In 2006 I had the unbelievable fortune to interview Britain’s beloved motorsport commentator Murray Walker at his residence within the New Forest.
I used to be ushered right into a research filled with assorted motorsport memorabilia, gloves and helmets signed by racing greats and row upon row of books. These included a set of more and more yellowed Autocourses which clearly ran again a number of many years and appeared – nonetheless, my beating coronary heart – to be full.
That was the second I resolved to start out constructing a set of my very own. The perfect a part of 20 years later, it’s nonetheless no match for his, however I’ve come to understand why so many in motorsport take into account this the indispensable annual reference to a yr in motorsport.
The most recent version runs to a mammoth 432 pages, of which 344 are dedicated to Components 1. This contains each a race-by-race assessment of the season, plus detailed surveys of every workforce’s efficiency over the yr. Now the F1 calendar has grown to a mammoth 24 rounds, recalling the occasions of each occasion annually turns into more difficult. Autocourse has due to this fact grow to be an important reference to fill within the gaps on what occurred on- and off-track.
Regardless of the inevitable heavy slant in the direction of F1, Autocourse additionally covers the broader world {of professional}, four-wheeled motor racing in a sequence of season summaries. These embrace distinguished junior single-seater sequence, main US motorsport classes and sports activities automotive racing. I remorse the removing of worldwide karting protection from its pages a couple of years in the past.
With veteran scribes Tony Dodgins and Maurice Hamilton among the many writing expertise, the standard of the protection is first-rate. It’s generously illustrated with a different number of pictures, together with statistics and diagrams, although by no means to the extent that they overwhelm the textual content.
At £70, it’s a premium product with a premium worth: you get an terrible lot of high quality motorsport protection on your cash. Nonetheless, it’s discounted to only underneath £60 on the writer’s web site and RaceFans readers can declare an extra saving as described under, making this even simpler to suggest.
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Autocourse 2024-25
Writer: Icon
Printed: 2024
Pages: 432
Worth: £70
ISBN: 9781910584583
Particular low cost for RaceFans readers
RaceFans readers can declare a 50% low cost on Autocourse Archive subscriptions (£49.99 decreased to £24.99) utilizing the code RaceFans50 and a 25% low cost on Autocourse and Motocourse 2024 Annuals utilizing the code RaceFans25. Purchase them right here:
