R.I.P Stirling Moss.

[Chippy_Tea]

Sir Stirling Moss: Motor racing legend dies aged 90 after long illness

British motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss has died at the age of 90 following a long illness.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, even though he did not win the World Championship.

Moss retired from public life in January 2018 because of ongoing health problems.

"It was one lap too many, he just closed his eyes," said his wife Lady Moss.

• Obituary: 'Sir Stirling Moss - the man who personified motorsport'

Moss previously spent 134 days in hospital after suffering a chest infection while on holiday in Singapore in December 2016.

He won 16 of the 66 F1 races he competed in from 1951 to 1961.

He became the first British driver to win a home grand prix in 1955 at Aintree.

Moss famously lost out on the F1 title in 1958 to compatriot Mike Hawthorn after vouching for his rival and preventing him being disqualified when he was accused of reversing on track in the late-season Portuguese Grand Prix.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52261216

 

[johncrobinson]

I knew Mrs Mc donald-hobley (wife of the radio presentor) in the 1980s on a visit to london she invited mum and me to dinner with her good friend sterling moss
A true gentileman RIP

 

[johncrobinson]

Good times down the Kings rd.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I was listening to Jackie Stewart earlier and he said Sterling preferred to drive for the privateers he also mentioned the race where he had asked Fangio if he had held back to let him win.

He did score notable victories against his great rival, however. He beat him to become the first Briton to win the British Grand Prix, at Aintree in 1955, and although Moss said he believed his teammate had let him win, Fangio always insisted this had not been the case.

Moss recalled later: “When I asked him, after the race, if he’d held back, he said: ‘No, you were quite simply the better driver today.’”

It was Moss’s preference for privateer teams over manufacturers, alongside a determination to drive for British teams whenever he could, that contributed to missing out on the F1 title. After switching to Maserati after Mercedes, he drove for Vanwall and British Racing Motors before returning to Rob Walker’s team for two of his most striking victories – at Monaco and the Nürburgring in 1961. Facing down the new V6 “sharknose” Ferrari 156, his Lotus was underpowered, but his skill on the twists and turns of Monaco made up for the deficit and he won by 3.6sec, while at the Nordschleife, his decision to take wet tyres before the race proved decisive.