Racing legend Stirling Moss injured in elevator incident
Mark Atkinson, MSN Autos
One of motor racing's most talented and amiable drivers is recovering in hospital after falling down his personal elevator! Britain's The Independent reported that 80-year-old Sir Stirling Moss stepped into the empty shaft where the car should have been when the doors opened, and he fell three floors to the bottom.
He had surgery on both his feet, with pins and plates being inserted for support. He also suffered four chipped vertebrae in the incident.
Even with the six weeks recovery doctors prescribed, it's unlikely that it'll slow the octogenarian much. Moss' "official" racing career ended in 1962, including 10 successful years in Formula 1, along with various sports car, rally, hill climb and endurance racing credits to his name. His legendary drive at the 1955 Mille Millia in a Mercedes-Benz SLR is still discussed with much reverence and amazement, and two versions of the McLaren-Mercedes SLR supercar (722, Stirling Moss Edition) were created in his honour.
Moss has suffered serious injury before, although it was always in a racing car. In 1960, he crashed at Spa in Belgium in a Lotus 18 where he broke his back. In '62, he crashed another Lotus at Goodwood in England which put him in a coma for weeks and partially paralyzed for months.
He is still a force to be reckoned with on the historic racing circuit, and we here at MSN Autos Canada wish him a speedy and safe recovery.
Posted by: Johnny Two-Shoes | 2010-03-17 2:12:56 AM
Sir Moss, I salute you. Get well soon!