John Aston

John Aston was born in Leeds in 1952 and grew up in a mining village where his father was the local GP. He attended school in Wakefield and gained an LLB at the University of Leeds. John worked as a public sector lawyer, starting his career in Lincoln from 1975 to 1979 before returning to North Yorkshire, where he worked until his retirement in 2012.

He has two obsessions – angling and motor sport – and has written extensively about both, with his first article being published in 1981, his first book in 2007 and the second five years later. He became interested in motor sport in 1967, about 7000 car magazines ago, and he is passionate about the diversity of British motor sport and the importance of experiencing it live.

John drove Caterham Sevens for 20 years but loves driving anything, anywhere. His head belongs to Lotus but his heart is firmly located in Maranello. Sadly, however, his small collection of Ferraris is in 1/18 scale ...

John has travelled to Europe and USA to watch motor sport but claims never to be happier than when he is watching old cars racing at Cadwell Park. He volunteered as a marshal in the Seventies, working at a range of events from speed hill climbs to Formula 1, and has since been involved in many other facets of the car and motor sport community.

BREAKING NEWS Feb 2021 - DRIVEN has just been rated the 15th Greatest Motorsport Book of All Time by the US website BookAuthority. The rating was based on recommendations by a panel of experts which included former Grand Prix driver and SkyF1 TV expert Martin Brundle.