{"id":459747,"date":"2002-07-01T03:07:07","date_gmt":"2002-07-01T10:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=111161"},"modified":"2024-02-11T03:54:52","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T03:54:52","slug":"death-of-the-great-privateer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/death-of-the-great-privateer\/","title":{"rendered":"Death of the Great Privateer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unfortunately, we tend to get used to losing people who have been on the motor racing scene for many years. Sadly, another great motor racing legend was taken from us when Rob Walker passed away from pneumonia at the age of 84.<\/p>\n

Among Walker\u2019s many accomplishments, he was a skilled prewar driver who became the most famous privateer team owner, renowned for the success of his Cooper and Lotus Grand Prix cars \u2013 especially with Stirling Moss at the wheel. From 1958-1968, the Rob Walker dark blue colors won nine World Championship Grand Prix races. His partnership with Moss was immensely successful. They won the first race of 1958, the Argentine Grand Prix, which was not only Walker\u2019s and Cooper\u2019s first Grand Prix win, but also the first victory for a rear-engine car.<\/p>\n

Moss\u2019 most famous GP victories came in the 1961 Monaco and German Grand Prix, where his Walker-owned car beat the Ferrari Sharknoses and so impressed Enzo Ferrari that Moss would have had a Walker-prepared Sharknose in 1962, if his Goodwood accident hadn\u2019t prematurely ended his career. Rob\u2019s memory on this subject was sparkling \u2013 as if it were yesterday.<\/p>\n

Rob Walker (who I interviewed on several occasions) was not only a great team owner, but a real enthusiast, who loved going over the stories of the past. He told outrageously funny stories, and on more than one occasion my phone rang late at night with some of these tales. When asked if some stories were for print, Rob would often say, \u201cI insist on it!\u201d Looking back, he spoke with emotion of the tragedy of Ricardo Rodriguez in the Walker Lotus 24 and the enmity which followed this event, and with pride about what Moss accomplished. He was also always proud of what the team achieved with the 1960\/61 Ferrari 250SWB.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rob Walker 1918-2002<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Until his recent illness, Rob Walker was always accessible, and never once failed to stop for a chat or a story. At Silverstone in 2000, we were talking about the car he had Alf Francis build, the Walker Special, when the very car went by the window outside the BRDC Center. He rushed over to watch it, lamenting how Moss never got to race it.<\/p>\n

Rob\u2019s death is the end of another era, and I for one will seriously miss him.<\/p>\n

Submitted by Ed McDonough<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unfortunately, we tend to get used to losing people who have been on the motor racing scene for many years. Sadly, another great motor racing legend was taken from us when Rob Walker passed away from pneumonia at the age of 84. Among Walker\u2019s many accomplishments, he was a skilled prewar driver who became the most famous privateer team owner, renowned for the success of his Cooper and Lotus Grand Prix cars \u2013 especially with Stirling Moss at the wheel. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":676493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,255,18114],"tags":[18435,11842,18105],"class_list":["post-459747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-culture","category-news","category-people","tag-people","tag-rob-walker","tag-people-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDeath of the Great Privateer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Death of the Great Privateer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/death-of-the-great-privateer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Death of the Great Privateer\" \/>\n<meta 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