The Life of a Racer Volume 2

In this follow-up to his autobiography, Michael Rutter changes his focus and now reflects on his father’s life – the victories, defeats, scrapes with the law and practical jokes. He also looks at his father’s close brushes with death, including the horrific career-ending crash of 1985, and its aftermath.

Tony Rutter (1942-2020) is best known for his four world TT-F2 championship wins, seven Isle of Man TT wins, nine North West 200 wins, and two British Championship titles during his twenty-two-year career – but the man himself has remained something of an enigma to everyone including his own son Michael, who himself went on to have a hugely successful career and keep the Rutter name alive in the world of motorcycle racing to the present day.

Through his own memories, as well as those of longstanding teammates and friends, Michael pieces together his father’s values, what mattered to him the most, his odd – sometimes maddening – traits. What unfolds is a profile of the man behind the incredible talent and singular focus of an elite racer.

With a foreword by Carl Fogarty, this is the first-ever book about one of the finest racers in a great generation of racers, by those who knew and loved him the most.

Author Biography

With over 500 starts in TT and Superbike races and over 200 podium places Michael Rutter’s remarkable career has been long and successful. At the age of 13 Michael’s father was involved in a serious racing accident that nearly killed him. In spite of this in 1993 Michael followed his father into professional motorcycle racing but he vowed to do things differently.