Driven Man: David Richards, Prodrive And The Race To Win

by Alan Henry

He began his career as a dyslexic accountant. He keeps a low profile and dislikes publicity. And he’s set to become the world’s best-known name in the business of motor sport. Meet David Richards, the quintessential Driven Man. This book is the first to tell Richards’ life story, from an unlikely beginning to the even-less-likely a real shot at world racing domination. Through a series of revealing anecdotes and encounters, author Alan Henry takes readers from Richards’ first competition as a rally navigator to his World Rally Championship as team principal for Subaru. As Richards stands poised to take Ford’s Aston Martin team to the GT Sports Car racing championship, and to take his BAR Formula 1 team to the Grand Prix, we see firsthand the determination and character that have made the near-miraculous a real possibility. A three-time World Rally Champion and a multi-millionaire who has made his rally car preparation company a success on three continents, David Richards emerges here as a very private man with a very large public presence ? and a key to the inside workings of the most glamorous and complex of international sports.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2005

Reviews

[John Frana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book since I almost always enjoy books about motorsports but this one was very disappointing. It lacked any detailed explanation of how and why the races and championships were won. Usually in these books there are some anecdotes about some trick part or technique that was developed that helped win races but those details were completely absent. I was hoping for at least some vague explanation of how and why Prodrive has been so successful, e.g. they hired this chap who was really good at aerodynamics or our decades of experience in shock tuning paid off in other forms of motorsport but not even something that general was forthcoming. I would say perhaps there were too many decades and racing series to cover to get into much detail but it did have fairly detailed stories and lists of who placed in what races but that just felt like filler.

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read on Pro Drive the company the racing team, some nice photos . Some info on 550 And DBR9 and some drivers. I'd recommend this and if you can afford the books dbr9 the definitive edition and the 550 books.