02.09.90F3:- Mika Hakkinen of Finland opened up a 16-point lead in the British Formula Three Championship when he claimed his seventh win at Brands Hatch on Sunday. Philippe Adams and Steve Robertson finished second and third respectively with early leader Peter Kox and Finnish driver Mika Salo both retiring from the race on lap 13 of 20.
F.RENAULT:- Bradford's Tim Sugden in a Swift FR90 crossed the finish line just 1.56 seconds ahead of Chris Goodwin to win the 12-lap Formula Renault UK race at Brands Hatch. Third was Paulo Carcasci.
FF1600:- George Cubitt bounced back to form to win the 11th round of the HEAT Champion of Snetterton FF1600 series at Brands Hatch to increase his series points lead. Brian Robinson came in a creditable second with Belgian Marc Delpienne finishing in third place.
F.FORD:- Worsley's Peter Kay tightened his grip on the Champion of Oulton Formula Ford series with a narrow win over Graeme Riley of Rochdale. Kay now leads Riley and fifth-placed Brian Anderson by a two-point margin.
MAZDA MX-5 UK CUP Result after 10 laps: mins secs 1 P Watts 20:36.15 * 2 J Blennerhassett 20:37.90 3 M Lemmer 20:44.66 4 J Dixon 20:46.70 5 R Speak 20:52.93 6 B Linnhoff 20:58.47 7 C Greenhalgh 21:01.98 8 T Broome 21:02.80 9 J Lyon 21:04.36 10 A Pardoe 21:05.29 * includes 10-second penaltyPatrick Watts produced a superb final lap to clinch victory in an incident-filled Mazda MX-5 UK Cup race - despite incurring a 10-second penalty. Watts was penalised for jumping the start but pulled away from the field to win by 1.75 seconds with runner-up John Blennerhassett unaware of the situation. "I didn't get any signals from the pits. Had I known, I would have gone faster," said an annoyed Blennerhassett "I won't be buying any beers at lunch." Watts now has a comfortable lead in the Championship.
FORMULA VAUXHALL LOTUS CHAMPIONSHIP Result of round nine (15 laps) mins secs 1 V Sospiri It 23:56.54 2 G de Ferran Brz 23:59.98 3 S Lakin GB 24:05.82 4 S Nakano Jap 24:07.10 5 K Burt GB 24:11.28 6 R Barrichello Brz 24:12.87 7 N Hart GB 24:14.78 8 K Luby GB 24:21.19 9 P Hunnisett GB 24:21.77 10 J Moore GB 24:23.37 Lap record: Sospiri 1:35.03Italy's Vincenzo Sospiri moved to the top of the Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship standings after sweeping to victory in round nine at Donington. Sospiri held off a challenge from Brazilian Gil de Ferran to win by 3.44 seconds with his nearest rival in the series, Kurt Luby, managing only eighth. Third was Scott Lakin, delighted to go well on his local circuit. Sospiri now leads with 106 points, 16 clear of Luby. David Coulthard remains third in the standings despite missing the round with a fractured leg.
SYTNER CLASSIC CARS MAGAZINE PRE-1960 SPORTS RACING CAR RACE Result after 10 laps 1 S Hoole Cooper T39 Bob 2.70s 2 C Richards HWM Jaguar ahead 3 J Pearson Lister Jaguar 4 J Harper Jaguar D Type 5 S Langton Lotus MkX 6 G Pearson Cooper T39 Bob 7 J Gray Lotus Eleven 8 N Faure Aston Martin DB3S 9 J Bailey Jaguar D Type 10 K Rylands HWM Jaguar INTERNATIONAL SUPERSPORTS CUP Result after 14 laps mins secs 1 C Agg McLaren M6F 22:09.69 2 M Bolsover McLaren M6B 22:10.23 3 W Green McLaren M6FT 22 11.33 4 S Langton McLaren M6B 22:12.37 5 G Hart Lola T212 22:34.62 6 E Swart Chevron B19 22:45.75 7 K Abrahamsson Chevron B16 22:47.77 8 U Boman BRM 154 23:08.02 9 J Qvarnstrom Chevron B19 23:14.55 10 C Chiles Chevron B8 23:21.28 Lap record: R Mallock (McLaren M6F) 1:32.12 97.69mphSPORTSCARS:- Sauber Mercedes repeated their one-two Donington success of last year to once again clinch the world title with two rounds of the series remaining. Italy's Mauro Baldi took the flag after the car he shared with Jean-Louis Schlesser had dominated the race from the start. Jochen Mass and Heinz-Harald Frentzen shared runner-up honours.
Britain's Martin Brundle drove for the entire race to take a well-deserved third place in the Silk Cut Jaguar and afterwards admitted: "For the last 20 laps, I was running on my reserves." Mauri Baldi admitted he and Jean-Louis Schlesser had been lucky to finish, let alone win, in their smoking Mercedes. "We knew there was a problem with one of the turbos. There was a lot of smoke as Jean-Louis left the pits," he said. Team-mate Jochen Mass in the second Mercedes also found the race a tough one. "The car did not handle as well as we would have liked at first and then we had to battle with fuel consumption." Heinz-Harald Frentzen was happy with his first world sportscar race. "I just did my very best," he commented.
Julian Bailey suffered a heart-breaking finish to the three-hour battle when his fifth-placed Nissan ran out of fuel within sight of the finish line. Bailey coasted to the flag but lost out to his team-mate Kenny Acheson and the Spice Engineering car driven so determinedly by Eric van der Poele. Acheson, who lost time in the race for repairs after colliding with a Porsche back marker, was delighted with his car's first world points. "That's one of the best races I have driven," said the Irishman.
Disappointed Alain Ferte was left watching from the Silk Cut Jaguar pits after TWR tactics left Martin Brundle at the wheel throughout the race. "It was race strategy, something the team wanted to try," said Brundle after finishing third behind the Mercedes. "You have an 'in lap and out lap' and we wanted to try and keep the Mercedes under pressure and force them to make a mistake," he explained. Tim Harvey was delighted with his well-deserved fourth place in the Spice. "It was just the sort of result we needed and it was a good race," he commented.
Italy's Mauro Baldi took early control in his Sauber Mercedes as the 300-mile world sportscar race got underway at the sun-soaked Donington Park circuit. Baldi was soon joined at the head of the field by team-mate Jochen Mass as the Silver Arrows prepared for their now regular domination of the race. Well behind them Tim Harvey was putting up a battling display in his Spice, soon matched by team-mate Eric van der Poele as the nimble 3.5-litre cars tore past the more powerful turbo entries. Harvey, 13 at the start, was in fourth place with 31 laps completed.
Jean-Louis Schlesser made a determined start as he took over the leading Mercedes after the first hour of the race - but then looked in trouble. His car started smoking badly, giving hope to Martin Brundle in the Silk Cut Jaguar looking strong in third place as he started a second driving stint. West German rising star Heinz-Harald Frentzen had taken over at the wheel of the second Mercedes and almost threw away second place when he spun shortly before handing back to Jochen Mass. Nissan continued to head the Japanese challenge, lying fourth after 80 laps.
Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser spent an anxious time at the wheel of the Sauber Mercedes after taking over the leading car from Italy's Mauro Baldi. "I saw the smoke in my mirror and I thought I might have to stop for more oil," he said after handing back to his team-mate for the final stint. Oil was leaking from the engine after trouble with the left turbo-charger. "I did all my stint feeling worried but Mauro did a good job and this helped Mercedes to win the title," Schlesser added after their victory.
West German Otto Altenbach brought the Obermaier Racing Porsche into the pits after the first lap with damaged bodywork. It became the first official retirement - within just six minutes of the three-hour race. Londoner Will Hoy lost the nose cone of his Chamberlain Engineering Spice in an early collision and was forced to return to the pits. He re-started only to limp back in a few laps later with a broken differential, his race over. Mauro Baldi set a new lap record as he consolidated his lead in the Sauber Mercedes, clocking 1 min 23.60 secs.
Nissan driver Kenny Acheson came into the pits with damage to the front of his car after a collision with the Team Davey Porsche being driven by Giovani Lavaggi. The incident cost the Irishman his l eaderboard place after 50 minutes. Jaguar made the surprise decision to leave Britain's Martin Brundle in the number 3 car rather than switching to Frenchman Alain Ferte for the second driving stint - and then let him do the third as well.
