Σαν σήμερα - Στατιστικά - Ιστορία - Πορτρέτα - Trivia
Δημοσιεύτηκε: 15 Σεπ 2014, 21:43Ένα θέμα για τα ρεκόρ, τα ιστορικά στοιχεία, τις επετείους και διάφορα στατιστικά.
Six of the Best: F1 Late debutants
http://www.crash.net/f1/feature/208747/ ... mpaign=rss
(...)
GIOVANNI LAVAGGI
Lotterer's exertions at Spa made him the oldest debutant for almost 20 years, since Giovanni Lavaggi popped up on the grid aged 37 at the 1995 German Grand Prix.
The quintessential embodiment of the mid-90s 'rent-a-driver' craze, Lavaggi was a racer of career long anonymity, better known for his deep pockets and affectionate nickname of 'Johnny Carwash' (a literal Anglicised translation of his name) than his exploits behind the wheel.
(...)
Without a drive for 1996, Lavaggi went back to biding his time and replenishing his bank balance, until a mid-season call from Minardi to replace their promising junior driver Giancarlo Fisichella saw Lavaggi return to the grid at Hockenheim. Offered a six-race deal, Lavaggi fell foul of the 107% rule three times, but did make the grid in Hungary, Italy and Portugal.
His most notable contribution was baulking Michael Schumacher at Estoril, allowing Jacques Villeneuve the chance to famously slingshot the German around the outside of the Parabolica. At the end of the season, and with his pockets considerably lighter, Lavaggi left F1 for good, although he continued to race sportscars and touring cars well into his late 40s before finally retiring in 2001.
ARTHUR LÉGAT
The godfather (or grandfather) of all veteran F1 debutants, Belgian Arthur Légat was 53 years, seven months and 21 days old when he made his maiden Grand Prix appearance at the 1952 Belgian GP.
(...)
Légat returned a year later, again qualifying over a minute down before gearbox failure ended his race on the very first lap. At 54 years and 232 days the entry makes Légat the third oldest man to have started a Grand Prix, behind Philippe Étancelin and Louis Chiron – who was 55 years old when he finished sixth at the 1955 Monaco GP, and a staggering 58 years old when attempting to qualify at Monaco in 1958.
DAMON HILL
(...)
Early in the 1992 season Hill got his break, parachuted into the ailing Brabham team to replace the floundering Giovanna Amati after the struggling Italian had qualified five seconds off the pace of team leader Eric van der Poele in Brazil. The Brabham was appallingly slow, with neither Hill nor van der Poele qualifying until the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. At his sixth race entry, Hill finally made his debut two months short of his 32nd birthday, sneaking on to the grid in 26th and last place and finishing 16th, five laps down as the last man to cross the line.
(,,,)
Hill retired aged 39 at the end of the 1999 season, bringing the curtain down on a comparatively brief 115 race F1 career – but his success and impact certainly more than compensated for such a late start.
GEORGE FOLLMER
(...)
The oldest debutant in the modern age is George Follmer, an American hired by the Shadow team to race as number two to Jackie Oliver for the 1973 season. Hired as a genuine season-long entrant rather than a one-off, Folmer was 39 years, one month and four days old when he made his debut at the 1973 South African Grand Prix.
(...)
Follmer's F1 career started with a bang, taking a sixth place on his debut before delivering a career-best third place in only his second race at the Spanish Grand Prix.
(...)
TOSHIO SUZUKI
The tradition for local drivers being favourably parachuted in to race in their home Grands Prix is as old as Formula One racing itself, often as a money-spinning attempt on the part of teams and marketing men to boost attendances and appease local sponsors.
The Japanese Grand Prix has been no exception, with the first Japanese race in 1976 attracting no fewer than four local entrants. By the early 90s, Japanese drivers had become more credibly established in F1, with Aguri Suzuki's podium in front of his home fans in 1990 the pinnacle of Japan's achievements.
The late 80s and 90s would see many other Japanese drivers of variable suitability making their F1 bows, but all were united by a common trend: comparative seniority. From Shinji Nakano (26) to Take Inoue (31), and Ukyo Katayama (28) to Satoru Nakajima (34), the distant proving ground of Japanese junior Formula and relative lack of visibility on the European scene often meant drivers from the Land of the Rising Sun were comparative latecomers to top-line international racing.
Oldest of them all, and the oldest debutant since Follmer, was Toshio Suzuki (no relation to Aguri), who made his entrance at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix at the age of 38 years, seven months and 14 days. A veteran sportscar racer, Suzuki replaced Philippe Alliot at Larrouse for the final two races of the 1993 season.
(...)
CLAY REGAZZONI
(...)
Having started the 1970 season with only one entrant, for Jacky Ickx, Ferrari added a second car from the Belgian GP. Regazzoni's debut, aged 30, came at Zandvoort a round later, and the Swiss driver was an instant sensation, qualifying sixth and taking a stirring fourth place. Regazzoni initially alternated the second car with Ignazio Giunti, but further impressive results demanded that Regazzoni keep the seat permanently.
At only his fifth race, Regazzoni won the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari, delivering the Scuderia's first home victory since 1966 and immortalising himself in Tifosi folklore. Regazzoni would ultimately claim third place in the championship during his rookie campaign – despite entering only eight of the 13 rounds.
Five further wins followed over ten seasons in F1, with his finest year in 1974 seeing Regazzoni lose out on the championship to Emerson Fittipaldi at the last race of the season. In his twilight racing years, Regazzoni also had the distinction of taking Williams' first GP win at the 1979 British GP, before a violent accident at Long Beach in 1980 curtailed his F1 career, leaving the Swiss paralysed from the waist down.
Regazzoni would go on to prove a pioneer of hand-powered high-performance vehicles, and competed in sportscars and rally racing with some degree of success – paving the way for disabled people to compete in high-level motorsports. Having cheating death on the track, Regazzoni's luck tragically ran out on the road when he was killed in a car accident in December 2006.
