Keijo “Keke” Rosberg

Keke Rosberg was a kind of motor racing Cinderella Man. He went from the drudgery of retiring or not even qualifying a stream of uncompetitive cars to becoming the 1982 Formula One World Champion the minute he had reliable machinery with which to lay his talent bare.

I first met Rosberg on a cool April day after he had beaten the crap out of everybody in the 1979 European Formula Two Championship race at Hockenheim, Germany. He was a no nonsense straight talker then and nothing was going to change him as he raced his way toward the 1982 world title and beyond. He remains just as decisive now, as he runs his own German Touring Car Championship (DTM) brace of Audis and steers his son Nico through the early stages of his young life in the sport.