Flat Out Flat Broke is a good read too, although the message between the lines is that everyone Perry met ended up becoming famous, save for him. I banged wheels and wings with Perry during his F3 days and have a few stories of those times, but the nearest he came to killing me happened when I wasn't even in a race car! I was doing a FF2000 race at Oulton Park in '84 and had enough time to go and watch the FF1600 start, a class that is always interesting. I was standing on the outside of the first corner with my team mate, a very good driver called Anthony Reid, when Perry had a massive smash. The back wheel of his Formula Ford ended up bouncing over the catch fencing and coming right at us. Anthony was watching Perry rather than the shrapnel so I muscled him out of the way and then dodged the wheel. You can see the smash up - and the tire - at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aadBA9HcGY if you are so inclined, though I think the poster got the year wrong. You know, when I needed a FF1600 tire no one sent me one, it was only when I was on slicks that the wheel was proffered via air mail.
Interesting - someone I know who had a NASCAR Nationwide series car was just quipping to me the other day about how many embezzlers/securities fraud/corporate looter guys there are in to auto racing.
Yeah and the Whittingtons, the Pauls, etc, etc... Been going on for a LONG time. Tommy raced a few historic cars a long time ago for another alleged shady character, Texan Don Walker. Was a pleasant bloke, off-track... Definitely have to buy a copy from EWA or Motorsport Collector.
Last weeks Autoweek had a recap of shady guys in racing. Whittington's, Pauls, and more. Didn't near touch them all. Fast cars, Fast times. I just think back to who had the fastest cars when I was a kid in my home town. Local NHRA champ did federal time. Most were never caught. This is not unexpected.
In summary... At the WG challenge race, RMM backed the car into the guard rails in the climbing esses. Car ignited. RMM did get out of the car (how, I have no idea). Car burned badly and was a write off. RMM hired numerous "experts" to produce a report concluding that the car was poorly designed. In particular, the fuel system. RMM sued SpA. I can't recall how long the suit was on-going, but eventually SpA just wanted him to go away. They gave him a new 360 Challenge car. Like I said, he liked to use lawyers to do his dirty work. His lawyer of choice was a man named Henry Zapruder. If you recognize that name, it's because the Zapruder's father filmed JFK's assassination. The Zapruder film was confiscated by the Government and used extensively in the examination of the event. Zapruder sued the Government and eventually won a judgement of $17MM. This is just the tip of the iceberg! CW
Wow! Thanks for the info. One step removed from the grassy knowll.... Who knew you could find such fine fellows in racing?
Yup I was there..Watching him stomp around the paddock telling anyone who would listen that the car was unsafe. At this point I had already had another driver crash into me and was in no mood to hear his complaints. And as far as everyone else ..they didnt care to listen either. The Challenge cars burst into flames with out crashing them. Didnt know about the suit. A different challenge car bursting into flames at 3 mins 7 secs -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJhVXFzgx5k&feature=channel_page
I've got Tommy's address in Florida. He's got copies here for a reasonable price plus shipping. Just sent a check for my copy. PM me for his information.
