THE KILLER YEARS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

Image Source - http://bit.ly/1PDjTFE 

"There is so much more to racing when it is dangerous, because the exhilaration of success is far higher" - Sir Stirling Moss summed up what was Belgian Grand Prix like when it was twice the length as the current track distance. With an average speed of over 255 km/h (in the 50's and 60's) on a 14.1 km circuit, it was a daunting challenge for the drivers who lined up each year to race at this Grand Prix.

NOT SAFE ENOUGH  

What was considered as exhilaration in the 50's was looked from a different perspective from the mid-1960's. Drivers got together, talked openly about the safety standards about the track. The aspect of 'thrill' was there - but a lot of the drivers didn't want to see one of their colleagues die on the track. The word 'future' didn't exist in the vocabulary of many drivers as they knew all can go wrong in a matter of one second of misjudgment.

The tickets during those days clearly inscribed the words - "Motorsports is dangerous" and yet thousands of people flocked in each year and stood close to the racing tracks, completely aware a slight accident can claim their lives too.

It wasn't a test of who survived from the accidents - instead motor racing was (and is) all about pushing a car to its limit and yet come out alive and celebrate if victorious.

In case of the Belgian Grand Prix, the track comprised of public roads, not an ideal environment for speeding cars - however those were the norm during those days. Since the start of the championships in 1950, each year the car went a touch quicker as competition for the top spot intensified. Naturally, the drivers too went at high speeds and what remained constant was the track and its set up with a minimum focus on safety procedures.

In 1969, several of the drivers boycotted the scheduled Belgian Grand Prix complaining the track was way too dangerous. They had their way in the end and organisers installed the Armco barriers for the 1970 Grand Prix with the previous edition being cancelled. In spite of this added protection, the drivers still felt the circuit was very fast, dangerous and this resulted in the cancelling of Spa-Francorchamps as the venue from 1971 for a period of thirteen years. In 1983, the race distance was halved, a major chunk of the circuit was removed - and with run-off areas, barriers, and other safety measures, the Spa-Francorchamps returned and has been a regular feature since the mid-1980's.

JACKIE STEWART SURVIVES THE SCARE

The old circuit at Spa-Francorchamps - pacy and intimidating

Many drivers who raced in the 1950's and 60's have been open in saying the roads of Burnenville, Masta Kink and Stavelot happened to be one of the fastest and intimidating parts they had to encounter, even more challenging than Eau Rouge. A long fast right hand corner in Burnenville leading up to Malmédy was one such part which was challenging and marked the start of the dangerous path in the old circuit.  

And then came the most frightening of all the corners - the Masta Kink. Drivers had to be more brave than skilful to take this corner without leaving the throttle. The Masta Kink was a tight left-right chicane and cars approached it at the top speed well over 270 km/hr. The key element was the speed as this chicane was sandwiched between two unbroken straights each measuring 2.5 km. Hence the entry speed and exit speed was crucial to maintain the overall lap time.

Jackie Stewart in 1966 had his car severely damaged after his BRM crashed a telephone pole at Masta Kink. With fuel dripping all over him and coupled with broken ribs,  he was unable to get out and was stuck in his car. Fellow BRM drivers Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant had also gone off the circuit and the duo came to Stewart's rescue. With no medical support unlike in the modern era, it took a spectator's tool kit to separate Stewart from his car. Jackie Stewart admits, he was lucky to survive as he was half-drenched with fuel and was stuck inside the car for close to 25 minutes. The steering wheel had to be taken off to relieve Stewart and this incident paved way for detachable steering wheels.

AN ADVOCATE FOR SAFETY

Since that incident, Jackie Stewart always tapped a spanner to his steering wheel and off the track became actively involved to improve the safety standards in Formula One. With each year, his fame as a driver grew and so did his voice and his several messages had profound effect on increasing the track safety standards. It was him who led the driver's concerns and eventually had Spa dropped from the F1 calendar till the time it was deemed safe.

There were other races such as the touring races, endurance races that took place in the old circuit in the 70's and finally in 1979, the circuit was modified and it took a further four years for Spa-Francorchamps to make it back to the F1 calendar.

The modified circuit which helped Spa Francorchamps to make a comeback

The beauty, the charm and the nostalgia associated with Spa-Francorchamps is still there without those thrilling sections from the old track. The track revisions has had a positive effect on the organisers and thereby to Formula One - as this circuit's evolution links the several dots the sport has joined over the years.

