- Joined
- Aug 8, 2022
Reminds me of an anecdote I read in a book called Rush To Glory about James Hunt and Niki Lauda's rivalry. From the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix:
Lauda remembered: “We all refused to drive in the prevailing conditions. We sat in the race officials’ trailer and told him ‘no go.’ At that point the organizers had decided there would be no race. But they were being stalled from making an announcement by Bernie Ecclestone and others.”
At four o’clock in Fuji, it started to get really dark. Ecclestone told them, “The race must start.”
Caldwell had noticed Lauda’s demeanor and guessed there might be a problem with his eyes in the wet. He knew it was now or never, and if the race was canceled or abandoned, then McLaren might lose the title race by default. Caldwell literally grabbed Hunt by his overall lapels and told him that if the race was on, he would drive. A shocked Hunt agreed. Lauda was now in a difficult position, saying, “It was barely credible as it was now raining harder than ever.”
The race should have started an hour and a half earlier, and in another two or three hours, the Mount Fuji circuit would be in darkness. Finally a decision was made and announced over the loudspeakers; the Japanese Grand Prix would begin in five minutes. Vittorio Brambilla led the drivers out to their cars.
But James Hunt was missing. And at the precise moment the start was confirmed, he was elsewhere according to Patrick Head, then technical director of the Walter Wolf racing team. Head had accidentally walked into a pit garage that was empty—but not quite empty. He was surprised to find Hunt inside, with his racing overalls down around his ankles and a young Japanese girl kneeling in front of him with his penis in her mouth. Hunt laughed when he saw him, but Head hemmed and hawed and quickly left in a daze, not quite believing what he had seen. He was clearly disturbed by having witnessed such antics from a leading participant so near to the start of an important race. When Head recounted the story at dinner later in Tokyo, he found that no one was shocked at the story and said they had seen him do far worse before a race.
At four o’clock in Fuji, it started to get really dark. Ecclestone told them, “The race must start.”
Caldwell had noticed Lauda’s demeanor and guessed there might be a problem with his eyes in the wet. He knew it was now or never, and if the race was canceled or abandoned, then McLaren might lose the title race by default. Caldwell literally grabbed Hunt by his overall lapels and told him that if the race was on, he would drive. A shocked Hunt agreed. Lauda was now in a difficult position, saying, “It was barely credible as it was now raining harder than ever.”
The race should have started an hour and a half earlier, and in another two or three hours, the Mount Fuji circuit would be in darkness. Finally a decision was made and announced over the loudspeakers; the Japanese Grand Prix would begin in five minutes. Vittorio Brambilla led the drivers out to their cars.
But James Hunt was missing. And at the precise moment the start was confirmed, he was elsewhere according to Patrick Head, then technical director of the Walter Wolf racing team. Head had accidentally walked into a pit garage that was empty—but not quite empty. He was surprised to find Hunt inside, with his racing overalls down around his ankles and a young Japanese girl kneeling in front of him with his penis in her mouth. Hunt laughed when he saw him, but Head hemmed and hawed and quickly left in a daze, not quite believing what he had seen. He was clearly disturbed by having witnessed such antics from a leading participant so near to the start of an important race. When Head recounted the story at dinner later in Tokyo, he found that no one was shocked at the story and said they had seen him do far worse before a race.
Meanwhile it's difficult to imagine Hamilton ever be found mid-coitus with a woman at all, especially not before the championship-deciding race.
