Race To Win - Book review by Maggie Woods

“Find out what it is like to drive like
a pro with Derek Daly — himself
a former racer — in his new book,
Race To Win: How To Become
A Complete Champion Driver...”

EVER WONDERED IF YOU COULD DRIVE LIKE Mario Andretti? Well, here's your chance to read why some racing teams and drivers succeed so brilliantly while others fail to reach their full potential in Derek Daly's eye-opening book, Race To Win: How To Become A Complete Champion Driver.

Following a remarkable racing career that spanned nearly two decades, Derek turned his attention to the mechanics of success. You can benefit from Derek's experience and research within the pages of this comprehensive book, which has an endorsement in the Foreword by respected racing driver Mario Andretti.

With a sound background in racing, Derek is in an ideal position to pass on his inside knowledge. In 1969 he began his competition career in stock car racing at Santry Stadium, Dublin, driving an old Ford Anglia. His career in racing started in 1974 at the wheel of a used Lotus 61 Formula Ford (at the age of 21) and he was eventually signed by McLaren International Chairman Ron Dennis for the 1979 season.

He has had his fair share of setbacks and during the mid-70s he had desperately needed money to continue racing so went to work as a labourer in the gruelling iron-ore mines of Australia. One of his proudest moments was in 1976 when he was presented with his Formula Ford trophy by James Hunt.

Although Derek had some success in the lower Formulae, in Formula One he was struggling to maintain the form that had appeared to be so natural to him. He has identified six ingredients necessary to take you on the path to success in a "Champion's Pyramid" and he says he has made all the classic mistakes during his learning curve. Formula One, says Derek, is "the most competitive, intense and challenging Motorsport on the planet".

A step-by-step manual for drivers, mechanics, team managers and parents to follow, Race To Win will help and encourage success in motorsports. With his Champion's Pyramid diagram, Derek Daly reveals six qualities that a driver needs to master and balance to succeed not only in racing but also in life.

Derek analyzes four drivers — all, of course, from Formula One — who have the special qualities of true champions: Mario Andretti, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost.

There is also a grid showing Typical Behaviour for Different Types of Driving Talent: Instinct Reflex Talent and Feel-Sensitive Talent, with advice for each type of driver. Daly also looks at what makes successful champions like Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Dale Earnhardt Sr and Mario Andretti. Anyone, he says, can adapt what these champions did into their own routine. It is personal choices that separate champions from pretenders and Race To Win demonstrates how to make the right choices.

Derek looks at the different driving styles of other racers and compares the mental make-up of great drivers. Former British Karting star Jensen Button, he says, is a great example of a driver who appears to have strong mental skills and Ireland's Eddie Irvine consistently displayed great mental strength.

Recognising your strengths and weaknesses is essential. Derek describes Mario Andretti as a "great technical driver" who was able to give such accurate feedback to his engineers that they were able to support him fully in return.

More advice is given on what you may wish to achieve from personal coaching, establishing your goal, physical fitness and the successes and failures of existing strategies. Only you can decide on your degree of commitment, how much you want to succeed and how much you are prepared to put into your racing career.

There are 16 pages of colour photographs with personalities from the world of Motorsport and a useful appendix of Drivers Resources at the end of the book.

Don't expect Race To Win to turn you overnight into the next Formula One Champion — but if this is your chosen career, this informative and well-written book will put you on the right path and those interested in getting into the psyche of the racing driver will also benefit from Derek Daly's experiences.

• Race To Win: How To Become A Complete Champion Driver by Derek Daly is out now in hardback with 256 pages and is available at an RRP of �16.99 from all good bookstores or direct order direct from Grantham Book Services on 01476 541080. ISBN: 978-0-7603-3185-9.

Derek Daly is known in motorsport circles around the world as a talented and passionate driver, writer, broadcaster, racing advisor, and businessman. Daly competed as a professional race-car driver for 17 years before becoming a television motorsport commentator. He was one of a handful of world-class drivers to compete in all three of the most prestigious races in the world — the Indianapolis 500, the Grand Prix of Monaco and the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Derek Daly currently resides in the USA with his wife and their three children.

"Derek's book teaches lessons it took guys like me years to learn. Quite honestly, I believe the advice in this book resonates far beyond the racing industry" — Mario Andretti

"Don't expect Race To Win to turn you overnight into the next Formula One Champion — but if this is your chosen career, this informative and well-written book will put you on the right path and those interested in getting into the psyche of the racing driver will also benefit from Derek Daly's experiences" — MotorBar

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