Everyone kicked their heels all morning and a fairly large crowd of paying customers sat in the Woodcote Grandstands and waited very patiently. About 1 pm there was a break in the clouds, the sun burst through and within minutes the sky turned almost to summer. Racing engines started, the helicopter hove into view and within minutes a very abbreviated “test-season” began, to sort out tyres, aerodynamics, gear ratios and suspension settings all in a mad rush.
The vast programme of events planned for the day was now three hours behind schedule and nobody envied the job of the clerk of the course who had to re-schedule everything and try and make the best of the situation. Something like 20 minutes was allowed for testing, then there was a 10 minute break and then the Friday one hour of qualifying. The short test-session was enough for Patrese’s Alfa Romeo to expire in a cloud of smoke as a turbocharger failed and for the Lotus team to disintegrate into a right old shambles. Senna’s 97T Lotus went wrong in its Renault engine department, and the spare car was set up ready for the afternoon qualifying, so there was a mad rush to get it ready for him to use for tyre testing etc. By the time he went out on “wet” tyres the track had dried so he was straight back in again. Nobody was really organised or under control during this hurried 20 minutes, but they all made the best they could, paused for 10 minutes and then we were away on marked tyres to qualify for grid positions.
Keke Rosberg (Williams FW10 Honda) who’s pole position time was the fastest ever qualifying lap.
