28 replies to this topic

[Gary C]

I've just seen someone post on Facebook that from all the Grand Prix winners of the 1960s (1960-1969) there are only two left alive. Can that be right?? Must admit, the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking it IS right.

[KWSN - DSM]

1960ies GP Winners (not including Indy 500)

 

• Clark
• Hill
• Brabham
• Stewart
• Surtees
• Hulme
• Moss 
• Gurney
• Hill 
• Mclaren
• Ickx
• Von Trips
• Baghetti
• Ireland 
• Bandini 
• Ginther 
• Scarfiotti
• Rodriguez 
• Siffert
• Rindt 

[marksixman]

Yep, Ickx and Stewart.

[D-Type]

What is even more of a sobering thought is that of the 20 GP winners 8 later died at the wheel of a racing car.

[Gary C]

Gosh.

[Alan Lewis]

Yes, Tony Brooks was the last fifties winner, Stewart and Ickx are now the earliest pair.

Ickx is younger than seventies winners Andretti, Jabouille and Lafitte, though.

[sabrejet]

Hans Hermann - winner of the 1960 Sebring GP. There are likely more in sports car racing, given multi-driver wins.

[Collombin]

There are likely more in sports car racing, given multi-driver wins.

Yes, a quick scan found 13 winners of major sports car races in the 1960s who I believe are still around:-

Herrmann
Andretti
Foyt
Ickx
Oliver
Hobbs
Redman
Guichet
Hall
Schutz
Buzzetta
Neerpasch
Ahrens Jr

[KWSN - DSM]

1950ies different winners 17

1960ies different winners 20

1970ies different winners 29

1980ies different winners 21

1990ies different winners 17

2000ies different winners 17

2010ies different winners 12

[Gabrci]

Yes and the list of podium finishers is not much longer either: Attwood, Oliver and Redman are all that I can think of with a single podium each.

 

Hans Herrmann is the only podium finisher left from the 1950's and there are not many drivers in general, sadly: McAlpine, da Silva Ramos, Milhoux, Piper, Ashdown I think is the complete list if they are indeed all alive still. John Rhodes is actually the third oldest living Grand Prix driver but his sole entry was in 1965. 

[Richard Jenkins]

Yes and the list of podium finishers is not much longer either: Attwood, Oliver and Redman are all that I can think of with a single podium each.

Hans Herrmann is the only podium finisher left from the 1950's and there are not many drivers in general, sadly: McAlpine, da Silva Ramos, Milhoux, Piper, Ashdown I think is the complete list if they are indeed all alive still. John Rhodes is actually the third oldest living Grand Prix driver but his sole entry was in 1965.

If including non-qualifiers, Ecclestone and Kessler.

My last notes said 29 1960's Grand Prix drivers are still alive, with an additional three non-qualifiers.

[Vitesse2]

My last notes said 29 1960's Grand Prix drivers are still alive, with an additional three non-qualifiers.

All of whom must have already comfortably exceeded the Biblical three score years and ten.

 

A number which I'm rapidly approaching ...

[Rob G]

 

Hans Herrmann is the only podium finisher left from the 1950's and there are not many drivers in general, sadly: McAlpine, da Silva Ramos, Milhoux, Piper, Ashdown I think is the complete list if they are indeed all alive still. John Rhodes is actually the third oldest living Grand Prix driver but his sole entry was in 1965. 

 

Is da Silva Ramos the only one on this list whose career began in the 1940s?

[GregThomas]

All of whom must have already comfortably exceeded the Biblical three score years and ten.

 

A number which I'm rapidly approaching ...

Relax - the view in the rear vision mirror is fine once you're past.

[Richard Jenkins]

John Rhodes is actually the third oldest living Grand Prix driver but his sole entry was in 1965.

I was in contact with John on the 1st March and he was doing pretty well, I'm glad to say

8th and 11th oldest (if you take Paul Goldsmith out of the equation) are two 70's drivers: Alex Soler-Roig and George Follmer.

But let's think about this. 1969 is 53 years ago. Anyone still alive who raced from then is a bonus. One, because of the nature of the sport, but two, it wasn't overly a young man's sport (or F1 wasn't) for another good ten years or so.

Edited by Richard Jenkins, 24 July 2022 - 11:36.

[Frank Verplanken]

Is there any other driver apart from Kenneth McAlpine that lived to be 100 years old ?

[Collombin]

I don't know of any GP drivers, but Reeves Dutton made it to 101.

[Richard Jenkins]

Is there any other driver apart from Kenneth McAlpine that lived to be 100 years old ?

Paul Pietsch

Louis Gerard

[Frank Verplanken]

Ah yes right Pietsch ! Didn't know Dutton and Gérard also made it, thanks.

Edited by Frank Verplanken, 24 July 2022 - 18:31.

[Gabrci]

If including non-qualifiers, Ecclestone and Kessler.

My last notes said 29 1960's Grand Prix drivers are still alive, with an additional three non-qualifiers.

 

Thank you for the correction! 

