by Kris Perkins. Osprey, £9.99.

Now take a wild guess who is featured on the front cover?

Commercially, this was a timely release. It was in the shops before Christmas, when the 1992 world champion’s IndyCar successes were still fresh in the minds of a Mansell-hungry public.

Professionally, it’s awful. There are lots of pictures of Mansell, of course, but what it doesn’t tell you is that he actually won last year’s IndyCar title. It only informs us that he was contesting it.

Bearing in mind that complete reviews of the 1993 IndyCar season arrived in the office shortly after this did, that does seem rather an oversight. If deadlines were that tight, wouldn’t it have been better to delay production a while?

There are thumbnail sketches of some leading drivers and personalities, and brief explanations of the structure of the IndyCar series, but none of the information will exactly be news to enthusiasts of long standing. It isn’t always clearly expressed, either. In the glossary, for instance, the definition of ‘lead’ is given thus: “The race lead cannot be achieved by use of the pit lane.”

Surely, the shape of IndyCar races can often be altered by snappy pitwork? Or are we being told something else here? Fine if you like bright, colourful pictures. Shame that the bits in-between aren’t terribly enlightening. S A