The month in MOTOR SPORT
July
18: Co-driver Mark Brickstock succumbs to injuries sustained, the previous day, in a single-venue stage rally at Snetterton.
19: David Brabham escapes unhurt after rolling his Simtek during a Silverstone test.
20: British Rally Championship entrants vote to exclude ‘kit cars’ from the 1995 series.
22: Michel Ferte/Michel Neugarten (Venturi) win the BPRO four-hour race at Spa. The Frenchmen hold a slender 12s lead over Anders Olofsson/Luciano delle Noce (F40) at the flag.
22: Despite its decision to scrap its works rally team, Ford says it will still develop the Escort Cosworth for WRC usage.
24: BMW monopolises the Spa 24 Hours, taking the first eight places. The 318i of Roberto Ravaglia/Thierry Tassin/Alex Burgstaller beats the sister Bigazzi entry of Jo Winkelhock/Marc Duez/Alain Fend, by four laps.
24: Ricardo Rosset takes his first British F3 win, at Snetterton.
24: Andy Evans/Fermin Velez (Ferrari 333SP) win the Laguna Seca IMSA race. Jimmy Spencer takes another NASCAR victory in Talladega.
24: Spectating at the Diepholz DTM race former WRC star Markku Alen says that he would like to try Class Two touring car racing. Klaus Ludwig and Bernd Schneider win the races for Mercedes, while Jörg Muller wins both F3 supports.
24: Giancarlo Fisichella and Luca Riccitelli take Italian F3 wins at Vallelunga; Jean-Philippe Belloc increases his lead in the French series with victory at Paul Ricard, where Yvan Muller heads a BMW 1-2 in the Supertourisme event.
25: Oliver Gavin switches from Omegaland to Nordic for the approaching Hockenheim F3000 race. A series of writs from Omegaland will follow.
26: At an FIA hearing in Paris, Michael Schumacher is excluded from the results of the British GP for having ignored the black flag. He is also suspended for two races, although he later appeals the decision, which will enable him to race at Hockenheim. The appeal date is set for August 30. Benetton’s $25,000 fine, for its part in the incident, is replaced by a $500,000 penalty. Benetton receives a further $100,000 punishment for not revealing its computer source codes to the FIA, an admonishment also handed out to McLaren, who appeal. Damon Hill is cleared of breaking any rules by stopping on the slowing down lap at Silverstone, as he did not come to a complete halt. Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello receive suspended one-race bans for leaving the circuit without seeing the stewards after their last lap accident. Clerk of the Course Pierre Aumonier is charged with having failed in his duties in several ways, and is suspended for a year.
28: Life becomes tougher still for Benetton. Benetton’s computer system included a ‘hidden’ launch control system creates a storm of intrigue (see pages 924/5).
30: Franck Lagorce retakes the European F3000 series lead, winning from Jules Boullion and Gil de Ferran at Hockenheim. The following day, Takuya Kurosawa and Andrew Gilbert-Scott finish 1-2 at Sugo in the All-Japan Championship.
30: F3000 teams DAMS and Forti are in the throes of preparing F1 programmes. Forti admits it is planning its own car; DAMS is coy about suggestions that Reynard is working on a project on its behalf.
31: The German GP at Hockenheim starts in chaotic fashion, a total of 10 cars retiring as a result of accidents between the start and the first corner. Gerhard Berger scores Ferrari’s first win since September 30 1990, leading all the way from pole position. The Ligiers finish second and third. Michael Schumacher posts his first retirement of the year; team-mate Jos Verstappen escapes almost unscathed after his car is enveloped by flame during a refuelling stop. Although several mechanics sustain burns, none suffers serious long-term injuries. Mika Hakkinen receives a one-race ban for his part in the first lap accident. Philippe Alliot is asked to deputise.
31: Lotus says that F3000 racer Massimiliano Papis will assist its test programme.
