Stirling Moss quotes Dr. Benno Müller
07/05/2014
A common saying in the Formula 1 paddocks of the 1950s was: "Dr. Benno Müller is leaving, let the race begin." - based on the immortal slogan "The day goes, Johnny Walker comes."
How did this endearing slogan come about? In a scene that was not one of the quietest even 60 years ago?
Dr. Benno Müller was a German dentist who was a fixture in Formula 1 with his Hasselblad camera and only took driver portraits. Unforgettable champion photos, from which the large-format book with the simple title "Rennfahrer" was created in 1961 by Motor Presse Verlag.
The cover photo of the book shows the young Stirling Moss closing his helmet strap, and there are more Moss portraits in the book.
To give the book the necessary dynamism, Benno Müller took a single driving photo and obviously agreed this with Moss. It is taken from the side of the road on a sharp bend. Moss is smiling at the camera and waving with his right hand (picture above).
Although few will remember this scene and even fewer will remember the book, Stirling Moss obviously remembers it very well and repeats the waving with his left hand every time he drives at Goodwood, including this year at the Festival of Speed ...
... and the year before.
A nice gesture from the great racing driver to a great photographer.
The two black and white photos are from the book "Rennfahrer" by Dr. Benno Müller and Hans Ulrich Wieselmann, published by Motor Presse Verlag Stuttgart in 1961.
