I discovered the first books [Tome 1 and Tome 2] of this series in the beginning of 2009, it was hard to find them as there is not much about them in the internet and the books are fully written in french so there is probably no single review in english out there…

This year I got an invitation by the primary author himself (Jean-Marie Wyder) to join the event at the Speedy Garage in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the fifth volume (Tome 5) was presented to the public. The event was really nice and very special as it took place at the home town of the former “Speedy Racing Team Sebah” now called “Rebellion Racing”.

Race driver Marcel Fässler joined the party too and signed some books if you were quick enough to catch him. We also got introduced to former Formula 3 Swiss champion Beat Blatter.

It was also nice to finally see Jean-Marie Wyder in person, to talk to him and hear his ideas about future projects… All the other authors were there too of course: Christian Borel, Mario Luini, Gérard Vallat and Benoît Wyder.

The book not only covers 2010. It goes back to the past again and picks out interesting stories from the past decades…

Merci beaucoup à Jean-Marie Wyder pour l’invitation! Et continuez à écrire ces tomes! C’est fantastique!

Please enjoy the photo gallery about the event at Lausanne:

Focus of the book: This book is a true treasure when it comes to summarize the Swiss history in Motorsports from 1950 to 2006: Carefully researched and written in great detail, interesting also for non-Swiss race enthusiasts as it tells many stories around famous races in that time range. Thanks to Nina and her father for signing it, and many thanks to Mitch!

About the book: “Die Aussenseiter” is probably best translated by “Underdogs”: The relationship between Switzerland and car racing is characterized by a certain ambivalence. Since the tragic accident at Le Mans in 1955, in which 80 spectators were killed, racetracks got forbidden here in Switzerland, until today. The racing scene of international events has been exclusively abroad since then. That is why Swiss race drivers have not found great support in their own country and were indirectly put into this “outsider” position.

Nevertheless, there they are: steadfast Swiss race drivers who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of fame and glory. Since the beginning of the modern Formula 1 in 1950 some 20 of them have taken part in a Grand Prix, another dozen have won at well-known long-distance mountain races and several teams and technicians have many years of experience in the racing scene: Not only famous people such as Jo Siffert, Clay Regazzoni, Marc Surer and Peter Sauber have left their marks.

For many years, there is a history of Swiss people on race tracks in other countries. This is best proven by having a quick look at the complete Swiss history at Le Mans. And all of them tell their own story – of success and failure, episodes that are reflected in the race’s results tables.

The book “Die Aussenseiter” contains many portraits and little stories of Swiss key players in the racing scene. It is certainly not only a book for Swiss citizens! Too many stories are of international importance and are interesting for every motorsports enthusiast!

Just recently, a special event called “Wall of Fame” was held in Switzerland to honor the most important Swiss race legends. Read the details about this event at the recently launched web site called Zwischengas.

Mentioned persons:
The list of described persons is really long! Take a look at the following decades:

From the 50s:
-Emmanuel de Graffenried
-Toni Branca
-Rudolf Fischer
-Peter Hirt
-Max de Terra
-Albert Scherrer
-Benoît Musy
-Ottorino Volonterio
-Willy-Peter Daetwyler
-Michael May
-Harry Zweifel

From the 60s:
-Peter Monteverdi
-Heini Walter
-Edgar Berney
-Heinz Schiller
-Tommy Spychiger
-Jean-Claude Rudaz
-Charles Vögele
-Arthur Blank
-Karl Foitek
-Scuderia Filipinetti
-Joseph Siffert
-Edi Wyss
-Jürg Dubler
-Silvio Moser
-Xavier Perrot
-André Wicky
-Herbert Müller
-Dieter Spoerry
-Gianrico Steinemann

From the 70s:
-Peter Schetty
-Bruno Pescia
-Claude Haldi
-Jo Marquart
-Jo Vonlanthen
-Clay Regazzoni
-Loris Kessel
-Manfred Schurti

From the 80s:
-Marc Surer
-Mario Hytten
-Walter Brun
-Team Brun
-Heini Mader
-Franco Forini
-Peter Sauber and his race cars
-EuroBrun
-Gregor Foitek

From the 90s:
-Philippe Favre
-Andrea Chiesa
-Jean-Daniel Delétraz
-Alain Menu

And many more…:
-Fredy Lienhard
-Enzo Calderari & Lilian Bryner
-Mario Illien
-Team Sauber Petronas: Formel 1
-Marcel Fässler
-Neel Jani