bad start but catching up the field again down through Schwedenkreuz,
managed to tangle with a back marker going through the Aremberg hairpin
before the bridge. I spun out, but he carries on with nonchalant impunity.
***y Surtees! Now, I've got nothing against the real John Surtees, he
seems like a nice bloke. But in GPL in his dog-slow Honda, he's a nightmare
to overtake. Carried on with the lap - now in real banzai hot-lap mode. Got
a good exit out of Bergwerk and accelerated flat-out, pedal to the metal all
the way the undulating section at Kesselchen. I come over the blind crest in
the middle of the section at around 170 mph. Aarrghh! There's Surtees -
absolutely stationary in the middle of the track about 100yds in front of
me. There's nothing I can do - I brake from 170 to about 158 at the point of
impact. The white Honda is projected forwards about half a mile. My green
Lotus translates all its forward momemtum into a vertical moonshot. The car
hits the virtual roof at around 150ft, issuing a trail of black smoke,
spinning at around 1000rpm before crashing to the tarmac and burning
furiously.
I don't know about you - but I think I would have died.
And its not the first time I've tangled with Surtees, I can tell you.
- Michael