The month in MOTOR SPORT
APRIL
14: Eric Bernard returns to F1 carrying out a three-day active suspension test for Ligier at Magny-Cours.
16: McLaren is tipped, once again, to have an engine supply deal with Audi for 1994.
16: Lola BMS and former Brabham/Fondmetal designer Sergio Rinland (above) join forces in an effort to pull Scuderia Italia out of its current bad spell.
16: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR confirm that the Winston Cup will come to the oval in 1994 for a 400-mile race entitled ‘The Brickyard 400’.
18: Bernd Schneider takes his Mercedes to a double victory in the second round of the GTCC at Hockenheim. Markus Liesner and Sascha Massen win the supporting F3 rounds.
18: Juan-Manuel Fangio takes round four of the IMSA Camel GT series after a hard fight with his young team-mate PJ Jones.
18: Only two weeks after his Phoenix accident, Nigel Mansell ignores doctors’ advice and races in the Toyota IndyCar Grand Prix at Long Beach. After a hard drive he eventually finishes third behind Bobby Rahal and Paul Tracy, who celebrates his first IndyCar victory.
18: Steve Robertson takes his first win since his British F3 days, in the Indy Lights race at Long Beach.
18: Kelvin Burt (PSR Reynard) scores his second win of the year in round three of the British F3 Championship at Brands Hatch. Following the race, the Edenbridge team announces that it is swapping its Ralt chassis for Dallaras.
18: Ford causes outrage by applying team orders at the end of the Pirelli International Rally. The decision to slow Gwyndaf Evans, promoting Malcolm Wilson into second, improves Wilson’s overall championship points tally . . . without detracting from Evans’ points score in Group N.
18: Roberto Ravaglia is top dog in the Italian touring car series, taking his BMW to a brace of victories at Vallelunga. Further north, Danilo Rossi scores his first national F3 success at Varano.
18: Tom Kristensen maintains his unbeaten record in Japanese F3, at Tsukuba.
18: Rusty Wallace scores a second consecutive NASCAR victory, at North Wilkesboro.
18: Kenneth Hansen takes the division two win in the opening round of the European Rallycross Championship in Austria. Anders Nordstedt inherits the division one victory from the disqualified Richard Hutton.
21: Bobby Rahal gives the Honda Indy engine its first run during a private test session.
22: Jean-Marc Gounon continues with development work on the Lola T93/50, at Snetterton. Meanwhile, most European F3000 Championship teams are preparing for the first race of the series, at Donington. Monaco’s Olivier Beretta tops the testing times.
23: Ayrton Senna arrives at Imola . . . 15 minutes before the first untimed practice session for the San Marino GP. He turns up expecting his McLaren to have a Series VII Ford HB V8 installed, but learns that negotiations to this end have faltered.
23:The British Racing Drivers’ Club announces that the British Grand Prix will remain at Silverstone untill 2001.
23: Glenn Waters is to re-enter British F3. The experienced team manager will run Scott Lakin in a Reynard 933.
24: Emanuele Naspetti is confirmed as Jordan Grand Prix’s official test driver.
25: Alain Prost wins San Marino Grand Prix with Michael Schumacher second. Martin Brundle takes third, collecting his first championship points of the year. Damon Hill leads the early stages, but a brake problem precipitates his eventual retirement.
25: Rusty Wallace continues his run of NASCAR success, at Martinsville.
25: Speculation grows that Riccardo Patrese is considering retirement after his disappointing start to the 1993 Grand Prix season.
25: Philippe Adams takes round two of the British F2 Championship at Silverstone.
25: Patrick Crinelli and Draco Racing score victory in round three of the Formula Vauxhall Euroseries in Imola.
26: FISA approves the idea of rotating World Rally Championship events, but the future structure of the WRC remains cloudy, as talk of separate championships for two- and four-wheel drive cars confuses the issue.
26: Toyota announces that it is launching a search programme, to promote Japanese drivers to World Rally Championship level.
26: Following the announcement that it won’t be doing F1, speculation grows that Peugeot is contemplating a return to World Championship Rallying.
27: Williams tries its ABS system on Alain Prost’s car in post-Grand Prix testing at Imola, the team also experimenting with its active suspension system.
