Do you know of any drivers like this

[jmatters]

Okay, I am looking for a good story.

Has there every been a driver or drivers that decided that for the good of the team or their company, he should get out from behind the wheel and find a better driver so he could spend time running the team, working on the car etc.?

Here is why I ask: I am a pastor and I am currently doing a message series called God's Garage: a rebuilt life. I am basically using cars, engines, and racing as object lessons of what God wants to do in our lives. So I want to talk about how God wants us to get out from behind the wheel of our lives and let him drive--because he is better at it than we are.

If you know of any stories, please do share. Even if you don't know the details, tell me what you know and I can research it from there.

Many thanks!!!

[Marcus Mussa]

There must be hundreds - try Enzo Ferrari, Bernie Ecclestone, Rob Walker, Ken Tyrrell, Frank Williams for a start!

[John Turner]

Yes, many of the big team bosses started out in motorsport as drivers but decided that they weren't quite quick enough to make the grade and went onto be successful racing team owners and managers. Along with those already mentioned you can add Max Mosley and Eddie Jordan.

[chunterer]

I can think of a couple of less high profile examples to be going on with:

1/ Pete Hall stepped down from driving duties in 1983 to let Andy Rouse take over driving duties in the BTCC. (Rouse did actually prepare the car for Pete, a long time sponsor and friend but Pete felt he wasn't doing the car justice and it could challenge for honours in Rouse's hands.) which he duly did after eventual disqualification of Rover.

2/ Also in the BTCC, Alan Minshaw who owns a well known race accessory business entered an ex Prodrive BMW M3 in 1988. He couldn't get the car on the pace of the works cars but reckoned it would be with the right driver. Enter the late Roland Ratzenberger, an ex works driver from the ETC who was looking to find more money for single seaters and a bit on a limb, so Minshaw invited him to drive it. The Austrian provided a good foil for the works cars for the remainder of the year and cracking entertainment to boot and was quite capable of pinching the class title off Frank Sytner if he hadn't have been asked to back off!

3/ 'Ranieri Randaccio' who ran a team called Berkeley Team London had a couple of proteges in single seaters. Ranieri entered a Reynard in the '91 British F3000 and after a few rounds let Mirko Savoldi, a then reasonably promising Italian F3 driver have the seat. Randaccio is still around in European sportscar races.

Not sure but I think 1986 Bathurst winner Graeme Bailey along with Allan Grice actually hired Grice to pedal his Commodore that Les Small prepared for home and European races. I don't think it was in palce of the car owner but it was certainly a case of realising ones own shortcomings as a driver and getting an ace in to do the quick driving part of the job. Our Australian friends will sort that one out for us i'm sure!

I believe there are a number of similar cases in many categories of racing over the years, which i'm sure fellow posters will highlight.

[Alan Raine]

More recently, Michael Andretti (although he was a pretty good driver as well, apart from F1)

[chunterer]

Nice one!!!

BTW Alan, what's going on in your avatar pic?! Looks a bit of a hairy moment!

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Nice one!!!

BTW Alan, what's going on in your avatar pic?! Looks a bit of a hairy moment!

I haven't any pictures of me winning so thought I would put one in of me crashing. It wasn't as bad as it looked and I managed to finish the race, abeit having to hold the cockpit down on the straights as the front fixing and nosecone had been knocked off. That was the only damage. I was also fortunate as it was the first race of the the year and the bodywork was only rubbed down ready for spraying - phew more money saved!

[chunterer]

Top stuff!!

Are you thinking of following the suggestion of this thread then?!

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Top stuff!!

Are you thinking of following the suggestion of this thread then?!

Nah - not brilliant as a race driver, but probably even worse as a team owner!

[rcarr]

Martin Donnelly? Formula Ford or f3 boss??

Dave Richards, he was a co-driver, he is the prodrive boss!

Aguri Suzuki! Super Aguri! Remember they were successful in Formula Nippon

Christian Horner, good F3000 driver, now Red Bull F1 boss!

[johnh875]

Originally Posted by chunterer

BTW Alan, what's going on in your avatar pic?! Looks a bit of a hairy moment!

Looks like you are going rallycrossing!

[jminsh]

Originally Posted by chunterer

2/ Also in the BTCC, Alan Minshaw who owns a well known race accessory business entered an ex Prodrive BMW M3 in 1988. He couldn't get the car on the pace of the works cars but reckoned it would be with the right driver. Enter the late Roland Ratzenberger, an ex works driver from the ETC who was looking to find more money for single seaters and a bit on a limb, so Minshaw invited him to drive it. The Austrian provided a good foil for the works cars for the remainder of the year and cracking entertainment to boot and was quite capable of pinching the class title off Frank Sytner if he hadn't have been asked to back off!

