Saturday 10th December 2022

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker 

Driven To Crime: True stories of wrongdoing in motor racing 

Just the job for those looking to keep hubby quiet during the forthcoming festivities. Whether he’s worth £40.00 after wasting so much of the family fortune on rusted out classics during 2022 is another thing all together.

Here we have the best part of 500 pages given over to many years of criminal wrongdoing within the world of motorsport where, unlike fishing or knitting, unequal opportunities to exploit the unwary and naive have always existed. And, I wonder just how many drivers and ex-motor traders of the recent past will be buying this book just to see if they get a mention. Whatever, with 66 chapters, each devoted to one person, I’m guessing author Crispian Besley must have a good lawyer living next door.

It’s a great read and, unlike most books, it’s not an essential to start at the beginning. I opened up and turned straight to page 306, where Max Moseley stars, followed by Colin Chapman. For those seeking something more gruesome, the ups and downs of Nick Whiting might appeal. It makes the antics of a certain Lord Charles Brocket seem positively juvenile. My favourite? It has to be Roy James, a successful race driver who was known by his underworld friends as the ‘Weasel’. Three days after setting a new lap record at Aintree he played an important part in the Great Train Robbery, that earned him several years in clink. On release he went racing again, and appeared at Mallory Park in August 1976. I was there and wonder: was he the chap trying to sell me a gold watch?

A super read, and thoroughly recommended. If you can’t find a copy, try the prison library.

DRIVEN TO CRIME: TRUE STORIES OF WRONGDOING IN MOTOR RACING
Written by Crispian Besley
ISBN 978-1-910505-70-0
Published by Evro Publishing
Price £40.00