My Greatest Race – Jackie Stewart

1968 German Grand Prix – Jackie Stewart’s Greatest Race

By Jackie Stewart

For Grand Prix drivers the German Grand Prix each year is a very special event because the Nurburgring is certainly the most difficult, the most treacherous, and the most demanding of the tracks that the circus travels to each year. Drivers are often asked what is their favorite circuit. In the majority of cases, they say that the Nurburgring is perhaps the most satisfying. This is said, in most cases, while sitting in armchairs in the comfort of their own homes with roaring fires in front of them! But really I don’t believe that too many people would honestly admit that they enjoy driving on the Nurburgring in a Formula 1 car. I know that whenever I drive there I get back to the pits and take a big, deep breath because, My God, I’m pleased to be home! In 1968, that statement was truer than ever as the Nurburgring was engulfed in a miserable fog and a steady drizzle soaked everyone.

I arrived at the Nurburgring late on Thursday afternoon after having flown up from Geneva with Graham Hill in his Piper Aztec, accompanied by Betty Hill, Jo Siffert, and Jo Bonnier. Just as we were unpacking the baggage from the plane the rain started, and from that point on we seldom got away from it. When we arrived at the ‘Ring, which is some 30 km from the airport, I did 3 laps in a Volkswagen, taking my mechanic, Ken Tyrrell, and the Dunlop people around and on these 3 laps the circuit was dry all the way round. This was the only time I was going to see it that way during the entire weekend.