New Zealand Classic Car – September 2019

themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car 83

The big question for 1969 was what to do with the wings.

Matra and Lotus ditched theirs, but they were retained on

the McLarens and Brabhams

while Bruce was a mere 0.02s behind the
Frenchman. What a race and what a finish!
Caution? Chucked to the wind, mate.
Despite starting on the front row, McLaren
teammate Denny Hulme had lost touch early
on after his brakes went, but at least he was
out there. For Amon, there was nothing.
The new flat-12 had blown during private
testing at Modena, and, with the old car
so uncompetitive, he sat it out. Sadly, as it
turned out, the British GP had been Chris’
last GP for Ferrari. He’d run out of patience
and decided that he needed a Cosworth
behind him. After all, they seemed to be just
the ticket in the back of Lotuses, Brabhams,
Matras, and McLarens.

Sir Stirling hits 90

On 17 September, arguably the most famous

name in the history of motor racing will turn

90. What can be written about the living
    legend that is Stirling Craufurd Moss that
    hasn’t already been said over the past 72 years
    — for it was in early March 1947 that Stirling
    made his competition debut in his father’s
    BMW 328? It was a trial, and this form of the
    sport around England’s south coast comprised
    the sum total of Stirling’s outings in the year
    he turned 18. A 500cc JAP-powered Cooper
    followed in 1948. Stirling’s hill-climbing
    prowess led to his first race meeting in early
    July, where he, auspiciously, won three from
    three. With 1949 came a new Cooper and a

one-litre V-twin JAP. The 500cc JAP would

be used for F3 races and then whipped out

to fit the double-banger for Libre events and

hill climbs. The V-twin was fitted for the

Madgwick Cup at Goodwood on Stirling’s

20th birthday, and, despite being beaten at the

start, he won — as was becoming increasingly

common. By then, he’d already had a couple

of class wins in Italy, but his first outright

international victory came on the last day of

July, when he won the 500cc race at the Dutch

seaside circuit Zandvoort. It was a day that

would have a profound effect on him, as he told

me over dinner in September 2008: “I’d never

seen [Nino] Farina drive before, but he was

so stylish with nearly straight arms. None of

this hunched-over-the-wheel stuff. It made me

decide to model my style on his.”

On the day before his 21st birthday,

young Moss was in Belfast armed with a

Jaguar XK120 for the R AC Tourist Trophy

at Dundrod. The conditions were pretty

awful for most of the three hours, but he

did more than just win: he came to the

Slipstreaming at its best;

Bruce is right in there

behind Stewart, while

Rindt hugs the inside line