Living to Race – Racing for a Living by Frank Fox |
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| Monday, 16 August 2010 09:14 | |||
 This small softback tells the story of a remarkable man called Frank Fox. He may not be a household name like Duke and Surtess, but he was often in races with these and other greats during the fifties. He actually rode in every Grands Prix class including sidecars during the fifties. He won the Junior Manx Grand Prix and clocked up a number of replicas as well as being the first private rider to use a works short stroke Manx engine at the TT, despite turning down a woks ride with Norton! He won on numerous circuits, both in the UK and Europe, but although he had the odd breakdown, he never crashed! Take a career on the dirt beforehand where he was competitive on the grass and scrambling and you get the picture that he was quite a rider. Add in the fact that most of the bikes he raced he was responsible either partly or wholly for the preparation and his story becomes even more remarkable – he was quite a mechanic as well! In many ways though Frank was an ordinary man enjoying racing and life in general as this book explains. It was started by him when well into his eighties, but had to be finished after his death by the family. It is not written by a professional wordsmith, but written by a man giving a brief outline of his action packed life as if he was telling it to you in the local pub. That is not a criticism, just a fact because in many ways it makes it more an enjoyable read, you feel you are sitting listening to him tell his tale. Where it gets a little frustrating is that you feel you want some of the instances expanded on, because in many ways it is a modest account of his life rather than a boastful one which clearly it could have been. I thoroughly enjoyed every one of the well illustrated 82 pages, but just wished he had started on his story when he was younger, because unlike some autobiographies these days written by 20 year olds, Frank had a real story to tell. All I can say is get a copy of this limited edition run from Amulree publications for £6.45 and enjoy it as much as I have! ISBN 9781901 5081 16 Available from all good bookshops or direct from Amulree Publications amulree@mcb.net Review by Ian Kerr
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