Hello, This is Kathleen Haggerty, the late Richard Millman's widow responding to all of the "con man" comments on this post about Richard Millman and Tommy Byrne's "tell-all" book, which I just recently discovered this year. It never ceases to amaze me how events get mis-construed, twisted, and distorted by everyday common hypocrites. First I'd like to state that Tommy Byrne was paid extremely well by Millman to coach and to drive with him in two racing series, as well as various European road rallies and the historic Le Mans and 24 Hour Daytona Race in 2002. And I was there the whole time witnessing Byrne's egregious "dog that bites the hand that feeds it" behavior. It was indeed a colorful read, I'll admit, but Tommy's "Fat Bastard" behind the back talk was especially annoying for me to listen to, and I repeatedly admonished him for using disrespectful language towards someone he was actively working for. Tommy was manipulative and shifty and always trying to wrangle me in as a "confidante" whenever he and Millman had an argument about something. I would tell him it wasn't nice or mature to bite the hand of the man who was feeding him well and keeping a roof over his children's head - and from multiple mothers, nonetheless. What Tommy failed to include in his colorful storytelling in the last chapter of his book, was how he took advantage of Millman's unbelievable generosity, and outright stole Millman's Porsche engine from the Orbit racing trailer. Millman overlooked it, but it confirmed in my mind that Tommy Byrne was nothing more than a low class, thieving Irish punk ingrate. Now that being said, I must say, I really liked the guy...we all did. With his charming brogue, he showed me how to "look ahead" and how to keep my eyes on the apex...and he made us all laugh on the track and in the trailer. I think Tommy missed his true calling as an actor. There's always a role for a wild exaggerating irishman in the movies.. CW, regarding the expensive cello and the first class seat matter. Historic stringed instruments cannot be placed in the cargo of a plane. They will crack and be destroyed with the freezing temperatures at 30,000 feet above sea level. There was a broken seat in the first class section of the plane, and the airline told us we could use that seat for the cello. What else...Millman's weight? He suffered from an idiopathic neuropathy and resulting edema; an ever increasing water retention weight gain. A doctor was prescribing him too much medication for a sudden onset of a neuropathic condition that was worsened by the medication (surely none of you drivers have ever suffered from that). The Ferrari's exploding? The 360's had structural problems - and were poorly engineered and Millman brought it to Ferrari's attention. The 360 fuel tank was exploding at just about every Ferrari Challenge race. The situation was becoming untenable and Ferrari knew it. Millman did something about it - and good for him for not being bullied by the dictatorial/totalitarian management style of Ferrari. The company that brags about making the Queen of England wait for hours outside of Enzo Ferrari's office, deserves a little comeuppance once in a while.... Millman was also the first Ferrari challenge driver to promote the use of the Hans device while others rolled their eyes up because it prohibited movement of the neck. The Zapruder film? It was legally negotiated for and sold to the United States Government like a lot of other historical, intellectual property is. Millman worked on huge projects and historical cases - and did many good things for people as an attorney and entrepreneur. Millman had guts and gravitas, unlike many of you - and wouldn't think to idly chit-chat on this website about a deceased person they know very little about - like gossipy high school girls. If everyone on this forum subscribed to the "facts according to CW", how utterly one- sided, slandered and skewed their reality would be.... Only time will tell how future forums will talk about a person when one is no longer alive on this earth. There is no perfect person who is without faults and shortcomings on this planet. I hope readers and writers will be as kind and as judicious to all of you as you have been to Richard Millman. Have a wonderful holiday and happy new year. Sincerely, Kathleen
Now THAT is a kick AZZ "First Post"! It has to be one of the best I have seen lately. Welcome and the best Holiday wishes to you and yours, as well. How did you come across this discussion? No matter really..... I have to go back and read this whole thread, brb......
Well, she is right about the cabin pressurization....my cello expert is dead now, sadly. There's a lot of dead people in this thread. Which link in that website did you mean to cite, CW?
No kidding? How did THAT effect handling?? I guess with him onboard, no net effect, with me in there I could run Indy or Daytona!
