01.6.91ACROPOLIS RALLY:- Reigning world champion Carlos Sainz is ready to pull out all the stops to win one of his favourite events for the second year running. The four-day event, which starts on Sunday, sees the European debut of the Nissan team but it is likely to boil down to another Toyota-Lancia battle. Toyota-driver Sainz heads the drivers standings after wins in Monte Carlo and Portugal and is confident of success. "I especially like the Acropolis. It is a long, hard test for drivers and cars and the women spectators are very pretty," the 29-year-old commented.
SCOTTISH RALLY Result after 25 stages: hr:mins.secs 1 C McRae Subaru 2:24.20 2 R Brookes Ford Sapphire 2:25.49 3 J McRae Ford Sapphire 2:27.26 4 L A-Walker Ford Sapphire 2:30.31 5 R Head Ford 2:33.14 6 H Eriksson Peugeot 309 2:34.15 7 P Frankland Peugeot 309 2:35.22 8 A McRae Vauxhall Nova 2:37.40 9 D Maslen Ford 2:37.52 10 R Munro Ford 2:40.18Colin McRae driving a Subaru clocked 2 hrs 24 mins 20 secs to finish nearly one and a half minutes ahead of nearest rival Russell Brookes. Brookes suffered a broken driveshaft on his Ford on Stage 23 and lost 40 secs to McRae who is 10 points clear in the championship after four rounds. Louise Aitken-Walker finished in fourth place in her Ford, six mins 11 secs adrift of the winner. Three McRae's finished in the top ten - a rallying first in the international history of the sport in Britain.
F1:- THE CANADIAN GP
Italian Riccardo Patrese in a Williams will be on pole position for his record 213th Grand Prix, his first pole since the Hungarian Grand Prix in August 1989. He clocked 1 min 19.837 secs around the Gilles Villeneuve circuit with teammate Nigel Mansell second. Ayrton Senna went out in the final minute of practice in a last gasp attempt to grab pole but had to settle for third spot instead. It is the first time for seven races that anyone other than Senna will start at the front of the grid.
FIA WORLD FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday practice times: mins secs 1 R Patrese It Williams 1:19.837 2 N Mansell GB Williams 1:20.225 3 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:20.318 4 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:20.656 5 R Moreno Brz Benetton 1:20.686 6 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:20.916 7 J Alesi Fr Ferrari 1:21.227 8 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:21.241 9 S Modena It Tyrrell 1:21.298 10 E Pirro It Dallara 1:21.864 11 A de Cesaris It Jordan 1:22.154 12 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 1:22.262 13 I Capelli It Leyton Hse 1:22.443 14 B Gachot Bel Jordan 1:22.596 15 G Morbidelli It Minardi 1:22.993 16 T Boutsen Bel Ligier 1:23.040 17 JJ Lehto Fin Dallara 1:23.040 18 P Martini It Minardi 1:23.125 19 E Bernard Fr Lola-Ford 1:23.260 20 M Brundle GB Brabham 1:23.516 21 M Alboreto It Footwork 1:23.529 22 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Ford 1:23.585 23 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton Hse 1:23.650 24 M Hakinnen Fin Lotus-Judd 1:23.923 25 S Johansson Swe Footwork 1:24.433 26 E Comas Fr Ligier 1:24.460 NON-QUALIFIERS 27 F Barbazza It AGS-Ford 1:24.491 28 M Blundell GB Brabham 1:24.661 29 J Herbert GB Lotus-Judd 1:24.732 30 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:24.872 02.6.91 - ACROPOLIS RALLYWorld champion Carlos Sainz and his Toyota teammate Armin Schwarz took an early joint lead in the first leg. The two Toyota drivers clocked 3 mins 44 secs in the first special stage of the fifth round of the world championship. Sainz, a second ahead of Didier Auriol, said: "I am satisfied with my performance and the performance of my car. The first leg went well." Drivers began in Athens before the 4.5km special stage on the dirt tracks of Anavissos.
Leaderboard after 1st special stage: mins secs 1 C Sainz Toyota Celica 3.44 = A Schwarz Toyota Celica 3.44 3 D Auriol Lancia Delta 3.45 4 M Alen Subaru Legacy 3.46 = K Eriksson Mitsubishi Galant 3.46 6 M Biasion Lancia Delta 3.47 = J Kankkunen Lancia Delta 3.47 = M Ericsson Toyota Celica 3.47 = A Fiorio Sierra Cosworth 3.47 = J Recalde Lancia Delta 3.47 = M Wilson Sierra Cosworth 3.47 Other: D Llewellin Nissan Sunny 3.55 F1:- THE CANADIAN GP Result after 69 laps. hr:mins.secs 1 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:38.51.490 2 S Modena It Tyrrell 1:39.23.322 3 R Patrese It Williams 1:39.33.707 4 A deCesaris It Jordan-Fd 1:40.11.700 5 B Gachot Bel Jordan-Fd 1:40.13.841 6 N Mansell GB Williams One lap 7 P Martini It Minardi " " 8 E Comas Fr Ligier " " 9 E Pirro It Dallara " " 10 S Nakajima Jpn Tyrrell " " FIA WORLD F-ONE DRIVERS STANDINGS 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 40 points 2 N Piquet Brz Benetton 16 3 A Prost Fr Ferrari 11 4 G Berger Aut McLaren 10 = R Patrese It Williams 10 6 S Modena It Tyrrell 9 7 N Mansell GB Williams 7 8 J Alesi Fr Ferrari 5 9 JJ Lehto Fin Dallara 4 10 P Martini It Minardi 3 == R Moreno Brz Benetton 3 == A deCesaris It Jordan-Fd 3 FIA WORLD F-ONE CONSTRUCTORS TABLE 1 McLaren 50 points 2 Benetton 19 3 Williams 17 4 Ferrari 16 5 Tyrrell 11 6 Dallara 5 = Jordan 5 7 Minardi 3 = Lotus 3 9 Lola 1Brazilian Nelson Piquet in a Benetton grabbed a sensational victory as Nigel Mansell's Williams-Renault broke down with gearbox trouble on the last lap. Mansell looked on course for his first win since the 1990 Portuguese GP as he scorched into the lead from the start. But almost a minute ahead and with the chequered flag in sight he ground to a halt and Piquet, followed by Stefano Modena in a Tyrrell, sailed by. Mansell's teammate Riccardo Patrese was third after a slashed tyre forced him to make a pit stop while Mansell parked at the side of the track to finish sixth.
The Williams-Renault team seemed set for a one-two in Montreal as Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese pulled clear and the main rivals failed. Danger man Ayrton Senna went out of the race on lap 25 as an electrical problem on his McLaren caused his display unit to break down. Frenchman Alain Prost was in trouble three laps later when his Ferrari developed gearbox trouble while his compatriot and teammate Jean Alesi suffered engine failure on lap 31. But Mansell's gearbox and Patrese's tyres spelt trouble for Williams.
Nelson Piquet put an end to fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna's record run of victories with his 23rd career win. His Benetton cruised past Nigel Mansell on the final lap after the Briton's Williams developed gearbox trouble. Piquet's time of 1 hr 38 mins 51.490 secs was 31.832 seconds ahead of Stefano Modena's Tyrrell in third, the best result of the Italian's career. Only 12 of the 26 starters finished the race after the gruelling heat took its toll on the field. Britain's Martin Brundle went out of the race on lap 26 with a dead engine.
Nigel Mansell could not believe his misfortune as he saw victory evaporate in the Montreal heat with less than half a lap to go. "It's almost unbelieveable. It's almost as disappointing as when I lost the championship in Adelaide in 1986," said the crestfallen Briton. "I didn't run out of fuel. It was the gearbox. It was as though somebody just switched the engine off," he added. "What can I say? All I can do is go to the next one and get on with it."
Brazilian Nelson Piquet was jubilant after victory was handed to him when he had settled for second spot behind Nigel Mansell. "I was slowing down and then I heard it on the radio," he said. "They told me to push and push, 'Nigel is stopping', and I was so excited I almost lost control of myself," he added. "It was such a long hard race and it was great to win." Piquet had spent much of the race in third place but moved up after Riccardo Patrese had a pitstop.
F.FORD:- Belgian Marc Goosens recorded his fifth win of the season in round eight of the Motorcraft Open Formula Ford championship at Knockhill. Australian Russell Ingall was second.
F.LOTUS:- Chesterfield's Jason Elliott won round seven of the Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship at Mondello Park, Ireland.
03.6.91 - ACROPOLIS RALLY Leaderboard after 10 special stages: hrs mins secs 1 D Auriol Lancia Delta 1:23.53 2 J Kankkunen Lancia Delta 1:24.07 3 M Alen Subaru Legacy 1:24.32 4 C Sainz Toyota Celica 1:24.37 5 M Biasion Lancia Delta 1:25.10 6 M Ericsson Toyota Celica 1:25.12 7 A Schwarz Toyota Celica 1:25.21 8 T Salonen Mitsub Galant 1:25.26 9 M Wilson Sierra Cosworth 1:26.19 10 H Mikkola Sierra Cosworth 1:26.33 11 S Blomqvist Lancia Delta 1:27.43 Other: 16 D Llewellin Nissan Sunny 1:31.37Didier Auriol leads by 14 seconds after the end of the second day - but Kenneth Eriksson stole the show after winning six out of the eight special stages. The Swede recovered superbly after an early morning road accident cost him seven minutes in emergency repairs to the front of his new Galant VR-4. World champion Carlos Sainz fell back with tyre problems on his Toyota and was also slowed by a motorcycle and car which strayed onto the course. David Llewellin dropped to 16th after two punctures.
