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Condor Files

Monaco 1970

Editors Note:

Dear Loyal Readers,

I apologize for the lengthy delay in posts.   Life has gotten in the way of blogging about racing!  I know it seems incredulous but it’s a true (sad) fact.  We have missed so much: Will Power not choking (well he tried to choke but nobody stepped up), Daniel “The Mop” Ricciardo driving his nuts off and cleaning up the mess left by Mercedes, 16 year old prodigy Max Verstappen signing an F1 contract for 2015, Luca di Montezemolo stepping down at Ferrari, Marc Marquez proving that he’s human after all, Tony Stewart plowing over some poor overzealous kid…….  The drama never ceases to amaze me.  Thankfully our resident Condor is keeping the pedal to the metal with a cool piece below about the 1970 Monaco GP.  

 

And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.

-Ayrton Senna

 

CONDOR TALE

If you’ve traveled to auto races for more than sixty -five years, the odds are in your favor that you will get to witness a classic or two. The Gran Prix de Monaco 1970 has often been considered by “the experts” as one of the five greatest Gran Prix of all time and I had the great fortune of being in the stands that day.

Attending the race in Monte Carlo was on my must see list from the minute I found out there was a race around the Principality.  After years of dreaming about it, I was finally able to make it a reality in 1970.  One of the first things I did upon arriving in Europe in April was to head to Monaco to buy tickets for the event.  As luck would have it, I was able to purchase two seats in the Virage des Gazometres Tribune (the hairpin turn).  The cost of the three day ticket was 125F!  Please do not weep, but the ticket was worth 20 cents US at the time.  You do the math!

 

At Play
At Play

We had more than a month to kill before the race so we toured Europe and returned to the region in early may.  When we settled into a beach town near Cannes, we found out upon arrival that the annual International Film Festival was happening, so my wife and I became “jet-setters” for the week.

Finally it was time to head to Monte Carlo for some racing action.  First off, what a setting for an auto race!  I could have just propped my feet up and enjoyed the harbor scene and been completely content.  The idea of F1 cars racing around the narrow streets was a bonus.  Another bonus was the location of our grandstand.  In 1970, instead of racing around the swimming pool, it was straight shot out of the Tabac corner down to our hairpin, which was a true 180 degree turn. Otherwise the circuit was very much like today’s layout.

The atmosphere of the place was amazing, with the people watching out of this world.  I held the door open for an Italian woman and the look she gave me along with “Grazie, mille grazie” almost knocked me out!  My wife was also finding that the men were not too bad either.  To give you an example of the type of people who attended, take the three young Italian guys who were sitting directly in front of us in the stands.  They were from Portofino and their families owned hotels and restaurants in Monte_Carlo_circuit_1955-1971Italy, they came to the race by speed boat and were staying at the Hotel de Paris as guests of the management! That was Monte Carlo.

Why is the 1970 race considered one of the great races? Because in the show business tradition of making the ending something special and leaving the audience wanting more, this race was a spectacular, epic event.

The main players were Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and Jochen Rindt with supporting roles by Chris Amon, Denny Hulme, Jo Siffiert and Piers Courage.  The other nine members did not have anything to do with the outcome.

The race distance was 80 laps and was very routine for the first three quarters of the race.  However, everything changed when Stewart’s car developed mechanical trouble on lap 57 and retired after building up a huge lead.  Brabham, who had passed Chris Amon at the start, assumed the lead with Amon 2nd until Amon was struck by mechanical gremlins on lap 60.  This allowed Denny Hulme to inherit 2nd place but soon thereafter he developed gearbox issues and was slowing down.  Rindt, who had started in eighth, must have had an inspirational moment when he saw all this mechanical mayhem happen to those in front of him because he set off in hot pursuit.  This set the scene for the final twenty laps that took this Grand Prix from ordinary to epic.

Rindt had been slowly coming to the front but once he passed the wounded Hulme for 2nd, the charge was on and he began taking a second a lap out of Brabham’s lead.  One of the cool things at Monaco is four public address announcers speaking four languages and they rotate who speaks first.  With ten laps remaining Brabham still had a comfortable ten second lead, but this got the PA’s buzzing and everyone was aware of what was happening on the circuit.   With five laps remaining Brabham was held up by Jo Sieffert’s sick car and lost time to the charging Rindt.

brabham1970 MonacoFor those of you too young to know Rindt’s driving style, think Gilles Villeneuve and you get the picture.  Drifts, massive throttle stabs followed by oversteer slides, a deft catch and bang another second taken off Brabham’s lead.  The announcers were going crazy and talking on top of each other but it didn’t matter because they could not be heard over the crowd’s noise.  Everyone knew they were seeing something special and the lead was now so small you could see both cars.  It was three seconds with three laps to go, a few car lengths with two laps to go and as they exited our hairpin to start the final lap, Rindt had worked his way under Brabham’s rear wing.

