A regular Driving & Life reader
from Britain, who seems to be about the same vintage as me, has written asking
about my friendship with Stirling Moss. He’s an unabashed fan of the great
driver, and remembers seeing him in his early motor racing exploits in Britain.
He wanted to know exactly how, you go
about meeting and becoming friends with a boyhood hero.
I hero-worshipped him too, and vividly recall
catching the train to western Sydney in 1961, for the inaugural motor race
meeting at the Warwick Farm circuit, which was laid out inside the famous horse
racing track. Stirling Moss was to lead a band of prominent international
drivers for the big open wheeler event.
It was a blisteringly hot day as I, and
three of my mates, sat on the open top deck of the grandstand, ready for the
big race. Stirling Moss appeared on the grid in his Lotus 18, with all the side
panels removed, to create cooling airflow in the sweltering conditions.
Despite many raised eyebrows from officials
and other drivers, the race started, Stirling shot to the front, and was never
headed, winning with a big margin. This classic photo by Daily Telegraph
photographer Dan McPhedran captures the scene beautifully.
Twenty years later an Australian promoter
announced an event to be staged at the Sandown Park motor racing circuit in
Melbourne, which he called “The Tribute to Champions”.
His plan was to fly in as many great racing
drivers of the era, to participate in several parade laps of the circuit, and
then to drive one of their former race cars with a bit more purpose and anger.
Jaguar Australia had been asked to provide
either a C-type or D-type Jaguar from one of Australia’s wealthy car collectors among our Jaguar owners' list,
for Stirling to drive.
 |
| Paul Higgins |
The drivers began arriving in Victoria’s
capital city a few days before the weekend, to help them recover from jet lag.
On the Thursday morning I got a phone call from one of my dear friends, the
late Paul Higgins, who was a prominent motoring writer.
He was clearly upset, and hastily explained
to me that the promoter had absconded with as much of the sponsorship funds as
he could lay his hands on, and left the country!
This meant that many of the drivers assembled
for the event were stranded in Australia as only their inbound flights had been
paid for! Some had return tickets, but as Paul explained, Stirling Moss had
neither a return flight to London, nor a hotel in Melbourne, and no car to
drive to get him to Sandown Park.
Could I help? I immediately flew down to
Melbourne on the Thursday night, and in my role as PR Director for Jaguar
Australia, I allocated enough of my PR budget to accommodate Stirling Moss in
the Wentworth Hotel, provided a Jaguar sedan for him to drive, and purchased a
First Class one-way airfare to London.
Paul Higgins and I had dinner with Stirling
in Melbourne that night and this is when I coined the phrase ‘a 30 year
friendship, in 3 minutes’. Stirling and I immediately hit it off, and within 15 minutes
were chatting as if we had known each other for 30 years!
This began a lifelong friendship with the
great man, and one which I treasure and appreciate.
By 1985 Australian sales of the Series 3 Jaguar XJ6
were waning, in anticipation for the new car (the XJ40), which was due the
following year, and the marketing department was casting around for ideas to
stimulate Jaguar sales. The Marketing Director, John Shingleton, and his
Marketing Manager, Russell Turnham, asked me if there was any chance we could
get Stirling Moss to come to Australia for a day with Jaguar owners and potential
customers.
I called Stirling in London that night, and
we negotiated a fee, his travel and accommodation, and a few months later I met
Stirling at Sydney airport, for what turned out to be an annual visit from that
point onwards.
The first customer day was held on the old
‘short circuit’ at Warwick Farm, and was a howling success. We had participants
who were Chairmen, CEOs and prominent identities lining up, for Stirling to
drive them around the circuit for three laps in a Jaguar XJ6 sedan.
Our final customer event was in Adelaide,
so that Stirling and I could attend the inaugural Australian Formula One Grand
Prix at the new street circuit on the northern outskirts of the city.
I made sure that our ensuing, annual Jaguar
customer drive events were always held in late October, so Stirling and I could
attend the F1 Grand Prix – and the events held in conjunction with the GP in
which he participated, were always great promotions for Jaguar.
In 1986 Stirling participated in ‘The Climb
to The Eagle’ held in conjunction with the Australian Grand Prix – side-by-side
with Juan Fangio.
Stirling drove a C-type Jaguar, Fangio in a Mercedes-Benz SLR.
Over the years our families grew closer,
and there have been warm and wonderful get togethers.
We met in Los Angeles in 1990, to join the celebrations for the Mosses 10th wedding anniversary.
We also enjoyed Xmas together
in Florida in 1992.
Our most recent dinner together, in 2011, was in Mayfair,
not far from Stirling’s house.
His house is almost as famous as Stirling. He built it on a WW2 bombsite and has filled it with every conceivable gadget you can think of.
Ours is one of the strongest friendships I
enjoy.
I am filled with respect, admiration and affection for a man who has
inspired millions of people to persevere in order to achieve.
Despite his
massive accident at Goodwood in 1962, his struggle to recover mentally and physically is a
tribute to his determination and resolve.
That accident forced him to give up
competitive racing, because as he told me: “For once in my life, I could 'see' my threshold of fear.” That comment tells
us a lot about the racing driver who won 212 of his 529 races.
I think that 1955 was possibly his
greatest. He won the British Grand Prix at Aintree, giving the Mercedes-Benz team a
1-2-3 finish; then the RAC Tourist Trophy race; the Targa Florio and the Mille
Miglia.
Along with his Grand Prix career, he also
enjoyed a glittering record in sports car racing, including Sebring, Reims and
Le Mans.
Sadly, Sir Stirling is still house-bound,
slowly recovering from a mysterious virus he contracted whilst in Singapore, in
December 2016. At 88 years of age he has retired from active duty, to spend
more time with his wife, Lady Moss, and their son Elliot and his wife Helen.
My deepest wish is for his successful recovery.
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