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The great Sir Stirling Moss has passed. I was lucky enough to get to know Stirling and the wonderful Susie. My enduring memory? His fury at my utter incompetence. 1/7 #StirlingMoss @JennieGow @australian @MBrundleF1
I was a hopelessly inexperienced journalist for The Australian and sometime about 1990 I was asked to be his navigator in a classic car rally prior to the #F1 in Adelaide and write a feature on the man. We raced in a gorgeous blood-red '60s Jaguar E-Type convertible. 2/7
Stirling was highly competitive. Reading maps and instructions in regional South Australia at high speed with no roof tested my limited navigation skills. Miraculously we survived the first day and were in the top half of the field. Day two, however, was to bring disaster. 3/7
I missed a vital turn. We drove on in the wrong direction for an hour. I knew I'd screwed up but how do you tell Sir Stirling you've got him so badly lost? As the truth dawned, epic swearing ensued. Even an ex-F1 star driving over 200kph in a vintage Jag could not fix this. 4/7
From memory, it was the first time the words f***ing twat made it in to a national newspaper. The story was on the front page of The Australian with a headline 'Stirling fast and furious when lost'. We finished disappointingly in the last third of the field. 5/7
Stirling loved the story. He said when in London to come visit them. And over the years we'd have a meal at home, which involved taking a seat in a lounge suite and at the touch of button, Stirling lowering a fully-set dining table from the kitchen one floor above. 6/7
We've lost a great man. A skilled, brave driver and showman. A raconteur and star in truest sense. Vale Stirling and my condolences Susie. 7/7 (and a P.S. to follow)...
Perhaps the best/worst moment of our adventure was in the rally gymkhana. We had to reverse quickly in to a tight spot. I opened my door to check the lines. The door snapped off. Holding it in my hands, he looked and barked, 'throw it in the back. Come on! We're losing time'.
