Hi Shaun, thanks - indeed I think that in the less-connected world of yore we were not aware of how many people must have felt the same, and with hindsight we can relate to one another's situation.
Those were the days, when you had to wake and get up early to listen to the race on the radio and wait for announcements when something happened - the same for football by the way. Palpable tension sometimes!

It was really a global outpouring of affection for Lauda, despite his being often not the warmest to fans. So young and talented and not one prone to take useless risks - the percentage guy as he's shown saying in Rush.
Each of us can still cherishes the recollection of how bravely and amazingly quickly he did manage to come out of the hellish situation - to win again the championship just the next year and then walk away in a typical Lauda fashion. Hopefully all our prayers and thoughts contributed :-). He shall be remembered fondly by many.
Cheers,
Fabrizio