If there was one thing I admired most about Niki was his straight forwardness. No matter who or what was the concern, he was up front and blunt on his thinking. Whether in sport or business dealings he never pulled any punches.
Can you imagine telling Enzo Ferrari "the car is junk" after his first tests in Maranello. Always a pragmatist, he took on the mighty Boeing corporation after the disastrous loss of life in one of his planes. He flew to Seattle, demanded to fly their simulator and follow up with a test flight to prove that the failed o ring of the right engine thrust reverser caused the crash.
In a chance meeting with him at Watkins Glen in 74...He was to take a group of journalists around the track in a rented tour bus. Standing at the entrance door, he turned to me and asked If I was ready to go...Not knowing, I was not part of the entourage, he shouted me aboard...That was Niki...ld
