I remember working in my restaurant in Perranporth Cornwall in 1976 when a friend rushed in to tell me my hero was dead, burnt alive in his Ferrari at the Nurburgring
I burst into tears (well I was only 28) and when I returned to my cottage that night I dreaded putting on the TV.
Imagine my joy when I learned he was fighting for his life in hospital and having been given the last rites was not expected to live. We all know how this chapter ends, a heroic battle and a few weeks later his bloodied balaclava revealed at Monza a very brave man.
Niki Lauda's struggle with life and James Hunt that season is about to burst on the screen, courtesy of Ron Howard in "Rush". A chance for the youngsters to see real Grand Prix heroes, with respect to the playstation generation of current drivers, sadly a lot were lost including Jim Clark, Ronnie Peterson and Tom Pryce to sheer bad luck, we miss them all.
Hopefully SKY will extend it's glance into the past and show some F1 races from the 60's 70's and 80's, so that we can all appreciate the sheer beauty of the cars and the artistry of the brave drivers.
If Niki had not had his Nurburgring crash (cold tyres or suspension failure?) it is likely he would have been a 3 times in a row world champion, as it is his third had to wait til 1984, which if he had not left Ferrari in 1977 would have been his fourth, and he would then have driven with Gilles Villeneuve as his teamate in 1978.
If only
Memory added on June 21, 2012
Comments (Add your voice)
No comments have yet been added to this memory.
