Racing Through the Golden Era: Memories from the Cockpit

Recently, I had the pleasure of sharing stories on the Don't Lift Off podcast with Anthony Dunn about my racing career with Ferrari, Lotus, and Lola. Reflecting on those incredible years, I'm struck by how much the sport has changed since the golden era of motorsport.

When Circuits Were Cathedrals of Speed

The tracks we raced on weren't just circuits—they were monuments to human courage. The Targa Florio demanded everything: sixty miles of Sicilian mountain roads with stone walls inches from your wheels. The Nürburgring Nordschleife—Jackie Stewart's "Green Hell"—was fourteen miles of pure terror and exhilaration through the Eifel Mountains.

The original Spa-Francorchamps was breathtakingly beautiful and terrifying. Before safety modifications, it was a high-speed blast through the Belgian Ardennes at nearly 200 mph. The Österreichring carved through Austrian mountains with sweeping corners that tested the absolute limits of adhesion.

Racing Among Giants

What made those years special was the caliber of drivers we shared the grid with. Jim Clark was simply in a class of his own—watching him drive was like observing a master musician at work. Graham Hill embodied everything a racing driver should be: quick, brave, intelligent, and calculating. John Surtees brought unique perspective from his motorcycle world championship success. Pedro Rodriguez was fearless in a way that both inspired and concerned fellow drivers.

A Different Era

We accepted danger as integral to racing—not from recklessness, but because the alternative was not racing at all. Every time we strapped in, we knew the risks. This created a unique camaraderie among drivers and a pure, unfiltered connection between man and machine.

Modern motorsport has evolved tremendously in safety and technology, but something has been lost—a certain purity that defined our era when every corner demanded complete commitment and every race was a genuine test of courage.