Best Quotes in Motorsports
- Thread starter nascarfan1400
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- 4,806
- Sweden
The man with the biggest nose in the Grand Prix world who actually
once returned a hire car, after they'd had a race in it and it had been
very badly smashed up, and when the girl at the hire car desk
complained about it he said:
'It was not my fault, look what it's done to my nose.'
- Murray Walker (in a French accent) on Alain Prost
once returned a hire car, after they'd had a race in it and it had been
very badly smashed up, and when the girl at the hire car desk
complained about it he said:
'It was not my fault, look what it's done to my nose.'
- Murray Walker (in a French accent) on Alain Prost
@ 23:58
- 4,453
- Vancouver, BC
- GTP_Grand_Prix
Found this piece of gold on another forum. It's a tale told by Nigel Roebuck about Gilles Villeneuve.
During practice at Dijon in 1981, Gilles crashed at the Courbe de Pouas, an undulating, flat-in-fourth right hander, with no run-off worth mentioning. During the lunch break I found him dabbing a cut on his jaw:
"Bloody catch fencing pole cracked my helmet and broke the visor ..."
"You overdid it ?" I asked. "Just ran out of road ?"
"No, no," he grinned. "I ran out of lock !" "The car is really bad through there - an adventure every time. Go and have a look this afternoon and you'll see what I mean."
I did. I watched the Cosworth-engined Williams and Brabhams droning through on their rails, and waited.
At its clipping point, at the top of a rise, the Ferrari was already sideways, its driver winding on opposite lock. As it came past me, plunging downhill now, the tail stayed out of line, further and further, and still Gilles had his foot hard down. As he reached the bottom of the dip, I knew the position was hopeless, for now it was virtually broadside, full lock on, Villeneuve's head pointing up the road, out of the side of the cockpit.
Somehow, though, the Ferrari did not spin, finally snapping back into line as it grazed the catch fencing, then rocketing away up the hill. For more than a hundred yards, I swear it, the car was sideways at 130 mph.
"That's genius," said David Hobbs, watching with me. "Are you seriously telling me he's won two Grand Prix in that?"
During practice at Dijon in 1981, Gilles crashed at the Courbe de Pouas, an undulating, flat-in-fourth right hander, with no run-off worth mentioning. During the lunch break I found him dabbing a cut on his jaw:
"Bloody catch fencing pole cracked my helmet and broke the visor ..."
"You overdid it ?" I asked. "Just ran out of road ?"
"No, no," he grinned. "I ran out of lock !" "The car is really bad through there - an adventure every time. Go and have a look this afternoon and you'll see what I mean."
I did. I watched the Cosworth-engined Williams and Brabhams droning through on their rails, and waited.
At its clipping point, at the top of a rise, the Ferrari was already sideways, its driver winding on opposite lock. As it came past me, plunging downhill now, the tail stayed out of line, further and further, and still Gilles had his foot hard down. As he reached the bottom of the dip, I knew the position was hopeless, for now it was virtually broadside, full lock on, Villeneuve's head pointing up the road, out of the side of the cockpit.
Somehow, though, the Ferrari did not spin, finally snapping back into line as it grazed the catch fencing, then rocketing away up the hill. For more than a hundred yards, I swear it, the car was sideways at 130 mph.
"That's genius," said David Hobbs, watching with me. "Are you seriously telling me he's won two Grand Prix in that?"
Pete05
Premium
- 6,965
- Melbourne, Australia
Brilliant & such a loss.
If anyone tried that in anything resembling a modern F1 car, it would end in a spin surrounded by tyre smoke.
This is what’s wrong with modern F1 cars.
We don’t get to see someone of exceptional skill drag a reluctant car around a track, to make a lap time it shouldn’t be capable of in ordinary hands. Shame
- 4,453
- Vancouver, BC
- GTP_Grand_Prix
"At the first bend, I had the clear sensation that Tazio had taken it badly and that we would end up in the ditch; I felt myself stiffen as I waited for the crunch. Instead, we found ourselves on the next straight with the car in a perfect position. I looked at him, his rugged face was calm, just as it always was, and certainly not the face of someone who had just escaped a hair-raising spin. I had the same sensation at the second bend. By the fourth or fifth bend I began to understand; in the meantime, I had noticed that through the entire bend Tazio did not lift his foot from the accelerator, and that, in fact, it was flat on the floor. As bend followed bend, I discovered his secret. Nuvolari entered the bend somewhat earlier than my driver's instinct would have told me to. But he went into the bend in an unusual way: with one movement he aimed the nose of the car at the inside edge, just where the curve itself started. His foot was flat down, and he had obviously changed down to the right gear before going through this fearsome rigmarole. In this way he put the car into a four-wheel drift, making the most of the thrust of the centrifugal force and keeping it on the road with the traction of the driving wheels. Throughout the bend the car shaved the inside edge, and when the bend turned into the straight the car was in the normal position for accelerating down it, with no need for any corrections." - Enzo Ferrari
Far away in the distance we heard an angry, deep-throated roaring - as someone once remarked, like hungry lions impatient for the arena. A few moments later, Manfred von Brauchitsch, red helmeted, brought a great, silver projectile snaking down the hill, and close behind, his teammate Rudolf Caracciola, then at the height of his great career. The two cars took the hairpin, von Brauchitsch almost sideways, and rocketed away out of sight with long plumes of rubber smoke trailing from their huge rear tyres, in a deafening crash of sound.
The startled Pressmen gazed at each other, awe-struck.