04.6.91 - ACROPOLIS RALLY Leaderboard after 31 of 47 stages: (overnight halt) hrs mins secs 1 C Sainz Toyota Celica 4:39.52 2 J Kankkunen Lancia Delta 4:40.13 3 D Auriol Lancia Delta 4:40.15 4 M Biasion Lancia Delta 4:42.44 5 A Schwarz Toyota Celica 4:44.53 6 K Eriksson Mazda 323 4:44.54 7 M Alen Subaru Legacy 4:46.22 8 H Mikkola Mazda 323 4:47.59 9 M Ericsson Toyota Celica 4:48.39 10 S Blomqvist Nissan Sunny 4:55.12 11 D Llewellin Nissan Sunny 4:58.16World champion Carlos Sainz showed his class as he snatched the lead from Juha Kankkunen going into the final day on Wednesday. Kankkunen had led all day but was beaten into the Eritani overnight halt when a tyre came off on stage 29. British hopes now rest with Nissan's David Llewellin who is up to 11th behind Sunny teammate Stig Blomqvist. Llewellin said: "I'm setting my own pace and it appears to be paying off." Malcolm Wilsom was forced to retire after losing a wheel on his Sierra.
05.6.91 - THE ACROPOLIS RALLYFlying Finn Juha Kankkunen held off world champion Carlos Sainz to win the the 1,776km event after a gripping final day's action. Frenchman Didier Auriol was fastest on five of the day's first ten stages but a shredded tyre soon after taking the lead cost him almost six minutes. Sainz had a puncture on the same stage, allowing Kankkunen to move ahead and he finished the event 58 secs clear. Kankkunen's Lancia team-mate Massimo Biasion followed Sainz home in third.
Final leaderboard after 48 stages: hrs mins secs 1 J Kankkunen Lancia Delta 7:20.05 2 C Sainz Toyota Celica 7:21.03 3 M Biasion Lancia Delta 7:23.32 4 D Auriol Lancia Delta 7:24.44 5 A Schwarz Toyota Celica 7:25.40 6 M Ericsson Toyota Celica 7:29.57 7 K Eriksson Mazda 323 7:36.02 8 H Mikkola Mazda 323 7:36.51 9 D Llewellin Nissan Sunny 7:50.42 10 Jigger Lancia Delta 8:15.45 DRIVERS after Acropolis Rally 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota 75 pts 2 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia 58 3 D Auriol Fr Lancia 42 4 M Biasion It Lancia 39 MANUFACTURERS 1 Toyota 94 pts 2 Lancia 91 07.6.91 -F1Formula One's leading designer John Barnard has left the Benetton team. Benetton said there had been a "basic contrast of ideas on the running of the company on a day-to-day basis." Barnard joined the team two years ago from Ferrari and was responsible for designing the Benetton car that won last weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. Flavio Briatore has been promoted from commercial director to managing director with full responsibility for running the team.
08.6.91TOURING CAR:- Tim Sugden was the sensation of opening practice for Sunday's fifth round of the Esso Touring Car Championship at Silverstone. Sugden beat his works teammate Jonathan Palmer and championship leader Will Hoy to claim the fastest time of 1 min 04.04 secs.
Top times: mins secs 1 T Sugden BMW M3 1:04.04 2 W Hoy BMW M3 1:04.13 3 J Allam Vaux Cavalier 1:04.14 4 R Bellm BMW M3 1:04.35 5 J Palmer BMW M3 1:04.53F.FORD:- Belgian Marc Goossens and Australian Russell Ingall resume their battle for supremacy when they head a 37-car entry in Sunday's 9th round of the Motorcraft Open Formula Ford Championship at Brands Hatch.
09.6.91TOURING CAR:- Torrential rain brought a premature halt to the fifth round of the Esso Touring Car Championship at Silverstone. The Vauxhall Cavalier of John Cleland was declared the winner after 10 of the scheduled 25 laps, even though he skidded off the track on the 11th tour, damaging his car badly. Cleland's win elevates him to first place in the championship rankings.
ESSO TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP Round 5 result from Silverstone: mins secs 1 J Cleland Vaux Cavalier 12:00.53 2 J Allam Vaux Cavalier @ 1.45s 3 W Hoy BMW M3 @ 4.20s 4 A Rouse Toyota Carina @ 7.18s 5 R Bellm BMW M3 @ 8.49s Championship positions: 1 J Cleland 80 points 2 W Hoy 72 = J Allam 72 4 R Bellm 42 5 A Rouse 35F3:- David Coulthard took his third victory in this year's British Formula 3 Championship in superb style at Silverstone. He took the lead after starting in seventh and held it to the flag after surging ahead halfway through the first lap to win in 27 mins 05.13 secs. Oswaldo Negri and Rubens Barrichello fought an intense battle for second place in the tricky wet conditions before Barrichello broke away. Coulthard leads the championship by nine points from Barrichello.
BRITISH FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP Race 7 mins secs 1 D Coulthard Ralt RT35 27:05.13 2 R B'chello Ralt RT35 27:12.36 3 M Albers Ralt RT35 27:17.88 4 H Noda Ralt RT35 27:19.82 5 J Gene Ralt RT35 27:21.90 10.6.91F1:- Californian Gordon Kimball has been appointed technical director of the Camel Benetton F1 team following the resignation of John Barnard. Kimball began his Grand Prix career as a design engineer with McLaren and returned as a consultant last year after a spell with Ferrari. Barnard, who designed the car which won the Canadian GP earlier this month, quit the team over policy differences. Kimball said his immediate concern was to continue the momentum from Montreal.
F3000:- Christian Fittipaldi took a six-point lead in the Formula 3000 Championship standings with victory at Jerez. He led from start to finish and came home well clear of Alessandro Zanardi, with Andrea Montermini third.
11.6.91 - F1Formula One Designer of the Year Harvey Postlethwaite has left the Braun Tyrrell team by mutual consent. He has quit the Grand Prix scene to take up a new job as technical director of Sauber-Mercedes, who compete in the World Sportscars championship. Postlethwaite joined the Tyrrell from Ferrari in 1988 and was responsible for 'raised nose' design now used by most of the leading Grand Prix teams. He is the second top designer to leave a team this month, after the departure of John Barnard from Camel Benetton.
13.6.91 - F1World champion Ayrton Senna has said he is ready and well to take part in Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix - despite being injured in a jet ski accident. "Everything is well," a relaxed Senna told journalists at Sao Paulo airport. "I was playing with some friends and I fell off my jet ski." The Brazilian star required 10 stitches on the back of his head from the incident, but said: "If I win as many points on Sunday as I have stitches I will be doing very well."
JOHN WATSON ON THE MEXICAN GRAND PRIX
If life was fair, there would be no doubt about the winner in Mexico. Nigel Mansell, leader in Canada when he stopped with half a lap to go, well deserves victory in Sunday's race. But emotion plays no part in grand prix racing and, if Mansell is to claim that win, he must repeat the form he produced two weeks ago. There is no doubt that the Williams team have a car capable of winning GPs from the front - but to finish first, you first have to finish...
No doubt the incorrigible Ayrton Senna has his own plans for Sunday afternoon at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. His unexpected retirement in Canada was a relief to the teams and drivers and possibly even to Senna himself. His pursuit of wins and records must produce as many pressures as it does motivation but, with Mexico essentially a power circuit, he is again favourite. Pole man last year was Gerhard Berger and this circuit will suit him well. He likes fast corners and the corner leading to the start-finish straight is as fast as any in Formula One racing.
The biggest shocks in Formula One have been the recent departures of top designers John Barnard from Benetton and Harvey Postlethwaite from Tyrrell. Barnard is being replaced by one of his former acolytes American Gordon Kimble. Barnard's plans for the future are not yet known but his name has been linked with that of Alain Prost which could mean a return to Ferrari. It is also not inconceivable that, if Prost decides to retire, these two geniuses could put together their own Formula One team.
Harvey Postlethwaite's departure from Tyrrell to Sauber Mercedes raises the obvious questions... Are Mercedes planning a return to F1 or is this purely a move by Sauber Mercedes to strengthen their sportscar design team? I believe he is employed to instigate a design study into a Formula One car but ultimately it will be the Board of Daimler-Benz, the holding company, who determine Mercedes-Benz's F1 return. Postlethwaite's departure is a blow to Tyrrell, now on the verge of realising their potential with the Honda engine.
Ferrari drivers Alain Prost and Jean Alesi must be experiencing extreme frustration at the moment. The management reshuffle of a couple of weeks ago appeared to have worked quite smoothly in Canada. But the improved performance of the cars - both of which eventually retired - was not a result of the reshuffle but of a development programme back at base. Director of engineering Steve Nichols has been ordered to remain at base for the next few GPs to accelerate further development in an effort to get Prost or Alesi back on the winner's podium.
In my view the layout of the circuit in Mexico is one of the best on the FIA Formula One grand prix calendar. Its main features are the 1km straight and an extremely bumpy section at the far side of the circuit. It is 7,000ft above sea level and top speeds in the rarefied air will exceed 200mph. The compromise of downforce over drag is more important here than anywhere. But for viewers and spectators, the most impressive part of the circuit is the long banked right-hand Peraltada corner leading to the main straight - one of the great corners of the world.
14.6.91 - MINTEX NATIONALCurrent championship leader Trevor Smith heads a 90-car field for the fifth round, the Kerridge Severn Valley Stages Rally, in Wales, on Saturday. Winner of two events this season, the Burford company director will hope to consolidate his 10 point championship lead in front of Hideaki Miyoshi.