A broken exhaust sidelined the Courage Cougar-Porsche of Michel Trolle and Pascal Fabre at the halfway point. The number 4 Jaguar lost valuable seconds when it was difficult to restart after a scheduled fuel stop and driver change. Jan Lammers complained of bad oversteering during his first stint which was tackled during the stop. Young West German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen recovered after spinning the second-placed Sauber Mercedes shortly before he was due to hand over to the more experienced Jochen Mass. It cost him several seconds but he retained his place on the leaderboard. Both works Toyotas were among the nine retirements from the race.
WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE Leaders after 30 of 120 laps: 1 1 Baldi Sauber Mercedes 33.45s 2 2 Mass Sauber Mercedes ahead 3 3 Brundle Silk Cut Jaguar 4 23 Bailey Nissan 5 22 Harvey Spice Engineering 6 37 Lees Toyota 7 24 Acheson Nissan 8 4 Lammers Silk Cut Jaguar 9 15 Larrauri Brun Porsche 10 10 Schneider Kremer Porsche WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE Leaders after 50 of 120 laps: 1 1 Schlesser Sauber Mercedes 52.8s 2 3 Brundle Silk Cut Jaguar ahead 3 2 Frentzen Sauber Mercedes 4 22 Euser Spice Engineering 5 23 Blundell Nissan 6 24 Brancatelli Nissan 7 37 Watson Toyota 8 15 Huysman Brun Porsche 9 4 Wallace Silk Cut Jaguar 10 7 Jelinski Joest Porsche Most teams had re-fuelled and changed drivers. WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE Leaders after 80 of 120 laps: 1 1 Schlesser Sauber Mercedes 66.5s 2 2 Frentzen Sauber Mercedes ahead 3 3 Brundle Silk Cut Jaguar 4 23 Blundell Nissan 5 22 Euser Spice Engineering 6 21 Giacomelli Spice Engineering 7 37 Lees Toyota 8 7 Jelinski Joest Porsche 9 11 Reid Kremer Porsche 10 24 Brancatelli Nissan The leading Mercedes had been smoking badly but had not slowed; some cars had made a second re-fuelling stop. WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE Leaders after 100 of 120 laps: 1 1 Baldi Sauber Mercedes 2 2 Mass Sauber Mercedes 3 3 Brundle Silk Cut Jaguar 4 23 Bailey Nissan 5 22 Harvey Spice Engineering 6 24 Acheson Nissan 7 15 Larrauri Brun Porsche 8 37 Lees Toyota 9 21 V de Poele Spice Engineering 10 4 Lammers Silk Cut Jaguar SHELL DONINGTON TROPHY Provisional result after 120 laps: 1 1 Baldi/Schlesser Sauber Mercedes 1 min 22.22 secs ahead 2 2 Mass/Frentzen Sauber Mercedes 3 3 Brundle Silk Cut Jaguar 4 22 Harvey/Euser Spice Engineering 5 24 Acheson/Br'telli Nissan 6 21 Vd Poele/G'melli Spice Engineering 7 23 Bailey/Blundell Nissan 8 4 Lammers/Wallace Silk Cut Jaguar 9 7 Wollek/Jelinski Joest Porsche 10 11 Olofsson/Reid Kremer Porsche 11 10 Schneider/Vd Mer Kremer Porsche 12 8 Palmer/Bartels Joest Porsche 13 14 Reuter/Andskar RLR Porsche 14 16 Pareja/Brun Brun Porsche 15 26 Grohs/Altenbach Obermaier Porsche 16 9 Pescarolo/Winter Joest Porsche 17 17 Santal/Sigala Brun Porsche 18 32 Konrad/Toivonen Konrad Porsche 19 20 Musetti/Lavaggi T'm Davey Porsche 20 29 Stirling/Thuner Chamberlain Spice 21 39 Salamin/C Olivar Salamin Porsche 22 35 Migault/Wettling L Descrates Ald Nine cars failed to finish 06.09.90 - F1:- THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIXJOHN WATSON PREVIEWS THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
This year's race at Monza has all the ingredients of a classic Italian Grand Prix. The reason I say that concerns the Goodyear race tyre. At the Monza test last week Goodyear established that Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost prefer different tyre construction. Prost prefers the earlier type of tyre construction and Senna the construction they developed more recently.
When Prost used his preferred tyre in the Spa warm-up he was a second faster than anyone else but he was not allowed to use it in the race because Goodyear could not supply it to everyone. In Monza, Goodyear has promised to make both the old and the new tyre available to everyone - despite the enormous logistical problem that this has caused. The result for spectators is more exciting racing with the prospect of Senna and Prost competing against one another with the equipment of their choice.
Victory in the Italian Grand Prix - the 12th round of the 16 race championship - is crucial to both Senna and Prost. Thus far Senna leads Prost by 13 points and Senna needs to win this race to give himself a further cushion going into the two races after Monza in Portugal and Spain. I say that because I believe those two tighter, twisting, tracks will suit the Ferrari more than the McLaren. Prost, on the other hand, needs to win to prevent Senna's championship lead becoming too formidable.
Monza is, of course, a power circuit which means the four major teams: McLaren, Ferrari, Williams and Benetton will be at the centre of the action. After those eight cars carve up the six places there isn't going to be any room left in the points for anyone else. The biggest hope for the 'best of the rest' will be reliability. Monza is a real car-breaking circuit.
The other focus of attention at the the moment is driver changes now that Senna and McLaren have made their decisions. One of the key players in this respect is Jean Alesi who is under contract to Tyrrell until the end of 1991. He has also signed an option with Williams conditional on being able to buy himself out of his Tyrrell contract. But now his heart lies in driving for Ferrari. When that little lot is sorted out one man who may feel the effect is Nigel Mansell. After Nigel negotiates a release from Ferrari for '91 I believe Williams is the only realistic option open to him.
If Alesi ends up at Williams then I feel we may not see Mansell in Formula One in 1991. I think that would be a great shame because he has proved to be one of the most controversial, charismatic and exciting racing drivers of the '80s. I believe he has a lot of good racing left in him but the man has made a decision and I have to respect that. Other possible driver changes could be Stefano Modena to Tyrrell, Ivan Capelli to Ferrari, Martin Brundle or Derek Warwick to Leyton House, and Thierry Boutsen to Arrows.
THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Britain's Nigel Mansell responded to the support of the partisan Monza crowd by setting the second fastest time in the first practice session. He clocked 1 minute 23.141 secs in his Ferrari, after a flash fire in the engine had interrupted his progress earlier in the morning. Championship leader Ayrton Senna was again in immaculate form with a new lap record to take provisional pole. France's Jean Alesi produced the drive of the session with sixth fastest despite a 70hp deficit on his rivals.
Brazilian Ayrton Senna said he hoped to go even faster in final practice for Sunday's race after breaking the Monza lap record in his McLaren-Honda. Senna's 1 minute 22.972 secs for the 3.6-mile circuit, was 0.74 secs better than the old record set by Nelson Piquet in a turbocharged Williams."I had no problems with traffic on my best lap but my left front tyre was absolutely on the limit going through the last bend and I had to back off slightly," he commented.
Friday's qualifying times: mins secs 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:22.972 2 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:23.141 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:23.239 4 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:23.497 5 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:24.042 6 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:24.159 7 R Patrese It Williams 1:24.253 8 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:24.699 9 A Nannini It Benetton 1:25.567 10 D Warwick GB Lotus-Lamb 1:25.728 11 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 1:25.927 12 M Donnelly GB Lotus-Lamb 1:26.110 13 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton H 1:26.170 14 P Martini It Minardi 1:26.330 15 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 1:26.449 16 I Capelli It Leyton H 1:26.712 17 S Modena It Brabham 1:26.950 18 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Lamb 1:27.074 19 P Alliot Fr Ligier 1:27.153 20 O Grouillard Brz Osella 1:27.541 21 A De Cesaris It Dallara 1:27.772 22 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:27.784 23 E Pirro It Dallara 1:27.790 24 A Caffi It Arrows 1:27.828 25 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:28.107 26 P Barilla It Minardi 1:28.258 *************************************** 27 D Brabham Aus Brabham 1:28.382 28 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:28.564 29 N Larini It Ligier 1:28.626 30 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:29.592 Pre-qualifying times at Monza: (Top four go through) 1 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:26.947 2 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:27.594 3 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:27.773 4 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:28.132 *************************************** 5 R Moreno Brz Coloni 1:28.703 6 C Langes It EuroBrun 1:36.061 7 B Giacomelli It Life 1:55.244 0 7.09.90F3:- Chris Robertson and team-mate Phillipe Adams go into the 15th round of the British championship at Donington on Sunday with high hopes of success. Robertson remains the only Briton to have won a round this year, with flying Finns Mika Hakkinen and Mika Salo in dominant form. "I scored my maiden F3 win in the corresponding race last year so I'm very hopeful of repeating that victory" he commented. Adams was second at Brands Hatch last weekend - his best result of the season.
