The Fred Opert Story

Book excerpt: The engaging story of Fred Opert, whose brief time in a New York jail led him into a roller-coaster life of automobiles and motorsport. The author takes you into Opert's world of spotting talent in both drivers and crew members: 20 future F1 drivers who drove for Opert on their way to F1, and future team owners like Barry Green and Dick Bennetts of WSR who cut their teeth with Opert. Read their stories and the adventures they had with this larger than life character, through to the tribulations of managing the ATS F1 team. Then the tragedy that turned him away from the sport after he was lured back to run a team, only to have his driver and friend, Olivier Chandon, killed during testing. Peter Hill met Fred Opert in the 1970s during Opert's championship winning years with Keke Rosberg. He has interviewed at length most of Opert's drivers, including Keke Rosberg, Alan Jones, Brian Redman and Bobby Rahal. He has written this biography with the co-operation of Opert's family, friends and ex-employees.