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[last lines]
Niki Lauda: Of course he didn't listen to me. For James, one world title was enough. He had proved what he needed to prove. To himself and anyone who doubted him. And two years later, he retired. When I saw him next in London, seven years later, me as a champion again, him as broadcaster, he was barefoot on a bicycle with a flat tire, still living each day like his last. When I heard he died age 45 of a heart attack, I wasn't surprised. I was just sad. People always think of us as rivals but he was among the very few I liked and even fewer that I respected. He remains the only person I envied.
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[first lines]
Niki Lauda: Twenty five drivers start every season in Formula One, and each year two of us die. What kind of person does a job like this? Not normal men, for sure. Rebels, lunatics, dreamers. People who are that desperate to make a mark, and are prepared to die trying. My name is Niki Lauda, and racing people know me for two things. The first is my rivalry with him.
[James Hunt]
Niki Lauda: I don't know why it became such a big thing. We were just drivers busting each other's balls. To me this is perfectly normal, but other people saw in differently. That whatever it was between us went deeper. The other thing I'm remembered for is what happened on 1st August 1976, when I was chasing him like an asshole...
Sarah Leigh
Extended Reading
