American motorsports lost one of its most colorful early postwar road racers when Boris “Bob” Said passed away in March at the age of 69.
Said got his start in motorsport when he talked his way into racing an MGTD at Thompson Speedway in 1951, at the age of 18. Said went on to demonstrate his prowess behind the wheel of a number of machines, most notably a series of OSCAs that thrust him onto the international racing scene. In fact, when Said drove an OSCA to victory at Rouen in July 1953, he became the first American to win a postwar European racing event.
Said went on to race extensively in Europe, as well as back home where he competed in the inaugural USGP held at Sebring in 1959, driving an outdated Connaught.
Friends remember Said as a gregarious, multi-talented individual who made and lost several fortunes in a variety of endeavours and even won an Emmy award for producing a documentary. He is survived by his son Boris Said II, who is a noted Trans-Am and endurance racer in his own right.
