“I’m the best crasher there is in the rain,” quips Mike Hailwood prior to the soaked 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, though we suspect the joke was veiling a deeper concern. Monaco in the dry is tricky enough, but in the rain it becomes a whole different challenge – and Jean-Pierre Beltoise rose to it...
Monaco’s glamour and lustre evaporates when the clouds roll in and the rain begins to fall. But this was of little concern to Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who was about to score his first – and only – Formula 1 victory. In diving ahead of the pole sitter Emerson Fittipaldi at the start, Beltoise secured himself the only clear view of the circuit, which he would retain for the whole two-and-a-half-hour race.
Video: BRM Association / Photo: Getty Images
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