Who's the most famous driver you've met? [Archive] - Biante Model Cars

Nick Short

29-10-2002, 03:18 AM

I managed to meet Sir Jack and one of his sons (sorry, can't remember which!) at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Sussex, southern England. But it's a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, as there are famous drivers everywhere ("Can you get out of the way, Jacky Ickx - I'm trying to get a photo of that car. Go and stand next to Stirling Moss"). So many F1 drivers past and present, sportscar drivers, motorbike racers, rally drivers etc. Not so many Aussie drivers though, and I'd really like to meet Allan Moffat, if anyone knows a way to contact him...

Senator1

29-10-2002, 06:59 AM

I've met Sir Jack Brabham, Bob Jane, Fred Gibson,i also used to crew for the late Peter Hopwood (most remember him for the appendix J Chev Impala & Caltex HQ) & most of 2days current drivers thru my involvement with Wynns racing.
Can't say anything bad about 2days drivers,all really nice guys when you get the opportunity to sit & talk with them

loste_treasures

29-10-2002, 07:18 AM

Race drivers ive met:

Mark Skaife: Not long ago. I posted a 'good news' story about him and my son. Got to speak to him and take some photos with my boy.

Jason Bright: At HSV headquarters. Not bad a bloke. Seems to be very down to earth and a bit quiet.

Peter Brock: Always seems to be very accesible and willing to speak to his fans. My brother used to work at the old HDT in port for a short stint. Took me around the workshops and introduced me to most of his staff.

Bev Brock: Good for a laugh........

Greg Murphy: Met him while he was HSV. He seemed to be out of place while he was there. He didnt really feel comfortable.

Alan Moffat: Couldnt work this bloke out. Spoke to him at a Calder meet but felt he had better things to do.

Dick Johnson: Very similar attitude to Peter Brock. I spoke to him at the same meet at Calder whilst he was with Alan Moffat. Gave me a quick wink after talking to Alan.

Michael Schumaker (sorry about the spelling). Spoke to him at the Melbourne GP at one of the practise sessions. Took me awhile to get to him. Well worth the wait. Even got to look around the Ferrari pits (inside jobs).

Graeme

29-10-2002, 09:50 AM

I've been accessing the touring car pits at the Perth round since the late seventies, and whilst most drivers are accessible, the really popular ones are just overwhelmed by fans.

Even on the lead-up practice days you won't get more than a sentence with the top Holden and Ford guys, eg Skaife and Lowndes. Somewhat surprisingly, I always found Alan Jones to be accessible and he always said things straight. Others who left me with a good impression include Gary Scott, Glenn Seton, John Bowe, and Russell Ingall. Those who seemed to be detached or running the PR line would include Alan Moffat, Dick Johnson and Tony Longhurst ....still, it's a big ask to be "nice" all the time especially at a race meeting.

Of international drivers, I suppose my mention must go to an Englishman who most of you won't know. Norman Dewis was Jaguar's principal test driver of the fifties and sixties and it was he who managed to survive the high speed crash of Jaguar's one and only aborted LeMans project car XJ13, when a tyre deflated whilst running full tilt around the MIRA proving ground's high speed oval. The XJ13 was later rebuilt and also exists as yet another fine AUTOart diecast model.

wacpt

29-10-2002, 10:18 AM

Define "MET". My opinion is MET is when you are introduced to someone and spend more than an hour with THEM talking, not saying HI and getting an autograph.

Under that definition, I spent 4 days with Brocky at Bathurst last year, Had dinner with John Goss, had lunch with HRT crew at HRT team camp and chewed the fat with Jack Brabham many years ago.

I'm not saying you guys haven't met the people you have mentioned. Just wanted to clarify the definition of MET.

Oh yeah, spent the day with Richard Poole, Bev and Trevor, and the rest of Biante as guest of theirs at Barbagallo's last year.

Keep smiling.

loste_treasures

29-10-2002, 08:33 PM

oh.....your definition???

ok.....

