I think the t-3 was one of the prettier F-1 cars of that era, but could not really keep up with Lotus at that time... or Renault. the t-4 was THE car... for Gilles.
Colin Chapman said that Mario was the only other person that he had worked with that was as close to Jim Clark. however its true that they did not share the same relationship as Jimmy and Colin ... it was a differnet time in the 60's to the late 70's when Racing was well on its way to being way more busienss like. Jochen Rindt was a great driver - but he and Champman never really got on. after the Spanish GP when Chapman insisted that he drive the car with the bi plane high wings adn they collapsed - he was about over working with Lotus. at Monza he did not want to go out with the wing off, Chapman told him it was the only thing to do to increase speed ( eliminate drag ) ... and that is where Rindt got killed. so after that Chapman was only ever alowed back in Italy under a diplomatic pass port for 12 hours at a time - that went on until 1978... and then Petersons death at Monza ... i dont think He ever returned to italy for the race again after that.
Guess all of our memories are becoming "blurred"! Thanks for the correction. OK. I'll go with Mario..... They certainly worked well together in '78. But, gotta be honest, vague bells are still ringing that he's not who I'm thinking of - Mario was something of an engineer in the Mark Donahue mold, which Colin respected immensely of course. He "loved" Ronnie, but I'm almost certain it wasn't him either - Ronnie could drive any ol' POS quickly - As noted, Fred reminds me of him that way. Rindt? As Tom noted, not a "smooth" relationship there. Gonna have to search the archives and see if anyone jumps out. Maybe it was indeed Mario. Cheers, Ian
It the stories are to be believed, seems many of them were into the ol' "Colombian nosebag" back in the day...... Not saying it's right, just somewhat common knowledge. Cheers, Ian
So, why don't we have a Colombian GP?........ Seems every other two-bit country can get the Pygmy's attention, Colombia seems like a natural to me! Cheers, Ian
Yes - blow, toot, nose candy, pony... call it what you like James partook of it all... its one of the reasons he had such a bad heart at such a young age. he was a sad guy when you really look at it. wreckless, and never really able to "settle down" - perhaps in the end he was more calm, but he always had issues - money, drugs, booze, Relationships... he was a very good driver but not one of the best. 76 will always go down as the year Lauda gave it away... James was just lucky that he was there... sad but true.
WEll, In Gilles hands it could, when he wasn't trying new tires for michelin...look at the race of champions when he blew Andretti, or at Monza when they fought for the win during the entire race....later became 6 and 7, both being penalized for false start....of course this only goes to show how amazing Gilles was, because we all know that the lotus was a much faster car and that Mario was no slouch either....
To be fair, the T3 could also win in the hands of Carlos Reutemann: he won three Grand Prix with it (plus one with the old T2) against one for Gilles. How can anyone forget how he overtaked Niki Lauda at Brands Hatch? Rgds
i was at Watkins Glen when Reutemann won in 78... and Villeneuve was 2nd. It was a great car but just not quite enough. I;ve seen Nick Mason's car up close and it is gorgeous, about all you could want in a 70's F-1 car. I think the car that could have made Villeneuve's Championship year was the 126c2 ... but alas.
It also took some time for Michelin to understand the different tracks, so their tyres were excellent on some Grand Prix (Brasil, for instance), not very good on others (remember the french G.P at Paul Ricard that year...the Michelin were hopeless there). Fortunately for Jody and Gilles, in 1979 the Michelins were much more consistent. Rgds
Yes, but most of the time, Gilles and Carlos were not wearing the same tires, Gilles was being used as a ginny pig, that's why many times Carlos T3 would be very competitive while Gilles's car was melting his tires....that's why at the end of the year, Enzo prefered Gilles instead of Carlos, he knew what each one of them was driving....
Chris Amon Tom Pryce Brabham BT46B (now there was a blown diffuser!!) Murray designing Teddy Mayer managing Left field but guys I have always admired. Amon never had a good car to show his real potential and Pryce's career was cut so short. John
As you say, a little out in left field, but a good call. Pryce promised much, and as (IIRC) Mario noted, "if Chris were an undertaker, people would stop dying!"..... Teddy M always seemed "in control" to me. And Murray was certainly capable of thinking "outside the box". Good picks! Thanks! Cheers, Ian
Drivers: Emerson Fittipaldi & Ronnie Peterson Car: Lotus 72 Team manager: Colin Chapman Designer: Maurice Philippe. Oh, wait....the year? 1973 Rgds
Car: Brabham BT52 Designer: Gordon Murray Team Manager: Bernie Ecclestone Driver 1: Nelson Piquet Driver 2: Tough choice between Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