END NOTE

I was lucky enough to drive on those roads that were deemed dangerous. Burnenville and Masta Kink are now just a pale shadow of what it represented. Since thirty five years, these have remained just another European village roads where speed limits do not exceed more than 80 km/hr. Even today, drivers are excited to go quicker and they get the same exhilaration when they win - but they have also seen a generation growing up who sacrificed their lives to make this sport safer and a lot more secure.

I love this sport because the talk is not about accidents, deaths or safety alone - there is a lot more that's discussed and written about. Formula One is no longer a threat to life as it once was (in spite of Jules Bianchi's tragic incident) - it has evolved and values safety more than few individual's exhilaration and kicks they derive by making sports dangerous. A lot has changed from those killer years when a normal race seemed like a death race. It is no longer a question of hope when a driver sets out to race, he/she is now confident about safety. Yes, being very safe that takes the sheen if one looks at it from excitement point of view alone - however, is it worth rooting for a sport that swallows lives week after week and make money out of it? 

Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore XII - Dutch Grand Prix - Part I

Last Turn of Circuit Park Zandvoort

Two memories come to my mind as I write this. Mind you, these are just the two out of many memorable ones I have since the time I have known F1. The decision to visit Singapore GP and watching the first ever night race in 2008 tops the list and secondly driving around the streets of Monaco to complete a lap on a busy traffic day. I was happy with the latter because I tested myself mentally with the circuit route to replicate the one used in Monaco Grand Prix. Let’s just say it was more than satisfying. BMW X5 driven by my co-brother is not such a bad car, but the traffic made sure we went in the speed range comparable to the pit lane speed limits. I always wondered then, how it would be to drive on a purpose built F1 circuit. In this edition of Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore, I write about Dutch Grand Prix (in two parts), about the Circuit Park in Zandvoort where a race was completed without a single pit stop and notoriously known for few appalling deaths on track of the likes of Piers Courage who incidentally was born today a good 71 years ago and Roger Williamson (in Part II).

 The road trip to the country of Orange from Switzerland was breathtaking. Driving majorly through the limitless speed highways of Germany was filled with pleasure, thrill and excitement. I had made up my mind to visit Circuit Park at Zandvoort which is North of Holland at any cost, while we were at Netherlands. The idea was to just have a look at the F1 circuit and its surroundings. What followed is indeed interesting. I drove the Ford (hired rental) into the circuit and managed to complete an uninterrupted lap on the same. The timing was just perfect; the junior racing competition had just completed that evening and the track from the parking lot was open. I didn’t know what I was getting in to, and the next moment I found myself at the last corner, few meters from the start-finish line. The track was empty and barely could I see people around me. I was hesitant, but seconds later decided to just lay some rubber on the track. What followed is a lap to remember, that’s another story. 

Races began under the banner of Dutch Grand Prix in the late 1940’s. By the time F1 World Championship finished its 3rd year, the circuit at Zandvoort had made its way to the annual F1 calendar. The track which is just over 4 km long was dominated by the Ferrari powered engines driven by Alberto Ascari and won consecutively in its first two years. There was no race held in 1954 and the 1955 race was hosted just a week after the disastrous 1955 LeMans race which was tragically remembered for many spectator deaths. The Mercedes duo of Fangio and Moss was unbeatable as they won the race comfortably 1-2 in the 1955 race.

 The race did not return until the 1958 season by which time the focus in the paddock had entirely shifted to Stirling Moss from the legendary five times World Champion Fangio. Moss, under the shadow of Fangio for three years running finally had an opportunity to claim his maiden World Championships. He won the Dutch Grand Prix in his Vanwall but could not win the championships that year. He won four races that season, but was overhauled by a point. Mike Hawthorn who had just one victory the entire season won the driver’s crown by a solitary point and retired from racing at the end of that season.

 With emergence of Jack Brabham and other talented rookie drivers, Moss did not get enough opportunities and thus remained to this day the best driver never to have won driver’s World Championship.

Joakim Bonnier, the first Swedish driver to win a F1 race won it in 1959 which incidentally also happened to be his sole Grand Prix of his 15 year career in F1. The 1960 race saw the future two-time World Champion Jim Clark make his debut at Zandvoort but the race was marred by Dan Gurney’s unfortunate accident which resulted in killing of a spectator who at the time of the incident was in a prohibited zone. The race was won by the then reigning champion Jack Brabham. 

 The 1961 race saw a German winning a Grand Prix for the first time in F1. Wolfgang Von Trips in his Ferrari won the race. This race was the first time all drivers on the starting grid completed the race (since then it has happened in 2005 Italian GP and 2011 European GP) and even more interesting the 1961 race had no pit stops. Quite a contrast when you compare with the current season and complaints we hear on the number of pit stops.

