The F1 moments that defined the 1960s
In the latest instalment of the series celebrating 70 years of Formula 1, Autosport picks out the 10 moments that defined the second decade of the world championship, the 1960s, with the help of the extensive Motorsport Images archive
Continuing Autosport's series of retrospective features looking at the defining moments of each decade of Formula 1 history using the Motorsport Images archive, we move on to the 1960s.
While Team Lotus chief Colin Chapman couldn't claim to have been responsible for the Beatles, the Beach Boys or the Rolling Stones, he did bring us monocoque chassis, the Ford-funded Cosworth DFV V8, aerodynamic wings and commercial sponsorship.
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Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.
Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.
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