Peter Brock: As above

Bev Brock: As above

Michael Shumacher: As above

and forgot to mention:

Murray Walker: Met him at the same GP meet at Albert Park. Actually fined him. Initially didnt think it was too funny but ended up seeing the bright side and had lunch with him in some corporate box.

brchi17

30-10-2002, 02:02 PM

Back in 1990 i had to do a speach for a year 9 History project about someone famous, so i rang Jim Richards at his business and spoke to him about it. After several phone conversations with Jim over the comming week he helped me get the facts right & he was absolutely fantastic !!!!
Later in the year I got to meet him at the Sandown 500 (4 months later mind you) & told him who I was. Jim remembered (i was very, very impressed !!!!) and then had an interest into to how it had all worked out (i think he was a bit impressed about it at the time!!!).
I must have spent 15 minutes talking to him - what a fantastic expirence for a 14 year old !!!!!

I've been going to Sandown every year since 1988 and PI for the past 5 years, I have met most of the drivers for an autograph and the best ones have been,
Dick Johnson - depended on how he was going thought !!!
John Bowe - awesome bloke, love motorsports, he was really keen to sign my 1993 Falcon poster & amazed that someone wanted him to sign it.
Alan Moffat - Let me & my cousion climb in his race car in the pits at Sandown in 1989 (we were 13y/o) while he gave us an autograph !!!!
Greg Murphy - got to spend some time in the K-mart pit at PI this year and what a great bloke !!!
Steve Johnson (Stevie J) again, spent time in the DJR transporter & chatted at PI, top, down to earth bloke, considering his upbringing - continuiously in the spotlight & being compared to his 'old man'
Worst ones -
#1 Alan Jones - total pig of a person, I was 13 at the time and asked for an autograph as he was walking back to the pits after a practice session - Grunted **** *** and kept on walking.
Mark Skaife - he was good when he drove a Nissan, now he is so far up himself its' not funny.
These are my expirences & other may have other expirences of these people,
Cheers.

Richard Poole

30-10-2002, 02:39 PM

Originally posted by brchi17
#1 Alan Jones - total pig of a person, I was 13 at the time and asked for an autograph as he was walking back to the pits after a practice session - Grunted ******** and kept on walking.
Mark Skaife - he was good when he drove a Nissan, now he is so far up himself its' not funny.
These are my expirences & other may have other expirences of these people,
Cheers.

That's strange about Alan as I met him in the PJ tent at Barbagallo in the early '94 (I was about 16). We had a long talk about the days racing, Senna, and a few other things and he was great. One of the nicest guys I have met. I suppose, like everyone else, people have bad days and get into bad moves. Then again it is their job to drive fast and promote the teams so they should grin and bear it.

v8coupe

30-10-2002, 05:01 PM

So far I have only met Garth Tander and Jason Bargwanna.
Both great guys and was great of them + Gary Rogers to have had the open day at the factory awhile back.

BadBilly

30-10-2002, 05:11 PM

the adrlaide club dinner we were intro to john goss a absolute gentleman still very passionate about cars, a few pictures, autographed the jgs and i feel had a ball , would easily like to repeat the experiance

bev

31-10-2002, 10:29 AM

That was a great night with John staying the whole time with collectors.

We hope to be able to repeat the event in 2003.

At Biante we are priviledged to meet lots of drivers, who include all the V8supercar drivers we sponsor/have sponsored.
All the drivers who have collections.
Tom Walkinshaw

Also from our 2 litre days - there were many Eurpopean 2l drivers
including Keke Rosberg, JJ Lleto, Klaus Ludwig and those who visited Bathurst

From f1 sponsorship days there were
Michael Schumacher ) Biante's first motor racing sponsorship
Johnny Herbert ) started at the top on Benetton #1 in 95!
Jean Alesi
Giancarlo Fisichella
Alexander Wurz

At visits to Le Mans
Mario Andretti
Jaques Lafitte
Nelson Piquet
David Coulthard
David Brabham

at Donington
Stirling Moss
Prof. Syd Watkins (not a driver but important to f1)

as well as Alan Jones and Sir Jack Brabham.

