Life at the Limit (Prof. Sid Watkins in general)

Member Name: stephen2001

Product:	Prof. Sid Watkins in general
Date:	21/09/02 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Humerous, Very factual

Disadvantages: Covers stories of death, Some specialist languges

Life at the Limit is in reality, an account of how safety within Formula One has improved over the last three decades and is written by the man who has been the main contributor to this, Professor Sid Watkins.

When he came into Formula One in the last 70s after a period of time when there was a fatality in the sport on average every season. The book details his struggles in convincing the powers in motor sport to accept his recommendations in making racing safer. It is mainly down to Prof. Watkins that 99% of the time, the driver can walk away from a serious crash with no more than a stiff neck and a few bruises from a major crash.

Unlike many autobiographies that run from the time of birth to the date of publication, it focuses solely on the time that he has been in Formula One and finishing from the aftermath of the tragic 1994 season where Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenburger lost their lives at Imola as well as Rubens Barrichello's accident at the same event and Karl Weldinger's massive Monaco crashed that all but finished his Formula One career.

To many people who do not follow motor sport, they might think of this book to be a grim read, but it doesn't just focus and go into every detail of the bad and fatal accidents but it shows what was learnt from them to make the cars even safer. Also you can get an insight of the drivers that he has met and there is quite a lot of humour in it with many a different story that can't help but raise a grin.

There is a very good appendix to the book that looks at all the different physical pressures the driver endures while racing a car at excesses of 180mph. It also details a massive safety questionnaire that every venue has to complete prior to each Grand Prix to ensure the event will be run safely.

Although a little bit old now (it was published in 1996), it is a fascinating read and a must for any Formula One fan. It gives behind the scenes information fro
m key events in the sport such as Imola as well as his difficulty in persuading people to make the sport safer for driver and spectator alike.

When he eventually retires, the sport of motor racing will lose one of its greatest influences.

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