8 replies to this topic

[Roger Clark]

I was looking through Graham Gauld's book on Jim clark recently. I came across a passage which described how, when well in the lead, Clark would wave at track-side photographers and motion them to move into a better position. When they had done so he would treat them to a few spectacular slides. It made me think how common this was, particularly in less important races.

consider, for example those classic pictures of Moss in a DBR1 at Goodwood. The car is pointing directly at the photographer, it is sliding at about 20 degrees to the direction of travel, yet it is completely under control. The master driver, right on the limit. Or was it? I don't remember seeing Moss with those angles of drift in a championship GP. Classics of motor racing photography or Moss putting on a show?

[BRG]

Later on, Denny Hulme became famous for shaking his fist at trackside photographers who disturbed his concentration. How times change.

In Moss's day, all the cars would go through conrners in a four wheel drift. I imagine that this would be more obvious in a still photo taken at a particular angle than in a film or from the spectator banking.

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BRG

"all the time, maximum attack"

[Huw Jenjin]

In a recent classic road rally I was involved with, a press photographer had pre arranged with a driver to put on a show at corner X. The driver did so, and the photograper got the fright of his life as the car ran out of opposite lock and headed straight for him. Both photographer and driver survived the incident, but the car finished its rally there and then. And no, the photos were not any good, he was running before he had a chance to take any.

[Don Capps]

I now cringe when I think how often we were literally at the edge of the circuit in many of the old courses in Europe. And the photags were always just that much closer than we were! At Spa in 1960, we were just meters off the circuit and there was often a guy taking pictures at the very edge, with folks blasting by at about 250/300 kmph...

Gee, it was stupid, but WOW!!! was it neat....!!!! At some circuits we even sat on the bales and watched the cars come within a gnats hair of the bale - once or twice closer! At the Mille Miglia we once ate a meal as the cars blasted past perhaps two meters away ripping through the village... It is a never ceasing wonder to me that thousands weren't killed every year!!!!

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Yr fthfl & hmbl srvnt,

Don Capps

Semper Gumbi: If this was easy, we’d have the solution already…

[Roger Clark]

Don,

You make me very jealous! In pre-war pictures of the Monaco GP people sem to be wandering about the pavements as if going about their daily business!

[Don Capps]

Rog,

Youth is wasted on the young! I never realized that it was anything really out of the ordinary. However, had I been older, NO WAY would I have been standing in some of the places I did at many of the races!!!!!!! I shudder at the thought sometimes of just how close to real disaster we were. Having said that, I am also truly happy I did it! We could often peer right into the cockpits and have a driver look straight at YOU and wink and give a little wave!!!!

Those were the days!

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Yr fthfl & hmbl srvnt,

Don Capps

Semper Gumbi: If this was easy, we’d have the solution already…

[This message has been edited by Don Capps (edited 04-20-2000).]

[Laphroaig]

Not really nostalgic (yet ) but when Williams tested at Zandvoort in 1997 they used the short circuit (new long one wasn't finished then)
Half way round the circuit at the back the fences are seperated from the track by a meter of grass. If you ran up the dune you could see half the circuit, if you ran down you's be litteraly trackside.
Since it was only a demonstration I got to witness quite a lot of 360 right in front of my nose and at a certain moment both Frentzen and Villeneuve stopped about 2 meters away from me beside eachother to do a burnout! (and yes you could see their eyes through the visors)
Those Goodyears did smell good tho

[This message has been edited by Laphroaig (edited 04-20-2000).]

[Roger Clark]

In the mid-60's moss and Jenkinson demonstraed a 300SLR atsliverstone. Moss was concerned about the crowds around them on the way out of the paddock. "But Stirling" said the bearded one, "ten years ago we used to race through crowds like this". "Ah yes," said his driver, "but they weren't Englishmen"

[Ray Bell]

Like Don, I can look back... Longford, it just couldn't happen today. Even looking at pictures from Bathurst pre-1955 shows that there was a time it was normal to stand on the edge of the trace. And there were no fences at Lobethal, which was very much like Spa... John Crouch tells how he aimed at the crowd to make them get back off the edge so he could take his line through Charleston.
But with all of that, I also envy Don. You shouldn't have told us that!

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Life and love are mixed with pain...