Crashed not Byrned
‘There’s a lot of emotion tied up in my career and writing this book has released some of it…’ Never a truer word spoken from Tommy Byrne and that’s only the start of it.
Crashed and Byrned: The Greatest Racing Driver You Never Saw by Tommy Byrne and Mark Hughes tells the story of Tommy Byrne, an Irish-born adrenalin-addict who came painfully close to reaching the top of F1.
In the early days of his career, Tommy, a self confessed knacker from Dundalk, did anything he could to make enough bucks to race cars. Most notable is when he drove around a crippled gentleman called Crawford. Crawford regularly screamed at Tommy “fuck shit bastard boy’ before soiling himself in the car.
The book follows Tommy as he escapes from Ireland and heads over to England. He gets a job driving for PBS in the Formula Ford Festival and then shortly after moves to the Van-Diemen FF team. It’s during his time in the Van-Diemen team that Tommy is introduced to the rich ‘fast man’ Brazilians Aryton Senna and Raul Boesel, two men who are to play a big role in Tommy’s life.
Tommy’s relationship with Aryton Senna in particular is a huge selling point for the book. Tommy never liked Aryton, he was the competition and Tommy felt he was better than him though he never got the chance to prove it. Senna dodged him on more than one occasion becoming the bane of Tommy’s existence. I won’t give the whole story away…suffice to say, you gotta read the book to find out and believe me it’s worth it.
As Tommy competed between F1 and F3 it came time to finally take the much sought after McLauren test. He wanted to be the best driver in the best car but unfortunately things didn’t go to plan…it’s this test that sits the centre of Tommy’s story and seems to be what Tommy needs to get off his chest most. Again, read the book to find out the details.
After Tommy’s F1 career came to end he tried to figure out how to make his millions other ways. He had a window of opportunity in America and travelled all over the world racing for different teams but Tommy had a weakness for drugs and alcohol and nothing went according to plan. He ended up in Mexico. That’s where the hookers, guns and eccentric millionaires enter the story and Tommy’s career is destroyed.
Everything you need to know about Tommy Byrnes and his racing career is uncovered in these pages: the man and the legend, the sport and its underbelly. Tommy has the gift of the gab and the book is written in true Irish style. It is fiercely honest and without pretensions explores the pain of near success. For this, this book will be remembered.
Crashed and Byrned reminded me of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…but for F1 fans. His drink, drugs and money-fueled escapades is what keeps you turning the pages, all the time saying to yourself, ‘No Tommy don’t!’ It’s the ultimate tragicomedy.
He wasn’t a perfect man, nor a perfect sportsman, in fact most of you would never have even heard his name but if I were to meet Tommy someday, I would definitely shake his hand and buy him a beer. God knows he’d have some stories for me.
Rating: 4.5/5