“賢い男は愚かな仲間達よりも、ライバルから学ぶものだ”_”Rush”(2013)
1976年のF1世界選手権でのジェームス・ハントとニキ・ラウダのライバル関係を題材とした2013年の映画「ラッシュ/プライドと友情」から。「炎のランナー」と同じく、実在の二人の天才レーサーの「勝負」と「対決」のスリルを根幹に、ドラマを組み立てている。
史実は、歴代のF1チャンピオンのエピソードをまとめた上記の書籍「Formula-One-Champions-legendary-drivers」（Prime Readingで閲覧可）に譲るとして、
映画は映画で、気に入った台詞を紹介しよう。
まずは、ジェームズ・ハントのものがたり。本からその人となりを引けば、
James Hunt was an intriguing contradiction. Here was a World Champion who was physically sick moments before climbing into the cockpit each race day. Nerves and a sense of anticipation would get the better of him and yet, from the moment a Grand Prix started, James Hunt the rebellious, talented and utterly determined race driver would take over.
intriguing 【形】興味［好奇心］をそそる［かき立てる］、興味ある、魅力的な、面白い、不思議な
rebellious 【形】 〔人や言動が〕従順でない、反抗的な
anticipation 【名】 予想、予知、予期、心算
utterly 【副】全く、完全に、徹底的に、すっかり
何か孤高の場所まで上り詰めるために走った、または、走る中で何かに上り詰めていくタイプのレーサー、と言うべきだろうか。
その異様な精神状態を、ジェームズ・ハント自ら独白するシーンより。
James Hunt: I have a theory why women like racing drivers... It's not because they respect what we do, driving round and round in circles. Mostly they think that's pathetic and they're probably right. It's our closeness to death. You see the closer you are to death the more alive you feel, the more alive you are. They can see that in you they feel that in you. My name is James Hunt. My father is a stock broker, my sister is a barrister, and my brother is an accountant, and I... well I do this. It's a wonderful way to live, it's the only way to drive, as if each day is your last.
pathetic 哀れな, 痛ましい(pitiful)；感傷[感動]的な. ... ((略式))〈努力などが〉まったく不十分な, 取るに足りない；救いようのない, ひどい, とても悪い
「狂気の沙汰ほど面白い」の境地、とはこのこと。
続いて、ニキ・ラウダのものがたり。本からエピソードを引けば、
Reflecting on his twenty-five Grand Prix wins, Niki Lauda considered his victory in South Africa in March 1977 to be the most satisfying. It was not so much that he had to nurse his crippled Ferrari across the line, but more to do with the fact that he was there at all – and winning again. Seven months before, Lauda had been given the last rites after an accident so severe that no one expected him to survive. Not only had he returned to the cockpit within six weeks, here he was at the beginning of the next season with a victory that would form the foundation of his second World Championship. As comebacks go, Lauda’s story is the stuff of legend. And typical of the man himself.
何が何でも勝つために走った、あるいは、走ることで勝つ不屈のレーサー、と言うべきだろうか。（冒頭のモノローグが、それを象徴する）
1976年のシーズン、もニキとハントは戦い続けていた。
シーズン成績1位を独走するラウダとそれを追うハント。ドイツグランプリのその日は朝から豪雨でニュルブルクリンクの状態が悪かったため、レースを決行するべきかどうか審議が行われた。ニキは中止を主張したが、ハントは決行を支持し、最終的に予定通り開催されることとなった。
しかし、
the story appeared to have reached a sudden and terrible end when Lauda crashed on the Nürburgring Nordschleife during the German Grand Prix. Running wide and hitting the barrier was one thing but the wayward Ferrari catching fire after being struck by another car was a more shocking story. The location was so remote that the absence of adequate marshalling meant Lauda had to be pulled from the flames by other drivers. His crash helmet had been ripped off during the impact, allowing the barely conscious driver to breathe in fumes and smoke. When reports of the extent of his external and internal burns filtered through, no one expected Lauda to last the night.
ニキは重傷を負い、ハントは「レースを決行してしまった」ことを後悔する。
それでも、振り絞るように、ハントはレースを続ける。それをみて、ニキも復帰を決意する。このシーズンはハントに勝ってみせる、と。
まさにその、ニキ・ラウダの復帰戦：1977年5月の南アフリカグランプリ 開始前の二人のやり取り からの引用。
[Hunt enters Lauda's garage and sees the extent of the burn injuries to his head]
Niki Lauda: It's that bad, huh?
James Hunt: [Shrugs] No.
Niki Lauda: In hospital, I asked them straight, no bullshit, how bad my appearance would be. They said in time, it would be fine. But it won't.
[Approaches Hunt]
Niki Lauda: I can tell, seeing your reaction. I will spend the rest of my life with a face that frightens people.
James Hunt: You know, Niki, I tried to write you a letter at the time, to apologize. The drivers' meeting in Germany, before the race, I swayed the room.
Niki Lauda: Yes, you did.
James Hunt: That race should never have gone ahead.
Niki Lauda: No, it shouldn't.
James Hunt: So in many ways, I feel responsible for what happened, and...
Niki Lauda: You were.
[pause]
Niki Lauda: But trust me... watching you win those races while I was fighting for my life, you were equally responsible for getting me back in the car.
[Lauda walks away]
get back
1 自（元の場所に）戻る，帰る，さがる；他〔受身形不可〕…を元の場所に戻す，（取り）返す；〔get A back〕Ａ（人・物）を後方に置く
命の間際で俺が戦っている間、ハントがレースに勝ち続けているのを観た、それが俺をF1へと引き戻したのだ、
と言ってみせる。
そしてこれはニキからハントへの宣戦布告。二人のレースの決着の行方は、果たして。
outstanding victories in Canada and the United States led to a tense finale in a dangerously wet Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda pulled out after just two laps and Hunt finished third, winning the title by a single point.
二周引き離しての、ラウダの、執念の勝利。
本作の熾烈な二人のライバル関係は、最後、以下のモノローグで締められる。
[last lines]
Niki Lauda: Of course he didn't listen to me. For James, one world title was enough. He had proved what he needed to prove. To himself and anyone who doubted him. And two years later, he retired.
When I saw him next in London, seven years later, me as a champion again, him as broadcaster, he was barefoot on a bicycle with a flat tire, still living each day like his last.
When I heard he died age 45 of a heart attack, I wasn't surprised. I was just sad. People always think of us as rivals but he was among the very few I liked and even fewer that I respected. He remains the only person I envied.
「彼は、私が妬んだ唯一の男のままでいる。」
人間として生まれたからには、いちどは、そう思われたい台詞。
さいごに、本作の真髄を突く、劇中のニキ・ラウダの名言を引いて、本記事を終わろう。
Niki Lauda: A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
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