Niki Lauda: His competition history

Niki Lauda might be most widely known for his spectacular racing accident and even more spectacular comeback, chronicled in Ron Howard's 2013 movie "Rush," but in fact his career in fast things spanned the best part of twenty years and included everything from Minis at hillclimbs to sports cars and just about every rung of the single-seater ladder.As titles go, "Niki Lauda: His Competition History" doesn't seem to promise a scintillating read, but Jon Saltinstall's book is incredibly engaging. It includes brief but incisive descriptions of all of Lauda's races, and perhaps even more amazingly, features a photograph from virtually every one of them. (If that isn't enough, it even has an appendix detailing all the occasions on which he drove a racing car after retirement.) I can't imagine the amount of effort that must have gone into researching and compiling this compendium, and it's all presented on beautiful, glossy pages, as is the tendency with publisher Evro's books.Even in a sport defined by its characters, it's hard to overstate how distinctive Lauda was. He died just last year, to the heartfelt sorrow of the entire F1 paddock and all those who follow the sport, but it's hard to imagine a more thorough memorial or more fitting tribute than this book.~

This book surprised me - I was expecting a dull 'competition history' full of statistics, with over-familiar illustrations. Instead it's a very pleasant surprise. Eminently readable and the many photos have been chosen and captioned with care.Treat this review with caution - I'm biased. Although not a Lauda fan - more an admirer - I saw him race many times in everything from F3 to McLaren-TAG via BMW CSL and M1 Procar. And they're all here, mostly in glorious colour (production values are high).I rate this as a superb book and an essential purchase for anyone with an interest in the subject !

At first, you may think not another Niki Lauda book. More so, when you think of its timing – it was published a few months after Niki's sad passing. But, you would be so wrong to follow that train of thought. This is like no other Niki Lauda – it's like no other book, to be honest – in its thoroughness and depth of research. While you would expect this sort of quality from such a high-quality, experienced publisher, as EVRO, you don't expect such a high-quality from a first-time author. Author, Jon Saltinstall, makes no bones that he is/was a huge fan of Niki, so it's a labour of love but because he's such a fan, he's gone to great lengths to produce a book worthy of Niki's memory. One of the all-time greats of motorsport deserves to be remembered by one of the one all-time great motorsport books. This is certainly one of them. Be in no doubt that the author has surpassed even his own high expectations. To have sourced such a vast array of information and photos from Niki's early career competing in obscure hill-climbs, Formula Vee and touring car races in Austria, Germany, Finland etc..is not the work of a moment. This task is made even more difficult when the information is contained in foreign language magazines. Personally, the coverage of the F3 & F2 part of Niki's career is a particular highlight. Some of the photos are breathtaking. Even though you think his F1 career has been covered in detail in previous books, the author has still managed to find obscure photos of Niki testing an assortment of cars, the vast majority of which have never been seen before. If that wasn't enough, an eloquent and heartfelt Foreword from John Watson sets up the book nicely. 'Wattie' was the perfect choice for such a task. This is the sort of book you would expect from a veteran, vastly experienced author, not a first-timer. To have put together such a piece of work, the author should be very proud of his achievement and he should look forward to a long career in the field of motorsport writing.

What a substantial tome this first-time author has written. It has all the high production values associated with EVRO Publishing and is a joy to behold, if a little weighty to actually hold! The magnitude and thoroughness of Jon Saltinstall’s research of his favourite subject is immediately obvious and he covers exactly what the title implies. In fact, all of Niki’s 316 races, over his two careers, together with tests and demos are examined in some depth and in an interesting way using a multitude of reference sources. Almost every event has an illustration, all being of high quality. Even the ‘spy’ testing shots have been made to look good!Highly recommended to Lauda fans and any enthusiast of 1970s and 80s motor racing.

An excellent record of one on motor racing great champions.

i enjoyed the book but it really is only for the enthusiast