SALOON CARS:- The Esso Silverstone 500 race for Gp N-based saloon cars forms the 13th round of the Esso Saloon Car Championship. The inagural 500km Championship race at Donington earlier this year was won by Steve Griffin and Peter Lovett in their Class B BMW M3. Current overall leader is top Class C man Roger Jones.
F1:- THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Championship leader Ayrton Senna broke the Monza lap record for the second day running to add another pole position to his illustrious record. He clocked 1 min 22.533 secs in his McLaren, shaving 0.439 from his time set in Saturday's practice session. Reigning champion Alain Prost will start alongside him after a lap of 1:22.935, but Nigel Mansell failed to improve and will be on the second row. Jean Alesi, coveted by Ferrari as Nigel Mansell's replacement for 1991, was fifth fastest with a fine 1:23.526.
Brazilian Ayrton Senna predicted a tough battle with Alain Prost in Sunday's race after claiming the 49th pole of his career with a lap record. "I expect a big fight tomorrow with the Ferraris. Certainly my race strategy will be directly linked to Prost's performance," he said. "This race is very important for the championship," he added. Prost, second on the grid, admitted: "I must finish ahead of Senna to keep my title chances alive. I am satisfied with the efficiency of my Ferrari."
Ferrari and Williams are locked in a battle to have brilliant Frenchman Jean Alesi in their team for 1991. Alesi showed his talent by setting the fifth fastest time for Sunday's race at Monza, despite his Tyrrell having 60-70 horespower less than his main rivals. Ferrari approached Alesi after he had already signed with Williams for '91, and team boss Frank Williams says they will not release the 26-year-old. The Italian giants hope to work out a deal with Williams and have ruled out any possibility of a legal battle.
Final qualifying times: mins secs 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:22.533 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:22.935 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:22.936 4 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:23.141 5 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:23.526 6 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:23.984 7 R Patrese It Williams 1:24.253 8 A Nannini It Benetton 1:24.583 9 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:24.699 10 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton H 1:25.556 11 M Donnelly GB Lotus-Lamb 1:25.629 12 D Warwick GB Lotus-Lamb 1:25.677 13 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 1:25.927 14 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 1:26.081 15 P Martini It Minardi 1:26.330 16 I Capelli It Leyton H 1:26.712 17 S Modena It Brabham 1:26.950 18 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Lamb 1:26.962 19 E Pirro It Dallara 1:26.964 20 P Alliot Fr Ligier 1:27.043 21 A Caffi It Arrows 1:27.410 22 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:27.448 23 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:27.541 24 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:27.673 25 A De Cesaris It Dallara 1:27.749 26 N Larini It Ligier 1:27.937 NON-QUALIFIERS 27 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:28.107 28 P Barilla It Minardi 1:28.258 29 D Brabham Aus Brabham 1:28.382 30 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:29.592 08.09.90 - F1:- THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX Result from Monza after 53 laps: 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 4 N Mansell GB Ferrari 5 R Patrese It Williams 6 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell Margin approx 6 secs Fastest lap: Senna 1 mins 26.254Alesi spun out on lap 5; Martini retired (9); Bernard (11); Donnelly (14) - engine blow-up; Pirro (15); Warwick (16); Boutsen (18); Gugelmin (24); Capelli (37); Alboreto (52)
Standings after Round 12 of 16: 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 72 points 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 56 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 37 4 T Boutsen Bel Williams 27 5 N Piquet Brz Benetton 24 6 R Patrese It Williams 17 7 N Mansell GB Ferrari 16 = A Nannini It Benetton 16 9 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 13 10 I Capelli It Leyton H 6 11 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 5 12 D Warwick GB Lotus 3 13 S Modena It Brabham 2 = A Caffi It Arrows 2 = S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 2 16 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Lamb 1 = M Gugelmin Brz Leyton H 1 WORLD FORMULA ONE CONSTRUCTORS TABLE Standings after Italian Grand Prix: 1 McLaren-Honda 109 points 2 Ferrari 72 3 Williams-Renault 44 4 Benetton-Ford 40 5 Tyrrell-Ford 15 6 Leyton House-Judd 7 7 Larousse-Lamborghini 6 8 Lotus-Lamborghini 3 9 Brabham-Judd 2 = Arrows-Ford 2 Next round: Portugal, September 23Brilliant Brazilian Ayrton Senna completed his sixth win of the season at Monza to extend his overall lead at the top of the F1 drivers championship. He never looked like surrendering the initiative from the moment he scorched off pole. Reigning world champion Alain Prost passed Senna's McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger early on and reduced his arch rival's lead to around five seconds with some ten laps remaining, but Senna had the edge when it came to negotiating the back markers and easily held off Prost in his Ferrari.
Victory at Monza was sweet for world championship leader Ayrton Senna. "It was very satisfying. The car's not been working well here this week. We've had so many problems in training and testing," Senna said. "Gerhard (Berger) kept me very much on the limit at the start and I had someone close behind from there on. You have to be careful with the back markers. Historically Monza hasn't been great for me with back markers," said Senna, who dominated at Monza in '88 and '89 only to come a cropper.
Ayrton Senna's 26th Formula One race victory underlined his increasing domination of the 1990 season. Senna and defending world champion Alain Prost have now won ten of this year's Grand Prixs between them. The two great rivals exchanged lap records almost at will in the latter stages of an otherwise low-key Italian GP, Senna coming out ultimately fastest in 1 min 26.254 secs - all but 150mph. Prost is now 16 points behind Senna with four rounds to go.
Derek Warwick crashed his Lotus on the first lap of the Monza circuit and the race had to be re-started. Warwick went off the parabolic bend, hit the guard-rail, bounced back into the track and capsized. The 36-year-old British driver slid out of the cockpit unhurt. He was able to join the race again in a new car. Warwick explained after the incident that the left-side wheels of the car went on the grand, he lost control and crashed at the bend. Ayrton Senna won the restarted race.
Nigel Mansell finished his first F1 race since Mexico back in June six long Grand Prixs ago. But it was a hardly less frustrating Sunday afternoon for Britain's number one, who still insists in public he will retire at the end of this season. Mansell started fourth on the grid but never seriously looked like challenging first Alain Prost and then Gerhard Berger for third. Three points was scant consolation for the renewed feeling that Mansell's Ferrari simply is not race-competitive as that of teammate Alain Prost.
20.09.90 - F1Frenchman Jean Alesi, the rising star of Formula One, has won the support of the Italian Press with his move to Ferrari for the 1991 World Championship. 'A super duo with Prost,' declared the largest sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport, while quoting him as saying: "It is fantastic. I still can't believe it." Alesi's transfer is believed to have cost Ferrari about $10 million and include compensation for Tyrrell and Williams, with both teams having held options on the 26-year-old for 1991. Alesi has signed a one-year deal with Ferrari holding an option until 1993.
JOHN WATSON ON THE PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna resume their battle for the 1991 driver's title over 71 tortuous laps at Estoril. This is one of the best but also one of the most physical of the Grand Prix circuits and, unlike the previous two rounds, it will slightly favour the Ferrari which has the edge on handling. It is a real chance for Prost to claw back some of the Brazilian's advantage. Senna arrives with a 16-point lead but only the best 11 results count for the Championship, with four rounds left.
The long very fast right-hander leading to the pit straight will be the crucial corner in the Portuguese Grand Prix. Whoever gets through it best will have the advantage coming down the straight and into the next corner just beyond the pits - scene of the Ayrton Senna - Nigel Mansell collision last year. Senna's McLaren-Honda has more power but, on balance, the overall Ferrari package should have the edge. If Alain Prost can lead Senna into the corner before the straight, he should be able to maintain his advantage.