After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, they came back into view in the harbor with Brabham still holding Rindt at bay.  It appeared that the day would belong to Brabham until suddenly Piers Courage was slowing on the racing line in the final corner.  As the leading pair came upon his limping car, Brabham, feeling the pressure from behind, tried to pass the backmarker going into the hairpin off line and instantly locked up the fronts.  Suddenly the Australian champion was a passenger in the marbles as his namesake car slid into the hay bales.  Rindt calmly tucked underneath the car of Courage and headed to the finish line to take the win.  Meanwhile, back on the circuit, Brabham was behaving like a half-crazed farmer as he turned his car into a tractor and pushed the hay bales out of the way so he could untangle himself and finish second.  Denny Hulme was able to nurse his car home 3rd.

The day belonged to Rindt, he was the King of Monaco!

That was a race I will never forget.   As I wrote this I could still visualize in my mind what I had seen on the track that day.  The whole experience was just so cool, the atmosphere was unbelievable, the setting spectacular and we were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time for the final bit of drama that made the race exceptional.  I tried to think if I have ever seen a race as exciting as this at any level and the answer is no.  Monaco 1970 was the best of them all.

 

Monaco1970-OriginalGrandPrixPoster-1

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Condor Files

Reims ’63

Editor – Enjoy Part II of The Condor’s 1963 trek around Europe (Note: If you haven’t read Zandvoort ’63 yet, I recommend you do so before reading this piece)

 

Our involvement in the ’63 French Grand Prix began earlier than expected.  We had an early start leaving Amsterdam on the Monday after the Dutch GP and arrived at the Belgian-French border around midday.  As we pulled up, we were surprised to see the two Team Lotus trucks on the roadside with their drivers looking dazed and confused.  The inability of visitors being able to speak the French language had two more victims in it’s grasp.

It was time for me to get into my “Jean-Pierre de Beaufonte ” mode!  Armed with my pocket dictionary, I approached the customs agents to see if I could solve this linguistic riddle.  With some effort I was able to comprehend what was needed and returned to Team Lotus to obtain the proper form.  After getting the roadies sorted out, the three of us returned to customs with a smile and the proper paperwork in hand.  Signed, seal stamped and delivered et Voila!  Team Lotus was free at last.

While they were hauling their precious cargo in open air SCCA style transporters directly to Reims, we were off to do some regional touring before arriving at the Capital of the French Champagne Region on the eve of the GP weekend.

After getting situated in a youth hostel in town, saving the Pit Box Bungalows for Saturday night, it was time to check out the local garages and visit the F1 teams. The atmosphere was really open house, partly because in that era everyone involved with the teams were racing fanatics. Nobody seemed to mind if we “buzzarded” around and the team members were willing to answer semi-intelligent questions.

Our translation services earlier in the week at the border were rewarded when we arrived at the garage of Team Lotus. The two roadie/mechanics pointed us out to the team manager as the guys who had helped them at the frontier. The manager expressed his gratitude and dug into his pocket to hand over some Francs, enabling us to enjoy a bottle of champagne as our pre-dinner cocktail.

reimsThe circuit at Reims was a short way from the city center.  Located on public Route Nationale 31 and it’s connecting roads, it was a historic venue that had been hosting races since 1926. The configuration had changed some over the years, but in 1963 the length was 5.1 miles with two slow corners and the rest flat out sweeping bends. The slightly downhill back straight was over a mile long and ended with a major braking zone into a 30mph corner!

We were up early Friday morning raring to get out there and see it for ourselves.  As we were cruising toward the circuit in our 1953 Citroen 11, I glanced into the side view mirror and saw something unusual coming up behind us.  I commented to my passengers, “You are not going to believe what’s coming up the motorway!”

Sounding like low flying aircraft, a good portion of the F1 entries were being driven on the highway by the team’s mechanics.  BRM’s, Cooper’s, Lotus’s and Brabham’s all blasted by us in team formation. That was amazing!

