Never Forgotten

The race in which Bandini met his end was the first Grand Prix that I ever saw in my life (on ABC-TV), and coupled with Sarti's similar demise in "Grand Prix" (which I had only recently seen), these events are what made me a fan of Scuderia Ferrari way back in 1967.

In the movie, Sarti says it, very concisely, the day before his accident. The passion that drove these men to try too hard, and meet the consequences, was really unique to Ferrari:

"You have to grasp the mind of Sr. Manetta, my darling. If a driver can be reached by those tactics, it means he probably will fear for his place on the team. That is exactly what Manetta wants, because that driver will try all the harder to win. He will perhaps take a risk which he would ordinarily avoid. And risks are always risks."

R. I. P., Lorenzo.

 

Always great to see that the memories of our heroes lives on today.

 

Although it wasn't my first GP, I did see the ABC broadcast. It was horrifying. I had the good fortune to see Bandini race in person at Sebring in 1963, in the 330LM with the great Michael Parkes.

Thanks for the remembrance.

Jack

 

Sad, sad day, but her recollection of the race leaves me confused. She does not mask her feelings towards Jack Brabham for continuing to circulate around the track and depositing oil, especially near the chicane, but all the race reports I've checked indicate that pole sitter JB's engine blew very early, taking him out altogether. Maybe someone can clarify this?

 

Sorry; here's the interview:

To remember Lorenzo Bandini - Interview to Bandini's Wife

 

That's a beautiful tribute....thanks!

Do women fall in love like that, any more????

 

Yes, most typically only at ground zero before everything else like wealth & fame arrives.

 

thank you for posting!

 

Oh....good!!

I still have some time, then..........

They made a very handsome pair.

 

Len,

Your recollections are right, of course: Jack Brabham's engine blew right after the first lap and he did not put much oil on the track.
The most frequently admitted cause to Bandini's accident is simply his exhaustion, as quoted by his team-mate Chris Amon, in "Forza Amon" by Eoin Young.
Basically Amon says that Bandini felt a lot of responsability on his shoulders for this race, as an Italian driving a Ferrari, and as a "de facto" number One (it was Amon first race for Ferrari), but that the car was not very good, was also very heavy as it had a lot of petrol on board as the engine was very thirsty.
So Bandini dearly wanted to win this race, but was unable to follow Denny Hulme's nimble Brabham, which was really a go-kart on this track, exhausted himself and made a small mistake, and that was it.
Read the book above for Amon's point of view, which makes sense, as he was himself exhausted at the same stage of the race.

As an aside, two months later Scarfiotti quit and Parkes had his own accident at Spa, and the whole Grand Prix operation of the Scuderia was resting on the shoulders of Chris Amon, not even 24 years old...(but of course the pressure is much bigger these days! isn'it?)

Rgds