Dan Gurneys Eagle Racing Cars
by John Zimmermann
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Book Summary Information
Author: John ZimmermannEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-01
ISBN: 189361882X
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: David Bull Publishing
Book Reviews of Dan Gurneys Eagle Racing Cars
Book Review: "Everyone said we couldn't do it"--Dan Gurney, from the book
Summary: 5 Stars
Dan Gurney is an American original who defied the skeptics: he, Bruce McLaren and Sir Jack Brabham created, raced and won Grand Prix events with their own Formula 1 cars, at the pinnacle of motorsports. Of those three, Gurney was the only American to win an F1 Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, 1967) in a car he conceived, designed and built--a record unlikely ever to be challenged (Brabham won in France, Holland and Germany in 1966, Monaco and Germany in 1967; McLaren took Belgium in 1968).
This is the basic premise of Gurney's greatness at All American Racers (AAR), captured brilliantly in this new David Bull book, written by John Zimmermann with exquisite attention to detail and carefully quoted history from many participants. It is illustrated lavishly with important historical photos to levels of information that will satisfy the most demanding reader, and published to Bull's typical standards of excellence.
Zimmermann explores not only the Gurney-Eagle F1 car but many of the 157 cars that emerged from AAR's Santa Ana facility (invited guests can see a select few in the small AAR museum): the Indycars (49 victories!) and their derivatives in other formulae, the CanAm McLeagle, the TransAm Barracudas, the Champ cars, the Toyota GTP, GTU and GTO winners and what the author calls unfulfilled ambitions, or `Stillborn Eagles,' an insider's look at efforts that came to nought (often for reasons beyond Gurney's control--rule changes, for example). Bonuses: his unique `Alligator' motorcycle, in 2007 still under intensive development, and the `Gurney Flap.'
Life is struggle; that's normal. Time and money are relentless taskmasters. The odds facing designers, builders and drivers of race cars are beyond long into some new dimension of space-time, at appalling risk. On track, luck is often the key, at even longer odds. As this book explains, Gurney never relied on luck, never paused to consider the odds against success. He invested himself at levels of energy, concentration and commitment that are staggering to read about, supported by designers and master craftsmen whom he motivated with his enthusiasm.
Besides designing and building beautiful, winning race cars, he pioneered, e.g. with Harry Weslake, important advances in valve angles and combustion-chamber configurations, as well as in materials applications such as titanium, carbon fiber and magnesium, and in aerodynamics. He innovated in every category in which he competed, particularly at Indy and especially with Ford V-8 engines (Gurney and Weslake met over a Ford V-8 `stock block' project). The record, summarized in the Appendix, speaks for itself.
Gurney had another obstacle to overcome. Unlike some well known people in the sport, he is saddled with the heavy burden of being a kind, decent, modest and charming individual who has proved that nice guys can finish first. His personal racing memoir, to which his wife Evi is contributing, is in process. Thousands of eager readers can hardly wait to read it.
Summary of Dan Gurneys Eagle Racing Cars
In the more than four decades since it was founded by racing legends Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby, All American Racers has consistently built cars that have competed and won at the highest levels of motorsports. One of the earliest AAR Eagles made racing history in 1967 when Gurney himself drove it to victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, making him the only American in Formula 1 to ever win a GP in a car of his own making. Less than a year later, an Eagle driven by Bobby Unser would capture the marque's first Indianapolis 500 victory, with others to follow in 1973 and 1975. Two decades later, AAR's Toyota Eagle Mark III dominated IMSA s Grand Touring Prototype category, scoring back-to-back drivers and manufacturers championships in 1992 and 1993. Under Gurney's leadership, AAR has always applied a combination of cutting-edge engineering, experimentation, and real-world driving experience to produce cars that were unmatched in their speed, sophistication, and elegance. In Dan Gurney's Eagle Racing Cars: The Technical History of the Machines Designed and Built by All American Racers, author John Zimmermann delivers the definitive account of the planning, development and race history of every car built by AAR. Drawing on extensive interviews with Dan Gurney and the company's top designers, engineers, and drivers, Zimmermann explains how each car was conceived, created, and refined for maximum performance. His descriptions and analysis are accompanied by hundreds of color and black and white photos showing each car's journey from the drawing board to the racetrack.Classic Cars Books
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