Mike Hawthorn Golden Boy - The Life and Death of Britain's First World Champion Driver

Mike Hawthorn was born in 1929 in a small south Yorkshire town, the son of an engineer whose passion happened to be motorcycles and motor sport. The family moved soon afterwards to Farnham in Surrey, so that Leslie Hawthorn could be near the Brooklands race circuit. It was not long before his son John Michael also became enthused by bikes, cars and motor racing, and after spending the war years at Ardingly College, Mike was given his first car - a Fiat 500, which he soon learnt how to four wheel-drift... By this time Mike had resolved to become a racing driver, and he endured further education and an apprenticeship at Dennis Bros. As necessary evils until he could take to the track. Finally, Leslie decided that the time had come, purchased a Riley Imp, and launched his son on his motor racing career at Easter 1951. That first season was club racing at its most basic, but Mike won his first race with the Imp, and his performances during the year with this car and a Riley Sprite made the establishment sit up and take notice. That this assertive young blond driver from Farnham was no flash in the pan was proved during 1952, when Mike drove a proper racing car, a Cooper-Bristol. The results were sensational and included fourth place in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone against much more sophisticated opposition. After that, there was no stopping the 'Farnham Flyer', who subsequently drove Grand Prix cars for Ferrari, Maserati and BRM and, in 1955, 1956 and 1957, works D types for Jaguar. It was while driving a Jaguar D type in the 1955 Le Mans 24 hour race that Hawthorn was embroiled in controversy, following the terrible accident which killed over 80 spectators. In 1958 Mike Hawthorn became the first British driver to win the World Championship, which he did with Ferrari, narrowly beating Stirling Moss. He retired immediately afterwards, intending to concentrate on the family garage business in Farnham, but on 22 January 1959, and in circumstances on which this book sheds new light, Mike left the TT Garage and embarked on what would be his last, and fatal, journey. A few minutes later the 3.4 Jaguar saloon he was driving crashed at high speed on the Guildford by-pass, and Mike was killed almost instantly. This book does much more than tell the story of Mike Hawthorn's racing career. It goes beyond the time he spent behind the wheel of a racing car, and adds detail and insight into the 99 per cent of his life which was spent at home, at the TT Garage, and with his friends, family and business colleagues. It looks at the private cars which he drove - the Fiat Topolino JPD 932, Riley 9 Saloon, Lancia Aprilia EYE 606, Alfa Romeo 8c FGC 409, Riley Ulster Imp KV 9475, Riley Sprite BWK 324, Ferrari 212 Coupe VPF 500, Lancia Aurelia WPD 10, Jaguar XK140 PRW 476 and Jaguar MK1 VDU 881. There are illustrations of a host of Hawthorn memorabilia and collectables, from awards, items of clothing, press cuttings, models and artwork. Through the recollections of those who knew him, and through many photographs never published before, the true character of this extraordinary man is made real within these pages.