"Strewth," gasped one of them, "so that's what they're like!"
That was what they were like. - Rodney Walkerley, motorsport journalist reporting on the Silver Arrows when they came to Donington in 1937
Far away in the distance we heard an angry, deep-throated roaring - as someone once remarked, like hungry lions impatient for the arena. A few moments later, Manfred von Brauchitsch, red helmeted, brought a great, silver projectile snaking down the hill, and close behind, his teammate Rudolf Caracciola, then at the height of his great career. The two cars took the hairpin, von Brauchitsch almost sideways, and rocketed away out of sight with long plumes of rubber smoke trailing from their huge rear tyres, in a deafening crash of sound.
The startled Pressmen gazed at each other, awe-struck.
"Strewth," gasped one of them, "so that's what they're like!"
That was what they were like. - Rodney Walkerley, motorsport journalist reporting on the Silver Arrows when they came to Donington in 1937
- 4,500
- Australia
Which would've no doubt looked spectacular but Jarama and Monaco are polar opposites of Dijon Prenois, which nullified the weakness the Ferrari had in long sweeping corners.
- 28,545
- Bratvegas
- GTP_Liquid
After five seasons of trying, Finland's Mika Häkkinen finally won his first Grand Prix at the last race of 1997. After the race, he said:
Häkkinen went on to win the 1998 and 1999 World Championship, dominating several certain races with ease.
Mika Häkkinen - Jerez 1997
Häkkinen went on to win the 1998 and 1999 World Championship, dominating several certain races with ease.
Roo
Premium
- 7,349
- Hampshire, UK
- GTP_Roo
I’ve been listening to Neil Crompton for 35 years call Aussie racing & the guy is a wordsmith
Crompton is one of the reasons for me watching Supercars. I forget the race, the commentary team (although Crompton was part of it) and even the year... but summing up a race just after a chequered flag...
"... and no safety car! You'd bet your house on a safety car here."
"Yeah, that's why I live in a two-man tent"
Gold.
- 1,636
- Bristol
- MrCrynox
- Mr Crynox
This is one of the reasons why as British person I love watching the V8 Supercar Championship, the commentary team is top notch, they all seem to be best mates who like nothing more than waiting for the right moment to constantly take the piss out of each other, it's golden & makes me laugh every time. I can't remember his name but that guy in the pits that Crompo & Skaiffe are always joking with, it's class. It really adds to the experience. It's so different & refreshing compared to what we have. I also love some of the driver & team boss reactions you sometimes get in heated moments, say what you see, yep, politically correct, not at all, perfect viewing 
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- 15,119
- Melbourne
- ScottPuss20
- CheetahsMeow
Pete05
Premium
- 6,965
- Melbourne, Australia
This is one of the reasons why as British prison I love watching the V8 Supercar Championship, the commentary team is top notch, they all seem to be best mates who like nothing more than waiting for the right moment to constantly take the piss out of each other, it's golden & makes me laugh every time. I can't remember his name but that guy in the pits that Crompo & Skaiffe are always joking with, it's class. It really adds to the experience. It's so different & refreshing compared to what we have. I also love some of the driver & team boss reactions you sometimes get in heated moments, say what you see, yep, politically correct, not at all, perfect viewing
Larkham, Lowndes, Crompton, Skaife and Greg Murphy are all former Supercar drivers that have been there & done that. It gives them the experience & knowledge to know exactly what's going on at any time, both in the car & out of it.
The fact they can convey that to their audience with a bit of humour is an added bonus. It's also, personally speaking, a welcome change to what I grew up listening to.
Roo
Premium
- 7,349
- Hampshire, UK
- GTP_Roo
James Hunt on Jean-Pierre Jarier:
"I would think the authorities have really got to look at driving like that and do something about it, because he should certainly have a short suspension for that, and for being himself he should have a permanent suspension."
Edit: I've just noticed Liquid beat me to it by about 2 years, further up the page.
"I would think the authorities have really got to look at driving like that and do something about it, because he should certainly have a short suspension for that, and for being himself he should have a permanent suspension."
Edit: I've just noticed Liquid beat me to it by about 2 years, further up the page.
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- 472
- United Kingdom
I've seen a video that I now can't find, but its Graham Hill on TV with Jackie Stewart after Stewart had taken one of his championships. Hill, with his plum English accent and stuff upper lip congratulates Stewart "..done a marvellous job but look, just lay off would you?".
Coulthard's race engineer asks how the car is a few laps in to a race
“Not good. Doesn’t turn, doesn’t stop, no traction. ... Apart from that, it’s great. Having a lot of fun.”
Bruce Mclaren pretty much wrote his own epitaph. “To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one's ability, for I feel life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.”
If you haven't discovered it, look up a podcast called "Dinner with racers", which is, well pretty much what it says. Many great interviews from so many racers, all with stories to tell. Here's an episode guide for the podcast. https://www.dinnerwithracers.com/episode-guide/
I think they have some stuff on amazon prime now too.
Coulthard's race engineer asks how the car is a few laps in to a race
“Not good. Doesn’t turn, doesn’t stop, no traction. ... Apart from that, it’s great. Having a lot of fun.”
Bruce Mclaren pretty much wrote his own epitaph. “To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one's ability, for I feel life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.”
If you haven't discovered it, look up a podcast called "Dinner with racers", which is, well pretty much what it says. Many great interviews from so many racers, all with stories to tell. Here's an episode guide for the podcast. https://www.dinnerwithracers.com/episode-guide/
I think they have some stuff on amazon prime now too.
