Stirling Moss shows how to drive the 1959 Cooper-Climax
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ค. 2010
- Stirling Moss gives a masterclass of how to drive the 1959 Cooper-Climax. He narrates several laps onboard at Donington Park, showing that he's lost vewry few of the skills that took him to so much success.
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Can we agree that if there were such a title as "Honary World Drivers Champion" that we'd give Sir Stirling that title?
Without a doubt! Without a doubt.
he's dead! I'm very upset
Roy Salvadori , noted 250F, Cooper and Aston Martin team manager, almost in the top rank in the mid/late 50s, said driving these early Coopers although they are very small cars in comparison and totally adjustable and set up in the way F1-3 cars till the late 197Os with the driver suggesting adjustments all sorts if suspension, ride height, gear ratio settings they are still similar to the 250F in the high position of the driver and the way the car is driven and drifted into the corners while a 1963 sees the driver virtually lying down and requiring very different techniques. Also the Cooper and its 200/220hp engines are simple chassis and power units within the price range of skilled artisans in some ways a new 25OF Maserati. in 1955 would have cost equivalent to 15 years wages of a bank clerk in a large British bank.
A new Cooper or Lotus 11 sports car was affordable to a Mechanic or really a garage owners son in.1961 while a 55 Maserati 250F or even say a 1977 Ralt F2 with 2 BMW 2 litre racing engines, would cist 100,000 in total for the basic equipment and a min 150,000-200,000 US for 1 12 race European season and only affordable by very rich men or rich listers. Only 2/3 Australasians would even have contemplated running. McRae, Allison and Oxton would have thought about it. Jones had already got enough of a break in F1 to only do a few F2 races and the Can Am series. Newman , Haas and VDS would probably have spent more than Surtees or Ensign did in F1 in 1977 on Can Am. In F5000 in the UK in 1976/7 Holland, Edwards, Trimmer would have spent say 45,000 pounds. So by the late 1970s motor racing was as unaffordable at the top level as in the mid 1950s. Brett Riley could not afford at all beyond F3 and it was a very unusual period of the minimal cost Cooper's and Lotus than everyman could contemplate. My idea of doing it was more on the Hawthorn, Seagrave model . But in my view, no non European could have done it thru French F2 in 1977.Just look at the tracks. It took.J.Watson 3 years to even qualify in Euro F2 and he was last true privateer to make. Son of a rich NI car dealer he saw the Dunrod TT in 1955.As he said in the pits that day he saw, the TT was not just about motor racing.He would have seen Moss, Fangio, Hawthorn, Collins. Frankly some of the most brilliant and dangerous individuals on earth, inc the Jag and Mercedes team. In the late 1960s before I was even a teenager I was as fanatical team and had read every detail of those 50 sports car races. Within a few years , by about 1970 3 photos summed up my interest. Willy.Mairese in the Ferrari 156 Spa 1962. The most impassioned drive in history.His face mask is of a man running at 100 percent concentration. A lesser Nulovari as Ferrari called him. Baghetti was the lesser Varzi. And the great shot of Rodriquez getting the usually hopeless P133 nose up to lead Amon off the line at Jarama in 1968. And of Oliver in ex Clark 49 high wing, leading the British GP.
till L43.
My view was the F5000 fields were increasingly week in UK/US in 1975/77 so the chance probably lay then in 1976 in F5000 or Atlantic, so you would have to he good enough, in my case as about 19 to look good compared with say Brown at Watkins Glen or Oliver at Mosport. Impossible. Well it might have been conceivable. But in my view no one nation n the sports history could have been competice in 1977 F2 without a couple of years on French and German tracks. Even Stewart or Hawthorn, would have not been a contender without 3 years F2 experience.
@@BD12 you will be too someday - get over it.
No see my post.
I watch this at least once a year. Stirling is the most intriguing of all the drivers from the golden era for me. Clearly, he had immense talent and graceful skills at the wheel. He was also a master at driving around any issues with the car or the tires. He could drive anything well, Formula One, Touring Cars, Sports Cars.. He had the unfortunate/fortunate luck to drive during Fangio's latter years. And then the accident, and perhaps too early attempt at a return. I love watching him in films of his great races, so smooth and consistent. RIP
An F1 legend in action, watching the older guys gives you respect for the dangers they faced all those years ago,,
True words (y)
I can't believe I just got racing lessons from Stirling Moss! Thanks.
