Product Description

Perry McCarthy decided at the age of 18 that he wanted to reach the top in the world's most expensive sport. With no racing experience, no cash, and little going for him except a passion for speed, the exuberant Cockney shouldn't have stood a chance. He never gave up, however, and his relentless search for backing and recognition led the man "The Times" dubbed 'the world's unluckiest racing driver' to heroic, often hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking efforts to make it into Formula 1. This is his autobiography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60855 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'a lesson in sheer determination' Motorsport News

About the Author
Perry McCarthy - sometimes actor (scheduling meetings by impersonating James Hunt) and pizza delivery man (to trick his way into the F1 paddock) - is in constant demand as a motor racing pundit and highly entertaining after-dinner speaker. 'Mad Dog' to his friends, Perry is a man of startling talent and wild hopes. He lives near Billericay, Essex.

Excerpted from Flat Out and Flat Broke by Perry McCarthy, Damon Hill. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
There are legions of ex-racing drivers with a tale to tell; of how they could have made it, but never had the money, or were cheated out of a drive they believed should have been theirs, or had to admit to themselves the painful truth…that they lacked the total commitment needed to succeed. Of these, most will have come to terms with living without the ever present gut churning anxiety and heart palpitating stabs of fear that haunt a racing driver’s life. But for those that enjoy that sort of thing, there is no hope of escape. They have to have it in what ever form it takes. These people are known as ‘Perry McCarthy’.

If you are ever blessed enough to meet Perry, he will first ask you how much you have on you, then how much you can get, and finally if you could be so kind as to give it all to him so he can go racing. It’s impossible not to like him, despite this. ‘No’, is a word that Perry has heard more times than the word ‘Yes’ by a factor of infinity. Yet he still does not give up hope. This is known as ‘madness’. So why do we like him? Because no matter how many times he gets knocked down, he just gets back up again and has another go. Persistence has not exactly paid off for Perry in the same way it smiled on me, but he will never have to lie in bed staring at the ceiling thinking, "I wonder if I could have tried harder?"

The real reward for Perry is that along the way, he has had a hell of a lot of fun times to counter the desperate times. They are all accurately embellished in this book, together with a few things he should have left out, notably the stories with me in them, but I refused to concede to his demands for money yet again.

Life is what happens when you are busy trying to win races, and in this regard Perry is a winner of life itself.

O.K. That’s enough grovelling. Can I have my money now?

Damon Hill 14/04/02