Press Release
NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah (Jan. 15, 2014) – Alan Wilson, best known as an internationally-recognized race track designer, has authored a novel about Grand Prix racing, which is now available on Amazon, Nook and I-Tunes I-Books.
“Zapped” by Alan Wilson
ZAPPED is a dramatic story of the real probability of high-level electronic interference with the performance of Formula One cars during their fight for World Championship honors. Set in the world of modern Grand Prix racing, with a cast of characters that epitomizes the skills,will-to-win and emotions of the sport, and also the greed, ego and ambitions of some of the people at its heart, Wilson exposes the very real threat of the technology that drives the sport being used to annihilate its very future.
The story follows a talented electronics expert who joins a Grand Prix team and discovers that cars in the World Championship are being affected by unexplained cyber-attacks which decimate their performance. The high-intensity electronics at play suggest near-warfare levels of technology that draws the American military into the search for the source and solution. All the while the World Championship chase rushes to a climax at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
What would happen if the first car arriving at Eau Rouge on lap one of the Belgian Grand Prix suddenly stopped? Imagine the chaos and ferocity of the subsequent accident!
What would happen if the car stopped because someone in the stands pointed a remote control at the leading car, that attacked the car’s ECU and switched off the engine?
Can this really happen?
The answer is yes, as was reported by the BBC on Dec. 3, 2013, and is taken to its scary conclusion in ZAPPED.
“ZAPPED is a beautifully written masterpiece of sheer cleverness, accuracy and originality. It is a ‘must read’ for everyone who has ever experienced even the vaguest interest in Formula One,” said John Webb, former Managing Director MCD Ltd., Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Oulton Park and Mallory Park. “In his very first novel Alan Wilson has already established himself as a more eloquent and imaginative Dick Francis of motor racing.”
“The idea for the book’s concept began in 1992 when I visited the Grumman aircraft factory on Long Island, where Tomcat fighters tested their electronic weaponry,” said Wilson. “Its heavily insulated walls were needed to protect New York City from the electronic pulses sent out from the Tomcats. I also researched the electronics and computer systems of Grand Prix cars, which are complex and expensive, and I came to the conclusion that they could be hacked by someone with an in-depth knowledge of how they work and with access to military spec technology.
“It sparked my interest and I decided to begin writing this novel. I was told by a friend who worked in the top-secret cyber military world that I was not too far off the truth. So, when I saw the BBC story, I knew that my premise was anything but far-fetched. After all, if all it takes is a hand-held, cell-phone-sized remote control, or a radar gun, then imagine what it can do to any form of motor sport.
“While my book is just a novel, it does have a message. Maybe in writing ZAPPED I have also put some writing on the wall.”
ZAPPED is published by Wilson Motorsport Publishing a subsidiary of Wilson Motorsport Inc. 735 Mont Clair Drive. North Salt Lake. UT 84054, www.wilsonmotorsportpublishing.com. Email: [email protected]. First Edition, November 2013. eISBN 978-0-578-13274-7.
ZAPPED is available for purchase at Amazon, I-Tunes and Nook:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/zapped/id778943147?mt=11
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/zapped-by-alan-wilson?keyword=zapped+by+alan+wilson&store=book
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alan Wilson has been involved in motorsports for more than 40 years, as a journalist, car and motorcycle competitor, major International car and motorcycle event organizer and promoter, race track operator, race-series developer and presenter, and as an internationally-recognized race-track designer with more than 30 facilities built. He has a deep understanding of all aspects of the sport and brings extensive experience and understanding of its history and character to his work, much of it derived from nearly 40 years of supporting his wife Desiré through her international racing career.
He has previously authored a biography of his racer wife, “Driven by Desire – The Desiré Wilson Story,” published by Veloce.
