Stirling Moss created the path for others to follow – his legacy will remain

He was lightening fast and the original poster boy for Formula One, but he was also a gentleman, writes Jack de Menezes

He was the man who forged what being a grand prix driver came to mean (AFP)

Last year I was due to get a real taste of what it feels like to be a racing driver by spending a season in the Ginetta Racing Drivers Club championship. That dream ended before 2019 began thanks to a testing accident at Goodwood.

Amid the embarrassment and a hefty £3,000 bill, one track official responsible for logging the accident asked what corner the crash took place, and upon being informed it was on the exit of the Fordwater kink, he quipped: “Well you’re in good company, that corner caught out Stirling Moss, too.”

Remarkably there was a great deal of solace in those words, for Moss’s reputation remains just as large today as it did for those who had the privilege to see him in his prime. Of course, that’s where the similarities ended.