The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
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600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 13 years to get that many views.
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I’ve just got these two autographs from Sir Jackie Stewart for a friend. So I thought I’d add them here before I pass them on to her. You can read my piece about Sir Jackie on my first post on this site.
I’ll be honest straight away, I didn’t get this autograph myself, my Father did. Back in the sixties my Dad worked in the building trade and was doing some work at entrance to the pits at Silverstone. Graham was there that day testing a Formula One car, but being unable to remember the exact year I’m not sure if it was a BRM or Lotus. Safety concerns for people back then weren’t the same as they are today, so Dad carried on working at the same time as Graham was on the circuit. Graham thought he’d take advantage of this, so whenever he came in to the pits, he pointed the car in my Dads direction, and drove as close as he could to move him out of the way! Later that day Dad went for a chat with him and to get his autograph, Graham then got a knife, cut off two pieces from one of the cars tyres and gave them to Dad as a souvenir. I still have the pieces of tyre and have included them along with the autograph.
Graham started is racing career quite late by today’s standards, he didn’t take his driving test until the age of 24, but five years later he was taking part in his first Grand Prix, at Monaco driving for Lotus. Before taking up racing Graham took park in rowing, it seems he liked to sit down when taking part in sport. He was a member of the London Rowing club and always wore their colours on his crash helmet during his racing career. After two unsuccessful years at Lotus he moved to BRM in 1960, and finally in 1962 after four years of Grand Prix racing he won his first Grand Prix, as well as going on to win the world championship that year. In 1967 he moved back to Lotus and claimed his second world championship the following year. At the American Grand Prix in 1969 he had an horrendous crash, injuring both his legs. During his recovery in hospital he spent his time writing is autobiography, Life At The Limit, one of the best racing books I’ve ever read.The following year he returned to racing driving for Rob Walker, but he never had the same speed as he did before the accident. After moving to Brabham, he had last victory in a Formula One car at the Daily Express meeting at Silverstone in 1971, he then gave the longest victory speech I’ve ever heard! In 1973 he started his own team, and continued to drive as well as being an entrant. But finally after failing to qualify at Monaco in 1975, a race he had won five times in the past, he decided to retire from racing. As well as taking part in 176 Grand Prix’s, Graham also took part in many other events, and is still the the only driver to have won the world championship, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 hours races.
On the flight home on the 29th of November 1975, following a test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, Graham along with five members of his team died when the plane he was flying crashed in freezing fog at Arkley golf course North London.
I did have a couple of chances to get Graham’s autograph myself, which I now regret not taking, as I would have loved to have spoken to the great man myself.
The Mighty Arms Of Atlas
One weekday afternoon during the summer holidays of 1972, my Father and I decided we would go to Silverstone, just to see if anybody was there testing a car. Back then you could just drive in to the circuit and nobody was bothered about you being there, that was unless Silverstone Syd was on the prowl of course! We parked in the paddock and made our way on to the pits roof top viewing area, and from there we could see Jody Scheckter having his first ever drive in a Formula One car. Later that year Jody made his Formula One race debut driving for Mclaren in the American Grand Prix.
I first saw Jody race in the 1973 British Grand Prix, where he spun his car coming out of Woodcote corner at the end of the first lap taking out nearly half the field. I think he upset a quite a few drivers and teams that day. The following year he moved to Tyrrell to replace the just retired Sir Jackie Stewart, and went on to get his first Grand Prix win that year in Sweden. After two more years at Tyrrell he moved on to the newly formed Walter Wolf Racing, where Jody gave the team a victory in its maiden race. In 1979 Jody moved to Ferrari, winning three races that year on his way to becoming the world drivers champion. Jody raced for just one more year in Formula One and retired at the end of the 1980 season.
I’ve been lucky enough to get Jody’s autograph twice, the first at the British Grand Prix in 1977, and then at the Coy’s festival at Silverstone in 1992, on one of the rare occasions that my daughter came to Silverstone with me. We were walking through the paddock when they announced over the PA that Jody would be signing autographs soon, so we made our way to the autograph booth and waited for him. When he arrived I said to him that my daughter had been named after him, and could I take a photo of the two of you together. Of course he replied. So I lifted her in to the booth, got a lovely photo of them, then he signed our programme. To Jodie lots of love Jody Scheckter, and that’s the autograph I show here.