Last year's Portuguese GP ended amid controversy and debate with Nigel Mansell facing disciplinary action for allegedly ignoring a black flag. Mansell was looking very strong before the collision with Senna and he will be looking for his first victory of 1990. I also predict a much fiercer battle at the front, with far more cars in close contention than we saw in the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago at Monza. Gerhard Berger is looking for a repeat victory and his first win for McLaren but will probably find it harder than it was in the Ferrari.
Jean Alesi is the man in the news this week with his move to Ferrari and could well be in the spotlight this weekend. Having watched him at Monza, I suspect his Tyrrell-Ford may not be as under- powered as we have been led to believe. The Brian Hart-developed Ford DFR engine looked very strong and, combined with the Pirelli tyres which are known to be effective at Estoril, it would be no surprise to see him among the action.
Driver changes for 1991 have occupied much time and space lately. I wonder what more surprises are in store for us before the end of the season... One week ago we saw Alessandro Nannini leaving Benetton for Ferrari and suddenly he is back...almost as if the quickness of the hand deceived the eye! With Jean Alesi finally confirmed at Ferrari for 1991, both Tyrrell and Williams will receive compensation.
Since Williams now waive all claim to Alesi it leaves the door open to 'our Nigel' to rejoin the team - despite his insistence that he has no further interest in Formula One for 1991. Should Nigel be tempted back, the game plan for other drivers caught in this interminable chain must be re-thought. Brabham have just revealed a three-year tie-up with Yamaha to supply the team exclusively with a 5-valve V12 engine. If Brabham can find sponsorship to match the engine package, I feel sure Stefano Modena will stay on for 1991 - and maybe his 1989 team-mate Martin Brundle will be persuaded to rejoin him.
Thierry Boutsen is on the Arrows' list but looks more likely to go to Ligier. While we are used to seeing lap records broken at GPs, the speed of drivers in team negotiations needs to be equally impressive for anyone not seated when the music stops will be an ex-GP driver.
21.09.90AUSTRALIAN RALLY :- World Championship leader Carlos Sainz is ready for anything - even emus and kangaroos - in the 1,250-mile event, which gets under way on Thursday. Wildlife abounds in the area of Western Australia where the four-day rally, featuring 67 entries, takes place. The route features several forest stages and others on dirt tracks with Sainz commenting: "The conditions are not like anything else in the world". His nearest challenger Didier Auriol also takes part along with Juha Kankkunen and Massimo Biasion.
GM Euro Sport's Louise Aitken-Walker and Christina Thorner renew rivalry with FIA Ladies Cup challenger Paola de Martini in the testing four-day event. Scotland's Aitken-Walker is joint leader of the world series with the Italian de Martini, and admits: "Australia will be a real challenge. The special stages will be very slippery, covered with tiny round stones, and the rain will produce mud in places, I think the four wheel drive cars will have an advantage."
Leading positions after 16 of 35 stages (end of second day) hrs mins secs 1 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Del 2:54:25 2 C Sainz Sp Toyota GT4 2:55:30 3 A Fiorio It Lancia Del 2:56:55 4 P Bourne NZ Subaru 3:01:30 5 R Dunkerton Aus Mitsubishi 3:01:32 6 E Weber WG VW Golf 3:07:26 7 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi 3:07:57 8 I Carlsson Swe Mazda 323 3:08:09 9 G de Mevius Bel Mazda 323 3:08:43 10 G Trelles Ur Lancia Int 3:09:57 LADIES CUP 1 L A-Walker GB Vaux. Astra 3:19:22Spaniard Carlos Sainz recovered from a few early problems in his Toyota to stay in touch with leader Finn Juha Kankkunen at the end of the second day. Sainz, needing a top two finish to take his first world title, spun twice on stage 5 and then punctured a rear tyre but, after 16 of 35 stages, was just 65 seconds behind the Lancia driver.
Overnight leader Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden was forced to retire with clutch trouble on his Mitsubishi on stage 7. Italy's Alex Fiorio was chasing hard in third despite damaging the suspension of his Lancia when he hit a tree. Britain's Louise Aitken-Walker moved to 14th place overall and could take top points in the Ladies Cup after rival Paola de Martini retired on stage 15. The Italian's Audi suffered a broken camshaft and she was unable to attempt the final stage of the day.
Swede Ingvar Carlsson dropped from 4th to 12th place on stage 12 when the intercooler pipe broke on his Mazda's turbo. It was repaired at service. Australian Ross Dunkerton has recorded top five stage times despite problems with the Mitsubishi's power steering.
SPORTSCARS:- Team Sauber Mercedes may be the new world champions but it will be Peugeot grabbing the spotlight at the weekend. The Peugeot 905, set to challenge for the World Sports Prototype Championship honours in 1991, makes its debut in the penultimate round of the 1990 series. It looks certain to win fans with its sleek looks and 650hp 3.5-litre engine, designed to comply with the new WSPC regulations being enforced next season. The team also have a strong driver line-up in 1982 F1 world champion Keke Rosberg of Finland and twice F1 race winner Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
Jochen Mass will be going all-out for victory in the World Sportscar race on Sunday to keep alive his title hopes. The German driver, partnered in each race this year by one of three Mercedes juniors, is third in the drivers' table with 39 points, four behind team-mates Jean-Louis Schlesser and Mauro Baldi. "It's my turn again this time," says Mass, who will share the car with Karl Wendlinger of Austria with whom he won at Spa-Francorchamps in June. The twisting Circuit Gilles Villeneuve circuit, new to the series, is expected to cause fuel problems for some teams.
Britain's Martin Brundle joins the Silk Cut Jaguar team for their celebrations at round eight of the sportscar series. Brundle was one of Jaguar's drivers when they competed in their comeback Group C race, at Canada's Mosport Park near Toronto, exactly five years ago. He is joined by Jan Lammers in car 3, while Davy Jones and Andy Wallace will share car 4 for Sunday's race. "Canada holds great memories for us as we led the then all-conquering Porsches in Jaguar's first race since the '50s and finished third," said Brundle.
FF1600:- George Cubitt will be out to secure the 1990 HEAT Champion of Snetterton at the circuit on Sunday. The Ipswich driver needs only to finish ninth or higher in the Formula Ford 1600 series.
F3:- Team Jewson Motorsport duo Steve Robertson and Philippe Adams are both aiming to grab top spot in the penultimate round of the Formula Three series at Thruxton on Sunday. Adams was second in the last round at Donington.
F.VAUXHALL JUNIOR:- Formula Vauxhall Junior, the first new 'entry level' single seater racing car for a quarter of a century to be commissioned and backed by a major British motor manufacturer, has been unveiled at the Motor Show.
EARS/MOTORING RALLY:- Geoff Kitney looks set to pose the strongest threat in his Darrian T90 in this weekend's seventh round of the EARS/Motoring News Championship at Wexford. Four times national tarmac champion John Price is widely tipped to give Kitney a run for his money.
F1:- THE PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX
Frank Williams has dismissed rumours that he is trying to persuade Nigel Mansell to return to the team for the 1991 season. Williams are the only leading team not to have finalised their line-up for next year, but he said: "It's rubbish to speculate that I have had further talks with Nigel Mansell". Current drivers Thierry Boutsen and Riccardo Patrese are both keen to stay with the team. Williams said he hoped to announce his 1991 line-up at next week's Spanish GP.
Renault have agreed a three-year deal to supply engines to the Ligier Formula One team from the start of 1992. Details of the contract, signed in Paris on Monday, were announced on the eve of the Portuguese GP meeting. Renault already supply the Williams team who have scored two successes this season, with Riccardo Patrese winning the San Marino GP and Thierry Boutsen clinching victory in Hungary.
Brazilian Ayrton Senna produced his traditional last minute burst to take provisional pole spot for Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix. Senna clocked 1 min 14.246 secs, an average of 131.06mph, around the Autodrome circuit, beating his last year's pole record time of 1:15.468. Senna, who clinched his first Grand Prix win at Estoril in 1985, is chasing a 50th pole position in 107 F1 races. Second fastest was Ferrari driver Alain Prost ahead of Senna's McLaren-Honda team-mate Gerhard Berger.
