DRIVEN: An Elegy to Cars, Roads & Motorsport

DRIVEN is John Aston's entertaining motoring autobiography, covering his early days as a car enthusiast and race marshal in the late Sixties, Formula One, Ferrari, NASCAR, long road trips in his Caterham Seven, and British motorsport. It also includes a description of a year in British motorsport, including drag racing, speed hillclimbs, autograss, and rallying.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 17 April 2019
Publisher: Veloce Publishing Ltd

DRIVEN: John Aston's hugely entertaining motoring autobiography

This ambitious and far-ranging book begins with John Aston's early days as a teenage car enthusiast and race marshal in the late 1960s, before covering a wide range of subjects close to his heart. These include the best and worst of Formula One, the iconic Ferrari, the writer's NASCAR adventure, and the delights of long road trips in his beloved Caterham Seven. But that's not all, as you can read about why the NSU Ro80 was a prophet without honor, as well as what the writer thinks about the changing face of motoring journalism. Yes, one J Clarkson is mentioned, but only in passing.

And there's more still, as a major part of the book is a description of a year in British motorsport. The writer's love of the lesser-known categories of motor sport illuminates the text, as does his insight into the places, people, and machinery making up the sport's diversity. He describes the mood music of events ranging from a round of the British Touring Car Championship to historic race meetings for Cortinas and Minis, before venturing further from the mainstream with drag racing at Santa Pod, speed hillclimbs, autograss, and rallying. Oh, he also doubled the average age at a Time Attack meeting. Don't expect objective reporting, as he holds strong opinions, but they are leavened by a tongue firmly lodged in his cheek. Any reader, enthusiast or not, is guaranteed to enjoy reading about these adventures as much as the writer enjoyed having them.

Weight: 406g
Dimension: 207 x 156 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781787114395