Interesting Read - "Ring of Fire"

[vifferman]

No, it's not the tale of the aftermath of a dangerously hot chili dinner, but the "Inside story of MotoGP", by Rick Broadbent, a sports writer for The Times. It was a thoughtful gift from my wife for my birthday or Christmas (forgive me if I forget which one, but they're kind of inextricably entwined....)

Anyway, it's quite an elucidating and educational read, and covers the MotoGP period, and its main players. Interspersed with chapters covering the fortunes of its main protagonists are others dealing with Mike "The Bike" Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, and other players in their battles, such as Phil Read, Mick Grant, Bill Ivy, Gary Hocking, Jim Redman and our own Ginger Molloy.

Being a journalist, Broadbent has put together descriptions of races, after-race parties, anecdotes and stories, fleshed out by interviews with those involved, so you get a pretty good insight into the premier racing scene, and what occurs behind it, the motivations of the stars, and so forth. When writing about some of the 'bit players', Broadbent tends to have a bit of a lean towards Brtish riders, which I guess is understandable, given that they are more accessible to him, and he's probably a patriot, so we don't find out much about riders like Randy de Puniet, the Jap riders, etc. However, it's also fairly up to date, as it was published in 2009.

I found out all sorts of "behind the scenes" stuff I didn't know about Rossi, Aaron Slight, Stoner, etc etc. Despite being a big Rossi fan, my estmation of him as a person has gone down quite a bit, as he sounds like a bit of an arsehole.

I'm not quite finished reading it (I'm up to chapter "Lap12", which is one of those intermediate chapters dealing with Mike Hailwood's 1978 Isle of Man TT comeback) so I can't tell you what happens in the end, but I suspect the hero gets the girl. Or the trophy. Or probably both.
Whatever - I recommend this book as a good read for those interested in MotoGP.
So that would be most of us.

[vifferman]

Another book I was given (for the other present, on the day before/after) was "Long Way Down" by Charley Borman and Ewan McGregor. (So that's two (2!!) books on motorbicycling!! ) It was a pretty good read too, but it read more like a week of travel than 3 months. A wee bit too abbreviated perhaps...

[pritch]

I considered buying "Ring" but read a review that was less than a whole hearted recommendation, so bought other books instead. I am reading Kevin Cameron's "Top Dead Centre 2" and will follow this with his "The Grand Prix Motorcycle".

Having read your comments I went back to amazon.co.uk and checked the rather mixed reviews there. Carefully ignoring Murray Walker's gushing exhortation to buy the book. Based on those reviews I still wouldn't buy it, but your comments have certainly aroused an interest that wasn't there previously.

On an unrelated matter, a friend returned some books yesterday that he had borrowed. Among them was one I thought had been lost many years ago, 'The Art Of Motorcyle Racing" by Mike Hailwood & Murray Walker, 1963. And no, sorry, I'm not lending it again...

[Cajun]

No, it's not the tale of the aftermath of a dangerously hot chili dinner, but the "Inside story of MotoGP", by Rick Broadbent, a sports writer for The Times. It was a thoughtful gift from my wife for my birthday or Christmas (forgive me if I forget which one, but they're kind of inextricably entwined....)

Anyway, it's quite an elucidating and educational read, and covers the MotoGP period, and its main players. Interspersed with chapters covering the fortunes of its main protagonists are others dealing with Mike "The Bike" Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, and other players in their battles, such as Phil Read, Mick Grant, Bill Ivy, Gary Hocking, Jim Redman and our own Ginger Molloy.

Being a journalist, Broadbent has put together descriptions of races, after-race parties, anecdotes and stories, fleshed out by interviews with those involved, so you get a pretty good insight into the premier racing scene, and what occurs behind it, the motivations of the stars, and so forth. When writing about some of the 'bit players', Broadbent tends to have a bit of a lean towards Brtish riders, which I guess is understandable, given that they are more accessible to him, and he's probably a patriot, so we don't find out much about riders like Randy de Puniet, the Jap riders, etc. However, it's also fairly up to date, as it was published in 2009.

I found out all sorts of "behind the scenes" stuff I didn't know about Rossi, Aaron Slight, Stoner, etc etc. Despite being a big Rossi fan, my estmation of him as a person has gone down quite a bit, as he sounds like a bit of an arsehole.

I'm not quite finished reading it (I'm up to chapter "Lap12", which is one of those intermediate chapters dealing with Mike Hailwood's 1978 Isle of Man TT comeback) so I can't tell you what happens in the end, but I suspect the hero gets the girl. Or the trophy. Or probably both.
Whatever - I recommend this book as a good read for those interested in MotoGP.
So that would be most of us.

Yes i read this a few months ago, was a good book, my knowledge of some the older gp stars was lacking, so was a good insite for me in this case.

More i read some of these behind scenes storys on gp/sbk paddock, some of my views change on different people in them change.

[nsrpaul]

Ive got a copy, good book but more entertaining than informative

the grand prix motorcycle is also a good read, looking forward to finishing motorcycle world champions

just read neil mackenzies biography, didn't really foolow him when he was racing but enjoyed the read (sharp price to!)

[Robbo]

"Ring of Fire" I read this book late last year and a very interesting read it was with a "behind the scenes" from Moto GP and Isle of Man TT.
If Rossi was even half as bad as stated in the book it sure throws a different prospective on the guy, although one certainly can't deny
his tallents.