Whole Network Most Recent TOP10 Automobilia Automotive Art German Cars Great Drives

 

How This Woman's Father, the Silver Fox, Inspired me to Become a Race Driver

Filed in archive Rally/Retro-Rally by Philip Powell on May 19, 2007

Prisca Taruffi

Several decades ago my "bible" as a neophtye sports car competitor was a book on racing techniques by Pierro Taruffi, a handsome, silver-haired gentleman who'd made his name in international Grand Prix and endurance competition. My first attempt at using Taruffi's advice ended in near-disaster. A friend had loaned his 30's Buick coupe to me and buddy Ron Gee, and I was showing off my newly-learned 4-wheel-drifting skills on a dirt track. But this was not a real Race tracklinks. It was an oval-shaped access road behind what in those politically-incorrect days was referred to as an "insane asylum." Unfortunately a minimum security inmate had been let out for his daily walk. Oblivious to the noise and scattering dust, he strolled onto the track directly in front of our drifting Buick. With the quick reflexes that only the young can muster I steered onto the grass. The car's wheels dug in and over we went, landing on our side. Neither Ron nor I were hurt, the inmate kept walking as if nothing had happened, and with the help of some bystanders we rolled the Buick back on its wheels for a fast escape before the police could arrive.

I was reminded of this by an article in Classic Driver entitled "Taruffi's Daughter Drives in the Mille Miglia." Prisca Taruffi will drive her father's actual Mille Miglia-winning car - a Ferrari 315 S - in the Mille Miglia retrospective, a retro-rallye celebrating the 80th birthday of the 1000 mile Brescia-Rome-Brescia race. The car is owned by American collector John McCaw, who will be Prisca's co-driver, and support is being provided by Ferrari Classiche, the Ferrari division that caters to owners of classic models. Quoted in Classic Driver, Prisca commented, "to drive the same car my father drove 50 years ago is a dream come true. It is something I have hoped to do ever since I started racing. To experience the same sensations behind the wheel of the 315 S as he did is a unique opportunity." This is a lovely story, which you can follow on the Classic Driver site. As for me, I'm stunned to learn that Taruffi had a daughter still young enough to participate and while an insane asylum might have been appropriate for me in those early days, his instructions paid off when I finally drove on a real race circuit. Oh... and I hate to think what that battered Buick coupe would be worth today.


Advertisement


Permalink: How This Woman's Father, the Silver Fox, Inspired me to Become a Race Driver
Tags: Taruffi  Grand  Prix  Buick  Mille  Miglia  rally  rallye  classic  antique  old  collector  car  cars  auto  autom 

Trackback: http://www.creative-weblogging.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.pl/70760



Advertisement


Advertisement


CW ToolbarInstall
RSSrss   | See all blog subscribe options
Googlegoogle   |   What is RSS?
Yahoo!yahoo
AddthisAddThis Feed Button
BloglinesBloglines
Newsletter
Advertisement - Book yours here.

Use our search feature to look for other interesting posts

Just this blog Whole network
Advertisement -
Book yours here..


 
Advertisement
Book yours here.



  • Other blogs in the same channel in the Creative Weblogging Network

Advertisement -
Book yours here..






Advertisement - Book yours here..
 
Tagcloud: 1980's Cars AC Cars Alfa Romeo American Independents American Specials Antique Autos As We See Things Auctions Austin Healey Auto Shows Automobilia Automotive Art Aviation Barn Finds Bentley BMW Books British Cars Buick Cadillac Canadian Cars Catalogs Chevrolet Chrysler Classic Boats Classic Rentals Concours Design Deusenberg Electric Cars European Specials Famous Drivers Fashion Items Ferrari Ford French Cars Fun Events General Motors German Cars Gifts Great Drives Great Gifts Historic Transportation Hot Rods Italian Cars Jaguar Japanese Oldies Lincoln Media Sites Mercedes MG Model Cars Morgan Movies Muscle Cars Museums Oddball Autos Oldsmobile Our Story Photographs Plymouth Pontiac Pony Cars Porsche Private Collections Racers Rally/Retro-Rally Rare Europeans Record Breakers Replicas Restoration Roads to Remember Rolls-Royce Romantic Notions Sponsored Post Station Wagons Tech Stuff Test Drives Vintage Racing Vintage Rentals Vintage Vans