Clay Regazzoni: a Tribute

When news of Clay Regazzoni's death broke on December 15, it came as quite a shock. Amid the rubble of my office was a pile of business cards, and on top, for no special reason, was Regazzoni's. It had caught my eye that very morning, and his name had registered in my mind.

Regazzoni came from a different era in so many ways. A few years ago, Eddie Irvine - the only F1 driver of note who, like me, was born in 1965 - made an interesting observation. When we were young, he said, racing drivers were men. And these days, they're boys.

Of course that is in part a natural reaction to growing up, policemen looking younger every day and that sort of thing. Nevertheless, I'm convinced that there were more larger-than-life characters around in the seventies. I'm sure those who were drawn to racing in the fifties or sixties feel the same way.

In 1979, I went to the Silverstone F2 meeting to help out as a gofer for an amateur driver who had a year-old March. Clay turned up that weekend to drive a car for Giancarlo Minardi. The funny thing is, the only mention my pal got in Autosport magazine back then referred to a 'furiously waved fist from Clay Regazzoni' when he was being lapped!

Earlier in the day I got his autograph, and for a 13-year-old F1 nut, that was a big moment. Like his contemporary Carlos Reutemann, also there that day to support some young countrymen, Clay was to me a legend, who seemed to have been around forever. Strange to think that I am now older than Clay and Carlos were back then...

The fact that as late as '79 Regazzoni was prepared to drive an F2 says so much about the man, although it was so bad he probably regretted it. Four months later he had a rather more enjoyable day at Silverstone, and I was in the throng on the outside of Copse, cheering him home.

After I became a journalist, I bumped into him from time to time, usually when he showed up at the Monaco GP. A few years ago I decided it was time for an interview for Motor Sport magazine. When I called, his first reaction was to tell me to look at his books, because it was all in there. I politely pointed out that my Italian wasn't up to much!

We started talking about his career, but he clearly wanted to be somewhere else, and when we got up to about 1973 he put a stop to proceedings. He said he'd send me the two books to fill in the gaps, and they duly arrived, complete with aforementioned business card - signed on the back. I had agreed to try to help him find an English publisher, although I didn't have any luck.

I was a bit wary about ringing him again to complete the story, but some time later he showed up at Goodwood. Initially I approached him for Motor Sport's 'One that Got Away' feature. Could he recall a race that had slipped from his grasp? Not a race, he said. It would have to be the whole 1974 season.

So we chatted about that, and at some point my brain clicked into gear. I remembered where our last conversation had finished. Seventy-three, seventy-four...So what about 1975, I asked? He was relaxed and on good form, so this time we kept going. Before long we were talking about Long Beach 1980, and its terrible aftermath.

He shrugged as he recalled various bad career decisions, and you got the impression that here was a man who all too often let things happen to him. As far as the crash was concerned, he seemed to accept it as his fate. But never having heard the details before, I was surprised by the bitterness he rightly felt about the medical treatment he had received in California.

The interview eventually ran in Motor Sport about a year ago. It's presented here in slightly longer form, with extra quotes that we couldn't squeeze into the magazine. Somebody told me that he had seen and enjoyed the story, although at the time he had no idea where it was going to eventually appear. I hope it serves as a worthy epitaph to a truly great driver.

Clay Regazzoni Interview

Everything changed for Clay Regazzoni on March 30, 1980. The accident at Long Beach that left him in a wheelchair ended a Grand Prix career that had lasted for 10 years, but set the Swiss on course for a life that has perhaps been even richer and more rewarding than the one that preceded it. His refusal to let his injury conquer him has served as an inspiration to many.

Had he channelled that sort of determination into his earlier career he might have achieved so much more, but for Clay, first and foremost racing was always to be enjoyed. It was not his style to hustle his way into a better situation, or trample over a rival to get a drive.

"I was never thinking about the world championship," he says. "I was just racing day by day. With Niki [Lauda], every race was to be on the top. He programmed his life to be champion. I enjoyed life. That was the maximum for me..."

