Pablo Gimeno Valledor
In all professions there are phrases that are frequently repeated and with which those who say them, They try to give themselves an air of knowledge. One of those common phrases is “Golden Era” of motorsports to define a certain period, a name that I have seen applied to the 30s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. And the same thing happens with rallies. We have part of the explanation in the last article of “I, me, me, with me”, in which he commented on that national tendency to consider oneself as the center of the universe. Therefore, the "Golden Age” is the one that YO I have lived as a young man.
As in Spain reading and documenting is usually unusual, a vast majority of amateurs and professionals He only knows what he has in his memory since childhood. until youth. That is, never what he has read or studied on the subject, thereby losing a historical perspective that is always enriching. In addition, this allows us to assess the current era and future projections much better by having many more elements of judgment. And it is that How can we understand the present without minimally knowing the past?
THE GOLDEN PERIOD OF MOTORSPORTS
La first reference I have to the “golden era” in relation to the automobile and I saw the competition in books referring to the period 1934-1939. They were years in which the domain of the Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union In the Grand Prix it was overwhelming, with a technical and media display without comparison. Only the gifted Tazio nuvolari He was able to deprive them of the occasional victory with their Alfa Romeos, until the man from Mantua ended up signing for Auto Union.
Then, after World War II, I have seen different periods called the “golden era” of motorsports as opposed to the current moment. There is always present the sometimes inherent nostalgia for past times that, I don't know why, seem to have always been better than the current ones. Some high points of concrete evidence are cited as a demonstration of what they say, such as the duel between Villeneuve and Arnoux in Dijon (France) in 1979, as if that anniversary had been a constant of those seasons.
It's like when you say that the songs "of his years” were better than the current ones. In reality, what happens is that those from several decades ago that are heard today are the ones that time has selected, something that will also happen in two or more decades with the current ones. For the same reason, and returning to the competition we have to, after seeing a couple of exciting duels from a long time ago, These duels become the norm and define a “Golden Era” which happens to be unique.
ROUND WITH THE OVERTHROWS
We can say that, since the ailerons and, subsequently, the ground effect appeared, there was a very notable increase in cornering speed. Added to this were much shorter braking distances, making it easier to go full throttle, so overtaking became more difficult and rare. A general reproach to F1 and other disciplines was that there were hardly any overtakes. That's why DRS was introduced, and now it turns out that one of the criticisms leveled at F1 today is the relative ease that DRS provides drivers with overtaking. Well, it turns out that those previous years, so criticized for what I just mentioned, were also a “golden era” of motorsports. I am sure that if DRS were banned today, In a couple of years we would talk about the “golden age of DRS”.
Furthermore, if one analyzes things a little and without going back to years prior to Formula 1, which, by definition, is just a name under which various regulations for Grand Prix cars have been drawn up since 1948, it would be advisable not to forget that The aforementioned Grand Prix dates back to 1906. Since then, it can be seen that There was often superiority of some cars over others, with “years” Sunbeam, “years” Bugatti, and so on and on with Delage, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes and others.
And since 1948, we saw The Alfa Romeo 158 dominate with authority until 1951; the Ferrari 500 F2 (yes, Formula 2) winning race after race in 1952 and 1953 with Ascari; to the Mercedes W169 of 1954 and 1955 with Juan Manuel Fangio, and so on a long sum and goes on. In the 1 cm F1.5003, between 1962 and 1965 the domain of Jim Clark with Lotus it was practically total, although the not infrequent breakdowns of the Lotus deprived him of the title in 1962 and 1964. In fact, among motor journalists The phrase “beating Clark” became fashionable. That is, achieving pole and leading with -apparent- ease from the start, crossing the finish line first, something like Verstappen in the last two years. Were those years also a golden age?
And if we go to other disciplines such as resistance, what has been the “golden era”? The one about the duels between the Alfa Romeo and Bugatti? That of the Ferrari-Jaguar fights; Ferrari-Aston Martin; Ferrari-Ford; Ferrari-Porsche and Ferrari-Matra? Or the years of Audi dominance?
DOES THE GOLDEN PERIOD OF MOTORSPORTS REALLY EXIST?
All eras have their high moments, and motorsports, being an ultra-technical sport, is subject to worst and best moments. In any case, always, in every season and even in every race, there is something worth seeing, although sometimes it seems that only the overtaking and the occasional accident are entertaining for some. In Monaco there is hardly any overtaking and, however, seeing the cars touching the rails, with the talent and mastery that goes to the limit curve after curve and lap after lap is in itself a great spectacle...
If you know how to appreciate it, you will enjoy seeing how it acts. that hammer called Hamilton when they tell him from the pits that he has to go for it, or the incredible speed and capacity of Alonso to “read” the race at all times; the insolent supremacy of Schumacher for several years, the genius and the courage of Gilles Villeneuve, the speed of Senna, the almost mathematical precision of Cheers; the almost insulting perfection and superiority of Clark and Stewart; the spectacularity of Peterson, the permanent dominance of Fangio regardless of the car... And if we go back further, the superiority of true geniuses like Nuvolari, Caracciola, Rosemeyer, Chiron and others about very powerful cars whose engines far surpassed their chassis and tires in performance...
All of which make up as many “golden ages” of motorsports as there are generations. So it's a good idea to know how to look in the rearview mirror and forget that Adamism according to which the “golden age” begins with oneself. Anyone who does not want to study the past has the perfect right to do so, but please do not pontificate by calling his own “golden age” simply because it is the one he lived through.
NOTE: Pablo Gimeno Valledor is a member of the FEVA Culture Commission.
