Let’s come to the hardest question. Your rallying accident in which your co-driver was killed. How did you cope with that? It has happened before and since in rallying, but it’s not something circuit racing drivers would ever have to deal with. (In the 1986 Hessen Rally, Surer was severely injured when his Group B Ford RS 200 hit a tree and burst into flames. His friend and co-driver Michel Wyder was killed in the accident).
First of all, they didn’t tell me for a long time, as I was in a coma and then I could not speak because I had tubes in my throat. Then, when I could speak, I asked where was Michel and they said he was OK. But when I asked why he had not come to visit me, then they had to tell me. I did not understand how he could have died, because the tree hit on my side and by this stage I had seen some photos, not the video yet, so I knew the car was completely smashed on my side and my seat was in the middle of the car and I survived, even though I had everything broken. But his side of the car was alright and my first reaction was to ask myself how he could have died. Then they said he probably died from a broken neck on impact, which means at least he did not suffer, because if he had burned in the car it would have been horrible. But they said there was no movement when they got to the car. So the first step was to say to myself OK he did not suffer. You know, because I didn’t really remember the accident, it was like something that happened in a movie. It was not real and I think that helped me to get over it. Yes, it happened but I didn't really realise it.
Let’s move on to a nicer topic, horses. Maybe it is a recurring theme, but I know you had a nasty accident on a horse last year, so why and how did you start horse riding?
When I was a boy, I wanted to be a cowboy.
Perfect, because there are a lot of those in the F1 paddock!
I did some riding because my father had a farm and we had a horse, but it wasn’t really a riding horse, but I sat on him and was always dreaming of having my own horse. And when I won the Formula 2 championship, I got a prize of 30,000 Euros and with this money, I bought my first horse. Before then I had always had riding lessons and done some show jumping and I would ride whenever I had the chance. For example, in South Africa I went for a riding lesson one day before the first practice (for the Grand Prix) and I remember Jo Ramirez (McLaren fixer) came to me and said I was crazy, that I could break a leg and of course I did the next day in the Formula 1 car! I started having a few more horses then on my father’s farm. When I bought a place in Spain, I looked for somewhere with the space to keep horses and at first I took my old first horse just to let him walk free as he had a problem that meant he could not be ridden. And now it is a livery yard with ten horses.
Do you still enjoy current Formula 1?
I am one of the few people who thinks they did the right think with this new regulation. Formula 1 has to go forward, so that compared to IndyCar or anything else, it must seem more advanced. It had lost that sense a bit. There was nothing exciting going on except a bit with the aerodynamics, the V8s didn’t have enough horsepower and the cars were too easy to drive. I support this idea all the time, even if we all agree it is perhaps a bit too complicated. But it’s still fascinating. Before, people always said you had to go to Le Mans to see high-tech, but now Formula 1 has the same or even better. I also think the regulation for next year is good, with wider cars and real tyres like in my time. And as for one team dominating, it has always been like that and you just have to give the others the chance to catch up. And that is what is happening now, getting closer and closer, as it was with the V8s.
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