Greetings!
We expect delivery just after Labor Day, which will give us plenty of time to refresh our memories (if you're old like me and your mind needs a bit of a kick start now and then) or learn about this great rivalry for the first time. Then, we can amaze our friends with our deep knowledge of the 1970's Formula 1 scene when we see Ron Howard's eagerly-awaited film 'Rush' in a few weeks.
Here are the details:
Hunt vs. Lauda: The Epic 1976 Formula 1 Season
by Paul Fearnley
Hardcover | 160 pages | 53 black and white photographs | 59 color photographs
$39.95 plus shipping
Nearly 40 years later, 1976 is still remembered as one of the most dramatic seasons in the history of Formula One. It pitted the sport's two greatest teams, Ferrari and McLaren, in a pitched battle waged at race tracks around the world-as well as in newspaper headlines and the courts. At the center of it all were two drivers who couldn't have been less alike: Ferrari's calculating champion Niki Lauda, and McLaren's brash, brilliant newcomer James Hunt. Their strikingly different personalities and intense professional rivalry should have made them bitter enemies, but they were actually good friends who shared similar family backgrounds and faced many of the same struggles in their early racing careers.
Hunt's intensity on the track and freewheeling lifestyle away from it made him an instant favorite with fans, especially on his home turf in England. In contrast, Lauda's analytical approach to racecraft and his detached attitude toward the sport itself were an unlikely match for the intensely political Ferrari team and its passionate Italian partisans.
The season began with Lauda poised to repeat his 1975 World Championship after a string of early victories. But Hunt and McLaren soon fought back with wins in Spain and France, followed by a controversial finish in Great Britain, where a near- riot ensued after the front-running Hunt was disqualified. Then everything changed at Germany's N�rburgring: Lauda suffered a major crash that left him with injuries and burns serious enough to merit last rites, and a racing career that appeared to be finished. It wasn't. Less than five weeks later Lauda was back in front of the Ferrari faithful at the Italian Grand Prix, badly scarred but ready to continue the fight for the title. In the end it all came down to the year's final rain-soaked race in Japan, where weather, will power, and politics would all influence the final result.
In Hunt vs. Lauda longtime racing journalist Paul Fearnley delivers a riveting account of the 1976 season and the two rivals who made it so memorable. Illustrated with rare photographs taken at the track and behind the scenes, this is the ultimate, real-life account of one of motor racing's greatest years. For readers who have just discovered the Hunt-Lauda story from the movie Rush, the book will reveal new facts and details of the real-life story that inspired the film.
$39.95
Order HERE
New From Spark Model:
Wednesday afternoon, we received word from Spark that 19 new 1/43 scale models were on the way, including 7 different versions of the beautiful Porsche 904. The 'Press Release' version (s0904) is seen above. Also included in the shipment were several other LeMans Porsches, a trio of Matra Simca MS 670Bs and a few Grand Prix Shadows, Ligiers and Lotus for good measure. You can find the entire list
HERE.
Since the arrival date is so close, we'll include this batch of new Spark Models in our FREE SHIPPING offer from earlier this week. Order any in-stock model between now and 10am Tuesday morning and we'll ship your model FREE*.
*Free UPS Ground shipping in the continental US only. Model must be in stock today or part of the Spark shipment listed above. NO advance orders, back orders or whining allowed. If it's in stock - it ships next business day at the latest. Phone or internet orders OK. Shipping charges will appear on your Zen Cart orders. We will adjust here.
We will be open our normal hours Thursday and Friday. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend. We'll be back Tuesday.
- Paul
As promised, we're back with news of a timely new book by Paul Fearnley entitled 
