by Rob Wilkins
TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH SIR STIRLING MOSS: CLICK HERE
Sir
Stirling Moss needs no introduction. He is often referred to as the 'greatest
F1 driver never to have won the world championship', having finished second overall in 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958.
However his successes on the track were by no means limited to F1 - far from it in fact and one of his greatest victories came in the Mille Miglia in a Mercedes-Benz SLR in 1955.
Moss was at Cars International's 'Mille Miglia - Then and Now' event in London this week, where he reminisced about that triumph and took time out to give
BBC chef James Martin a few tips ahead of his participation on this year's edition of the famous Italian open road endurance race.
Crash.net Radio caught up with Sir Stirling to chat about the Mille Miglia and to get his take on F1 this season...
Crash.net:
Stirling,
Cars International have one of the Mercedes-Benz 300SLGullwing's on show here this evening, which you used on promotional events leading up to the Mille Miglia. It has been in private hands for more than 40 years. How does it differ to the SLR you actually won that event with?
Sir Stirling Moss:
They are quite different. The Gullwing was a fantastic car but the SLR is something completely different. It is called a 300 SLR, because it is 3 litres and 'super light racing' and the other one is 'super light'. I must say that the Gullwing that is here - like any other Gullwing, was quite tricky to drive. I am glad to say the SLR, which I raced of course, was really a fantastic car - really incredible.
Crash.net:
I understand the Gullwing here is going to be put up for sale by
Cars International, what would you like to see happen to it? Would you like to see it go to a museum or would you like to buy it even?
SM:
No I wouldn't buy it myself. I hope it doesn't go to a museum because I think it is nice to see the cars and get them out. The car I would like to have is the car I actually owned in '56, which is a light weight, with knock-off wheels. But that is in New Zealand at the moment. I happen to know that because the guy [in NZ] contacted me to find out if I knew anything about it and it turned out it was the car I actually owned.
Crash.net:
Going back to that win in 1955, when you beat Juan Manuel Fangio, it's not wrong to say you were 'drugged' up on it is it?
SM:
We use to take, when I did rallies and so on, I would take stuff which was a 'keep-a-wake' sort of thing. Like caffeine. Whether that would be acceptable now I don't know. Fangio also had some fantastic - not go faster - but keep awake pills as well. White ones - I don't know what was in them.
![Sir Stirling Moss O.B.E with the PLB23 Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing. May 7 2008. [Pic credit: Cars International / Malcolm Griffiths/LAT]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/436723.jpg)
