Back for the New Year, this week’s Blast is a very special one! There is even a very cool story behind it.
The pic itself is sensational and shows a very serious-looking, and at that stage unknown, young man from Finland who was in New Zealand to compete in the Formula Pacific championship.
“It was on the grid at Wigram,” says Terry Marshall, who took this shot, “And had been providing him with photos all the way through.”
“Anyway I’m goofing around doing some shots and he reaches out and pulls me down so that he can speak to me. He says ‘I can get you a job in the magazine world in Europe, wanna come?’ Gulp. I was mixed up all day, but the problem was I had just got into business and had two young pre-schoolers at home, so unless I fled that, it wasn’t gonna work…”
“Anyway he pulls that pose for me and I got that grouse image!”
This was in 1978 and the young Finn would go on to be Formula One World Champion in 1982 with the Williams team. His name? Keke Rosberg. You might have heard of him.
We are glad Terry didn’t go, because then we wouldn’t have his awesome images of both historic and current motorsport to share with you! And it might pay to keep an eye on some of the remarkably talented young overseas drivers that come here for the TRS championship…
