Known in Britain primarily for his Autosport reports during the 1960s and 1970s from Formula 1 and North America’s Can-Am, the USA’s veteran motorsports journalist and photographer Pete Lyons has also covered such memorable classics as the Sebring 12 Hours, Le Mans 24 Hours, Indy 500, Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Kenya’s Safari Rally, Mexico’s Baja 1000 and Reno Air races, plus numerous Trans-Am, F5000, ALMS, CART and Indycar, NASCAR, NHRA, USAC, and vintage events.
A former editor of RACECAR magazine (née FORMULA), he also has contributed to enthusiast publications including Autosport, AutoWeek, Car and Driver, Cycle, Cycle World, Motor Sport, Private Pilot, Racer, Road & Track, Vintage Racecar Journal and Vintage Motorsport. The author of 15 books published to date, with more underway, Lyons has won several prestigious honours, including the Motor Press Guild’s Dean Batchelor Award (twice) and the International Motor Press Association’s Ken Purdy Award. In 2011 he gained the International Automotive Media Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Along with his most recent books, Lotus 72 and Shadow: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery, both published by Evro, the extensive archive of racing photography by Pete and his late father, Ozzie Lyons, can be seen at petelyons.com
Married since 1983 to Lorna Fitts Lyons, herself a former racing official and magazine editor, Pete lives in southern California — “not far from where dear old Riverside International Raceway lies entombed under a mall.”