All the leading championship contenders have entered for the rally but 1985 national champion Mark Lovell is a surprise name among the starters. After a 9am start, crews face 80 miles of special stages over 11 tests.
Top ten starters for fifth round: 1 Smith/Jones Ford Sierra Cosworth 2 Miyoshi/Meadows Mitsubishi Galant 3 Hill/Goff Ford Sierra Cosworth 4 Mann/Wray Toyota Celica 5 Lovell/TBA VW Golf 6 Furber/Hardie Peugeot 205 7 Easson/Cook Ford Sierra Cosworth 8 Buckley/Redpath Mazda 323 9 Milner/Wood Peugeot 205 10 Jones/Roe Mazda 323 F1:- FIA WORLD FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP Pre-qualifying times (four go through): 1 JJ Lehto Fin Dallara 1:28.381 2 O Grouillard Fr Fomet-Ford 1:28.959 3 A de Cesaris It Jordan-Ford 1:29.545 4 B Gachot Bel Jordan-Ford 1:30.599 NON-QUALIFIERS 5 E v d Poele Bel Lomborghini 1:30.655 6 P Chaves Por Coloni 1:37.144 7 E Pirro It Dallara 1:40.164 * N Larini It Lamborghini 1:29.688 (excluded due to high rear wing)World champion Ayrton Senna escaped unhurt when his McLaren overturned in the final minutes of Friday's practice at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. The car flipped over after hitting the crash barriers at a corner and the Brazilian was trapped in the cockpit. But track staff were quickly on the scene to help him from the wreckage. It was Senna's second accident in five days after a fall from a jetski bike at Rio, which resulted in him needing ten stitches in a head wound.
TOURING-CAR:- The RAC Motor Sports Association have decided that the controversial race at Silverstone on June 9 will not count towards the Esso RAC British Touring Car championship. No points will be awarded, but a spokesman said a later round may be turned into a two-part race to give drivers an extra scoring opportunity.
LONDON-SYDNEY:- The number of cars taking part in the 1993 London Sydney Marathon has been increased from 80 to 110.
15.6.91 - F1:-THE MEXICAN GPItalian Ricardo Patrese retained pole position for Sunday's race as rain ruined the final qualifying session. Patrese, still troubled by stomach cramps, could not improve on Friday's best lap of 1 min 16.696 secs but his time was never under threat. Williams' Nigel Mansell will start alongside him after just 11 of the 30 drivers managed to improve their times.
"I hope we get a dry race as I do not think this is a good circuit to race on in the wet with all its bumps and a slippery surface," Patrese commented. Nigel Mansell was happy to settle for second on the grid after six cars spun off as rain soaked the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit on Saturday. "I would have liked pole and if my race had worked properly yesterday (Friday) I think I would have done it," he said. Team-mate Ricardo Patrese won the fifth pole of his career and Mansell added: "From a team point of view I don't think you could ask for any more." Gerhard Berger was one of the six to slide off the circuit and damaged the nose of his McLaren.
FIA WORLD FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: Final practice times: mins secs 1 R Patrese It Williams 1:16.696 2 N Mansell GB Williams 1:16.978 3 A Senna Brz McLaren 1:17.264 4 J Alesi Fr Ferrari 1:18.129 5 G Berger Aut McLaren 1:18.156 6 N Piquet Brz Benetton 1:18.168 7 A Prost Fr Ferrari 1:18.183 8 S Modena It Tyrrell 1:18.216 9 R Moreno Brz Benetton 1:18.375 10 O Grouillard Fr Fomet-Ford 1:18.435 11 A DeCesaris It Jordan 1:18.935 12 M Blundell GB Brabham 1:19.604 13 S Nakajima Jap Tyrrell 1:19.092 14 T Boutsen Bel Ligier 1:19.201 15 P Martini It Minardi 1:19.215 16 JJ Lehto Fin Dallara 1:19.291 17 M Brundle GB Brabham 1:19.647 18 E Bernard Fr Lola-Ford 1:19.785 19 A Suzuki Jap Lola-Ford 1:20.049 20 B Gachot Fr Jordan 1:20.050 21 M Gugelmin Brz Leyton Hse 1:20.200 22 I Capelli It Leyton Hse 1:20.252 23 G Morbidelli It Minardi 1:20.322 24 M Hakkinen Fin Lotus-Judd 1:20.823 25 J Herbert GB Lotus-Judd 1:20.830 26 M Alboreto It Footwork 1:21.178 NON-QUALIFIERS 27 E Comas Fr Ligier 1:21.225 38 G Tarquini It AGS-Ford 1:22.258 29 S Johansson Swe Footwork 1:22.598 30 F Barbazza It AGS-Ford 1:22.899NURBURGRING 24 HRS:- Joe Weber, Dirk Schoysman and Takayuki Kinoshito carry British hopes in the final hours of the Nurburgring 24-hours race in the Janspeed-run Nissan Skyline GT-R, which leads Group N overall. Current outright leader is the Porsche of Joachim Winkelhock, Kris Nissen and Armin Hahne.
16.6.91 FIA WORLD FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City Result after 67 laps (12 finished): 1 R Patrese It Williams 2 N Mansell GB Williams 3 A Senna Brz McLaren 4 A De Cesaris It Jordan-Ford * 5 R Moreno Brz Benetton 6 E Bernard Fr Lola-Ford 7 G Morbidelli It Minardi 8 T Boutsen Bel Ligier 9 J Herbert GB Lotus * De Cesaris disqualified for trying push his car to the finish - but he was later re-instated FIA WORLD F-ONE DRIVERS STANDINGS 1 A Senna Brz McLaren 44 points 2 R Patrese It Williams 20 3 N Piquet Brz Benetton 16 4 N Mansell GB Williams 13 5 A Prost Fr Ferrari 11 6 G Berger Aut McLaren 10 7 S Modena It Tyrrell 9 8 A DeCesaris It Jordan-Fd 6 9 J Alesi Fr Ferrari 5 = R Moreno Brz Benetton 5 11 JJ Lehto Fin Dallara 4 12 P Martini It Minardi 3 FIA WORLD F-ONE CONSTRUCTORS TABLE 1 McLaren 54 points 2 Williams 33 3 Benetton 21 4 Ferrari 16 5 Tyrrell 11 6 Jordan 8 7 Dallara 5 8 Minardi 3 = Lotus 3 10 Lola 2Riccardo Patrese won his first Grand Prix of the season as the Williams team triumphed in Mexico City. He held off a spirited fightback from team-mate Nigel Mansell in a thrilling climax to a race that was twice delayed due to cars overheating on the grid. Mansell swept into the lead on the opening lap but Patrese fought back and then extended his advantage to 26 seconds as the Englishman lost ground. Mansell put in a storming finish to take the chequered flag just one second behind Patrese. Ayrton Senna was third.
Riccardo Patrese pipped team-mate Nigel Mansell in a Williams one-two to claim his first Grand Prix win of the season - and only the fourth of his career. "It was good for the spectators today," remarked the 37-year-old Italian, who has driven in more Formula One races than anyone else on the circuit. "My car was running perfectly from the start but it turned out to be a very demanding race," Patrese added. "I thought I had big trouble when Nigel closed in at the end but I had enough left to hold him off," he said.
Nigel Mansell finished second in Mexico City as team-mate Riccardo Patrese drove to victory. Mansell shot to a first lap lead but then fell 26 seconds behind the Italian before finding form in the last 20 laps and finishing just one second behind. "My engine was overheating at the start and I couldn't get going," he said. "But later on the temperature came back down and I pushed as hard as I could and nearly caught Riccardo in the end." Nigel Mansell came agonisingly close to winning a Grand Prix for the second time in a fortnight in Mexico City. But his failure to win in Hermanos Rodriguez was mainly due to team-mate Riccardo Patrese as Williams finished way ahead of the rest of the field.
"It was a good result for us today," Mansell said. "But all the problems came early on for me and it cost me." When asked if he was under team orders to allow Patrese victory, Mansell said: "I was going as fast as I could. I did a 1:16.6 for the fastest lap." He broke the old lap record by over 2 seconds. World champion Ayrton Senna extended his championship lead with third place in his McLaren but afterwards declared:"It has been Williams' day."
"I think to be honest the Williams team dominated the weekend," Senna said. "It was tough for anyone to match Riccardo and Nigel here today. I tried very hard but I could not overtake them," Senna added. "We performed very similar in the race, I tried my best but realised it was just not possible," Senna said.
The Mexican Grand Prix was delayed for 30 minutes as two cars overheated on the grid. The Dallara of Finland's JJ Lehto and Frenchman Olivier Grouillard's Fomet Ford both overheated and caused two separate delays in Mexico City. Weather conditions played havoc as only 12 cars finished the 67 lap race. Williams dominated affairs with Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell finishing first and second - but later both admitted overheating problems during the race.
NURBURGRING:- The British Nissan Skyline GT-R won the international Group N division of the Nurburgring 24-hour race with a four-lap victory over a string of Ford Sierra Cosworths. Outright race winner was the Group A factory BMW of Joachim Winkelhock, Kris Nissen and Armin Hahne.
18.6.91 - F1Grand Prix racing could return to South Africa within the next two years. Renovations to the country's leading circuit, Kyalami, were given the seal of approval by F-One teams who tested there before the start of the season. "We are talking to a lot of people," said FOCA president Bernie Ecclestone. "There is nothing to say until we have something to say." Nigel Mansell won Kyalami's last Grand Prix in 1985.
The future of the Mexican Grand Prix, which Riccardo Patrese won on Sunday, is still in doubt. The organisers announced a new three year deal had been agreed for the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in central Mexico city. But FISA officials refused to confirm the announcement, saying negotiations were continuing.
