Stirling Moss

1929–⁠2020

Contents

Part One · The life

  1. IThe early years
  2. IIThe 500s and the first wins
  3. IIIThe seasons
  4. IVThe Mille Miglia
  5. VThe sports cars
  6. VIRallies and records
  7. VIIGoodwood
  8. VIIIAfter racing

Part Two · The man

  1. IXRivals and friends
  2. Moss and Fangio
  3. XIn his words
  4. What they said
  5. XIThe machines
  6. XIIThe people around him
  7. XIIIThe sportsman

Part Three · Legacy

  1. XIVLegacy

The seasons

Reference

Reference

Timeline From Indianapolis in 1924 to Westminster Abbey in 2024

Stirling Moss’s life in dates, from his father’s Indianapolis 500 of 1924 to the Westminster Abbey thanksgiving of 2024, each line linked to its chapter.

Drivers in white helmets and overalls run across a track to low sports racing cars lined up along the edge, flags on tall poles overhead and a huge crowd on the bank behind.
The start of the Kanonloppet sports-car race at Karlskoga in Sweden, 7 August 1960: the drivers sprint across the track to their cars. Moss’s Lotus 19, No. 1, heads the line; which of the runners is Moss cannot be seen. Specialfoto / Örebro Stadsarkiv · CC BY 4.0

Timeline

A life in 159 lines

The year 1958 takes 19 lines on this page, as many as the 62 years from his crash at Goodwood to the service for him at Westminster Abbey. That is the shape of his life: a boyhood, an apprenticeship in the 500s, 14 years of racing in which a single season could hold more than 50 races, and then, after Goodwood, almost six decades more.

Each line links to the page that tells its story. The dates are local. Where the sources do not agree on a day, the line gives only the month or the year, as it does for his first wins at Brough in 1948; an event whose date is in doubt altogether is left out. The races of every season are on the season pages, in full.

Timeline · 1924–⁠1950

Boyhood and the 500s

His father at Indianapolis, the boy, the 500s

  1. Alfred Moss, studying dentistry in the United States, finishes 16th in the Indianapolis 500 in the Barber-Warnock Ford, having started 20th.

  2. Stirling Craufurd Moss is born in London, the first child of Alfred and Aileen Moss.

  3. His sister, Patricia Ann (Pat) Moss, is born at Thames Ditton.

  4. First competitions, in trials, in his father’s BMW 328.

  5. First event in his new Cooper-JAP 500: the Prescott hill climb, 4th in class.

  6. Wins his heat, the final and the handicap at Brough aerodrome: his first circuit wins.

  7. Wins the 500cc race at the opening meeting of the Goodwood circuit, the day after his 19th birthday.

  8. Leads the 500cc race at the first meeting at Silverstone until his transmission fails.

  9. Elected a full member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club.

  10. Wins his heat and the final of the 500cc race at Monaco.

  11. Becomes a paid professional with the HWM Formula Two team.

  12. Wins the RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Tommy Wisdom’s Jaguar XK120, in a gale and torrential rain, on the eve of his 21st birthday.

Timeline · 1951–⁠1961

The racing years

Grands Prix, sports cars, rallies and records, season by season

From his first World Championship race, at Bremgarten in 1951, to his last, at Watkins Glen in 1961. The lines for each year are the season page’s key dates.

1951

  1. Leads the Jaguar works sports-car team.

  2. World Championship debut at the Swiss Grand Prix, Bremgarten, in an HWM-Alta: 8th.

  3. First Le Mans 24 Hours, in a Jaguar C-⁠type with Jack Fairman: leads, then retires with engine failure.

  4. At the Bari Grand Prix the Ferrari he has been promised is given to Piero Taruffi; in his own later account, Moss resolved then never to drive for Enzo Ferrari’s team.

  5. Wins the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod again, in a works Jaguar C-⁠type.

1952

  1. Finishes 2nd overall in the Monte Carlo Rally, his first rally, in a Sunbeam-⁠Talbot 90 with Desmond Scannell and John Cooper, 4 marks behind Sydney Allard.

