Grand Prix: The Killer Years - BBC4

jairaj

Anyone watch this?

It was a documentary on the early years of Formula 1 racing and how they were pushing the boundaries of car racing with no safety standards at all. I think they said 1976 was the first year were someone didn't die :shock:

I thought it was an excellent watch. Very frank and emotional accounts by the few racing drivers who survived from those days. Well worth a watch on the iplayer.

peat

Yep, caught it first time around last year.

Pretty harrowing viewing. The Dave Purley incident is particually difficult to watch.

VWsurfbum

Peat wrote:

Yep, caught it first time around last year.

Pretty harrowing viewing. The Dave Purley incident is particually difficult to watch.

Exactly this, i have watched a few times, i had it on DVD too i think?

Compulsive viewing, but harrowing at the same time.

Frank the tank

Peat wrote:

Yep, caught it first time around last year.

Pretty harrowing viewing. The Dave Purley incident is particually difficult to watch.

Me too.

I remember seeing the Dave Purley incident as it happened, I was only a schoolboy at the time. Things like that stick in your memory for ever.

veronese68

I've got a great book called Grand Prix Requiem, about great racing drivers that died. Niki Lauda is included as it's amazing he survived. A really good read with some incredible stories.
I remember watching Ronnie Peterson's accident at the time. That really stuck in my mind. James Hunt has always been a hero of mine, largely because of that. Saw him walking his dogs on Wimbledon Common a few times whilst doing school cross country runs, never had the courage to say hello.

jndb72

Didn't see the program but just watched a short clip of the Dave Purley incident on YouTube. Truly shocking. Just goes to show how far safety has come since those days.

lawman

Watched this a few times now as its just hard to comprehend how bad things were back then, people complaining about current safety standards should look back at how it was and far its come, there hasnt been a death of a driver in f1 for nearly 20 years, danger is part of the sports DNA and to get rid of it entirely is going a step in the wrong direction if you ask me.

Also saw on the BBC today that Professor Sid Watkins, the man behind a whole host of life saving operations to drivers and new safety measures has passed away aged 84, very sad news, his influence on the sport has a huge impact on safety and the drivers owe him alot.

mrmonkfinger

lawman wrote:

Watched this a few times now as its just hard to comprehend how bad things were back then, people complaining about current safety standards should look back at how it was and far its come, there hasnt been a death of a driver in f1 for nearly 20 years, danger is part of the sports DNA and to get rid of it entirely is going a step in the wrong direction if you ask me. .

Not sure I understand. You think we need a few less safety standards and a few more dead drivers? :?

EH_Rob

You can't get rid of 'danger' in motorsport. Or anything for that matter. All you can do is control the risks as best you can. I think they've found a reasonable balance.

They'll always be people calling for change, but I don't think there are many people complaining about the current standards are there? The only thing that comes to mind is the whole closed cockpit thing, which sounds a bit overboard to me.

lawman

mrmonkfinger wrote:

lawman wrote:

Watched this a few times now as its just hard to comprehend how bad things were back then, people complaining about current safety standards should look back at how it was and far its come, there hasnt been a death of a driver in f1 for nearly 20 years, danger is part of the sports DNA and to get rid of it entirely is going a step in the wrong direction if you ask me. .

Not sure I understand. You think we need a few less safety standards and a few more dead drivers? :?

No, no, quite the opposite. I believe the safety measures currently in place are fantastic, where I believe the sport is going too far is talk of a closed or protected cockpit, the drivers knowingly take the risk and know the dangers of what happens if something does go wrong. The accident in spa, along with the head injuries to Felipe Massa and Henry surtees in a lower formula, were freak accidents. Yes Alonso was lucky grosjeans car narrowly missed his head/hands, but given how often these kind of things happen, last one I remember was Abu Dhabi 2010 when schui was hit by Liuzzi. They are few and far between and changing the whole concept of the sport and open wheel/cockpit racing for an accident which may never happen is perhaps being too cautious

Daz555

It was a great documentary and so very revealing about the history of F1.

I do sometimes wonder though if MotoGP riders look at the F1 boys all snuggly in their carbon fibre duvets and think "pussies".

Northwind

And the sidecar racers look down on everyone else.

agentsammo

Saw this program last year and again a few nights ago, an amazing program highlighting F1 during the times when safety was a word not used by anyone.

If you like that then you should try and catch the show about group rally cars from the 80's even scarier than the f1 program.

cat_with_no_tail

Daz555 wrote:

It was a great documentary and so very revealing about the history of F1.

I do sometimes wonder though if MotoGP riders look at the F1 boys all snuggly in their carbon fibre duvets and think "pussies".

And the TT riders look at the MGP boys with their gravel traps and run-offs and think "pussies"

When Rossi was over for a (slow) parade lap a few years back he said it "terrified" him.

YeehaaMcgee

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

It was a great documentary and so very revealing about the history of F1.

I do sometimes wonder though if MotoGP riders look at the F1 boys all snuggly in their carbon fibre duvets and think "pussies".

And the TT riders look at the MGP boys with their gravel traps and run-offs and think "pussies"

When Rossi was over for a (slow) parade lap a few years back he said it "terrified" him.

And they ALL look at you, wobbling about on a mountain bike