'Ring of untruth'?

Sir,

I am writing in response to a letter in October’s issue of MOTOR SPORT in which Mr Johnson-Hill suggested Stirling Moss was superior to Jim Clark on the basis that he was was 6sec faster in practice, 6sec faster in the race and 1minl7sec ahead by the end of the 1961 German GP at the Niirburgring.

Mr Johnson-Hill must be joking, surely?

First of all, Moss was at his peak in 1961, while Clark had only limited experience in single-seaters.

Secondly, Mr Johnson-Hill should also remember that back in the ‘good old days’ the ‘Ring was 14.2 miles long and had over 170 corners. Six seconds difference there probably equates to about one or two hundredths on a track of more normal length, say two or three miles.

Given the circumstances, this example hardly proves superiority.

Finally, one must remember that Clark won the world championship twice; Moss never won it.

And don’t think that I’m biased; I have always considered myself a fan of Mario Andretti and Juan Manuel Fangio.

I AM, YOURS ETC,

Patrick Naylor, Indianapolis, USA