Although Ayrton Senna set the fastest lap in opening practice, he was unhappy with his car. "It was understeering generally," insisted the McLaren-Honda driver. "We need to make changes to the set-up." Arch-rival Alain Prost was also unhappy despite setting the day's second best time. "I had problem with my second set of tyres, the car ahead of me put some dirt on the track and I lost time." Victory for Senna on Sunday would give him a great chance of clinching the 1991 drivers' title.
Italy's Pierluigi Martini has re-signed for the Minardi Formula One team for 1991, his fourth successive year with them, on a one-year contract. His new team-mate is widely rumoured to be Ferrari test driver Gianni Morbidelli, although no official announcement is expected for a while.
Friday's qualifying times from Estoril mins secs 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:14.246 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:14.530 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:14.552 4 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:14.861 5 R Patrese It Williams 1:15.539 6 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:15.543 7 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:15.646 8 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:16.092 9 A Nannini It Benetton 1:16.123 10 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 1:16.477 11 P Martini It Minardi 1:17.045 12 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 1:17.097 13 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Lamb 1:17.189 14 A de Cesaris It Dallara 1:17.252 15 P Alliot Fr Ligier 1:17.330 16 M Donnelly GB Lotus 1:17.414 17 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton Hse 1:17.569 18 E Pirro It Dallara 1:17.653 19 D Warwick GB Lotus 1:17.904 20 S Modena It Brabham 1:17.962 21 I Capelli It Leyton Hse 1:18.242 22 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:18.512 23 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:18.581 24 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:18.630 25 P Barilla It Minardi 1:18.669 26 A Caffi It Arrows 1:18.725 *************************************** 27 N Larini It Ligier 1:18.958 28 D Brabham Aus Brabham 1:18.967 29 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:20.226 30 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:20.662 Results of pre-qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril: mins secs 1 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:19.394 2 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:19.885 3 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:20.000 4 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:20.942 NON-QUALIFIERS 5 R Moreno Brz Eurobrun 1:21.188 6 C Langes It Eurobrun 1:23.447 22.09.90SPORTSCARS:- Sauber Mercedes nudged the Silk Cut Jaguars from provisional pole in the final stages of Friday's first qualifying session for Sunday's race. Jan Lammers started the session in Jaguar's third car, losing time when a heat exchanger sprung a leak. Martin Brundle took over and claimed provisional pole with a time of 1 min 26.034 - before being beaten in the dying minutes by Mercedes and Nissan. Brundle said: "It's a very bumpy circuit for the car but I am sure we can bring the time down if it's dry."
WORLD SPORTS PROTOTYPE CHAMPIONSHIP First qualifying times from Montreal: mins secs 1 Schlesser Mercedes 1:25.407 2 Bailey Nissan 1:25.897 3 Brundle Jaguar XJR 1:26.034 4 Mass Mercedes 1:26.086 5 Palmer Porsche 962 1:26.739 6 Jones Jaguar XJR 1:27.489 7 Wollek Porsche 962 1:28.103 8 Lees Toyota 90C-V 1:28.377 9 Acheson Nissan 1:28.460 10 Schneider Porsche 962 1:28.633F1:- THE PORUGUESE GRAND PRIX
Britain's Nigel Mansell made the most of superior Ferrari handling to set a blistering lap in the final qualifying session for Sunday's Portuguese GP. Mansell clocked 1 min 13.557 secs to clinch the 15th pole position of his Grand Prix career. His team-mate Alain Prost, needing victory to keep alive his world title hopes, will start alongside him with the McLaren duo of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger sharing the second row. Satoru Nakajima missed the session with 'flu but should be fit to race.
Nigel Mansell set the fastest time in final practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix, then predicted a very close race between the Ferraris and the McLarens. "I made a little bit of a mistake on the second set otherwise I think I could have gone a couple of tenths faster," admitted the Briton. "But I am delighted and must compliment Alain (Prost) and Ayrton (Senna) because all the times are very quick." Mansell said he was fully recovered from a stomach upset from which he was suffering on Friday.
Williams team boss Frank Williams was injured and a mechanic burned after a fire in the pits during Saturday's free practice session for the Portuguese GP. Riccardo Patrese's car backfired and ignited a cloud of fuel vapour in the back of the garage, causing a brief blaze which burnt mechanic Les Jones. He tumbled backwards and, as he fell, the starter motor of Patrese's car flew from his grasp striking Williams on the head as he sat in his wheelchair. Williams suffered a cut while Jones was treated for burns and then flown home.
Final qualifying times from Estoril: mins secs 1 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:13.557 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:13.595 3 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:13.601 4 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:14.292 5 R Patrese It Williams 1:14.723 6 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:14.728 7 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:14.934 8 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:15.122 9 A Nannini It Benetton 1:15.411 10 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 1:15.673 11 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Lamb 1:16.012 12 I Capelli It Leyton Hse 1:16.284 13 E Pirro It Dallara 1:16.290 14 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton Hse 1:16.296 15 M Donnelly GB Lotus 1:16.762 16 P Martini It Minardi 1:16.795 17 A Caffi It Arrows 1:16.946 18 A de Cesaris It Dallara 1:17.066 19 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:17.081 20 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 1:17.097 21 P Alliott Fr Ligier 1:17.120 22 D Warwick GB Lotus 1:17.259 23 N Larini It Ligier 1:17.269 24 S Modena It Brabham 1:17.341 25 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:17.621 26 D Brabham Aus Brabham 1:17.715 *************************************** 27 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:17.775 28 P Barilla It Minardi 1:18.280 29 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:18.815 30 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:20.516 23.09.90CYPRUS RALLY:- Sweden's Ola Stroemberg in a Ford Sierra Cosworth led by 11 seconds from London-based Cypriot Dimis Mavropoulos in an Audi Quattro after two stages of the three-day 544-mile Cyprus International event.
TALBOT HOTEL WEXFORD STAGES RALLY:- John Price led in a MG Metro after six stages of the two-day Talbot Hotel Wexford Stages Rally, 36 seconds ahead of Ford Escort driver David James.
AUSTRALIAN RALLY:- Leading positions after 27 of 35 stages (End of day 3) hrs mins secs 1 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Del 4:15:43 2 C Sainz Sp Toyota GT4 4:16:49 3 A Fiorio It Lancia Del 4:20:02 4 R Dunkerton Aus Mitsubishi 4:25:09 5 P Bourne NZ Subaru 4:25:57 6 I Carlsson Swe Mazda 323 4:31:13 7 G de Mevius Bel Mazda 323 4:33:58 8 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi 4:35:43 9 E Weber WG VW Golf 4:39:46 = G Trelles Ur Lancia Int 4:39:57 LADIES CUP 1 L A-Walker GB Kadett/Astra 4:53:40Finn Juha Kankkunen continues to hold the lead in his Lancia at the end of the penultimate day, despite pressure from Toyota works driver Carlos Sainz. Sainz, needing a top two finish to take the world title, reduced the gap from 65 to 48 seconds over the first eight stages but slipped back over the last three to lie 66 seconds adrift. Italy's Alex Fiorio remained third in his Lancia but well out of touch, while Swede Ingvar Carlsson, winner of the first non-championship Rally Australia, recovered from mechanical troubles to make up ground in his Mazda.
Britain's Louise Aitken-Walker, set to take maximum points in the Ladies Cup, was anxious not to relax too much. Aitken-Walker, currently 15th overall, needs to retain a top 20 place to score Cup points and take the lead in the women's title battle, with rival Paola de Martini forced to retire on Friday. "It was difficult to pace myself with Paola out but we have settled down after a slow start," she commented. Ross Dunkerton moved ahead of Kiwi Possum Bourne and leads the home challenge in his Mitsubishi despite turbo and power steering problems.
F1:- PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX
Britain's Nigel Mansell overcame a poor start to drive superbly to his first victory of the year as an accident brought the Portuguese GP to a halt. Mansell took the lead in his Ferrari in a fine piece of overtaking on lap 50 and held off the determined McLaren driver Ayrton Senna until the race was stopped on lap 61, 10 laps early. Officials cut short the race after Alex Caffi crashed heavily in his Arrows. The Italian needed to be released from his car by marshals and was taken to hospital with a broken leg.