RIP, I hope he's chasing crumpet angels in the sky now
8:40 "I can see I'm not as young as I was". Proceeds to drive faster than I have ever driven in my life...
I've driven Donington a few times and it's actually quite a demanding circuit, I am watching in wonderment how fluidly Stirling finds the apex of each corner, he genuinely looks ultra smooth in every control input; I'm not sure I've ever given him the credit he deserves as his racing is a decade or so before my time
I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Stirling Moss when I was younger and took a ride in one of his vans. Very nice person and respectful. Didn’t know much about him back at that time. R.I.P Sir you were a Legend in this life and the next.
Still can't believe this great man has left us.
I knew him quite well, such a lovely man I wish I could’ve known him for longer🇬🇧🇬🇧
Now THAT is how to do it. SO smooth. No wonder he was the absolute master in the wet.
Listen to that engine! Simply incredible. And Sir Stirling is the greatest British driver of all time, regardless of not winning the world championship. A true gentleman and an absolute legend!
Great video. RIP Sir Stirling. I have been a car racing fan since 1961, and i am convinced that it is completely pointless to try and compare pilots of different eras. They were all great, even if most of them did not had much success, but they had different skills, physically, technically, and above all a different mindset, particularly about safety. When you see the conditions in which they raced in the 50s, 60s and even 70s, it is mindblowing.
7:15 double clutch heel-toe downshift. Awesome video. Thanks.
Never was heel and toe. It was always 'toe and 'ball of foot'. See the crease in the shoe where the sole hits the accelerator? Never was 'heel'. The toe has to move to the brake, requiring the heel to lift off of the pedal, replaced for that moment by the ball of the foot much higher up on the accelerator pedal.
correct, that how it's done most of the time but the technique is still called heel-toe regardless of if the heel is used.
@@d.e.b.b5788 It is "heel and toe", you're being too literal. Nobody says ball of "foot and toe".
Moss - the legendary wet weather driver....! I saw him at the 100 km Nuremberg Ring race in a factory Porsche in, I think it was 1960 or '61, when his Car broke (it was always the car's fault, NEVER Moss). Moss limped back to the pitts. Leading in #1 in class (under 2liter) and something like 2nd or 3rd overall. The factory pulled in the other Porsche (that driver was about 3rd in class and 7th or 8th overall) and gave it to Moss...... The rest of the race was HISTORY! !! Moss came out of the pitts with his foot in the carburetor! It was like poetry-in-motion, watching Sterling Moss drive, gaining on the field with every lap! He became 1st in class (under 2liter) and something like 3rd or 4th overall (over 2liter class) passing the "birdcage Maseratti" and others..... I'm telling you - POETRY IN MOTION!!!!!!
+Gordon McCoy "Nuremberg Ring"? I think you mean Nurburgring......very common error. But errors were not something associated with the great Stirling Moss. He and Jackie Stewart will never be equalled for talent and ability because the cars they drove are from another planet to today's. It was so much more about the driver than the car back then.
Got that right! He's (Sir Sterling Moss) ismy all-time favourite....
I disagree. It's always been about the right driver in the right car. Sure, there weren't as many truly top skilled drivers back then, but the ones who were, could only compete with each other if they were in the right vehicle. Not to mention, even two of the same vehicle were rarely even. Setup was done by the seat of your pants. 'Feels a little loose' might generate a half turn of a nut, lock it, and take it out for another spin. Tire pressure? Yup, they're filled up. Wing settings? What wing? What's a wing? What's a splitter? What's a fuel cell? Different brake compounds? What's a compound? Oh yeah, we have new brake shoes. What kind? New clean ones, without any grease on them. I don't remember if they used methanol in F1 like they did at Indy, where you couldn't even see if you were on fire until your skin crackled!
Not worth responding to in any depth....
