Phillip Island

There is no other motor-racing circuit in the world with the history of Phillip Island. Since 1928 it has hosted the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the World Superbike Championship, the Armstrong 500 and many other races. Today, the Australian MotoGP attracts tens of thousands to the island every year. It is revered as the world's best MotoGP track and is the second-fastest in the world by just 0.1 km/h. Australia's champions of motorcycle racing are born there.

As a motor-racing journalist for more than 45 years, John Smailes has had extraordinary access to Phillip Island and to the leading names who have competed there. When Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Casey Stoner won their championships, John was there. He has delved into the island's rich history, from the winner of the first Australian Grand Prix, Gallipoli hero Captain Arthur Waite, to Australia's F1 world champions Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, and the astonishing political and business dealings over the years.

In Phillip Island, John Smailes delivers the definitive account of the circuit, featuring interviews with champions including Valentino Rossi and many others who made it the legend it is today. It's the gripping and untold story of an island unlike any other.

'Phillip Island is my legacy to Australian motorsport. I'm proud to have been part of its development. This book is a must-read.' Wayne Michael Gardner AM

'Still in its original shape, a super circuit for Supercars, world class.' Dick Johnson AM


PRAISE FOR JOHN SMAILES

'This book is a delight to read. Perhaps, dare we say it, even more enthralling than the races themselves.' Highlife Magazine on Formula One

'you need to read Speed Kings' The Sunday Telegraph on Speed Kings

'In a highly readable style, backed up by copious research and no fewer than 54 interviews, Smailes gives the go-to-whoa story of the Speedway and Antipodean attempts to conquer it.' Financial Review on Speed Kings

'John Smailes, author of the recent Race Across the World (the rip-roaring story of the original London-Sydney Marathon), has applied his talents to covering the entire story of Australia's best known racetrack - Mount Panorama at Bathurst - in 346 pages . . . There is a good sense of each era, and plenty of fascinating tales.' Australian Financial Review on Mount Panorama

'A rattling good read' Australian Financial Review on Race Across the World

'Smailes recaptures the excitement of the moment, when each day we learnt of fresh disasters besetting the increasingly weary drivers . . . His first-hand account does a fine job in describing the excitement of a race unlikely ever to be repeated.' The Daily Telegraph on Race Across the World

'Climbing the Mountain is a book many of us have been waiting for . . . It's an ideal gift for anyone who has followed motor sport in this country through the years.' Australian Financial Review on Climbing the Mountain