My Greatest Defeat: Stories of hardship and hope from motor racing's finest heroes

My Greatest Defeat is a collection of honest and revealing insights into 20 of the greatest living racing drivers, legends of the worlds of Formula 1, Indycar, NASCAR, Le Mans and Rally. Interviews conducted specially for this book are with (in alphabetical order) Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti, Jeff Gordon, Mika Häkkinen, Damon Hill, Jimmie Johnson, Tom Kristensen, Niki Lauda, Sebastien Loeb, Felipe Massa, Rick Mears, Emanuele Pirro, Alain Prost, Carlos Sainz, Jackie Stewart, Bobby Unser, Ari Vatanen and Alex Zanardi. Here are five highlights…

• Dario Franchitti — The Indycar champion talks of the deaths of the friends that book-ended his career in racing, the heartbreak that each caused and the aftermath of accidents that affected the physical functioning of his brain.
• Jeff Gordon — One of the all-time NASCAR greats, he looks back on his many championships, admitting that today he cannot view a single one with anything but regret as family relationships were soured and stretched to breaking point.
• Jimmie Johnson — One of the greatest stock car drivers in history, Johnson was at one time considered a reckless outcast. He reflects on the little-known crash that almost killed him and changed his mindset forever.
• Niki Lauda — A racer who needs no introduction, Niki Lauda discusses the loss of one of his aircraft over Thailand in which all on board were killed; for eight months he fought to clear the name of his pilots and change aircraft safety forever.
• Alex Zanardi — In a deep and revealing conversation, the Paralympic gold medalist, who lost both legs in an Indycar accident, discusses how we decipher between our passion and our ambition and how childhood dreams affect our adult decisions.

Striking portrait artworks come from a revered artist in modern comic book design, Giuseppe ‘Cammo’ Camuncoli, who is renowned for the dark, brooding style that has seen him become a staple in the Vertigo, DC and Marvel stables.