*Nürburgring
I love that he explains everything he's doing and his passion subtly infects you with the same joy he feels
Sir Stirling Moss. What a legend!
I've always been fascinated from the watches that vintage drivers used to put while racing in the '60s. Very romantic and iconic attitude of lost times.
Just trying to drive these things in arcade racing games with assists and unrealistic physics is difficult enough. Hats off to this absolute legend and others for making it look so easy.
A Masterclass. A privilege to watch. Having met Sir Stirling many times he was a true gentleman. Chatted to my wife on my Nokia. She was thrilled.
How sad his Goodwood shunt in 1962 cost us the prospect of what might have been fabulous battles with Jim Clark, Graham Hill, John Surtees and Dan Gurney - to name but a few!! Stirling's decision to retire then was so unfortunate - with the knowledge we have now about brain recovery following trauma, had he waited longer Stirling could still have won more GPs and maybe that elusive title. His driving here at nearly 80 years of age showed the depth of his skills and his finesse and control. Fabulous video!!
Yes he said he thought he'd lost the edge, but I've sometimes wondered if he'd simply lost the will to keep taking risks. He is after all still alive which is rare for the era.
You can't look at things that way. That accident could have actually saved his life.. .
It was rather surprising that he decided to go with Ferrari for 1962 in a Walker run semi works Ferrari 246 as the Ferrari that year were scarcely modified 1961 cars and Ferrari only entered 6 grand Prix and when they did, usually entered 4 cars for Phil Hill, Ricardo Rodriquez, Willy Mairesse and Baghetti. So Ferrari was over committed and the cars were seriously crash tested in every race. So Stirling was sort of in the position of Peterson going March in 1976. The performance was mixed. In the opening round in Holland the Ferraris were a distant 3rd and 4th. At Monaco , Phil Hill was 2nd and only a sec, behind McLaren, but Bruce had a lot in hand and could probably have been 40sec in advance and I am unconvinced Stirling would have won. At Spa Mairesse for once lived up to Enzo belief he was a lesser Nulovari and pushed the Lotus pair of Clark and Taylor to the limit for 200 of the 300 miles before touching Taylor's gearbox, following closely and they went off incredibly surviving the 150mph coming together. Clark and Taylor braked only for the hairpin and ran the rest of the circuit flat out in top gear with their foot buried on the accelerator. This was as really fast race. The 4 injection fitted Climax V8 entries of Clark Lotus 25; Taylor and Ireland Lotus 24 and McLaren and G.Hill BRM and the Ferraris of Phil Hill and R.Rodriquez who engaged in a terrifying team mate duel for 3rd and 4th but still lapped the 5th and 6th Surtees and Brabham twice, the first 4 were finished 20 miles ahead of Surtees Lola climax which showed how hopeless Moss position would have been in Walkers other car, a private Lotus 24. Without one of the best Climax and Brabham had only a standard Climax V8 and that was hopeless. If you were in the category and had only a 3rd grade carb Climax v8, you might as well have been in Formula 3, you were 10sec a lap slower.
So really with luck Stirling might have won again at Monaco and Nurburgring in the rain in 1962. It would not have been promising.
In 1963 it would have been worse. Jim Clark ran away with everything. His only possible challenger was the other Team Lotus driver was his only possible challenger, Trevor Taylor the other man with a works 25. At the non championship races at places like Imola, Enna were there were no corners at the time for 190hp 1.5 so called F1 cars and Clark as and Taylor usually dead heated. It was the same in the Sth African non championship raced. In the French GP at Rheims were there was one actual corner by half distance , Taylor had managed to pass Surtees, G.Hill, Gurney and Brabham and run 2nd , 10 sec behind Clark, if he had made tio finish , most of the races were still 300/320 miles and went on for hours. If Taylor had got to the finish line, ,Clark would have slowed and the resulting dead best would have seen Taylor elevated to the victor of the French GP and the result would have been that Trevor Taylor the most handsome and underated, driver and womaniser in motor racing history would have been rewarded with best orgy of the year. It would have been the only event worth attending that year. Chris Amon ran in midfield in a Lola climax V8 with carbs. On paper he finished good 7th placed at Spa, Reims and Silverstone dueling with the likes of Hailwood and Tritgnant in Rob Walker entered Lotus 24 Climax V8. The truth Amon in 7th place was 60 miles behind. The 1.5 races over 300 miles went on for 3 and half hours and on paper the Nurburgring race were Surtees beat Clark, just once in a Ferrari except Clark was nursing the Lotus 25 on 7 cylinders and the race and distance disintergrated the field Surtees would actually have won in Four cylinder Porsche.
