Autocourse/Driver Profiles Vol. 5 – Emerson Fittipaldi
By Gordon Kirby, Hazelton Publishing (1990), 107 pages, hardback
Autocourse/Driver Profiles Vol. 3 – Alain Prost
By Nigel Roebuck, Hazelton Publishing (1990), 109 pages, hardback
We’re already halfway through 2025 and for the month of July I’ve featured another selection of driver profiles. During one of my many visits to used bookstores and antiques shops I came across two volumes of the AUTOCOURSE Driver Profile series, featuring Emerson Fittipaldi and Alain Prost. Both are on my short list of all-time favorite drivers.
What makes these books even more special is that they are written by two highly acclaimed auto racing journalists. First, Gordon Kircby is the author of the Emerson Fittipaldi volume, while Nigel Roebuck has written about Alain Prost. Each author are experts in their field and are uniquely versed in communicating the intricacies of Formula 1 and of IndyCar. Each volume consists of direct quotes from the drivers drawn from in-depth interviews.
Both volumes were released in 1990, before each of the drivers had completed their respective careers. Which is ok by me, because this then represents a real time snapshot of the drivers while they are still active and highly competitive. Emerson Fittipaldi won two Formula 1 World Championships (1972 and 1974), along with an IndyCar (CART) Championship (1989). He won two Indianapolis 500 races (1989, 1993), the second being after the book was published. Alain Prost won four Formula 1 Championships (1985, 1986, 1989, and 1993), the final one also occurring after the book was released.
Each volume contains an abundance of photographs from all stages of their careers and includes detailed race result statistics at the rear of each book. These are entertaining and concise accounts of two truly amazing drivers. I’m on the lookout for the other titles in this series, spotlighting drivers such as Niki Lauda, Gilles Villeneuve, Jochen Rindt, Nelson Piquet, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna, and Nigel Mansell. I highly recommend this series to any racing fan.
TJ…..2025
TJ - vintage & historic racing coverage 
I believe I watched both these drivers race at the 1980 US Grand Prix in Watkins Glen. That was the only F1 race that I ever attended. Therefore, these books sound very intriguing to me as these two drivers are ones that I’ve long been familiar and are among the all-time great in the sport. Great article!