ROY SMITH COMES 2ND AT GoMW AWARDS 2013

Congratulations to Roy Smith, for his book Amédée Gordini - a true racing legend, published by Veloce in April this year, which came second in the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Award for the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy at The Guild of Motoring Writers awards in London last night.

Jo Watkins, Roy Smith and Ralph Montagu. Photo by Jeff Bloxham
The competition was to determine the greatest contribution in 2013 for recording in the English Language, the history of motoring or motorcycling in any form, including, books, video, broadcasting media.

Amédée Gordini - a true racing legend is a story of excitement, laughs, astonishment and anger – a story of the determination of a man with a dream and a passion for motor racing in the big leagues. It is the first time that the story of the Gordini racing team has been documented in English, and the first complete story of Gordini himself in any language. The book was also shortlisted for Publication of the year 2013 at The International Historic Motoring Awards 2013.

Roy Smith's hallmarks are intricate research, sourcing hundreds of photos, first-person interviews, detailed diagrams, and a talent for uncovering fresh new information about a rare subject. Roy won the same GoMW award outright in 2010 for his work Alpine Renault – The Sports Prototypes Vol 1 & 2.

Roy commented: "I'm delighted to be back on the podium again at the second attempt with the Gordini book, looks like we have our work cut out to stay there!"

Roy Smith's latest masterwork Alpine Renault – the fabulous berlinettes, was published by Veloce in October 2013.

Independent reviews of Amédée Gordini - a true racing legend:

"Book of the month" – Classic & Sports Car

“Utterly absorbing.” – Classic Cars

***** – Auto Express

“Gordini’s endless enthusiasm and prolific output make for an involving tale.” – Motor Sport

“The wealth of information here is staggering, and the race-by-race summary is particularly welcome.”– Octane

Watch an interview with Roy Smith on YouTube!

JOSÉ FROILÁN GONZÁLEZ ACCEPTS HIS PERSONAL COPY OF AMÉDÉE GORDINI BOOK

Susy Franco, stepdaughter of the author Roy Smith, presents to the great José Froilán González his own personal copy of Amedee Gordini - a true racing legend.



Although more famous for his drives in a Ferrari, José Froilán González - now in his 91st year - drove for Amedee Gordini in 1950, along with Juan Manuel Fangio. The pairing came to Europe following Fangio's showing in the Gordinis in 1949.

González, one of the greatest drivers of the era, kindly wrote a foreword for the book as did his old friend Sir Stirling Moss who, although he did not drive for Gordini, raced wheel-to-wheel with the little blue cars and remembers, as does Froilán González, the tenacity of the Gordini team and the man.

The presentation to Mr González was made in Buenos Aires on behalf of the author on May the 31st 2013.







Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend
By Roy Smith.

This is the story of a man, a team, and their life and times, as well as a complete record of all their achievements and failures. It logs the financial and personal cost of racing in the prewar and postwar periods. It tells of how the mighty car company Renault became involved with them in the late 1950s, and how Amedee Gordini became known throughout the world as one of the greatest engine tuners of his time. More info.

SIR STIRLING MOSS ACCEPTS PERSONAL COPY OF AMÉDÉE GORDINI - A TRUE RACING LEGEND

Photo courtesy Pete Austin.
Roy Smith, the author of Amédée Gordini - a true racing legend, published by Veloce, is pictured here presenting Sir Stirling Moss with a personal copy of his book. Sir Stirling, who started his racing career in 1948, was to race many times against the Gordinis in the 1950s, sometimes being beaten by and sometimes beating the Gordinis. Later, when Stirling went on to race for the mighty Mercedes team, Amédée Gordini was among many other contestants to come under great pressure as the Mercedes W196 Streamliners effectively put an end to the era of make and mend racers. Sir Stirling, as we know, is one of the greatest drivers to grace the sport and Smith was honoured that he agreed to write a foreward for his book along with his old friend Froilan Gonzalez from Argentina who actually drove for Gordini in 1950.

Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend
By Roy Smith.

This is the story of a man, a team, and their life and times, as well as a complete record of all their achievements and failures. It logs the financial and personal cost of racing in the prewar and postwar periods. It tells of how the mighty car company Renault became involved with them in the late 1950s, and how Amedee Gordini became known throughout the world as one of the greatest engine tuners of his time. More info.



Independent reviews

'Book of the month' - Classic & Sports Car, May 2013.

'Book of the month' - Motorbooks (London bookshop), May 2013.

'The wealth of information here is staggering, and the race-by-race summary is particularly welcome' - Octane, May 2013.

'Utterly absorbing' - Classic Cars, May 2013.

'Gordini's endless enthusiasm and prolific output make for an involving tale.' – MotorSport, June 2013

MOTOR BOOKS LONDON BOOK OF THE MONTH!

Great little video from Motor Books bookshop (based in London).
Their award for Book of the month May 2013 goes to recently published Veloce book Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend by Roy Smith.

AUTHOR ROY SMITH SIGNING GORDINI BOOKS

Yesterday Roy Smith signed copies of Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend for historic car specialist Eddie McGuire.



Eddie McGuire is a gentleman racing driver of some note. He owns several historic racing cars including the only racing Gordini sports car that is raced on a regular basis. The Type 23 Gordini GCS19 as driven by Jean Behra. Eddie has a lot of friends so he bought several books and asked Roy to sign them all, each with a special dedication.

Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend
By Roy Smith.

This is the story of a man, a team, and their life and times, as well as a complete record of all their achievements and failures. It logs the financial and personal cost of racing in the prewar and postwar periods. It tells of how the mighty car company Renault became involved with them in the late 1950s, and how Amedee Gordini became known throughout the world as one of the greatest engine tuners of his time. More info.



Independent reviews

'Book of the month' - Classic & Sports Car, May 2013.

'The wealth of information here is staggering, and the race-by-race summary is particularly welcome' - Octane, May 2013.

'Utterly absorbing' - Classic Cars, May 2013.

'Gordini's endless enthusiasm and prolific output make for an involving tale.' – MotorSport, June 2013

AMÉDÉE GORDINI – BOOK OF THE MONTH!

Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend by Roy Smith is BOOK OF THE MONTH in the May 2013 edition of Classic & Sports Car magazine!

Click image to view full size
This is the story of a man, a team, and their life and times, as well as a complete record of all their achievements and failures. It logs the financial and personal cost of racing in the prewar and postwar periods. It tells of how the mighty car company Renault became involved with them in the late 1950s, and how Amedee Gordini became known throughout the world as one of the greatest engine tuners of his time.

Watch the interview with Roy Smith!

Click HERE for more info about the book!

NEW VIDEO! AMÉDÉE GORDINI - 'LE SORCIER' LIVES ON ... AN INTERVIEW WITH ROY SMITH

Coming soon! Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend by Roy Smith.



Forewords by José Froilán González, Sir Stirling Moss & Christian Huet.


This is a story of excitement, laughs, astonishment and anger – a story of the determination of a man with a dream and a passion for motor racing in the big leagues. It is the first time that the history of the always under-financed Gordini racing team has been documented in English, and the first complete story of Gordini himself in any language. This volume will appeal to new enthusiasts and old hands of Formula 1 and sports prototypes, especially those who have owned a Gordini engined-car. It charts Gordini’s early life and beginnings in motorsport, up to 1969 when Renault took over the Gordini company, keeping his name on all the racing engines until 1986, before finally resurrecting it for a performance version of the Renault Twingo and Clio in 2009. The book is packed with evocative period images from important collections, supplementary transcripts in English from many contemporary interviews, plus recollections from former employees remembering their time working with Gordini, and an exhaustive set of statistics. All the way it’s a roller coaster of joy, despair, humour, and stunning images. The racing legend of ‘Le Sorcier’ lives on ...


Click here for more info about the book!