I was at the meeting at Goodwood when he had his accident
Excellent video! Sterling Moss shows us how it's done. A legendary car & driver.
I loved watching Sir Stirling drive - looking so relaxed, head cocked to one side - as if he was on a Sunday drive. A man with a fierce engine bolted to his back. Great clip!
Let's salute 'The Maestro', 90 years old today! British motor racing's 'perfect hero'....
I made this film for Channel4. Part of a special evening commissioned by Peter Grimsdale. Funny how TH-cam keeps recommending my own films to me... `I remember how what a gent Sterling was and how he was interested in what I wanted to see what his feet were doing as he pushed the car. True legend and a great memory.
What year was that Channel 4 film made?
So smooth, so FAST, would have been multiple champ in a more modern era in reliable cars. RIP Sir Stirling
Sir Stirling...Mom's All-Time Favorite Driver... I KNOW She Was One Of the First To Greet Him Above! :-)
Man that was some nice heel-toe.... was a pleasure to watch this video, had a smile on my face the whole time... RIP Sterling Moss....
So smooth with the steering wheel. None of the constantly jerking back-and-forth motion one sees with amateurs.
I agree, wasted energy tugging at the wheel.
If you watch older films of Stirling you can see, like every racer in that era, he had to saw at the wheel at times in those big front-engined cars like the Maserati 250 F
Very nice! Must be a real treat driving one of those old F1 cars, if only for a few laps. Something I'd really love to do.
What a gem of a video
one of the best racing videos ever
Just class!. A driving tutorial from Sir Stirling , sheer brilliance!!
he's just a wonderful human being, through and through.
I would leave such words to the family, who really knew him. Sounds a bit arogant otherwise, at least to me. Sorry if you are family member.
Smooth as an eel in a bucket of olive oil, the old master Moss still cuts the mustard
Wonderful - simply wonderful. Thanks.
"The earlier you get the power on, the better it is."
Truely a living legend.
i think it is folly to try to declare any one of the many great F! drivers the best ever. All had skills beyond what any of us could ever learn. A successful race car requires the best driver, a great car design, the proper set up of the suspension, the right people to understand how the car works, and a strong leader on the team and buckets of money. Not every driver had the right combination for every race they competed in. In auto racing, the adage "let the best man win" seldom applies. Let's just say that the men of those 12 or 15 names we all know and remember were the greatest of their generation and leave it at that. All were brave in this era. All competed at their highest level. Who was best depends on which day the race occurred and who was blessed with the luck that day.
Excellent video. Thank you for posting it. The Cooper was a good car, driven by so many greats. Sterling Moss (and probably Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham, and a very few others) was a driver, who took the sport seriously. There were many drivers then that merely qualified as rich playboys with expensive toys. Sterling Moss may have been among the first with a professional attitude toward international sports car and Formula One racing.
This is fantastic! What a find! thanks for the upload!
Nice clip, He's got a real nice watch too!
thanks for uploading it was great to watch and just listen to the Cooper with the master.
That was a gift. Thank you for posting this!!!
a true professional at work, great guy.
7:14 Dat heel and toe action!
Looks more like heel and side foot action They don't make drivers like that anymore!! He was always one of my favorites
+Pierre X I think you mean toe and side of foot......that's what I see him doing.
its called heel and toe. has to have a name.
I wish i was his age and be able to drive and enjoy speed like him.Respect.
Fantastic man a true living legend.. he must be in his 80s here.. respect! 💕
God bless him !!!
Evocative! Thank You!
Pure class with a legend!
