Moeller's Ferrari races with the exact livery it sported when Jody Scheckter (pictured) and Gilles Villeneuve drove it in 1980. (Photo: Getty Images) » More Photos
The strong interest in vintage racing (and the limited number of cars added to the available pool each year) keeps the demand for old F1 cars high. At the Historic Grand Prix events each year, the featured F1 cars range from the mid-'60s to 1983 and one can usually find 20-35 cars out for a fun weekend. When we raced at Watkins Glen in 1997, honoring the track's 50th anniversary, there were nearly 30 F1 cars. There were more than 30 cars, including several from Europe, in the Historic Grand Prix group at Indianapolis last year, during the "real F1" weekend. There is always a nice selection of cars, across both makes and ages. Wingless Gurney-Eagles from the '60s gridded next to ground-effects Williams from the early '80s makes for a form of déjà vu that is more dream than reality. The cars are always immaculate-looking as good or better than they did when actually raced (but still facing the same mechanical gremlins).
Vintage rules specify the original livery should be displayed, so many of the cars are straight out of the photos. Mario Andretti's name will be on the side of the championship-winning 1978 Lotus JPS special (in glossy black with gold JPS insignia); Jackie Stewart's name will be on the blue Elf Tyrrell of 1972 with virtually no other markings (consistent with that era); and Gilles Villeneuve's name will be on my 312 T5 from 1980, carrying the No. 2 on its nose and flanks along with the Agip, Fiat, Michelin, Longines, Olivetti, and other markings of the day.
To speak with the owners is like digesting a slice of history. All know the racing history of their cars (qualifying and finishing positions), technical details that make their particular mount different from the same-make cars of earlier and later years-and yet they get tongue-tied when asked to describe what it is like to drive one. After a dreamy-eyed stare for
five seconds or so, both hands come up and start waving around like synchronized swimmers sans heads or orchestra conductors (but without instruments to direct). After a few seconds of such waving around, the driver will try to get into the technical details (acceleration from X to Y in such in so-many seconds, etc.) but they realize the waving was describing the situation much better. They then just give up and say something profound, like, "Well, it's just such a rush." Or, "Uhh, have you ever been on a really wild roller coaster?" I just know that after a race in one of these cars I'm drained. I can hardly undo my seatbelts. The adrenaline is still pumping and my feet are shaking. If I try to get out now, I will fall-I know it. I just take off my helmet, give a few high fives to whoever reaches toward the cockpit, and ask for a drink. After a couple of moments I have enough strength and control to be able to get out of the car.
Some folks are hanging around wanting to ask questions. One of the other drivers comes by to say, "Good fun, eh?" I get out, answer some questions for a magazine doing a feature on the race, get another drink, and autograph some young kid's program (hey, this is fun, too!), and maybe spend a few minutes with ESPN2 who's doing a special on vintage racing. I have come back to earth after an incredible drive in an F1 car. And I wonder why they only let us do this a few times each year-this is addicting! Then I sit down and start thinking about when I get to race it again-whenever that time is, it is too far away.
Bud Moeller owns the 1980 Ferrari 312 T5, No. 046, built for Gilles Villeneuve but driven by World Champion Jody Scheckter for most of the '80 F1 season. Moeller also owns a '79 Ensign F1 car, driven by Derek Daly and used as a test car by Clay Regazzoni.
