THE GOLDEN AGE OF RACING

The recent loss of Stirling Moss brought to mind the experience of watching him in the 1950s, be‐ hind the wheel of a Cooper 500, racing around an abandoned aerodrome in Wales. Also com‐ peting were the likes of Jack Brabham, Bruce Mclaren, John Cooper and many other illustri‐ ous drivers; this being the incep‐ tion of Grand Prix racing. In the 1960s, the sport started to de‐ velop along with the emergence of a new breed of driver such as Jim Clark, Mike Hawthorn, Gra‐ ham Hill and Peter Revson. For us spectators it was the most excit‐ ing period for Grand Prix events.

I will not say it was safer but it was spectacular as many of the top drivers drove in three differ‐ ent events on race day. Sports‐ cars, production cars and the Grand Prix.

The sight of Jim Clark in a works Lotus Cortina going into corners on two wheels and over‐ taking the brute force that was the 7,0-litre Ford Galaxy driven by Jack Sears was a sight to be‐ hold at circuits like Goodwood and Brands Hatch. Three hours later there was Clark again, back on top of the podium winning the British Grand Prix.

In SA, we had Jody Scheckter in a supercharged Renault Gordini which invariably won if it did not blow up. Also running were the quick, immaculately prepared Alfa Romeos of Basil van Rooyen and Arnold Chatz. You certainly got your money’s worth.

Such was the popularity of these support events that at a survey conducted at Silverstone, as many spectators attended for the production car racing as for the GP. Imagine the interest today if GP drivers had a full-on production car race prior to the main event. The interest would be massive. In those days, racing was 10% hype and 90% action; but today, despite the immense skills and magnificent engineer‐ ing, many of our Grands Prix are the reverse of that.

I rushed out to get my copy of the May/june issue, as a friend men‐ tioned the Mercedes W123 article. I couldn’t wait to find it and truly enjoyed every word in the feature. What a great car, with fine work‐ manship and attention to detail. I love the sound of the doors when they shut and the shine of the chrome.

I went on a road trip in November 2019 from Johannes‐ burg to the Winelands and Cape Town. I fitted four new tyres, with fresh oil and a box of cassettes as my companion in the good old Becker radio. We drove 3 600 km and everything worked perfectly, returning plenty of smiles per kilometre. A gratis brake test by the Western Cape traffic police was included, resulting in good wishes for the trip ahead.

The W123 model is significant to the brand, as it was the first series to be offered as a station wagon, along with two other body styles (sedan and coupé) as well as a long-wheelbase sedan. The East London-assembled W123 is the most beautiful one to me, having full chrome bumpers, without the rubber corner pieces like the European and US models. I acquired mine from an estate after being convinced that it’s a keeper. Hopefully, I can hold onto it for the next 30 to 40 years. [I still kick myself that I sold my 1977 W123 230 a few years back. It had just 84 000 km on the clock and was in a beautiful condition – editor.] ________________________________