Motorsport great Moss dies aged 90

LONDON: Motor racing great Stirling Moss has died aged 90 following a long illness, the British sporting icon’s wife announced on Sunday.

“It was one lap too many,” Susie Moss told Press Association. “He just closed his eyes.”

Tributes flooded in from the world of motorsport and beyond to the gifted and revered driver who never won the Formula One title, finishing runner-up four times and third three times.

“Sad sad news that legend Sir Stirling Moss has passed. World Champion in all our eyes,” tweeted retired British F1 driver Johnny Herbert. One of his former teams Mercedes hailed “not only a true icon and a legend, but a gentleman”.

Former England striker Gary Lineker posted on Instagram: “Sir Stirling Moss has reached life’s checkered flag, and what a race he drove. Wonderful driver and a lovely man. RIP.”

British media reported Moss had succumbed to a chest infection he caught in Singapore in December 2016 that saw him retire from public life two years later. There is no suggestion his death was linked to the coronavirus. In an era when it was common for drivers to race in different disciplines, Moss won 212 of the 529 races he entered over a 14-year career that started in 1948.

His victories included the 1955 Mille Miglia, where he set a course record in the 1,000 mile event, which took place on public roads in Italy.

In Formula One, Moss won 16 Grand Prix, with his first victory coming in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Liverpool that saw him become the first British winner.