19.6.91 - LE MANS Leaderboard at 9.30pm: (second session 9-11pm BST) Car No mins secs 1 4 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:37.111 2 6 Peugeot Talbot 3:42.028 3 58 Konrad M/sport Porsche 3:43.283 4 1 Sauber Mercedes 3:46.175 5 33 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:48.906 6 18 Mazdaspeed 3:50.398 7 32 Sauber Mercedes 3:50.484 8 35 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:50.784 9 55 Mazdaspeed 3:51.470 10 5 Peugeot Talbot 3:52.361 Weather: drizzling Track: dampThe Silk Cut Jaguar team, bidding for the front two places on the grid on Saturday, wasted no time in claiming provisional pole in one of the XJR-14s. Briton Andy Wallace, on only his fourth lap of the 8.45-mile circuit, clocked 3 mins 37.111 secs and, with the rain returning shortly after, could not be caught in the two-hour opening session. The new formula 3.5-litre cars have the first 10 places on the grid but Jaguar did not attempt to qualify their second XJR-14 in the deteriorating conditions. Second fastest was Yannick Dalmas in a Peugeot, almost five seconds back.
JOHN WATSON ON THE LE MANS 24 HOUR RACE
At last Le Mans is back in the FIA Sportscar World Championship. The problems of previous years with TV rights, the circuit, the facilities and what was basically an out-and-out power struggle, have been resolved. The Championship without Le Mans is undoubtedly a poorer Championship and the race is better for being part of it. It would be unfair to say that Le Mans has been brought to heel but I think organisers have seen the wisdom of returning to the Championship and, in so doing, restoring credibility to this great 24-hour event.
Last year we saw the dissection of the three-mile Mulsanne Straight with two very bumpy chicanes. This year the main focus of change lies in a new pits and grandstand complex. It is about 20 years overdue! The pit facilities for mechanics and drivers were truly archaic and the public conveniences reminded me of those in the French farce 'Clochemerle'. This is our last chance to see the V12 Jaguars, the V8 turbo Mercedes and the ever popular Porsche 962s at Le Mans. One of these should win this year but, in 1992, only 3.5-litre cars will run.
The main thrust of Jaguar and Mercedes will come from their traditional Le Mans cars, not the 3.5-litre entries. But the teams are obliged, under FIA Sportscar World Championship rules, to run these F1-style cars as used in other rounds of the series. We can expect to see them drop out soon after the start of the race - probably the most expensive half-hour of racing the teams will undertake all season. The 3.5-litre cars will occupy the first four rows of the grid regardless of qualifying times so expect to see a purple XJR-14 in pole position.
Last year's circuit changes required an all-new race set-up but in 1991 everyone will run a sprint car in place of the traditional Le Mans package. Top speeds are now around 215mph, about 20mph less than used to be seen on the former three-mile straight. Of course with the additional downforce cornering loads are going to be higher, producing an even more physical race than in 1990. Fatigue for drivers and gearboxes will prove a deciding factor. Increasing downforce over the years led to the need for three drivers per car. Now four could be necessary.
It is worth a mention that Mercedes and Jaguar must run at 1,000kg, Porsche at 950, Mazda at 830 and all others at 750. The 3.5-litre cars will be a joy to drive around the circuit but ultimately the winner will come from one of the proven Jaguars, Mercedes or Porsches. Le Mans is the most important sportscar race of the year for manufacturers. Defending champions Jaguar have an even faster car than in 1990 and are better prepared than main challengers Mercedes. It will be a battle of these two giants but do not be surprised to see a few Porsche waiting to pounce.
This year's grid for the Le Mans 24-Hour Race is not as full as in previous years but there is a lot of quality, especially at the front. As far as British fans are concerned, Jaguar offer the only hope of success with their four XJR-12 cars featuring an even larger 7.4-litre engine. They have also entered two XJR-14 V8 3.5-litre cars, to meet regulations but expect to race just one and withdraw it early in the race with Andy Wallace switching to the Warwick/Wollek car. The V12 Jaguar is now as ideal a Le Mans car as you could wish to drive.
Mercedes-Benz return to Le Mans for the first time since their victory in 1989, with three C11 V8 turbo cars plus one 3.5-litre C291 entry. As with Jaguar, the latter is not expected to be a serious race contender but is entered to conform with the World Championship regulations. However, having watched the C11 in action in the Championship this year, I believe it will provide a major threat. We can expect a classic battle between the Mercedes and the Jaguars throughout the 24-hour race - the stuff of which Le Mans dreams are made.
Four private Porsche teams are entered - Kremer Racing, Salamin, Brun Motorsport and Konrad Motorsport. Le Mans entries are only available to teams competing in the Championship so most of them appear to be running far more cars than we would normally expect. There are four or five very strong contenders among them. The Brun Motorsport car of Larrauri, Pareja and Brun ran well led in part last year until breaking in the final 15 minutes.
The venerable Porsche turbo is in its 10th year at Le Mans - a remarkable record - and could still win the race. The main focus of interest from the French point of view will be the two factory Peugeot entries. I doubt that any of the 3.5-litre cars will be strong enough or fast enough to run at the front and finish. I believe Peugeot will use the race as preparation for a serious bid in 1992 and thus give them some advantage over Jaguar and Mercedes for next year. Another French entry often overlooked is the Courage Porsche, built by Le Mans resident Yves Courage. I expect it to be among the middle-running Porsches but not bidding for victory.
Once again Mazda are at Le Mans with their idiosyncratic rotary engines. Noiser than fast, they do tend to finish and, while I would not tip them to win, they are worth watching as they move up the order in the latter stages. The rest of the field is a mixture of 3.5-litre Spice, ALD and ROC team cars, among them a V8 Ferrari turbo car due to be driven by five times Le Mans winner Derek Bell's son Justin. Not the best combination of engine and car for a Le Mans debut but it marks the first time a British father and son have competed in a Le Mans 24-hour race.
Team Car Drivers 1 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Schlesser, MERCEDES Mercedes Mass, Ferte 2 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Thiim, MERCEDES Mercedes Kreuzpointner 31 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Wendlinger, MERCEDES Mercedes Schumacher, Kreuzpointner 32 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Palmer, Thiim MERCEDES Mercedes Dickens 3 SILK CUT Jaguar Fabi, Acheson JAGUAR XJR-14 4 SILK CUT Jaguar Warwick, Wallace JAGUAR XJR-14 33 SILK CUT Jaguar Warwick, Nielsen, JAGUAR XJR-12 Wallace 34 SILK CUT Jaguar Wollek, Fabi, JAGUAR XJR-12 Acheson 35 SILK CUT Jaguar D Jones, Boesel, JAGUAR XJR-12 M Ferte 36 TWR SUNTEC Jaguar Leslie, Martini JAGUAR XJR-12 Krosnoff 5 PEUGEOT Peugeot Baldi, Alliot, TALBOT SPORT Jabouille 6 PEUGEOT Peugeot Rosberg, Dalmas TALBOT SPORT Raphanel 7 LOUIS Ald- De Henning, DESCARTES Ford Taverna, Gonin 37 ROC ROC- Thuner, Fabre Ford 39 GRAFF Spice- Grand, Lapeyre, RACING Ford Maisonneuve 8 EURO RACING Spice- Euser, Zwolsman Ford Harvey 40 AO RACING Spice- Lyn St James, Ford Wilson, Muller 41 TEAM FED Spice- Misaki, Yokoshima CO Ford Nagasaka 42 CLASSIC/ Spice- J Bell, Kasoya, TFR Ferrari Scapini 43 PC Spice- R Piper, Ricci, AUTOMOTIVE Ford Iacobelli 44 CHAMBERLAIN Spice- Sheldon, Rickett, ENGINEERING Ford De Lesseps 45 CHAMBERLAIN Spice- Adams, Donovan, ENGINEERING Ford R Jones 11 PORSCHE Porsche Reuter, Toivonen, KREMER R'NG JJ Lehto 46 PORSCHE Porsche Lopez, Foitek, KREMER R'NG Needell 12 COURAGE Porsche Migault, Robert, COMPETITION Raulet 13 COURAGE Porsche Dumfries Olofsson COMPETITION Danielsson 47 COURAGE Porsche Trolle, Brand, COMPETITION Bourbonnais 48 COURAGE Porsche Hodgetts, Lecerf COMPETITION Hepworth 49 TRUST Porsche Andskar, Fouche RACING 50 ALMERAS Porsche J Almeras, FRERES De Thoisy, JM Almeras 14 TEAM SALAMIN Porsche Salamin, PRIMAGAZ Olivar, Tarres 51 TEAM SALAMIN Porsche Oppermann, Yver, PRIMAGAZ Laessig 52 TEAM Porsche Elgh, Hoy, SCHUPPAN Ratzenberger 53 TEAM Porsche Haywood, Weaver, SCHUPPAN Taylor 54 TEAM Porsche Iketani, Stermitz DAVEY Musetti 15 VENETO Lancia Giorgio, Coppelli EQUIPE Ferrari Delbello 16 REPSOL BRUN Porsche Huysman, Sterling MOTORSPORT Santal 17 REPSOL BRUN Porsche Larrauri, Pareja, MOTORSPORT Brun 18 MAZDASPEED Mazda Kennedy, Sala, Johansson 55 MAZDASPEED Mazda Weidler, Herbert, Gachot 56 MAZDASPEED Mazda Dieudonne, Yorino, Terada 21 KONRAD Porsche Konrad, Reid, MOTORSPORT Lombardi 57 JOEST Porsche Winter, Schneider PORSCHE Pescarolo 58 JOEST Porsche Stuck, D Bell, PORSCHE Jelinski 59 JOEST Porsche Konrad, PORSCHE Barth 20.6.91 - LE MANS Leaderboard at 10pm, final session: (session ends 11pm BST) Car No mins secs 1 1 Sauber Mercedes 3:31.270 2 4 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:31.912 3 5 Peugeot Talbot 3:35.058 4 31 Sauber Mercedes 3:35.265 5 32 Sauber Mercedes 3:35.957 6 11 Kremer Porsche 3:36.848 7 6 Peugeot Talbot 3:38.886 8 58 Konrad M/sport Porsche 3:40.526 9 57 Konrad M/sport Porsche 3:40.548 10 17 Repsol Brun Porsche 3:42.194 Conditions: dark Track: dryJean-Louis Schlesser gave his home crowd a real treat in Thursday's early practice session as he headed the leaderboard in his Sauber Mercedes. But provisional pole is still held by Silk Cut Jaguar, with the XJR-14 fastest of the 3.5-litre cars which will occupy the first 10 places on the grid. Schlesser scorched around the circuit in 3 mins 31.270 secs, making the most of a surprisingly dry spell after a day of showers and overcast skies. Andy Wallace responded to the challenge lapping in 3:31.912 in the Jaguar to take second place overall.
