I've got to be picky and pedantic mate -- its Clark -no e. I even remember Surtees making the transition.
I started watching F1 in the mid 60's. I soon became a volunteer track official in F&C, that's flag & communication, working many Grand Prix races in both the USA and Canada. I also worked 100's of races thru SCCA, as well as club events in NY state, Pennsylvania, as well as locations in Canada. I also became involved in road construction for 25+ years, of which, TMP, that's Traffic Maintance and Protection which also , among other responsibilities included highway flagging. Today, highway flagging is a death defying act..
I remember him well but most particularly from 'Tomorrow's World'. I seem to have vague memories of him being a Spitfire pilot during the War? (- not that I remember the war OK?! )
I started watching F1 around late 1985/early 1986. Can;t remem,ber exactly when. I always liked cars, so when I saw these odd looking cars going round at very high speed after each other, I took an interest. Come on, I was 6 at the time!
Cosicave - found in Times Obit 2006 .... During the war he flew countless sorties as a Spitfire pilot throughout the North African campaign, over the beleaguered island of Malta, and during the Sicilian and Italian campaigns. On September 11, 1943, while flying with a forward support squadron operating from Sicily to cover the Allied landings at Salerno, he was shot down by “friendly” groundfire from American forces. He had only seconds to choose a site for his crash landing, and opted to try to put down in an orchard. As he made his approach at 120mph he was advised forcefully over the radio by a Canadian pilot flying near by to jettison the 90-gallon reserve tank that was slung underneath his aeroplane. Without that shouted warning he would certainly have been cremated on impact, and the world would have been robbed of those well-modulated tones. Baxter was subsequently mentioned in dispatches. I wonder where the tank landed? Quite a flame thrower ! Reading this made me think he wouldn't have voted for the no refuelling decision (currently the cars carry approx 160 Kg). What a man !!!!
I got into F1 through Senna (although sadly after his death), I did not even know who he was but I saw a book about him and just bought and read it for some reason and thus got into F1.
That's actually a very interesting way to get into F1, I think, rather than 'my dad made me watch it' or 'I was just flicking [it] one day'. Kind of has a purpose.
What an interesting story Bergkamp. Thanks. And there can be little doubt those Canadian words were his saviour…
Thanks guys some very interesting stories here, if anyones interested theres a load more here from bbc606 http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A83776297
Hello, Just joined from 606, a little about me. The first year of F1 I remember is 1988, but I watched before this as I was a Ferrari fan even then. I got my love of F1 from my father, F1 was always on the TV in our house. I would call myself a Formula 1 fan as well as a Ferrari fan. I always appreciated the other teams, and great drivers. I remember Schmacher coming up and thinking he was a great driver, really the first driver I followed. When he went to Ferrari I was extremely happy. Which led to my first visit to a circuit to watch Schmacher in a Ferrari at the 1996 British GP, in fact it was a 18th birthday present from my parents. Even if Schmacher’s race didn’t last long my memory of the event will. I’m old enough to realise that dominance comes and goes in F1, and have seen rises and fall in fortunes of many teams. I think we are lucky that the current generation of F1 is fairly close, and can change year to year.
Hi all. Some of my earliest memories are of being taken by my parents to Brands Hatch when it was either testing or practice for a Grand Prix. I remember seeing a Tyrell 6 wheeler, and being scared by the noise of one particular car that seemed louder than the rest. The noise and the smell and the size of the tyres got me then, and I've always watched every GP I could.
Hello, Basil. Great to see you here. One of my favourite 606 posters. Can you believe that I've only just sussed out your nickname? There's nothing like terrorising a small child to leave an indelible impression on him.
Welcome to the forum Basil I first noticed F1 during Mansell Mania, I was about six and everything with a Red 5 was awsome!! EDIT: Just noticed Ive replied my story already here on page 1
Nice to be here, genjiolene and El Bando El Bando, I just remembered one Friday practice at Brands when Mansell was driving a Williams. It must have been around 86 or something. I watched from the hill on Cooper straight as Mansell performed a blinding 180 from a standstill. That really impressed me at the time (even though they can all do it quite easily I suppose), and from then on I thought Mansell was the business. I still think he's slightly under-rated, seeing has he was doing his stuff in an era when there were giants about.
Welcome to the forum Basil I think I've already given my story, maybe should have checked before writing this. I'm a fan from the early-mid 90's myself so I missed the Senna, Prost, Mansell et al era
From what Ive read and watched online, It seems the Lotus, williams and Ferrari of the 80's he was driving were not too reliable which stopped him from picking up a few titles before hand. He should be at least a double WDC.