  2. Retires from the Mille Miglia in a disc-braked Jaguar C-⁠type with Norman Dewis.

  3. Swiss Grand Prix: his HWM is withdrawn by the team.

  4. Belgian Grand Prix: his ERA fails on the first lap.

  5. Wins the sports-car race at Reims in a Jaguar C-⁠type with disc brakes.

  6. Alpine Rally: penalty-free run (Coupe des Alpes) in a Sunbeam-⁠Talbot, and the team prize with Murray-Frame and Hawthorn.

  7. Italian Grand Prix, Connaught: retires.

1953

  1. Finishes 2nd at Le Mans in a Jaguar C-⁠type with Peter Walker.

  2. Wins the Reims 12 Hours with Peter Whitehead in the morning; retires from the French Grand Prix in the afternoon.

  3. Alpine Rally: second Coupe des Alpes, in a Sunbeam Alpine.

  4. German Grand Prix: 6th in a Cooper-⁠Alta.

  5. Wins the London Trophy at Crystal Palace in a Cooper-⁠Alta.

1954

  1. Wins the Sebring 12 Hours with Bill Lloyd in Briggs Cunningham’s OSCA MT4.

  2. Buys a Maserati 250F after Mercedes-⁠Benz tells him he needs more experience, and first races it at Bordeaux on 9 May.

  3. Finishes 3rd in the Belgian Grand Prix in his own Maserati: his first championship points.

  4. Alpine Rally: third consecutive penalty-free run and the Coupe d’Or, in a Sunbeam Alpine with John Cutts.

  5. British Grand Prix, Silverstone: runs 2nd until the rear axle fails 10 laps from the end.

  6. German Grand Prix: on the front row; credited with 1 lap, he stops halfway round lap 2.

  7. Wins the International Gold Cup at Oulton Park from the back of the grid, in the works Maserati 250F that Villoresi was to have driven at the Nürburgring.

  8. Swiss Grand Prix: his first race as an official works Maserati entry (factory support had begun at the Nürburgring on 1 August).

  9. Italian Grand Prix, Monza: leads Fangio and Ascari until an oil pipe cracks on lap 68 of 80; he pushes the car to the line and is classified 10th.

  10. Wins the Goodwood Trophy in the Maserati.

  11. Wins the Daily Telegraph Trophy at Aintree in the Maserati.

  12. Spanish Grand Prix: retires.

  13. Signs for Mercedes-⁠Benz for 1955 as Fangio’s team-⁠mate, after a test at Hockenheim on 4 December.

1955

  1. First race for Mercedes-⁠Benz, the Argentine Grand Prix: 4th, sharing Hans Herrmann’s car.

  2. Wins the Mille Miglia with Denis Jenkinson in the Mercedes-⁠Benz 300 SLR No. 722, in 10h 07m 48s at 97.96 mph.

  3. Monaco Grand Prix: leads, then his engine fails near the end.

  4. Finishes 2nd to Fangio in the Belgian Grand Prix.

  5. Le Mans: Mercedes-⁠Benz withdraws its cars while Fangio and Moss lead, after the accident that killed Pierre Levegh and more than 80 spectators.

  6. Finishes 2nd to Fangio, by 0.3s, in the Dutch Grand Prix.

  7. Wins the British Grand Prix at Aintree from pole, 0.2s ahead of Fangio: his first championship win and the first by a British driver in the British Grand Prix.

