Speed Kings (Paperback)

John Smailes

ISBN 10: 1760529397 / ISBN 13: 9781760529390

Published by Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2020

About this Item

Paperback. Winning the Indianapolis 500, the greatest spectacle in motorsport, has been a quest for Australians and New Zealanders since the first race in 1911. Seventeen have tried and two have succeeded: Scott Dixon in 2008 and Will Power in 2018. Rupert Jeffkins, Australia's original speed king, entered the first Indy 500 and on his second attempt in 1912 came within five kilometres of victory. He and Italian Ralph De Palma created legend when they pushed their car to the finish line after it blew up while leading. Speed Kings tells Jeffkins' full story for the first time.The lure of the Brickyard, paved with 3.2 million bricks, has drawn champions from both sides of the Tasman. Sir Jack Brabham, his son Geoffrey and grandson Matthew have each tried to win. So have the 'big three' of New Zealand motor racing: Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon. Now Scott McLaughlin looks set to become the next driver from down under to chase American motor racing's greatest prize.Indy doesn't offer up victory lightly. Blinding speed - nudging 380 km/h and averaging 280 km/h over 500 miles - makes the Brickyard one of the most precarious racetracks in the world. Forty-two drivers have died attempting the 500. Speed Kings tells the story of the Australian and New Zealand drivers, team owners, engineers, even commentators who've made the Brickyard their quest. The fascinating, definitive story of Australia and New Zealand's quest to win the world's greatest motor race Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781760529390

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Speed Kings (Paperback)
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin, Sydney
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1760529397
• ISBN 13: 9781760529390
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The Indianapolis 500, the greatest spectacle in motorsport, has been a quest for Australians since the first race in 1911. It has been won by an Australian only once - last year by Toowoomba born Will Power (his real name). More than a century before, Rupert Jeffkins, Australia's first international racing driver, came within two laps (five miles) of winning the second Indy ever held. He and Ralph De Palma created legend when they pushed their car to the finish line after it blew up while leading. In between Jeffkins and Power, another 10 Australians have attempted to win the world's greatest motor race.

Jack Brabham, Australia's three times world champion was the greatest agent of change Indianapolis has ever known. He changed the brickyard (the surface was constructed of 3.2million paving bricks) forever in 1961 when he raced his rear engine Cooper Climax against the monstrous front engine Indy cars of the time. He drove through the blinding smoke of a fiery crash in which two drivers were killed but his tyres failed. He came ninth, but from 1964, spurred by Brabham's innovation, a front engine car never won again. In fact, the Indy has been challenged by three generations of Brabham. Jack's son Geoff was fourth in 1983. Geoff's son Matt failed to finish in 2016.

Australians at Indy provides the opportunity to write about Australian motor racing ambition around the world. It will be a deep and compelling dive into those who've raced at The Brickyard - and also into those who didn't, focusing on why Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo never took up the challenge. As he did with Mount Panorama, John will once more bring a legendary motor racing circuit to life, but this time through a uniquely Australian perspective.

About the Author

John Smailes has worked as a motor racing journalist and PR consultant for more than four decades. As a young reporter he covered the London-Sydney Marathon and has a substantial library of photographs as well as contemporary interviews and records. His most recent books are Race Across the World (A&U 2018) and Mount Panorama (A&U 2019).