New Books: Backtracking Vols. 1 and 2

With one eye firmly on the Christmas market, Retro Speedway have published the first two volumes of a new series of books called "Backtracking".

As the name suggests, these are spin-offs from their popular magazine Backtrack. These are effectively "best of" compilations of the interviews and articles that have appeared in the first 76 issues of the magazine.

Both books run to 216 pages, beautifully illustrated by pictures selected from the extensive archives of John Somerville.

For regular subscribers to the magazine, there's the obvious drawback that you've probably read much of the content before, so you'll need to decide if having these articles neatly packaged into book form is a worthwhile investment. There are many new pictures included, so you will be getting something new for your hard-earned.

If you're a fan of 70s, 80s and 90s speedway who doesn't subscribe to Backtrack then this will definitely appeal to you. Lots of the stars of those decades are able to speak with a candour that wouldn't have been possible during their careers.

The books are available for £16 each (inclusive of p&p in the UK).

If your budget doesn't stretch to buying both, then here's a summary of the contents of each:

Volume 1:

Ivan Mauger; Anders Michanek; Gary Havelock; Shawn Moran; Christer Lofqvist; Garry Middleton; Neil Street; Alun Rossiter; Carl Blackbird; John Jackson; Denzil Kent; Graham Plant; Brian Clark; Peter Adams; Graham Brown; John Berry on rain-offs and rider control; Scottish Referees, Wembley Lions and Magical Moments of the 70s and 80s.

Volume 2:

Ole Olsen; Terry Betts; Gordon Kennett; Martin Dugard; Tony Davey; Kelly Moran; Soren Sjosten; Tony Clarke; John Berry on guests and testimonials; Jamie Luckhurst; Martin Yeates; Allan Emmett; Steve Finch; Sid Sheldrick; Berwick Away Days and Hampden Horrors.

You can order the books directly from the Retro-Speedway website:

Volume 1

Volume 2

This article was first published on 20th November 2016