 Graham Hill driving in a BRM won his first GP in 1962. In those years, each circuit in Europe took turns to be designated as the European Grand Prix. Dutch Grand Prix was to be known as ‘European GP’ in 1962. The next three years it was the dominant Jim Clark who took the top step of the podium. In those three years, Clark went on to win two World Championships.

 Ford Cosworth with its revolutionary design DFV (Double Four Valve) made its first appearance at the 1967 Grand Prix. The defending champion and the previous year winner Jack Brabham had no chance as Jim Clark went on to win his 4th Dutch GP. 

 By the time the season of 1968 began, the French race car constructor Matra had roped in the talented British driver Jackie Stewart. Jackie Stewart won the race and thereby gave the first victory to a French constructor in the history of F1. He also won the next year’s edition. The only posthumous World Champion in F1, Jochen Rindt won the race in 1970.

 It is not Jochen Rindt and his victory which people remember from the 1970 edition. A lot of them recall the race for the sad demise of Piers Courage who died after a crash on lap 22; the failed suspension causing the car to hit the curbs and the grass embankment. Earlier that season, Williams had opted to use the newly designed De Tomaso 505 through a business arrangement with Alessandro de Tomaso, rather than the tried-and-tested Brabham, for the 1970 season. The problems began to unfold due to the new design’s unreliability and overweight. For more than half of the season’s races, the team struggled to finish in points scoring positions. However, the entire team had high hopes just before the start of Dutch Grand Prix.

 Courage qualified in 9th position looked all set to improve from the failures of the previous races.

Twenty-three laps of the Grand Prix were down and by that time the Williams driver was in pursuit of Clay Regazzoni. The cars reached the Turn 8 of the circuit - Tunnel Oost; Courage’s front suspension of the car broke loose and went straight instead of turning to complete the bend.

 The scenes were very disturbing as the car somersaulted and exploded like a ball of fire. The car was lined heavily with Magnesium in suspension and chassis which made matters even worse. The flames from the car were so intense; trees surrounding the accident site were lit up as a result. During the impact, one of the wheels from the car hit Courage on his head, thereby breaking his helmet. From what I have read, he died on track due to sheer impact and from the head and neck injuries he sustained in the course of that crash. 

 He passed away just shy of one month after celebrating his 28th birthday leaving behind Sally Courage, his wife of four years and their two kids.

 Sir Frank Williams, Courage’s boss at that time summed up nicely in his foreword to a book titled - Piers Courage: Last of the Gentleman Racers written by renowned F1 expert Adam Cooper - "He was a great man, highly popular, and I remember clearly that when he died a nation grieved, as did all of us in Formula One at that time. He was the greatest fun, utterly charming. They don't make them like that anymore."

 People poured in their comments, consoled Courage's family. However in few days time, the life in the world of Grand Prix and F1 went on, knowing such incidents can happen to anyone. In the next part, I write about the races and the fall of Dutch Grand Prix post 1970. 

Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore X - Montjuïc Spanish Grand Prix

Lella Lombardi, the only female to score points in F1

I recently read the news of the future of Women drivers in F1 and controversy surrounding it. Sir Stirling Moss was quite vocal about women being incapable to handle F1 mentally; though physically he said it didn’t matter. This didn’t go well with many and the F1 world was divided, with many voicing their opinions and few openly disagreeing (mainly Susie Wolff, the Williams test driver) with Moss. According to me - Women are ready to race for F1 teams; it is just a matter of teams having them. Only time will tell as to when.

It isn’t like there were no women F1 drivers before. There were many who test drove but very few women were part of the F1 business. Till date, there have been only five women racers (when compared to thousands of male drivers) to have been part of the Grand Prix circus; the last female took part in a race thirty three years ago. Out of these five drivers, only one managed to score a point, well almost a point (0.5 points to be precise). So clearly, statistics are not the medium through which you can bias and deny opportunity to female drivers. F1 in its current state is a lot safer and hence it eliminates the fear of life or one can say, fear of flying if thing do go awry in a F1 car.

Lella Lombardi (one of the five female drivers) competed in 17 races and her moment of glory in F1 came amidst the chaos and death of few spectators in a race which was stopped midway. The year was 1975 and all this happened at the hilly circuit of Montjuïc, located in Barcelona. It hosted Spanish Grand Prix briefly in late 60’s and early 70’s before facing the wrath from the F1 drivers. In this edition of Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore, I will be featuring the enigmatic street circuit at Montjuïc.

