Auto Racing's Literature/Movie/Documentary Discussion
11-11-2015, 03:49 PM
#11
Former Moderator
Here is a link from Petrolicious about 7 automotive books.
http://www.petrolicious.com/7-books-...ith-this-month
The coffee table books dont hold much interest for me. I think I will order Mark Donohue's "The Unfair Advantage". I've heard quite a bit about this book. Anyone that has read it on here? Would you care to share a review
http://www.petrolicious.com/7-books-...ith-this-month
The coffee table books dont hold much interest for me. I think I will order Mark Donohue's "The Unfair Advantage". I've heard quite a bit about this book. Anyone that has read it on here? Would you care to share a review
12-01-2015, 12:11 PM
#12
Former Moderator
Senna's greatest rival, Terry Fullerton speaks of their rivalry in the days before F1
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/articl...cing-adversary
This serves as a great epilogue to the documentary about Senna and reveals what he was like before he became the focus of media attention.
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/articl...cing-adversary
This serves as a great epilogue to the documentary about Senna and reveals what he was like before he became the focus of media attention.
12-17-2015, 11:30 AM
#13
James Garner (Grand Prix) did a documentary back in the early '70s titled "The Racing Scene" and featured his AIR team during the 1970 SCCA Formula A season. I think the only place you can find it these days is for download from Amazon, and maybe some clips on YouTube.
12-21-2015, 10:56 AM
#14
Here is a link from Petrolicious about 7 automotive books.
http://www.petrolicious.com/7-books-...ith-this-month
The coffee table books dont hold much interest for me. I think I will order Mark Donohue's "The Unfair Advantage". I've heard quite a bit about this book. Anyone that has read it on here? Would you care to share a review
http://www.petrolicious.com/7-books-...ith-this-month
The coffee table books dont hold much interest for me. I think I will order Mark Donohue's "The Unfair Advantage". I've heard quite a bit about this book. Anyone that has read it on here? Would you care to share a review
12-21-2015, 03:18 PM
#15
Former Moderator
^ Thanks Mark. Your post also served as a reminder that I've yet to order the book 
This weekend, I watched Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman. I enjoyed the documentary and would recommend it as a must-see for all. The movie is specifically about Paul Newman the race car driver and while it has interviews with Robert Redford, and Jay Leno, their conversations are centered on Paul Newman and his addiction and determination to be as good as he can be out on the track. Other notable interviewees include Bob Sharp, Mario Andretti and Carl Haas. The movie starts of with Newman starting off by club racing with a Datsun 510 in Bob Sharp colors and then moves on to his progress, making it to the runoffs and his victories at those. His first runoff victory was in his words something that he inherited because a competitors car failed him and he was determined to win fair and square, which he did a few years down the line. The movie charts his progress to the Rolex 24 Hours and then onwards to Le Mans where he was troubled a lot by the press and the paparazzi. It is opined that he never went back to Le Mans because he did not like the attention that his presence brought to the team with press getting in the way of the team during pit stops.
The movie then tracks his tenure as a successful team owner with Newman Haas racing and all the victories that organization achieved. There is the moment of grief he encounters as he loses his son to drug overdose and it is racing that keeps him going through all of it. At one point Redford remarks that racing had taken over so much that he became a uninteresting conversation partner as he'd always talk about his cars.
While I enjoyed the movie, I wish they had more racing action. I would have liked at least one or two acts to have focused on races that marked his improvement as a driver and were crucial to pushing him further. Something like the movie Senna where they showed his first race for Toleman and then his home race in Brazil that he won. I'd also have liked at least part of it to have been in the first-person, but that probably was a big challenge given how private he was and how much he tended not to talk about his achievements in glowing terms.
This weekend, I watched Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman. I enjoyed the documentary and would recommend it as a must-see for all. The movie is specifically about Paul Newman the race car driver and while it has interviews with Robert Redford, and Jay Leno, their conversations are centered on Paul Newman and his addiction and determination to be as good as he can be out on the track. Other notable interviewees include Bob Sharp, Mario Andretti and Carl Haas. The movie starts of with Newman starting off by club racing with a Datsun 510 in Bob Sharp colors and then moves on to his progress, making it to the runoffs and his victories at those. His first runoff victory was in his words something that he inherited because a competitors car failed him and he was determined to win fair and square, which he did a few years down the line. The movie charts his progress to the Rolex 24 Hours and then onwards to Le Mans where he was troubled a lot by the press and the paparazzi. It is opined that he never went back to Le Mans because he did not like the attention that his presence brought to the team with press getting in the way of the team during pit stops.
The movie then tracks his tenure as a successful team owner with Newman Haas racing and all the victories that organization achieved. There is the moment of grief he encounters as he loses his son to drug overdose and it is racing that keeps him going through all of it. At one point Redford remarks that racing had taken over so much that he became a uninteresting conversation partner as he'd always talk about his cars.
While I enjoyed the movie, I wish they had more racing action. I would have liked at least one or two acts to have focused on races that marked his improvement as a driver and were crucial to pushing him further. Something like the movie Senna where they showed his first race for Toleman and then his home race in Brazil that he won. I'd also have liked at least part of it to have been in the first-person, but that probably was a big challenge given how private he was and how much he tended not to talk about his achievements in glowing terms.
01-23-2016, 09:28 AM
#18
Former Moderator
Not quite a documentary but a historical vignette of the race that established Senna as someone to be reckoned with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW1xk98J7kw
Here is a link to the article from Petrolicious
The next day, just before the race it started to rain. Little did his competition know that the conditions were perfect for Senna. As soon as the race began, it did not take more than half a lap for Senna to capture the lead.
While others were making fun and cutting corners, Senna was actually driving flat-out with the car, flying through bends like a stone skipping across water. He won that 12 lap race ahead of Niki Lauda, proving himself in equal machinery. Right away, John Surtees is said to have mailed a letter to Enzo Ferrari with the advice to hire Senna, if Enzo wanted to score a future World Champion. To his detriment, Ferrari didn’t take the advice.
Besides a wreath, the winning car would be retained by Mercedes-Benz and shown in the company museum; apparently, at the time Senna’s victory was an unpopular one—after all, the 24-year-old was still virtually an unknown. Cooler heads prevailed, and I’m sure Mercedes-Benz is happy that they kept the winning car; it remains at the company museum in Stuttgart to this day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW1xk98J7kw
Here is a link to the article from Petrolicious
The next day, just before the race it started to rain. Little did his competition know that the conditions were perfect for Senna. As soon as the race began, it did not take more than half a lap for Senna to capture the lead.
While others were making fun and cutting corners, Senna was actually driving flat-out with the car, flying through bends like a stone skipping across water. He won that 12 lap race ahead of Niki Lauda, proving himself in equal machinery. Right away, John Surtees is said to have mailed a letter to Enzo Ferrari with the advice to hire Senna, if Enzo wanted to score a future World Champion. To his detriment, Ferrari didn’t take the advice.
Besides a wreath, the winning car would be retained by Mercedes-Benz and shown in the company museum; apparently, at the time Senna’s victory was an unpopular one—after all, the 24-year-old was still virtually an unknown. Cooler heads prevailed, and I’m sure Mercedes-Benz is happy that they kept the winning car; it remains at the company museum in Stuttgart to this day.