The month in Motor Sport
June
16: Having passed scrutineering at Le Mans, the Jaguar X122005 are declared illegal after it is observed that they are running without catalysts. After some discussion. TWR appeals and the cars are allowed to run pending the outcome.
16: Shortly after setting what was to be the Le Mans pole time, Philippe Alliot crashes his Peugeot. Although the car is initially declared to be a write-off, it is subsequently ‘repaired’ around a new tub and is thus allowed to start from first place on the grid.
16: Mika Hakkinen tests for Footwork as the team acclimatises to its TAG active technology at Silverstone.
17: Tyrrell puts more miles on the new 021 at Silverstone, but the car’s race debut — originally scheduled for the French GP — is later deferred until the team gets to grips fully with active technology. Hockenheim seems like the probable starting point.
17: Hans Stuck slams the Le Mans organisers for failing to take enough steps to ensure that Group C cars are easily identifiable to drivers of slower GT machines.
17: The RAC MSA asks Formula 3000 teams to get in touch about proposed new rules. Stories that the category will adopt two-litre touring car engine regulations are gathering momentum. The FIA will discuss the situation with national ASNs in September. Britain’s governing body also canvasses rally teams to contact them to discuss proposed changes to the WRC.
19: The British F2 series struggles on at Oulton Park. Championship leader Philippe Adams is absent, for financial reasons. Erstwhile team-mate Mikke van Hool maintains Madgwick’s winning record, however.
19: Robin Smith’s Ferrari 348, the first example of the marque to be represented at Le Mans since 1984, is destroyed in an accident during the race warm-up. Smith, swatted off the track by Eddie Irvine’s Toyota, suffers a broken arm and damaged neck vertebrae, which confines him to a short stay in a local hospital.
20: Toyota’s challenge having faded, Peugeot romps to a 1-2-3 at Le Mans, leaving the departing Jean Todt in tears on the podium. Victory goes to Aussie veteran Geoff Brabham and young French chargers Christophe Bouchut and Eric Helary. Next stop for Todt is Ferrari. Despite running under the cloud of possible exclusion, the Jaguar of David Brabham, John Nielsen and David Coulthard wins the GT category.
20: Fabrizio Giovanardi (Peugeot) and Johnny Cecotto (BMW) take Italian touring car honours at Imola. Cecotto’s team-mate Roberto Ravaglia continues to lead the series, from Cecotto and Gary Ayles.
20: Ricky Rudd takes his first NASCAR win of the season in the Miller 400 at Michigan.
20: Bertie Fisher/Rory Kennedy (Subaru) win the Donegal Rally.
20: An enormous crowd turns up for the first Goodwood Festival of Speed. Willie Green sets BTD in his Surtees TS20, a tenth clear of Jonathan Palmer in the McLaren F1 road car. The party atmosphere is tainted, however, by a fatal accident to motorcyclist Chas Guy, who fell from his Vincent after crossing the finishing line at the end of a practice run.
21: Former world 500cc motorcycling champion Wayne Gardner tries a Lotus 107B at Snetterton. The Australian, who did three demonstration laps in a Lotus at Adelaide last year, completes 25 circuits. 21: Andy Rouse tests the Ford Mondeo BTCC contender at Pembrey. With a round of the series taking place at the Welsh venue a few days later, the car’s debut now seems
21: The 500 MRCI denies rumours that the Kirkistown circuit is for sale.
21: Initial testing of Subaru’s Impreza rally car is reported to have gone well, with suggestions that Colin McRae and An Vatanen have been running up to one second per mile faster in Finland than they could with the old Legacy. The Prodrive team is keen to play down the exercise.
22: Lola IndyCar designer Bruce Ashmore defects to Reynard, to work on the latter’s new IndyCar project.
23: Damon Hill posts the fastest time during three days of pre-British GP tyre testing at Silverstone. Emanuele Naspetti and Andrea Montermini join the regulars, driving for Jordan and Benetton respectively. In a week awash with rumours, it is suggested that Ford will withdraw from any works deals in 1994, and continue in F1 purely as a supplier to paying customers.
27: Emerson Fittipaldi pips Nigel Mansell in the Portland IndyCar race. Adrian Reynard is a spectator, and announces officially that his Bicester company will build customer cars next season. Chip Ganassi is the first
confirmed customer. Meanwhile, Lola announces that Keith Knott and )ohn Travis will assume control of its IndyCar project, following Bruce Ashmore’s transfer to Reynard. The Indy Lights support race is won by Frenchman Franck Freon.
27: David Leslie is cruising towards a first BTCC success at Pembrey until his Vauxhall Cavalier suffers a broken throttle cable. Joachim Winkelhock picks up the pieces, and regains the championship lead. Andy Rouse debuts the Mondeo (team-mate Radisich, shown left, finished eighth), and is holding third place until a clash with John Cleland precipitates his retirement.