  8. Italian Grand Prix: fastest lap, then engine failure.

  9. Wins the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod with John Fitch in a 300 SLR, on his 26th birthday.

  10. Wins the International Gold Cup at Oulton Park in a works Maserati 250F.

  11. Wins the Targa Florio with Peter Collins, clinching the World Sports Car Championship for Mercedes-⁠Benz.

1956

  1. Argentine Grand Prix, his first race as Maserati’s team leader: retires.

  2. Wins the Buenos Aires 1000 km with Carlos Menditeguy in a Maserati 300S.

  3. Wins the Glover Trophy at Goodwood in a works fuel-injected Maserati 250F.

  4. Wins the Aintree 200 in his own Maserati 250F.

  5. Mille Miglia: slides off in heavy rain in a Maserati 350S, with Jenkinson; both unhurt.

  6. Wins the BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone in a Vanwall.

  7. Wins the Monaco Grand Prix, leading from the start.

  8. Wins the Nürburgring 1000 km for Maserati, taking over the Taruffi/Schell car.

  9. Belgian Grand Prix: loses a wheel, takes over Perdisa’s car and finishes 3rd.

  10. French Grand Prix: 5th in Perdisa’s car.

  11. British Grand Prix: pole and fastest lap; the gearbox fails while he is running 2nd.

  12. Finishes 2nd at Le Mans with Peter Collins in an Aston Martin DB3S.

  13. Finishes 2nd to Fangio in the German Grand Prix.

  14. Wins the Italian Grand Prix after being pushed to his pit, out of fuel, by Luigi Piotti; Fangio is champion.

  15. Wins the Nassau Trophy in a Maserati 300S.

1957

  1. Argentine Grand Prix: pole and fastest lap; 8th after a pit stop.

  2. Buenos Aires 1000 km: leads with Fangio in the Maserati 450S until it breaks; 2nd in a shared 300S.

  3. Mille Miglia: the brake pedal of his Maserati 450S breaks soon after the start.

  4. First championship race for Vanwall: crashes while leading the Monaco Grand Prix.

  5. Le Mans: retires with Harry Schell in a Maserati 450S coupé.

  6. Wins the British Grand Prix at Aintree with Tony Brooks in Brooks’s Vanwall: the first World Championship win for a British car.

  7. Finishes 5th in the German Grand Prix; Fangio wins his fifth title.

  8. Wins the Pescara Grand Prix by more than 3 minutes from Fangio.

  9. Takes the MG EX181 record car to 245.64 mph over the flying kilometre at Bonneville, in International Class F.

  10. Wins the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in a Vanwall.

  11. Marries Katie Molson at St Peter’s, Eaton Square, London.

  12. Wins the Nassau Trophy in Temple Buell’s Ferrari 290 MM.

1958

  1. Wins the Argentine Grand Prix in Rob Walker’s Cooper: the first championship win for a rear-engined car.

  2. Finishes 3rd in the Buenos Aires 1000 km with Jean Behra in a works Porsche.

  3. Wins the Cuban Grand Prix in a Ferrari 335 S; the race is stopped after a fatal crash.

  4. Wins the Aintree 200 in a Cooper.

  5. Monaco Grand Prix: leads, then the Vanwall’s engine fails.

  6. Wins the Dutch Grand Prix.

  7. Wins the Nürburgring 1000 km with Jack Brabham in an Aston Martin DBR1.

  8. Belgian Grand Prix: blows his engine on the first lap.

  9. Le Mans: his Aston Martin DBR1 leads, then the engine fails.

  10. Finishes 2nd to Hawthorn in the French Grand Prix.

  11. British Grand Prix: pole; engine failure.

  12. Wins the Caen Grand Prix in a Cooper.

  13. German Grand Prix: leads with the fastest lap, then the magneto fails.

  14. Wins the Portuguese Grand Prix at Oporto; that night his evidence helps Hawthorn keep 2nd place.

  15. Italian Grand Prix: pole; gearbox failure.

  16. Wins the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood with Tony Brooks in an Aston Martin DBR1.

  17. Wins the Moroccan Grand Prix with the fastest lap but loses the title to Hawthorn by one point, 41 to 42.

  18. Wins the Melbourne Grand Prix in a Cooper.

  19. Appointed OBE in the New Year Honours 1959.

1959

  1. Vanwall withdraws; he joins Rob Walker’s private team.

  2. Wins the Glover Trophy at Goodwood in Walker’s Cooper.

  3. Monaco Grand Prix: pole; leads until the transmission fails.

  4. Dutch Grand Prix: leads, then the gearbox fails.

  5. Wins the Nürburgring 1000 km with Jack Fairman in an Aston Martin DBR1, recovering the lead after Fairman goes off.

  6. Le Mans: his Aston Martin retires; the Salvadori/Shelby Aston Martin wins.

  7. French Grand Prix, in a BRP BRM: disqualified for a push start after a spin.

  8. Finishes 2nd in the British Grand Prix in the BRP BRM, 0.2s ahead of McLaren.

  9. German Grand Prix at the AVUS: out on lap 2 of the first heat, credited with 1 lap.

  10. Wins the Portuguese Grand Prix at Monsanto from pole, leading every lap with the fastest lap.

  11. Wins the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood after his own Aston Martin catches fire in the pits; Aston Martin wins the World Sports Car Championship.