Ferrari driver Nigel Mansell, widely expected to be with Williams in 1991 after shelving his retirement plans, survived a late scare at Estoril. Mansell, who had driven brilliantly to take the lead from McLaren star Ayrton Senna, looked well set for victory when backmarker Philippe Alliot cut across him on a corner striking the Ferrari. Alliot crashed out in his Ligier but Mansell was able to continue, slightly shaken but still in the lead. Mansell had also had a lucky escape at the start where he nearly spun and just missed hitting Alain Prost's Ferrari.
Nigel Mansell was left chasing the two McLarens after a disappointing start from pole position left him third and team-mate Alain Prost back in fifth. Mansell spent 26 frustrating laps behind second-placed Gerhard Berger, just unable to overtake him and have a chance to challenge leader Ayrton Senna. By contrast, Prost won a battle for fourth place with on-form Williams driver Nelson Piquet. Then a mistake by Mansell sent the Ferrari wide on a bend and Prost nipped through to take third spot.
Tyre stops looked like being crucial with only seconds separating the top four cars in the early part of the race. Alain Prost seemed to make a tactical error, allowing Ayrton Senna to stop first and subsequently extend his lead. Senna enjoyed a superb pit stop and powered away and, with everyone on fresh rubber, it was Nigel Mansell in second spot and Gerhard Berger third. Alain Prost, needing a victory to keep his World Championship title hopes alive, was lying fourth.
Alain Prost handed his world crown to arch-rival Ayrton Senna after his hopes of a good result at Estoril were dashed when an accident halted the race. Prost was challenging Senna for second place when the GP was cut short and shortly afterwards admitted glumly: "For me, Ayrton won the title today." He said he lost any chance of victory in a bad start. "I also had a long pit stop and, after 10 laps, lost 6th gear." Senna, heading the world standings with 78 points to Prost's 60 with three races to go, said the Championship was not over "until it is finished".
Result after 61 of 71 laps at Estoril: 1 N Mansell GB Ferrari 2.8 secs 2 A Senna Brz McLaren 3 A Prost Fr Ferrari 4 G Berger Aut McLaren 5 N Piquet Brz Benetton 6 A Nannini It Benetton RACE STOPPED AFTER 61 LAPS Alex Caffi crashed his Arrows and was trapped in the car causing the race to be halted. WORLD FORMULA ONE DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP Standings after Round 13 of 16: 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 78 points 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 60 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 40 4 T Boutsen Bel Williams 27 5 N Piquet Brz Benetton 25 6 N Mansell GB Ferrari 25G.P.NEWS
Leyton House have confirmed that they have re-signed Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin for next season. The team said they were delighted the Italian and the Brazilian had decided to stay for a fourth successive year. Capelli, who came close to winning the French GP in July, had been linked with a possible move to Ferrari.
Alex Caffi, out of this weekend's Spanish GP with ankle ligaments injuries, is expected to recover in time to race for Arrows in Japan. Bernd Schneider replaces him at Jerez.
Nigel Mansell has admitted he is considering a U-turn over his decision to retire from F1 racing at the end of the season. Mansell, who won the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday, said: "I have 15 offers on the table and I have been moved by the response of the public. "My future has obviously been the subject of much speculation this season but at this stage nothing has changed. The public have urged me to continue racing. I have to give the whole situation due consideration."
24.09.90 AUSTRALIAN RALLY:- Provisional result (after 35 stages): hrs mins secs 1 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Del 5:43:48 2 C Sainz Sp Toyota GT4 5:45:28 3 A Fiorio It Lancia Del 5:49:28 4 P Bourne NZ Subaru 5:57:45 5 I Carlsson Swe Mazda 323 6:00:49 6 G de Mevius Bel Mazda 323 6:04:57 7 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi 6:09:44 8 G Trelles Ur Lancia Int 6:16:26 9 K Inoue Jap Mitsubishi 6:20:00 10 E Ordinski Aus Mitsubishi 6:20:31 LADIES CUP 1 L A-Walker GB Kadett/Astra 6:36:19Finland's Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia won his second successive Australian rally as Spaniard Carlos Sainz finishedsecond to all but take the world title. Kankkunen, twice world champion, took control of the 2,042km four-day rally on the ninth of the 35 stages. He finished 1 min 40 secs clear of Sainz's Toyota with Italian Alex Fiorio third. Sainz, 60 points clear of Kankkunen in the world standings with three events to go, lost valuable seconds on stage 25 with a spin allowing the Finn to cruise to his ninth world event victory.
Britain's Louise Aitken-Walker finished in 13th place overall to take the lead in the Ladies World Championship. She is now nine points clear of her nearest rival, Italy's Paola de Martini who was forced to retire on Friday. Aitken-Walker's Vauxhall Astra was the the highest placed two-wheel-drive car.
Australian Ross Dunkerton crashed out on the final day while lying fourth in his Mitsubishi. He escaped with bruising when the car rolled but his navigator Steve McKimmie cracked three vertebrae and bruised a kidney.
WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS (after round 10 in Australia) DRIVERS TABLE 1 Carlos Sainz Sp 130 pts 2 Juha Kankkunen Fin 70 3 Didier Auriol Fr 67 4 Miki Biasion It 64 5 Magnus Ericsson Swe 26 6 Ingvar Carlsson Swe 23 MANUFACTURERS TABLE 1 Lancia 144 2 Toyota 128 3 Subaru 43 4 Mitsubishi 39 LADIES CUP 1 Louise Aitken-Walker GB 27 2 Paola de Martini It 18SPORTSCARS:- Extreme wet weather conditions before and during the final qualifying session meant that no one was able to improve on their opening times and positions. Therefore Sauber Mercedes and Nissan retain their first round advantage and will start the penultimate round of the championship on the front row. Jaguar start from the third-fastest spot after Martin Brundle was unable to improve on his time of 1m 26.034 secs. The day witnessed some minor accidents and Brundle predicted more on Sunday if the weather failed to improve.
WORLD SPORTS PROTOTYPE CHAMPIONSHIP Final qualifying times from Montreal: mins secs 1 Schlesser Mercedes 1:25.407 2 Bailey Nissan 1:25.897 3 Brundle Jaguar XJR 1:26.034 4 Mass Mercedes 1:26.086 5 Palmer Porsche 962 1:26.739 6 Jones Jaguar XJR 1:27.489 7 Wollek Porsche 962 1:28.103 8 Lees Toyota 90C-V 1:28.377 9 Acheson Nissan 1:28.460 10 Schneider Porsche 962 1:28.633INDYCAR:- Penske team-mates Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Emerson Fittipaldi set the top three times in practice for the Texaco-Havoline 200 race in Wisconsin on Sunday.
TOURING CARS:- Robb Gravett clinched the 1990 Esso Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, after finishing third in his Ford Sierra Cosworth. Andy Rouse won the race in a time of 27 mins 24.98 secs.
F3:- Paul Stewart has taken pole position in a Ralt RT34 Mugen for the British F3 Championship race at Thruxton. Steve Robertson and Mika Salo were second and third fastest.
27.09.90JOHN WATSON ON THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Ayrton Senna goes for his third win at Jerez with Alain Prost having basically conceded the 1990 drivers' title to him. Prost trails the Brazilian by 18 points but ironically he stands a very good chance of winning in Spain. Like Portugal, I feel the circuit favours the Ferrari car for car over the McLaren-Honda. Their superiority at high-speed corners is evident and here the advantage will be best seen at the double right hander named after Ferrari behind the pits.
As much as Ayrton Senna tries to win every race he is really just after consolidation at the Spanish Grand Prix. Should he win the race the championship is effectively over. Anything less than third would have to be dropped anyway with only your best 11 results counting. Even failure to finish the race would not be as disastrous as it would appear due to his commanding overall position. While this tends to dilute the championship in terms of interest, as a motor race it is potentially going to be a very exciting one.
Jerez is a very tight and twisting racetrack. There are 73 laps and to say it is tortuous is an understatement. Because it is not a power circuit perhaps it ought to mean more people close on the grid in terms of practice times. Whereas in Portugal McLaren and Ferrari simply drove away from everyone else, I expect to see three or four teams in close competition at the front.
