by ERC » Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:30 pm
What a great story Michael!
What many seem to overlook is that not only did he become a world wide household name, but his real racing career was only 14 years. Although he did some trackwork afterwards, it was low key.
After his bad crash at Goodwood, once 'recovered', and realising he wasn't as sharp as he was before, he took part in a major study led by Dr Berenice Krikler.
From the book Stirling Moss by Robert Edwards
"Krikler knew next to nothing about motor racing (that would soon change) and therefore lacked any kind of benchmark against which to measure Stirling's attributes. However a number of Grand Prix drivers, such as Innes Ireland, Graham Hill, Bruce McLaren, Roy Salvadori and Jack Brabham offered their services to construct the sort of baseline, which she needed as a starting point.
The essence of her study was a series of reactive, cognitive and personality observations, using both the racing drivers and a control sample of intelligent and experienced motorists. She sought some standard by which Stirling could be judged.
As she collated and analysed the results, it became quite clear to Krikler that by these measures Stirling had better not get back into a racing car. On the section of the test concerning visual co-ordination and concentration, Stirling scored the maximum measurable deficit against the control groups. When she told him, he clearly did not fully appreciate what had happened to him, nor did he (or anyone else, for that matter), have any idea whether this would be a permanent or shifting state.
The report was kept confidential at the time, but was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in February 1965, nearly three years after Stirling's crash."
Part of that study (which I seem to remember reading) came to the conclusion that when drivers, including the GP drivers, were restricted by
artificial speed limits for example, (ie a blanket 80kph speed limit), then the error rate rose considerably.
That study would never have been carried out had it not been for that tragic crash but I seem to remember reading the report many years ago, though I have no idea where, so part of it at least, must have been published, possibly in the motoring press.
Stirling was an amazing driver, in all sorts of machinery but much harder on his cars than say Tony Brooks and many a time there would be a collective groan from our household when the machinery broke.
His advice to Mike Hawthorn that lost him the 1958 championship was testament to his absolute sportsmanship, and to this day, and hopefully beyond, something that other sportsmen should take to heart instead of just concentrating on the $$$.
Ironically, I never saw him race during his heyday.
Remember his visit to Whenuapai, 1997?
A very poor pic but at Goodwood 2009, when Lord March put on a procession of his cars, for his 80th, Stirling actually had a run in his own OSCA.
R I P Sir Stirling
What a great story Michael!
What many seem to overlook is that not only did he become a world wide household name, but his real racing career was only 14 years. Although he did some trackwork afterwards, it was low key.
After his bad crash at Goodwood, once 'recovered', and realising he wasn't as sharp as he was before, he took part in a major study led by Dr Berenice Krikler.
From the book Stirling Moss by Robert Edwards
[i]"Krikler knew next to nothing about motor racing (that would soon change) and therefore lacked any kind of benchmark against which to measure Stirling's attributes. However a number of Grand Prix drivers, such as Innes Ireland, Graham Hill, Bruce McLaren, Roy Salvadori and Jack Brabham offered their services to construct the sort of baseline, which she needed as a starting point.
The essence of her study was a series of reactive, cognitive and personality observations, using both the racing drivers and a control sample of intelligent and experienced motorists. She sought some standard by which Stirling could be judged.
As she collated and analysed the results, it became quite clear to Krikler that by these measures Stirling had better not get back into a racing car. On the section of the test concerning visual co-ordination and concentration, Stirling scored the maximum measurable deficit against the control groups. When she told him, he clearly did not fully appreciate what had happened to him, nor did he (or anyone else, for that matter), have any idea whether this would be a permanent or shifting state.
The report was kept confidential at the time, but was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in February 1965, nearly three years after Stirling's crash."[/i]
Part of that study (which I seem to remember reading) came to the conclusion that when drivers, including the GP drivers, were restricted by [u]artificial [/u]speed limits for example, (ie a blanket 80kph speed limit), then the error rate rose considerably.
That study would never have been carried out had it not been for that tragic crash but I seem to remember reading the report many years ago, though I have no idea where, so part of it at least, must have been published, possibly in the motoring press.
Stirling was an amazing driver, in all sorts of machinery but much harder on his cars than say Tony Brooks and many a time there would be a collective groan from our household when the machinery broke.
His advice to Mike Hawthorn that lost him the 1958 championship was testament to his absolute sportsmanship, and to this day, and hopefully beyond, something that other sportsmen should take to heart instead of just concentrating on the $$$.
Ironically, I never saw him race during his heyday.
Remember his visit to Whenuapai, 1997?
[attachment=1]197_0301_033 Stirling Moss.jpg[/attachment]
A very poor pic but at Goodwood 2009, when Lord March put on a procession of his cars, for his 80th, Stirling actually had a run in his own OSCA.
[attachment=0]209_0918_203b.JPG[/attachment]
R I P Sir Stirling