27: Australian co-driver Brian Ginger is killed in a road accident during the London-Sydney Marathon.
29: The Bravo F3000 team disbands, leaving Jordi Gene without a drive.
29: After two fruitless F1 partnerships, with Andrea Moda and Bravo, Simtek announces that it plans to go it alone in a Grand Prix project for 1994.
30: The European Motorsports Association is officially launched in Germany. The initiative of Brands Hatch Leisure, Le Mans and the Nürburgring, its stated aim is not to rival existing, established categories, but to stimulate new interest in the sport below Formula One. The EMA, one of whom’s prime movers is Nicola Foulston (above), is to be based at Brands Hatch.
MAY
1: Nigel Mansell misses his rookie orientation at Indianapolis, due to back surgery following his Phoenix crash. Nelson Piquet sets the pace as 10 drivers earn their spurs.
2: Giancarlo Fisichella becomes the third Italian F3 winner in as many races, at Enna. Things are more predictable in Japan; Tom Kristensen wins again at Fuji. There is also F3 action at the Nürburgring, where German Championship leader Sascha MasIen and Michael Krumm do the winning.
2: Gary Ayles scores his first outright win in second of two 1TCC races at Misano. F1 refugee Gabriele Tarquini wins the other. In France, Laurent Aiello wins both touring car rounds at Magny-Cours, while Alfa and Mercedes bag a win apiece in Germany, courtesy of Nicola Larini and Klaus Ludwig.
2: Ernie Irvan ends Rusty Wallace’s run of NASCAR victories at Talladega. Wallace is classified sixth after somersaulting spectacularly across the finishing line. He sustains a broken wrist.
3: Olivier Beretta wins the European F3000 opener at Donington, despite race-long pressure from Pedro Lamy and Olivier Panis.
3: Kelvin Burt scores another victory in the British F3 Championship at Donington Park, making it three wins out of four and extending his points advantage.
3: Such is the crowd trying to get into Snetterton, to watch the BTCC race, that the gates have to be locked at lunchtime, with a reported four-mile queue still outside. Having parked a mile or so from the circuit and arrived on foot, Steve Soper finds the trek was worth it as he increases his series lead with his second win of the year. Patrick Watts’ Mazda, surprise pole-winner, is victim of a first-lap mishap. A separate collision forces a stoppage, but Watts is unable to take the restart.
4: In Corsica, François Delecour scores the second rally victory of his career . . . and his second WRC success of the season.
4: Rumours of a Mansell F1 comeback with Benetton begin to fly after Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Sheridan Thynne are seen lunching together in a fashionable London eaterie.
4: Moves are afoot to change the shape of motor racing’s government. There is talk of FISA being absorbed wholly into the FIA, and thus losing its present identity.
4: Jaguar enters an XJ220C for the Silverstone GT race.
5: Doug Wardropper, founder of leading Formula Ford engine tuner Scholar and 1963 BriSCA World Stock Car Champion, succumbs to a heart attack, aged 74.
8: Brian Bell (Escort Cosworth) wins the Plains Rally.
9: Alain Prost wins the Spanish Grand Prix from Ayrton Senna. Damon Hill is forced to retire with a blown engine while challenging Prost for the lead.
9: Ron Dennis confirms that Ayrton Senna is still under a race-by-race contract for this season.
9: Win Percy debuts the Jaguar XJ220C, that is to be used at Le Mans, in the National Sports GT race at Silverstone. Unsurprisingly, he crushes the modest opposition.
9: Paul Tracy emerges quickest in the first Indy 500 practice session. Nigel Mansell has still to make his debut at the legendary oval.
9: The London-Sydney Marathon continues to be dogged by tragedy as two spectators are fatally injured by competing cars, and rallying stalwart Basil Wadman succumbs to heat exhaustion.
9: Gil de Ferran makes light work of the field to take the second round of the European F3000 Championship at Silverstone, giving Paul Stewart Racing its first victory in the category. From ninth on the grid, David Coulthard storms through to second place.
9: Philippe Adams takes round three of the British F2 Championship at Brands Hatch. The Belgian takes the lead after Enrico Bertaggia receives a stop/go penalty for an alleged jump-start. Bertaggia’s disgruntled team, Durango, threatens to withdraw from the poorly-supported series.