The Euro Racing/AO Spice Ford, damaged in a crash in first qualifying, was repaired in time for final practice. It is due to be driven by the all-women crew of Lyn St James, Desire Wilson and Cathy Muller - but is thought to be still suffering from handling problems.
Courage Competition suffered a major blow when their no 48 Cougar Porsche was excluded for being below the minimum weight required. "It was weighed after my lap in the wet yesterday and it was 1006kg," insisted driver Chris Hodgetts. "Then today it was seven kgs underweight so we are out of the meeting. That's it." Sauber Mercedes team racing manager Jochen Neerpasch has explained why they will not be running the 3.5-litre car, as used in the world sportscar series. "We have given priority to the C11s because they can win here. The C291 is too new but it had to be scrutineered and we ran it for two qualifying laps." Mercedes missed last year's Le Mans but are confident the C11, winner of last year's World Championship, will be the car to beat this weekend. "There are some aerodynamic changes and wider gears. Handling and speed are now both equally important here," he said.
Some of the Porsches have been faced with serious electrical problems after fitting new anti-knock chips for the first time. They prevented maximum revs being used and were therefore scrapped. Those affected included three of the four Cougars and the Obermaier Primagaz Porsche. In each case the system had to be disconnected and the injection and ignition management system reprogrammed.
F1 driver Bertrand Gachot is pleased with his Mazda 787B but admits it is quite difficult switching from GPs to sportscar racing. "You need to adapt to different cornering speeds and braking distances," he explained.
21.6.91DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY Positions after six of 26 stages:(end of first day) Accumulated penalties hrs:mins.secs 1 B Fisher NI Sapphire 4x4 0:43.08 2 J Cullen Ire Sierra Cos 0:43.18 3 F Meagher Ire Sierra Cos 0:44.02 4 J McRae Sco Sierra Cos 0:44.40 5 J Price Wal MG Metro 6R4 0:44.50 6 K McKinstry NI Sierra Cos 0:45.07 7 S Emerson NI Opel Manta 0:45.12 8 G Robinson NI Metro MG 0:45.22 9 V Bonner Ire Opel Manta 0:45.26 10 A Nesbitt NI Metro MG 0:45.43 LE MANS Silk Cut Jaguar have withdrawn the XJR-14 car, handing pole position to Philippe Alliot in a works Peugeot. The shock decision was made by team manager Tom Walkinshaw, 12 hours after his 3.5-litre car had ended final qualifying in second place behind the turbo-charged Sauber Mercedes. He said he felt the glory should have gone to Mercedes - deprived of the front row of the grid by a ruling in favour of the normally-aspirated cars. Walkinshaw also wants his entire team concentrating on the three XJR-12s, favourites to repeat last year's win.
Jean-Louis Schlesser set a scorching pace in his Sauber Mercedes as the track dried out for the final sessions. But Frenchman Philippe Alliot in his Peugeot Talbot will start from pole spot on Saturday afternoon, with rules allocating the first 10 grid places to the 3.5-litre normally-aspirated cars. Jaguar earned the prestigious spot with Andy Wallace driving the no 4 car but handed the place to Peugeot. Schlesser clocked 3 mins 31.270 secs in the V8 5-litre C11 with Wallace lapping in 3:31.912 and Alliot clocking 3:35.058 for third place overall.
Sauber Mercedes launched their race challenge with a flourish, qualifying three cars in the top five places. Mercedes, winners in 1989 but missing from the race last year, will take the first three places on the grid on Saturday behind the 10 3.5-litre cars. Drivers setting the fastest laps and due to start the race will be Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser in the no 1 car, Austrian Karl Wendlinger in no 31 and British doctor Jonathan Palmer in no 32. Last year's winners Silk Cut Jaguar worked on race set-ups for the XJR-12s and settled for 11th best in qualifying.
Briton Andy Wallace drove his XJR-14 into pole position but was unhappy not to have set the overall fastest time. Wallace, just 0.642 seconds slower than Jean-Louis Schlesser's Sauber Mercedes, said other cars ruined his best laps. "I know it sounds as though we are always blaming traffic but I'm sure this car is capable of a 3:29," he said. "On my best lap I caught Davy Jones in an XJR-12 in the Porsche Curves. My car is 50 or 60mph faster there." The car was later withdrawn by team manager Tom Walkinshaw.
Team manager Hans Obermaier has been fined $1,000 after his no 51 Porsche failed to stop at the end of the second practice session, ignoring the chequered flag and the red light. Justin Bell, son of five times Le Mans winner Derek, saw his hopes of a debut in the famous race hit by a serious mechanical problem which prevented the Spice-Ferrari from qualifying. Argentine Oscar Larrauri produced the fastest lap in the dark, as the final qualifying session was coming to a close to move the Repsol Brun car into sixth overall, the fastest Porsche.
Porsche technicians appear to have solved the pinking problems suffered by the Obermaier and Courage teams. Tim Lee Davey's Porsche made its first appearance on the track with less than an hour of practice remaining and was unable to meet the qualifying time. Bob Wollek suffered a nasty moment in his XJR-12 when his tyre blew on a fast section of the circuit.
A new FISA-backed Indycar series with three or four races worldwide has been announced by Jean-Marie Balestre. The FISA president, in Le Mans for the first time since his organisation settled their differences with the circuit, also promised bigger grids for World Sportscar races next year. "We are in transition from turbocars to my new 3.5-litre formula which takes time," he said, adding that there would be a minimum of 26 cars in 1992 races.
22.6.91PIRELLI CLASSIC:- Stirling Moss has won a race against time and will start in the Pirelli Classic Marathon from Tower Bridge on Sunday. He was doubtful after engine trouble with his Austin Healey 3000.
DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY Placings after 19 of 26 stages: penalties 1 J Cullen Ire Sierra Cos 2:23.51 2 J McRae Sco Sierra Cos 2:26.44 3 J Price Wal MG Metro 6R4 2:26.53 4 K McKinstry NI Sierra Cos 2:27.33 5 V Bonner Ire Opel Manta 2:28.29 6 R Head Sco Sierra 4x4 2:29.16 7 R Smyth NI Sierra Cos 2:30.34 8 D Greer NI Sierra 4x4 2:32.55 9 J McDaid Ire BMW M3 2:33.00 10 G Robinson NI Toyota S'let 2:44.01 LE MANS - Final practice leaderboard: Car No mins secs 1 1 Sauber Mercedes 3:31.270 2 4 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:31.912 3 5 Peugeot Talbot 3:35.058 4 31 Sauber Mercedes 3:35.265 5 32 Sauber Mercedes 3:35.957 6 17 Repsol Brun Porsche 3:36.114 7 11 Kremer Porsche 3:36.848 8 6 Peugeot Talbot 3:38.886 9 58 Konrad Joest Porsche 3:40.526 10 57 Konrad Joest Porsche 3:40.548 11 35 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:43.496 12 55 Mazdaspeed 3:43.503 13 12 Courage Comp Porsche 3:44.315 14 21 Konrad M/sport Porsche 3:45.214 15 8 Euro Racing Spice 3:45.740 16 49 Courage Trust Porsche 3:46.181 17 18 Mazdaspeed 3:46.641 18 33 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:47.875 19 46 Kremer Porsche 3:48.519 20 13 Courage Comp Porsche 3:48.664 21 34 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:49.748 22 36 Silk Cut Jaguar 3:49.867 23 16 Repsol Brun Porsche 3:50.098 24 56 Mazdaspeed 3:51.161 25 51 Salamin Primagaz Porsche 3:52.822 26 41 Euro Racing Spice 3:53.833 27 47 Courage Comp Porsche 3:54.480 28 37 Louis Descartes ROC Ford 3:55.446 29 53 Salamin Schuppan Porsche 3:55.706 30 50 Courage Alm Porsche 3:56.790 31 15 Veneto Equipe Lancia 3:57.132 32 39 Louis Descartes Spice 3:57.298 33 7 Louis Descartes ALD Ford 3:59.343 34 14 Salamin Primagaz Porsche 3:59.674 35 52 Salamin Schuppan Porsche 4:01.761 36 43 Euro Racing Spice Ford 4:02.519 37 59 Konrad Joest Porsche 4:05.839 38 45 Euro R Chamberlain Spice 4:06.578 39 44 Euro R Chamgerlain Spice 4:10.607 40 40 Euro Racing Spice 4:11.781 41 48 Courage Comp Porsche 4:14.499 Conditions for final session: dry Race starts 3pm BST Saturday Leaders after lap 101 (24-hour race): Car No 1 1 Sauber Mercedes 2 32 Sauber Mercedes 3 mins 45.595 secs 3 31 Sauber Mercedes 5:42.212 behind 4 55 Mazdaspeed 1 lap 5 35 Silk Cut Jaguar 1 lap 6 57 Joest Porsche 1 lap 7 33 Silk Cut Jaguar 2 laps 8 18 Mazdaspeed 9 58 Joest Porsche 10 34 Silk Cut Jaguar Conditions: dark Track: dry. Race started 3pm BSTThe Sauber Mercedes were in a class of their own, holding 1-2-3 as they swept around the 14km La Sarthe circuit. They enjoyed a battle among themselves with Jochen Mass overhauling Kenny Acheson to put the no 1 car into first place with 60 laps and four hours gone. Nearest challenger was the Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12 being driven by John Nielsen, soon to be lapped by the third of the dominant silver Mercedes. But then trouble struck, with Karl Wendlinger spinning his C11 under the Dunlop bridge damaging the bodywork and losing time for repairs.
