A day in the life of Stirling Moss
While researching his latest book The Boy, Richard Williams uncovered a set of never-before-seen photographs which show the driver, who died a year ago this month, at the very height of his career
PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL WARD
Stirling and Katie arrived at Silverstone in style, in a works Aston Martin
Already in white overalls, Moss is photographed by Michael Ward – on one of his first assignments
Moss shared driving duties with Tony Brooks in the Rob Walker Cooper-Climax T43
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND THINK OF Stirling Moss racing on a home circuit, and the chances are you will be imagining him at Aintree, where he won the British Grand Prix in 1955 and 1957, or at Goodwood, where he raced a 500cc machine at the circuit’s inaugural meeting in 1948 and went on to win the Tourist Trophy at the circuit four times, and where a still-unexplained crash on Easter Monday 1962 ended his professional career.
Silverstone is unlikely to be the setting that most readily springs to mind. And yet, over the 15 seasons of his career as a professional racing driver, Moss started 48 races at Silverstone, winning 22 of them. The fast sweeps of the converted bomber base in Northamptonshire turned out to be a fine stage for his versatility and virtuosity.