Ready, sturdy, go...

Disaster. Waiting with clenched fists in the Nürburgring pits for his now long-overdue team-mate, Stirling Moss was doubly annoyed. Jack Fairman must have crashed or blown up their shared DBR1, and that meant not only a race lost, but also a financial hit for The Boy…

Aston shouldn’t have been there. Le Mans was the firm’s main focus, and by spring 1959 it was the DBR1’s only planned race. Despite two failed attempts behind it, the car now looked reliable enough, leaving the larger-engined DBR2 to score championship points elsewhere. But relentlessly eager as ever, Stirling Moss wanted to repeat his previous year’s 1000Kms victory and agreed to fund the outing if he didn’t win. And if he did, he got the pot…

It began well, Moss heading the Le Mans start and snatching a lead. Sixteen times he improved his time, handing over to Fairman with six minutes over the Ferraris, his chief rivals. Just as well, for Jack was no star at the wheel and Moss meant him to drive only the minimum stint. Then the rain appeared – and Fairman didn’t. Baulked, he had spun off the road at Brünnchen corner and beached the undamaged machine.

Disconsolate, Moss collected his gear to leave – but Fairman was tough. Seizing a fencepost he tried to lever the car off the bank. No good. Instead, the sturdy Englishman braced his back against the flimsy alloy tail and heaved, inching the green machine towards the Tarmac as the Ferraris of Brooks and Hill passed once, twice, three times.

By sheer determined muscle he got the Aston on the track, restarted it and headed for the pits, where a surprised Moss hauled him out and began a stunning comeback. On the swooping, tree-lined circuit he just flew, reeling in the Ferraris and winning one of his finest races. Fairman may have dropped a brick, but he’d redeemed himself with the makings of another Moss masterclass.