British racing great Stirling Moss dies aged 90

Stirling Moss, one of Britain's greatest-ever Formula 1 drivers, dies at the age of 90.

VIDEO SHOWS: FILE FOOTAGE OF BRITISH RACING DRIVER STIRLING MOSS RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT.

SHOWS: DONINGTON PARK, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - MAY 20, 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (EPI TELEVISION - ACCESS ALL) 1.

FORMER GRAND PRIX DRIVER STIRLING MOSS SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 2.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "I am in the exclusive position of people saying he should have won it and he never did.

So that gives me an exclusivity from being just a one-time world champion when there are other guys out there with seven like Michael (Schumacher).

But the most important thing to me really is the respect of my other drivers." SEBRING, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 12, 1959) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 3.

MOSS PREPARING BEFORE GRAND PRIX RACE AINTREE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 21, 1955) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 4.

START OF BRITISH GRAND PRIX 5.

JUAN FANGIO (10) LEADING FROM MOSS (12) 6.

MOSS OVERTAKING FANGIO ON THIRD LAP TO LEAD 7.

MOSS LEADING FROM FANGIO 8.

PRESENTATION TO MOSS BY MIRABEL TOPHAM FOLLOWING HIS FIRST GRAND PRIX VICTORY LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 9.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "I can beat Fangio in sports cars but not Formula One cars but I did manage to win the British Grand Prix - and even to this day I'm not sure that Juan didn't let me have it.

I had pole position, so maybe not.

I asked him after, I mean a long, long time, a few years, ten years ago - did he give it to me?

And he said - no, no, you were on form, that was your race.

So I still don't really know the answer." LE MANS, FRANCE (FILE - JUNE 11, 1955) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 10.

GAUMONT BRITISH CINEMA NEWSREEL GRAPHIC READING (English): "The tragedy of Le Mans" 11.

START OF LE MANS RACE IN WHICH MOSS PARTNERED FANGIO FOR MERCEDES 12.

RACE IN PROGRESS 13.

MERCEDES OF PAUL LEVEGH CRASHES AND BURNING DEBRIS IS HURLED INTO STANDS KILLING OVER 80 SPECTATORS.

LEVEGH IS ALSO A FATALITY 14.

SPECTATORS WITH CASUALTIES ON THE GROUND 15.

RACE CONTINUES, MERCEDES HAVING WITHDRAWN THEIR REMAINING CARS STUTTGART, GERMANY (FILE - OCTOBER 25, 1955) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 16.

MERCEDES BADGE OF HONOUR BEING PRESENTED TO MOSS 17.

SUCCESSFUL MERCEDES SPORTS CARS 18.

MOSS SITTING BEHIND WHEEL 19.

FANGIO SITTING IN HIS CAR 20.

PHOTOGRAPHERS 21.

NEUBAUER, FANGIO, MOSS AND KLING COVERING UP A CAR WITH A TARPAULIN AS MERCEDES RETIRE FROM FACTORY SPONSORED MOTORSPORT INCLUDING GRAND PRIX RACING FOLLOWING LE MANS TRAGEDY MONTE CARLO, MONACO (FILE - 1956) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 22.

START OF MONACO GRAND PRIX 23.

MOSS LEADING IN HIS MASERATI 24.

MOSS WINNING LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 25.

(SOUNDBITE )(English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "I mean, all I had to do was arrive, practice the car, race the car and then I could go.

Go and chase girls or do whatever I wanted to do and, you know, finance wasn't in it.

It was just a fabulous life." OPORTO, PORTUGAL (FILE - AUGUST 14, 1960) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 26.

MOSS BEFORE RACE LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 27.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "I remember going to Australia and I took my car, and Sir Jack Brabham had his car, and in practice I broke the universal joint - a Hardy Spicer - and I hadn't got a spare.

He said "take it off my spare car", knowing very well I might beat him.

And, you know, that's the way it was.

I mean it was a sport and it was played very cleanly.

I mean, there were some drivers who were a bit dirty.

But, in principal, you wouldn't run an oversized engine to be faster than somebody else." OPORTO, PORTUGAL (FILE - AUGUST 24, 1958) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 28.

CARS LINED UP BEFORE START OF PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX 29.

MOSS' VANWALL (2), MOSS WALKING AWAY FROM CAR 30.

MIKE HAWTHORN TALKING TO OTHER DRIVERS 31.

START OF RACE 32.

HAWTHORN LEADING FROM MOSS 33.

CROWD WATCHING RACE 34.