Gianclaudio Giuseppe Regazzoni was born near Lugano on September 5, 1939, just two days after the start of World War II. His father owned a body shop, and when he was old enough, Clay joined him in the business.

"When I was 14, I was already driving cars," he recalls. "It was the time of Fangio and Moss. I liked watching them very much, Stirling was my hero. The information was very poor, there was no television, and it was not easy to find magazines. I remember with a friend we went to London to the Racing Car Show. It was the only chance to see F1 cars.

"In Switzerland, racing was forbidden after the [1955] Le Mans accident [where 82 spectators were killed], but we still had a lot of good drivers and competition. There were some hillclimbs, some slaloms in airports."

Clay was already 23 when his competition career got off to a low-key start in 1963, campaigning an Austin Healey in hillclimbs. The following year he switched to a Mini Cooper S. He was usually in the top three in his class, but at that stage, there was no great desire to progress.

"I was working with my father, going Friday night and back on Sunday night. I never thought seriously about motor racing, it was just when I met Silvio Moser. There was a club in Lugano where we met every Thursday night, and just talked about racing. Silvio was driving a Jaguar with a trailer with an F3 car on it. Then one day he said, why don't you drive too? So I started."

To qualify for a Swiss competition licence, Clay had to undertake a racing course at Montlhery, where his instructor was Tommy Spychiger, who was to lose his life at Monza just a few months later.

Clay's first F3 outings at the start of 1965 were with a de Tomaso, before he joined forces with Moser to run a pair of Brabhams under the Martinelli-Sonvico banner. During his second season in 1966, there were signs of genuine progress. The high and low point came in the Italian GP support race at Monza, where he won his heat and led the final until he was eliminated in a spectacular collision.

His break came with a works Tecno drive in 1967. A reputation as a ruthless charger began to take hold, but he stayed with the manufacturer in 1968. He was lucky to escape unscathed from an F3 shunt at Monaco, while Tecno's F2 car proved to be uncompetitive. The fallout of an accident at Zandvoort, in which Chris Lambert was killed, would dog him for years to come. Then came a chance that any driver with Italian ancestry dreamed about.

"I received a phone call near Christmas in 1968. Franco Gozzi asked would I like to race with Ferrari? I thought it was a joke. He said, 'OK, if you like, I come tomorrow to Lugano.' He came, and then I went to Maranello to meet the Old Man (Enzo Ferrari) for the first time.

"He didn't talk too much... I never thought about racing for Ferrari, it was a dream. I signed for the '69 season for F2 with the Dino. It was full of problems. I did about four races, the Old Man was very angry, and the team was retired."

Regazzoni returned to Tecno, but he was still in favour at Ferrari, and was offered an F1 chance for 1970. Fellow rookie Ignazio Giunti was also signed up, and the plan was for the pair to share the second car alongside Jacky Ickx, when one was available.

Both men had a long wait. Giunti eventually got his chance in the fourth race at Spa, finishing an impressive fourth. Clay, already aged 30, matched that in his first outing at Zandvoort.

"In the first part of the season, Ickx had a spare car and I didn't race. I had nothing to prove, it was just finish the race and don't make a mistake. When I started F1, I didn't have any problems. It was maybe more difficult when I moved from F3 to F2, but an F1 car for me was easy to drive, because it had a lot of power."

Clay missed France, took another fourth at Brands Hatch, retired at Hockenheim, and was second, behind Ickx, in Austria. People began to take note, but no one expected his dramatic victory in his fifth start at Monza, 24 hours after the death of Jochen Rindt.

"That was a terrible day, but next day was the Grand Prix, so you didn't have time to think about it too much. Monza was a very fast circuit, it was not easy because you had to slipstream, all the way full throttle, with the long corners.

"So you had to be careful and not make mistakes, because if you went out of the circuit there, the accident was terrible, no? That was unbelievable; to win in Monza with Ferrari... When I crossed the finish line I had a big problem with the spectators!"

