Monday, September 30, 2013

Rush and the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix

Rush is currently No. 1 at the UK box-office, and Ron Howard's populist mix of stereotypical rivalry, heroism, sex and danger, is sure to attract a new generation of fans to the fight between 3-stop strategies and pace-managed 2-stoppers.

For those seeking the real thing from 1976, this was the video of the entire Austrian Grand Prix at the Osterreichring. It has now been stripped from Youtube by the guardians of copyright, who don't appear to be protecting any commercial interest given that there is no alternative outlet in which the entire race can be viewed. 

Which is a pity, because the original Osterreichring was a majestic, Styrian theatre of motorsport. The 1976 race started with localised showers of rain, until, as Pete Lyons reported, "The Sun now broke out on the highest slopes above, kindling the tents there into incandescent yellows and reds. Within minutes the entire landscape was brilliant, rain-washed green." 

Proper drivers, proper cars, and a proper circuit.


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