A glimpse behind the curtain during the glory days of F1
I was very pleased to see several articles recently on the Honda S800. I bought my Mk1 coupé for £399 in 1972 from the local Mann Egerton branch in Wallington, Surrey. Having owned a number of old bangers, this car was a revelation with sparkling performance from such a small engine. It was unresponsive until 6000rpm, and then it howled up to 8500rpm with no effort. It was also beautifully engineered, well equipped and with great handling. My girlfriend at the time lived in Sussex and I loved journeying up and down to the coast as much as going out with her!
Sadly, I had to sell my ‘fun’ car and buy a more sensible saloon to accommodate my ever-increasing family and my job as a sales exec for a South American airline. In 1978 and ’ 79, I was lucky enough to be asked to attend the Argentinian Grand Prix and to arrange all the teams’ transportation in South America.
When I arrived at the hotei I was personally given a pit pass by Bernie Ecclestone, which gave me free access to all circuit and pit areas to see the team managers and drivers, whom I got to know quite well. I can recall armed soldiers in the streets of Buenos Aires and at the track with their machine guns at the ready because the country was still under martial law and María Perón was under house arrest.
I amassed a number of photos from both Grands Prix, and attach a small selection. In one of them you can see Bernie beside one of his Brabhams, and another shows James Hunt in his final season with Mclaren. Ronnie Petersen is seen chatting to other drivers before the race, this being the year of his fatal crash at Monza.
I even spent an enjoyable evening with Alan Jones and the Williams team manager sampling the cocktail menu in the local Sheraton! How things have changed: no health-and-safety issues, mobile phones, laptops or even drivers being kept apart pre-race, and with only boards to inform the drivers what position they were in or their lap times. A far cry from today’s rules.
Richard Hall
Via email