Second place finishes in Canada and Mexico followed, and he finished third in the world championship from only eight starts. That same year he also won the European F2 title after a great season with Tecno. Regazzoni had arrived.

Two largely frustrating years alongside Ickx followed, during which he failed to win another Grand Prix. Unreliability proved costly, but Clay also made his fair share of mistakes. During 1972 the team began to lose their way, although the boss never lost faith in his Swiss protege.

"The Commendatore had said to me, 'Regazzoni, we don't have any programme for next year, we don't have money. If you can find another car - sign, and remember the door is still open'.

"Then I signed for BRM for '73. The year before, they were running with five cars. I talked with Mr [Louis] Stanley and I said, 'I sign, but maximum two cars, because you don't have enough power to support five cars'. So I signed for two cars, myself and [Jean-Pierre] Beltoise.

'In December he called me to the Dorchester. 'There's a young guy from Austria, he wants to join the team'. 'But Mr Stanley, the agreement is there'. 'He comes with a lot of money from a sponsor, we can develop the engine, blah, blah, blah'. I said 'OK', and Niki joined the team.

"This was bad, because the car was competitive from the first part of the season - pole in Argentina, the second line in Brazil and South Africa. In South Africa, when they started practice, all the engines were open. I said to Alan Challis, 'What's happening?' 'We rebuild the engines'. 'How you rebuild the engines at the track?' There were only five engines for the season..."

Regazzoni lost faith in BRM well before the end of the year, and was even rested by an irked Stanley in Canada. By then he had other plans.

"In June or July Ferrari called me for the '74 season. Later I tested the new car in Fiorano, it was top secret, and the new car was very competitive. The B1 and the B2 were terrible cars, very difficult, very nervous, compared to the British cars, which were easy to drive. The B3's handling was much better.

"I signed in August, and the Old Man said, 'Who do you want as a teammate? With Ickx we're finished, and [Arturo] Merzario we don't want any more'. I suggested Niki. He was young, he was good, we were together in BRM. Some people were pushing for [Jean-Pierre] Jarier. There were so many drivers at this time."

Regazzoni was competitive from the start of '74, but so too was his teammate: "In '74 [Niki] made a lot of mistakes, but [Ferrari team principal Luca di] Montezemolo was pushing behind.

"When Niki came, the media in Italy did not agree. Why Lauda? They were always pushing for an Italian driver. To keep the media quiet he had to put Niki in front of me, because if he was behind, well, Merzario could also stay behind! For that we lost the championship..."

Seventy-four would prove to be Clay's best season. The record books show that Lauda was faster, and that Clay took just one pole (at Nivelles) and won only at the Nurburgring. But he was a consistent podium finisher, and no other driver seized the initiative either. He was in title contention until the finale at Watkins Glen.

"It was full of misunderstandings, this season. I lost the championship for three points," he says, reeling off an impressive list of wasted opportunities. In Argentina he qualified on the front row only to blow the start, despite discussing flag waving technique with starter Juan Manuel Fangio.

"In the first GP I was on the first line in Argentina. Fangio was the director of the race, and I was friends with him, because in the past I was doing the Temporada F3. The start was with a flag, and he came and said, 'Be careful, because I don't have any hesitation, it goes straight down'. I said OK, I was always very attentive to that stuff.

"Then he goes up with the flag. He came down, so I started. But he sort of came back, so I stopped, put the brake. Everyone overtook me... So on the first lap I was last. I finished third, but I lost five points, because I could have easily won the race.

"Another one was Nivelles. I led the race with [Jody] Scheckter, Niki and some others behind. The first car we overtook was Gerard Larrousse with the Brabham, and it was his first Grand Prix. I started to overtake him, he didn't see me, and he closed the door. I went out on the grass, and I finished third. And you know, my friend Silvio Moser was supposed to drive this car!