La Belle France will not give up the tradition of a Saturday market day for anything, so Friday was qualifying day.  As an added bonus for this event, there was the addition of a major European championship sport car race. This made for an interesting qualifying fact: Jim Clark [Lotus] and Mike Parkes [Ferrrari 250P SC] had almostParkes Ferrari identical lap times in their respective qualifying runs!  How they both got to that number was anything but identical. Clark, of course, was quick through the corners and late on the brakes.  Parkes was all top end.  The 250P’s 4.0 L. engine was made for the back straight and he hit 312 KPH (194 mph!) before hitting the binders to make the slow last turn.  That speed was mega in 1963.

Without any track activities on Saturday we toured the area during the day and returned to the track that night.  Like Zandvoort, when we arrived nobody was around so we helped ourselves to two laps of the circuit and went into the racing paddock with our car.  They didn’t leave a light on for us, but we had our choice of pit box to call home.  This time we did not oversleep and we were out of the box before the team’s arrived to set-up shop.

On race day we thought it would be fun to see how long we could remain in the pit area before getting the boot.  We were able to do a pit walk, say hello to Dan Gurney and check out the wives, girlfriends and groupies.  We lasted longer than we imagined before a clever official was able to connect us to the illegally parked Citroen in the paddock and he kindly asked us to leave. The timing could not have been better!  Just as the F1 cars were lining up for their morning warm-up, our car was positioned at Citroen_CV_11_B_Familia_bigthe head of the line.  As I started my drive to the exit, I soon realized that the track was green and I had the likes of Jim Clark and Graham Hill following me.  The Citroen proudly led the entire field the length of the paddock!  When I reached the exit, I waved the cars past me and watched them disappear out onto the circuit.  I’m sure some of the French in attendance were proud to see the classic Citroen lead the way.

For the race we made our way over to the last turn area at the end of the back chute. Jim Clark was the victor followed by Tony Maggs [Cooper], Graham Hill [BRM], Brabham, Gurney [Brabhams} and Jo Siffert [Lotus-BRM].  Typical of the times, many cars retired and only the first five were on the lead lap.  Jim Clark went on to be World Champion winning seven of the ten races, G.Hill won two races and John Surtees won one for Ferrari.  In all 52 drivers and 31 teams entered at least one GP that year.

Very different from today’s really big show. The cool thing about the good old days was the lack of security which allowed the Joe Average to get much closer to the action.  I felt much more a part of the event, more involved and more connected.*

*Editors note – when you pace the F1 field through the paddock before FP1, I would say you are more involved!

 

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Categories
Condor Files

Zandvoort ’63

 

Europe, 1963 was where it began.  Now, first you must understand that there wasn’t any television coverage of formula one races in the good old USA in ‘63.  Everything I knew about F1 came from race reports and photos in magazines that would arrive by mail weeks after the event.  Therefore, the first time that I ever witnessed a F1 car in person took place in the sand dunes of Holland at the Zandvoort Circuit.  I was immediately blown away by the sounds and the unbelievable entry speeds into the corners.  Wow!  This was even better than I imagined it would be.

That evening, fueled with adrenaline after my official F1 introduction, we drove the short distance to Amsterdam for dinner, drinks and to try our luck with the local female population. We were having a wonderful time, but at some point after mid-night it was decided that it was time to return to Zandvoort and camp near the race track.  It was weird when we approached the venue because there was nobody in sight, so we entered the track and parked where we had earlier that day.  Zandvoort is a beach town and it was having typical coastal weather, wet and foggy.  It was way too damp to sleep on the ground and we needed a roof over our head.  After scouting around we thought the unmanned pit boxes looked like the most logical choice.  We grabbed our camping kit and trekked over to the pit and paddock area and selected a random F1 team box to be our dorm for the night.

We were tired and a little drunk, so we slept very well.  Too well it turned out.  Our plan to leave before the team’s arrival Sunday morning failed to happen.  The first mechanic to enter our lodge inquired, “Jesus Christ!  What in the bloody hell are you guys doing in here?”  Since this outburst also served as our alarm clock and we didn’t have an answer, we did the next logical thing and engaged him in conversation about racing.  As it turns out, we had randomly selected the Cooper team’s box to call home.  The drivers for Cooper that race were Bruce McLaren and Tony Maggs of South Africa.  I will digress for a moment, two months later in London, I had dinner with Tony’s sister (or was it cousin? never did get that straight) and she thought it was very funny that we had slept in Tony’s pit box.

