Mick Doohan: Thunder From Down Under

Mick Doohan: Thunder From Down Under

THE CW LIBRARY

Matthew Miles

FOR MANY ROADRACING ENTHUsiasts, a biography of reigning 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan may seem premature. After all, before suffering knee and wrist injuries in a practice crash at Jerez, Spain, the 34-year-old Australian was the odds-on favorite to win his sixth-straight title this year. Nevertheless, Mick Doohan: Thunder from Down Under is a deserving read.

Author Mat Oxley has covered the Grand Prix scene since 1988 (working with Doohan since ’90), so he knows and understands his subject. A successful racer in his own right, Oxley

capably chronicles Doohan’s dirt-riding youth and meteoric rise from high school dropout to Monaco millionaire.

Not surprisingly, though, it’s the behind-the-scenes stories that make the book. Examples include Doohan’s introduction to the Honda NSR500 (“My face ended up in the dirt while the bike got me in the back of the head.”); his friendship with fourtime series champ Eddie Lawson (“We ended up breaking into a go-kart circuit and driving around holding flashlights.”); the horrifying aftermath of his crash at the ’92 Assen TT (“Bits of the leg were dying-it smelled like a bad butcher’s shop.”); and Wayne Rainey’s paralyzing accident (“That hit me really hard; I was physically ill for a week.”).

Through it all, Oxley puts Doohan on a bit of a pedestal, but maybe rightly so. The Australian’s determination and his undying will to win are bonafide. Speculates Rainey: “If he hadn’t (broken his leg), it may have been a whole different story. I may never have won a world championship.”

Worthy testimony, indeed. -Matthew Miles

Mick Doohan: Thunder from Down Under, Mat Oxley, 160 pages, $30; Classic Motorbooks, 729 Prospect Ave., Osceola, Wl 54020; 800/826-6600