‘His feet were trapped
and he could not get out.
While the Dutch marshals
dithered, fuel was dripping
overthehotengine’
F
orty years ago, when there were
no restrictions in Formula One
about how many chassis could
be brought to a race, each team
would usually have one or more
spare cars in the paddock. And
often a driver would develop
a liking, even an affection, for one chassis above
another. Over dinner with Emerson Fittipaldi
before the Goodwood Festival of Speed he told
me about Lotus 72/5, which nearly 50 years ago
played a significant role in his career.
In the 1970 Italian Grand Prix at Monza he
was the new apprentice at Team Lotus alongside
Jochen Rindt and John Miles. Lotus had just
completed 72/5, a fifth example of the brilliant
Type 72, and Colin Chapman sent Emerson out
in practice to shake down the new car before
passing it over to team leader Rindt.
Trying to keep out of Jack Brabham’s way
Emerson missed his braking point for the Para-
bolica and went off, damaging the car badly.
Chapman was furious, and Rindt had to make do
with his earlier chassis, 72/2. That afternoon
a front brake shaft broke on 72/2. It cannoned
into and under the Armco barrier, and Rindt was
killed. Emerson remembers: “That was meant
to be my car for the race.”
With Rindt dead and Miles leaving the team
forthwith, the astonished Emerson found
himself – with just three Grands Prix under his
belt – leading one of the top teams in F1. It was
barely 18 months since he’d come to chilly
England from Brazil, speaking no English, to try
his luck in Formula Ford. Lotus went next to the
United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and
after the Monza tragedy a huge responsibility sat
on young Emerson’s shoulders. In a storybook
drive he scored an emotional victory, ensuring
Rindt’s place as posthumous World Champion.
And the car he did it in was the repaired 72/5.
By 1972 all the Lotuses had been updated to
72D specification. No 5 remained a spare – until
one of the Lotus transporters crashed on the way
to Monza, damaging Emerson’s usual race car.
So he took over 72D/5. On the site of Rindt’s
death, two years on, he won the race and
clinched his first World Championship title.
The following year in the Spanish Grand Prix
he was unhappy with his race car’s handling. So
he switched to Old Number Five, and scored
Lotus’ 50th Grand Prix win. Then he tried No 5
in qualifying at Zandvoort, and in the high-
speed Bos Uit corner its left front wheel broke.
What followed was a very big accident. TheSeptember 2019 Classic & Sports Car 59wrecked car ended up in a tangle of the catch-
fencing wire and poles that lined most circuits in
those days. He was not badly injured, but his feet
were trapped between a scalding brake disc and
the smashed front section of the monocoque,
and he could not get out. Fuel was dripping over
the hot engine. While the Dutch marshals dith-
ered, Tyrrell mechanic Jo Ramírez rushed to the
scene with a long wheel wrench and prised the
wreckage apart, releasing Emerson.
Back at the Lotus works in Hethel, the writ-
ten-off remains of No 5 were shoved into a
corner and forgotten. It was 46 years later that
Clive Chapman, who runs the wonderful Classic
Team Lotus outfit, dug out the pieces and set in
train a long, painstaking rebuild. Emerson was
amazed to hear that his favourite Lotus chassis
had been resurrected, and would be ready for
him to take up the Goodwood hill.
Said Clive: “When Emerson arrived we
showed him the car. At first he just stared at it.
Then he stepped into it and slid down into the
monocoque without saying anything. So we left
him alone for five minutes with his memories.
You could see he was quite overcome.”
Not too overcome to storm up the hill in Old
No 5 over the next three days. He said it drove
perfectly – like a long-lost friend. Like a comrade
in arms remembering battles fought long ago.FULL THROTTLE
Simon
TAY L OR
MOTORSPORT IMAGESFrom top: Emerson won his
first World Championship
for Lotus in the Type 72;
pushing Old Number Five
to the limit on its way to
his 1973 Spanish GP win