Autocourse: The World's Leading Grand Prix Annual : 1997-98 [Hardcover]

Alan Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

Now in its 55th year, this world-famous motorsport annual is the definitive account of the Formula One season. Edited by leading F1 journalist Alan Henry, it is long established as a genuine collector's item, and has an unrivalled heritage that is recognized by the entire motorsport community - and numbers F1 luminaries Jackie Stewart, Murray Walker and Ron Dennis as devotees. This sumptuous book has detailed race-by-race reports, vibrant features, comprehensive statistics and the best photography in the sport, supplied by James Moy and the CMG Photographic team. Since 1950 it has, quite simply, been the must-have publication for all serious Formula One fans.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This authoritative annual on Grand Prix racing is in its 47th year of publication. The 1997-98 volume includes a foreword by the 1997 title winner Jacques Villeneuve, the first driver to win the championship after just two full seasons of Grand Prix racing. As usual, this large, attractive volume is packed with color photos, statistics, bios, commentary from the experts, and analyses of the year's races.

About the Author

Alan Henry is the motorsport correspondent for The Guardian newspaper and has been the editor of Autocourse for the past 19 years. He has written many biographies of the sport's finest practitioners, including Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda and Jochen Rindt. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Hazleton Pub Ltd; First edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1874557470
• ISBN-13: 978-1874557470
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,050,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An improvement on previous years, February 12, 2006

By 

Jared M (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Autocourse: The World's Leading Grand Prix Annual (Hardcover)

During 2004, there was considerable upheaval at Hazelton, the publishers of Autocourse since at least 1979 (which is far back as my collection of Autocourse annuals goes) which, as I understand it, meant the 2004 edition very nearly didn't get published. As it transpired, the 2004 annual did make it to the shelves, and Crash Media Group (CMG) took over publishing duties from Hazelton for 2005 and beyond. At the time of the takeover, CMG, who were aware that they were picking up probably the longest running of all the motorsport annuals, and promised the loyal readership of Autocourse (and its sister publications Rallycourse and Motocourse) that the standards of Autocourse would return to what it had been. Autocourse over the last 10 years or so (some readers would say 15 or 20) has slipped somewhat in its attempts to be more commercial, with a trend towards increasing the pictorial content with fluff tabloidy photographs and layouts and less focus on editorial content.

This pledge of CMG to its readeship is immediately obvious at a glance at the dustjacket of the 2005 Annual. Gone is the horrible montage of photographs making up the 2004 cover, and back is the traditional single large photograph of the winning Driver's Champion adorning the dust jacket, in this case Fernando Alonso in his Renault R25. What is also apparent is the increased content, which is illustrated by the page count of the 2005 annual, which stands at 336 pages, compared to the 248 pages of the 2004 edition. The increase is in both F1 content, and the other forms of motorsport traditionally reviewed in the annual.

Gordon Kirby does his usual roundup of the US motorsport scene, and Simon Arron sums up the GP2 season, which replaced the old F3000 series. There is a layout discussing the other new motorsport series attracting a lot attention at the moment, A1GP. Sportscars, GT, Touring cars, and the main F3 series also gets a look in. David Hayhoe compiles the section of the annual devoted to the major results - note the bulk of the A1GP season hadn't been run at time of publication, so only results the first few race meetings of this series are included.

In terms of F1 content, the traditional Editor's (which is still Alan Henry) Top 10 is still present, ranking the best drivers of the year. One change I would like to see in this area is a return to the attractive black & white photography that was introduced in 1994 for a number of years to illustrate the top 10 drivers. Another point to note in relation to the photography is that the photographs seem much more driver/car orientated than in the past (less "tabloidy"), and the layouts are less cluttered. The team by team reviews for some teams seem a little lengthier than in the past, although it is difficult to tell with the font sizes. The race by race reports are noticeably lengthier than in the past. The USGP report, perhaps fittingly so, covering the fiasco of the 2005 race is the shortest report, but isn't afraid to be critical of pretty much all parties who couldn't reach a compromise to ensure a full field for the race.

So all in all, while much is the same as in previous years, this year's Autocourse is an improvement, with increased content to keep those who read every word happy, great photographs for the visualists, and the return to the single shot of the Driver's Champion for the dustjacket for the traditionalists. Hopefully CMG will continue and build on the progress they have made with this year's annual over past editions of Autocourse.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Typical of recent examples and still a "must have"...., March 28, 2006

By 

B. Shelhamer (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Autocourse: The World's Leading Grand Prix Annual (Hardcover)

The 2005-6 Autocourse continues in the same vein as in recent years with superb photography complimenting good, if minimal, race reviews. Jared M's review (#1 above) is misleading I think. The race coverage is typically woeful with a 'once over lightly' feel and pretty short on detail. The qualifying coverage is dreadful, a few paragraphs at most and it only deals with just a few of the 20 cars leaving you wondering just what happened to the rest of the field in practice and qualifying. This trend started in the last ten years and if you compare the current example with an Autocourse of say 1996 or 1991 or earlier, you'll be shocked at the decline. What was once a comprehensive review that covered the entire event and detailed the whole field, even back to the non-qualifiers, has become a thumbnail sketch with the photo quotient amped up in an apparent attempt to dazzle you into not noticing the editorial drop-off. It's a shame really, but since other F1 reviews can't hold a candle to Autocourse, there's no motivation for Autocourse to improve. So despite this year's Autocourse comparing badly to it's predecessors, it is the definitive article and the useful reviews of other race series from around the world are still very good. Three and a half stars would be a more accurate rating.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definative record of the Grand Prix year!, October 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Autocourse: The World's Leading Grand Prix Annual : 1997-98 (Hardcover)

Autocourse is always one of the highlights of my year! This magnificent book is well worth the money and is simply outstanding in every way. The comentary is concise and yet very detailed...the all color photography is stunning and fully captures the speed and excitement of Formula One racing. The more volumes I've added to my collection over the years, the more I appreciate the excellence of Autocourse!