After a few more mechanics arrived, we reluctantly cleared our camping gear so the Cooper F1 team could have their work space back, wished the lads good luck and walked up the dunes to select our seat for the race.  It was not the greatest race, but it was still amazing to be a part of such an exciting event.  The race was won by the great Jim Clark [Lotus] followed by Dan Gurney [Brabham] and John Surtees [Ferrari].  Richie Ginther [BRM] was fifth and the other Americans were Jim Hall [Lotus BRM] in eighth and Phil Hill [ATS] a DNF.

As we were walking through the paddock area, which in that era was less sophisticated than today’s SCCA National racing paddock, we spotted Dan Gurney standing alone.  Being a Condor in training, I could not resist the temptation and quickly pounced.  Dan was in a good mood after his podium finish and was amazingly nice to us as we stood around and chatted for a good twenty minutes.  It may have had something to do with the Oslo Ski Jumping Pins that our group was wearing that got our conversation off to a good start because he wanted to know all about our ski jumping exploits.  I can’t remember if we told Dan that we actually traded for them in an Oslo bar or if he thought we were legitimate ski jumpers!  In any case, it was nice to see that my racing hero was also a very good guy.  Heading for the gates, we told him that he would see us again the following weekend in Reims for the French GP.

Not a bad start for my maiden F1 experience.  Next stop will be France, where a couple of other crazy things happened.

Categories
Condor Files

I Give You The Condor!

NEW CATEGORY ALERT!

After months of cajoling, begging and pleading for help, I’m pleased to announce that The Condor is ready to soar and reminisce about the days of yesteryear.  Racing today can be tedious, so what better time to introduce a category dedicated to being a buzzard in the 60’s and 70’s?  We’ve all heard about the triumphs and tragedies that took place on the race track during that perilous era, but now we have the opportunity to be transported back in time to relive the experience from a fans perspective.

Before we proceed, I need to remind you how one achieves the level of Condor.  You don’t just automatically progress from Race Fan to Buzzard to Condor.  It takes decades of dedication to the craft to be able to grasp the powers of a Condor.

Question:  How do you know when you become a Condor?

Answer:   You reach the level of Condor only when you can sit in a grandstand for hours on end in a state of total Zen, feeling at one with every driver and car on the circuit, knowing if a driver is operating in harmony with his car, if he or she is happy or sad, if the car is peaceful or stressed and you possess the ability to telepathically send encouragement to both driver and car.

One such man who possesses all of these powers and then some is my very own father.  His racing resume is impeccable and you would be hard pressed to locate another person in California who has dedicated so much of his life to being a fan of road racing.

Some of his highlights include:

  • F1 Races Attended: 40
  • First Race: 1950 USAC Sprint Cars at Bay Meadows on dirt
  • First Sport Car Race: 1953 Pebble Beach
  • Attended the first races at Laguna Seca, Sears Point and Long Beach.
  • Drove solo from Palm Springs, CA to Montreal 10 years in a row to watch the F1 race.
  • Was sitting in the last corner at the 1970 Monaco GP when Jack Brabham made an error and let Jochin Rindt through for the win.

I could go on and on, but I’ll let him tell the tales in due time.

But be prepared for the Condor to educate you on various buzzardly subjects such as:

  • Track Security –  A reason why security did not have to be so tight was that the race cars and all associated equipment was taken back to the local city, town or village each evening. The teams set up shop in the garages of the auto dealerships, repair facilities and gas stations. It was like an open house!
  • Crowd Control – Spectators were supposed to stay behind the snow fences lining the track and this was generally observed with the exception being Italy whenever a Ferrari was leading the event.  The attitude seemed to be if you were brave enough to sit there, it was your problem if a car ended up in your lap.  Being fleet of foot was a real advantage for the daring Buzzard.
  • The Box:  Some of you younger readers may find it curious as you are watching a F-1 race on TV and the team instructs the driver to pit by calling out “Box Box Box, this lap”.  What the driver pulls up to hardly looks like a box. However, back in the day, the pits were little boxes all lined up in a row.  For a clever Buzzard the box could also be a substitute for a hotel room!

 

Stay tuned for more Condor to come.