Recommended reading

Martin Brundle first came to the public's attention when he raced wheel-to-wheel with Ayrton Senna and gave the great Brazilian the toughest challenge of his early career. A regular podium winner with Williams, McLaren, Jordan and Brabham, Brundle began commentating with Murray Walker in 1997. He is now ITV's main commentator and speaks to an estimated 40 million English-speaking people around the world. In this unique book the reader will have his armchair converted to the laid-down cockpit of a Formula One car and be swept around the world's classic motor racing circuits. He will experience the extraordinary sensations, the adrenaline and the atmosphere as told by the sport's best analyst. Together with F1's respected journalist, Maurice Hamilton, Brundle brings his infallible humour and insight, his experiences and opinion, to each of the circuits and its classic races. From the camber at Monaco, which will leave your wheels hanging in the air, to Melbourne and the dynamics behind the most dramatic crash of the decade. Encompassing such essential details as neck-snapping acceleration, smashing cars worth a quarter of a million and the amount of sweat a driver will lose in a race, this is a rare F1 book - funny, opinionated, evocative and dramatic.

This is the autobiography of Perry McCarthy, who decided at the age of 18 that he wanted to reach the top in the world's most expensive sport. With no racing experience, no cash and little going for him except a passion for speed, the exuberant Cockney shouldn't have stood a chance. He never gave up, however, and his relentless search for backing and recognition led the man "The Times" dubbed "the world's unluckiest driver" to heroic, hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking efforts to make it in Formula 1.

Now in its fifth year, the Gumball Rally has earned itself a reputation as one of the maddest and most bizarre races to be held annually. This year over 165 cars took part, mostly ranging from the high-tech lines of a McLaren F1 to Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches, i.e. your average, everyday humdinger of a sports car, except for one - a trusty and reliable Volvo estate driven by authors Clement Wilson and the former champion jockey Richard Dunwoody. This is the story of the rally and their escapades, as they charged down from the start line in Paris towards Madrid and Marbella via Biarritz and across to Morocco before coming back towards Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix and on to the finishing line in Cannes, just in time for the film festival. With stars such as the original Cannonballer himself, Burt Reynolds, Chris Eubank, Goldie, Jodie Kidd, 50 Cent and the guys from Jackass all taking part, the thrills and spills were guaranteed. Funny and fascinating by turns, The Gumball Rally is a fast-paced record of what it's like to get lost in the African desert, party with kings, princes and French DJs and pass a Ferrari at 150mph!