Happy in hospitality - Di and Stuart Spires. (s)
SMUGGLING the late great
Ayrton Senna to a Belgian chip shop is not something many can claim
to have undertaken as part of their working lives.
But then the working life of
Di and Stuart Spires has been far from the nine to five of most people.
The couple have for the past
30 years spent much of their time travelling the world with a
succession of different F1 teams running the team motorhomes and looking after
the drivers.
And Di has now penned a book
titled I Just Made the Tea telling the story of Formula 1 from a
unique viewpoint.
Working for Lotus in the
Senna era, and Benetton in the Schumacher years, Di witnessed first-hand the
antics and tragic events of motor racing at the highest level.
Di and Stuart, an unassuming
couple from Alcester, became ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ to generations of F1 drivers, team
owners, mechanics and entertainment superstar fans.
Di explained how it all
began.
"Both myself and Stuart
were motor racing fans, who used to go to Silverstone and Brands Hatch with
family and friends.
"Stuart then turned a
Volkswagen van into a caravanette and we went to Grand Prix in
Belgium, Germany and France.
"We knew someone who
worked for one of the teams, and were invited into the paddock, which was a lot
easier to do then, where we saw people doing a barbecue for Team Lotus.
The couple thought they could
do the same and put an advert in a motor racing magazine offering their
services.
They were hired by the team
of the late John Suertes in 1978 and never looked back. Di gave up her job as a
civil servant, and Stuart his working as an inspector of generators.
They started working in
Europe, before being invited over to America and Canada, and later to the likes
of Australia, Japan and Brazil.
And Di has seen some major
changes in the eating habits of drivers.
"The drivers never
really bothered what they ate when we started. They just ate what the mechanics
and other team members ate.
"Then the era of pasta
started, but the big change came when Michael Schumacher was advised to have a
dietitian and a trainer. It was chaos. I had his dietitian in the kitchen
trying to cook lentils and other pulses.
"Now all the drivers
watch what they eat."
Not so three times world
champion Senna while in Belgium one year. Not wanting to attend a sponsor's
function, he said he was too tired, and instead asked Di and Stuart if he could
go along with them to the local chip shop in Spa. Di insisted he change his
distinctive Team Lotus jacket and put a cap on so as not to be recognised, and
the three of them slipped out of the circuit under a gate, and sat on the
pavement eating chips in the town centre.
F1 attracts many superstar
fans, and Di has met many a famous face, and remembers the first one well..
"We were in Monte
Carlo for our first Grand Prix, and in walked George Harrison. I was a
massive Beatles fan and it was difficult to stay calm, but I managed it, and
served him some cakes."
There has been much laughter
along the way, but also sorrow, most notably the tragic deaths of drivers Elio
de Angelis and their close friend Senna.
She recalls the weekend of
Senna's death at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.
"There was an eeriness
about the whole weekend. Something did not feel right. I still cannot explain
it."
The world of hospitality in
FI has been transformed during the time Di and Stuart have been involved. It
has gone from small vans and barbecues to self-assembly buildings transported
around by 30 lorries.
During their career the
couple have also worked in the rally world and more recently at motorbike grand
prix.
Di and Stuart have moved with
the times, and while semi-retired, they still own a hospitality articulated
vehicle, ready to hit the road when the call comes.
And it's hard to image the
couple saying no should that call come.
The book features forewards
by legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker and Michael Schumacher.
* Di will be signing copies
of I Just Made the Tea, published by Haynes, at Waterstones in Stratford on
Saturday (July 28) from 11am to 4pm, and for those that have bought the book on
Amazon or from other bookshops, at Nino’s Lavinotec in Alcester on Wednesday
(August 1), from 5.30pm to 8pm. She will also have copies available for people
to buy on the evening.
Peter Warr, Ayrton Senna, Di Spires and Elio de Angelis
Di is presented with a birthday cake by Ayrton
Senna and Elio de Angelis, both of who lost their lives behind the wheel. (s)
A signed photo given to Di and Stuart by Ayrton Senna. (s)
A signed photo given to Di and Stuart by Ayrton Senna. (s)
Di and Michael Schumacher sport ‘No Cod’
t-shirts, which were a mickey take of F1 team principal Ross Brawn, who was
nicknamed The Cod. (s)
Di and Michael Schumacher sport ‘No Cod’
t-shirts, which were a mickey take of F1 team principal Ross Brawn, who was
nicknamed The Cod. (s)
SOURCE
Stratford Observer
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