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on-track rescue equipment

and fire regulations.

By then, the doghouse club

was raising money each year

for the families

of fallen drivers.

Max mosley:
Because there were

things that could be done,

maybe it was immoral,

but on the other hand, I couldn't say,

because there were people

who wanted to do it.

The only requirements

to replace the fallen

on the grid

were guts and money.

Man:
Lord Alexander

fermor-hesketh,

the third baron

of hesketh!

Lord hesketh was 22 years old

when he formed hesketh racing.

Lord hesketh:

I got into racing entirely accidentally.

I'd just met the prettiest

hooker I'd ever,

ever met in my life,

and I saw this

post card counter,

and it had this

charming Teddy bear.

I drew onto the Teddy bear

a crash helmet

and a union Jack.

I think it has an atmosphere

of the old-type

grand prix teams,

and, uh, I think that's

anything truly British

deserves supporting.

Lord hesketh:
We were there to have some fun.

That was about it.

Maurice Hamilton:

They were slightly upper class, weren't they?

Lord hesketh and so on.

The more serious

journalists thought

that one didn't come in and do

formula one racing like this,

and drinking champagne

and having fun. Not on.

Man:
We don't want any pictures,

we don't want any pictures!

Ha ha ha ha!

Lord hesketh:

We've got a driver in f2.

He hasn't got

a very good reputation,

but he is very, very fast.

His nickname is

"hunt the shunt,"

'cause he tends

to crash cars.

John hogan:

It was not dissimilar

from a man owning

a very expensive horse,

and his jockey happened

to be James hunt.

You want to-- you just

want to get a level?

So if I say "shuts and f***"

and all that sort of stuff.

Oh, dear. Well, cancel it, then.

Can we rub that out?

Jody scheckter:
He drank a lot and

smoked a lot of funny things.

He had his fun.

He had girls to die for.

John Watson:
He was the kind

of thing you'd read

in your comic when

you were a kid growing up

and dreaming of being

a grand prix driver.

James was the epitome

of everything a kid would want to be.

Jane birbeck:
James was

so attractive as a person.

He not only attracted girls,

but he also attracted a lot of--

a lot of, uh, men.

I mean,

I don't mean like that,

but he just had that ability

to charm people,

and freedom within himself,

that some people found

a little unnerving.

Woman:
When you go around

with these racers,

you start to know

almost everybody here.

It's like

a big family for you,

and you get your

big interest with.

Emerson fittipaldi:

It was a lot of fun.

It was a transition

in the world of young people--

the sideburns,

the bell bottom trousers,

the hippy time.

Four hours west

of Woodstock, New York,

formula one hosted

an outdoor party

every year for two decades.

Maurice Hamilton:

Everybody used to stay at a place

called the seneca lodge,

which was a hunting lodge.

With all the American

whoopin' and hollerin',

it was a great scene!

The Glen had a reputation

as a place for champions.

Jochen rindt won

his first grand prix here,

as did emerson fittipaldi.

Franois cevert won in 1971,

and was runner-up in '72,

to his mentor.

In 1973, the tyrrell team

came to the Glen

with Jackie Stewart

having already wrapped up

his third

world championship.

By 1973, I had decided

that my last race

would be Watkins Glen,

my hundredth grand prix.

Jody scheckter:
Jackie's retirement was still,

um, hush-hush at that time.

Sir Jackie Stewart:

Only three people knew.

Franois didn't know,

or even Helen.

I didn't want

to tell my wife,

because I didn't want her saying,

"if it's this dangerous,

why don't you stop now,

and then we'll be happy?"

Oh, it's a fantastic feeling,

even the other one,

because, uh,

the roof thing I've got

is so

smooth and delightful,

it's even a nice

impression for the driver.

You know, it's...

Vrroooom! Very...!

Cevert

was sort of thinking

he was ready to be

a number one driver in his own right.

He set out to prove it

in qualifying that year,

at the Glen.

( Vintage audio )

Cevert. Bloody hell.

( Sighs )

Jody scheckter:

I was the first one on the scene,

and I jumped out the car

to try and help him.

I remember then

trying to get his belts,

and the just turned around

and I knew it was all over.

( Vintage audio )

It was

the most horrible sight.

I wouldn't want

anybody to see that, ever.

Jo Ramirez:

Nothing broke in the car.

It was just going too quick.

He hit one barrier,

then he went across the circuit,

hit the other one,

and that turned the car over.

And maybe [If] the barrier

would have been a little bit higher,

then he would have been okay,

but we will never know.

Man:
Because of the incident

on the circuit,

practice for today

for formula one cars is now concluded.

Emerson fittipaldi:

Went back to the pits.

I didn't say anything

to Colin, to my wife.

Just walked

into the parking place,

where there was nobody.

And I want to pray

with God and say,

"what I'm doing here?

Help me."

Man:
...Gentlemen,

remain standing, please,

for the playing of

the national anthem of France,

in memory of Franois cevert.

( Les marseilles playing )

Sir Jackie Stewart:

I chose not to race the next day

out of respect to Franois.

Nothing to do with

my own personal concerns.

It was an unfortunate way

to end a career,

but in the other way,

maybe it was part of why

I never wanted to race again.

Roy topp:
I think it was

the right thing, not to race.

Very sad.

Sir Jackie Stewart: I was

just so angry that the sport

could do it in this way,

and continue to do it

in this way,

and not sufficiently

change itself,

to put its own house

in order.

John Watson:
There's

about 15 minutes or so

before the race,

so I was hanging around the pits,

and Bernie said, "well, what are you doing?

What are you doing?"

I said, "well,

Franois's dead."

He said, "well, so what?

He died doing something which,

"up until that fraction

of a second,

was giving him the greatest

joy, pleasure, fulfillment.

You're a racing driver.

Get out and do your job."

Franois cevert:
Every man

in the world is looking to make

from his passion his business.

That's what I have done.

I cannot be more happy.

Everything I do

about my auto racing,

I enjoy it. Anything.

Because it is my passion.

Lord hesketh:
When the guys

flying the mustangs

came back in from five

or six hours over Germany,

and they probably lost

15% of the formation,

they went to the bar.

And they went to the bar

with a very good reason.

( Revelers whooping )

Sometimes you have

to get up in the morning,

look in the mirror, and say,

"are you prepared to put it on the line?

Are you prepared to actually

lose your life today?"

Because if you're not,

you have no right being there.

Emerson fittipaldi:

I said to myself,

I need to forget everything

that happened before,

because I love this sport.

( Spectators cheering )

Jo Ramirez:
It is like a drug.

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