 

Kessler indeed, I'm not sure though whether Ecclestone should be counted, he may have driven during practice but I really wouldn't think he was entered, there are multiple things wrong with the 1958 Monaco results. Two Connaughts feature on the list while in reality only one was there, Ken Kavanagh is credited with a laptime, which is no mean achievement considering his entry was refused and he didn't even travel to Monaco. All the 10-15 photos and some video footage I have seen of the Connaught show Emery in the car, nothing of Ecclestone, nothing of Kessler. I don't doubt Kessler drove and he once told me he was faster than Emery and that he has never seen a picture of himself in the car either. 

[Gary C]

Thanks indeed for the info, guys.

[Gabrci]

Is da Silva Ramos the only one on this list whose career began in the 1940s?

 

Interesting question! McAlpine was competing in hillclimbs in the 1940s, Milhoux was Moto Cross of Nations champion in 1948. 

 

Glad to hear Richard that you spoke to Rhodes and he is well! David Piper was at Goodwood a month ago, he also seemed fine. I'm not absolutely sure Milhoux and Ashdown are still with us but certainly hope so, I haven't heard of them for a few years, which of course doesn't mean anything wrong. 

[Jim Thurman]

But let's think about this. 1969 is 53 years ago. Anyone still alive who raced from then is a bonus. One, because of the nature of the sport, but two, it wasn't overly a young man's sport (or F1 wasn't) for another good ten years or so.

Richard makes a great point here. It was similar in the U.S., as most did not make their debuts at Indianapolis, or in Championship racing, until they were nearing - or past - their 30th birthday.

 

I'll add Frank Burany as a racer that lived to 100. He never made the field at Indianapolis, but did make two Championship starts, and raced midgets and stock cars for many years.

 

I believe there are two drivers still alive that made starts in the Indianapolis 500 in the 1950s, and there are 6 U.S. Championship race winners from the 1960s still with us.

[Vitesse2]

Paul Pietsch

Louis Gerard

Also Ernst Henne (101), Ciro Basadonna (103) and Manoel de Oliveira (106).

[ReWind]

In this thread of mine at the moment there are 36 deceased people (of course not all of them drivers, let alone GP winners) who reached 100 years and more when they passed away:

Mariano de la Fuente 1885 - 1986

Reeves Dutton 1887 - 1988

Louis Gérard 1899 - 2000

Edgar Kehoe 1903 - 2004

Ernst Henne 1904 - 2005

Ciro Basadonna 1906 - 2009

Pierre Louis-Dreyfus 1908 - 2011

Manoel de Oliveira 1908 - 2015

Yutaka Katayama 1909 - 2015

Tom Clarke 1911 - 2015

Bill Milliken 1911 - 2012

Paul Pietsch 1911 - 2012

Eduard von Falz-Fein 1912 - 2018

Louisette Texier 1913 - 2021

Jean Panhard 1913 - 2014

Laura Lipari 1914 - 2018

Orlando Lizzi 1914 - 2018

Guido Scagliarini 1914 - 2017

Frank Burany 1915 - 2016

Gilberte Stempert née Contamine 1915 - 2019

Doug Lawrence 1916 - 2016

Ron Easton 1916 - 2018

Níkos Chrissikopoulos c.1917 - 2017

Bob Donker 1917 - 2017

Otto Linton 1917 - 2018

Dave Sullivan 1917 - 2021

Giovanni Alberti 1917 - 2019

Dorothy Caldwell 1918 - 2021

Neal Charge 1918 - 2020

Marin Dumitrescu 1919 - 2021

Renée Guillon née Wagner 1919 - 2019

Vicki Wood 1919 - 2020

Wayne Adams 1919 - 2021

Gody Naef 1919 - 2019

Bill Snyder 1919 - 2020

Bob Fletcher 1920 - 2020

 

EDITED in order to include Marin Dumitrescu

Edited by ReWind, 31 October 2022 - 18:25.

[Frank Verplanken]

I had missed your thread ReWind, great work that

 

I guess Louisette Texier is the Jeanne Calment of racing drivers then !

 

Louis Gérard came a few months short of becoming the first driver to live in three different centuries. Maybe one of the drivers active today will eventually achieve that in 79 years.

[Lemnpiper]

Hi all , 

 

   Not being sure if he qualifies   by Motorcycle racer Jim  Davis  a member of the AMA Hall Of Fame   was born March 23 1896  and Died Feb 5 2000 at 103 . 

 

    So does he qualify as a 3 century racer?

 

 

    Plus on another thread  Robert Hill  AMA national champ  in 1951 & 1952 and  the 1954 Daytona 200  winner    Turned 100 early in July 2022  

 

 

  Paul

Edited by Lemnpiper, 27 July 2022 - 00:21.

[Paul Taylor]

Interesting question! McAlpine was competing in hillclimbs in the 1940s, Milhoux was Moto Cross of Nations champion in 1948. 

 

Glad to hear Richard that you spoke to Rhodes and he is well! David Piper was at Goodwood a month ago, he also seemed fine. I'm not absolutely sure Milhoux and Ashdown are still with us but certainly hope so, I haven't heard of them for a few years, which of course doesn't mean anything wrong. 

 

For updates on Andre Milhoux, you could try contacting his son(?) at https://www.facebook.com/milhoux

 

Email address and website here, but neither appear to be active: https://www.facebook.com/MilhouxMR/

[ReWind]

I just learned that Romanian driver Marin Dumitrescu died 18 months ago at the age of 102 years.
Therefore I edited my posting from 24 July 2022.