Having been in decline for several years, it's sad to report that Niel Allen died unaware of those around him on August 6.

The 'tiger' that existed within this great driver is something hard to find. One of the great statements I've heard about him came from Frank Matich:

We would be driving back from testing our car the day before a race meeting, it would be late at night and we would go past Niel's office building. And up there on one of the high floors his light would be on, he'd be working into the night in his property development business.

And the next morning he'd be out at the circuit and ready to go, fast from the start of practice. He could switch off the businessman and switch on the racing driver just like that. I don't know how he could do that.
Having been a keen follower of his from the beginning to the end of his career, I have felt the greatest excitement for him right from the time of the E-type Jaguar through to F5000s. I cringed when I read in magazines the negative comments he drew and was jubilant when he set lap records and challenged the leaders. He was one of the truly great drivers, and something of a philanthropist when it came to the sport, too.

When he retired from racing he put his two McLaren M10Bs on the market at a price which would help the buyers get a start in F5000. A great gesture from a man who knew what it cost to go motor racing.