Fylde coast man's motor racing book is hitting top gear

John Bailie at the launch of his book Donnington Park: The Pioneers with 1938 Donington Grand Prix winner Tazio Nuvolari look-alike Graeme Hardy on the Chaters Books stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show.

John Bailie, from Poulton, has penned Donnington Park: The Pioneers about racing at the Leicestershire stately home from 1931 to the present.

John, who has been a TVR fan since a child, said the golden age of motor racing had always held a fascination.

He said: “The book started through my initial business relationship with the Donnington Park circuit; over time I discovered more and more fascinating facts about the creation and development of this fantastic circuit and the people behind its creation.

John Bailie's book Donnington Park: The Pioneers

“It has been a labour of love and taken around 20 years to research, write, source information and talk to dozens of people.

“It has had a good reception since its launch at Donnington Park. It has had great reviews in the motor magazines. It was book of the month in several motor sport mags and will be featured in a German magazine next month.

"There is a local connection too. Charles Frederick Clifton, whose grandfather Thomas built Lytham Hall went on to become Lord Donnington in 1880.

It was Lord Donington who then brought John Gillies Shields to Donington and he was eventually to become the owner of the Donington Hall and Park and introduce racing there.

"Graphic designer Paul Wright of Blackpool-based creative consultancy MediaPrint worked in partnership with me on design development and final production artwork whilst the team at PNG Digital provided many of the high resolution scans, as did Laserscan of Lytham."