Stirling Moss

1960 UNITED STATES Grand Prix

THE KUDOS:

a crash during practice for the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-francorchamps – the fifth race of the 10-event season – left the 30-year-old Englishman with severe injuries that would put him out of F1 for five months. However, despite a broken nose, teeth, legs and back, plus being badly concussed, Moss would win the very next time he lined up for an F1 race. THE CRASH:

Moss was driving for privateer outfit Rob Walker Racing, which had leased the revolutionary new Lotus 18 from Colin Chapman. The car was a classic Chapman design: light and nimble, with a spaceframe chassis that gave it exceptional strength. Moss would need all that strength when, coming through Burnenville Curve at around 225 km/h, the rear axle broke, the left-rear wheel snapped off and the car spun several times before finally rear-ending an embankment. Seatbelts were optional then and Moss was flung out the car. He recalls: “I don’t remember flying through the air. All I remember is being on my hands and knees in the dirt. I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see, either, and that worried me, but mostly I couldn’t breathe.”