Best Racing driver by Nationality

[Doris]

I've been trying to work out which Kiwi would get the vote and to be fair I'm a bit stuck.  Both Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon get the nod for the 1966 victory at LM, and of course Bruce's legacy lives on, but my vote may well go to Possum Bourne.  A great rally driver and a genuinely nice guy by all accounts.

Dx

[Petra]

And for German?  Bellof would have been very great.

This is all a bit before my time, but from what I've read it was not so much a question of if but when Bellof would get himself killed. So chances of him becoming very great were limited me thinks.

[Boorish Grobian]

The same was very much said of Jody Sheckter, and Keke Rosberg but both have lived to be fine, middle-aged men.  Stefan made a simple overtaking mistake, but it was at Eau Rouge, which was a hell of alot more dangerous back in 1985.  As you say, probably before your time.
Fax

[Petra]

Yup, before my time. But I've read a lot, and I definately know about Eau Rouge being much trickier en more dangerous back then than it is now. Also, having seen footage of the accident I think Bellof had quite some bad luck the way he hit te concrete. On the other hand, he too should have known about the danger of Eau Rouge, and it wasn't merely a simple overtaking mistake. It was something nobody in his right mind would have attempted at that particular corner. But then, I guess nobody in his right mind would even go through Eau Rouge in a race car flat out, and it's doing just that what makes a driver a great driver and not just an ordinary one.

In the end, Bellof never had the chance to show what he could have become. Schumacher did. He never was my favourite driver, I even detested him somewhat, but ignoring his accomplishments would be naive. That's why I still pick him as the greatest of the German drivers.

[Boorish Grobian]

All very well Petra, but I am a bit confused.  Doesn't the exact same argument you've made against my selection of Bellof apply to your choice of Greg Moore as well.  I mean seriously, Greg Moore over GV?
Fax

[Petra]

Good point! I hate to say it, but you're absolutely right

Although in my defense I have to say I chose More from the 'modern' drivers because I was unsure of wether there were other great Canadian drivers besides Gilles V.

[Leftie]

I've been trying to work out which Kiwi would get the vote and to be fair I'm a bit stuck.  Both Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon get the nod for the 1966 victory at LM, and of course Bruce's legacy lives on, but my vote may well go to Possum Bourne.  A great rally driver and a genuinely nice guy by all accounts.

Dx

On the 2nd June 1970, I was working for West Sussex CC Highways Dept on the 'Lavant Straight' outside the Goodwood Circuit.
During a break, there was me sitting on the roof of an old orange Bedford TK watching this very loud orange thingy going round at great spead. WOW.

Half hour later just before I had to start work again 

It appraoched the last time, and it seemed to take off. BANG!!!

If you know Goodwood, the Lavant Straight aint, there is a left kink in it and thats where it happened.

Didn't own a camera then and if I did I couldn't afford the developing costs.

Since that moment I got an illness called 'Speed'. Sprinted around the circuit countless times now and passing that 'kink' I always remember 2nd June...................

As an aside, I first went out with my wife on 2nd June 1977, Mums birthday on the 3rd June and Ruth and myself got married on 3rd June 1978. Yes we are still together.

[Werner]

The same was very much said of Jody Sheckter, and Keke Rosberg but both have lived to be fine, middle-aged men.  Stefan made a simple overtaking mistake, but it was at Eau Rouge, which was a hell of alot more dangerous back in 1985.  As you say, probably before your time.
Fax

Yes, Eau Rouge was much more dangerous at that time but actually still is dangerous today and it wasn't Eau Rouge that killed him. I was an eye-witness when Bellof crashed, standing as a spectator in Eau Rouge, it all happened some feet away in front of me - my darkest memory of all the races I have visited.

What actually killed him was the fact that he wasn't driving a carbon-fibre chassis - in which he would have survived almost for sure. The Brun-Porsche he drove had a steel/aluminium chassis. The chassis was crushed that much that it took the marshals almost half an hour to get his body out of the car.

It was clearly his mistake - I discussed it afterwards with all the other spectators which saw the accident and there was a consent on that among us.