Brian Bedford
It's become a bit of a thing with me. I do a lot of thinking...
Brian Bedford was an English actor, more noted as a classical theatre actor than for his limited appearances on the big screen. He is known for both acting in and directing Shakespeare productions, and received seven Tony nominations for his work.
Scott Stoddard
Bedford plays Scott Stoddard, a talented English driver who tries to live up to the reputation of his dead brother Roger, the 1958 World Champion.
Scott however, is seriously injured in a crash at the first race of the season, and misses several races.
His relationship with his wife Pat is already at breaking point because of the dangerous nature of his career, and the crash causes an acrimonious split between the two.
But Scott does not give up. He fights back from injury to win three races in a row, and heads into the final race just a single point behind the championship leader Barlini.
He also wins back his wife.
Script
Pat Stoddard
Jeff is wrong, isn't he, Scott? He says you're finished. But you're not finished, are you?
I know, Scott. Better than Jeff, better than anyone.
If I told them you'd drive again, they'd think I was crazy. They'll think you're crazy when you tell them.
But you will, won't you, Scott?
You're in pieces now, but it won't change anything for you. You'll pull yourself together and get back in the car somehow.
And for what? To be better than Roger. To compete against a dead man.
They don't know anything about that, do they, Scott? Not like I know.
You know one of the most beautiful things about a car? If it isn't working properly, you can strip the skin off, expose the insides, find out exactly where the trouble is, take out the faulty part and replace it with a new one.
If only we could do that with people.