Sport — David Hughes

12 April 2020

Stirling Moss Remembered

Stirling Moss sadly passed away today aged 90. I was lucky enough to see Moss drive at a number of classic events over the years, but I’ll never forget seeing him race at the 1999 Goodwood Revival meeting.

In the early days of the Revival, before the grandstands were built, you could stand much closer to the track; we were huddled at Lavant, sheltering from the persistent rain behind a wall of umbrellas resembling a Roman Legion advancing behind their shields.

A bright red Maserati 250F appeared out of the spray and mist and glided through the corner in a perfect four wheel drift – it was Moss driving his race winning car from 1956.

Moss was in his seventies but his car control was still sublime and the open cockpit allowed us to see every little input, lap after lap. Moss was driving with finger tip delicacy, it was extraordinary to see and a memory I cherish even more today.

21 May 2010

Nike : Write The Future

I was saying just the other day that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a really great advert. Well I’ve just seen the best ad I’ve seen in a long time: Write The Future from Nike.

Sure it’s a huge budget epic full of over-paid footballers, but it captures the passion and the nail biting tension of the 90th minute brilliantly.

As a friend used to say “it only takes a second to score a goal”.

10 September 2006

It’s a Swindle

The Italian Grand Prix takes place today at Monza. It is widely expected that Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher will announce his retirement from F1 today after the race. If he does so this would be his last Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari.

There have been many decisions taken by the F1 authorities in recent years that ‘favoured’ Ferrari and Schumacher and penalised his main competitors to engineer close finishes to the F1 championship but today I have seen the most blatant fix yet.

Fernando Alonso is leading the championship by 12 points making Schumacher and Ferrari’s job difficult to say the least. So it seems awfully convenient that at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix Alonso should receive a ridiculous penalty for something that he in the opinion of many didn’t do.

Alonso has had his fastest three laps from qualifying dropped for blocking Ferrari driver Massa dropping him five places down the grid to tenth.

This is without doubt THE most blatant pro Schumacher and Ferrari fix I have ever seen.

The Spanish press think so also with headlines such as “The FIA fixes the championship with another penalty to Alonso” and “Low blow to Alonso”.

It saddens me that a once great sport has to resort to such obvious and blatant fixing to engineer results. Are Max Mosely and Bernie Ecclestone really that scared of losing Ferrari from F1? Do they really think that fans and viewers will accept being treated as idiots? But I guess the most important and telling question is do they care?

Alonso has said today that he no longer considers F1 a sport and sadly I and many others will join with him.

In the year when F1 has lost the last great racers and individuals Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneauve it seems that they may yet drive away another great driver.

RIP Formula One