Niki Lauda 1949-2019

Well, that's not "accurate"

https://www.austrianwings.info/2015/01/lauda-air-crash-1991-still-too-many-open-questions/

The best stories always have lights and shadows, and Lauda certainly had some rough edges.

 

My favorite driver, King Rat, Niki Lauda died. He was one of a kind, and a real competitor. Now he's racing Hunt the Shunt in heaven. Hope he still wins.

Perry

 

Say what you want but Lauda proved the event was not recoverable (despite what Boeing said) and Boeing changed the design so the flight reverses could never come out unless the landing gear was in a certain position.

And Lauda was personally involved in trying to track down how it happened and personally went to the funerals of the crash victims. How many CEO's of airlines do that?

 

A story from the Alpina Automobiles Instagram (@alpinaautomobiles) feed I wanted to share with you:

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Well, that doesn't counteract the fact that something fishy was going at Lauda Air so maybe all that Lauda was trying to do was saving his own ass.

"De mortuis nihil nisi bonum". But we all know he wasn´t a saint either.

 

Pista di Fiorano - 2007 Ferrari 60th anniversary
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can you like this 1000 times!

 

He challenged Boeing on how the reverse thrusters got deployed, and when they said it was pilot error he said he will personally fly the plane with the chief Boeing pilot and follow the Boeing procedure that Lauda knew was wrong... finally Boeing CEO stepped in and Lauda won.

 

R.I.P Great Niki Lauda. Godspeed Rat!

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A story - likely apocryphal - that is making the rounds today. It is reportedly from an interview with Lauda in the Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2013. It it dark humor, but had me laughing:

"...she was one of those American TV morning show hosts. They came to the Nürburgring and this woman, tall, blonde, the whole package, wanted to do an interview exactly where the accident happened. They were all like "Oohh, he's gonna cry for sure, this will be a really big emotional moment!"

However, I had taken a little croissant (orig. "Kipferl") with me from the hotel buffet and put it in the grass beforehand. She starts: "Mister Lauda, how is it to be here ..." I say: "Just a moment!" and walk a few steps into the grass. She asks, "What are you doing?" I say, "Oh look, here's my ear!" She was done. She totally lost it. They had to shoot the whole thing again."

 

R.I.P. Niki Lauda.

Besides being a legendary racing driver, enjoyed his uncomplicated, down to earth and bold nature.

 

He was blunt, arrogant and believed he was better than all of his competition. He was funny, insightful and believed in himself. A complex man who never backed down. A true great. There will never be another like him. The legend of The Rat will live on.

 

This is how I want to remember him - not the airline executive or Mercedes consultant. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Very sad to hear. He was loyal to Boeing for life even after that 767 crash.

 

agree, what a stunning picture

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxu1LKaFCrW/
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That reminds me of the scene in "Rush" where the 1973 BRM is being tested at Paul Ricard, and after his first drive as the "new boy", he has the audacity to tell Louis Stanley everything that is wrong with the car, and Stanley is looking dumbfounded! I never saw that incident described in any book or reference, but knowing Lauda's reputation, I have no doubt that that scene is completely true!

 

RIP to one of the greats

 

A short one, but from someone who knew him well, as a competitor and team mate...Carlos Reutemann from Argentina:

Carlos Reutemann compañero y contemporáneo de Niki Lauda se expresó por la desaparición del austríaco.
Carlos Alberto Reutemann se mostró muy dolido por la muerte de Niki Lauda.
Si bien no quiso hacer declaraciones públicas por esta situación, Lole, se expresó a través de las redes sociales.
En su cuenta oficial de Instagram, Reutamann, expresó su profundo pesar y sintetizó lo que significó para él el ex tricampeón del mundo desparaecido.

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My first and still favorite F1 driver. Was a genius at setting up a car, something these guys today don’t have to think about doing given the plethora of sensors and computers providing the data. Blisters on hands following the 2200 gear changes at Monaco without over-revving the engine. Now it’s fingertip gear changes.....Ciao Niki.

 

Probably not apocryphal: it's not new, here it is as told to "Motorsport Magazine" by Niki 18 months ago. Circumstances are different, though:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2017/60/breakfast-niki-lauda

I asked Niki if he has ever revisited Bergwerk, where the Nürburgring accident occurred?

“Only once,” he says, “and it was many years later. I returned with [long-time F1 motorhome chef] Karl-Heinz Zimmermann, Bernie Ecclestone and one or two others. They thought I should go back to celebrate my survival with a glass or two of schnapps. While we were there, three Germans came past and spotted me, ‘Hey, it’s Niki Lauda… What are you doing here?’ Karl-Heinz replied, ‘He’s looking for his missing ear.’ They were horrified by what they perceived as his disrespect – I thought one of them was going to hit him. He then whispered to me to go and look in the grass, where – and I didn’t know this – he’d hidden a pig’s ear that he’d brought with him. Five metres ahead I saw it in the grass, shouted, ‘Look, I’ve found it’ and the Germans went away, now even more upset with our sense of humour...”

Rgds