9: Christian Pescatori becomes the fourth different Italian F3 winner in as many races.
9: Mauro Martini gives the Lola T93/50 its first win in round three of the Japanese F3000 series at Mine. The race is stopped twice in torrential conditions after Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Ross Cheever suffer serious accidents. Both are knocked out, but happily are otherwise unharmed.
9: The German GT series kicks off at Avus. Johnny Cecotto (BMW M3) heads a top six that also features a Honda NSX, Porsche 968, Porsche Carrera 2 and Ford Escort Cosworth.
9: Vincent Radermacker and Jan Magnussen win the Vauxhall Lotus Euroseries races supporting the Spanish GP. The first event is marred by an accident which leaves Practice Racing’s Gherardo Cazzago with a badly broken right leg.
9: Bertie Fisher (Subaru Legacy) wins the Rally of the Lakes.
10: Carlos Sainz is said to be negotiating to contest the 1994 World Rally Championship in a Prodrive Subaru.
11: Ferrari confirms that Jean Todt is its new Sporting Director. The Frenchman will join on July 1, after overseeing Peugeot’s Le Mans effort.
13: David Coulthard tests for Williams at Silverstone, and is less than a tenth slower than Damon Hill. At the same time, David Brabham is entrusted with evaluating electonic systems on a Footwork FA14.
14: Jaguar confirms its Le Mans line-up. Its three XJ220Cs will be handled by David Leslie, Armin Hahne, Win Percy, David Brabham, David Coulthard, Jay Cochran, Andreas Fuchs, Paul Belmondo and John Nielsen.
14: Canadian Ross Bentley suffers burns to his hands, neck and face after his car ignites during testing at Indy.
14: Reynard confirms that it is evaluating an IndyCar project for 1994.
14: F3000 engine suppliers Cosworth and Judd enter a dispute on the subject of traction control. Cosworth wants it banned forthwith; Judd, who has a system up and running, naturally doesn’t.
15: Arie Luyendyk bags pole for the Indianapolis 500. Having breezed through his rookie test, Nigel Mansell is eighth fastest in a car set up for him by team-mate Mario Andretti, who qualifies second. Best-placed rookie is Stefan Johansson, who will start sixth.
15: AJ Foyt announces his retirement from race driving. This time, the Texan legend says he really means it.
15: Max Rowe (Ford Escort Cosworth) is the surprise winner of the Manx National Rally. Rowe is the first native of the island ever to win the event.
16: Philippe Alliot’s Peugeot sets the pace during the Le Mans test day, with the Toyotas close behind. Jay Cochran is the quickest Jaguar driver present, but the XJ220C is some 12s slower than the works Porsche of Hans Stuck and Walter Röhrl.
16: Kelvin Burt’s utter domination of the British F3 series continues at Brands Hatch.
16: Joachim Winkelhock scores his first BTCC win at Donington, ahead of Jeff Allam and Steve Soper.
16: Francis Tuthill (Porsche 911) wins the London-Sydney Marathon.
16: Impressive French rookie Stephan Grégoire is quickest on the second day of Indy qualifying.
16: It’s been a turbulent weekend for British club racers. BMW driver Max Windheuser breaks a leg in a practice accident at Brands Hatch; Jules Grimshaw breaks an ankle when his VW Polo hits the wall at Donington, where another driver is released on police bail after a post-race punch-up in the wake of the Morgan/Historic Replicar event. The previous day, 64 year-old veteran John Holroyd was hospitalised after a violent accident in Pembrey’s Classic F3 encounter.
16: There are touring car victories for Laurent Aiello (BMW 318i) in France, Nicola Larini (Alfa Romeo 155) and Kurt Thiim (Mercedes-Benz 190) in Germany and Gianni Morbidelli (Alfa 155) in Italy. F3 honours fall to Guillaume Gomez in France and Jos Verstappen in Germany.
17: Ron Dennis announces that he will race at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed in an old McLaren. Something orange, apparently.
17: Two races into the F3000 season, and the annual game of musical chairs is already under way. Andrea Gilardi joins Cobra; Enrico Bertaggia replaces Hilton Cowie at ACE Motorsport.
17: Toyota says it may send two cars to the Rally of Argentina.