Finally got my hands on the latest edition of Motorsport (June) and while reading about an interview with Chris Amon, I couldn’t help but crack up when I came across the story of his trials and tribulations at the 1967 Le Mans while driving for Ferrari;

“Just before midnight I was passing the pits when I felt the right rear tyre go flat… on the Mulsanne there were sparks coming out the back, and I though ‘I’m going to have to change this tyre.’ The Ferraris carried a spare wheel and a tool kit with jack, hammer and torch, so halfway down the straight I pulled onto the verge. I was crawling about at the back with cars coming past at 200+ mph.

I got the back door open, found the torch-and the battery was dead. So I just had the passing headlights to see by. I got the hammer and waited for some lights and then took a swipe at the knock-off hubcap- and the head came off the hammer and disappeared. So I thought I’d get the thing jacked up and try to get the wheel off with one of the spanners (wrenches). Then I found that they forgot to put the jack in… so I had to drive it back.”




I couldn’t help but bust up on this story, as I experienced similar scenario at night while driving a company truck, after the passenger mirror fell off, on a major highway. No professional racers passed by at 200 mph. The drunks, late-night meth-heads and other sleepy truck drivers (like myself) were enough.