16 replies to this topic

[engin]

hello

he was known as the fastest driver in his era and he was widely known also for his fantastic car control , through his nearly 9 seasons in f1 he just fired the tracks with a great car control and undimentioned speed.

the problem for such a talent was that he spent all his years in a bad cars which it wasnt capable of giving this talent at least one driver's title which he definintly deserve.

it was only in his last year he drove the very fast lotus but he was anumber two to mario andretti and backed him ably to win the title .

in monza 78 he was involved in that infamouse pile up and in the following morning he died he never managed to take a world championship but he certinly would have had he drove abetter cars.

what was his weakness point

actualy he was a very bad in testing and technicality when he was a team mate to emerson fitipaldy he once ordered his crew to put the setup which emerson used and he managed to take pole position but he was not good at all in technical part and i think that was one reason which didnt favour him much he couldnt develop a car but his car control and his speed would always put the cars even the worst in a palce which it shouldnt be .

it was a sad story to one of the greats in this sport .

have a nice time .

[This message has been edited by engin (edited 01-16-2000).]

[Jonathan]

Emgin

Actually I was rather shocked to learn that Ronnie had done almost all of the initial Development of the JPS-Lotus 79, and that Ronnie not Mario was origionally set to debut this car. Mario however read between the lines when asking about the car, and then insisted that the car be setup for him.

[Ray Bell]

Let's not forget he won races in the Lotus 72 when it was well developed, too.
Not all the cars he drove were dogs.
But he was obviously brilliant, a Villeneuve type that wrung the best out of the cars.

[Dennis David]

When he and Fittipaldi were teamates he would wait and then use Emmo's settings and more often then not out qualify him. Emmo left for McLaren soon after.

------------------
Regards,

Dennis David
Yahoo = dennis_a_david

Life is racing, the rest is waiting

Grand Prix History
www.ddavid.com/formula1/

[Indian Chief]

LOL, Dennis.

[Ian McKean]

Ronnie Peterson would set pole on soft race tyres when the others used qualifiers. His style meant that qualifiers would not last a complete lap, but because he could drive on the edge he could get enough heat into race tyres.

One of the greats and should have been World Champion.

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Let's not forget he won races in the Lotus 72 when it was well developed, too.
Not all the cars he drove were dogs.
But he was obviously brilliant, a Villeneuve type that wrung the best out of the cars.

Interesting thread this, albeit a tad old, but thought I would give it a bit of a bump as Ronnie was one of my all time favourites. I watched him early in his career from Formula 3 through F2 into F1 and then also World Sportscars and ETC saloons. He of course won in most categories,though he sadly never won the biggest prize on offer. I saw him in most of his cars and thought he was just awesome in a Lotus 72 (Silverstone...Woodcote) and at all the Brands Grand Prix that I saw him drive in Marches, Tyrrells, and finally in the final tragic season of 1978. If you had to pick a defining moment of his career when your jaw dropped with his sheer car control what would it be and where? Mine would be at Silverstone 1973 whilst watching at Woodcote.....just amazing, at 150mph and no safety net....AWESOME! Thank You Ronnie

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

Man, this thread died long before I even found TNF! LOL!

Nice to see it back, tho, for one of the sports legends.

I saw Ronnie drive several times...all at Mosport...all in the GP's there.

Remember when the tire vibration thingie was going on in the mid-1970's? I believe that it was for the 1974 race at Mosport that I recall hearing the loudest bbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppppppppppppp coming off Ronnie's tires as he came off the last corner to power down pit straight. I need say no more...

[Stephen W]

My one abiding memory of Ronnie is when he shut the door on one Jackie Stewart during the British GP at Silverstone. It left Stewart driving round the infield wheat crop trying to find a way out!

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Stephen W
My one abiding memory of Ronnie is when he shut the door on one Jackie Stewart during the British GP at Silverstone. It left Stewart driving round the infield wheat crop trying to find a way out!

I heard that in the commentary.....he went harvesting did he not? I cannot remember if that was in the 1st or 2nd start

[David Beard]

Originally posted by sterling49


I heard that in the commentary.....he went harvesting did he not? I cannot remember if that was in the 1st or 2nd start

Right in front of us at the exit to Stowe. 2nd start surely? (he braked to a standstill at the crash in the 1st attempt, while in the lead, I seem to recall)

[sterling49]

Originally posted by David Beard


Right in front of us at the exit to Stowe. 2nd start surely? (he braked to a standstill at the crash in the 1st attempt, while in the lead, I seem to recall)

Everybody saw something that day...we were just up from the Mathews/Brodie incident........this was my 1st visit to Silverstone

[Stephen W]

Originally posted by sterling49


I heard that in the commentary.....he went harvesting did he not? I cannot remember if that was in the 1st or 2nd start

The 'incident' was after the second start. It was typical of the racing then; Peterson had seen JYS take a look up the inside the previous lap so he stayed out wide a tad longer and as JYS dived for the gap just shut the door. I laughed so much the tears ran down my leg!

[Mohican]

When Ronnie won for the first time, at the 1973 French GP at Ricard (ironically enough, after inheriting the lead following Fittipaldi and Scheckter taking each other off), the French racing magazine "Sport Auto" ran the headline:

"Peterson enfin !"

Says it all, really. Ronnie was running at the front all through 1973, but the early races did not come right - after France there was no holding him. No wonder that Fittipaldi found pastures new.

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Mohican
Ronnie was running at the front all through 1973, but the early races did not come right - after France there was no holding him. No wonder that Fittipaldi found pastures new.

Ronnie had a good year in '73, and IMHO was quicker than Emmo and drove the 72 with such verve and flair.Strange how media coverage has changed in 33 years though, I was in Spain at the time of the race and as I drove back home I tried to get the results of the GP in various french villages, maybe I just asked the wrong people, or couldn't perfect my french accent (ok, so my french is crap!) but I had to wait until I got MN to see the results.....no internet back then

[Jerome]

Again this discrepancy... Mario Andretti has said many times two things about Ronnie. 1. That there was no race that Andretti did not have to go full speed because Ronnie should not attack. Mario says he had to beat him everytime. And that he usually was faster. 2. Andretti claims that he set up and developped the Lotus of 1978. Which would be logical because Andretti drove his third consecutive season for Lotus that year (1976, 1977, 1978). So I think we can put it to rest: Andretti, and not Peterson developped the 79.

Greets

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Jerome.Inen
Again this discrepancy.. Andretti, and not Peterson developped the 79.

Greets

Maybe Jerome, but not the point I was making, I am aware that Mario developed the Ground Effect cars and that Ronnie played a very loyal and supportive role at Lotus during this period, however my point related to Ronnie during the '73 season in general and at the British GP at Silverstone of the same year in particular, when, correct me if I am mistaken, Mario was not participating and Ground Effects were still some 3 or 4 years in the future.

Greetings