MOSS (LEFT) AND HAWTHORN TALKING AFTER RACE LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 35.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "Well, Mike (Hawthorn) was disqualified and I felt that it was quite wrong and I went and gave evidence on Mike's behalf and said, look, no way should he be disqualified.

They obviously gave him his points back and that took the title from me." CASABLANCA, MOROCCO (FILE - OCTOBER 23, 1958) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 36.

HAWTHORN IN PITS AHEAD OF FINAL GRAND PRIX OF SEASON 37.

MOSS (8) ON HIS WAY TO VICTORY 38.

MOSS AFTER WINNING RACE BUT LOSING TITLE TO SECOND-PLACED HAWTHORN BY ONE POINT LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 39.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "The thing that mattered to me in those days was to race - today, not last week or next week.

Today I can win and I could die.

So today was the most important race, whatever it was." 40.

BUCKLED STEERING WHEEL LABELLED "SPA 1960" HANGING ON WALL 41.

BUCKLED "SPA 1960" (LEFT) AND "GOODWOOD 1962" STEERING WHEELS ON WALL LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - 11 JUNE, 1962) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 42.

MOSS IN HOSPITAL WHEELCHAIR AFTER BEING IN A COMA FOR A MONTH FOLLOWING HIS GOODWOOD CRASH 43.

MOSS SURROUNDED BY MEDIA 44.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "Quite honestly, I have too much pride, if you like, to want to go on racing and find myself trailing round at the back.

I just don't reckon that that's the thing to do.

I mean, if you find you're punch drunk I reckon you get out of it." 45.

MOSS IN WHEELCHAIR TALKING TO MEDIA LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 46.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "I thought deeply about it.

I think really in hindsight, I retired too early, because I would love to have gone on and had every intention of racing until I was 50 or so.I was very fit, I was at the height of my game and it meant I had to work for a living and that was a bit of a shock.

I had spent my whole life being paid to do my sport and when you know nothing about anything you can become an MP or an estate agent - and I went into property." VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ITALY (FILE - MAY, 1955) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 47.

CINEMA NEWSREEL TITLE READING (English) : "News flashes from round the world" 48.

UNIDENTIFIED CAR OFF STARTING RAMP OF MILLE MIGLIA 49.

MOSS SITTING IN CAR 50.

MOSS (722) LEAVES START 51.

MOSS RACING ALONG ROAD 52.

MOSS CROSSES FINISHING LINE IN BRESCIA 53.

CLOSE UP MOSS CELEBRATING AFTER VICTORY LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 54.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "The last stage, which was 83 miles from Cremona, I think, to Brescia, I averaged 165.1 miles an hour from a standing start.

So it gives you an idea of how fast the roads were.

And, of course, there were no dual carriageways, we were on the ordinary highway." UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS, ITALY (FILE - MAY, 1955) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 55.

CAR CRASHES INTO TREE AT SIDE OF PUBLIC HIGHWAY LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009)(ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 56.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING (SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY PREVIOUS SHOT): "In the Mille Miglia it was covered up how many people actually did get killed because, you know, the Italian hairdressers would go fast, and race down to Rome, and maybe go a bit fast.

And they covered up the deaths actually on that event." BRESCIA, ITALY (FILE - MAY 19, 2005) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (VNR - ACCESS ALL) 57.

MOSS AND CO-DRIVER JOCHEN MASS LEAVING START RAMP, MOSS WAVING TO CROWD TRING, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - JANUARY 29, 1959) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 58.

MOSS FAMILY SITTING DOWN FOR DINNER AT HOME WITH TROPHIES IN BACKGROUND WITH STIRLING, HIS SISTER PAT MOSS-CARLSSON AND THEIR PARENTS EILEEN AND ALFRED LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - MARCH 11, 1963) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 59.

PAT MOSS RECEIVES EUROPEAN RALLY LADIES CUP LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 60.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "We drove together actually once, at Sebring and she was very very quick, I must say.

She won the Liege-Rome-Liege outright herself and she really was a great driver.

But Pat never did Formula One, of course." NEAR NAIROBI, KENYA (FILE - APRIL 7, 1965) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 61.

PAT MOSS-CARLSSON AND MRS NYSTROEM (77) DRIVING IN EAST AFRICA RALLY 62.

ERIK CARLSSON AND STIRLING MOSS (68) DRIVING IN RALLY 63.

MOSS TALKING 64.

CARLSSON AND MOSS INSPECTING ENGINE 65.

CARLSSON GETS UP AND WALKS AWAY AS HIS WIFE PAT MOSS-CARLSSON ARRIVES 66.

ERIK CARLSSON AND MOSS (68) RACE BY GOODWOOD, SUSSEX, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - JUNE 21, 1999) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (VIEWPRESS - ACCESS ALL) 67.

