Paddock to Podium: The Mechanics View
By Max Rutherford
This self-published autobiography of one man’s experiences in motor racing draws on many different sources and features a foreword by Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, with whom the author achieved the pinnacle of success as a mechanic on the World Championship-winning Tyrrell team of 1969.
Rutherford began his motor sports career behind the wheel growing up in New Zealand, racing karts and three-quarter midgets while learning the ins and outs of car construction and vehicle dynamics. In 1965, he took the big step of going to England with a letter of introduction to Jack Brabham, for whom he was quickly put to work, pulling an all-nighter his first day on the job!
He worked primarily as a mechanic in Formula Two, and among the acquaintances he made in that arena was Ken Tyrrell, who was then planning his team’s jump into F1. For 1968, Tyrrell hired Rutherford to help get the effort going. Every good racing journalist knows that the mechanics are the best source for all the good stories, and this book does nothing to dispel that image as it is filled with inside insights not to be missed.
Available for US$26.50 plus shipping, from www.autobooks-aerobooks.com or from Amazon UK in Europe. An e-book version is available worldwide for US$7.39 from www.amazon.com
