The choice of champions

By David Sutton
ISBN 0954286014
Published by Live Wire Books, £18.00

It’s sobering to see how rapidly a successful firm can crash. David Sutton was, through the Seventies and Eighties, synonymous with top-line rally success, running works teams for Ford and Audi, and gaining a world title for An Vatanen. Then recession and the Gulf War knocked him low (hence the chapter Saddam Hussein — His Part in My Downfall).

This very personal tale charts Sutton’s comeback from awful personal and financial blows, via the rising sport of historic rallying to this year’s position as a satellite GpN team for Prodrive.

Filled with memories of Mikkola, Mouton, David Richards et al it’s very frank about mistakes and not afraid of criticism. (Shocking to hear that Ford forgot to invite Sutton to a major celebration, given that it has not won a world title since.)

But while the author’s words are plain, they are undoubtedly honest, and his modest pride in his various teams is uplifting. GC