"At Nurburgring I took the lead of the championship. Next race was in Zeltweg. I was in second place, Reutemann led the race, but he was not involved in the championship. Six points was perfect. Ten laps from the end the car started to oversteer, and I thought maybe it was a puncture or something.

"There were no radios at this time. After two laps I stopped for tyres, I lost one minute and 40 seconds! I finished in fifth position, and second was Denny Hulme, 30 seconds in front of me. So this was an easy six points. In Monza I was leading, then 10 laps from the end something happened to the engine. So it was a big story..."

He still went to the USA equal with Emerson Fittipaldi, but he was never in the hunt all weekend: "We never know what happened in Watkins Glen. The car was undriveable, and for me the problem was in the tyres. Goodyear had changed the tyres, and also in Canada the car was very nervous... It was really uncompetitive. But nobody was excited. It was just the same routine. Montezemolo was pushing hard for Niki, nobody was interested to win the championship with me."

In 1975, Lauda really took control, and Regazzoni struggled to keep up, although he did win again at Monza. It was only after he left Ferrari that Clay discovered one of the tricks that the Austrian had employed over their years together.

"One time at Zandvoort I was on pole on Friday, Niki was second, the rest was one and half seconds behind. Goodyear said, OK for tomorrow there are no more new tyres, you have to work with what you have. On Saturday I tested the car with a full tank, prepared the car for the race.

"Five minutes from the end I stopped, and my chief mechanic said Niki's on pole. What happened? He came with four new tyres... Then I was angry, I asked Montezemolo why do you want to change the positions? He said he was talking himself with the guys from Goodyear, blah, blah...

"At the time there were no radial tyres, and the tyres were made manually. There were many guys, and the tyres made today and tomorrow may be different. Every time I went out with my car it was pulling right or left, it would never go straight. Then they adjust with the pressures.

"Niki never had this problem. Niki had the possibility to look at all the tyres. He chose the tyres made from the same hand on the same day. So his car was always perfect! Goodyear had a good relationship with Ferrari, and Montezemolo gave Niki the opportunity to do this. If you look at the grid, nine times out of 10 he was in front of me."

Clay scored the fourth win of his career at Long Beach in 1976, but the season was turned upside down by Lauda's crash in Germany.

"The media put a big story, Niki's finished, he cannot drive any more. We did not race in Zeltweg because the Old Man was angry. Then they started to find other drivers for next season. In Monza when Niki came back, Reutemann was there.

"At Monza, Teddy Mayer and the Marlboro people asked me to join McLaren... I remember I was in the motorhome, talking to him about money. But things were very good with Ferrari, so no way to move. Then I said to Montezemolo, 'Normally during Monza we decide on next year.' He said, 'The team is the same, Reutemann is just for this Grand Prix', and it was not the truth. Finally at the end of the season I read in the newspaper Carlos is coming. Nobody says you are out! I lost the opportunity to have a good, competitive team."

Had he been more politically adept, Clay might have read the writing on the wall. After turning down Bernie Ecclestone, he followed fellow Ferrari alumni Chris Amon and Jacky Ickx into the little Ensign team.

"It was a nice experience; Morris Nunn is a good guy. The engine was not the best, but everyone was on the same tyres. Even in '77 with a small budget we could have a good season with a normal car. If something happened in the race, you could easily get into the points.

"Then they had no money for the next year, so I signed for Don Nichols. It was unlucky, because Shadow was broken as Jackie Oliver went to make Arrows after I signed. So it was me, Hans Stuck and Jo Ramirez!"

In '78, Clay suffered the ignominy of failing to qualify on five occasions. At 39, his stock was at rock bottom, but a revival was on the horizon. After a promising season with Alan Jones, Frank Williams had found enough backing to expand to two cars. After Stuck and Jochen Mass turned the opportunity down, he settled on Clay.

