STIRLING MOSS WELL ON WAY TO RECOVERY

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29855, 22 June 1962, Page 9

STIRLING MOSS WELL ON WAY TO RECOVERY

(Bv

BRUCE McLAREN]

LONDON, June 13. TF you’re writing home," A said Stirling, “tell them all in New Zealand that I’m looking forward to getting out there again this summer. I guess the Grand Prix will be on the new track. I thtnk their enthusiasm for motor racing is just fantastic and I can’t see anything to stop me being there.” As John Cooper said with a grin as we left the Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, “that blighter will soon be annoying us again.” When we arrived at the hospital we found Stirling sitting in a wheelchair, microphone in hand, catching up with the piles of mail that was being handed to him by his secretary.

For three hours he kept us amused with all his old enthusiasm and humour. We had a job to get a word in edgeways. In short, Stirling is well and truly on the way tn recovery. Left Arm He showed us how be could lift his left arm that the press were so worried

about, straight above his head. “It’s not quite as far as I can move tny right one.” he said, to which John Cooper replied. “It’s further than I can move either of mine.” At present neither his leg nor shoulder are in plaster, but for sleeping he does have his left leg bandaged on to a half cast. He has managed one or two days in the sun, so he looks far from the sallow and gaunt Stirling of three weeks ago.

He still can’t remember anything about his crash and refers to it by saying, “this accident I had, you know,” as though we, and I guess around 50 million other people, didn’f know. So we didn't talk about the crash much. Plans

His immediate plans are to have a little while in the Bahamas to get really fit again and then he says if the doctors say "OK” he will get back into a racing car. If he feels that he lacks the confidence and ability that he had before, he said he would give it up. But judging by the progress he has made in the recent weeks, I don’t think he will be faced with the decision. Indicative of the old Stirling wit was a remark he made when being interviewed on television. He was asked what he would do if he gave up motor racing.

"Well, there’s always television,” he quipped to the

embarrassed interviewer. His last remark as we made our farewells was "best of luck, but spread the grand prix wins about between you so I might still have a chance at the championship with the last couple of races.”