Then and now...
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
I love those paddock shots. F1 teams in the mid 70s seem to have had about the same level of technical support as the average sprinter or hill climber has today.
Don't anyone tell me we live in tough economic times.
Found this siteDon't anyone tell me we live in tough economic times.
http://www.dogfightmag.com/forum/showthread.php?34...
In the 60's it was really rough
Edited by Great Dane on Tuesday 2nd October 11:57
Re above and below... these were the top outfits... imagine the lower teams
So much for the modern drivers' air conditioned units with physios etc...
Love the boy in the background having a look at the racing driver...
I couldn't resist this one... how does this compare to the RBR or Mclaren resting areas for their drivers???
So much for the modern drivers' air conditioned units with physios etc...
Love the boy in the background having a look at the racing driver...
I couldn't resist this one... how does this compare to the RBR or Mclaren resting areas for their drivers???
Edited by Great Dane on Tuesday 2nd October 12:17
Edited by Great Dane on Tuesday 2nd October 12:18
Eric Mc said:
Great pictures of a lost world.
I must have lots more in the loft,must start searching?This is "Old Merc" when he was a young "Mini" getting Graham Hill`s & Denny Hulme`s autograph.
I still have that 1975 program with lots more autograph`s.
Edited by Old Merc on Wednesday 3rd October 14:46
I know it's not F1, but my dad was a regular at Croft back in the 1960s and 70s, having grown up in Darlington. The Birthday Cup was a big deal back in the day - Lotus brought a trio of works 47s, resplendent in Gold Leaf livery. This is Jackie Oliver surveying his mount for the day.
While I agree that not everything has changed for the better and I remain devoted to and fascinated by learning motor racing history, there's no way I'd suggest we go back to those days. I was chatting to a lad a couple of months ago who has prepared cars for the Historic F1 Championship. He was describing how woefully poorly built and prepared they were. The reliability, accident and fatality rate was just appalling.
Having said that, in terms of access, the current nature of the sport has gone too far the wrong way. Even in the last 15 years, the professional championships have become so inaccessible in the paddock and it's a real shame.
While I agree that not everything has changed for the better and I remain devoted to and fascinated by learning motor racing history, there's no way I'd suggest we go back to those days. I was chatting to a lad a couple of months ago who has prepared cars for the Historic F1 Championship. He was describing how woefully poorly built and prepared they were. The reliability, accident and fatality rate was just appalling.
Having said that, in terms of access, the current nature of the sport has gone too far the wrong way. Even in the last 15 years, the professional championships have become so inaccessible in the paddock and it's a real shame.
Eric Mc said:
I would never argue that the reductions in fatalities is a change for the worse. But so many other aspects of motor racing have made it far less enjoyable.
I take your point, but having only been going to race meetings for 25 years I'm not in the best position to say. My grandfather saw racing at Donington before the war, my father saw F1 at Brands in the 1970s. I'm desperately envious, but I'll see amazing stuff they could never have dreamed of. I love going to hsitoric racing, I love going to modern racing, I love reading about the whole history of the sport. Truth is - it's all bloody brilliant. I actually started attending races in the mid 1970s. Living in Ireland and not having a car at the time, my motor sport was limited to annual trips to the Phoenix Park races in Dublin. But they were great fun - with a typical "European" style closed road atmosphere and some very fast machinery in use - notably the Formula Atlantics that raced there from about 1973 to 1980.
Although Formula 1 cars never raced there as a rule, I did see Derek Daly demonstrate his Ensign in 1978 and David Kennedy demonstrate a Theodore a couple of years later. They may not have been the best F1 cars of their era, but they were still pretty spectacular to watch - especially in the park setting.
I even saw Stirling Moss in a Chevron sports car race against Dickie Attwood in 1980.
Although Formula 1 cars never raced there as a rule, I did see Derek Daly demonstrate his Ensign in 1978 and David Kennedy demonstrate a Theodore a couple of years later. They may not have been the best F1 cars of their era, but they were still pretty spectacular to watch - especially in the park setting.
I even saw Stirling Moss in a Chevron sports car race against Dickie Attwood in 1980.
The last time I was in the F1 pits was Silverstone 1987;no pass or armband but we just wandered in early evening before the race to watch the mechanics working on their cars.I stood a yard or two from the Ferrari mechanics as they worked on the gearbox of one of the F1 cars. Nobody minded at all and it was a privilege which was not abused. Nobody screamed 'Look it's Prost '(or whoever )we just sort of clocked the driver who was walking past you in the paddock. I remember seeing Lauda,Pedro R, Hill, Surtees, Hunt , Chapman and many others just getting on with their day throughout my first ten years of watching GP racing.
Thanks to the obscene amounts of money which the sport ended up wallowing in everything changed quickly and very little, if anything got better.I realised how far we had sunk when I went to the Silverstone tyre test in 2005ish- I couldn't work out why there was a queue of excited people by the security check.Then I realised - there was an outburst of excited screaming and cheering , cameras flashing etc because Sato and Button had arrived. Having seen both many times in FF and F3 and chatted to Takuma I can't say I was starstruck, But I did wonder whether the brainless Effone fans actually had ever been to a race meeting which hadn't featured said Effone or knew anything about the lower formulae, let alone club racing.I think the rot set in with Mansell mania and plummeted further when everybody found their inner Paddy and became a flag waving Jordanista- apart from me- far too grumpy for that tribal stuff - and more interested in noticing how the Peugeot V10 sounded so different to the others.Yes of course I own a bloody anorak ...
Thanks to the obscene amounts of money which the sport ended up wallowing in everything changed quickly and very little, if anything got better.I realised how far we had sunk when I went to the Silverstone tyre test in 2005ish- I couldn't work out why there was a queue of excited people by the security check.Then I realised - there was an outburst of excited screaming and cheering , cameras flashing etc because Sato and Button had arrived. Having seen both many times in FF and F3 and chatted to Takuma I can't say I was starstruck, But I did wonder whether the brainless Effone fans actually had ever been to a race meeting which hadn't featured said Effone or knew anything about the lower formulae, let alone club racing.I think the rot set in with Mansell mania and plummeted further when everybody found their inner Paddy and became a flag waving Jordanista- apart from me- far too grumpy for that tribal stuff - and more interested in noticing how the Peugeot V10 sounded so different to the others.Yes of course I own a bloody anorak ...
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