Not taking anything away from decorated war heroes, but even WWII ace Spitfire pilots would probably feel lucky to survive a 50s Grand Prix driving a car of that vintage at max speed, with mind boggling precision, and in the adverse death defying conditions of that era. Stirling Moss was some special character, so calm, smart and informative whilst handling that machine and providing eloquent feedback, where many would be frozen mouthed with fear and so pre-occupied with fierce concentration they could hardly string 2 words together. RIP
Well, some of those pilots were actually racing drivers before and after the war. One of Sir Stirling Moss' early teammates, George Abecassis, raced before the war, and went on to be a pilot during the war, then resumed racing after the war.
I read some incredible quotes from the man, which shows the mentality of the drivers back in the day.
One is when he raced an old Bugatti at Chimay in Belgium in the late 1940s, he was asked by a journalist of his opinions about the track conditions, the Chimay track is notoriously fast and narrow, with spectator lining the track. He responded that it is much easier, since at least no one's shooting at him, unlike when he's a pilot during the war.
Another one is when he raced sportscars for Aston Martin in the early 1950s. On one of the races, he ended up crashing his car, and getting a severe rebuke from team manager John Wyer in the process. Still his retort to the team manager is "Goddammit John, when I crashed my plane during the war, they gave me the fucking DFC!"
@@jcgabriel1569 You’re right, what a character Abecassis was 😂, I can imagine him riling up John Wyer a fair bit. The Gulf Le Mans legend was probably cut from the same cloth as Abecassis with wartime service and didn’t suffer fools gladly, but they would’ve had a good deal of ‘old boy’ respect for each other all the same.
Huge balls personified. RIP Stirling Moss
love the sound
Legend.
He loved his tech, gadgets etc.
He truly appreciated the new tech too, non of that "it was better in my day" hi just said it was different he would have been great in modern cars too.
BTW. IT WAS better in his day. More man, less machine.
True heroic formula one died the day they slapped a wing on the Lotus, downhill from there.
F1 cars should be cigar tubes with no wings, no adverts and no tech. What we have today is something different, computers with a man on board?
He should have been champ in '58 but was such a gent he let Hawthorn win with less victories than he scored himself.
RIP Sir Stirling, racer, lover, proper Englishman but most importantly a gent.
I think it's more man and machine being in perfect balance.
thanx for the upload!
What an ABSOLUTE gentleman!
This is driving. Full stop.
Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!
Pure gold.
The magic that was Sir Stirling Moss. R I P
Saw Moss run two races at Riverside in 1960 (Times GP for sports cars and the US GP). Many excellent drivers: Clark, Hill, Hill, Gurney, Surtees, Ginther, Bonnier, Brabham, McLaren, Ireland, von Trips, Gendebien, Salvadori, etc., etc. Moss stood out. He was in a class of one.
He always was a very, very smooth dirver - this shows his style perfectly.
Un grande de automovilismo, una leyenda . ✋
What a legend!
Wonderful ! Thankyou.
Incredible!!!
When Stirling was racing he always wore his lucky racing socks from 1953 -- he never washed them because he said he didn't want them to become too fluffy.
One of my heros
Wonderful.
Auto racing may be the most forgiving of sports when it comes to age. We have an old timers race and in borrowed cars they have put on better shows then the youngsters who owned them. I was truly in awe seeing my childhood heros sllicing and dicing and the same old rivalries were renewed just like it was yestersday. They raced like they were kids again, and frankly didn't look like they'd lost a beat in all those years. Frank Kimmel's dad Bill Sr. was one of them. Frank, 9 time arca champion.
When the driver drove the car and not some computer in the pit-lane.
Rest In Peace Stirling.
great video
this man is a hero...
This is gold
A real gentleman driver.
R.I.P. To a fantastic driver and man.
My hero !
What a Master!
Well done sir! Rest in peace.
Moss the boss!
Top man, top car.
Inspirational gentleman racer.
What a legend
Sterling was about 57 when he made this. Still damn good. I'm sure the new grand prix or F1 cars there's no need to heel and toe. That's one art that's gone for F1.
