A Guide to Motorsport Circuits of the World
By Tony Sakkis
Published by Airlife Publishing, 1994
ISBN: 1 85310 518 X
Review by Neil Tipton
As a reference guide this book is invaluable. As a complete and accurate record of the development of circuits around the world, it falls far short of the mark. Scrappy track diagrams that look hand-drawn at best (and not with the aid of a ruler, either) are allied to some astonishing omissions - no Zandvoort, no mention of Argentina or, for that matter, half of South America.
Nevertheless, this book is worth considering and my copy is certainly well-thumbed. For a start it gives pretty good potted histories of some obscure circuits that you will be unlikely to find elsewhere, especially those in Mexico and the USA. In fact, more than half the book is dedicated to these tracks - but with an American author, this is no surprise.
A lot of time and effort has gone into researching each track for the benefit of the intrepid race fan, with details of hotel availability and the kind of racing likely to be seen there. There is even a smattering of photographs to liven up proceedings, although these too are a little hit-and-miss.
With a publication date of 1994, it is also no great shock that some of the data is now a little elderly, but on the plus side, it does mean the book is now a good historical record of how circuits were a decade or more ago.
Yes, the book has something of a home-made feel to it and is to some extent a missed opportunity, but the author deserves credit for tackling the subject in more depth than had been attempted before.
And if it had been perfect, I probably wouldn't have created e-Tracks...
