A PEDMORE pensioner has released his fifth book, which takes a historic look at a series of motor races held on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas.

Terry O'Neil, aged 71, has spent 13 years researching and writing factual books about his passion, sports car racing in the 50s and 60s.

He published his first book, The Bahamas Speed Weeks, in 2006, which described in great detail, the history of what many commentators called "the golden age of motor racing".

His fifth book, of the same title, is a revised edition of the first, containing more than 700 largely unpublished photographs.

The race, which began in 1954, was attended by many internationally acclaimed drivers who mixed with amateur racers from America to enjoy the sun, parties and racing for 13 years until it was discontinued due to the need for track repairs and lack of additional funding by the Bahamian government.

The grandfather-of-two said: "I was inspired to research the story of the Speed Weeks by one simple thing - nobody else had tackled the history of these races. Now I know why, records of the events were poor, politics played their part, as did the rivalry between the European and American motor manufacturers to establish dominance in the market for sports car sales."

The 472 page book is available to buy from Amazon.