Niki Lauda dead at 70

[935k3]

The great 3 time F1 champion Niki Lauda has passed away. http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/679839/BREAKING_NEWS_Niki_Lauda_has_passed_away_aged_70/

Edited May 21, 2019 by 935k3

[Ace-Garageguy]

Great driver, good man. Thanks for the post. I didn't know.

[THarrison351]

That is truly sad. He was a hero of mine when I was a kid. I was recently involved with finishing his Global 7500. The interior was finished here in Montreal, all systems completed and was getting a custom paint job in Europe. 

[Gt fan]

A sad day in F1. Met him when I was in Monaco at the race , it was one of the greatest days to be able to chat for 10min.The signed program is one of my greatest treasures in my collection. 

[Belugawrx]

Sad day indeed...

 

[TonyK]

Saw that first thing this morning and said out loud "Bummer". One of my all time favorite drivers. It's a sad day. Gonna have to sit down and watch Rush. Well done movie.

[PowerPlant]

He received last rites in 1976 after the Nürburgring crash, but has won two more world titles since and went down in history as one of the greatest racing/motorsport legends of all time...

RIP

[Rob Hall]

He was long one of my favorites..I got into F1 as a kid in the late 70s reading Road & Track and watching bits and pieces of races on TV.   His comeback after 1976 was quite the triumph of human will and determination. 

[misterNNL]

12 hours ago, THarrison351 said:

That is truly sad. He was a hero of mine when I was a kid. I was recently involved with finishing his Global 7500. The interior was finished here in Montreal, all systems completed and was getting a custom paint job in Europe. 

I had no idea what a Global 7500 was until seeing this post. What a beautiful aircraft it is and it has a list price of $ 60 million.

[89AKurt]

2 hours ago, TonyK said:

Saw that first thing this morning and said out loud "Bummer". One of my all time favorite drivers. It's a sad day. Gonna have to sit down and watch Rush. Well done movie.

Saw that at the theater!  It is a good movie.

RIP

[Dave Van]

RIP Niki..............must watch RUSH soon.......best F1 film ever

Edited May 21, 2019 by Dave Van

[Atmobil]

Sad news indeed. One of the survivors of a time where we lost drivers almost on a regular basis. We all have to die sometime, but it is always sad when someone does die.

R.I.P.

[Toner283]

R.I.P. Niki

 

On a side note, why did this get moved from General to Off Topic? According to the Forum section header, the "General" section is "For general model car hobby or 1:1 automotive related topics ONLY". How does a three-time F1 Championship winning driver passing away fail to fit squarely into Automotive related? I can understand celebrity (movie stars, etc) deaths being moved to Off Topic but moving this one is kind of baffling.

[Bill Eh?]

Chris, the same thing popped into my mind as well. Niki clearly represented one of the best in human kind. As others have indicated, rest in peace Niki Lauda.

[Jim N]

Growing up, I was never a fan of Lauda's.  I liked David Hobbs a lot and seem to recall Hobbs saying that Lauda's nickname was the Rat.  Hobbs went on to say that the nickname was well deserved.  Obviously, if my memory is correct, these two did not like each other.

But Lauda, and the other drivers of this time, drove when it was expected that at least one driver would lose his life each year and at least one champion was crowned posthumously.  Some call this time the Golden Age of F1 racing.  I beg to differ. 

As I became more educated on F1 racing of this era, I developed a deep respect for all of the drivers of this era.  The bravery these men exhibited was immense. 

Rest in Peace Niki Lauda.  Racing has lost one of its giants.

[Lizard Racing]

Lauda and Prost were thinkers.  Drivers like Hunt and Senna relied on their abundant talent.

I agree Rush is the best F1 or car racing movie ever.  When I heard Ron Howard was going to make it, I knew it would be good.

I remember the big crash in '76.  There is no way he should have survived. Every safety feature of his car (and on him) failed. Brett Lunger waded into the inferno to pull him out.

Lauda was so straight forward and to the point, people thought him cold and  uncaring.  He was once criticized for giving one of his trophies to a car wash.  He said he knows what he did and didn't need a trophy to remind him.

RIP Nicki

[slusher]

May he rest in peace. I bought Rush when it came out on DVD...

[Brudda]

Let’s remember Niki Lada. My he Rest In Peace.