Ron, like the others, I'm glad you're able to recount your experience--the photo of your car is unbelievable. And I certainly hope my thread didn't cause you any stress.
Lauda was my high school hero; I can remember listening to the radio on Sunday's (before the days of F1 TV coverage) hoping that the sports news would deign to mention the winner of a European F1 race. Then my grandfather and I would go to a foreign magazine store in Times Square the following week to pick up a copy of AutoSprint. I was devastated when I heard that he had been in a crash and was clinging to life. I've never seen that photo either; things have certainly changed in F1. I see a great deal of compassion and sense of brotherhood in the way Lauda's fellow drivers responded to the crash. The composition gives the photo an almost religious quality...
No, it did not, thanks. But I do get a little uncomfortable when I watch movies with scenes that have fire, like in the new Movie Angels & Demons. For over a year, everyday, I would suddenly be back in the car surrounded by flames. Not a nightmare, just a vivid image that I could turn off. Less frequently now. I often wonder what goes through Lauda's mind today, or as a race driver that obviously knows how to focus, has he turned off the experience all -together. Lauda lost much of his I think right ear in the fire. I believe this is a Lauda story: one day a few years ago, he and a few other were walking the site of his accident, Including loveable Bernie. Ecclestone planted a pigs ear in the grass at the location of the fire. When they all arrived, either Bernie or someone else exclaimed, "there is your ear Niki". Laughter ensued.