We used to have David Coulthard (and his family) along to our dinners in Melbourne, when we also ran the DC Fan Club in Australia. Alexander Wurz came along when he first raced here.

If we get good numbers for our dinners, we can get interesting guests....

Graeme

31-10-2002, 12:24 PM

More than peckish, my appetite's good.

Count me in for dinner with racing royalty.

SWRT

31-10-2002, 12:28 PM

bev,was David's 2nd cousin Fabin there?
He might be with Castrol Perkins in 2003.

ewan

31-10-2002, 01:01 PM

I guess with respect to all well know drivers they are all famous or popular with different people, but i would have to say the nicest guy i have come acroos would have to be Craig Lowndes. I never forget strolling through the pits on the thursday b4 Qld 500 this year and Craig walked past and made a point of making eye contact with us and saying g'day guys having a good day. Later just watching how he treats the public, his team mates shows he has real character and is a genuilnley nice guy.

loste_treasures

01-11-2002, 08:35 AM

you know i have to agree about the view expressed by ewan regarding craig.

although he has copped alot of flack lately (which i reckon is unwarranted) regarding his move to ford i still beleive his attitude has not changed. i have had a conversation to craig about this in the past and his views have always been the same.

love him or hate him you gotta admire the way he conducts himself in his chosen career. he is always courteous, proffesional and always has time for the fans.

Graeme

01-11-2002, 11:26 AM

In many ways, Lowndsey is "a chip of the old Brock".

They made a great team in 1996, almost like father and son dare I suggest. Both these guys have a great fan base and the fans know why !!

HRT is still a great team, but to me the white lion isn't quite the same today.

Grubby

01-11-2002, 11:33 AM

I would have to agree with the comments on Lowndes.

I am a Holden man through & through. However when at Sandown last year we were walking out the back and one of my friend spotted Lowndes on his way to the officials area. He called out Lowndesy and Craig spun around spotted us all in our HRT gear and still moved towards us to have a chat. Great bloke, I'm sure he would have chatted longer if the person with him hadn't insisted that he get to the officials area.

Grubby

7Litre

01-11-2002, 05:21 PM

Myles Mc Intosh - You may have heard of Him.

xa351gt

26-11-2002, 01:22 PM

I met NHRA Pro Stock Champion Dyno Don Ncholson in my fathers garage. Quite a rush for a 13 year old kid. One of the nicest guys I have ever met. He signed a old Hot Rod magazine w/his picture in it and sent me T shirts and a 1/24 scale model of his Mustang II race car. Later he personally got my family into the Summer Nationals.

john

26-11-2002, 11:39 PM

Like so many others, I have met Peter Brock. An absolute gentleman, and a credit to motorsport. Considering Brockys status as one of the best drivers ever to come out of OZ, it makes me wonder how some of these footy players react when you say a simple "hello". They look at you like your some kind of alien, sad considering i'm a huge league supporter.

oldxr

27-11-2002, 07:30 PM

My wife and I spent the day with Dick Johnson at Lakeside in 97 at a Ride of Your Life day, this bloke is a legend, plenty of time for every one, (about 20/30 people there), looked all through the transporter, 3 laps in the 18 car, (the 17 car lost a motor at Sandown the weekend before), BEST day of my life.
At Dicks Testamonial diner meet,
Bob Jane,
Harry Firth, Know why they call him the Fox, might be old but still very sharp minded, (another legend)
Barry Sheen, even though what his done to some touring cars is not what i'd call driving.
Larko, very down to earth, elder brother works for team as fuelman.

Andrew

03-12-2002, 12:31 PM

Haven't met too many drivers...

