In a message dated 8/29/99 9:29:47 PM, tmccis@revealed.net wrote:
Reading this thread, I thought I missed a lot being at the event, as opposed
to seeing it on Speedvision.
According to the race results Phil Hill was not in Group 4a. (His only ride
was in Group 1a aboard a 1915 Stutz, and is listed as a DNF, but I think it
was a DNS--the car missed warm up also.)
I was at another part of the track during the "incident" at turn 2 in group
4a, but my friends tell me it started with a spin, and S.Moss (DBR1) could
not avoid contact--though he *was* charging hard from the back.
Disclosure: I do hope to profit by keeping the P. Hill reputation from being
maligned. . .
Mark Godfrey
Publisher of "Phil Hill: Yankee Champion: the First American to Win the
Driving Championship of the World"
Brown Fox Books
PO Box 5000
Carpinteria, CA 93014
Brnfoxbook@aol.com
Tel: 805 684 5951
Fax: 805 684 1628
>Well, I saw the incident (over and over) on Speedvision. I called it "ill
advised"
>for a
>couple of reasons:
>1. It resulted in damage to 3 significant cars. (The Maserati, a Lister
Corvette?,
>and one
>of the old Yaller cars which was T-boned)
>2. Phil was in the dirt, off the track to the inside. I suspect his brakes
didn't
>work as
>well there. :) He basically slid into the rear quarter of the Lister. He
did
>pass one
>car cleanly on his way to the Lister, though. That particular pass was as
you
>describe - a
>classic outbraking, down the inside pass. Unfortunately, it didn't end
there...
>3. It was "ill advised" in retrospect - rather exciting at the time, though.
If
>he had
>gotten away with it, I would have called it an "agressive pass".
>
>In Phil's defense, the spin of Old Yaller which ended up causing the
majority of
>the damage
>may have been in sympathy of Phil's contact with the Lister. It really
should
>have been a
>"light bump" to the Lister and ended there until Old Yaller spun into Phil's
path.
>
>I agree with you that I want to see racing (not a parade), other drivers
should
>be aware,
>etc.
>
>Also, this is entirely my opinion, is subjective (not fact), your mileage
may vary.
>
>- Tony
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