Spanish Grand Prix first became part of the F1 calendar in the year 1951, when Pedralbes hosted the race. It hosted one more time in 1954 and was cancelled the next year as a consequence of the disaster that took place at 24 hours of LeMans disaster in 1955. With authorities calling for regulations governing spectator safety, the scheduled Spanish Grand Prix (like many others) was cancelled and the pedestrian-lined street track at Pedralbes was then never used again for motor racing.

It took some effort on the part of ‘Real Automóvil Club de España’ (RACE) known as Royal Automobile Club of Spain in English to bid for the races in Spain. There were two front runners, one from Madrid (Jarama) and Barcelona (Montjuïc) respectively. After hosting a number of F2 and F3 races in the 1960’s, Spain was ready for F1 action. In 1967, a non-championship race took place at Jarama, which is situated north of Madrid. The race was won by Jim Clark and the F1 fraternity was impressed and came to an agreement to have the Spanish Grand Prix regularly. The two venues - Jarama and Montjuïc were in concord to host the Spanish Grand Prix alternatively. Jarama would host the Spanish Grand Prix in even-numbered years and Montjuïc in the odd-numbered years. 

                                        

Montjuïc, also known as the ‘Jew Mountain’ in Catalan hosted its first F1 championship race in 1969. Located in the hills, the drivers had to drive their machines along the slopes facing the city. It was challenging, it was tricky, but was exciting too. It was the second race of the calendar and the Ford-powered engines of Matra driven by (Sir) Jackie Stewart took the top step of the podium. Bruce McLaren in his McLaren-Ford came second. The race marked the end of the high-wing era. Also, this was the first race where the winner finished the race two laps ahead of the runner-up. This feat was repeated just once since then (Australia GP, 1995).

 The Spanish Grand Prix returned to Montjuïc in 1971, a race which saw the introduction of slick tyres for the first time in F1 by Firestone, who had considerable experience in US Open wheel racing series. Jackie Stewart was once again unstoppable; won the race starting from fourth.

In 1973, Jackie Stewart could not complete the hatrick of victories at Montjuïc. He retired early in the race due to brake problems. Emerson Fittipaldi, the reigning World Champion at that time won the race in his Lotus-Ford.

Two years later, the race at Montjuïc came to be known as one of the horrific and controversial races in the annals of F1 was the last this circuit hosted the Spanish Grand Prix. This is how the drama unfolded.

Before the race started, many drivers expressed their displeasure over the barriers and how recklessly it was bolted. The situation got so heated up that, many of the drivers went on strike and refused to get their cars out for practice sessions, which forced the track workers to spend overtime in fixing the barriers. The strike didn’t cool down; it required a threat by the race organisers which prompted the drivers to call off the strike. The threat was simple – If the race were to be cancelled, all the cars parked in the circuit would have been seized as compensation.

The race finally did take place; few drivers took part hesitantly while one refused to race. Emerson Fittipaldi, then the youngest double World Champion protested the race and did not start this race. There was a big accident and few of the cars at the front were taken out; Wilson Fittipaldi and Arthuro Merzario withdrew from the race after lap one. By the end of three laps, eight out of 26 cars were out of the race. By the end of 25 laps, the number swelled to 18. On lap 25, the tragedy struck as explained by a report – “The rear wing on Rolf Stommelen's Hill-Ford broke, sending him into the barrier. He bounced off it and back into the road, hitting the barrier across the way, and flying over it.”  

While trying to avoid Stommelen as he crossed the track, the Brazilian driver Carlos Pace crashed. Five spectators were killed by Stommelen's flying car with the driver suffering a broken leg, a broken wrist and two cracked ribs. The race continued for four more laps before it was stopped. Jochen Mass won the race and since, only 29 laps out of scheduled 75 were complete, points were reduced to half. The Italian, Lella Lombardi who finished sixth became the first and till date the only female to score points in F1.

 After the tragedy of 1975, F1 never returned to Montjuïc and was deserted completely. Jarama became the sole custodian of the Spanish Grand Prix before the baton was passed on to Jerez, Circuit de Catalunya and Valencia.

With F1 being ruled out, Montjuïc was used extensively to build an Olympic park for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Few parts of the race circuit were included in the Olympic Park plan.

Montjuïc was in the headlines again in October 2007 when the circuit was used for the Martini Legends, to honour the 75th anniversary of the circuit.

With Circuit de Catalunya and the recently built street circuit at Valencia being in the calendar (agreed to host Spanish Grand Prix alternatively), it is unlikely Montjuïc will feature in the F1 calendar in the near future. It hosted the Spanish Grand Prix four times and as they say; you are only as good as your last race.