Lotus 72: 1970-75 (Formula 1 Greats)

An interesting read but light on technical detail. Some great photo's though.

Pete Lyons is one of the best writers in Motorsport and this book is well researched and full of stunning photos. It's a large format and a very high quality publication.

The book is great but mine, like another reviewer’s was damaged in transit. So I bought it again and the second was damaged as well. They were both just put in a box with a bit of scrunched up paper on top. The book deserves better!

I bought this, in perfect condition, for £3. Even then I had to think hard, because of the Lotus 72's relationship with the tobacco industry. Without trying to force my personal opinions on anybody, I'll quickly explain that my greatest love as a small child was F1, but my greatest hate was cigarettes. I loved the JPS car, so much so that I was allowed to play with my auntie and uncle's model every time I visited them; I was trusted and very, very careful. One visit I turned down the offer, as I'd just discovered the 'evil' behind the acronym. I never played with it again. My love of F1 and its history has to overcome such obstacles. Ronnie Peterson was my absolute hero and he raced the 72, so I had to study the car, but this is my first book on it. I didn't expect to enjoy it, especially as it turned out to be more of a book of photographs with the accompanying comment. And I did think that to describe every driver's performance, in every single race, would be a recipe for falling asleep. But no, each race was described individually, with the selected photographs and text describing the entire race in sufficient detail, but in such a well-written way that I was rivetted to the book throughout. The photographs were great and so was the writing. He even made the occasional cigarette reference that had me nodding with agreement. I expect to buy more books on the Lotus 72 (I do have one on the 79) and by Lyons himself. A great read.

Pete Lyons used to write entertaining and informative Grand Prix race reports for Autosport so he is well qualified to tell the story of the Lotus 72, which incredibly raced for six consecutive seasons from 1970 to 1975, with a posthumous championship for Jochen Rindt in 1970 and a second for Emerson Fittipaldi two years later. Whilst we might frown on blatant cigarette advertising there were no such reservations in the early 1970s when the cars sported an iconic black and gold colour scheme, and were officially known as John Player Specials. The essence of the book is an extensive set of pictures, some unseen, ordered race-by-race, including no championship events. A personal favourite is a panoramic shot of the Questor GP at the long disused Ontario circuit, California. Lyons provides extended captions which generally work well but the reader has to piece together the story. If you want a comprehensive picture of GP racing in the 1970s there are other books, and if you want a technical account the Haynes manual is a better bet, or complementary source. These reservations aside, it a nice addition to the F1 library.

Beautiful book

Enjoying the story of this Grand Prix car, team and drivers. As always with F1, the hindsight and tales that are known later are interesting.

It was a present so assume it was liked

Todo perfecto el libro el envío todo un 10

Un libro per appassionati.... consiglio

ok

Fantastic book with great info and beautiful photos.

Pour les passionnés de formule 1 des années 70. Des images magnifiques, Pour un livre en anglais ,mais complet sur cette voiture qui a révolutionnée ,la formule 1 des années 70. À recommander