Derek Warwick blamed himself after ending his challenge in the gravel pit. Warwick, lying third in the Jaguar behind the two Mercedes, spun off at Indianapolis and lost valuable minutes. "I thought the engine had cut out and I jammed the car into gear and it got away from me" he said. The car suffered slight damage to the undertray but he was able to continue without a pit stop. His misfortune gave the Sauber Mercedes the chance to re-establish their dominance and, as darkness fell, they were once again lying 1-2-3 with the no 1 car leading by almost four minutes.
James Weaver missed the start of the race after pulling in following the warm-up lap for repairs to the closing mechanism on the door of his no 53 Team Schuppan Porsche 962. The no 7 Louis Descartes ALD Ford came into the pits after just a few laps with electrical trouble. The problem continued and it retired after 16 laps.
Italian Almo Copelli needed a new windscreen on his no 15 Lancia LC2 when oil became smeared over it. A fire broke out on board the no 5 Peugeot as Philippe Alliot called in for a routine pit stop, while lying in second place. It was quickly dealt with and no one was hurt. It rejoined the race but was later reported stopped at Indianapolis with oil pouring on to the ground. Mexican Tomas Lopez spun wildly under the Dunlop bridge, crashing into the tyre wall and badly damaging the rear of his Kremer Porsche. He continued but understeered into a gravel trap from where marshalls failed in their attempt to rescue him.
Michael Schumacher was leading the race after about an hour when his Sauber Mercedes was involved in a collision with fellow German Jurgen Lassig in an Obermaier Porsche. Both cars continued. Derek Warwick suffered a puncture in the Porsche Curves but brought his Silk Cut Jaguar into the pits without damage Team-mate Bob Wollek spun his XJR-12 and lost some time.
Italian Mauro Martini limped back to the pits after damaging the monocoque of his SunTec Jaguar in an off-road excursion on the Mulsanne Straight. It eventually rejoined the race, 51 laps behind the leader. F1 driver Bertrand Gachot continues to be impressed by the Mazdaspeed 787B which was lying 7th after four hours. "It's so much easier to drive than last year's model, really good," he said.
Derek Warwick spun off the track at Indianapolis in the XJR-12, while lying third behind the two Mercedes but managed to escape the gravel trap after only a few minutes and rejoin the race. The remaining Peugeot came to a halt on lap 82 with a broken gearbox. Low sun caused drivers a problem and no one was unhappy when darkness fell.
SATURDAY 3-4pm BST:- Peugeot started 1-2 and held off Jean-Louis Schlesser in the Mercedes who swept past the 3.5-litre cars to launch an early bid for the lead. But the no 5 Peugeot lost time with a fire in the pits and no 6 suffered ignition trouble, dropping well back.
4-5pm:- Sauber Mercedes settled into the first two places, as routine pit stops and early repairs started to spread out the field. Among the early retirements was the no 5 Peugeot at Indianapolis. Michael Schumacher in the lead car survived a collision with a backmarker.
5-6pm:- Sauber Mercedes continued to hold the first three places, with rising star Michael Schumacher in the leading car. Last year's winners Silk Cut Jaguar appeared to be a bit off the pace while the SunTec XJR-12 was suffering serious mechanical problems and limped back to the pits after a long delay.
6-7pm:- Mercedes remained 1-2-3 with Michael Schumacher setting fastest lap of 3 mins 38.258 secs in the lead car. Kenny Acheson then took the wheel and was chased and finally overhauled by team-mate Jochen Mass in car no 1.
7-8pm:- Karl Wendlinger took the wheel of the leading Mercedes and spun on his first lap at the Dunlop bridge damaging the nose and rear wing. The lead then swopped between the no 1 and no 32 Mercedes with no other competitor on the same lap.
8-9pm:- Derek Warwick spun off while third in his Jaguar behind the two Mercedes but managed to continue after a slight delay. By 9pm it was again Mercedes 1-2-3 with no 1 in the lead.
F3000:- Antonio Zanardi has pole position for round four of the European Formula 3000 Championship in Mugello, Italy, in a time of 1 min 35.096 secs. Guiseppe Dugatti was second fastest (1:35.777) with Mario Apicella third (1:35.399). Damon Hill was sixth fastest (1:36.078).
RENAULT CLIO CUP:- Worksop's Mike Mills won his second consecutive Renault Clio Elf UK Cup race at Oulton Park to become clear championship leader. Steve Waudby from Tadcaster finished second, and lies 11 points behind Mills in the overall standings.
F.RENAULT:- Jason Plato won his third race in five starts with victory at Oulton Park in the fifth round of the Formula Renault UK series. Plato now leads Putney's Bobby Verdon-Roe, who finished second, by five points in the overall standings.
F3:- Brazilian Rubens Barrichello starts in pole positon for the 20 lap-50 mile eighth round of the British Formula 3 championship at Donington Park on Sunday. He clocked 1 minute 30.90 seconds in his Ralt-Mugen, clipping 0.25 secs from the lap record.
23.6.91 - LE MANS Final leaderboard (after 362 laps) Car No hrs mins secs 1 55 Mazdaspeed 23:58:35.912 2 35 Silk Cut Jaguar 2 laps back 3 34 Silk Cut Jaguar 4 laps 4 33 Silk Cut Jaguar 6 laps 5 31 Sauber Mercedes 7 laps 6 18 Mazdaspeed 7 laps 7 58 Joest Porsche 15 laps 8 56 Mazdaspeed 16 laps 9 11 Kremer Porsche 19 laps 10 17 Brun Porsche 24 laps 11 12 Cougar Porsche 31 laps 12 41 Fedco Spice Ford 36 lapsMazda wrote themselves into the history books, clinching the first ever Le Mans 24-Hour race victory by a Japanese team in the 59 years of the famous event. But a little of the glory was shared with 1990 winners Silk Cut Jaguar whose XJR-12s filled the next three places. Favourites Sauber Mercedes dominated much of the race but the three silver C11s all suffered serious problems, with the no 1 car finally handing the lead to Mazda with three hours to go. Volker Weidler took the lead, Britain's Johnny Herbert held on to it and Bertrand Gachot took the chequered flag.
Volker Weidler drove superbly to take the rotary-engined Mazda into the lead three hours from the end when long time leaders Sauber Mercedes hit trouble. Weidler, three laps behind Alain Ferte in the silver C11, gradually closed the gap as the Mercedes was left stranded in the pits refusing to re-start. Ferte called in with a trace of smoke coming from the car which had held a comfortable lead for 15 hours. But each time it fired, the engine died again, to a cheer from the Japanese contingent and Mazda fans. After about 30 minutes it went out in fourth place.
Tension filled the pit lane as the no 1 Sauber Mercedes was left struggling to re-start with the no 55 Mazda 787B narrowing the gap in determined style. The C11 had led for much of the race but the team's hopes of a second win in three years faded with the news that the belt assembly to the water pump had failed along with the alternator. They rejoined the race in fourth but were back a lap later and retired with oil pouring from the back of the car. Volker Weidler quickly established Mazda's lead, lapping much quicker than the two chasing Silk Cut Jaguars.
Volker Weidler drove the Mazda into a first ever leading role at Le Mans and then admitted he had not even realised. "I saw the crowd going crazy but I was not sure what was happening," said the 29-year-old German. "Now I have seen it on the screen - unbelievable!" He said the hardest part of driving the 787B was staying within the fuel limit. "Handling is easy. It's a fantastic car," he added. Weidler said he had not expected to drive again in the remaining two hours. Johnny Herbert did a long stint with Bertrand Gachot driving the rest.
F1 driver Bertrand Gachot said he would not believe victory was Mazda's until they had seen the chequered flag. "Everyone was telling me victory was ours with 1.5 hours to go. I told them we had a grand prix to do first," said the 28-year-old Belgian. "It was a victory for a different technology. You couldn't believe a rotary engine could win here," he said. Teammate Volker Weidler said everything had gone perfectly. "Bertrand and Johnny (Herbert) did a great job and the mechanics never lost a second in a single pit stop."
Victorious driver Johnny Herbert almost missed the celebrations after suffering dehydration towards the end of the race. "I was in the car for two and a half shifts, that's longer than a grand prix in a closed car," he said. "I got tired because I could not sleep, but when I was driving I really enjoyed being out there. It's an easy circuit and I could throw the car around."
"I think I've proved I'm fit, I've just won Le Mans which is almost a whole season in itself. People will probably still say my legs aren't fit but after tonight that's gone out the window."
