LIFE in the fast lane, predominantly on two wheels and with a championship medal to boot, is depicted in a new book written by a Evesham man.

Jim Curry, at the age of 74, has written his autobiography of his passion for motorcycle Grand Prix racing. This saw him win the 125cc British Championship in 1968, followed by becoming runner-up in that season's 350ccc championship and then gaining a remarkable victory on his first introduction to the legendary 24km circuit of Nurburgring, in Germany.

His book: Jim Curry, A Lap of My Life, is being launched this Saturday, December 12, from 12 noon until evening at the Swan Inn, in Evesham's Port Street.

In his book you can learn what it was like for someone whose general role in motorcycle Grand Prix racing of the sixties was as ‘filler’ on the start-grids. "Not a super-star, but someone who felt that he almost made it at Grand Prix level, whilst attempting to grasp his Holy Grail and become World Champion in the motorcycle road racing school of greedy race-meeting organisers, dangerous circuits and hard-knocks," said Mr Curry.

He explains his journey to reach the cutting edge of the competition to be top dog in the dog-eat-dog world of short circuit scratching, during the late sixties and early seventies, and experienced the thrill of the one and only Historic TT race of 1984.

You can suffer with him too as he describes the debilitating effects of, and successful fight against, a rare-type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma which struck him at the age of 44, soon after the euphoria of that TT come-back. The successful recovery from which, ultimately led to a short return to the track in 1986 with the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club, in order to prove to himself that he still ‘had it’, a personal and passionate belief which was proven to be correct.

The book also details how his supposed ‘last hurrah’, encompassing the 2000 Manx Grand Prix races in order to raise money for charity, led him to embark on a further satisfying season of racing. Including a few incident-packed meetings on the Continent, which at last dampened that fire that had raged within for nigh-on 50 years.

Mr Curry will be signing his book at the launch. It is priced £25