Models of James Hunt’s cars (Gareth Tarr).
Books for sale on the evening (Gareth Tarr).
sent Lauda a rude telegram, hoping that hearing this would give him an adrenaline rush that would keep him alive. A dreadfully-scarred Lauda returned to race at Monza. On the morning of the penultimate GP at Watkins Glen, Niki woke James at 7.00am dressed in his full racing kit: “Today I win zee World Championship”. But he didn’t and the finale in Japan was much delayed due to dreadful rain. Eventually the race started, but Lauda withdrew after two laps saying it was too danger- ous – and who could blame him? Hunt needed to finish third or higher and he was forced to pit on lap 70 of 73 with a flat tyre. But where was he at the end of the race? James had passed Alan Jones and Regazzoni had dropped out, but the Fuji timing tower showed Hunt was fifth! It had got it wrong and he had finished third and was World Champion.
As so often on these occasions, it is the personal memories and stories that are the most revealing. Simon Taylor for example said that through the many times that he had met James it was clear that although he was as fiercely competitive as anyone (he even learned to knit to beat his elder sister), he always wanted to play by the rules and cheating was out of the question. Interviewed just after he won the world championship at that sodden Fuji track, Hunt said it was a shame that he and Niki couldn’t share the championship. James’s generous praise of his main rival was typical of his honest way of speaking, but he could also be very scathing of those he didn’t rate. Steve Cropley of Autocar asked Freddie Hunt about his own racing ambitions. James’s youngest son is not targeting F1 but hopes to compete at Le Mans. Next season he is teaming up with one of his father’s old sponsors, Texaco Havoline. Freddie was five years old when his father died and has already competed against the son of his father’s main rival, Mathias Lauda. Amongst the audience was Howard Moore, who was a McLaren mechanic and part of the
Hunt memorabilia in the Jackson Shed (Gareth Tarr).
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