Mauro Martini lost control of the TWR Suntec Jaguar after hitting oil and struck a wall at Tertre Rouge damaging the rear wing of the no 36 car, already well down the field. It later retired. Debris on the track caused trouble to several teams during the night. The no 58 Joest Porsche came into the pits with a broken nose cone and the no 32 Sauber Mercedes suffered a broken undertray while in second place and lost 35 minutes in the pits. Kenny Acheson's no 34 XJR-12 needed a new nose cone after he hit a rabbit in the early hours of the morning.
Peugeot made an impressive start with both cars on the front row but the no 5 car fell by the wayside early on and the no 6 car came to a halt on lap 82 with a broken gearbox. Mazda, enjoying their best ever Le Mans, faced their first problem of the event at 8.15am BST when the no 18 car pulled into the pits with broken right front suspension. It resumed in 7th place after repairs.
Derek Bell was struggling on in the leading Porsche but seemed to be doing more laps in the pits than on the track with a cooling problem on the no 58 car in the late morning. Trouble struck the no 31 Mercedes in the late morning as smoke poured out of the car after a cooling problem. The pit crew worked fast and, within 12 minutes, it was back out in 6th having lost a place to one of the Jaguars.
Oscar Larrauri had his share of problems in the no 17 Brun Porsche. He limped back to the pits at just after 8am BST with the car smoking furiously from damaged front suspension. He then spun as he left the pits on a later stint, slightly damaging the car. The Team Fedco Spice Ford won the category one class for 3.5-litre cars, finishing 12th overall.
SATURDAY 10-11pm BST:- Mercedes continued to dominate, with car nos 1, 32, 31 in the first three places throughout. A triple attack was emerging, albeit some way back, with last year's winners the Jaguar XJR-12s all on the leaderboard.
11pm-midnight:- Minor problems hit many of the lower-running teams but, at the front of the pack, there was little to affect the order. At midnight the no 35 Silk Cut Jaguar was lying fourth behind the Mercedes trio, 3 laps off the pace.
midnight-1am:- Just as things were looking settled for the rest of the night, the no 32 Mercedes called in to the pits with serious engine trouble.
SUNDAY 1-2am:- The second-placed Mercedes suffered serious engine problems and dropped off the leaderboard, while Derek Warwick was reported stopped at Arnage in the XJR-12 which had been going well in fourth place.
2-3am:- Fritz Kreutzpointer in second place in the no 31 Mercedes was closing on the leading no 1 car. Mazda moved into third spot for the first time.
3-4am:- The no 31 Mercedes suffered gearbox trouble, allowing Mazda up into second spot - their best ever run in 21 years at Le Mans. Also moving up the order was Irishman Kenny Acheson in the no 34 Jaguar.
4-5am:- A battle for second place was developing between the ultra-reliable no 55 Mazda and the no 35 Jaguar, several laps behind the leading no 1 Mercedes.
5-6am:- Daylight saw a very depleted field, with the no 32 Mercedes - among the early front-runners - set to join the retirements. More problems for the Suntec Jaguar team when Jeff Krosnoff hit a barrier losing the rear wing.
6-7am:- Exciting battle between the Mazda and Jaguar, with Volker Weidler finally getting the edge in his 787B. The no 52 Schuppan Porsche joined the many 962s on the sidelines.
7-8am:- Calm before the storm with only a few minor changes to the leaderboard. The no 32 Mercedes which had been in and out of the pits during the night after damaging the undertray on debris finally retired from the race.
8-9am:- The no 36 Suntec Jaguar, which had struggled throughout the night and survived two mishaps, was reported as touring and then as a retirement. There was a scare for the lead Mercedes seen to be smoking slightly but it continued at the same pace, while the no 17 Brun Porsche limped to the pits smoking furiously from collapsed front suspension. It rejoined the race.
9-10am:- A heavy rain shower failed to dampen the challenge of the Mazda in second place behind Mercedes but the silver C11, out in front for the past 12 hours, was not to be caught.
10-11am:- Derek Bell was battling on in the leading Porsche, the no 58 Joest entry, but was calling regularly at the pits to top up the cooling system.
11-midday:- Smoke was seen coming from the leading no 1 Mercedes and, with exactly three hours to go, it was in the pits surrounded by anxious faces. Volker Weidler, at the wheel of the Mazda, was closing all the time as the Mercedes refused to fire up.
midday to 1pm:- Mercedes hopes of a second win in three years were dashed when the no 1 C11 came into the pits with a broken belt to the water pump and failed alternator. Mazda swept into the lead, for the first time ever at Le Mans, followed by two of the Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12s.
1-2pm:- Another possible blow for Sauber Mercedes with news that the remaining C11 was smoking. The third Jaguar was also closing, set to steal fourth place.
2-3pm:- The Jaguars, lying 2nd, 3rd, 4th, could not challenge the leading Mazda for fear of running out of fuel.
Team Car Drivers 1 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Schlesser, MERCEDES Mercedes Mass, Ferte first for 15 hours,retired with water pump and alternator failure 2 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Thiim, MERCEDES Mercedes Kreuzpointner two qualifying laps, then withdrawn 31 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Wendlinger, MERCEDES Mercedes Schumacher, finished 5th Kreuzpointner 32 TEAM SAUBER Sauber Palmer, Thiim MERCEDES Mercedes Dickens retired after 223 laps 3 SILK CUT Jaguar Fabi, JAGUAR XJR-14 Acheson scrutineered then withdrawn 4 SILK CUT Jaguar Warwick, JAGUAR XJR-14 Wallace withdrawn from pole position 33 SILK CUT Jaguar Warwick, Nielsen, JAGUAR XJR-12 Wallace finished 4th 34 SILK CUT Jaguar Wollek, Fabi, JAGUAR XJR-12 Acheson finished 3rd 35 SILK CUT Jaguar D Jones, Boesel, JAGUAR XJR-12 M Ferte finished 2nd 36 TWR SUNTEC Jaguar Leslie, Martini JAGUAR XJR-12 Krosnoff retired with gearbox failure 5 PEUGEOT Peugeot Baldi, Alliot, TALBOT SPORT Jabouille retired on lap 22 with broken engine 6 PEUGEOT Peugeot Rosberg, Dalmas TALBOT SPORT Raphanel retired on lap 68 with broken gearbox 7 LOUIS Ald-Ford De Henning, DESCARTES Taverna, Gonin retired after 16 laps 37 ROC ROC-Ford Thuner, Fabre retired, broken rear axle 39 GRAFF Spice- Grand, Lapeyre, RACING Ford Maisonneuve retired after 163 laps 8 EURO RACING Spice- Euser, Zwolsman Ford Harvey retired, dropped a valve 40 AO RACING Spice- Lyn St James, Ford Wilson, Muller retired after crash damaged steering 41 TEAM FEDCO Spice- Misaki, Yokoshima Ford Nagasaka 1st category one, 12th overall 42 CLASSIC/ Spice- J Bell, Kasoya, TFR Ferrari Scapini failed to qualify 43 PC Spice- R Piper, Ricci, AUTOMOTIVE Ford Iacobelli retired after 280 laps 44 CHAMBERLAIN Spice- Sheldon, Rickett, ENGINEERING Ford De Lesseps retired after 85 laps 45 CHAMBERLAIN Spice- Adams, Donovan, ENGINEERING Ford R Jones retired after 128 laps 11 PORSCHE Porsche Reuter, Toivonen, KREMER R'NG JJ Lehto finished 9th 46 PORSCHE Porsche Lopez, Foitek, KREMER R'NG Needell retired after 18 laps 12 COURAGE Porsche Migault, Robert, COMPETITION Raulet finished 11th 13 COURAGE Porsche Dumfries Olofsson COMPETITION Danielsson retired after 45 laps 47 COURAGE Porsche Trolle, Brand, COMPETITION Bourbonnais retired after 293 laps 48 COURAGE Porsche Hodgetts, Lecerf COMPETITION Hepworth excluded, underweight 49 TRUST Porsche Andskar, RACING Fouche retired after 316 laps 50 ALMERAS Porsche J Almeras, FRERES De Thoisy, JM Almeras retired after 86 laps 14 TEAM SALAMIN Porsche Salamin, PRIMAGAZ Olivar, Tarres retired, engine overheating 51 TEAM SALAMIN Porsche Oppermann, Yver, PRIMAGAZ Laessig retired after 232 laps 52 TEAM Porsche Elgh, Hoy, SCHUPPAN Ratzenberger retired, cracked cylinder head 53 TEAM Porsche Haywood, Weaver, SCHUPPAN Taylor retired after 316 laps 54 TEAM Porsche Iketani, Stermitz DAVEY Musetti failed to qualify 15 VENETO Lancia Giorgio, Coppelli EQUIPE Ferrari Delbello retired after 111 laps 16 REPSOL BRUN Porsche Huysman, Sterling MOTORSPORT Santal retired, blown cylinder head gasket 17 REPSOL BRUN Porsche Larrauri, Pareja, MOTORSPORT Brun finished 10th 18 MAZDASPEED Mazda Kennedy, Sala, finished 6th Johansson 55 MAZDASPEED Mazda Weidler, Herbert, winners Gachot 56 MAZDASPEED Mazda Dieudonne, Yorino, finished 8th Terada 21 KONRAD Porsche Konrad, Reid, MOTORSPORT Lombardi retired after 98 laps 57 JOEST Porsche Winter, Schneider PORSCHE Pescarolo retired after 197 laps 58 JOEST Porsche Stuck, D Bell, PORSCHE Jelinski finished 7th 59 JOEST Porsche Konrad, Barth PORSCHE withdrawn before the raceF3:- Brazilian Rubens Barrichello took his second win of the season, heading home a 1-2-3 result for Brazilian drivers in round eight of the Formula Three Championship at Donington Park. Barrichello is now tied for the championship lead with David Coulthard on 40 points. Coulthard was forced to retire with gear trouble.
