40 years ago today, one of the greatest drivers to ever compete in F1
left far too soon.
Nigel Roebuck:
"Gilles was the one bloke who made you go and look for a corner in a practice session, because you knew that where everybody else would go through it as if on rails, Gilles would be worth watching. That day in
the rain at Watkins Glen was almost beyond belief. It truly was.
"You would think he had 300 horsepower more than anybody else. It just didn't seem possible. The speed he was travelling at didn't bear any relation to anybody else. He was 11 seconds faster. Jody was next
fastest and couldn't believe it, saying he had scared himself rigid! I remember [Jacques] Laffite in the pits just giggling when Gilles went
past and saying, 'Why do we bother? He's different from the rest of us.
On a separate level'."
<http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/6630.html>
Yes, you read that correctly:
He was eleven seconds faster than the next fastest driver, who was his teammate, Jody Scheckter.
ELEVEN SECONDS
Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:
40 years ago today, one of the greatest drivers to ever compete in F1
left far too soon.
Nigel Roebuck:
"Gilles was the one bloke who made you go and look for a corner in a
practice session, because you knew that where everybody else would go
through it as if on rails, Gilles would be worth watching. That day in
the rain at Watkins Glen was almost beyond belief. It truly was.
"You would think he had 300 horsepower more than anybody else. It just
didn't seem possible. The speed he was travelling at didn't bear any
relation to anybody else. He was 11 seconds faster. Jody was next
fastest and couldn't believe it, saying he had scared himself rigid! I
remember [Jacques] Laffite in the pits just giggling when Gilles went
past and saying, 'Why do we bother? He's different from the rest of us.
On a separate level'."
<http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/6630.html>
Yes, you read that correctly:
He was eleven seconds faster than the next fastest driver, who was his
teammate, Jody Scheckter.
ELEVEN SECONDS
Yes, Gilles had fantastic car control, especially in the wet.
Another great wet weather driver was Pedro Rodriguez. I was at the BOAC
1000 kilometers at Brands Hatch in 1970 - it was streaming with rain and Rodriguez won by 5 laps. Chris Amon remarked, rCLthey forgot to tell Pedro itrCOs rainingrCY :-)
The very first race in my FF, I was already faster in the rain than at
least one regular at the circuit who was also a racing instructor. It
was right then that I realized I just might be able to do this.
If you haven't seen it already (and it, watch the last 4 laps of the
1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogTx_7a9A90>
Perhaps the best wheel-to-wheel duel between two drivers I have ever
seen. The last lap is epic.
On 10/05/2022 4:21 am, Alan wrote:
If you haven't seen it already (and it, watch the last 4 laps of the
1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogTx_7a9A90>
Perhaps the best wheel-to-wheel duel between two drivers I have ever
seen. The last lap is epic.
Scary how little bodywork there was in front of those drivers !
geoff
There's a racer who's recently returned to my class after suffering a
major cardiac problem in his 1984 Van Diemen RF84...
...and he is way further forward than I am in my RF98 model.
Scary how little bodywork there was in front of those drivers !
Yes, Gilles had fantastic car control, especially in the wet.--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
Stuffy old Motor Sport magazine chose Gilles as the only possible cover to express 100 years of motor sport.
--
Sir Tim
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