New at Old Irish Racing

I don't think I would call it sacrilege Martin, more of a good example of why I think its impossible to name the "best driver ever".  There are too many factors involved and we all have our favorites for a variety of reasons.  My son (who is 30) and I had this discussion while watching a recent F1 race.  He asked me who was my favorite driver.  I asked, in F1?, currently?, by era?, best sports car and prototype driver?  most skilled?, most admired?  Even though I told him my answer to the question could vary depending on how it was asked, he pressed wanting to know who I thought was the best of all time.  I told him that I could only answer who I picked based on who had raced in my lifetime and even that was hard because while I may have been alive in the 1950's, my awareness of the drivers from that era came later in life. 

I told him it wasn't possible for me to compare pre-WWII drivers with those after the war because not only many of them lost prime years from racing because of war, but there is also a vacuum even today in race accounts and the level of history that one can find on post-war drivers.  Not only did many lose prime years to the war, many did not make it to retirement from racing (same as 1950's and 60's.) So, I answered that Stirling Moss was my favorite driver of all time and here is why.

Part of it is an emotional attachment.  Stirling's face graced the box of a HO race set I got for Christmas in 1964.  At that time I really did not know who he was and he had not been racing for over two years by then. Not really knowing who he was, the short bio that came with the set and a brief history lesson from my father helped fill in some of the blanks.  That connection with the Christmas gift I cherished so much established a fondness for him that grew over time as I came to appreciate his talent and skill across a multitude of racing disciplines giving me the belief that of anyone, he was the best all round.

If you use F1 as your yardstick, then yes he never did win the Championship, and Fangio holds the edge on number of overall wins and podiums as well.  But you have to remember that Moss did not start in F1 at the same time and their F1 careers only overlapped three full seasons. Who knows what the comparison might have been had Moss started earlier, or Fangio later?  Moss didn't drive for Ferrari, but he did drive for Maserati, Mercedes and Vanwall in F1.  Moss lost the Championship in 1956 by only three points to Fangio and had Collins not unselfishly given up his car to Fangio (Musso had already refused) Moss would have been Champion.  Moss was 2nd in the F1 points from 1955-58 and 3rd the following three seasons.  In 1958 he lost the Championship to Hawthorn by 1 point, despite having more wins (4 to Hawthorn's 1) that season (remember Moss also defended Hawthorn against receiving a penalty that would have cost him the Championship.) His usually reliable (and dominant Vanwall) letting him down on two occasions cost him the Championship.  I think when compared to his contemporaries he was on any given day the best in F1, just not lucky or fortunate enough to have won a title.

I think another leg of the stool that has to be compared is how he did in sportscar and prototype racing (as well as rallying.)  You have to remember that at the time, this was a much bigger deal than F1 in how F1 stacked up in motorsport.  Not at the top like it is considered today.  He likely would have won at Le Mans in 1955 if Mercedes had not withdrawn, but did finish second twice.  His commanding wins at The Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, Tourist Trophy, Sebring, Reims and other major races showed his greatness behind the wheel.  That greatness is backed up by the fact that he won over 40% of the 529 races he entered over a 14 year career, driving 84 different makes of cars in multiple classes.  Those cars included some of the best in their day which included Jaguar, Maserati, Aston Martin, Mercedes Benz, even Ferrari.

While staunchly loyal to his country, he preferred to dive British cars, but does say the biggest regret of his life was not driving a works Ferrari.  Enzo apparently had the same regret, but stuck a fork in it when Moss was 20 and Enzo offered him a drive, only to take it away after Moss had travelled to Modena.  While they patched things up 11 years later, and Moss was to drive a works Ferrari 156 F1 car in 1962 (in Rob Walker colors), along with a 250 GTO; Enzo's factory purge meant the Ferrari 156 wasn't ready when Moss had his career ending shunt at Goodwood in the fragile Lotus.  Along with pondering the possibilities of what that union might have produced, what might his career beyond 1962 have been?  It was obvious he was still on top of his game, being the only one to beat the works F1 Ferraris (twice) in 1961 in lesser machinery, as well as his dominance in the race described above against some of the sports best talent.

Finally, I admire the man himself.  Many see him as an arrogant, narcissisitic, playboy and dismiss him accordingly.  While I know he was often direct, no nonsense, didn't often hold back opinions (qualities I have); he was also highly intelligent, organized and driven.  At the same time he liked to have fun when he wasn't concentrated on work and if you read his books or articles written, interviews, etc., a great dry sense of humor.  I recently reread the account by Denis Jenkison of their drive on the 1955 Mille Miglia.  Jenks describes in great detail the concentration, reactions, conditioning and all other factors that went into driving a 1,000 miles in just over 10 hours almost non-stop, setting time and average speed records in the process.  Jenks says that when one or both of them made an error., he didn't get mad, upset, or lose his concentration.  He just stuck out his tongue, made a funny face and pressed on.  A true mark of a champion for me.  To me, he was and probably always will be the best all-round driver in my life time.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!