The resilient Derek Daly: An all-round racer whose career defied the odds

I like to say: “Numbers don’t lie, but they rarely tell the whole truth.” Nothing could be more apt than the Formula 1 record of Dublin-born Irishman Derek Daly, now 73.

Daly, the man with the dark helmet and bright yellow arrow, competed in 49 Grands Prix, never managing better than two fourth-place finishes. He had a tough time with Ensign, Tyrrell, March and Theodore, then in 1982 came the chance with the top team Williams – which was to prove one of the biggest disappointments of his career.

Daly changed direction, moved to America, competed in IndyCar and had a narrow escape from death. Several times. Daly fought his way back to a normal life and turned a new page once again, this time in sports car racing. He won the legendary Sebring race twice.

Derek Daly has now published a no-holds-barred autobiography. He gives an unvarnished account of the brutal reality of competition in the world’s most prestigious racing series, of the life-changing decision to to turn his back on Formula 1 and start afresh in America, and about his IndyCar crash at 350 km/h that nearly cost him his life.

‘Serial Survivor’ is a powerful story of resilience, risk and reinvention – a book you’ll find hard to put down, I promise.

Daly’s disarming candour hasn’t always served him well throughout his career, but this man has always remained true to himself, and that shines through on every page of this story of a master of survival; a fascinating blend of drama, dynamism, honesty, hard work and iron will.

In Daly’s memoirs, we follow his extraordinary rise from a humble childhood in Dundrum, County Dublin, to the pinnacle of international motorsport – racing for Williams in Formula 1 in 1982, before moving to the US to compete in IndyCar and hanging up his helmet ten years later.

Daly was born with a great deal of talent and is regarded as one of Ireland’s finest racing drivers. He rose quickly through the ranks; much of it seemed so easy. But then things started to go wrong. From Formula 1 through to IndyCar and endurance racing, his path was repeatedly thwarted by technical faults, human error and life-threatening accidents.

At times, it all reads like a crime thriller, with events that inevitably make us think: ‘That can’t be true!’ But it was. It is above all this ruthlessness – particularly towards himself – that sets Daly’s book apart from most other autobiographies. Derek puts his finger right where it hurts.

In the book, Daly speaks openly about what we might call the substandard treatment he received in top-tier teams and the psychological consequences of repeated accidents, right up to the moment he realised he was being forced out of Formula 1.

This sobering realisation led to a fresh start in America, where he rebuilt his career from scratch in IndyCar and sports car racing.

In 1984, Daly survived one of the most violent crashes in motorsport history when his car crashed into the barrier in Michigan at around 350 km/h and shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving him with serious injuries and a long road to recovery. Anyone who sees pictures of this crash would find it hard to believe that Daly survived.

Against all odds, he returned to racing, competing once more in IndyCar and at Le Mans with Jaguar, and later went on to secure back-to-back victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida in 1990 and 1991.

When his driving career finally came to an end, Daly reinvented himself once more and became one of the most respected motorsport commentators, interviewers and guest speakers at numerous events across the USA.

This autobiography goes beyond a traditional racing driver’s memoir. This is not a book that drags its feet from race to race. This is a stunningly human story of ambition and failure, of survival and reinvention, and of the courage it takes to keep going – no matter what fate throws your way.

‘Serial Survivor’ by Derek Daly is an outstanding book that moves you to tears and makes you laugh until you cry. It is a book that touches the heart, that never ceases to amaze, that at times leaves us speechless and, in the end, grateful that this thoroughbred racer has allowed us to share in his rollercoaster life.

• Derek Daly: Serial Survivor

• Published by Evro, England

• ISBN: 978-1-918070-03-3

• Format 24 x 21 cm

• 368 pages

• 380 photographs

• Text in English

• Available for around 70 euros from specialist retailers or directly from www.evropublishing.com