Fifty Years of Moto Grand Prix
Fifty Years of Moto Grand Prix
THE CW LIBRARY
WANT A SOPHISTICATED OVERVIEW OF GRAND PRIX motorcycle roadracing, but don’t know where to start? Dorna, which handles GP media distribution, and Hazleton Publishing, which issues the beautiful GP annual Motocourse, have collaborated to produce a fine coffee-table volume commemorating the 50th anniversary of FIM GP racing.
The book is organized as a series of articles on particular periods or subjects, with copious photographic illustration. The list of authors includes Doma’s former press officer (and former racer/journalist) Dennis Noyes, long-time GP journalist Michael Scott, Jan Leek, Mick Woolctt and many others. All subjects are covered-technical, historic, personalities and pivotal events. This is a book you can pick up and read from any point with enjoyment. (This would still be true even if I hadn’t written several technical sidebars for the text.)
How did the sport evolve? Who were the important riders, engineers and tuners of other eras? This book answers these questions, and shows how we arrived at the present state of GP racing. When was the last GP win by a 500cc Norton? When did a two-stroke first win the 350cc class? What were the Featherbed, the Porcupine and the Crescent? Who is Angel Nieto, and when did Giacomo Agostini win his first GP? Why do production motorcycles look the way they do today? The answers to these questions also await you in this book.
It is always a misfortune when a book as rich in information as this one lacks an index. We’ll just have to read the whole thing. Kevin Cameron
Fifty Years of Moto Grand Prix, edited by Dennis Noyes, 208 pages, $60; Motorbooks International, 729 Prospect Ave., Osceola Wl 54020; 715/294-3345
