J.T.Ribbs was the first black F1 driver.

I keep reading that people think that the mixed race Lewis Hamilton is the first black driver IN F1. Well apart from him NOT being black he was not. A FULL black African American was the first in an F1 car in the 80s. His name was W.T.Ribbs and some how his name has been forgotten in the discussion about Hamster this year.
So for the record here's his story, also he raced in Indy and cart. interesting story, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_T._Ribbs

 

Sorry, testing and racing is NOT the same thing. I’m not sure he was even granted a super license. Second his name is William T. Ribbs otherwise known as Willy T. Ribs. Not J.T. Ribs. I'd seen him race Trans Am and I have to say he was a mid pack runner at best.

 

Did i not highlight the word IN? Did i not high light the word IN It is recognised that Willy was the first black IN F1 , testing or not. But if that is wrong then we have YET to have a black driver in F1. Could one say that the Indian driver was the first? Whats his name? Narain Karthikeyan?

 

...and of top of all this...he has a Jamaican Flag on his helmet...is he From the main island or his roots are from Jamiaca?

I dont get his helmet colors...

 

I remember him. He was bad.

 

He was not IN F1. He never was IN F1. Many people have tested for teams and never raced. There are many people that have driven an F1 car that have never raced. Just because you do a test doesn't mean you're IN F1. It simply means you tested for an F1 team or drove an F1 car. Had the FIA granted him a super license and he went on to be a test driver (though teams didn't have them back in the early to mid 80s) then I'd say yes he was IN F1.

And as far as his race goes it should be a non issue but to you it certainly seems to be one. Having many black friend some of whom are mixed I can certainly tell you that they are treated as black and identify as such. If Hamilton identifies himself as black who the h*ll are you to say otherwise?

Ambassiatore, Senna was his idol growing up and I believe he uses Senna's colors (Brazilian) on his helmet as a tribute to him.

 

Ide bad? or... Whinetoya bad?

 

LOL! A few know who i am and you would be very surprised if you did But I dont understand your hostility, anyway stand in front of a mirror and argue with your self, you seem the type
I posted this thread after i discovered this and thought some people would be interested, as i was.

 

More like Neel Jani bad: Too slow in testing to get a race seat offered.

http://www.aaim1.com/Willy_T.html

 

This thread is pointless.

CW

 

Actually he was pretty decent in Trans Am, I believe he finished second in 1984 in the DeAtley Corvette or Camaro (not sure). The problem with Willy T was he had a lousy temper and got into it with other drivers and his own team management. He did a few Champ Car races sponsored by Bill Cosby.

 

He was successful in the mid-80s. His highlights were in TransAm & IMSA. I think most of the Wiki articles glean over that and go straight for Indy
Btw, met his father once at the USGP. Had a great talk about Ferrari and in particular the Daytona. Nice guy...lots of knowledge

 

Ah dont be like that thats so negative, Its just a point of interest my friend, nothing more or less. Its about as pointless as any other thread were the Fchat combatants put the F1 world to rights. Chances are you did not know about Ribbs until this thread

 

Willy T was very exciting to watch in 84 when he was partnered with Paul Newman, and had a very flamboyant style behind the wheel. It all went wrong the next year when he punched out Bob Lobenberg (sp?) after getting cut off from him in practice. I really wish he would have succeeded, but unfortunately it never came together.

As far as Lewis, I think the race issue makes him more marketable, but as far as a race fan, I couldn't care less about his color, religon, etc.

 

I remembered him. Just didn't care.

And, I, for another, don't care about Hamilton's (or any other driver's) ethnicity, country of origin, sex, sexual preference or otherwise. It may be a "big deal" to the marketers, and possibly to some fans, but talent and results should be the only things that matter. Unfortunately, so many drivers have gotten to the "show" because of their sponsorship money. There are lots of talented drivers you've never heard of and never will, likely, as they just don't have the backing. If it was not for Cosby, it's probable Ribbs would never have gotten a ride in Indycar. Happy for him he got it, but it may have been based on an ethnic preference, and it's very possible another very talented driver didn't get a ride because he took the seat. Regardless, he's in the books, but not in F1.

IMO, the best driver should get the nod.

CW

 

LOL!!!! yea right, now how did i know you were going to say that.

 

I believe that when he was younger, he wore a bright yellow helmet so that his father would be able to see him where ever he was on the kart track.

 

True. I remember watching Trans Am races at the time and he was one of the front runners with Pruett, Dorsey Schroeder and Robbie Gordon. I do remember reading a story on him in C/D years ago where, iirc, he had a test set with Frank Williams scheduled but arrived late. FW cancelled the test as a result.

 

Willy T used to dance on the hood after a win. I saw him do it once.

 

There are white women blacker than Hamilton.

 

Willy was great in Trans-Am, but a test in an F1 car doesn't make him an F1 driver.

 

I remember Willy, and IMO he was one helluva driver, except for one problem:

He started throwing his race (as in racial) into it, he was VERY aggresive, not unlike Ron Fellows and Boris Said is today, but the problem was Willy would open his yap, and whine he was being made an example of (because of his race), and that set his 'race' back 20 years. iirc he had McDonald's as a sponsor, and they dropped him because of his yap.

Janet Guthrie did the same thing in 1977 - yapped about how she was fast but was not given a top ride purely because of her sex. It's taken 20-25 years for folks to get over her yapping, and for that reason when you interview a female racer today, they will even say 'it's taken us a long time to get over the walls created by THAT woman many years ago'. But they don't call her by her name, they just say 'that' woman...

 

So if Hamilton were black, would that make him African American?





Sorry. I have buried frustrations from managing a hospital laboratory where I must list race as "African American" instead of black, when the patient may be neither African nor American. How is being inaccurate somehow respectful?

 

Confused. The patient must be something, ie. Indian, South African, Maori, Samoan, Aborginal, etc.

Writing black though is just as insulting as writing African American instead of actually asking the patient.
Pete

 

This has got to be some of the dumbest shlt I've ever read

G