Was Chris Amon Formula 1’s most unfortunate competitor? Mike Doodson recalls chaotic times with the F1 great who, despite a lack of world championship GP wins, considered himself one of the lucky ones

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It was a chilly morning in early January 1971 when Alan Henry and I called on Chris Amon at his new engine business in Reading. It would be an unforgettable experience, not so much because AH and I learned anything interesting about motor racing (though we did) but because one day in the presence of the fascinating Mr Amon provided an insight into the man behind the racing driver. He would unwittingly confirm himself to be trusting, honest and decent, qualities which I fondly appreciated. We would also find him a little gullible but also lacking in deviousness, exactly as was demonstrated by events throughout his often topsy-turvy career. In just that one day, more than 50 years ago, I would discover that his famous talent for disorganisation had spilled over into his off-track life.

Some background here. Our interview was to be published in Motoring News, the weekly racing newspaper (and at the time Motor Sport stablemate) which employed the two of us. I had joined the full-time staff in the spring of 1968 to cover Formula 2 racing, only to find myself somewhat rashly promoted to the Formula 1 chair in April 1970. AH had quit his own career in banking to take over the F2 gig from me, so we were still both professionally innocent, albeit with a shared passion for the second formula. It was AH who had set up the Amon interview, but I pulled rank and insisted on joining him.

Amon was of particular interest to us because he had decided to invest some of his F1 earnings in an engine business under his own name, to build and maintain F2 units complying with the new-for-1972 Formula 2 – still a year away – now with a 2-litre limit. Although the premises he had chosen were crumbling and semi-derelict, he was reluctant to explain why he and his staff were working in this unheated semi-abandoned factory. Many years later Chris revealed that his 1970 season as the lead driver for the new March team had ended with him having to whistle for £75,000 of the £100,000 retainer promised to him by March founder Max Mosley. There was a whisper that the Reading factory was part of the Mosley family’s extensive property portfolio and had been offered to Chris in part-mitigation of the outstanding debt.