"I saw the new project and everything, and Patrick [Head] was a very good guy. The problem was the qualifying tyres, they gave just one set, and the car was completely different to drive. You go fast where normally you brake, so you have to understand them. I made a bad use... At this time we ran with the BMW Procar, you had to be in the first five on Friday, and I did all the races! Then on Saturday the qualifying was no good."

The new FW07, once it was sorted, was to revive Clay's career. At Monaco he started only 16th but drove an inspired race to second - right on the tail of Jody Scheckter's Ferrari.

Two races later, at Silverstone, Clay had his day of days, winning the British GP after Jones retired: "I always liked Silverstone, so it was very nice, it was like winning in Monza with Ferrari. I won in England with a British team, and it was the first win for Frank."

While the veteran was getting decent results, Frank needed a driver who could really push Jones. Distracted by abortive discussions with Alfa Romeo, once again Clay failed to spot which way the wind was blowing.

"It was a misunderstanding. After we finished first and second in Hockenheim, we started talking to re-sign. Then I make a mistake in Zandvoort at the start. Patrick was very angry, I lost an opportunity. And then Reutemann came in. Everything was like this in my career!"

Instead, he found himself back at Ensign: "Carl Haas asked me to race with the CanAm. Maybe it would have been the right decision to go to the States with a good team, a winning car.

"I decided to stay, and then Morris called me and said 'we have a good team, we have money', and he showed me the design of the new car. I decided to do it. And it ended up with this accident. But I think it was part of my life, not because I was driving the Ensign...

"At the time it was ground effects, and the car didn't work, it was like a normal car. It was heavy to drive, a poor engine, not enough money... The problem in motor racing at this time was the budget, we didn't have the budget."

After three earlier disappointing outings, Clay started on the back row at Long Beach but charged up to fourth place by lap 50. Then the brake pedal broke.

"At the end of the straight I tried to brake, and the pedal was not there. Then I tried again. Then I tried again. I wrote a book and it took three pages to describe it! I tried to do something, I thought maybe the pedal went down and it would come back. I put second or third gear.

"There was one car parked on the left, one car parked on the right... I tried to reduce the speed, and I tried to slide into the Brabham of [Ricardo] Zunino. Maybe that was not a good decision, they told me when I hit the Brabham my car moved up and then went down, so I didn't go straight into the tyres - I went under them. When I woke up I was still in the car, and [a spectating] Dan Gurney was there, saying, 'Is everything OK?'

"I'm in a wheelchair not from the accident, but from a mistake. It was a mistake to operate, because my spine was never hurt. It took them only six hours to decide whether to operate or not, but they should have left me in traction.

"The operation was not completed, the spine was not stabilised. They just removed the compression, but they didn't stabilise the vertebrae. Normally they lock two vertebrae, they take a piece of bone, a graft.

"After one week I was moved to Basle, I was two months in bed. I regained the feeling, I started to move the toes a bit. Everything was OK, there was no pain, we just had to wait.

"After two months they removed me from the bed. They found the spine was never fixed - the operation was not complete. During the physiotherapy the vertebrae were moved and compressed.

"Then they had to operate at once, then another time, five times in all. I discovered that in the United States they were 20 years behind compared with European technology..."

Clay quickly came to terms with his new circumstances, and threw himself into helping others, notably by founding a driving school.

"I discovered another world, especially in Italy, where everything was not easy for handicapped people, for paraplegics. Then we started with the school. Now I'm involved in a Swiss foundation for research into the spinal cord."

He couldn't keep away from motorsport, though. For years, he's been a regular on the Dakar raid, and he's a huge supporter of historic rallying, undertaking gruelling events like the London-Sydney revival. He's also raced on circuits - a celebrity event at Long Beach a few years ago exorcised some ghosts. He even broke a leg in a karting accident in 1999.

"I still enjoy it. For me it's driving, and that's important. I just enjoy driving fast, I never put a goal, even when I started racing.

"That was my problem, even when I was in F1, I just accepted everything, I never thought about being champion. It was just about enjoying driving F1."

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