27: The Dallaras continue to mop up in British F3. Oliver Gavin beats Warren Hughes at Donington, while series leader Kelvin Burt only salvages third place after Andre Ribeiro’s exclusion for overtaking under yellow flags. Jamie Spence’s class B Bowman is an excellent fourth overall. Alan Docking Racing confirms that it will be switching from Ralt to Dallara at Silverstone in July.
27: Johnny Herbert laps the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in 36.67s at the wheel of his Lotus 107B. At Thruxton, Damon Hill is prevented from any similarly impressive demonstration at the Silver Jubilee meeting, where Marc Surer wins the feature F2 race, when his Williams-Renault refuses to start because of a pneumatic valvegear fault.
27: IMSA driver Steve Millen suffers serious injuries at Watkins Glen, after his Nissan is involved in a collision with Brent O’Neill Juan-Manuel Fangio wins, as usual, for Toyota.
27: Nicola Larini (below) takes another brace of GTCC wins at the Norisring. The Alfa driver has a comfortable series lead.
27: Guillaume Gomez takes his fourth French F3 win of the year, at Rouen, while Giancarlo Fisichella becomes the Italian equivalent’s first double-winner of the season at Monza. After six rounds, Fisichella leads the series. . . with 22 points. In Germany, Jos Verstappen wins both F3 heats at the Norisring. Further afield, Hidetoshi Mitsusada becomes the first Japanese to win a round of his home country’s national F3 series this season, at TI Raceway.
27: Patrick Snijers wins the 24 Hours of Ypres. Tony Pond, having an outing in a Rover Sport Metro, taking a class-winning 29th overall. Suitably encouraged, he later decides to tackle the Ulster Rally in the same machine.
28: The Jolly Club’s WRC effort with Lancia is to be bolstered by technical assistance from Lamborghini.
29: Williams lands Rothmans as its major sponsor for 1994.
29: FISA announces that it will convene an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sports Council on July 15/16, to sort out once and for all the issue of 1994 Fl regulations and alleged 1993 irregularities. Semi-automatic gearboxes are likely to be retained, but active suspension, ABS and traction control are not. It also seems likely that refuelling stops will reappear.
30: While the rest of the world is eagerly adapting to Class Two (two-litre) touring car regulations, Germany says that it will stick with the more lurid 2.5-litre Class One in 1994.
July
1: Toyota Motor Corporation buys Toyota Team Europe from its founder, Ove Andersson.
2: Camel announces that it is withdrawing from F1 at the end of 1993. There is speculation that the brand may transfer its backing to IndyCar racing.
3: Canon, unhappy that Williams has aligned with Rothmans as a title sponsor, announces that is to end an association with the team which dates back to 1985. It, too, is pulling out of F1 altogether.
3: Norman Woolsey wins the Hot Rod World Championship at Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich. It is the Ulsterman’s third success in the event.
3: Ayrton Senna confirms that he has signed to complete the Ft season with McLaren. Speculation linking the Brazilian to Ferrari has finally ground to a halt, in the wake of news that lean Alesi’s two-year contract has at last been finalised.
3: Dale Earnhardt wins NASCAR’s Pepsi 400. It is Eamhardt’s 20th career win at Daytona.
4: Bernie Ecclestone introduces a pre-race driver parade in France. It is judged a great success, although Ayrton Senna is conspicuous by his (unique) absence.
4: Alain Prost and Damon Hill dominate the French Grand Prix, finishing just 0.0342s apart. Hill had earlier taken his first Fl pole position.
4: The French GP marks Fabrizio Barbazza’s last F1 race for the time being. The Italian is to be replaced from Silverstone onwards by compatriot Pier-Luigi Martini.
4: Gerhard Berger is halfway to the airport, for his return home after the French GP, when he receives notice to return to MagnyCours from Ferrari’s new sporting director Jean Todt, who decides that a couple of days’ pre-British GP testing will be handled by the Austrian. Todt’s successor at Peugeot Talbot Sport is former GP winner Jean-Pierre Jabouille. Peugeot’s name continues to be bandied round in F1 circles, as a possible partner for McLaren.
4: The new-style BMW M3 proves very effective on its UK competition debut in the Willhire 24 Hours, but the race falls to the old-style M3 of 1992 winner Mike Jordan, accompanied by Charlie Cox, John Morrison and Mike Burtt.
4: Didier Cottaz pips French F3 series leader Guillaume Gomez at Magny-Cours.
4: An Vatanen’s durable Pike’s Peak hillclimb record is finally broken, firstly by Nobuhiro Tajima and secondly by Paul Dallenbach, who sets a new benchmark of 10m 43.63s (right).
5: In a bid to guarantee crowd control, Silverstone announces that absolutely no public access to the actual racetrack will be permitted during the weekend. The traditional rush to fete the victors was spoiled in 1992 when the invasion started before the race was fully over. Understandably, the circuit is anxious to avoid a repeat.
