Happy Birthday Bernie!
10/29/2012
Bernie Ecclestone turned 82 yesterday in India. The Formula 1 zampano was born on October 28, 1930 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. His gigantic career began as a motorcycle racer, later switching to car racing, albeit with scant success. In 1958, he was entered in two F1 races (Monaco and Great Britain), but failed to qualify for either.
As manager and owner of the Connaught and later the Brabham team, he had much more success. In between, he also managed the German-Oesterreich Jochen Rindt.
Niki Lauda said: "I have only met two people in my life who have influenced me with their charisma and personality: Enzo Ferrari and Bernie Ecclestone."
There are only two positions with Bernie, you either love him or hate him. You can say and think whatever you like about him, but one thing is very clear: without him, Formula 1 would never be where it is today. The "little" dictator is probably the only person who manages to bring the teams together time and time again. How many times have attempts been made to set up a second "F1 series", but all efforts have failed in the early stages.
So let's hope that Bernie lives a long time and that his physical and mental health doesn't let him down.
P.S. By the way, Enzo Ferrari was 90 years old!