The track has a very poor finish rate. It is hard mechanically and physically and overtaking is a frustrating experience as cars tend to get bunched together throughout the field. West German Bernd Schneider steps into the breach for the Arrows-Ford team following Alex Caffi's accident at Estoril last weekend. Caffi's legs were heavily bruised in the crash and he will not be fit to join Michele Alboreto in the team. Schneider, who drove for Zakspeed in 1989, has tested for Arrows and will be deputising for Caffi for the second time this season. He finished 12th at Phoenix in March after Caffi withdrew following a fall from a push bike while training.
One of the main topics of interest in Formula One continues to be the future line-up of the Frank Williams team. With Nigel Mansell admitting to being open to persuasion about reconsidering his retirement, everything points to him rejoining Williams for 1991. Having said that, Alain Prost's chagrin with Ferrari management lends weight to the rumour circulating in Formula One that Prost may be off to Williams. But at the end of the day I believe Prost and Ferrari will come up with a settlement to their differences and Mansell will join Williams.
The drivers suffering the most in the hurly burly of settling team line-ups for next season are British. If Nigel Mansell goes to Williams, then the options for Derek Warwick, Martin Donnelly, Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell are very limited. It all boils down to simple commercial reality. In Britain, there is no support for motor racing drivers unlike in France, Italy and South America. Formula One teams do not exist on thin air. Being a British driver without backing seems to result in a negative reaction from almost every team.
THE SPANISH G.P.
Martin Donnelly was taken to hospital with head and leg injuries after a high speed crash during the first practice session for Sunday's race. His Lotus-Lamborghini was going round the first of two fast right-hand bends behind the pits at about 150mph when it went off and crashed into the barriers. The car broke in two, throwing him unconscious onto the track and he was later taken to Seville's Roseo hospital. His injuries included a suspected fractured skull, three fractures in his left leg and a broken collar bone.
Lotus car designer Frank Dernie said he could not believe Martin Donnelly had survived the practice session crash. "I'm staggered that he survived," said Dernie. "I don't know how he did, but it says a lot for all the new safety regulations in Formula One now." Donnelly's team-mate Derek Warwick, who survived a high-speed crash at the Italian Monza circuit just three weeks ago, later spoke to Donnelly.
"He's obviously in a lot of agony," he said. "His face is terribly swollen but he spoke to me when I spoke to him."
Brazilian Ayrton Senna produced another superlative drive to set the fastest time in Friday's practice at Jerez. Senna, who has an 18-point lead over Alain Prost in the drivers' standings, clocked 1 min 18.900 secs, over 1.3 secs quicker than his 1989 pole time. McLaren team-mate Gerhard Berger was second fastest with Prost only fourth in his Ferrari after a minor nudge on the back of one of the Arrows. Nigel Mansell could do no better than 1:21.005 in Prost's spare after his own car failed during the session.
28.09.90 - F1:- THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX Friday practice at Jerez: mins secs 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:18.900 2 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:19.643 3 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:19.923 4 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:20.026 5 R Patrese It Williams 1:20.562 6 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:20.721 7 N Mansell GB Ferarri 1:21.005 8 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:21.111 9 A Nannini It Benetton 1:21.383 10 A Suzuki Jpn Larrousse 1:21.740 11 D Warwick GB Lotus 1:22.111 12 P Martini It Minardi 1:22.225 13 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 1:22.403 14 M Donnelly GB Lotus 1:22.659 15 S Nakajima Jpn Tyrrell 1:22.690 16 A de Cesaris It Dallara 1:22.953 17 M Gugelmin Brz March 1:23.019 18 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:23.249 19 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:23.260 20 N Larini It Ligier 1:23.290 21 E Pirro It Dallara 1:23.485 22 S Modena It Brabham 1:23.641 23 P Alliot Fr Ligier 1:23.783 24 I Capelli It March 1:23.866 25 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:24.043 26 B Schneider WG Arrows 1:24.675 27 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:24.784 28 P Barilla It Minardi 1:25.093 29 D Brabham Aus Brabham 1:25.899 30 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:26.593 PRE-QUALIFYING TIMES, Jerez (Top four go through) 1 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:22.470 2 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:22.592 3 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:22.708 4 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:24.603 ************************************** 5 R Moreno Brz Coloni 1:24.621 6 C Langes It Eurobrun 1:25.736 7 B Giacomelli It Life 1:42.699 28.09.92 - F1:- THE SPANISH GRAND PRIXAyrton Senna grabbed the 50th pole of his brilliant career despite a moment of danger after coming up behind two cars on his fast lap at Jerez. He somehow squeezed his McLaren-Honda past the slow-moving cars of Nelson Piquet and Olivier Grouillard which were blocking the track and went on to clock 1 minute 18.387 secs. He will be joined on the front row by championship rival Alain Prost, with Nigel Mansell third fastest. Rain fell overnight on the circuit and may play a part in the race. Prost was quickest in the warm-up session.
Final practice times at Jerez:mins secs 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:18.387 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:18.824 3 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:19.106 4 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:19.604 5 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:19.618 6 R Patrese It Williams 1:19.647 7 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:19.689 8 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:19.700 9 A Nannini It Benetton 1:20.367 10 D Warwick GB Lotus 1:20.610 11 P Martini It Minardi 1:21.060 12 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton H 1:21.167 13 P Alliot Fr Ligier 1:21.170 14 S Nakajima Jpn Tyrrell 1:21.215 15 A Suzuki Jpn Larrousse 1:21.244 16 E Pirro It Dallara 1:21.277 17 A de Cesaris It Dallara 1:21.467 18 E Bernard Fr Larrousse 1:21.551 19 I Capelli It Leyton H 1:21.910 20 N Larini It Ligier 1:21.996 21 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:22.288 22 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:22.466 23 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:22.716 24 S Modena It Brabham 1:23.133 25 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:23.161 NON-QUALIFIERS 26 D Brabham Aus Brabham 1:23.163 27 P Barilla It Minardi 1:23.274 28 B Schneider WG Arrows 1:23.924 29 B Gachot Bel Coloni 1:25.114 M Donnelly GB Lotus will not race 29.09.90 - F1:- THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX Sunday's warm-up times at Jerez: mins secs 1 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:23.637 2 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:24.713 3 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:24.785 4 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:24.928 5 R Patrese It Williams 1:25.465 6 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:25.695 7 P Alliot Fr Ligier 1:25.735 8 D Warwick GB Lotus 1:25.996 9 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:26.346 10 E Bernard Fr Larrousse 1:26.351 11 N Larini It Ligier 1:26.586 12 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 1:26.899 13 P Martini It Minardi 1:26.961 14 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 1:27.116 15 A Suzuki Jpn Larrousse 1:27.216 16 S Nakajima Jpn Tyrrell 1:27.433 17 A Nannini It Benetton 1:27.444 18 O Grouillard Fr Osella 1:27.474 19 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton H 1:27.552 20 M Alboreto It Arrows 1:27.838 21 S Modena It Brabham 1:28.022 22 A de Cesaris It Dallara 1:28.084 23 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:28.430 24 I Capelli It Leyton H 1:28.517 25 E Pirro It Dallara 1:28.774Ulsterman Martin Donnelly is still on a respirator in hospital at Seville after his horrific 150mph crash in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. The latest bulletin on the 26-year-old Lotus driver said he was "gradually recovering consciousness and his vital functions are still normal". Although artificial respiration is being maintained, the hospital said his recovery was continuing normally and the outlook was "favourable". Donnelly suffered multiple injuries when his car hit a wall on Friday.
Defending champion Alain Prost kept his hopes of retaining the title alive with his 44th Grand Prix triumph on a day of dismay for McLaren at sweltering Jerez. Championship leader Ayrton Senna was coasting in second on lap 52 when his normally-reliable car failed and he had to retire two laps later. Senna had kept Prost at bay for 25 laps after starting from pole but once ahead the Frenchman was in complete control. Team-mate Nigel Mansell made it a 1-2 for Ferrari after an excellent drive with Alessandro Nannini taking third.
Alain Prost, who all but gave up his drivers' title in Portugal a week ago, was back on the title trail after his magnificent 73-lap win at Jerez. He now trails Ayrton Senna by only nine points with two races left and said: "It's still possible but I know it will be difficult". Prost set his sights on pole position for the last two races to make the most of the Ferrari's advantage at corners. "When I was behind him in the first part of the race I was surprised how slow he was but I could not get past".
