Herbie Blash
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Michael "Herbie" Blash (born 30 September 1948) is the Permanent Senior Advisor to the
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...
Race Directors at
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
races. Blash started at RRC Walker Racing as a mechanic before joining Lotus in 1968 to work with
Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
. Into the early 1970s, he took up management responsibilities. Blash then left Lotus after a walk-out and was employed by Frank Williams to his
Politoys Polistil S.p.A. (initially called Politoys) is an Italian toy brand and former manufacturing company headquartered in Milan, with production center in Chiari, near Brescia. Polistil specialized in die-cast and plastic scale model vehicles of ...
team. By 1973, he was the team manager of the
Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...
Formula One team working alongside
Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...
and
Gordon Murray Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946 in Durban, Union of South Africa), is a South African-born British designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car. He is the founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Automotive. Early life Born t ...
until 1988. From late 1995 until the end of 2016, Blash was the FIA Deputy Race Director at Formula One Grand Prix races. As of 2021, Blash has acted as a consultant to Yamaha motorcycle racing since 2017, having been associated with marque for 30 years.


Career

When he was 17, Blash gained work at the RRC Walker Racing Team as a mechanic. He worked alongside
Jo Siffert Joseph Siffert (; 7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss racing driver. Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner. He initially made his name in racing ...
and
Jo Bonnier Joakim Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972) was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams. He was the first Swede to both enter and win a Formula One Grand Prix. Early life Jo Bonnier was born in Stockh ...
who had experience in Formula One. In 1968, Blash became the race mechanic to Graham Hill at Lotus before working with
Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...
a year later. On the day of the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix, Blash accidentally cut off parts of a newer, larger front wing from aluminium panels. When Chapman inspected the wings, he became enraged and demanded that the cars to be withdrawn from the race. In the end, Lotus ended up racing and all three cars retired. After the death of Rindt during qualifying at the
1970 Italian Grand Prix The 1970 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on September 6, 1970. It was race 10 of 13 in both the 1970 World Championship of Drivers and the 1970 International Cup for Formula One Manufacture ...
, Blash took on responsibilities of management within Lotus until he walked out along with several employees. In 2010, 28 years after Chapman's death, Blash recalled "Mr. Chapman was the love God has for us." He demanded of his staff use to self-abandonment. Blash: "I started on a Monday morning at Lotus. When I saw my apartment for the first time, it was Wednesday afternoon.." In 1973, Blash became the team manager for Brabham having worked on their
Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...
project. He worked alongside owner Bernie Ecclestone and designer Gordon Murray. His time at the team oversaw the world championship wins of
Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...
in 1981 and 1983. Blash continued as team manager until 1988. Brabham was sold to Swiss financier Joachim Luhti and Blash left to join FOCA for 1989. Luhti would later be arrested and the Middlebridge Group bought the team and Blash returned as the Sporting Director to rebuild the team. His role helped to secure a supply of engines from
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
in 1991. Blash was offered a job with Yamaha and joined the company as their sporting director, overseeing its relationships with
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and later Tyrrell. At the same time, he was running Yamaha subsidiary Activa - which was housed in the old Brabham factory in
Chessington Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. Th ...
. He still runs Activa - which does research and development and fabrication work for the motor racing industry. Since December 1995, Blash has also acted as the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA)'s Deputy Race Director at all Grands Prix. On 5 July 2016 the FIA announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the 2016 season. Blash has worked with Yamaha for 30 years since the Brabham days and Activa Technology, and acts as a consultant to the Japanese company involved in their
World Superbike Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded in ...
race programme.Herbie Blash — The Motor Sport Interview
''
Motor Sport ''Motor Sport'' is a monthly motor racing magazine, founded in the United Kingdom in 1924 as the ''Brooklands Gazette''. The name was changed to ''Motor Sport'' for the August 1925 issue. The magazine covers motor sport in general, although from ...
'', April 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021
From the
2022 Formula One season The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...
, Blash was appointed as permanent senior advisor to the
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
race director.


References


External links


Herbie Blash - Career Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blash, Herbie Living people 1948 births Formula One people