Burning Rubber

Title: Burning Rubber – The Extraordinary Story of Formula One

Author: Charles Jennings

Publisher: Quercus 2011 (First published 2010)

ISBN: 978-0-85738-125-5

Pages: 294

This was meant only as a change from the more exacting books reviwed earlier in this blog. Motor sports was not an area easily palatable to my tastes. The book narrates the origins, developments and the great drivers who made the sport internationally followed, even though on sheer popularity counts, it doesn't come to the top categories. As for any other sport, the lion's share of spectators for Formula One racing is through television. People who have not at all viewed the sport earlier too find themselves glued to the television sets if they happen to land on a channel showing a closely fought out Grand Prix! The author is a professional journalist and has written for many major newspapers in Great Britain.

Racing began in France. The Paris - Rouen Trial of 1894 is marked as the first race, with a prize money of 5,000 francs for the winner who manage to chug through the 125 km distance. The organisers had intended the race for the new, internal combustine engine cars. But quite contrary to their expectations, a steam car came first, but, as so often happens in underhand dealings in auto sports, the prize was shared between it and a Peugeot petrol car, which came second. In those days, racing was played out on civil roads, causing great threat to public safety. First dedicated race track was built in Surrey in 1907 and was an instant hit. Many popular race tracks followed. The term Grand Prix was coined by the French from Grand Prix de Pau in 1901 and it stuck. By mid 1930-s, German makers Auto Union and Mercedes ruled the racing arena with high power, lightweight vehicles. After the lull of World War 2, racing reappeared as Formula One in 1950.

F1 racing, as it is popularly called, is heavily leaning on promotional revenue from sponsors. American mega companies stand in the forefront of the list of donors, but the sport has still not caught on in U.S. American racing circuits are unimportant and even American drivers are rare to spot. This should be seen in the wider perspective of insular mindset displayed by them on matters relating to sports, whereby they shut their eyes to outside influences. Football, which is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world, has not much takers in America, whereas they host American Football world series, which is not played anywhere else. Such antipathy to foreign games might have got extended to F1 racing too.

The text is hilarious to the utmost and is an easy page turner. The book goes a great deal with witty remarks and sarcasmic comments which delights the reader like nothing else. Events from 1950 onwards have found special attention with the author and a ringside view is guaranteed. Photoplates provided at two locations in the text are well anchored with the content and serves the purpose well. The series of photographs, covering the entire history from early cars to modern ones help to comprehend the range of developments that had taken place in the sport since its beginnings nearly a century ago.

The book deserves a fair measure of criticism as well. It is not particular on the details of development of the game. Instead of even describing how Formula One got its name, the author seems more inclined in going after the lascivious personal lives for professional drivers - and it provides a lot as practically everyone in the ring had had their heads turned that way. This scant regard to detail is sadly evident throughout the work. Explaining technical terms like ‘pole position’ was absolutely necessary, but left out by the author. This would have greatly helped anyone trying to get a feel of the game, particularly since F1 racing circuits have widespread appeal anywhere in the world. Asia is rapidly progressing, with circuits in Malaysia, China, India, South Korea and the Middle East. For those terms, I had to use the Net to get details. Jennings will be remembered for the lost opportunity which clearly he had with him.

The book is recommended for those who are well versed in the rules of the sport and want to follow the great drivers who thrilled the spectators during the formation years.

Rating: 2 Star