Round Sainte-Devote depicts the start of the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix with Jackie Stewart and Chris Amon leading the field into the legendary first corner of the circuit in their March 701 cars. Both Stewart and Amon would later fall out with mechanical troubles which would set the stage for one of the most extraordinary Formula One race finishes in history. With a nine-second deficit on race leader Jack Brabham (Brabham BT33) and just four laps to go, Jochen Rindt (Lotus 49 C) would drive furiously to close the gap to only a couple car lengths as they started the final lap. Nervously checking his rear-view mirror one last time, poor “Blackjack” Brabham misjudged his braking point going into the final Gasworks Hairpin corner and his car slid wide and into the hay bales.
Rindt was through the inside in a flash and he powered on to claim the checkered flag a mere few hundred yards beyond. Rindt’s electrifying last race lap of 1 minute 23.3 seconds was a full 0.7 seconds faster than Stewart’s previous-day, qualifying, pole position lap! The excitement of this race epitomizes F1 Grand Prix racing at its best. It was an extraordinary era when a brand-new constructor to the Formula One scene, March, could actually see two of its cars take the front row of the starting grid ahead of such established makes as Ferrari, McLaren, or Brabham. It was also possible then for an extremely talented driver like Jochen Rindt, starting back from the fourth row in an updated version of what was by then a four-year-old car design, to make up any technological disadvantage with an inspired drive and win the race in most dramatic fashion!
For commissions & originals contact:
Gulay Berryman
E-mail: gulayart@yahoo.com
www.geocities.com/gulayart