The Mighty Arms Of Atlas
Vanina is the daughter of Jacky Ickx my motor racing hero, so it’s only natural that I’ve followed her racing career too. Having seen her race LMP1 sportscars, I’ve wondered how such a petite girl can control one of those mighty beasts, but it doesn’t seems to be a problem for her.
Following in her fathers footsteps she has raced at the Le Mans 24 hours seven times, with seventh being her best placed finish driving a Lola Aston Martin in 2011. Vanina has also raced in the Ferrari challenge, Belgian procar, FIA GT1 as well as driving for Audi in the DTM. She has even taken part in the Dakar rally with her father Jacky.
I remember at Silverstone a couple of years ago I saw her in the paddock and said to her, can you please sign this photograph that I took last year. She looked at the photo and replied, it was two years ago, and I looked so young then! For a short while I thought she had remembered me, but later I realised that she she had not raced at Silverstone the previous year, so she’s right it must have been two. Oh well.
The Mighty Arms of Atlas
Most of us have our sporting heroes, and Jacky is mine. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen him race many times both in Formula One and in sportscars.
I recently tweeted Derek Bell and said it would be nice to see Jacky tweeting. He replied saying, Jacky is to laid back!. A comment that describes Jacky perfectly.
Although he was a winner of eight Grand Prix’s, he is probably remembered more for his success in sportscar racing. Twice a world champion and six time Le Mans winner. His first Le Mans win came in 1969. That was the last year of the traditional Le Mans start, where the drivers lined up, ran across the track, got in to their cars, many without putting there seat belts on, and started to race. Jacky considered this unsafe, so as a protest he did not run across the track to his car, he walked! Winning the race with Jackie Oliver beating the Porsche of Herrmann/Larrouse by about 120 metres after 24 hours of racing. Which I believe is still the closest non staged finish in the history of the race. In 1977 his epic drive through he field in a Porsche 936 to win again, is considered by many to be his greatest ever race.
Jacky also took part in many other races. A one off visit to Australia in 1977 to race in the Bathurst 1000. Sharing a Ford with Allan Moffit, they won of course. Can-Am in North America, winning the championship in 1979. He has even taken part in the Paris-Daker rally, winning in 1983.
The term rainmeister, is often over used, but Jacky truly was. So I’ll finish with this. At Le Mans this year when ex driver and entrant Alain de Cadenet was asked about a memory of the race he replied. Very strange one. Jacky Ickx in a Porsche 936, on slicks in the pouring rain, going past me in my car on deep river wet tyres. How the heck did he do that, it’s impossible.
The Mighty Arms Of Atlas
I first saw Sir Jackie race in the 1969 British Grand Prix having his epic duel with Jochen Rindt. With Sir Jackie coming out as the winner after Rindt had problems towards the end of the race.
His Formula one career started in 1965 going through to 1973. Back then there were far fewer Grand Prix’s each season, meaning he only took part in 99 Formula one world championship events. I think that his tally of 27 Grand Prix wins speaks for itself. winning the World drivers championship in 1969, 71 and 73.
His F1 career started with B.R.M. although he is best known for driving for Ken Tyrrell, in Matra, March and later Tyrrell’s own F1 cars. Unlike today, F1 drivers also took part in many other types of races during their Grand Prix careers. So Sir Jackie still took part in Touring car, Can-Am and Formula Two races.
Later in life Sir Jackie with son Paul formed the Stewart Grand Prix team. In 1997, the team took part in its first Grand Prix. The team won one race in its short life that ended in 1999, with the sale of the team to Ford. Later it became Jaguar and is now under the ownership of Red Bull and seems to be going from strength to strength.
Not only was Sir Jackie one of the best of his generation, he was one of the all time greats.
The Mighty Arms Of Atlas.
On this site over the next few weeks I plan to post some of my motor racing autographs and a short bio about the drivers.
The Mighty Arms Of Atlas 