SpeedwayPlus | Alan Carter: Light in the Darkness

ALAN CARTER became a motorcycle racing sensation at 18, winning his first Grand Prix in France - the youngest-ever GP winner and one of only three Brits to finish on the MotoGP podium for more than 20 years.

His best season was 1985, when he finished seventh in the 250cc World Championship, and went on to compete in 54 GPs until 1990.

No-one doubted he had the talent to go all the way to the top but failed to fulfil his enormous potential for numerous reasons.

In Light in the Darkness, Halifax-born Alan reveals the intimate truth behind his meteoric rise and fall and all the many contributory factors that helped shape his extraordinary life, for better or worse.

He lifts the lid on his stormy relationship with his domineering father, former manager and sponsor, Halifax 'hard man' Mal Carter.

He talks from the heart about the tragic death of his young brother and the suicide of both his mother and his elder brother, the controversial double British Speedway Champion and England No. 1 Kenny Carter.

What was Kenny, one of the sport's biggest draws, really like away from the track? Only his brother knows the truth behind speedway's biggest box office attraction - and it's all here in his astonishingly frank autobiography.

He tells, too, about the other tragedies that shook the Carter family, including the death of his own baby daughter, plus the bitter personal struggles that followed . . . losing his home, his business, bankruptcy and how he became an emotional wreck on the brink of a breakdown.

"I've been to hell and back," says Alan.

Now, as part of his recovery process, he has bared his soul by writing this amazing book.

Light in the Darkness is a compelling page-turner you won't be able to put down. Thanks to Alan Carter's searing honesty and Yorkshire wit, it will make you laugh and cry in equal measure.

Read....

Alan's intimate and heartrending account of the series of tragedies that have haunted him all his life - the death of his and Kenny's youngest brother, the suicide of their paralysed mother, the shock double shooting that ended the lives of Kenny and his wife Pam, and the sad death of his own baby daughter that left him an emotional wreck.

What Kenny was really like away from the track.

What Alan thinks of Bruce Penhall and Kenny's bitter on-track rivalry with the American idol, and the ruthless tactics that have always divided opinion.

The overbearing influence of their father, Mal Carter, and his role in his sons' careers and their troubled lives.

See the Carters like you've never seen them before, thanks to exclusive, previously un-seen photos from the family archives.

The book goes on sale from June 25, but you can pre-order it now.

Phone the Retro-Speedway Credit Card Hotline on 01708 734 502.

Or go online at www.retro-speedway.com

This article was first published on 16th June 2011

Viv Shaw:

"I heard Alan being interviewed recently on the radio. I honestly don"t know how this man has survived everything in his life.....what a guy....very honest."

Roderick Oates:

"I look forward to reading this book. This article has really brought into stark reality the question of what is success ?"

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