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Oh right......you've gone for Liberty then.
Shouldn't the ground be shaking, or the skies crackling, or something? I sense that the news websites are struggling to raise much enthusiasm over the exit of Mr. Ecclestone. It is probably because since the new guys came in, it has been assumed there would be no room for Bernie, so the actual announcement is something less explosive, and more, oh....yeah....right....goodbye.
I know that the tributes will eventually start to flow, some balanced, some vitriolic, and a huge amount draining the sugar reserves of nations.
It is said that history is made by the people who are in the right place at the right time, and I reckon that is mostly true, though I would add.....and made the right decision. Bernie saw that he was in a unique place and had the vision and conviction to follow through ruthlessly until he had created what he saw was ready to be created. Since then, he has done some good and some awful things, but I guess really, it is that one battle, and its outcome that made all of what we complain about today, possible.
Thanks
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Its quite a long time since he flogged second hand motorbikes in south London. My favourite part of that story is about how swiftly he bought dealership from which he had initially leased forecourt space. He was on his way.
Ken Tyrrell and Frank Williams knew Bernie inside out: the good, the bad and the ugly. Both said he was the only man with the vision and the balls. Bottom line, he transformed the sport and made quite a few people very rich. The teams were being absolutely shafted before Bernie took charge. Its a massive shame that now the European circuits are being shafted - he didn't have to do that. Empty grandstands in motor sport hotbeds like Shanghai are part of his legacy.
On researching Forza Minardi! (available in some good bookshops) Bernie was one of the easiest interviews to set up. 'Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right' was the Tarantino-esque song while I was on hold waiting to be put through. Bernie did have a sense of humour. He saved the team several times down the years and eventually safeguarded all those jobs with the Red Bull purchase. He did look out for the small teams but they wouldn't have been in continual crisis if the cake had been better shared. (see Manor)
Oh, and five drivers aren't dying every year anymore.
Thanks Bernie.