your classic autographs

I was always a bit shy of asking for autographs from the drivers that I had to work for, so I do not have many, but of them all I would say that Michele was one of the nicest guys. In my years at Footwork Arrows he was often around, always keen to help out and not afraid to get his hands dirty, he was not the typical 'superstar'.

A real gent.

Thanks for reminding us.

Chris M.

What can we say about Stirling Moss? He developed an economical signature that meant he could, and still does, cash in on his fame without getting a sore wrist.

I have both a signed and an unsigned copy of his 'My Cars, My Career', which by the way is one of the best ever racing books anyway. But, it has been suggested the unsigned one is probably the rarer!

and a signed postcard too;

A more recent event was the annual historic races meeting at Phillip Island in February 2006 where I got Sir Jack Brabham to sign my programme on the front. Poignantly, I also had the pleasure of meeting Australian racing legend Peter Brock who also autographed it, but tragically was killled later that year in a Cobra Daytona coupe on the Targa West rally.

Chris M.

Christopher, thanks for sharing your interesting autographs (and classic books).
There is another sad anniversary in May. We all remember what happened on 1st May, 1994.
Senna once kindly sent me his business card and signed photo by mail from Brazil. Although it seems not to be a hand signed photo, still proves Senna's dedication to his achievements fans.

Something odd happened there where I loaded a few photos in reply. The first part with the Jackie Stewart post is back on page 1 but not all the photos loaded so I am trying again with the signed photo.

This was from the beginning of the '99 season with Sir Jackie and Paul Stewart, as well as Rubens Barrichello and Johnny Herbert at the launch of the SF3 with which Johnny went on to win the European GP at Nurburgring.

Chris M.

Beautiful signed photo, Chris, but beware of framed signed photos, the signatures can vanished with time.
I once handed a B&W photo to Ken Tyrrell, who kindly signed it for me. I was proud of and framed it.
Over the years the signature completely dissappeared! And sadly now it is too late to do it again.

I know what you mean, but this one is not displayed in direct light and still looks sharp after 13 years. I do have a photo of the Footwork F1 from 1992 that was signed by Aguri Suzuki, but that has faded away completely. There probably some pens or inks that are more permanent than others; anyone have any suggestions?

Chris M.

We received this from one of our favourite enthusiasts (Ernie Nagamatsu) yesterday.

And Mr Nagamatsu must be the proud owner of Old Yeller 2, the car featured in his photo of Dan Gurney.
He has a special Web site for his car

http://oldyeller2.com

Good to see Dr Ernie getting a mention on here alongside better known heroes. I had the pleasure of meeting him and getting a good look at Old Yeller up close when they came over for the Tasman Revival meeting at Eastern Creek in November 2010.

Note also, part of the pit garage display is a large 'Dan Gurney For President' banner with a painting of the car.

Ernie seemed happy to spend the whole weekend (when not on the track) chatting to anyone interested.

And yes, I thoroughly recommend a visit to his website. There is a lot more to tell about the history of Old Yeller II for anyone not familiar with the legend of Max and Ina Balchowsky, and Ernie is keeping the legend alive for future generations.

I will stick a few more photos over in that Racing Car thread, and then see if I can dig out some more autographs for this one.

Chris M.