Stirling Moss in the pits at Watkins Glen for the United States Grand Prix in 1961, not long after scoring his epic tire-fondling victory at the Nürburgring.
Photo: Ozzie Lyons / www.petelyons.com
Stirling Moss deliberately steering his Lotus into rain puddles around the Nürburgring—reading about that may have been the first time I ever really thought about racing tires.
It was the German Grand Prix of 1961. The 1.5-liter formula had just come in, and the tiny, 4-cylinder Coventry Climax behind Moss’ shoulders made a mere 150 hp. But this was World Championship combat in fragile, incendiary F1s, and it was the fearsome ’Ring, all 14-plus miles of it. One minor misstep could have gruesome consequences.
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