very well. I'd love to see a follow-up focusing on the great lost road racing circuits of Europe - the likes of Pescara in Italy and Clermont-Ferrand in France, for example. This is a great concept that has made for a very interesting book - one which truly devoted petrolheads might want to spin out into a driving tour of Europe!

About the Author
After dropping out of a degree in Automotive and Motorsport engineering, S.S. Collins went on a mission to write a clear and easy-to-use guide to getting started in motorsport (How to Get started in Motorsport - Veloce). Currently Collins is working in the commercial section of 'the voice of British Motorsport' that is the weekly newspaper Motorsport News. Collins is also a regular on entry lists as he competes in sprints, hillclimbs, races, rallies and trials.