Murray Walker OBE RIP

[Zetec-S]

Digga said:

Murray did love a good British driver, but he was barely less enthusiastic about drivers of any nationality. He loved the sport and pretty much the entire grid. He promoted them and their sport immeasureably.

Completely agree. I definitely remember he had a soft spot for Mansell and Hill (the era I remember most fondly), but he was rarely critical or disparaging about anyone and respected them all.

He was also pretty impartial when it came to passing judgment, and would leave that to his co-commentator. IIRC even after the infamous 1994 Australian GP he still gave Schumacher the benefit of the doubt that it was an accident.

[Digga]

Zetec-S said:

Digga said:

Murray did love a good British driver, but he was barely less enthusiastic about drivers of any nationality. He loved the sport and pretty much the entire grid. He promoted them and their sport immeasureably.

Completely agree. I definitely remember he had a soft spot for Mansell and Hill (the era I remember most fondly), but he was rarely critical or disparaging about anyone and respected them all.

He was also pretty impartial when it came to passing judgment, and would leave that to his co-commentator. IIRC even after the infamous 1994 Australian GP he still gave Schumacher the benefit of the doubt that it was an accident.

Yes, in regard to Michael Schumacher, I think it fair to say there was a mutual respect and fondness.

In a similar way, he'd also be hugely complimentary about the skills of a great number of other non-British drivers, not least Prost, Senna and Lauda. There was no nationalism to his enthusiasm, whatsoever.

[paulguitar]

Digga said:

Yes, in regard to Michael Schumacher, I think it fair to say there was a mutual respect and fondness.

In a similar way, he'd also be hugely complimentary about the skills of a great number of other non-British drivers, not least Prost, Senna and Lauda. There was no nationalism to his enthusiasm, whatsoever.

Yep, true. He was a great example to follow actually, bearing in mind he had literally fought the Germans in WW2 as a tank commander, and subsequently, he was so clearly devoid of any issues with any nationality in his commentary career.

[Digga]

paulguitar said:

Digga said:

Yes, in regard to Michael Schumacher, I think it fair to say there was a mutual respect and fondness.

In a similar way, he'd also be hugely complimentary about the skills of a great number of other non-British drivers, not least Prost, Senna and Lauda. There was no nationalism to his enthusiasm, whatsoever.

Yep, true. He was a great example to follow actually, bearing in mind he had literally fought the Germans in WW2 as a tank commander, and subsequently, he was so clearly devoid of any issues with any nationality in his commentary career.

Made the commentary all the better IMHO.

The only place I’ve seen such unbiased love of the sport as a whole and celebration of the competitor, irrespective of nationality, is downhill mountain bike racing. Commentators and crowd alike love the performance and the spectacle of the sport.

[bad company]

I just watched the documentary / obituary on tv. Great program, well worth watching.