Glad you clarified, but I stand by everything I've written as a true and accurate accounting of dealings with him. I could share other, more sordid and personal stories, but why bother? They are personal and there's always some odd explanation or excuse behind why RMM did what he did. I'm sure, they even make some sort of sense. I suggest, however, that where there's smoke, there's fire. And, RMM's relocation to AZ from VA probably had nothing to do with the fact that AZ doesn't have reciprocity with TX? I don't want to, and won't, engage in a personal attack on you. But, I didn't write the book on RMM. You'd have to take that up with TB. RMM was a strange, interesting man. Who on the one hand pled poverty, and on the other grandiosely claimed he was a billionaire. To those who know, revisionist history isn't going to change the facts. CW
No, I have several already... The REAL question is whether you have any CoolLink Broadband swag. Thanks, though, CW
Well, I guess anyone can say anything on the Internet, and it must be true. Anyway, regarding the cello: CONFIRMED that I was told a 1st class ticket was purchased for it. Whether that's correct or, as the widow Millman states, it was flown in a "broken seat", I cannot say. I can only confirm what I was told. Whether RMM sought to puff himself up to all, I can only speculate, however. CW
Several Ferrari 360s caught fire and have at least two examples on video. I never saw one explode and I was on the track for every race weekend Millman was there for 2000/2001. Several of the cars experienced popped/broken fuel lines. I can't say what happened to RM's car. What you said about the HANS device is 100% WRONG. I and the other Scottsdale Ferrari driver used them in 2000 starting at the first race at Homestead and have pictures of us using them. NO ONE rolled their eyes. Lets be perfectly clear here. We as drivers fully supported safety the optional use of the HANS device. I started using them in 1998. No, but I have some worthless Coollink stock CB sold me.
Hello, everyone, and thank you for your comments on my reaction to everyone's posts. I concur with you, CW, and have no desire to hash up unpleasantries from the past with you. I like to think everyone on this post is relatively mature and "grown up" about life in general...and just here to share in their Ferraristi passions. I have no personal ill feelings towards you, CW. I'm not the personality type that holds grudges, but like you, I have come away from experiences, carrying certain impressions about people, their character, and their integrity based on their actions. I always like to see the good in people and after Millman died, I came to this very simple conclusion that it's just not decent to carry on about the dead when they're not here to defend themselves. Tommy and his co-writer were presumably legally cleared to write about Millman after he died... but it just didn't feel right that he was exploiting the situation for his own benefit - especially when he was such an ingrate after all that Millman did for him. I felt it necessary to clear the air to create some balance rather than let one man's personal grievances pollute the overall picture about someone who is no longer able to speak for their self. Richard Millman literally died in my arms unexpectedly back in 2007, from a blood clot. It happened so suddenly and so quickly and it was the hardest thing to endure...to see a human being die in front of you and feel completely helpless...desperately performing CPR while they're vomiting in your mouth...screaming for them to stay alive....it was a devastating experience. I can say that Millman left his life like he lived it: with great command and expediency. In the end , if we're lucky- we are all going to have the same exact fate: our hearts will stop beating, we will be gasping for air, or not, and someone, hopefully, if we're lucky, will be next to us witnessing our last moments and wishing we didn't have to leave so soon. I don't believe the smallness of being named in a lawsuit, or trying to win a lawsuit, is going to be at the forefront of your mind in those last moments...I have experienced this personally: none of this matters in the end. Yes, he was not the greatest driver on the track, but he was determined to race before he left the earth, and one has to admire that kind of determination at his age when he was racing. I am very supportive of people who "go for it" and rise above their situations in spite of the odds. Call me old fashioned, but I admire loyalty and people staying faithful to those who help them. I find it especially shameful when people bad mouth others and benefit from it....it's just low. Well anyway, those are my thoughts. I had googled "Ferrari" and Richard Millman...that's how I came to find this forum. I was looking for the new owner of the 1966 275 GTBC Ferrari after we had sold it to Evan Mahe in France. There was an object in the vehicle that I made that I was trying to retrieve....a good luck racing doll (the team Greeneman mascot)...I guess it's long gone by now. It seems there are a lot of "falling outs" and "deals gone bad" in this racing business...I don't miss any of those things...there must be something about the adrenaline rush addiction that attracts certain types of people to racing...
Thanks for the correction on the Hans device, Challenge 64...and the "Ferrari's exploding" was a conceptual truncation/amalgamational expression for "The Ferrari gas tanks catching on fire", just as you described it...if you think about it, an ignition or mini explosion does occur in that process... And hello, Big Tex....now that's a real classic name for a right proper Texan!
