Let’s whip around Modena with Moss and Collins for some test time.
Tag: Stirling Moss
The Porsche RS61 Spyder that Stirling Moss bought at auction in 2010 is coming back across the block this weekend at Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale. It’s not hard to understand why this example caught Sir Stirling’s eye, as it’s a magnificent example and sister to the RS60 he drove to a 3rd at the 1961 Targa Florio.
Stirling Moss has called this the “best Porsche they ever made”. I think we’d all do well to trust his judgement on it. Although he’s more well known for his exploits behind the wheel of Maseratis and Mercedes and Ferraris, Sir Stirling had a good deal of experience with Porsche 550s and 718s, and used a 904 as his road car.
More on this example when we covered Stirling Moss’s purchase back in 2010.
More information on this magnificent machine on Bonhams’ Lot Detail Page.
Update: Sold for £1,905,500 (US$ 2,935,255) inc. premium. Almost double what Stirling bought it for when she was last up for auction.
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Moss and Hamilton on the Parabolica
Stirling Moss and Lewis Hamilton demonstrate that there’s still a few serviceable stretches of Monza’s legendary Parabolica banking. I would have thought that Hamilton would have been struggling to keep that W196 that high up the banking at these speeds but he seems positively casual about it. Doesn’t Moss look great nestled into the seat of that marvelous 300 SLR W196R Streamliner?
Edit: Thanks for the correction, Gary. I should have known better than to trust the YouTube uploader
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World of Champions: Stirling Moss
I stumbled across a few scanned pages of this comic strip highlighting Stirling Moss’s career in the wake of his crash at Goodwood in 1962. I’ve had little luck tracking down more information about the series or where it first appeared. Other “World of Champions” strips may have been published in Tintin books or in “Champion” magazine, but I haven’t found anything definitive about this strip. Maybe it was published in both in varying locations or times.
I’d love to find a physical copy.
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Stirling Moss and Merging Passions
“Stirling, there’s still 12 minutes in the race!”
“Tea time is tea time.”
via Silodrome
British Pathé has uploaded their full newsreel archive to YouTube; which means they’re finally embeddable. I’ll be digging through the reels and posting some favorites here in the coming weeks.
One of the great losses of print advertising moving away from long copy and towards simple image and headline is that we may never again see another print ad series like this on from Martini & Rossi. This discussion of the driver’s seating position with Stirling Moss was “advertorial” content decades before the term was invented.
Martini & Rossi presents the Stirling Moss Competition Driving Lesson
Driving Position
The driving position is a very personal matter and one which you must work out for yourself. The main thing is to be comfortable and to have all the essential controls within easy reach.
The current practice on single-seater racing cars is to use a reclining seat with the steering wheel more or less upright and at arm’s length. It should be possible to adjust the position and rake of the seat to suit the majority of drivers.
The seat should give lateral support right up shoulder level, and for this reason it should, if possible, be made—or at least padded—to fit an individual driver. It should also be very rigidly mounted, to prevent any possibility of movement when cornering, accelerating, or braking.
In addition to being comfortable it is also necessary, on a single-seater, to be able to look over the top of the windscreen without being buffeted by the wind at high speeds. To attain the ideal in this respect it may be necessary to build different windscreens for different drivers.
There is much to be said in favor of the straight arm driving position. It allows the steering wheel to be turned the maximum amount without the arms becoming crossed up. It also permits rapid correction. Racing car steering is so light these days that the leverage of bent elbows is no longer necessary. And I find the straight arm position the most relaxing.
Martini & Rossi Suggests…
an enjoyable way to relax after the checkered flag goes down—M&R Vermouth on the rocks, a drink that is winning favor among sportsmen everywhere. Sweet or extra dry, Martini & Rossi Vermouth is great straight. It’s America’s favorite.
P.S.: Vote for your favorite driver… to receive the Martini & Rossi Award for Motorsportsman of the Year. Official ballot on page 14.
Martini & Rossi
Renfield Importers, LTD., N.Y.
Castro had been sworn in as Prime Minister a year before but the transition to totalitarian regime was slow enough that there was still time for one last Cuban GP. A brief series of races for various classes was held between February 21 and 28, 1960. In a not-too-subtle metaphor for the nation as a whole, the race moved from the bustling and vibrant esplenade Malecón along Havana’s coast, to a closed runway of Columbia Military airport. What a marked transition that must have been for the diehard racing fans that stuck with it through the political transition.
Stirling Moss’ Birdcage Maserati took the win in the featured race. In this image of the Formula Junior event, Stanguellinis ruled the day; taking the first 9 positions. Which sounds incredibly impressive until you realize that they made up 73% of the field.
Via the Nostalgia Forum.
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Why swelter under the hot summer sun when you can have a cool breeze soothing you on a Sunday drive? Carlo Felice Trossi in his Alfa at the 1932 Nice GP and Moss in his Rob Walker Lotus 18 at 1961’s Monaco GP demonstrate.