Sir Stirling Moss: F1 Legend Dies Aged 90 after Long Illness

[6Foot2]

Link: Sir Stirling Moss: F1 legend dies aged 90 after long illness [bBC Sport]

Sir Stirling Moss, who has died aged 90, personified motorsport to at least two generations of his countrymen after establishing himself as the greatest racing driver of his era in a short but stellar career.

 

Moss raced in Formula 1 in the sport's romantic age of the 1950s and early 1960s, winning 16 grands prix. Yet despite his rivals at the time acknowledging he was the best, he never won the World Championship.

 

Partly, that was to do with bad luck - poor reliability certainly hurt him in the two seasons he should have won the title, in 1958-59.

 

Partly, it was because of his determination to drive for English, privateer teams, particularly the one run by his friend Rob Walker.

 

And partly because of a racing driver's determination to put victory before all else.

 

But to those who know motorsport, Moss' failure to win the drivers' World Championship reflects not at all on his ability, and only on the fact that the sport's greatest prize depends at least as much on a driver's machinery as it does his talent, and therefore can never be the only gauge of their ability.

 

In Moss' case, there was never any doubt how good he was. From 1948 to his enforced retirement in 1962, Moss won 212 of the 529 races he entered across all motorsport categories. Of those who raced against him, only the greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Jim Clark were comparable, and the careers of Moss and Clark only briefly coincided.

 

Fangio was different - for the two were rivals for six years in the 1950s, and team-mates for one.

 

Some observers claim Moss was better even than Fangio. Like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Tazio Nuvolari, each man has advocates who believe he was the greatest racing driver of all time....

Edited April 12, 2020 by 6Foot2
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[synaesthesia]

Massive shame - was honoured to meet this absolute legend who remained down to earth and pleasant as you'd ever hope for a few years back. Could have talked for hours, days maybe and the point is he would have, given the chance. He was no different speaking to me than he was to Prince (Harry/William, can't remember which) and was the same for absolutely everyone. A name that will live on forever without doubt, and rightly so.

RIP Sir Stirling.