Ayrton Senna was a forlorn figure after he was forced to retire at Jerez for only the third time this season. The brilliant Brazilian looked set for second behind rival Alain Prost when his McLaren-Honda hit trouble. The runner-up spot would have left him needing just one point from the two remaining races in Japan and Australia to clinch his first title. McLaren's misery was completed on lap 57 when Austrian Gerhard Berger went off after hitting Thierry Boutsen's Williams as he tried for fourth place.
Britain's Nigel Mansell lived up to his promise to do his bit to help team-mate Alain Prost keep the drivers' title with a superb drive at Jerez. He unselfishly moved aside to let Prost take the lead on the 28th lap after the Frenchman had been into the pits for fresh tyres. Prost's rival Ayrton Senna slipped past into second but Mansell pushed his car hard to keep on the Brazilian's tail. He regained second when the McLaren hit trouble and was content thereafter to keep possible challengers to Prost's lead at bay.
Nigel Mansell refused to be drawn on his future after following Alain Prost home in a superb Ferrari 1-2. The 37-year-old Manxman, who won in Portugal last week, was asked whether he would abandon his retirement plan following the two good results. "I think the weather today has been marvellous. Alain has had a great victory. It is fantastic for the championship," he joked. "But to answer the question, we'll have to wait and see," added Mansell, who is tipped to return to Williams for 1991.
Derek Warwick was cruelly denied a possible top six finish when his Lotus failed just 12 laps from the end of the race at the Circuito de Jerez. He had been in two minds about whether to take part in the race at all after team-mate Martin Donnelly's horrific practice crash on Friday. He was sixth before making his tyre stop on the 24th of the 73 laps, but came back into the picture late on. He was challenging sixth-placed Aguri Suzuki and going faster than leader Alain Prost when his car let him down.
Only ten of the 25 starters completed the race as Jerez lived up to its reputation as a tough test of both man and machine. Ferrari-bound Jean Alesi's race lasted only as far as the first bend as his Tyrrell-Ford clipped Gerhard Berger's McLaren and span off the track. Three-times world champion Nelson Piquet held the lead for four laps before wearing out his tyres on lap 29. He rejoined the race and was hot on the heels of Ayrton Senna when his Benetton let him down on the 47th lap.
SPANISH GRAND PRIX, Jerez Result after 73 laps: hrs mins secs 1 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:48.10 (average speed 106.206 mph) 2 N Mansell GB Ferrari 1:48.23 3 A Nannini It Benetton 1:48.36 4 T Boutsen Bel Williams 1:48.44 5 R Patrese It Williams 1:48.58 6 A Suzuki Jpn Larrousse 1:49.05 7 N Larini It Ligier 72 laps 8 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton House 72 laps 9 Y Dalmas Fr AGS-Ford 72 laps 10 M Alboreto It Arrows 71 laps Fastest lap: R Patrese 1m 24.513 secs WORLD FORMULA ONE DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP Standings after Round 14 of 16: 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 78 points 2 A Prost Fr Ferrari 69 3 G Berger Aut McLaren 40 4 N Mansell GB Ferrari 31 5 T Boutsen Bel Williams 30 6 N Piquet Brz Benetton 26 7 A Nannini It Benetton 21 8 R Patrese It Williams 19 9 J Alesi Fr Tyrrell 13 10 I Capelli It Leyton H 6 11 E Bernard Fr Lola-Lamb 5 12 D Warwick GB Lotus 3 13 S Modena It Brabham 2 = A Caffi It Arrows 2 = S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 2 = A Suzuki Jap Larrousse 2 WORLD FORMULA ONE CONSTRUCTORS TABLE Standings after the Spanish GP: 1 McLaren-Honda 118 points 2 Ferrari 103 3 Williams-Renault 49 4 Benetton-Ford 47 5 Tyrrell-Ford 15 6 Leyton House-Judd 7 = Larousse-Lamborghini 7 8 Lotus-Lamborghini 3 9 Brabham-Judd 2 = Arrows-Ford 2Nigel Mansell has changed his mind about retiring from Grand Prix racing and will as expected rejoin Williams for the 1991 season. An emotional Mansell announced he was quitting Formula One at the British Grand Prix but speculation has mounted recently about him reconsidering. Riccardo Patrese is staying to partner Mansell and the team have signed a new engine contract with Renault.
Team boss Frank Williams said: "We are very optimistic that Nigel and Riccardo will get us to the front next year". Mansell said he had "amazed" himself by changing his mind about retiring from Formula One. He said he could only compliment Frank Williams on his "persuasive powers in making me believe we can go for the championship next year". Mansell added: "I have been immensely touched by the fantastic encouragement from not only the British, but fans all round the world, for me to continue in Formula One". He said his motivation for driving was still "very high".
Nigel Mansell sets his stall out for a determined world title bid next year after agreeing to rejoin Williams. "I have always stipulated that I am not in Formula One merely to make up the numbers, but to win races and try for the world championship," he said. "I have worked towards the world championship for many years and have never achieved the complete backing I would have wished for. "Therefore to actually turn down at this stage what I have been working for all my life would be very sad".
Ulsterman Martin Donnelly is expected to be flown home to Britain before the end of the week after an horrific crash at 150mph before the Spanish Grand Prix. He is still on a respirator at hospital in Seville but his condition is stable and doctors say the outlook for the 26-year-old is "favourable". The swelling on Donnelly's left leg has continued to reduce slightly, and doctors have said that his blood circulation was fair and that the risk of thrombosis was minimal.
The Benetton Formula 1 team may switch back to Pirelli tyres in 1991. The Italian tyre has looked superior in qualifying but has been no match for the dominant Goodyear rubber over a race distance. Benetton gave Pirelli their last Formula One win in the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix. "It is only rumour," said a team spokeswoman. "We are using Goodyear tyres in 1990 - I don't know about 1991."
Nigel Mansell was back down to earth today after Monday's announcement that he will re-join Williams in 1991. The 36 year-old Englishman is hard at work for sponsors in Germany today and tomorrow. He then flies to Portugal for two days of tyre testing for Ferrari on Thursday and Friday. Mansell, who won 13 Grands Prix with Williams before joining Ferrari in 1989 is not expected back in the country until the weekend.
Martin Donnelly was recovering in the intensive care unit of a London hospital after being flown home from Seville following his crash in Jerez. He remains in a serious but stable condition.
The French GP will be switched from Le Castellet to the Magny-Cours circuit near Nevers in central France, for five years from 1991. The 4.271-km track, renovated at a cost of $10.5 million, is close to the headquarters of the Ligier team.
THUNDERSALOONS:- John Cleland, the 1989 British Touring Car champion, bids to rekindle his glory days in the Thundersaloon class when he drives a 600bhp Vauxhall Carlton at Silverstone on Sunday. Cleland won the title in '86 and '88 and has been drafted in to partner Tony Dickinson.
TRUCK RACING:- European champion Steve Parrish heads the line-up for this weekend's second round of the British Open Truck Racing championship in his BP Mercedes. Swedes Slim Borgudd and Curt Goranson are among his main rivals, with Heather Baillie the top women's entry.
Britain's Richard Walker showed his intentions in qualifying at the Lucas International Truckprix at Brands Hatch with a lap of 60 seconds in his seven-ton Volvo. Swedes Slim Borgudd and Curt Coransson set the pace in their Volvos.
F.RENAULT:- Brazilian Paulo Carcassi claimed his fourth pole of the season with a lap of 1 minute 10.63 secs in practice for Sunday's Formula Renault UK Trophy round at West Germany's Nurburgring. Orpington's Chris Goodwin (1:10.77) will join him on the front row, with Jason Plato of Felixstowe completing a Van Diemen front three.
F.FORD:- A special race between the top drivers from the Champion of Oulton series and Formula Ford contenders forms part of Oulton Park's programme on Sunday.
F.RENAULT:- Norfolk constructor Van Diemen filled the top three places during first practice for Sunday's Formula Renault UK Trophy race at Nurburgring, with Jason Plato top of the pile. Plato took provisional pole in his Manor Motorsport Vam Diemen FR/90 Renault, with Chris Goodwin second and Bobby Verdon-Roe third.