Dimensions
152 x 233 x 26mm
Ring of Fire is an insider's account of the acclaim, heroism and pressures of being a MotoGP racer. This is a world where manufacturers invest millions and the world champion celebrates by staging mock jail breaks and giving pillion rides to a blow-up doll. One rider sees the world in terms of black and white energy tubes, while another takes acting lessons in Chelsea and wears a Roman gladiator's costume. Another emerges from a coma with shattered legs and bloody lungs to get on the bike and save his job. All are bonded by a shared love of risking all at 200mph.
Ring of Fire is the first book to cover the whole of the MotoGP era, from the impact of Italian megastar Valentino Rossi to his dethroning by a farm boy named Nicky Hayden and the emergence of young Australian Casey Stoner from the back of a mangy paddock trailer. It is a story of love and hope and sex and dreams.
At its centre is Rossi. Ring of Fire charts his rise and fall and rebirth, detailing the darker side to his rivalries with Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau and his battles with the tax man and the media. This is a warts-and-all portrait that goes beyond the hollow handshakes and forced smiles with tales of vandalised cars and the racer who wants to torch "the whole goddamn valley". It is a breathless behind-the-scenes look at what makes these men tick, from double World Superbike champion James Toseland to warring Spanish starlets Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.
Broadbent also looks back at the sport's tradition of romance, reprobates and debauchery, interweaving the story of Rossi's hero, Mike Hailwood, a legend who double-dated twin sisters with his great rival Giacomo Agostini before launching one of sport's most mesmerising comebacks with a "gammy leg". He introduces us, not just to the stars, but also to the officials, parents, doctors, team owners and fans who make up this white-knuckle sport. By turns funny, sad, shocking and uplifting, Ring of Fire brings us face to face with those who fight to emerge unscathed or those who launch madcap escapes from hospital and race against all the odds.