+gremmann but I bet they can all do it. Anyone who's raced in circuit or rally with a conventional gearbox will almost certainly have learnt how to do it. It becomes automatic after a while and increases the thrill of driving, achieving smooth downshifts while braking heavily.
+Audidude
I have raced this manual gearbox professional in Formula Ford in 1990. The current teen F1 generation would be unae to do this. Ricciardo even said that that he thinks he could never handle this professional after a demo test in a prototype car of the 70's. They are all computerized kids with hardly natural talents. It is no big thing to race a modern formula car fast. The real gods were the F1 drivers in the 80's and before....nowadays it is a laughable joke!
+houseofwine Yes, of course. Because almost 900 hp, 3-5 g's through the corners, 4 g's under braking, and top speeds of upwards of 200 mph is a laughable joke.
Different sets of skills, really. Moss and crew might have had difficulty with all the settings available, fuel restrictions (WTF? just go fast as you can, mate!). What they're pointing out, is that some people are never able to master certain physically coordinating skills. Brakes? What brakes? those old cars barely had brakes; they had to downshirt to slow down, and if you missed a shift, you might very well destroy your brakes and have nothing left for the rest of the race. So yeah, todays drivers are kind of spoiled by reliable technology. Oh, to hear what a modern day driver might say if he was driving one of those old front engine monsters and had the driveshaft spinning between his legs and have a u joint go out! That would be exciting! Heel & toe while shifting an argumentitive gearbox is an acquired skill (I'm willing to bet none of them has yet figured out how Senna drove the rest of a race stuck in one gear and still won). 3-5 g's with downforce. Quite stable. Nice, smooth, safe run off areas. Once you've reached 175 mph, 200 isn't that much different....especially in a car with downforce. those old cars had NONE! On skinny tires! wearing your gas tank around your waist. Hmmm. Knowing you only had a one in three chance of surviving your racing career. There were fewer cars crashing into each other, because if you did, you were dead. A different time. In comparison, today's F1 driver looks like he's driving in a computer game.
+D.E.B. B struggling to reconcile this post with your other one I replied to. This time you have it about right, but the other one.... 😊
Great Man with a nice car
RIP Champion!
He's one of those guys you could listen to all day and never get bored.
I don't know if his, posh?, accent is a help or hindrance to that.
I've driven an Aston Martin Vantage round Donnington, love the track very technical. Not as smooth as Stirling but then he is an ex F1 driver.
Jack Brabham won the '59 and '60 F1 world championship in a Cooper Climax. Pity no mention made.
Sad but true.
That's because this is a video about Stirling Moss.
@@2011zurich No, it's video about the Cooper Climax, a car driven to back to back World Championship victories, presented by Stirling Moss.
@@ihopetowin Ok, I agree... but the reason I watched it was because of Stirling Moss. Jack Brabham is one of my great heroes, and (I think) he had more success with the Cooper-Climax than Moss did, but again -- I came here for Moss, not the car. Having said that though, a mention of Brabham's success with it would have been good...
@@2011zurich I am moved and exhilarated by the sounds of the 50's and 60's machines. Have a good day. :)
“Might as well enjoy it to the end.”
I may as well to try to enjoy it until the end... wise words.
Genius. R.I.P
Just added it to my _favorites_ map, under *_'arti'_*
R.I.P･･･Mr.MOSS･･･
Sterling - "and I brake hard "
Car - continues at the same speed
You had to have a screw lose to go flat out in one of these cars with brakes that bad, testament to the skill of these earlier era drivers and their huge testicles 👍
British best makes me proud!!!
like a boss
What a treat to see those talented feet!
RIP,,, guy never lost his love for autosport one bit. Anyone who downvoted this is going to hell.
Britain's National Living Treasure!!!!!!!!!!!
A quick check on the Internet: The Coventry Climax engine used in the 1959 Cooper was a 2.5 liter, straight four developing 240 Bhp. The car weighed 472 kilos(1040.6 lbs), giving a power to weight ratio 461 Bhp per ton. For purposes of comparing, the Bugatti Veyron at 4,160 lbs provides 530 Bhp per ton -- 69 ponies more.
Formula One cars then were built to win races, not sound good.