MOSS AND FORMER WORLD MOTORCYCLE AND FORMULA ONE CHAMPION JOHN SURTEES (RIGHT) CHATTING 68.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS SAYING: "I was doing 57 races a year.

I drove 84 different types of car.

Now these guys drive one type of car per year - and do 16 or 17 races.

Well - that's no job for a man." 69.

MOSS DRIVES OFF IN VINTAGE MERCEDES RACING CAR (10) LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 70.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "In know that in a sportscar, I think I was the best.

In a sports car - definitely - because there was nobody I really felt I couldn't beat.

In Formula One, I think I was running pretty close to Fangio but I couldn't beat him." 71.

MOSS'S "BUGS BUNNY" BRACES 16:9 BRIGHTON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - NOVEMBER 4, 2012) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 72.

CARS TAKING PART IN ANNUAL VETERAN CAR RUN FROM LONDON TO BRIGHTON 73.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "Very nice actually, it's a very nice car.

It doesn't show its age I mean.

I'm not quite as old as this, it's a bit older than me.

It goes beautifully.

It goes as well as I do, I think actually." 74.

VETERAN CARS AT FINISH OF RUN MONZA, ITALY (FILE) (NEWS2USE - EDITORIAL USE ONLY) 75.

CLASSIC MERCEDES-BENZ CARS: W196 F1 CAR (LEFT) AND 300 SLR 76.

W196 77.

300 SLR 78.

VARIOUS OF FORMER F1 DRIVER STIRLING MOSS IN 300 SLR, THE TYPE HE DROVE TO MILLE MIGLIA VICTORY IN 1955 79.

F1 DRIVER LEWIS HAMILTON OF MERCEDES GETTING INTO W196 80.

BOTH DRIVERS LEAVING PITS 81.

VARIOUS OF HAMILTON AND MOSS DRIVING AROUND CIRCUIT 82.

HAMILTON AFTER DRIVE 83.

MOSS AFTER DRIVE 84.

VARIOUS OF HAMILTON SITTING ON W196 AND MOSS IN 300 SLR 85.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) (SOUNDBITE)(English) RACING DRIVER, STIRLING MOSS, SAYING: "Bravery and stupidity are very closely related and you know, if you do certain things at one time it might be brave, whereas at another time it would be stupid to do it.

But I think the great thing about motor racing with difficult circuits is that allows drivers with the greater ability - like Lewis and so on - to be able to ignore that and not take any notice of it" 86.

MOSS AND HAMILTON DRIVING LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - APRIL 30, 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 87.

STIRLING MOSS BEING PHOTOGRAPHED AT ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB IN LONDON 88.

PHOTOGRAPHERS 89.

MOSS BEING PHOTOGRAPHED WITH A TROPHY STORY: Stirling Moss, the British racing driver who ranked as one of the all-time Formula One greats despite never winning the world championship, died on Sunday (April 12) at the age of 90 after a long illness.

A team mate at Mercedes to Argentine five-times world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, the Briton survived one of the deadliest eras of motorsport with 16 grand prix wins in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Four times a championship runner-up, and also third overall on three occasions, no other driver has won as many races without taking the title.

Moss was also the first Briton to win his home grand prix, beating Fangio at Liverpool's Aintree circuit for Mercedes in 1955, with his name becoming a byword for speed for a generation of fans.

News of his passing was mourned across the world of motorsport, with Formula One hailing a 'legend' and 'one of the true greats'.

"A prodigious competitor, supremely talented racer, and consummate gentleman, he leaves an indelible mark of greatness on the history of international motorsport," said McLaren offering their condolences.

But for his sense of sportsmanship, Moss could have been Britain's first ever world champion in 1958 instead of Mike Hawthorn.

He lost the title by a single point that year after asking stewards to reinstate his disqualified compatriot at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Moss ended his professional career after an accident at Goodwood in 1962 left him unconscious for a month and paralysed for six months.

Knighted Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss in 2000 for services to motor racing, the London-born dentist's son retired from all forms of motor racing only in 2011 when he was 81.

He regarded the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix as his greatest Formula One race but the 1955 Mille Miglia, a sportscar race on Italian public roads, was as memorable.

He covered the last stage, some 83 miles from Cremona to Brescia, at an average speed of 165.1 miles per hour from a standing start.

Moss was taken ill in Singapore in late 2016 and spent 134 days in hospital battling a chest infection.

He also survived a three-storey plunge down a lift shaft at his London home in March 2010, breaking both ankles and four bones in his feet.

(Production: Paul Warren, Gabriela Boccaccio)