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The good old/bad old days!
Formula 1 Formula 1 motor racing discusions (rec.autos.sport.f1)
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#1
 
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The good old/bad old days! -
11-06-2009
, 05:37 AM
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I've recently been reading the Tony Bailey/Paul Skilleter book about Mike Hawthorn. Here is Mike writing home to his family from South America just after the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix: "Nearly every night there has been a cocktail party, or dinner party. The people here are very generous. Believe it or not we actually did some motor racing. You have probably heard of the terrible crash one of our drivers, Farina, had when he spun off the road into the crowd. The crowd were entirely to blame as they were standing, literally, on the sides of the road, four deep, so the result of a car going into them at 100 or 110mph was bound to be terrible. During the whole race, 16 people were killed, 10 by Farina, 3 by an ambulance going to the crash, 1 by an Englishman 1 by a Frenchman when one of his back wheels came off, and the other was a policeman whom the crowd kicked to death when he tried to push them back. They are completely mad." Almost inconceivable to modern F1 fans. Safety has certainly come a long way. |
FS
#3
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I've recently been reading the Tony Bailey/Paul Skilleter book about Mike Hawthorn. Here is Mike writing home to his family from South America just after the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix: "Nearly every night there has been a cocktail party, or dinner party. The people here are very generous. Believe it or not we actually did some motor racing. You have probably heard of the terrible crash one of our drivers, Farina, had when he spun off the road into the crowd. The crowd were entirely to blame as they were standing, literally, on the sides of the road, four deep, so the result of a car going into them at 100 or 110mph was bound to be terrible. During the whole race, 16 people were killed, 10 by Farina, 3 by an ambulance going to the crash, 1 by an Englishman 1 by a Frenchman when one of his back wheels came off, and the other was a policeman whom the crowd kicked to death when he tried to push them back. They are completely mad." Almost inconceivable to modern F1 fans. Safety has certainly come a long way. |
Imbecilic.
--
Cheers,
Dave
Don't touch me unless you love me.
#4
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I've recently been reading the Tony Bailey/Paul Skilleter book about Mike Hawthorn. Here is Mike writing home to his family from South America just after the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix: "Nearly every night there has been a cocktail party, or dinner party. The people here are very generous. Believe it or not we actually did some motor racing. You have probably heard of the terrible crash one of our drivers, Farina, had when he spun off the road into the crowd. The crowd were entirely to blame as they were standing, literally, on the sides of the road, four deep, so the result of a car going into them at 100 or 110mph was bound to be terrible. During the whole race, 16 people were killed, 10 by Farina, 3 by an ambulance going to the crash, 1 by an Englishman 1 by a Frenchman when one of his back wheels came off, and the other was a policeman whom the crowd kicked to death when he tried to push them back. They are completely mad." Almost inconceivable to modern F1 fans. Safety has certainly come a long way. |
And my father saw so much well before 1953.
To be honest, I think that people were somewhat sensitised to wacky stuff like
that.
My dad was in WW2 and he witnessed a lot of ugly stuff.
Today? It's video games.
#5
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On Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:37:09 +1100, Sir Tim <bentley (AT) brooklands (DOT) co.uk wrote: I've recently been reading the Tony Bailey/Paul Skilleter book about Mike Hawthorn. Here is Mike writing home to his family from South America just after the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix: "Nearly every night there has been a cocktail party, or dinner party. The people here are very generous. Believe it or not we actually did some motor racing. You have probably heard of the terrible crash one of our drivers, Farina, had when he spun off the road into the crowd. The crowd were entirely to blame as they were standing, literally, on the sides of the road, four deep, so the result of a car going into them at 100 or 110mph was bound to be terrible. During the whole race, 16 people were killed, 10 by Farina, 3 by an ambulance going to the crash, 1 by an Englishman 1 by a Frenchman when one of his back wheels came off, and the other was a policeman whom the crowd kicked to death when he tried to push them back. They are completely mad." Almost inconceivable to modern F1 fans. Safety has certainly come a long way. Does this sort of track-crowding behaviour still go on in the rallys? |
pictures.
Incidentally, I'v discovered that the crowd problems described by
Hawthorn were largely the result of President Peron insisting that
everybody be allowed in free. Apparently a young boy jumped out in
front of Farina, who swerved to avoid him, lost control and ploughed
into the crowd.
