Rush to Glory: FORMULA 1 Racing's Greatest Rivalry (55 page)

Surtees,
152
,
184

T

Taylor, Elizabeth,
57
,
58
,
66
,
68
,
69
,
70
,
73

Texaco,
21
,
127
,
173
,
182

Texaco Tour of Britain,
127

Thyssen, Denise,
27

Thyssen, Henri,
27

To Hell and Back
,
90
,
141

Tokyo Hilton,
216
,
241

Tyrrell,
77
,
79
,
95
,
102
,
112
,
136
,
150
,
166
,
169
,
181
,
184
,
199
,
200
,
204
,
205

U

Ugeux, Pierre,
242

US Grand Prix,
202

V

Vauxhall,
127
,
247

Vienna, Austria,
68

Villeneuve, Gilles,
174

Volkswagen,
2

W

Walker, Murray,
256
,
257

Warr, Peter,
17
,
60

Watkins Glen,
187
,
202
,
205
,
207
,
209
,
212
,
218

Watson, John,
54
,
64
,
122
,
149
,
153
,
154
,
165
,
166
,
169
,
170
,
181
,
184
,
223
,
253

Webb, John,
134
,
246

Wetzinger, Birgit,
255

What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School
,
74

Williams,
69
,
152
,
184

Williams, Frank,
17

Wimbledon,
256
,
258

Wolf-Williams team,
17

Wolf, Walter,
17
,
204
,
256

Z

Zandvoort,
167
,
171
,
204

Zolder,
101
,
106
,
110

Zwickl, Helmut,
148

Sunday, August 1, 1976

Niki Lauda was wearing a specially designed helmet made for him by AGV during the 1976 racing season. As can be clearly seen in this photograph, it had extra-thick foam padding for greater comfort. During his accident in Germany, the foam compressed, enabling the helmet to slip off his head and exposing Lauda to the full force of the flames. The helmet was illegal and contributed greatly to the nature of the burns on Lauda’s face. If the helmet had stayed on, he probably would have emerged with only minor facial damage. The situation was eerily similar to events 18 years later, when Ayrton Senna was wearing an illegal lightweight helmet that greatly contributed to the head injuries that caused his death.

James Hunt ponders the next 90 minutes of the German Grand Prix before the restart. He knew Niki Lauda was out of the race but at this stage did not know he had been so badly injured. Note that his helmet was completely legal and he was far better protected in case of an accident.

Mariella von Reininghaus started going out with Niki Lauda in 1968 when she was just 18, and the two were inseparable after their first date at the Vienna hunt ball. But she wanted him to retire after he had won his first world championship and to devote himself to a family and what she called a “proper career.” When Lauda was an upcoming and struggling driver, he went along with that, but as soon as he was successful, he wanted more glory.

The inaugural US West Grand Prix around the streets of Long Beach, California, went off surprisingly well. After a straight two wins, Lauda was obliged to let his teammate Clay Regazzoni have his victory. In truth, Regazzoni would have won anyway after Lauda had car troubles.

In the autumn of 1975, Niki Lauda coldly dumped his fiancée, Mariella von Reininghaus, after eight years together. After returning from the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, he walked into their apartment and walked straight out again—and into the arms of his new girlfriend, Marlene Knaus. He told Mariella he had fallen out of love with her but did not tell her about Marlene.

Up to the US West Grand Prix, Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni had been very close friends. However, a schism opened up between them after team orders were brought into play at Long Beach. In this event it did not matter, as fate dictated Regazzoni would win the race anyway.