Regga was larger than life and a darling of the fans...
Regga was larger than life and a darling of the fans http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/705177/Regga_was_larger_than_life_and_a_darling_of_the_fans/ On this day in 2006, Formula 1 mourned the loss of Clay Regazzoni, one of the sport's larger-than-life characters from the golden age of Grand Prix racing. Just 67, the Swiss died in a head-on road accident collision with a lorry driver just outside Parma. The flamboyant Swiss driver was an F1 icon of the seventies and a man who missed the world championship by just three points in 1974, when he finished the season as Ferrari's runner-up to McLaren's Emerson Fittipaldi. Regazzoni was also the driver who brought Williams its very first Grand Prix victory, a feat achieved at Silverstone in 1979. His colorful career, which included 132 race starts and five wins with five different teams, came to an abrupt end at Long Beach in 1980 when a horrific crash with his Ensign left him paralysed from the waist downwards. Regazzoni always put his very big heart to good use, whether he sat behind the wheel of a racing car or in life, which he continued to enjoy despite his physical handicap.
Has it really been 13 years? He seemed to enjoy life to the hilt. There’s certainly no one like him today....mostly career obsessed corporate drones.
The article says the fatal collision was “head-on” and wiki says he rear ended the lorry. Why the discrepancy???
This photo was taken one day before Clay's fatal accident. During the Bologna Motor Show 14 December 2006. On the left is Swiss collector Albert Obrist talking to Clay in the wheel chair. Just 24 hours later Clay was dead. Marcel Massini Image Unavailable, Please Login
It was definitely on the autostrada, ie he hit the rear of the truck, it may have been due to fog that he was surprised by arriving upon a traffic jam, can't recall exactly. Fog causes all sorts of incidents there. Correction just found this period article: a dry day with perfect visibility reason for the accident unexplained, perhaps he fell asleep at the wheel... https://www.repubblica.it/2006/11/motori/dicembre-2006/morto-clay-ragazzoni/morto-clay-ragazzoni.html I had a chat with him at Paul Ricard during the Tour auto 1999, he sat in pitlane in his Daytona with hand controls looking at the action. I dealt with his daughter Alessia, very nice person, she worked at Bugatti (EB110 factory) in Campogalliano for a while.
Clay's 312 B3 F1 1974 #020 at his museum in Lugano, Switzerland. Taken June 2017. Marcel Massini Image Unavailable, Please Login
Clay in his Daytona with his friend Ciccio (Francesco Liberto), the famous racing shoe maker in Cefalù, Sicily. Photographed in Cerda, Sicily, May 2005. Marcel Massini Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Clay's triumph at Silverstone is what lured me into F1 for good. He was awesome. I remember how devastated I was watching his Long Beach accident live on TV (somewhere around midnight in Europe). I loved the guy. Also love his portrayal in the Ron Howard movie about Hunt/Lauda. Some Ferrari meccano once told me that Clay was straight forward, more driver than engineer. When questioned for feedback on the car he would "La va bene" (rides well) and that'd be that. Very different to the computer that Lauda was.
It's nice that Clay is still remembered today. Certainly one of the great characters of the seventies' Formula One. However, I don't get the sentence: " His colorful career, which included 132 race starts and five wins with five different teams..." In the original article? There is a possibility of confusion here: yes, Clay drove for five different teams, and yes Clay did indeed won five Grand Prix, but: Four of the wins were at the wheel of a Ferrari (and TWICE in Monza - at the wheel of a Ferrari - to boot...) - Italy 1970 - Nürburgring 1974 -Italy 1975 -USA West, Long Beach, 1976 And one at the wheel of a Williams: Great Britain 1979. Luca Di Montezemolo had a moving quote when learning of his death: "Clay loved Ferrari with passion, and Ferrari returned him the same". Rgds
I remember Clay Reggazoni well. when I was a kid - 10 we used to go to the F-1 race at Watkins Glen every year. we would eat up at the Franchese restaurant every Thursday night ( we had a standing reso - same table every year. ) I was trying to get Niki Lauda's autograph in 77... the table behind us had Carlos Reutteman, Reggazoni, Pace, and Fittipaldi and a couple of other people I did not know. Lauda came by and was talking to them, I got up and tried to get his attention but nothing... ( I was shy) Reggazoni saw this and motioned me over and I got all their autographs at once - and he gave me a Marlboro hat... ( I lost that hat because I never really cared for it - but now I wish I had kept it!) Lauda never came back, so we finished dinner and left. later on Saturday we saw him in the Kendall center and he winked at me and patted my head... said something in Italian but could not remember it. my dad got a photo but all you see is a blurry hand on my head with Regga's back.... my favorite story about him is when he launched his jeans company with the prancing horse on the back... and Enzo found out... I think in the end he had to bring the models to the factory for Mr. Ferrari...
