Motor Sport Magazine Special Editions
Stirling Moss: ‘If It Had Wheels He’d Race It’
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Celebrating Stirling
A racer of skill, dedication and adaptability, the likes of which will never be seen again. This collection of writing celebrates the life and career of Sir Stirling Moss
Klemantaski Collection/Getty Images
From a career lasting just 15 years, the vibrant tales of Sir Stirling Moss’s outstanding performances, sportsmanship and charisma have become epic, bearing telling and re-telling through the decades.
The pages of Motor Sport recorded his racing exploits as they happened — from close quarters, in a few famous instances.
We have continued to add to the picture, with recollections, hilarious anecdotes and unbelievable tales from friends and team-mates, onlookers and colleagues, as well as analysis from the finest motor racing writers.
Below, you’ll find a collection of some of the best articles from our Archive, including tributes to the Boy Wonder from our commemorative issue, following his death in April 2020.
They compile the legendary drives and stories, examining each aspect that made him not just Mr Motor Racing, but a truly great man, bringing colour and character to the man whose dedication made him the greatest all-round racer that the sport has seen.
We have also published a special issue in memory of Moss: If it had wheels he’d race it, which is sold out in print but still available as a digital download.
Stirling Moss: The Legend
Damien Smith
Sir Stirling Moss was a trailblazer, not just for British motor racing, but in the way he conducted himself and his career. We examine the Moss legacy, and how he continues to hold a special place in motor sport history long after his racing career was cut short.
Monte Magic
Mark Hughes
This was the win Sir Stirling Moss picked as his best, an against-the-odds showing that stunned the more powerful Ferraris. Mark Hughes picks up the tale of the 1961 Monaco GP.
Stirling Moss: The racer
Paul Fearnley
The 1955 Mille Miglia and 1961 Monaco GP are perhaps his best-known victories but Stirling Moss’s desire to race any car, anywhere, led to a formidable record. Selecting the Boy Wonder’s most pivotal races is not easy, as Paul Fearnley finds out…
With Moss in the Mille Miglia
Denis Jenkinson
The full 1955 report of Moss’s Mille Miglia win from the passenger seat. Read Jenks’ vivid, detailed and gripping account of navigating the record breaking run, as Moss tore through Italy at an average speed of 98mph.
Stirling Moss: The Man
Andrew Frankel
More than Mr Motor Racing: Stirling Moss was a unique bridge across motor sport history, but his values never changed. Andrew Frankel shares his personal recollections of the man behind the moniker
1961 Monaco Grand Prix: Moss the hat-trick hero
Denis Jenkinson
In an outdated Lotus-Climax, against a trio of V6-powered Ferraris, Moss forced his way into the lead and fended off the Italian competition in his Cooper-Climax with sheer skill and brilliance.
Stirling’s day of days
Nigel Roebuck
The race report, above, details Moss’s sensational Monaco ’61 performance from the trackside. In this feature from 2011, Moss looks back at “the race of his life” from his perspective.
Moss at 80 — Estate agent or MP?
Simon Taylor
“After I announced my retirement I had no qualifications to do anything”. From his 80th birthday celebrations, how Stirling Moss earned his crust after 1962
Stirling Moss at 90: a true racer
Simon Arron
When Moss drove on the track, he was there to race, not to eke out championship points. On what was his 90th birthday, we looked at the thrilling career of a true racer
Hints of future glory in Stirling Moss’s first world championship grand prix
Mark Hughes
The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was Moss’s first world championship Formula 1 race. But he was far from unknown, having already starred in non-championship races and clashed with Farina.
Moss on Fangio
Rob Widdows
The story of a sublimely gifted partnership. Moss recounts joining Mercedes in 1955 alongside the Maestro and why Fangio was the only driver he would defer to.
Brooks on Moss
Andrew Frankel
One of a handful of drivers able to keep up with the Boy Wonder, Tony Brooks speaks about his team-mate and friend
Stirling’s ice-cream special
Doug Nye
Built by Maserati, paid for by an ice-cream maker and driven by Moss: his short-lived speedway career that ended in a spectacular cloud of dust.
And our ’11th man’… Stirling Moss
Nigel Roebuck
A childhood meeting with Moss cemented his hero status in Nigel Roebuck’s eyes. Here he writes on why the driver was the greatest of them all.
The crash that put the brakes on the best driver in the world
Paul Fearnley
Aged 32, Stirling Moss was the best driver in the world, writes Paul Fearnley. But a Goodwood crash would bring a sudden end to his spectacular career
Lunch with… Stirling Moss
Simon Taylor
From 2006: Stirling Moss on remaining flat out in his retirement, his career highlights, why he’d loved to have competed in the Indy 500, and the best Coronation Chicken in Britain.
Podcasts: Stirling Moss on Monaco and the Mille Miglia
Stirling Moss in his own words. These two podcasts, recorded in 2013 and 2016 are much like his career: fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining and packed with variety.
Sir Stirling Moss: his greatest races
Jake Williams-Smith
From his famous victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia to more irrepressible performances, these are among Sir Stirling Moss’ greatest races
Secret life of Stirling
Val Pirie
When 17-year-old Val Pirie answered an advert for a secretarial job, she little knew her employer would be Stirling Moss, at the height of his career. We present extracts from her memoir of her time with him, her friend of 60 years.
