Rush to Glory: FORMULA 1 Racing's Greatest Rivalry by Tom Rubython

Author:Tom Rubython
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Motor Sports, Sports & Recreation, General
ISBN: 9780762796960
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 2013-07-31T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Hunt Takes Full Advantage

Hunt Wins as Lauda Crashes

Nürburgring: July 30–August 1, 1976

Midmorning on Thursday July 29, 1976, Niki Lauda sat caught up in a traffic jam outside the entrance to the famous Nürburgring circuit in Germany. As he sat there, stationary in his car with the window open, a fan approached and showed him a photograph of Jochen Rindt’s grave. As the fan stared at Lauda, presumably seeking a reaction, Lauda looked at the picture bewildered; he wondered what the point of it was. How was he was supposed to react? Pleased with himself, the fan walked off, but the incident stuck in Lauda’s mind. Rindt was a fellow Austrian and had been world champion in 1970, but he was killed that same year at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, only two years before Lauda had entered Formula One. Lauda hated omens and immediately wondered whether this was one.

It signaled the start of what would be the most difficult weekend of Lauda’s life. He had been a firm opponent of competing on the Nürburgring circuit on safety grounds and had wanted it closed. Thinking it far too dangerous, Lauda had voiced his concerns in public and had taken a lot of criticism in the media for his views. He was wondering what to expect at the Nürburgring and what sort of welcome he would get.

A recent television documentary had shown German fans accusing him of being “chicken-hearted” and “cowardly” because of his views of their beloved circuit. One particular fan interviewed said that if Lauda was so terrified of the ring, he should get out of Formula One. Lauda had watched the program in Germany sitting in a hotel room on his own. Outraged by it, he said afterwards, “I was absolutely livid, knotted with rage at my inability to defend myself.”

The Nürburgring, where the 1976 German Grand Prix was scheduled to be raced on August 1, was a very different track in those days. The old Nürburgring was 14.2 miles long and unlike any other circuit in the world. Situated in the heavily forested Eiffel Mountains west of Koblenz, it was possibly the least suitable venue for a modern-day Formula One grand prix. The circuit, which had opened in 1920, was usually covered in mist and fog and was often damp, with varying weather conditions at each end. The 14.2 miles contained a staggering 177 corners.

It was without doubt the most dangerous circuit in the world. By 1976 over 140 drivers had been killed in 56 years, an average of nearly three a year. It was not until 1974, after a campaign by Jackie Stewart, that safety was addressed. Miles of catch fencing and steel guardrails were installed, finally stopping cars from flying off the circuit into the trees.

Lauda had first visited Nürburgring in 1969 as a 20-year-old driver in Formula Vee, the German equivalent of Formula Ford in Britain. His views were very different back then. As he remembers: “We didn’t think it was at all bad, only exciting.

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