Bernie Ecclestone

b. 1930

Previous owner of Brabham and current president and owner of Formula 1 Management and Formula 1 Administration.

Pages featuring Bernie Ecclestone:

1976 Japan Grand Prix
1976 The air starter
1981 Leaving Formula 1

Bill Caldwell

1941 - 1966

Alastair’s brother Bill owned the Beatles Mania nightclub in Auckland, New Zealand. Bill Caldwell died when his when his Brabham car crashed at the final race of the Tasman Series, Teretonga, 1966.

Pages featuring Bill Caldwell:

Bruce McLaren

1937-1970

McLaren team owner, founded in 1963. Alastair was one of the men who pulled Bruce McLaren from his car when it crashed in 1970.

Pages featuring Bruce McLaren:

Denny Hulme

1936 – 1992

Racing Years:

1965-1974

Teams:

Brabham, McLaren

Alastair worked with Denny in the late stages of his McLaren career. Denny raced for McLaren in Formula 1 and the Canadian-American Challenge Cup.

Pages featuring Denny Hulme:

Emerson Fittipaldi

b. 1946

Racing Years:

1970 – 1980

Teams:

Lotus, McLaren, Fittipaldi Automotive

Emerson joined McLaren in 1973 and won the 1974 championship for the team before leaving the following year to join his brother’s team.

Pages featuring Emerson Fittipaldi:

1973 Fittipaldi joins McLaren
1974 Famous names on the tracks
1976 Fittipaldi leaves McLaren
1976 Japan Grand Prix

James Hunt

1947 – 1993

Racing Years:

1973-1979

Teams:

Hesketh, McLaren, Wolf

James joined McLaren in 1975. After some slight alterations to the car to make up for his long legs he won the 1976 championship for them against all odds.

Pages featuring James Hunt:

1975 Hunt joins McLaren
1976 Fittipaldi leaves McLaren
1976 6 speed gears
1976 A heavy night 1976 Japan Grand Prix

Jochen Mass

b. 1946

Racing Years:

1973-1980, 1982

Teams:

Surtees, McLaren, ATS, Arrows, March

Jochen was Alastair’s second driver. He won one grand prix for them, Spain 1975, when Fittipaldi retired from the track for safety reasons.

Pages featuring Jochen Mass:

1976 Six-speed gears
1976 The air starter

Nelson Piquet

b. 1952

Racing Years:

1978-1991

Teams:

Ensign, Brabham, Williams, Lotus, Benetton

Alastair fondly recalls his time with Nelson who he deems a very good person, even though his public image cast him as more highly strung.

Pages featuring Nelson Piquet:

1977 Alastair leaves McLaren
1979 Piquet
1980 Skirts

Teddy Mayer

1935-2009

In 1962 Mayer met Bruce McLaren who was setting up his Formula One team Mayer remained as joint managing-director until 1982.

Pages featuring Teddy Mayer:

1976 I invented the Air-Starter
1976 Weather in Japan gives Hunt advantage

Gilles Villeneuve

1950 – 1982

Racing Years:

1976-1982

Teams:

McLaren, Ferrari

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (Gilles Villeneuve) was a Canadian racing driver. He won the US and Canadian Formula Atlantic championships in 1976, before Alastair offered him his first drive in Formula One with the McLaren team at the 1977 British Grand Prix.

Jodie Scheckter

b. 1950

Racing Years:

1972 -1980

Teams:

McLaren, Tyrrell, Wolf, Ferrari

Alastair gave Jodie his first Formula 1 drive at Watkins Glen in 1972 with McLaren where he ran as high as third place before spinning and finishing ninth. He went from strength to strength and went on to become the world champion for Ferrari in 1979.

Barry Sheen MBE

1950 – 2003

Racing Years:

1970 - 1984

Teams:

Suzuki, Yamaha

Barry was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. A spectacular crash at the Daytona 200 in 1975 threatened to end his career, yet he recovered and was racing again seven weeks later. A good friend of James Hunt and the team. He also had Marlboro sponsorship and was often a guest at the races and afterwards.

Slim Borgudd

b. 19461

Racing Years:

1981 - 1982

Teams:

ATS, Tyrrell

Karl Edward Tommy (Slim) Borgudd is a Swedish former Formula One driver who raced for the ATS and Tyrrell teams. He has also drummed on several tracks by Swedish pop group ABBA.

Pages featuring Slim Borgudd:

1981 Leaving Formula 1

John Watson

b. 1946

Racing Years:

1973 – 1983, 1985

Teams:

Brabham, Surtees, Lotus, Penske, McLaren

John Watson drove for McLaren in 1979 and won the British Grand Prix in 1981. He now commentates for television and radio and is an all-round good guy.

Dorothy Caldwell

Alastair’s mum; in 2012 at 94 years old she navigated 18000 miles over 8 weeks across US in the Transamerica rally. Dorothy won their class and also an award for “Spirit of the Rally”!


Pages featuring Dorothy Caldwell:

2012 The TransAm

Catriona Rings

b 1977

Alastair’s long-time navigator.


Pages featuring Catriona Rings:

2008 An Icelandic Odyssey
2009 London to Casablanca
2010 The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge
2011 Budapest to Bamako Rally
2012 The Flying Scotsman