  12. Wins the Italian Grand Prix at Monza without a tyre stop.

  13. Wins the International Gold Cup at Oulton Park.

  14. United States Grand Prix at Sebring, the title decider: leads, then the gearbox fails; Brabham is champion.

1960

  1. Argentine Grand Prix: pole; 3rd in Trintignant’s car after his own breaks.

  2. Wins the Cuban Grand Prix in Camoradi’s Maserati Tipo 61.

  3. Loses his driving licence for a year after a road accident in which no one else is hurt; he keeps racing on an American competition licence.

  4. Wins the Nürburgring 1000 km with Dan Gurney in the Tipo 61.

  5. Wins the Monaco Grand Prix in Walker’s Lotus 18: the first championship win for Lotus.

  6. Dutch Grand Prix: 4th after a puncture, with the fastest lap.

  7. Crashes in Saturday practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa when a rear stub axle breaks; the 1960 report gives a broken nose, back injuries and cracked bones in both legs, later accounts both legs broken and three vertebrae crushed.

  8. Wins his comeback race, the sports-car Kanonloppet at Karlskoga, in a Lotus 19.

  9. Portuguese Grand Prix: disqualified for driving against the direction of the race.

  10. Wins the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood in Rob Walker’s Ferrari 250 GT SWB.

  11. Wins the International Gold Cup at Oulton Park in a Lotus 18.

  12. Wins the United States Grand Prix at Riverside.

  13. Wins the South African Grand Prix at East London in a Porsche.

1961

  1. Wins the Vienna Grand Prix in a Lotus 18.

  2. Wins the Monaco Grand Prix, holding off the Ferraris by 3.6s.

  3. Wins the Silver City Trophy at Brands Hatch.

  4. His last Le Mans, with Graham Hill in a Ferrari 250 GT SWB: retires.

  5. British Grand Prix: his Lotus retires with brake failure; he then drives the Ferguson P99, already disqualified for a push start with Jack Fairman driving, until protests have it called in.

  6. Wins the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring: his 16th and last championship win.

  7. Wins the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood for the seventh time, in the Ferrari 250 GT SWB.

  8. Wins the Modena Grand Prix in Walker’s Lotus.

  9. Italian Grand Prix: retires; von Trips and 14 spectators are killed.

  10. Wins the International Gold Cup at Oulton Park in the four-wheel-drive Ferguson P99.

  11. His last World Championship race, the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen: leads, then the engine fails.

  12. Wins the Nassau Tourist Trophy in the Ferrari 250 GT SWB.

  13. Named Driver of the Year by the Guild of Motoring Writers and awarded the BARC Gold Star.

  14. Named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Timeline · 1962–⁠2024

Goodwood, and after

The crash, the long retirement, the knighthood, the farewells

  1. On Easter Monday he crashes at St Mary’s, Goodwood, in the Glover Trophy, in the V8 Lotus run in UDT-⁠Laystall colours, after a stop for gear-selector trouble; he is in a coma for a month.

  2. After a private test at Goodwood in a BRP Lotus 19 sports car, he announces his retirement from professional racing that evening in London.

  3. Marries Elaine Barbarino at Berkhamsted Register Office.

  4. Divorced from Elaine.

  5. Returns to regular racing in the British Saloon Car Championship at Mallory Park in an Audi 80 for GTi Engineering.

  6. Marries Susie Paine.

  7. Their son Elliot is born.

  8. Second saloon-car season with Audi, now run by TWR, alongside Martin Brundle.

  9. Knighthood gazetted in the New Year Honours 2000, “For services to Motor Racing”.

  10. Knighted by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.

  11. “Stirling Moss: All My Races”, with Alan Henry, is published for his 80th birthday.

  12. Falls down the lift shaft at his Mayfair home, breaking both ankles.

  13. During qualifying for the Le Mans Legend race he decides to retire from racing, aged 81.

  14. Falls ill with a serious chest infection in Singapore and spends 134 days in hospital.

  15. Retires from public life.

  16. Dies at home in Mayfair, London, on Easter Sunday, aged 90.

  17. Private funeral and cremation at Mortlake Crematorium.

  18. Lady Susie Moss dies, aged 69.

  19. Service of Thanksgiving for his life at Westminster Abbey.

Sources