While all this wretched politics has been going on what has the action from the tracks been like?
Well, the three locations of Brands Hatch, Spa and Nogaro gave an interesting contrast. Brands is a fantastic place to race and spectate but is dated in terms of 1990s motorsport with a lack of run off areas and cramped pits, it has the air of a faded 1960s or 1970s rock star trying to live off former glories when in fact the show has moved on. Spa offers Brands a vision of what is possible as it probably the greatest circuit in the world, magisterial in scope and setting and it arose out the ashes of the original Spa track which by the early seventies was outdated for modern motorsport ( admittedly the alternatives were pretty grizzly, Zolder or Nivelles ). Nevertheless the old Spa was a place of dreams and nightmares, representing the brighter side at the weekend were those sportscar icons backed by Gulf Oil, the Ford GT40 and the Porsche 917 raising a sparkle in the eyes of those who witnessed Pedro and Seppi door handling into Eau Rouge in the 1971 1000Kms. The revised circuit has distilled the essence of the great original in a way that the new Nurburgring has signally failed to do. The drivers love it as if you achieve something in the Ardennes it gives a sense of intense satisfaction, a job well done. On Friday night at the BPR dinner Lindsay Owen-Jones was bursting to tell someone (in this case me ) that he had managed 2:22:0 on a track that was still drying off and from the look on his face and the emotion in his voice he had conquered his own personal Everest. Nogaro was somewhat less grand than either Spa or Brands and epitomized the problems of racing at these upmarket club circuits. First it should be recognized that there is great enthusiasm and passion shown by the clubs at places such as Nogaro, indeed most of us would go back just for the food and wine , especially the wine...... but the pits were wholly inadequate for international racing with all the equipment having to be transported under the tunnel from the transporters and back for each session. The accident which befell Soames Langton was handled in an exemplary fashion from the medical side but one would have to question the judgement of those who did not bring out the pace car when the full extent of the incident and the length of time that it would take to extract the stricken driver became evident. This is highlights one of the biggest problems facing the BPR series in the difference in attitudes and approach between those who go racing for a living and those who do it for fun and reconciling these two philosophies has not proved easy.
As for track action at both Brands and Spa it was as if a third class had been introduced to GT1 and GT2 with the appearance of Stuck and Boutsen in the Porsche. At both circuits the car was in a completely different race to all the others. It had more power, could do the fuel, had better downforce, ABS brakes and in Stuck and Boutsen really experienced, quick drivers, in short it had everything. The team had a vaguely embarrassed look on their faces when the car crossed the line for victory at Brands and Spa, like the US basketball "Dreamteam" scoring a 4,201-0 triumph against the bushmen of Namibia at the Olympics, lots of hugs and handshakes but essentially empty gestures. Thierry Boutsen managed to introduce a F1 style bull sh*t press piece in Autosport with some lame swill about how hard it had been and that something could have gone wrong at any time, blah, blah, blah. The Belgian got out of the car at Brands looking like he had taken granny for a trip to the store not been in a two hour stint behind the wheel, he is not demonstrative at the best of times but here he was almost asleep. I don't mind Porsche building a better car within the rules but I feel insulted when they try to convince me with PR gibberish that my eyes and brain are deceiving me as to the action on the track.
Ray Bellm and James Weaver took the title at Nogaro and most in the pit lane would say that they deserved it. Ray is far and away the best of the non professional drivers and if he can be a little prickly to deal with he has earned the championship with five wins in 1995 and five in 1996 ( if you ignore the Porsche at Spa) and he partnership with James had the right combination of speed and pragmatism that title victories are made of. GTC took a long hard look at why they were pipped at the post in 1995 and put these minor problems right and the result is there for all to see. Congratulations.....
At Brands and at Spa first lap indiscretions led to great comeback drives which ultimately did not get just reward. John Nielsen tripped up at Druids and then drove the West McLaren on the limit for three hours but ran out of petrol within sight of the line losing third place to the second Gulf F1 GTR of Owen-Jones and Raphanel. At Nogaro a touring car style attempt to take the lead at the first corner by Peter Kox (substituting for a Japanese bound John Nielsen) led to Jean Marc Gounon in the ENNEA Ferrari F40 and an innocent (this time !!!) Jan Lammers and the Lotus joining him into the barriers. Gounon got pushed back onto the track and appeared to wait for the race to be restarted by blocking the line, when that did not seem to work he set off in pursuit already a lap and a half down. He drove the doors off the F40 and was visibly quicker than anything else out there but with 20 minutes to go came in for a splash and dash while 20 seconds behind Bellm/Weaver, gave the clutch death by dropping it on the rev limiter and broke a driveshaft or so it seemed from my angle. A poor reward for such a dramatic drive.
Down in GT2 the decision of Konrad and Roock teams to dispense with any further attempts to make the EVO 911 work and concentrate efforts in GT2 has upped the ante for all the competitors in the class. At Brands and Nogaro Bob Wollek and Franz Konrad have emerged triumphant after a long battle with the Marcos of Cor Euser and Thomas Erdos and the Kelleners/Ruch/Eichmann Roock Racing 911. The class victory for the season will now go to Ruch and Eichmann which like their GT1 counterparts Bellm/Weaver is thoroughly deserved, a solid performance from team and drivers, always on the pace.
If any illustration was needed of the great highs and terrible lows that involvement in motorsport will inflict on you the Lanzante Team will serve as a good example. Last year as a private team (with some help from the factory) they triumphed at Le Mans. Since Suzuka at the end of August it has all been downhill. Soames Langton wrote off the car in practice at Brands, then a struggle with engine maladies at Spa appeared to end with a podium finish, till they were disqualified for Paul Burdell not doing the required time behind the wheel. Following that disappointment Burdell, for personal reasons, decided that he did not want to go ahead with the plans to run two Lotus Esprits in GT2 guise next year, leaving the team scratching around for an alternative. Then came the accident at Nogaro last week with Soames still in a coma. Those of you waiting to read on your CEEFAX of Damon's triumph in Japan (hopefully) will also get a message (page 366) that Soames is out of his coma and on the way to full recovery, at least that's what will happen if there is any justice in this world.
Next it is off to China if there is still a series.
"It's a funny old world"
jb