My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat
My Greatest Defeat

My Greatest Defeat

Stories of hardship and hope from motor racing’s finest heroes

Regular price£20.00
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Author Will Buxton
ISBN: 9781910505403

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My Greatest Defeat is a collection of honest and revealing insights into 20 of the greatest living racing drivers; legends of the worlds of Formula 1, Indycar, NASCAR, Le Mans and Rally. Its purpose is to discover their weakest moment, the one time in their lives when they didn’t know where to turn or what to do next. To show that beneath the fire-proof suits and the helmets and beyond the heroics displayed on track, these great modern gladiators are fallible and breakable. The legends interviewed opened up completely. Honesty flowed as rarely seen and little expected. Mighty champions, men we’ve always seen as thick-skinned, macho, manly men, unburdening their souls. These are their stories. Their words. Their truths.

• Interviews conducted specially for this book are with (in alphabetical order) Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti, Jeff Gordon, Mika Häkkinen, Damon Hill, Jimmie Johnson, Tom Kristensen, Niki Lauda, Sebastien Loeb, Felipe Massa, Rick Mears, Emanuele Pirro, Alain Prost, Carlos Sainz, Jackie Stewart, Bobby Unser, Ari Vatanen and Alex Zanardi. Here are five highlights…

• Dario Franchitti – The Indycar champion talks of the deaths of the friends that bookended his career in racing, the heartbreak that each caused and the aftermath of accidents that affected the physical functioning of his brain.

• Niki Lauda – A racer who needs no introduction, Niki Lauda discusses the loss of one of his aircraft over Thailand in which all on board were killed; for eight months he fought to clear the name of his pilots and change aircraft safety forever.

• Alain Prost – Ayrton Senna’s great rival talks of the moral compass that guided his career and the slights he perceived against him, moments that shaped the development of his reputation as a cold, manipulative and divisive character.

• Ari Vatanen – The Finnish rally ace reflects on the accident that almost killed him and the depression into which he fell in convalescence, the dark recesses of his mind leading him to an unwavering belief that he had contracted AIDS.

• Alex Zanardi – In a deep and revealing conversation, the Paralympic gold medallist, who lost both legs in an Indycar accident, discusses how we decipher between our passion and our ambition and how childhood dreams affect our adult decisions.

• Striking portrait artworks come from a revered artist in modern comic book design, Giuseppe ‘Cammo’ Camuncoli, who is renowned for the dark, brooding style that has seen him become a staple in the Vertigo, DC and Marvel stables.

Format: 234x156mm
Hardback
Page extent: 320pp
Illustration: 20 portraits

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“These accounts are fascinating and packed with genuinely meaningful introspection and reflection… massively poignant.”

“Buxton remains respectful but softly tenacious throughout, getting to the core of every driver’s psyche. An utterly fascinating book.”

“For anyone who enjoys knowing about the real people who are the heroes of motor sport, and their personalities, hopes and fears, this book gives a first-rate insight into those behind-the-scenes challenges they have faced.”

“I was moved emotionally by many of the testimonies, and those aren’t words I often use in the context of books on motorsport… a fascinating book.”

“As ever with everything published by Evro the book itself is immaculate, produced to the highest quality.”

“A truly great work… I wouldn’t say this book is recommended reading. I say this is required reading.”

“Each of the stories that Buxton expertly elicits is both interesting and intimate… every story here is unique.”

Will Buxton
A motorsport journalist, commentator, broadcaster and presenter, Will Buxton has had the rare luxury of turning his life’s great passion into something resembling work for the better part of the last 20 years.

Born in 1981 in Portsmouth, England, Buxton grew up living on the Malvern hills and was a chorister at Worcester Cathedral. Later educated at the Lord Wandsworth and Farnborough Sixth Form Colleges in Hampshire, he penned an undergraduate thesis on ‘The Politics of Formula 1’ during his time at Leeds University.

His first break in journalism came writing for GrandPrix.com in 2001 before a full-time role as Staff Writer at the Official Formula 1 Magazine arrived in 2002. With the demise of the publication in 2004, Buxton toured the European Formula 1 races living in a camper van, writing for the Metro newspaper in London. His exploits came to the attention of the new GP2 Series, for which he became Director of Communications over the next three years.

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