Stirling Moss, OBE

Sir Stirling Moss OBE is arguably the greatest all-round racing driver of all time and a true icon of the motor racing world. Known during his career as •Mr Motor Racing’ he became a professional driver in 1948, at the age of 18, racing a Cooper 500.His early career was meteoric, with works drives for both Jaguar and HWM. 1955 was a seminal year; he was signed by Mercedes-Benz to partner the legendary World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio. That year saw Stirling shadow the great Argentine in most Grands Prix, famously beating him to win the British GP at Aintree. In that same year, he also won the epic 1,000 mile Mille Miglia road race, at an astonishing average speed of 97.9mph on public roads, the Targa Florio road race and the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. For four years he would finish runner-up in the Formula 1 Drivers World Championship, his sportsmanship at the Portuguese GP allowing Mike Hawthorn to win the 1958 Championship title by half a point at his expense. After Mercedes Benz retired from motor racing following the 1955 Le Mans tragedy, Stirling led the Maserati and Vanwall teams. He raced more than 80 different types of car, across all classes of motor sport, during his remarkable career. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, he led the changeover to rear engined Formula 1 cars, achieving the first victory for such a car at the 1958 Argentine GP and was in a class of his own during this period. A near-fatal accident in a Lotus at Goodwood in 1962 ended it all. Moss is a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He passed away quietly in his London home, April 12, 2020, at age 90.