30th, Stirling Moss's Nürburgring Miracle: How the '61 GP Redefined Racing Greatness

Once Jack Brabham had deposited his leading Cooper in the bushes at Hatzenbach on the opening lap, it was left to the old, Rob Walker-run, four-cylinder Lotus of Stirling Moss to take the fight to the more powerful Ferraris.

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It was Monaco all over again. Always keen to take a gamble as an underdog, Moss had decided to start (from third on the grid) on Dunlop’s high-hysteresis D12 rain tyre even though the circuit was merely damp. Dunlop’s Vic Barlow advised vehemently against this, warning of overheating, chunking and sudden failures, but Moss felt that he had no choice if he were to win, which is all this inveterate racer ever wanted to do. Plus Team Lotus’s Innes Ireland had won the recent non-championship Solitude GP in the dry on the same boots. The extra grip they afforded was worth the risk.

Having painted over the tyre’s indicating green spot to disguise his ploy, Moss was 10 seconds ahead after just three laps, at which point the ‘Sharknoses’ – Ferrari had heeded Barlow’s advice – began to circle as the track dried. Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, though able to lap faster than Moss – both broke the nine-minute barrier – were, however, enduring a difficult ride on suspension that caused them to ground over bumps. (Hill reckoned his pole lap freakish.)