Dan Gurney 1931 - 2018

[GTDNB]

Sadly, Dan Gurney has passed away after complications from pneumonia. America's first proper F1 driver and inventor of podium champagne spraying as a LeMans winner with his all American team in 1967.
I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times during his visits to Goodwood in recent years, once even having my foot nearly run over as he returned his stunning Eagle mk1 to the pits.

RIP

http://www.racer.com/f1/item/146728-dan-gurney-193...

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/dan-gurney-dies...

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133891/dan-gurne...

https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/01/15/f1-fanatic-...

Edited by GTDNB on Monday 15th January 00:51

[anonymous-user]

Dan was a great man, both on and off track. A proper gentleman and great talent.

[nickphuket]

Great shame, truly a hero of his time.

RIP, thoughts to the family.

[RacerMike]

RIP Dan. Bit of a motorsport legend, and a real pioneer in the 60s. The Eagle Westlake T1G from 1967 has to be one of my favourite racing cars of all time, inspired mainly by the fact that it featured in the early(ish) racing sim Grand Prix Legends. It was even more spectacular in person, and it's appeared a few times at Goodwood.

[CanAm]

A very sad day in motor sport and the loss of a true gentleman. I was lucky enough to see him win his first race in the F1 Eagle, at the Race of Champions at a bitterly cold Brands Hatch in March 1967.

He gave Bruce McLaren three drives in his spare F1 Eagle in 1967 when Bruce didn't have a competitive car of his own; can you imagine a modern team owner doing that, even if it was allowed? Bruce gave him a drive in the spare M8b CanAm car in 1969; Dan stormed through the field from the back of the grid then dutifully help third place behind Bruce and Denny. He also drove
for McLaren in the first three races of the 1970 CanAm season after Bruce's tragic death until he was forced to give up the drive for contractual reasons.

A great man. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Edited to add that he also drove for McLaren in three F1 races after Bruce's death. How could I forget, I was at the Dutch GP which Denny Hulme also missed after his Injuries at Indy. There was obviously a very strong bond between Dan and McLaren

Edited by CanAm on Monday 15th January 17:53

[chris_w]

Very sad but a good excuse to post my favourite Dan Gurney story:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/history/sports-...

[456lbft]

The best looking single seater ever made.
Inventor of the Gurney flap.
Great driver/engineer.
But this is what makes him a legend to me:-
http://allamericanracers.com/first-cannonball-run/

[stuartmmcfc]

Another legend gone RIP.

Edited by stuartmmcfc on Monday 15th January 14:00

[Mike-tf3n0]

Saw him in his beautiful Eagle at the British GP at Silverstone in, I think, 1967, he was a real great in motor sport and by all accounts, a true gentleman. Very sad news.

[Digga]

chris_w said:

Very sad but a good excuse to post my favourite Dan Gurney story:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/history/sports-...

Like that. Not heard it before.

RIP to a legend and a name that will live on for a great many years in aerodynamic engineering.

[DeejRC]

Dan - it was a pleasure knowing you. I was and always will be a proud fan-boy.

RIP to a true legend of a gentleman.

[samoht]

The breadth of his achievements are truly amazing - inventing a widely-used aerodynamic device, winning in F1, NASCAR and Indy, starting his own successful team, dominating IMSA, honing the handling of the original Toyota MR2, winning the Cannonball run - just an incredible petrolhead.

[RoverP6B]

Gurney was a legend. No other word for it. Indy 300 win, bunch of Indy 500 podiums, fair few NASCAR wins, came back after 10 years out and was still just as fast, a bunch of F1 wins including in a car he'd designed himself (which, to cap it all, is the most beautiful and best-sounding F1 car of all time), including at Spa, just a week after he'd won Le Mans in the GT40 MkIV. Not to mention the lasting influence he's had on automotive and aeronautical aerodynamics with the 'Gurney flap' (not that he himself called it that - he was too humble for that!). If that doesn't illustrate true greatness, I don't know what does. The world is poorer for his passing.

[callahan]

456lbft said:

The best looking single seater ever made.
Inventor of the Gurney flap.
Great driver/engineer.
But this is what makes him a legend to me:-
http://allamericanracers.com/first-cannonball-run/

Same here. Reading this book ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004Q3QKX8/ref=dp-kind... ) made him a star for me. Legend.

[entropy]

An absolute legend, icon and gentleman. RIP

Dan Gurney And His World Of Racing is well worth listening to and an aural treat https://marshallpruett.podbean.com/e/82-dan-gurney...

[givablondabone]

RacerMike said:

RIP Dan. Bit of a motorsport legend, and a real pioneer in the 60s. The Eagle Westlake T1G from 1967 has to be one of my favourite racing cars of all time, inspired mainly by the fact that it featured in the early(ish) racing sim Grand Prix Legends. It was even more spectacular in person, and it's appeared a few times at Goodwood.

Sad news indeed. I can't even begin to imagine the talent and cajones required to drive something like that competitively.

Peace.

[Blackpuddin]

He designed a feet-forward motorcycle too. Quite a guy. And extremely personable by all accounts.
http://allamericanracers.com/alligator-motorcycle-...

[RacerMike]

givablondabone said:

Sad news indeed. I can't even begin to imagine the talent and cajones required to drive something like that competitively.

Peace.

Indeed. Basically an aluminium sled with a huge V12 bolted to the back and steered by cross plies. Not the most secure of handling things I suspect.

[anonymous-user]

RacerMike said:

Indeed. Basically an aluminium sled with a huge V12 bolted to the back and steered by cross plies. Not the most secure of handling things I suspect.

There is nothing more fun than a high power racing car on crossply racing tyres. They have such large slip angles compared to radials they are a real joy to drive.

[LordGrover]

Blackpuddin said:

He designed a feet-forward motorcycle too. Quite a guy. And extremely personable by all accounts.
http://allamericanracers.com/alligator-motorcycle-...

Thanks, not heard of/seen before...