Sir Stirling Moss Dies

[ivoralljack]

Stirling has passed away following a chest infection (not Covid-19) and, during his time was regarded as the greatest driver never to win a World Championship. His versatility was remarkable in that he drove sports cars in addition to Formula 1 with great success participating in many other events such as the Monte Carlo Rally and the deadly dangerous Mille Miglia in Italy. Had he been driving a car worthy of his talents, undoubtedly he would have won many World titles in Formula 1 but he always seemed to be playing catch-up to Ferrari. When Mike Hawthorne won the Championship he could have been disqualified for an incident when he had to push start his car after a crash in the race. But it was Moss who was the loudest of his supporters in getting that decision reversed and, as a result, lost the title to Hawthorne by just a single point.

He raced in the 'deadly' era when motor racing was a truly lethal sport enjoying none of the safety measures that exist today both in car and on track. Between the end of World War II and his enforced retirement 17 years later, over 180 drivers died in Formula 1 some 50 of them personally known to Moss. I grew up in this era and remember so many household names in the sport being killed in terrible crashes - Moss himself survived many horrendous 'shunts' as he called them before one of them brought a premature end to one of the most glorious careers that any sport has ever seen. That was at Goodwood in 1962 and, as he said, he knew his time was coming to an end when he no longer could keep one eye on the track, another on the gauges and still be able to spot a pretty girl in the crowd!!

So how good was he? Well, highly respected judges deem him to be the greatest all-round motor racing driver in history. As for his ability in Formula 1, Moss regarded the great Argentinian, Juan Fangio, as the supreme racer of all time. To which Fangio disagreed saying, 'Moss was the best of my time'. Enzo Ferrari agreed with Fangio. RIP, Stirling, thanks for the memories. You were a true great in an era when you had to be brilliant just to survive!!

 

[Jackflash]

My first memory of Stirling Moss was probably 70 years ago. My elder brother asked me if I wanted to see this up and coming future world champion. I would have been 9/10 years old. He was racing at Fairwood Aerodrome the next day. We cycled there from Port Tennant.
There was this guy Sterling Moss getting quite a bit of attention before the race, Then they're on the grid for the start, the flag goes down and they're off. A few hundred yards and into a 90 degree r/hand turn. A turn Moss failed to make, straight into the straw bales, race over. At least I did see him race, albeit for a few hundred yards. RIP Stirling Moss.

 

[ivoralljack]

A few celebs passing along with Stirling. Peter Bonetti aka 'The Cat' starred for Chelsea for many years as well as England died from after a long illness aged 79. Also Tim Brooke-Taylor one of the famous Goodies on telly has gone. RIP, guys.

 

[ivoralljack]

Found some more on Stirling which emphasises just how bloody out and out dangerous it was in his era: Pirro was a 5 times Le Mans winner. I've driven that course many times along with the Monte Carlo GP circuit. Just a tad slower than the racers though! However, I did race a Mazda rotary engined sports saloon in an open day at Kyalami in South Africa hosted by Ian Scheckter brother of Formula 1 World Champion, Jody. I won my race.

Former F1 driver and now broadcaster Martin Brundle saluted Moss for his success across so many disciplines at a time when motorsport was at its most dangerous.

Despite the risks, Pirro says Moss never wanted greater safety precautions to be brought in for drivers as he felt it would have dulled the feeling of achievement at the end of a race.

"Once, I asked him about safety in F1," Pirro remembered. "He was very brave and never pushed to have a safer F1.

"He told me: 'Today's motorsport is like walking on a tight rope. In my era, you had the Grand Canyon underneath; now, there is a mattress. The difficulty of walking on the rope is more or less the same, but the challenge and the joy to get to the other side cannot be compared'."

I'll say!!!

 

[Jackflash]

Found some more on Stirling which emphasises just how bloody out and out dangerous it was in his era: Pirro was a 5 times Le Mans winner. I've driven that course many times along with the Monte Carlo GP circuit. Just a tad slower than the racers though! However, I did race a Mazda rotary engined sports saloon in an open day at Kyalami in South Africa hosted by Ian Scheckter brother of Formula 1 World Champion, Jody. I won my race.

Former F1 driver and now broadcaster Martin Brundle saluted Moss for his success across so many disciplines at a time when motorsport was at its most dangerous.

Despite the risks, Pirro says Moss never wanted greater safety precautions to be brought in for drivers as he felt it would have dulled the feeling of achievement at the end of a race.

"Once, I asked him about safety in F1," Pirro remembered. "He was very brave and never pushed to have a safer F1.

"He told me: 'Today's motorsport is like walking on a tight rope. In my era, you had the Grand Canyon underneath; now, there is a mattress. The difficulty of walking on the rope is more or less the same, but the challenge and the joy to get to the other side cannot be compared'."

I'll say!!!

I wouldn't altogether agree with those points, a lot of the safety measures brought in didn't stop certain types of accidents happening,but what they did do was save lives when they did happen. I think if you asked any race driver if he hit the barrier at 100 mph plus would he rather die or walk away I'm pretty sure I know what the answer would be.. To some Michael Shumacher the best F1 driver ever, was the biggest campaigner for F1 safety of the circuit and car. Not to make the race any easier,but to prevent the death of the driver in the event of an accident.Ironically it was the ski slopes that almost cost him his life, not the race curcuit.