Quote:
Originally Posted by andy97
Must admit, I diasagree. Too much about Patrick Stewart's feelings about meeting his hero/ driving his car and not enough about SM himself. Not many contributions from others about what he was like to work with etc.
I still don't know how he made a living during his injury period and after his retirement. Didn't cover his comeback in the Audi 80 in the British Saloon Car Championship or his subsequent driving in hitoric racing.
Too shallow, I'm afraid.
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Haven't seen it yet. Too busy but that's the beauty of Sky+.
Regarding SM's income during injury and retirement - don't forget that he was the most professional and organised driver of his day. He may not have earned the mega-bucks of today's racers, but by the standards of his day he was a well-off person. He was considered within the racing world as THE superstar, and his endorsement for products would have been eagerly sought, as would personal appearances etc.. I'm not privy to the details, but in my own mind I would imagine that any retainers he had agreed for 1962 with oil, tyre and fuel suppliers would have been honoured, even if he didn't compete. That was the esteem in which he was held.
SM was a very canny man (even if his fans didn't see it that way with his refusal to seek the very best cars), and he had a decent back-up source of income, I'm quite sure. Not all the drivers of the 50s/60s did it just for fun. To SM it was a profession.