VON TRIPS' TITLE

VON TRIPS’ TITLE

SIR,

“And in 1961 Wolfgang von Trips would surely have been Germany’s First World Champion had he not tragically died at Monza,” Simon Taylor tells us in Modern Times. I am not so sure…

In fact Phil Hill demanded a new engine after the end of practice for that year’s Italian GP while the other Ferrari drivers, including Trips it would seem, went into the race with the same engines they had used for qualifying, as was then routine. The balance of probabilities must be, therefore, that the German would have retired with the same broken valve spring problems that forced out Baghetti, Rodriguez and Ginther had the collision with Jim Clark’s Lotus not taken place.

The title battle would then have gone to the last race at Watkins Glen, with the American driver leading on points and on a circuit that he knew well from sportscar racing. And who can say what would have happened then? votIRS, DAVID CM-, RUH .INO, I 11(1.Vali.C1