Jacques villeneuve

[vqdave]

And as for his "dying swan" act at the end of every race...

Ha ha i always remember when he was in indycar and it was his birthday, i think probably his 60th, and it was a cracking race, oval, overtaking top and bottom, full on excitement and at the end Mansel wins stumbles out of his car pulls his helmet off and is caked with vomit. Brilliant, but funny. Who else could race so hard and win whilst vomiting in a helmet!!

[oldtimer]

And as for his "dying swan" act at the end of every race...

Who else could race so hard and win whilst vomiting in a helmet!!

Didn't James Hunt emerge similarly adorned with vomit after winning one of his races in 1976 - France possibly?

[Nordic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xep6TfdWRlk&NR

If you like Senna you will like this short film and you may even be crying into your Senna duvet by the end.

If your not a fan of his, and I admit I am not, most will agree his car control was supreme and we can all moarn the lose of those.

The comments from Frank Williams at the start are quite telling with regard his first test for Williams.

He did also do alot of work for charity so he should get some points for that.

[Fax]

As Nordic well put it, Senna did make numerous charitable contributions.  However most top athletes making millions generally do (At least over here. Most top baseball and football players have charities set up in the communites in which they play. Here in Cincinnati many of the Reds and Bengals have charities they contribute much time and money to.) I ridiculed Schumacher for having to issue a press release last year noting his donation to the tsunami relief, I thought it very self serving.  Tiger Woods donated millions to tsunami relief as well (his mother is Thai after all) but didn't utter a peep about it.
Regarding the Nige I freely admit most of my opinion of him is coloured by his off track demeaner.  Good grief! The endless pissing & moaning, and as Andy said, the post race hysterics, etc.  The guy had the world by the balls and all he ever did was bitch & complain the moment someone put a microphone in front of his mug.  Rick Mears used to say that he had to pinch himself every morning when he woke up, he just couldn't believe he actually got paid to drive racing cars, and nobody would ever be able to wipe the smile from his face.  Whenever Rick signed a autograph he said "Thank you" to the recipient of the autograph. There are a great many people of all professions who should learn to accept fame, success, and wealth with such grace.
Nigel was never a pretty driver to watch (in fact I would describe his style as downright butt-ugly at times), and never a great qualifier. But he was probably one of the best overtakers in racing history, and ferocious in battle.
Fax

[Fax]

Oldtimer, I think it was France '78.  He alone was the only car to stay in touch with Mario & Ronnie that day and the effort left him exhausted and wretching in his helmet on the last lap, still made it home for third though.  James had his critics but his drive that afternoon was nothing short of majestic.  I have that race on video and the way he threw the M28 around trying to stay on Ronnie's tail was a thing of beauty.
Also James tended to be quite high strung before a race and the sight of him puking in the pits was apparently a common one, especially early in his career.  Could have been because he'd been drinking his face off and shagging some bird till the wee hours the night before too.
Fax

[oldtimer]

Oldtimer, I think it was France '78.

Fax I do believe you are right... well at least some elements of my memory are still in working order even if not the bits that recall race position and year!

[monkey]

Nigel was never a pretty driver to watch (in fact I would describe his style as downright butt-ugly at times), and never a great qualifier. But he was probably one of the best overtakers in racing history, and ferocious in battle.
Fax

Fax I agree. I was lucky enough to be sat down at Stowe corner during the 1987 British GP when he drew in a 30 second deficit on Piquet at a rate of 2 seconds a lap, to whip passed him with a couple of laps to go. That manoeuvre was something to behold, but there were many others that afternoon that were quite breathtaking.

[termietermite]

Nigel was never a pretty driver to watch (in fact I would describe his style as downright butt-ugly at times), and never a great qualifier. But he was probably one of the best overtakers in racing history, and ferocious in battle.
Fax

Fax I agree. I was lucky enough to be sat down at Stowe corner during the 1987 British GP when he drew in a 30 second deficit on Piquet at a rate of 2 seconds a lap, to whip passed him with a couple of laps to go. That manoeuvre was something to behold, but there were many others that afternoon that were quite breathtaking.

Yeah, Monkey, I was there too.  Remember when F1 was great to watch. Sigh.

[monkey]

Yeah, Monkey, I was there too.  Remember when F1 was great to watch. Sigh.

The memory is fading, but yes I do just about

[Fax]

At forty four years my memory is struggling a bit as well.
James was driving a McLaren M26 in 1978, not the M28 (which was well & truly a dog, in fact calling it a dog might be complimentary.  That was a car that started life as a dog and just became a heavily redesigned dog )
I was always a Piquet fan but will be the first to admit that the dummy that Mansell sold Piquet approaching Stowe during the '87 British GP was something else.
Fax

[oldtimer]

I was always a Piquet fan but will be the first to admit that the dummy that Mansell sold Piquet approaching Stowe during the '87 British GP was something else.
Fax

Small world - like Monkey I too was sitting down at Stowe that year... you weren't there as well were you Fax?

It was a peach of a move.

[Fax]

Not me, was a twenty five year old perched in front of the TV at seven in the morning here in Cincinnati.  Used to get up every race morning as excited as a little kid on Christmas to watch the GP's live from Europe.  They couldn't pay me to get out of bed to watch the crap they call F1 these days.
Fax

[monkey]

I was always a Piquet fan but will be the first to admit that the dummy that Mansell sold Piquet approaching Stowe during the '87 British GP was something else.
Fax

Small world - like Monkey I too was sitting down at Stowe that year... you weren't there as well were you Fax?

It was a peach of a move.

Small world indeed!! There was a momentum about the move, he did not hesitate for a moment, he caught Pequet and just kept going flat out. I have often thought that had he hesitated for a moment then he would not have got past him. There was very nearly contact and I remember Mansell coming round the circuit after the race riding pillion on a motor cycle, having the driver stop so he could get off and kiss the tarmac. It was quite something

[oldtimer]

They couldn't pay me to get out of bed to watch the crap they call F1 these days.
Fax

Too true... sometimes these days I am not even aware when the GPs are taking place.  I used to be, like you, a devoted follower but than my father took me to Le Mans.  The rest is history!

[monkey]

Not me, was a twenty five year old perched in front of the TV at seven in the morning here in Cincinnati.  Used to get up every race morning as excited as a little kid on Christmas to watch the GP's live from Europe.  They couldn't pay me to get out of bed to watch the crap they call F1 these days.
Fax

Fax, I agree, sometimes I try to watch a GP but literally I struggle to stay awake and often I fail, I am then usaully woken by the German national anthem…..