Topic: Sir Stirling Moss

[nicanary]

I've just found out that the great man passed away yesterday. I barely know what to say. We live in extraordinary times, and I doubt very much if his passing will feature much in broadcast news - in any other situation it would have been a headline.

One of the all-time greats of this and any other sport. RIP old boy.

[Allan L]

Yes and although I remember him as a current GP driver, I had to think hard to say I saw him race. I was at the 1961 British Empire Trophy at Silverstone where he drove Rob Walker's Cooper and won having lapped all but Surtees and Graham Hill.

[nicanary]

Yes and although I remember him as a current GP driver, I had to think hard to say I saw him race. I was at the 1961 British Empire Trophy at Silverstone where he drove Rob Walker's Cooper and won having lapped all but Surtees and Graham Hill.

IIRC that was a VERY wet race, sorts the men from the boys.

[Allan L]

We live in extraordinary times, and I doubt very much if his passing will feature much in broadcast news - in any other situation it would have been a headline.

BBC1 lunchtime News did a quite suitable piece, but it was not the lead item of course.

[nicanary]

Yes, I watched that. Commendable enough in the rushed circumstances. I'm rather hoping that later in the week we may see a more considered 60min. or so with a collection of appropriate film. He was such an important figure in British sporting life for a whole generation.

Such a shame that his funeral will be poorly attended, but understandable. No doubt there'll be a memorial service when restrictions are lifted, and  I'm sure the venue will be overflowing.

[Allan L]

Damon Hill wrote an excellent appreciation for the Guardian which is here
 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/12/stirling-moss-great-racing-driver-formula-one-ayrton-senna
and did a suitable interview on BBC Breakfast TV just after 8:32 this morning (on i-player for those who can use it).
In the TV appreciation we were shown Damon at his christening with his father, Stirling and a couple of other GP stars  of the day and I'll post another photo taken on July 17 1961 which we've had before (posted by Ray B in the pedal cars thread) but I'll re-post it as it sums up the ethos of GP racing in those days with six of the current drivers all smartened up to honour the infant son of one of them:

For the benefit of our younger viewers they are (L to R) Bruce McLaren, Stirling Moss, Tony Brooks, Graham Hill, Jo Bonnier and Wolfgang von Trips

[Allan L]

Alessandro Silva has written a piece about Stirling here:
https://www.aisastoryauto.it/di-cosa-parliamo-oggi/stirling-moss/

It's in Italian of course and although I don't claim to be proficient in that language, I found I could understand and approve of a great deal of it! Excellent choice of photos of our hero too.

[nicanary]

Lovely piece. The great man would have had mixed feelings about Italy in the early days - he had success there with Cooper and HWM but then there was the infamous incident at Bari in 1951 (?) when Enzo offered him a drive and he travelled thousands of miles (not that easy in those days) only to find he'd been shafted. Typical Enzo of course.

One of the big "what ifs" of the sport is the 1962 season. The Ferrari that year was only a warmed-over version of the highly-successful sharknose and was uncompetitive against the new British V8 engines, and I doubt if even SCM could have challenged for the title. He no doubt would have been right up there at drivers' circuits like Monaco and the Nurburgring, but otherwise I suspect even Alf Francis' ministrations couldn't have done much. We'll never know.