Weekend at Österreichring in 1975

That weekend at Österreichring in 1975 I can remember with some clarity, and it brings home again how much has changed in the years. I went to Austria in Chris Amon's light aircraft, which inevitably left late, so late in fact, that by the time we arrived Zeltweg's military airfield was closed. That meant going to Graz, where it took time to arrange a hire car. At which point Chris remembered he had forgotten where we were staying.

This hat all our attention. Concentrate, we said. What's the name of the place? Silence. Then, haltingly: "I seem to remember something about knickers off." We scanned a map. Niklasdorf? That had to be it, so we called every hotel in the place until one said, yes, the Ensign team was booked in there. As we walked in, Mo Nunn and his boys were having coffee.

By sunday night, Amon's emotions were jumbled. Saddened by Mark Donohue's accident he was yet elated at returning to Formula 1, relieved too, to be in one piece after a race in such conditions.

"Schapps for everyone!" he ordered, at the end of dinner. Mo Nunn, sitting next to me, was visibly unnerved. "Is he always like this? I mean, we're never had a driver who even smoked before."he whispered.

I have no idea what time I retired that night, save that it was before Amon. The following morning I was jolted violently from sleep by a cat stamping its feet on the carpet. The journey back to Graz was a blurr.

The there was the condition of the pilot. If I felt rough, it was assuredly better than Chris did. "You are OK to fly? I asked. He said he was. Black coffee was the thing.

There had been a massive storm through the previous night, and it lingered still. But off we set and as always when it mattered, Amon's concentration was right there. The road ging still at work behind my eyes. I tried to doze anything to avoid looking at the gauges or the blackness outside. Eventually, we maid it back to Luton, and I've always suspected it was via Singapore.

Österreichring - Part 1

Nigel Roebuck