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About A Whiff of Castrol R: Memoirs of a Racer (Unabridged)

My dad, in the early '50s, was, without doubt, a brilliant racing driver following a successful motorcycle racing career. It was apparent, at least to me, I was never going to be quite as good as him. However, that never prevented him from giving me full encouragement and support to race, or me from having the desire to race; until finding my "calling" in the racing world. A calling I'm sure my dad, had he still been alive, would have been proud of. My time in racing, both motorcycles and cars, by chance ultimately resulted in me becoming a racing coach and manager. Which it seems was my real forte. Very much along the lines of George Bernard Shaw's maxim. "Those who can - DO, those who CAN'T - teach." I wouldn't exactly say as a racing driver I was a duffer, it's just that winning a championship eluded me. However, as a manager/coach; drivers under my nurturing and guidance won more than a fair share of titles, which more than made up for any shortcomings I may have had as a racer myself. As I point out in the book - nurturing young drivers, turning them from ordinary to extraordinary, has to be the most rewarding and satisfying job it was possible to have. Apart from the book predominantly being racing centric, I do find a moment or two to mention the "right time to be living" factor. It would seem I lucked into being born at the right time, and seemingly, I will die at the right time...which is anytime soon! A succession of buffoons in positions of power have and continue to screw up on a gigantic scale. As a teenager, I was always a poor judge when it was the "right time to leave the party". Now I'm all grown up, it seems my timing will be impeccable.