He asked him to drive after he couldn't get his head round the left hand drive bit following his Oulton shunt strangeley enough aided by Sytner !!

[Piglet]

Much more recently Martin Short potentially comes into this category. He's a pretty good pedaller but more recently has been running his cars with other drivers in them. Whether this is because he thinks they're better than him or because it makes financial sense and he's a good team manager you'd probably have to ask him!!

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by johnh875

Looks like you are going rallycrossing!

I was - Unintentionally!

Martin Donnelly became team owner after his monster F1 accident.

Other drivers who became team owners are Graham Hill, Eddie Cheever, Paul Newman (in an obscure way) Roger Penske etc. In fact I would hazard a guess most team owners have raced at some stage.

Many drivers set up there own teams and realise that they can't do both as the more successful or higher up the ladder they go the more time consuming it becomes.

[Chris Townsend]

How about Harry Stiller [useful himself] - who quit when he was told by a fortune teller that he'd come to a sticky end - and ended up running Alan Jones all the way to his first F1 drive.

Chris

[simon drabble]

I am not sure Eddie Jordan or Bernie are names that immediately trip off the tongue of a man of the cloth as role models though!!!!

[bauble]

Perhaps a more inspiring example of what the originator (Pastor) is looking for would be Peter Collins voluntarily giving up his Ferrari to Fangio at the 1956 Italian GP to allow Juan to clinch his fourth Title by finishing second and sharing the points with Peter. Seeing Fangio on the pit counter when he came in to refuel Collins sportingly stepped out of the car. This was true 'love of his fellow man' and showed that not everyone puts winning races above all else.
In those days it was common enough for a lesser driver to be called in to the pits and hand over his car to someone like Moss or Fangio, but this was one top man to another and done out of respect not team orders.

[Nordic]

Maybe the actions taken by one driver in stopping and trying to save the life of a fellow driver and putting themselves in danger and in many case's causing themselves injury.

David Purley springs to mind, but there are many others.

[simon drabble]

Originally Posted by Nordic

Maybe the actions taken by one driver in stopping and trying to save the life of a fellow driver and putting themselves in danger and in many case's causing themselves injury.

David Purley springs to mind, but there are many others.

didnt James Hunt do that as well....

[jamesholland]

A little left of field perhaps but in the case of the Mercedes-Benz team of the 1930s and 50s Technical Director Rudolf Uhlenhaut was on hand to test the cars if any of the works drivers had any complaints about them. He was as good a driver as most of them too.

[Nordic]

There are many examples, can't recal the details but I am sure you are right about Hunt, Clay Regazzoni (spelling?) did as well I think.

You could even expand it to include marshal's, who are unpaid and are prepared to risk life and limb for the love of a thermos of coffee.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by jminsh

He asked him to drive after he couldn't get his head round the left hand drive bit following his Oulton shunt strangeley enough aided by Sytner !!

Getting slightly off topic...

Yes, i remember now, Alan had a nasty one into and over the tyre coming out of Cascades when a 'white version' tapped him round. Very early in the year wasn't it and then i'm guessing he thought; 's** this for a game of soldiers!'

Roland came in after the quite pricey (i would imagine) repairs i think?

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by Nordic

There are many examples, can't recal the details but I am sure you are right about Hunt, Clay Regazzoni (spelling?) did as well I think.

You might be thiking of Mike Hailwood. He pulled Regazzoni out of his burning car in the South African GP in 1973

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

didnt James Hunt do that as well....

Monza 1977, James tried to save Ronnie Petersen when the marshalls were too slow to assist. Actually it wasn't the fire that killed Ronnie it was an embolism resulting from the broken legs. Although no doubt he was in a bad way from the fire.

[davyboy]

Back on topic again... well kind of. There are obviously plenty of people who forsaked the driving for a role as a team manager/leader. Age is one thing that to some extent expedites or crystallizes this process. However, wouldn't it be more interesting to look at those who went the other way because they 'believed' the driver wasn't good enough. Didn't A.J. Foyt do that ? I remember him coming into pit lane in a race one year and getting out of the car to lambaste his crew. Well I think that's what happened. Volunteers to shed more light... or cite more examples ?