The Definitive History
Hundreds of books have been published about motorsport in general. And you have to admit, not all books that are published are really worth the money. However every once and a while, you can lay your hand on a book that keeps surprising you. And we can tell you that Mark Cole’s book ” John Fitzpatrick Group C Porsches – the definitive history” definitely takes its place in that last.
John Fitzpatrick served 22 years behind the wheels of a racing car. He started racing in Minis, Ford Anglias and Ford Escorts. His talent didn’t go unnoticed, and John Fitzpatrick moved up to faster and better race-cars. When the Kremer brothers and Georg Loos (Gelo Racing) showed interest in John Fitzpatrick, that was the start of a long relationship with the brand Porsche, despite succesful sidesteps to brands like BMW.
From the Porsche 911 RSR John Fitzpatrick moved on to the Porsche 935 and later the Porsche 935 K3. In 1981, John Fitzpatrick started his own racing team. 
John Fitzpatrick Group C Porsches – the definitive history : sample pages
John Fitzpatrick Racing was a privateer racing team that was quite successful in the early years of the Group C. The cars on duty were the mighty Porsche 956s and Porsche 926s. Between 1983 and 1986, the John Fitzpatrick Racing Team had 66 Group C entries in 44 races in series like the Deutsche Rennsport Meistershaft, CanAm or the World Endurance Championship.
In close cooperation with John Fitzpatrick in person, Mark Cole tells the complete story of the John Fitzpatrick Racing Team and the 5 Group C Porsches being used. No aspect remains uncovered. You can read the stories of the cars, the races, the drivers, the crew and of course the team-owner and manager John Fitzpatrick himself. Mark Cole spend hours interviewing drivers like Jürgen Barth, Derek Warwick, Derek Bell to name just a few. Engineers, mechanics and crew members of the John Fitzpatrick Racing Team bring on more anecdotes.
The 12 chapters of the books cover the complete story. As a journalist, Mark Cole has covered, among others, over 30 24H of Le Mans races and he has been a commentator on Eurosport TV for 25 years. That explains the indepth race reports of all the races with the John Fitzpatrick Racing Team Group C cars. Ofcourse the author puts the drivers in the spotlight too, with tremendous driver-profiles. For the purists and historians, Mark Cole brings a comprehensive history of each chassis. That includes detailed restorations notes and pictures. Numerous interviews with drivers (Jürgen Barth, Derek Warwick, Thierry Boutsen to name just a few) and other team personnel bring colour and anecdotes to the story.
As a cherry on the pie, there is an enlightening back story concentrating on Henry Pearman. He is not only a leading authority on Group C Race Cars, but only owner of the largest Group C car collection in the world.
The book comes in a limited edition of 750 copies. The price of GBP 225 may scare potential buyers off. However, we can assure you that it is worth every cent of it. Just fantastic !!!
Discount Code LFP10
Buy the book directly at Porter Press International and get a readers discount of 10% off by using the discount code LFP10 (on all books except the the leather bound editions , the limited editions of One Formula and The Cars You Always Promised )
Pictures courtesy Porter Press International
John Fitzpatrick Group C Porsches - the definitive history
Motorsports
Porter Press International
June 2019
Hardcover with slipcase
320 pages with 400+ pictures
978-1-907085-88-8