5: Juha Kankkunen’s co-driver Juha Piironen is rushed to hospital in Cordoba, after suffering a brain haemorrhage. The 42 yearold Finn was in South America for a recce, prior to the Rally of Argentina. After a few days, his condition improves and plans are made to fly him to a hospital in his home country. Nicky Grist is drafted in to replace him in Argentina.
5: A new one-make series, for Rover’s 150 mph 220 Turbo Coupe, is being evaluated for 1994.
5: Prodrive reports that Colin McRae won’t contest the 1000 Lakes Rally, when the Subaru Impreza is scheduled to make its WRC debut. The Scot’s busy schedule means that he will be replaced on the event by Markku Alen. McRae may, however, now contest the Sanremo Rally instead.
6: West Surrey Racing joins the growing list of Dallara customers in British F3, ordering a car for Marc Goossens.
6: Former GP racers Ivan Capelli, Luis Sala and Eric van de Poele test a BTCC Nissan Primera at Pembrey. Having cut back its rallying involvement, Nissan will run Primeras in Italy and France later in the year, for Capelli and van de Poele. Sala will run for Nissan when Spain switches to two-litre regulations in 1994.
7: David Coulthard tests for Williams at Pembrey.
9: Against initial expectations, Tyrrell brings the new 021 to Silverstone, where heavy rain washes out the first day of qualifying.
10: Niki Lauda admits that Ferrari and Honda have been collaborating as the former tries to climb out of the trough in which its Ft team is entrenched.
10: Shortly after Alain Prost pips Damon Hill to pole position at Silverstone, the British F3 field lines up. Oliver Gavin overcomes pole-winner Warren Hughes to score his fourth straight win as Dallaras romp to a 1-2-3 finish, Ricardo Rosset trailing home behind Hughes. Series leader Kelvin Burt, only fourth, will join the crowd of Dallara users for the next race, and others are also thought likely to defect. Reynard is working hard on a retaliatory design for 1994. The word is that the Bicester manufacturer’s next F3 car will be tailored specifically for one engine, in order to avoid unnecessary compromise.
11: In front of a smaller-than-usual British GP crowd, Damon Hill makes a corking start and leads convincingly until his Renault VI expires amid a trail of smoke and flames on lap 41. As Alain Prost saunters to his 50th Grand Prix success, the bitterly disappointed Hill is left with the small consolation of a new lap record. Johnny Herbert salvages something for the home crowd with a competitive run to fourth.
11: Nissan scores an unexpected 1-2 in the GP-supporting BTCC round, Kieth Odor heading home Win Percy. Toyota might have achieved the same result had Julian Bailey and Will Hoy not tangled while running at the head of the field, Hoy rolling out of the race. Joachim Winkelhock, fourth, extends his series lead after a puncture causes team-mate Steve Soper to crash out of second place. There is great encouragement for Ford, Paul Radisich finishing third in his Mondeo.
11: Paul Tracy takes his second IndyCar win at Cleveland. Emerson Fittipaldi completes a Penske 1-2 after getting the better of Nigel Mansell in a fantastic scrap for second place. Mansell, racing with a sprained wrist after falling over on his way to a press conference, finishes third and maintains a 12-point championship lead. Bryan Herta wins the Indy Lights support race, extending his own championship lead.
11: Andrea Montermini wins the Moosehead Grand Prix around the streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first running of this F3000/F2 event draws a crowd of 60,000. Montermini wins by two clear laps after most of the other leading runners run into either mechanical trouble or each other.
11: Rusty Wallace takes NASCAR honours in Loudon. Elsewhere in the USA, a Porsche 962C wins an IMSA race! The absence of the Toyota team partially explains this apparent aberration at Road America. John Winter and Manuel Reuter share the triumphant old warhorse.
11: The German GT series continues at the Niirburgring, with victory going to series leader Johnny Cecotto’s BMW.
11: Tom Kristensen wins Mine’s Japanese F3 encounter. In Italy, Paolo Coloni becomes the sixth F3 winner in seven races, at Mugello.
11: Nick Mason (Maserati Birdcage, above) wins a thrilling 1950s sports car race at Silverstone, inching past Frank Sytner’s D-type Jaguar at the final corner.
12: The BBC announces that it has clinched a deal to continue covering F1 racing until 1996.
12: BMW withdraws its works class two entries from the Spa 24 Hours, explaining that it isn’t interested in chasing purely for class honours.
12: Williams says that it can not contest the German or Hungarian GPs if the FIA’s World Motor Sports Council opts to ban active suspension forthwith at its meeting on July 15/16.
12: Veteran Hannu Mikkola is recruited by Toyota for the 1000 Lakes Rally. It will be Mikkola’s first outing for the team since 1977.
12: NASCAR star Davey Allison is fatally injured when his helicopter crash-lands at Talladega, where he was scheduled to test.
Erratum: On page 609 of last month’s issue, we mistakenly reported that Al Foyt bade farewell to the sport after lapping Indianapolis at 221 mph in “an impeachable car”. It should have read “impeachable car”. We apologise for any confusion caused.