GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => F1 History => Topic started by: geralddickens on May 10, 2018, 12:00:49 PM
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There is a superb article by Nigel Roebuck in this month's F1 Magazine about the career of Jo Siffert. As an 8 year old living in Kent my parents took me to the Victor Race at Brands Hatch which was a non-championship F1 race to celebrate Jackie Stewart's season. We had a large picnic (mum's picnics were always amazing), and set up our camp next to the spectator fence just before Hawthorn's Bend on Pilgrim's Drop.
Not long into the race there was a screech of tyres and a huge explosion. I remember Dad flinging himself on top of me to protect me from flying debris. When we got up out of the dust (it was a beautiful day), we could see a flaming wreck on the track in front of us. Every now and then the wind blew the black smoke away and we could see the figure of the driver slumped in the wreck. I seem to think that the race number was 5 (I may be wrong,) and we looked at our programme to see that Jo Siffert, BRM bore that number.
Next lap a few cars weaved around the crash, but most stopped and the drivers got out. There was no need for a red flag as the track was blocked.
And so we watched a man burn to death in front of us. But the most horrifying thing, and the what sticks with me more than anything, was the crowd of people rushing from elsewhere on the circuit to gawp at the scene. The tidal wave of people meant that we couldnt leave the track, which is all we wanted to do.
I had never heard of Jo Siffert before, but since that dayI have felt a bond to him, and loved reading about his many triumphs in Roebuck's article.
One thing that struck me was how often the scene of a driver's greatest triumph was so often the scene of tragedy too: Siffert won at Brands in '68 before being killed three years later in the same way as Francois Cevert won at Watkins Glen in 71 before losing his life there in 73, and Ronnie Peterson who enjoyed huge success at Monza (3 victories and a 2nd place) before crashing at the first chicane in 78 and receiving injuries that would lead to his death.
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Simply horrific!!!
Before my time, but it's really sad that the stories and images around the web focus on the "mystery face in the smoke". Not the way to pay tribute to any F1 driver of yesteryear.
All the best,
Cal :)
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We lost favorites on a regular basis back in the '60s and '70s. Siffert, Clark, Peterson, Rindt, Cevert, Donahue, Spence, Senna, Courage, the Rodriguez brothers all come to mind instantly.
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We lost favorites on a regular basis back in the '60s and '70s. Siffert, Clark, Peterson, Rindt, Cevert, Donahue, Spence, Senna, Courage, the Rodriguez brothers all come to mind instantly.
Senna was the 90's but you left out one of my favs...Bandini
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Indeed, an eye opener on the risks involved 4-5 decades ago. I recall many discussions on TV with Sir Jackie Stewart, outlining the level of danger surrounding F1 drivers of that era. There was actually less risk in going to war, than stepping into an F1 car. The number of serious injuries or deaths, well, you have to applaud the safety levels and continuing safety efforts in modern day F1 racing!!
All the best,
Cal :)
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Wolfgang von Tripps, Ricardo Rodríguez, so many others. Multiple deaths in a single season was not uncommon. Safety was not a consideration. Imagine blasting through a forest at Spa or the Nurburgring with nothing between you and the trees in a car without seat belts.
One of the extra features on the DVD of the movie Grand Prix is called Flat Out - F1 in the 1960's. It deals with this subject very well. All I could find on Youtube was the intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbzgqxWP-kk