Description
By: Alan Peck .
It is no surprise that the author of No Time to Lose has captured vividly the atmosphere of motorcycle racing, for among his many talents Alan Peck himself has tasted success as a racing motorcyclist, and though no longer active as a competitor he retains strong links with the sport.
Born on September 24, 1942, Alan Peck is the nephew of four-times sidecar world champion Eric Oliver, and after being a keen spectator at scrambles, grass-track, trials and road-racing events he made his competition debut as a trials rider at the age of 16, and switched to road racing two years later with a converted road-going 250cc Matchless.
He began to earn headlines in 1963 after winning his first race on a 350cc Manx Norton by a margin of 22 seconds at Crystal Palace. He became a prominent competitor in Club and National events that season and earned his International licence before the end of the year.
He competed in the 1964 Barcelona 24-hours marathon, finishing fourth in the unlimited class partnered by Geoff Ray, won the Newcomer's Award in the 1966 Junior Manx Grand Prix, and finished sixth in the 500cc production race at the 1967 TT, riding a Triumph. He led the 1968 Barcelona 24-hours race by several laps on the Mead and Tomkinson 441cc BSA before he and his co-rider, the late Mick Andrew, were delayed by engine trouble, and after being forced out of the same race in 1969 with mechanical trouble just five minutes from the end he decided to retire from racing.
During his career he competed regularly against Bill Ivy, but only managed to beat him once, at Snetterton, when he finished third behind British champions Derek Minter and John Cooper, and pushed Ivy into fourth place after a hectic race-long battle. Ivy congratulated him afterwards on a good ride, then added, '. . . but you weren't half bloody hairy!'
Alan Peck's ambition to become an author and journalist was formed in his racing days, and in addition to writing this book he became a well known feature writer in the specialist motor-cycling press.
No Time to Lose is the end product of two years of work, more than 50 interviews and over 350,000 words of notes. It is a worthy tribute to a great champion by a sensitive writer who knew him as a friend as well as a rival.
