Hero Worship II

Until the movie Rush came out, I'd sort of forgotten how closely I followed the mid-70's Hunt-Lauda auto racing rivalry, why it was so fascinating to me at the time, and why I was such an adamant Lauda fan.

I was a middle-school age kid at the time, so let me put this in middle-school terms. In my world, James Hunt would have been the starting quarterback of the football team, always with the most beautiful cheerleader on his arm; a guy just spilling over with charm and charisma and physical grace. Have you ever been in an awkward situation, and only 15 minutes too late do you realize what would have been the perfect response if only you'd thought of it? James Hunt was the guy who said that perfect response in the moment. In short, he just loved being James Hunt and it showed in everything he did.

I never was that guy, and especially not in middle school. I was mentally smart, but also awfully nerdish. I often knew the right answer, but stated it in a way that people misunderstood. I was awkward in social situations, and the more people were around, the worse it was. I was deathly afraid of saying the wrong thing, and for that reason, often did. Niki Lauda was a hero for kids like me.

The contrast in styles was what made this rivalry so fascinating. Lauda was the one who went to bed early, and got up at sunrise on the day of the race to walk the track; cataloging every bump, every oil spot, every subtle contour of every hill and every corner. He had a deep understanding of his machinery, how it worked, and how to tune and tweak it for the best performance under any conditions (he later wrote the definitive textbook on this subject). Hunt was the naturally gifted, athletic, instinctive driver who, when asked by television interviewer Stirling Moss how he was able to win with an ill-balanced car, replied "Big Balls."

Guess who is who?

Just as Niki Lauda was my favorite driver, my favorite track was the Nurburgring. They've since rebuilt the 'Ring, using only a portion of the original circuit. The original 'Ring was almost 13 miles (most road courses are 2-4 miles) of twisting, undulating raceway snaking its tortured way past ruined castles, up and down through the forested mountains of the Eifel region in Germany. It was probably the most difficult course in the history of racing. It was said that a driver could only master the 'Ring for one day. Jackie Stewart called it "The Green Hell."

The 'Ring - just a little part of it, actually

 In addition to all the fairy-tale beauty, epic scale, and monumental challenge, there was also some serious history to the place. One of the first books I remember reading in my grade school library, Tazio Nuvolari and his Alfa-Romeo, told the story of a diminutive Italian David who went up against the Hitler-sponsored Goliaths of Mercedes and Auto-Union and won the 1935 German Grand Prix. That's a story that will need another blog post all to itself.

In 1976, Niki Lauda and James Hunt were in a heated battle for the Formula One world championship. Lauda held a narrow lead, and if the 'Ring was anyone's track, it was Lauda's. Even today, his track record stands - the only driver ever to lap the full course in under 7 minutes. So there was good reason to think that the German Grand Prix could be the race where Lauda would win and lock up the championship for the second year in a row.

Conditions that day were far from ideal. The 'Ring always presented major safety hazards, particularly because the landscape and sheer size of the track defied efforts to have adequate safety crew coverage and response times. Adding to the hazards on that particular day was the weather. It had rained heavily, and was still raining in some places. Parts of the track were wet and other parts were dry, complicating the decision of what kind of tires to run.

Lauda, who had been elected by the other drivers as the drivers' safety representative, called a meeting and proposed cancelling the race for safety reasons. This proposal was narrowly voted down, and the drivers - including Lauda - lined up to race.

Not sure if this is a race day picture or not, but this is 1976 and it is Niki Lauda fully airborne at the 'Ring.

I can't do justice to the race - if you're interested, check out the movie - but (spoiler alert!) Lauda was nearly killed in a crash. Just as Lauda had feared, the delayed safety crew response time was key: he spent what must have been a hellish 100 seconds in the middle of a flaming mass of racing fuel. In addition to extensive external burn injuries, his lungs were severely damaged and initially he was not expected to survive. Amazingly, he returned to race again a few weeks later.

Ferrari's treatment of Lauda in the aftermath of the crash caused an irreparable breach between team and driver. He spent the next couple of seasons driving for a thoroughly outclassed Brabbham team, then retired from racing - temporarily, as it turned out - he returned to F1 in 1982 and narrowly beat out teammate Alain Prost to win his third world championship.

As of this writing, Lauda is alive and well, serving as manager for the currently dominating Mercedes F1 team.

Contemporary Lauda. He declined any number of reconstructive/cosmetic surgeries, so there are still plenty of signs of his time in the fire.

As a hero, Lauda is not without his flaws. He has a lifelong reputation for rubbing people the wrong way, even - or especially - when he's right and they're wrong. He was never the most charismatic person in the world, and extensive burns did little to enhance his physical presence. But I'll always admire Lauda for his skill, his relentless work ethic, his extraordinary perseverance in adversity, and his commitment to the truth, even when the truth isn't popular.