Sir Stirling Moss, one of Britain's most successful racing drivers despite never having won the World Championship is to celebrate his 80th birthday as part of this weekend's Goodwood Revival.
Moss will celebrate his birthday this coming Thursday (17th September) on the “acclimatisation” day before the three-day Goodwood Revival itself will also have a Sir Stirling flavour.
There will be 80, one of each of his years, cars present that Moss is known to have race, along with a birthday parade. The man himself will also take place in the racing on track, driving the Italian OSCA sportscar he owns in the Lavant Cup race that aims to re-create the feel of a race that was one of Moss' finest achievements.
The 1959 Tourist Trophy, held at Goodwood, was the final and deciding event in the World Sportscar Championship, where Moss drove one of the Aston Martin DBR1s fighting for the title. Early in the six hour race Moss was leading comfortably, and handed over Roy Salvadori, who had already won Le Mans that year for Aston.
However, when Salvadori came back to the pits to hand the car back to Moss a mistake of fault with the fuel hose cause fuel to spill over the car, which along with Salvadori was engulfed in flames.
While his driving partner was taken away for his injuries to be tended Moss was looking to get back in race. His car was wrecked, melted, blackened and soaked in the foam that had been used to extinguish the flames. However, Aston were keen to use their driver for the team. The second placed car was called into the pits and Moss jumped in. By the end of the race he had overcome the huge lead held by Porsche, and won the race, and the championship for Aston Martin.
All at The Checkered Flag wish Sir Stirling a happy birthday, and good luck for another weekend of racing.