Peter Brock - very courteous, but also a bit robotic too in his interaction with people. It's like he has been doing this for so long now that he has an automatic response. Still, that response was pleasant.

James Brock - don't know if he counts, but he was very friendly, and a really nice courteous guy. I really liked him.

Ed Ordynski - Very well spoken. Seemed friendly enough, but could tell he was at a corporate function when he would rather be doing something else (like prepare for the rally the next day). Still, pleasant, and took the time to sign everyone's posters/t-shirts etc.

Possum Bourne - slightly disinterested. I love his driving, but when I approached him to sign an 'Australian Rally Champion' t-shirt, it seemed an inconvenience for him, even though he was standing around, not talking to anyone or doing anything, sipping a takeaway coffee. But the fact that he still signed my t-shirt was nice, when by the sounds of it, other drivers haven't. One thing about Possum , he seems to be a far nicer person when there is a Channel 10 television camera in his face. Funny about that.... I still want his model car though!

Other than that, haven't met anyone else. Would like to meet Skaife and Jim Richards so they can sign my Bathurst GT-R for me.

Has anyone met any of the WRC stars? I'm sure Ferrari Fan mentioned something about Tommi Makinen not being particularly nice at this year's Rally Australia. I would love to meet Carlos Sainz - he seems an absolute gentleman and the ultimate professional.

terrine

03-12-2002, 11:18 PM

i did not realise the significance until the recent 24 hr race.
the only other 24 hr race in aussie in 1954
anyway i had morning tea a few years back with the only woman to win a 24 hr race in aussie and the only woman to race a d type in the world .....way back then...one for the mrs models

r/peter

mark71

19-12-2002, 08:34 PM

Had the pleasure of meeting Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell (only very briefly) in Adelaide (1990 i think it was) when they both were driving for Ferrari. Both signed a Ferrari flag for me (which i have now adorning my half completed pool room / memorabilia room) :D

Also had Ayrton Senna sign an Adelaide F1 poster.

Both meetings of these drivers have been the ultimate highlight of my motor racing interests. And of course the most famous drivers ive ever met.

Australian wise, met Dick Johnson a few times, Peter Brock, John Bowe, Jim Richards and Mark Skaife.

Regards

Mark

inter

23-11-2006, 10:05 AM

I know this is an old thread but worth reading.

AmonFan

23-11-2006, 10:15 AM

brchi17

23-11-2006, 12:52 PM

I have raced against Steve Owen, Peter Hackett, Brett Hobson, Nick Agland to name a few.... done charity kart meet with Adam Macrow, Mr Owen again, Jamie Whincup, Jason Bright, Greg Ritter, Jace Richards, can't remember who else was there, oh Wal Storey, the Davison boys, all good guys to talk to especially when its a no pressure situation....

Agreed, Steve Owen is a top bloke ;) . I've raced against him a few times now at hyper (well been flogged by him anyway) & had the odd chat. I had a really interesting chat with him right before Bathurst where we sat a spoke about the great track & it was really insightful to hear a nut's & bolts description of our greatest racing circuit corner, by corner, bump by bump. Hopefully someone higher up the food chain will pick him up as he's got where he is with a bucket full of talent & not a lot of $$$.

texan

23-11-2006, 02:00 PM

I actually raced against Alan Jones in a F1 car. Ok so it was really a video game however I did beat him. His excuse was that the cars in the video game understeered a lot more than the real thing.
Funny reading the post from a few years ago, I don't think I have ever met a nicer man. Admittedly he wasn't working as such and was about to be a guest on the Denton show.

wayno

23-11-2006, 02:03 PM

Wasn't meeting in the chat sense, but to get an autograph and a pat on the head from Fangio when I was eight sealed my now long passion with motorsport. :)

brchi17

23-11-2006, 02:47 PM

Wasn't meeting in the chat sense, but to get an autograph and a pat on the head from Fangio when I was eight sealed my now long passion with motorsport. :)

