Beeb Documentary - Grand Prix - The Killer Years

[John K]

Chaps,

 

I saw this the first time round and caught it again last night on BBC4...

 

It is a very sobering and moving programme going through the dark period of the 60's and 70's where deaths were expected in a season.

 

Despite the above, it is an extremely good watch for any 'older than 40' petrol head.

 

Thought I would mention it as a few of us have been talking about how F1 is no longer what we remembered etc... And I am one of them doing the moaning...

 

So whilst it is extremely sanitised and corporate at the mo (and unlikely to change) lets remember where it came from.

 

Cheers

[peterg]

I have a book at home called Grand Prix Requiem which is interesting without being ghoulish  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grand-Prix-Requiem-Celebration-Ultimate/dp/1852603860

 

"An affectionate thanksgiving for 77 Grand Prix drivers who, during the period 1897 to 1986, paid the ultimate price for speed, with their lives. The book examines the drivers' attitudes to life, risk and death, as well as describing their lives and times. The book includes a wide section of drivers, from Emile Lavassor to Alberto and Antonio Ascari, Jim Clark to Giles Villeneuve, Graham Hill to Mike Hailwood."

[dombanks]

i saw a bit of that, it was the clip of the guy trying to get the other driver out of the car that was upside down on fire at the newly done beach circuit in Belgium? 

 

the marshals were near to useless and the poor guy just kept trying amongst the flames till he gave up despair. then tried t stop the cars.... very sobering indeed.

[alexander72]

I saw that programme as well and its a timely reminder of the risks faced by combining speed and extremes of performance.  Lest we forget as well the recent spate of accidents in Brighton Speed Trials and Tarmac Rallying - whatever we do at speed is increasing the risk. 

 

Having been a pro tree climber (the second most hazardous trade to deep sea oil rig divers) for number of years the margins between a near miss and a next of kin call are seconds.

 

I really enjoyed the F1 programme last night despite its sometimes macabre, and sobering, images of tragedy.

 

James 

[peet]

More sobering is the fact our cars technology is not too far away structure wise to those cars.

[alexander72]

true Peet - which is why I always wear my lucky rugby socks when i drive mine fast…and a helmet.

[pistonbroke]

Just read my way through this book by Cedrick Seltzer , one of Jim Clark's ex mechanics . fascinating read , loads of stories about the trials and tribulations of 1960's F1  

if you were in any doubts about the way it used to be then and today's " sport"  read this .

 

These guys worked there nuts off in the background of F1 literally at grass roots level , for very small reward often out in the open , in all weathers , none of the glamour and hospitality units of today . 

 

These were the unsung hero's of motor sport , what comes over most is the sense of humour that got them through the rough times and the amazing camaraderie between both the drivers , mechanics and there teams which we don't see today 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/second-Winning-World-Champioship-Clark/dp/B00FBC7W1C

[M444TTB]

There's another good F1 book some of you may already own call The Lost Generation. Looks at three British drivers that could have grown to be stars had they not lost their lives (not all on track).

[peet]

It's probably this lack of camaraderie, risk taking, innovation and possibly humaness which is why I find F1 s dull circus now.

Cars should be cutting edge 300mph dangerous machines when you earn £1m a race. Safety tech should be advanced as much as power, new innovative different power plants should be devoloping

By making F1 so political and PC they seemed to have created a very safe but souless sport.

But I drive a Westfield what would I know about innovation still stuck in the 60's

[tisme]

I saw the programme the first time around - excellent and as you say "sobering" (many of the drivers now gone were my idols - Jim Clark, Ronnie Peterson especially).

 

I can still see in my minds eye the crash of Lorenzo Bandini at Monaco in 1967 - I watched it live in black and white and have had gone out of my way ever since to take fuel and motor racing very, very seriously.

 

Wouldn't want to go back to those days............

[pistonbroke]

There's another good F1 book some of you may already own call The Lost Generation. Looks at three British drivers that could have grown to be stars had they not lost their lives (not all on track).

 

Roger Williamson  Tony Brise  & Tom Pryce  were all stars , they all got into F1 on merit and all future WC contenders whose careers were tragically cut short doing something they loved passionately .

 

Brise died in a rather stupid and avoidable air crash along with Graham Hill who tried to land his private plane on a golf links near his home in thick fog !   

 

A fourth driver in the same book David Purley made it into the guinness book of records for the worlds fastest decelerating human  when his LEC  CPR1 crashed into a sleeper fence at Silverstone during practise for the British GP , effectively ending his career .

[peet]

David Purley was the driver trying to save the driver in Belgium.

Racing drivers were a different braver breed until Sennas death I feel. Sad that sometimes we only progress by trial and error at the ultimate cost. These guys pushed frontiers unlike their modern day inheritors.

[pistonbroke]

David Purley was the driver trying to save the driver in Belgium.

Racing drivers were a different braver breed until Sennas death I feel. Sad that sometimes we only progress by trial and error at the ultimate cost. These guys pushed frontiers unlike their modern day inheritors.

That was at Zandvoort Dutch GP  and the driver he tried to save was Roger Williamson