Foreword by Damon Hill OBE
If Perry McCarthy had been just a normal everyday Formula One racing driver then this book could not have been written. Here’s the reason why. The average grand prix superstar has wealthy parents who push him into junior kart racing shortly after birth.
By the age of seven his nursery resembles a trophy room, at 12 he has sponsors, managers and advisors to teach him how to say ‘Marlboro cigarettes’ on television [even though he’ll never smoke], and at 22 he is an F1 driver living in an apartment in Monaco because of the tax breaks.
Perry McCarthy took a rather different route. Born in London’s East End, Perry slept in the bottom drawer of a cupboard until he was two. His family was not blessed with wealth.
However, the ingenuity his parents employed to survive, coupled with their own ambition to succeed, taught him never to give up. It was this lesson that brought Perry international recognition, even though his fight to become a Formula One driver began relatively late.
Flat Out. Flat Broke charts the progress of a man who, aged 18, decided to reach the top in the world’s most expensive sport. With no previous experience and little going for him except quick wit and a passion for speed, he should have stood no chance of making it.
In a roller-coaster story that is in turns hilarious, heroic and heartbreaking, Perry recalls his relentless pursuit for backing and recognition. This became increasingly desperate, leading him into extreme situations such as tracking potential sponsors like Alan Sugar, impersonating James Hunt, and tricking his way into a Formula One paddock with a ‘pizza delivery’ for Ayrton Senna.
Constantly in debt and with his home under threat, Perry led a manic life – on and off the track – as he fast-talked his way both into and out of trouble.
Perry McCarthy wrote Flat Out, Flat Broke because, in his own words, ‘It’s unreasonable to expect, or even believe that so much aggravation could happen to one person, just because they want to go round and round in circles.’
Softback