Who do you think you are: Jenson Button?
Legend has it that in his racing heyday, whenever Britain’s best loved racing driver encountered the long arm of the law, he was greeted by the phrase: “Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?”
But, after finally hanging up his crash helmet this month, the 81-year-old Moss (who has gained a knighthood and an OBE over the years) has admitted he’s not as fast as he used to be.
Due to race a 1961 Porsche RS in an historic event at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Moss suddenly realised he had had enough. “I was going around quite slowly and I suddenly thought that if I’m going to go as fast as I feel I want to go, I’m going to be scared,” he said.
He pulled into the pits and decided there and then to retire from competitive driving… though that won’t stop him staying involved with the sport, as his busy diary would confirm.
On September 4, for example, Sir Stirling will be turning the clock back to the 1960s at Chelsea AutoLegends, London’s celebration of motoring and motor racing held at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Moss, who is Patron of the event, is just one of the personalities who promises to be at the show. Eight times motorcycle world champion Phil Read will also be there, along with a host of other drivers and riders from the past.
But the cars will be the real stars. More than 30 classic Le Mans racers will be on display alongside countless other important historic machines, such as the fabulous Ferrari 250GT SWB in which Moss won the 1961 Tourist Trophy at Goodwood.
There’ll be displays of the brutal Group B rally cars of the 1980s, classic motorcycles and the ten most significant road cars of all times, as well as 50th birthday celebrations for the two most iconic British cars of the 1960s – the E-type Jaguar and the Mini Cooper.
There will be supercar and bike cavalcades, themed displays and a special tribute to some of the British ‘Patrons’, the private race team entrants of the Fifties and Sixties, who took on the factory teams… and often won.
Eric Verdon-Roe, Chairman of Chelsea AutoLegends, said: “Sir Stirling’s decision brings the curtain down on a remarkable career, but we are delighted that his involvement with Chelsea AutoLegends means this great man can still be seen by his legion of fans.
“And, as for the ‘Who do you think you are…’ story, I’m not sure whether it’s apocryphal or not, but I’ve always wondered how the police ever managed to catch him. We shall have to ask him on the day.”
Tickets for this year’s Chelsea AutoLegends are now on sale either via the event’s new website (ChelseaAutoLegends.com). Those pre-booking can take advantage of considerable savings with adult tickets priced at £15 in advance rather than £20 on the gate. Underlining the event’s family entertainment values, accompanied children aged under 12 will be admitted free of charge.
