Retrospective
Moss on Practical Jokes
Question: Was racing more fun in those days?
Stirling
Moss: Yes, there was a lot more joking about from one team to
another or one driver to another, or between groups of drivers.
We used to really, really tease
Harry [Schell]. He’d bring his girlfriends along and while he was downstairs
signing in we’d go up to his room and take everything out of it - anything that
wasn’t screwed down - the bidet had to stay and the bath! Then he’d come along
with his girlfriend, Monique saying, I’ve got a very nice room and he would open
the door and find there was absolutely nothing in there! For example, in France,
they very rarely had fitted carpets in those days, so we could even roll up the carpet and take that out. Those
sort of pranks were always going on between
various different people.
Q: Did anybody, play pranks on the team personnel. I am thinking, in particular, of 55 and of how serious Mercedes were. Did anybody try to play any pranks on them, to sort of pull them down a few pegs as it were?
SM: No luckily, no one reached that level. If they had done, I think Naubeauer would have covered that. He acted as a room keeper for you!
Q: Who were the worst pranksters?
SM: Portago, Pete Collins, Mike Hawthorn and Harry Schell were the main ones.
Moss On Drugs and Drink
Q: Were there any drugs on the scene?
SM: No, I was never approached; as far as I know it didn’t happen. The only thing that we did take, that I presume would probably now be classified as drugs, was Dexadrine and Benzedrine. In other words things that would keep you awake, mainly for rallying. They were only taken to keep you awake - for no other purpose.
Q: Was there much drinking? Did you drink?
SM: Not at all. I didn’t have any alcohol, other than just sipping it. I thought it was awful until I was 32! I think alcohol is an acquired taste, kids grow up, normally liking sweet things – I liked bitter lemons or Cokes or what have you, and the thought of drinking something like that was off-putting. I didn’t even drink beer! Certainly, some people did, Duncan Hamilton would have the odd shot but not the serious drivers, they wouldn’t, no.
See also:
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955