Description
Author: Jeremy Walton, Hardbound, 175 Pages, ISBN: 0850453291, 9780850453294, 1st Edition, 1980 - Second-hand book in excellent order !
This is the story of the charming Ermanno Cuoghi, long time personal race mechanic to World Champion Niki Lauda. A 'behind the scenes' of the Hollywoodesque Grand- Prix racing circus told in full Technicolor. Born in the heart of the Italian motor racing 'industry' in Modena. Cuoghi started his working life with motorcycles and bicycles soon moving to a garage proper and motor racing. His early career at Stanguellini radically changed when he met Italian-American Tony Settember and his Scirocco team, constructing and maintaing these home-built specials, and taking a Corvette to Le Mans.
It was with the Americans again that he progressed - he drove the Cobra transporter around Europe for Carroll Shelby. This led to his working for John Wyer and the dominant Ford GT40 team, the Gulf sponsored Porsche 917s and onto Ferrari, starting with their 3-litre sports racing cars. Chapters are given on each move.
In the early 1970s he joined Niki Lauda as his mechanic. Lauda was soon to become World Champion with that master of precision using all the inherent skill that Cuoghi could provide in keeping his championship 'steamroller' running. And Lauda stuck by Cuoghi with his subsequent move to the Brabham Alfa Romeo team. That loyalty stayed in Lauda's retirement, Cuoghi leaving Brabham to return to Italy and Autodelta.
Cuoghi's personal story told to author Jeremy Walton is intertwined with fascinating and previously unknown race car develop-. ment and motor racing history. Although usually in the background this master 'Mr Exit', this wizard Grand Prix car 'tuner' has a full and unique story to tell.
About the author
It takes years of experience and an inherent expertise, together with some understanding of man's psychology, to understand your own countryman. To tackle a foreigner without even the benefit of full control of each other's language makes the task of biographical writing doubly hard. Jeremy Walton. however, has succeeded with Ermanno's story where others may have feared to tread. Undoubtedly his long and varied motoring journalistic experience stood him in good stead.
Jeremy started over ten years ago as associate editor with Cars and Car Conversions magazine. Two years later he joined Motoring News as 'performance editor', then had a spell with the Ford Motor Company as competitions PR, after two years returning to the outside world as features editor for Motoring News and, this time, Motor Sport as well. He also contributes to many journals world wide.
He has authored three books on motorsport one, "Unbeatable" BMW published by Osprey being hailed as a definitive review of the sixties and seventies competition activities of that company. Not only can Jeremy tie-up the technical and straight reporting aspects of his field but he also has insight into the personal and political too. This fine balance comes through Racing mechanic.
