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Kiwi Racing Legend Chris Amon Dies at 73

It is saddening to report this, but August 3, 2016, is the day racing legend Chris Amon has left the world of the living for that great race track in the sky. Our sincere thoughts go to Chris’ family.
Chris Amon and the Ford GT40 in which he and Bruce McLaren won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans 54 photos
Photo: McLaren
Chris Amon and the Ford GT40 in which he and Bruce McLaren won the 1966 24 Hours of Le MansChris Amon and the Ford GT40 in which he and Bruce McLaren won the 1966 24 Hours of Le MansChris Amon and the Ford GT40 in which he and Bruce McLaren won the 1966 24 Hours of Le MansChris Amon and Bruce McLaren's sister in a Ford GT40 in 2014Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046Ford GT40 P/1046
According to his family, the 73-year-old Kiwi died this morning at the Rotorua Hospital in New Zealand, having succumbed to cancer. The guy had a reputation for bad luck. Former Scuderia Ferrari technical director Mauro Forghieri is adamant that Christopher Arthur Amon is “by far the best test driver I have ever worked with. He had all the qualities to be a [Formula 1] World Champion but bad luck just wouldn't let him be.”

Even though he never won a race in Formula 1, Chris can pride himself on 11 podiums, 5 pole positions, and 3 fastest laps. Regardless of his stint in the king motorsport, Chris believed that his greatest moment is his Le Mans win in 1966, co-driving a Ford GT40 Mk II with Bruce McLaren.

Believe it or not, the #2 Shelby American racing car in which Chris and Bruce took the first of four Le Mans titles for the GT40 had finished the 24-hour race by a margin of approximately 8 meters. That’s right, boys and girls, this is the closest margin of victory in 24 Hours of Le Mans history. So yeah, even though he had his fair share of bad luck in F1, Chris Amon made it big in endurance racing by punching Ferrari in the kisser with that 1996 win.

According to a story published on the Formula 1 website, the Kiwi driver didn’t consider himself unlucky: “I’m luckier than Jimmy [Clark] and Jochen [Rindt], and Bruce [McLaren], and Piers [Courage]. Luckier than my teammates [Lorenzo] Bandini, [Ludovico] Scarfiotti, [Jo] Siffert and [Francois] Cevert. I had several big accidents that could have killed me; I broke ribs, but I was never badly hurt.” After he had called it a day from racing, Amon returned home to help run his family’s farm.

“Chris battled cancer in recent years but retained not only a close interest in Formula 1 - and his very wide range of favorite topics - but also his wonderful sense of humor complete with infectious chuckle,”
his family said in a statement released today. Farewell and Godspeed, you magnificent Kiwi!

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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