Well as usual you take your eye off the ball for a second and all hell breaks loose.
I decided not to preview the next round of the Global GT championship in Sweden as it would be the same cast as in Germany last week with the exception of perhaps Kremer, Lister and one or two of the smaller GT2 teams.
Well today the phone lines have been humming with the news that leading contender, the Harrods McLaren, would not be attending the Scandinavian Raceway this weekend. The problem cited was a dispute between McLaren Cars and Moody Fayed over money. The exact details cannot be confirmed at this moment in time but at the present the victor at Silverstone and leader at Monza, Jarama and Nurburgring will be absent.
The saying about clouds and silver linings seem to hold good for Lotus who have now recruited Andy Wallace to partner Jan Lammers in a bid to score the maiden victory for the Esprit V8. These two were team-mates at TWR Jaguar and Toyota and will give the Norfolk Equipe a real shot at victory. After working around the clock the team will also run a second car for Alex Portman and Mike Hezemans, sterling stuff considering the state of affairs following the conflagration at the ring.
Also a surprise absentee will be last year's victors in Sweden, the Pilot Aldix Ferrari F40.
One unexpected attendee will be "Big John" Nielsen who with the cancellation of a round of the Japanese GT championship will be reunited with Thomas Bscher, victor in Germany with super-sub Peter Kox. Perhaps the Dane is keen to be back behind the wheel of "his" car especially after the performance of the Dutchman, no need for a cuckoo in the nest.
Sunday will see just 38 cars start the race and the fact that we are disappointed only pays tribute to the startling success that BPR has become. I will stick my neck out and say that the 1988 Le Mans victors will repeat their triumph, this time in a Lotus.
Hur der hur, Sven.
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