About the author
Barry Weir's original book has been out of print for several years but because of ongoing demand, he wanted to make the contents available to a wider audience, so here it is on the web for all to see...
Barry is still passionate about classic car rallying and races both his 1965 Austin Healey 3000 and a 1968 Mercedes SL280 Pagoda at events both home and abroad. In early 2007 he came second in the South American rally – being beaten by just 2 seconds after leading the rally for over three weeks!
He is consistently in the top 5 places in nearly all the rallies he enters, repairs his cars himself during events and when not rallying, teaches mechanics how to prepare and build rally cars – as he says, there's a world of difference between race cars and rally cars.
Barry retired from mainstream business life in the middle of 2007, and with his three daughters all having left home, he hopes he can devote more time to follow his passion – as he says, there's only so much you can do to the garden and rallying is a whole lot more exciting than golf!
Keeping a fast car on the racetrack for three hours plus in a Grand Prix is no mean feat. It requires skill, concentration and a car that’s up to the job. Change the scenario slightly and put an historic sports car on an 80-day timed rally around the world, and you have another great motoring challenge.
Competing in such a rally is not only a test of driving skills, but also one of stamina, organisation and total commitment. And those readers who already know Barry Weir will recognise that when he takes on a challenge of any kind he gives it 110 per cent.
Driving Ambition is both informative and entertaining. As well as being a detailed record for the motoring enthusiast, it is a personal diary, which takes the reader behind the scenes of what it is really like to participate in such a competition.
I was privileged to be on the start line in London, and to be part of this historic motoring rally. What a colourful occasion it was as the entrants lined up on Tower Bridge to be cheered off on a journey that would take them through hugely contrasting countries and landscapes.
As we head into the twenty-first century, the world is indeed a smaller place. But there will always be a place in my heart for those who are up for this kind of adventure.
The Around the World in 80 Days Motor Challenge was a truly 'great race', and I hope you enjoy reading about how one man set out, in an Aston Martin, to become the first to drive an historic sports car around the globe in exactly 80 days.
Sir Stirling Moss
Livre téléchargeable: http://astonmartinworld.co.uk/chapters.html