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

By Alan Henry

Takes readers from Richards' first competition as a rally navigator to his multiple World Rally Championships as team principle for Subaru. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760321752
• ISBN13: 9780760321751
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Motorbooks Intl
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Good but not great

I would give this 3.75 stars if I could but 4 isn't unfair. As the title would suggest, this was a semi-biographical work about David Richards in his role as head of Prodrive, probably the most successful independent racing company in the world. It follows him from his early rallying days and the foundation of the company through to the various race programs Prodrive had with different manufacturers over the years culminating in the current Aston Martin DBR9 program. My problem with the book is that it didn't have much technical depth. Neither in the cars Prodrive built or how exactly it was that Richards was a "shrewd businessman" or conducted operations wih tight restrictions on cost. I would have liked to see how the business actually operated and I would've loved to see more detail about the cars. The Unfair Advantage (Mark Donahue) had some of this detail I was searching for. As it is, this book feels like the work of an undergraduate student. A good account of the Prodrive organization but not a whole lot of insight on the why's and how's. Perhaps its because they've done so many programs that it would be difficult for the author to fit that kind of information in one tome. I also must admit that I am probably on the lunatic fringe of racing aficionados so someone who is not quite as hardcore might enjoy this book more. So in short, not bad, but like a tasty meal in too small a portion I was left wanting more.