31: Alain Menu (Renault Laguna) and Steve Soper (BMW) score a BTCC win apiece at Knockhill. Series leader Gabriele Tarquini somersaults out of race one (above), an incident which earns Tim Harvey a sizeable fine. Roberto Ravaglia also gives BMW a victory, in the ITCC at Mugello.
31: Scott Goodyear (right) gives Lola its first IndyCar success of the season, at Michigan. Jacques Villeneuve escapes with bruising from a spectacular accident. The Canadian had been running second at the time.
31: Circuit racing returns to the Isle of Man, with a club meeting at Jurby Airfield.
31: Colin McRae scores his second successive Rally of New Zealand victory. Elsewhere, WRC absentee Francois Delecour makes a low-key return to rallying in Finland. . . and wins.
31: Malcolm Wilson wins the Ulster Rally.
August
1: Damon Hill discloses that he had received a death threat during the Hockenheim weekend.
1: Holbay Racing Engines founder John Read perishes in a light ‘plane crash, at the age of 60.
4: Emmanuel Collard has his first run in a Williams, at Silverstone.
6: Newspapers carry reports suggesting that Ayrton Senna’s fatal accident at Imola was probably caused by a steering fault. Williams points out that no official reason for the tragedy has yet been identified.
7: Martin Hines wins the British Kart GP at Silverstone.
7: Gareth Rees finally scores his maiden F3 victory, winning the prestigious Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort.
8: Ford decides to replace Miki Biasion with Tommi Mäkinen on the 1000 Lakes Rally.
9: Jordan F1 tester Kelvin Burt tries Vortex Motorsport’s F3000 Reynard at Silverstone. There appears little likelihood of him racing the car, however.
9: Niki Lauda breaks three ribs in a jet skiing accident, and is saved from drowning by his 13 year-old son Mathias. The Austrian is fit enough to attend the Hungarian GP, however.
10: Benetton’s name hits the headlines again, as the FIA issues a statement saying that Intertechnique, supplier of F1 refuelling equipment, had deduced that Benetton had illegally removed a filter from the system prior to the Hockenheim pit fire, and that this was to blame for the inferno. Benetton claims it had permission to do so and, in its response, blames a faulty refuelling valve. Interestingly, Intertechnique supplies teams with revised valves, without explanation, in Budapest. Benetton is summoned to an FIA hearing in October. (For full details, see Hungarian GP report, which begins on page 930.)
10: The fledgling IRL announces its engine regulations. Similar to existing IndyCar engine regs, the main change is a reduction in capacity from 2.65 to 2.2 litres.
12: Weeks of speculation about Williams’s engine plans for 1995 are ended by confirmation that the team will use Renault power until at least 1997. Insiders suggest that Damon Hill and David Coulthard will be confirmed as the team’s drivers for 1995 shortly, while the tabloid media whips up another frenzy of ‘Mansell to return’ stories, even though murmurs in the States suggest that he is just as likely to retire.
13: Toyota’s new Celica makes its debut on Finland’s Mänttä Rally, but Juha Kankkunen finishes second to Tommi Mäkinen’s Escort. The Celica won’t make its full WRC debut until Sanremo, in all probability.
13: Steve Petch/Peter Croft (Escort Cosworth) win the Kayel Graphics Rally. The event is marred by a chase car controversy which leads to several exclusions.
14: Al Unser Jnr takes another IndyCar win at Mid-Ohio. Andre Ribeiro wins the FIL support race. At Watkins Glen, Mark Martin takes his first NASCAR success of the season.
14: Kenneth Hansen takes another ERC win in Belgium.
15: The on-off-on-off Italian GP is finally declared to be on, thanks to temporary revisions to Monza’s second Lesmo.
16: Bobby Rahal announces that he won’t be using Honda power in IndyCar racing next year.
The spectacle nobody wanted, above; the refuelling question is more urgent than Benetton’s possible misdemeanours.. F3 victory for Ricardo Rosset, left, while Ludwig’s DTM performance attracts rally star Markku Alen’s notice, below.