If I remembering this story correctly was it also that at the time you had no idea who the old non-English speaking man was too ;)

At least we know who's to blame for your formula one fetish :D

wayno

23-11-2006, 02:54 PM

Correct. I didn't have a clue. It made an impression though as I did my main grade six project on Juan Manuel Fangio. My dad was extremely proud. :D

toddy05

03-12-2006, 06:53 AM

Brocky and Lowndes but mind you I was at QR earlier this year and thought I saw Sir Jack Brabham there but wasn't game to talk to him in case it was not him and then I would look like a dork but then i look like a dork now as I am almost dead certain it was him and I ignored him, ah well.....

toddy05

03-12-2006, 07:04 AM

Lowndesey came out to our school at Redcliffe in 2002 and was absolutely fantastic with both me and the kids. Have met up with him whenever the chance arises and he is always open and encouraging and chatty, you leaving felling like you have been hanging out with a mate.

Brocky was fantastic as I started writing to him when I was 13 then met him at Lakeside and he always remembered me on sight even if I had not seen him for a few years and that always blew me away.

Skaifey in his early days was hard to get anything out of but this year I was impressed with him as he saw me with my 2 yeear old and made time for me even though I had a Ford shirt on as well as a HRT hat.

Murphy not impressed- comes across on camera well but one on one to the fans poor.
Same for Ambrose

Bargs was fantastic full of personality and effort.
McConville is great to chat with too.
DJ makes time for you but appears tired

mick78

03-12-2006, 02:13 PM

I haven't really met and spoken to many of the great ones. I did a driving course with Alan Grice in 1984 at Amaroo Park. Before that day I pretty much detested him (I was a Moffat Fan), from that day on I was a convert, he had a laconic charm that even Dick Johnson couln't come near.

I met Moffat at a GT Radials promotion in 2002 and he was as taciturn as ever but a small joke from me got a smile and a chuckle out of him. It must be hard to be on your best PR behaviour when you are shy or edgy. If I were famous how would I feel having 50 people wanting me to autograph caps etc when I am really wound up - Say when my kids are annoying me and my work is busy. That is why I feel for guys like say Murph and Ambrose who are not so good with the PR, not too many of them are as gifted as Brocky was or Lowndes. I was at the Brisbane Motor Show a few years ago and saw Lowndes signing autographs for an hour, always patient and always had a big smile on his face - I admired him greatly for that, a real gentleman.

By the way there is a story in this weekends Age/Herald "Good Weekend" on Monty Python's Michael Palin. He recounts signing fans' books and videos for hours only to have a guy come back when he was nearly finished abusing him for getting the year wrong on the dedictation he wrote and demanding he do it again - Palin did it without complaining - I know what I would have done with his book....

vikings100

03-12-2006, 10:06 PM

Where do I start :

Early Nineties - Peter Brock, Win Percy, Alan Grice at Holden Xmas party, dad works there (builds prototypes),
since then met mostly all drivers in V8's in last 15 years.
All were pretty good,except a couple, which would not give you the time of day (Paul Romano), Crig Lowndes is one of the best to talk to, at PI in 2001, just after he left holden, i had is 2000 car and wanted it signed, no problems, signed it and chatted for a while, then a bloke dressed in ford gear came up and "Hey Lownsdey, don't sign that ****, it's a holden!", to which lowndes replied "Take it easy mate, don't knock them, they gave me a start and if it wasn't for them, i would not be here.".

And also Larry Perkins is very approachable,at Bathurst in 1997, my wife and I waited for Larry to sign a poster, we waited and he knew we were waitng, but then he was called away to the stewards.2 hrs later he came back and my wife and I were passing his pits and he was signing autographs with a huge crowd around him.He looked up, stooped signing and came over towards us and said, "Seeing you were waiting for so long earlier, I'll sign your stuff now and come with me into my gagage", so we got a guided tour, signed merchandise, the works.Top bloke and so is murph, very easy to talk to.