'Indestructible' Sir Stirling Moss Calls Time on Motor Racing Career, at 81!

The announcement over the weekend that Sir Stirling Moss has decided to retire from motor racing made me smile because Stirling, the greatest racing driver never to win a Formula One world driver's title, happens to be 81 years of age. 81! And only now has the old boy decided to hang up his steering wheel.

I make no apology in saying that I, together with the rest of the country who sees him as a national treasure, have a great deal of admiration and respect for the man.

I get to see quite a bit of him too. The last time was when I conducted a Q & A with him and John Surtees at a Ferrari store in west London the other week and, before then, when I interviewed him at his bedside where he continued conducting operations despite breaking both ankles after falling down his own elevator shaft at home.

A visit to Stirling's Mayfair news house is always a highlight, not least because of the gadgets he has which would make Austin Powers jealous. These include a fully-set dining table that descends from the ceiling, and a switch that automatically turns the bath taps on. "Always used to get the crumpet that way, old boy," he'd explain, in a way in which only he could get away with.

In fact "crumpet" motivated him a great deal in the early days. He even has a battered steering wheel from the near-fatal crash that ended his career in the 1960's on the wall at home. "Impresses the birds," he tells you, with a wink.

Well, if he has finally quit racing then maybe, just maybe, Stirling Moss can avoid any more accidents. The man is indestructible, but even he has to give himself a rest one day!