Sommer time in Sweden
Sir,
Thank you for your article on Raymond Sommer. Truly, he was a very great driver. Though he wanted to be an independent, he drove as if he always had works-prepared cars and plenty of spare parts.
Sommer raced twice in my country — on the frozen Lake Vallentuna in 1947 in his Maserati, and on the Skarpnäck airfield in ’48 in a Ferrari. In both races, he left the opposition for dead, and drove away until the car broke.
By the way, in your article on Graham Hill’s 1972 Le Mans 24-hour victory, you describe Joakim Bonnier as ‘the Swiss veteran’! I always thought Jo was a Swedish driver.
But then I suppose Rudi Caracciola and Jackie Stewart also were Swiss drivers; and today most Grand Prix drivers are from Monaco…
I am, Yours etc, Tomas Karlsson, Alingsås, Sweden