And James Hunt, that party boy! He had bigger stones than Niki to finish that Japanese GP for the championship. Crazy, but brave!
JK
Yeah, for me James Hunt was my childhood hero. There were no bones about him and like you say, to go out in the Japanese GP was something else. I didn’t like him winning without Niki going out as well but the interesting fact about James in that race that a few people don’t know is that the bob on the top of his gear stick had come off, leaving only the tread, and this cut straight through his glove and his hand. For a lot of the race he was changing gear using a wound that Jesus would have been proud of…..
The other thing I loved about him was how he just didn’t conform to what the establishment wanted. He would go about in jeans and a tee-shirt when it was an event that required a more classy attire. And although he didn’t look it, he was a very good all round sportsman, good at nearly everything he chose to do.
But I think that the spirit of the chap was shown when he attempted to save Ronnie Peterson from his burning car. I remember watching that. I think that he got a Knight hood for it but I might be wrong.
Talking of Niki and the US GP. I am sure that he won it in the US in 75…??