--
Henry Birkin Bt.
#6
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Sir Tim wrote I've recently been reading the Tony Bailey/Paul Skilleter book about Mike Hawthorn. Here is Mike writing home to his family from South America just after the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix: "Nearly every night there has been a cocktail party, or dinner party. The people here are very generous. Believe it or not we actually did some motor racing. You have probably heard of the terrible crash one of our drivers, Farina, had when he spun off the road into the crowd. The crowd were entirely to blame as they were standing, literally, on the sides of the road, four deep, so the result of a car going into them at 100 or 110mph was bound to be terrible. During the whole race, 16 people were killed, 10 by Farina, 3 by an ambulance going to the crash, 1 by an Englishman 1 by a Frenchman when one of his back wheels came off, and the other was a policeman whom the crowd kicked to death when he tried to push them back. They are completely mad." Almost inconceivable to modern F1 fans. Safety has certainly come a long way. And to think that it was following WW2. And my father saw so much well before 1953. To be honest, I think that people were somewhat sensitised to wacky stuff like that. |
survived the war, often having served in the RAF.
If you had spent several years with the Lufftwaffe *trying* to kill
you I guess the dangers of hitting the straw bales around Goodwood or
Silverstone seemed pretty small beer.
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My dad was in WW2 and he witnessed a lot of ugly stuff. Yeah. In my experience those who saw the ugly stuff never wanted to |
Aldershot who went all macho.
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Today? It's video games. |
--
Henry Birkin Bt.
#7
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On Sat, 7 Nov 2009 03:00:41 -0500, Berf <be... (AT) live (DOT) ca> wrote: Sir Tim wrote I've recently been reading the Tony Bailey/Paul Skilleter book about Mike Hawthorn. Here is Mike writing home to his family from South America just after the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix: "Nearly every night there has been a cocktail party, or dinner party. The people here are very generous. Believe it or not we actually did some motor racing. You have probably heard of the terrible crash one of our drivers, Farina, had when he spun off the road into the crowd. The crowd were entirely to blame as they were standing, literally, on the sides of the road, four deep, so the result of a car going into them at 100 or 110mph was bound to be terrible. During the whole race, 16 people were killed, 10 by Farina, 3 by an ambulance going to the crash, 1 by an Englishman 1 by a Frenchman when one of his back wheels came off, and the other was a policeman whom the crowd kicked to death when he tried to push them back. They are completely mad." Almost inconceivable to modern F1 fans. Safety has certainly come a long way. And to think that it was following WW2. And my father saw so much well before 1953. To be honest, I think that people were somewhat sensitised to wacky stuff like that. Many racing drivers of the immediate post-war period were guys who had survived the war, often having served in the RAF. If you had spent several years with the Lufftwaffe *trying* to kill you I guess the dangers of hitting the straw bales *around Goodwood or Silverstone seemed pretty small beer. My dad was in WW2 and he witnessed a lot of ugly stuff. Yeah. In my experience those who saw the ugly stuff never wanted to talk about it. It was only the guys who had spent their war in Aldershot who went all macho. |
There's a story about Australian cricketer Keith Miller. He'd been a
Mosquito pilot during WW2. He once had some problems bringing his
plane back home - one of the bombs had not detached from the wing and
the landing gear failed. He had to bring it in on it's belly. He lived
to tell the tale.
Fast forward to the first Australia V England series after WW2. The
morning of he first match the Australian captain, Donald Bradman is
warning his team about the pressure they are going to face. Miller
tells him he's talking crap. "When you're out of ammunition and you've
got a Messerschmidt up your arse, THAT is pressure."
#8
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Yeah. In my experience those who saw the ugly stuff never wanted to talk about it. -- Henry Birkin Bt. |
My father went from Cambridge to India, he was then offered a
commission in the British commandos. He did horrible things and spent
the rest of his life trying to excuse himself. He only ever talked to
me, i think, and as I write this tears surface.
As a motorcycle enthusiast I meet many vets in the same place as my
father, i listen, some think are bullshitting but I've watched my
fathers face and I do not want my sons to go to war.
Like some vets, my father refused to wear a poppy. So do not judge,
listen.
build
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