F.LOTUS:- Midlander Kelvin Burt won his fourth Formula Vauxhall Lotus race of the year under dreadful conditions at Brands Hatch, beating pole-position driver Warren Hughes, who retained his lead in the overall championships.
DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY Placings after 24 of 26 stages:penalties 1 J Cullen Ire Sierra Cos 2:59.06 2 K McKinstry NI Sierra Cos 3:03.03 3 J McRae Sco Sierra Cos 3:03.18 4 V Bonner Ire Opel Manta 3:04.03 5 R Head Sco Sierra 4x4 3:05.03 6 R Smyth NI Sierra Cos 3:06.00 7 J McDaid Ire BMW M3 3:09.03 8 B Fowden Wal Sierra Cos 3:10.06 9 G Robinson NI Toyota S'let 3:10.35 10 P Kirk NI Vauxhall Nov 3:11.30CLASSIC MARATHON:- Timo Makinen was fastest by two seconds in a Mini Cooper S in the first special test of the Pirelli Classic Marathon - but 30 competitors all share first place after beating the 55-second bogey time. The rally now moves to France.
24.6.91CLASSIC MARATHON:- Stirling Moss emerged unscathed after crashing on the second day as the Marathon reached the Spa racing circuit in Belgium. Moss's Austin Healey 3000 collided with a scaffolding pole, damaging the front wing but Moss and co-driver Zoe Heritage made repairs and kept going.
Four drivers are currently sharing first place, headed by Timo Makinen. Competitors head into Germany for more tests and an overnight halt in Kempten.
F1:- The Footwork Porsche Formula One team are to replace their Porsche engines with Ford V8s, they announced today. The team are said to have paid $35 million to Porsche for the exclusive use of their engine for the next four years. Because this year's cars cannot be adapted to use the Ford engine the team are to use last year's chassis from the French Grand Prix in a fortnight's time. But they hope to return to Porsche power before the end of the season.
FOCA tyre testing from Silverstone in preparation for British Grand Prix: mins secs 1 N Mansell Williams 1:24.88 2 S Modena Tyrrell 1:28.26 3 R Patrese Williams 1:28.61 4 A Senna McLaren 1:29.95 5 M Hakkinen Lotus 1:30.12 6 G Berger McLaren 1:31.46 7 A Prost Ferrari 1:32.82 8 I Capelli Leyton House 1:33.75 9 M Gugelmin Leyton House 1:33.98 10 M Brundle Brabham 1:34.19 11 A De Cesaris Jordan 1:35.52 12 M Blundell Brabham 1:46.06 13 O Grouillard Fomet-Ford 1:53.11Nigel Mansell easily set the fastest time in tyre testing in readiness for the British GP at soggy Silverstone - and looked forward with confidence. Mansell clocked 1 min 24.88 secs during the morning session as many of the drivers tried the new and more demanding circuit for the first time. He said: "I'm very happy with my form and very optimistic. The car has been progressing well. There have been problems but that's part of the game." Tests carry on Tuesday and Wednesday before the French GP on July 7.
Nigel Mansell issued a warning at Formula 1 testing at Silverstone today not to under estimate world champion Ayrton Senna. Senna won the first four races but has been left standing by Mansell's Canon Williams team in Canada and Riccardo Patrese's victory in Mexico. "Senna will come back," said Mansell. "He's got a good car, a good team behind him and he's a great driver."
"I think we have shown we have put our early problems behind us but from now on it should be a competitive season."
25.6.91NZ RALLY:- The New Zealand rally has attracted its strongest field for several years as the top drivers seek valuable points in the championship battle. The rally, which begins on Wednesday, has been a low key affair since losing its status as a round of the manufacturers championship in 1986. But this year the leading three drivers in the standings, Carlos Sainz of Spain, Juha Kankkunen of Finland and Didier Auriol of France will all make the trip. The rally opens with a single stage and finishes in Auckland on Sunday.
CLASSIC MARATHON:- Roadworks, Bavarian traffic and a wrong turning combined to rob flying Finn Timo Makinen of the lead as the Classic entered Italy for the first time. Makinen had been joint leader with Ireland's Ronnie McCartney and veteran race driver John Handley. But McCartney took the lead in the German alps as Makinen and Handley dropped back into 78th and 84th place respectively. The dramatic turn of events mean that husband and wife team Rick and Jane Bourne go second in their Morgan.
F1:- FOCA tyre testing from Silverstone in preparation for British Grand Prix:(Tuesday afternoon)mins secs 1 N Mansell Williams 1:26.17 2 R Patrese Williams 1:27.31 3 J Alesi Ferrari 1:27.63 4 A De Cesaris Jordan-Ford 1:28.02 5 G Berger McLaren 1:28.38 6 JJ Lehto Williams 1:30.09 7 S Modena Tyrrell 1:30.22 8 A Prost Ferrari 1:30.49 9 M Brundle Brabham 1:31.07 10 M Hakkinen Lotus 1:31.19 11 A Senna McLaren 1:31.27 12 M Blundell Brabham 1:31.33 13 E Comas Ligier 1:32.05Martin Donnelly was at Silverstone to watch testing for the British Grand Prix - his first taste of track action since his horrific Spanish GP accident. Donnelly, who was on a life support machine after suffering multiple injuries, drove to Silverstone from his Norfolk home as a guest of Team Lotus. He is aiming for an initial return later this year with a view to a full return to action next year. Donnelly said he had been approached by another team, likely to be Jordan Grand Prix, but would not confirm which one.
26.6.91 - NEW ZEALAND RALLYPositions after one of 40 stages: Accumulated penalties hrs mins secs 1 D Auriol Fr Lancia Delta 0:01:28 = J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Delta 0:01:28 = M Alen Fin Subaru Legacy 0:01:28 4 C Sainz Sp Toyota Celica 0:01:30 = I Carlsson Swe Mazda 323 0:01:30 6 P Bourne NZ Subaru Legacy 0:01:32 7 R Millen US Mazda 323 0:01:34 8 R Dunkerton Aus Mitisbushi 0:01:35 9 N Allport NZ Mazda 323 0:01:36 = K Adamson NZ Mazda 323 0:01:36 = C Barns NZ Nissan Pulsar 0:01:36 CLASSIC MARATHON:- The famed Stelvio Pass was the stage for the 13-km stage in Italy, with 15 drivers all credited with first place. Ireland's Ronnie McCartney beat the bogey time by just one second to hold onto the overall lead, but a damaged exhaust may yet cost him victory. A vital joint was lost and McCartney has no spare. Another competitor, Peter Banham, has offered to make up a part. Gijs Van Lennep, in an Austin Healey, lies in second place, but he also has his worries, with his car losing fuel.
F1:- FOCA tyre testing from Silverstone in preparation for British Grand Prix:(Wednesday afternoon)mins secs 1 N Mansell Williams 1:22.21 (average speed of 138.20 mph) 2 A Prost Ferrari 1:24.01 3 J Alesi Ferrari 1:24.06 4 R Patrese Williams 1:24.92 5 S Modena Tyrrell 1:25.73 6 T Boutsen Ligier-Lamb 1:26.39 7 E Pirro Dallara-Judd 1:26.48 8 I Capelli Leyton-Ilmor 1:26.79 9 A De Cesaris Jordan-Ford 1:26.87 10 G Berger McLaren 1:27.06 11 A Senna McLaren 1:27.43 12 O Grouillard Fomet-Ford 1:27.47 13 J Herbert Lotus 1:28.15 14 B Gachot Jordan Ford 1:28.49 15 M Hakkinen Lotus 1:28.71 16 E Comas Ligier-Lamb 1:28.97 17 M Alboreto F'work-Porsche 1:29.03 18 A Suzuki Lola-Ford 1:29.10 19 E Bernard Lola-Ford 1:29.16 20 N Piquet Benetton 1:29.18 21 M Brundle Brabham 1:30.08 22 M Blundell Brabham 1:30.30 23 S Nakajima Tyrrell 1:30.60 24 S Johansson AGS-Ford 1:30.86 25 G Tarquini AGS-Ford 1:32.86New Benetton technical director Gordon Kimball believes the team's B191 car could outstrip both McLaren and Ferrari. American Kimball, who replaced Briton Barnard, said the Ford-powered Benetton was "a step ahead of McLaren and Ferrari in development potential."
"I'm sure it will prove a race winner," he said on day three of tyre-testing at Silverstone. "I feel we can race with Ferrari, and McLaren aren't far ahead."
"Williams are a different story," he added. "They are really acheiving their potential at the moment."
27.6.91 - NZ RALLY Positions after opening day (11 stages) Accumulated penalties hrs mins secs 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota Celica 1:54:54 2 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Delta 1:55:03 3 D Auriol Fr Lancia Delta 1:56:11 4 M Alen Fin Subaru Legacy 1:56:45 5 R Dunkerton Aus Mitsubushi 1:59:29 6 R Millen US Mazda 323 1:59:50 7 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi 2:03:52 8 B Stokes NZ Ford 2:04:35 9 E Ordynski Aus Mitsubishi 2:06:24 10 N Allport NZ Mazda 323 2:07:22World champion Carlos Sainz held a narrow lead over Didier Auriol at the end of a difficult opening day. Sainz and Kankkunen, first and second in the world championship, inched ahead of their rivals as the wet gravel roads took their toll on the pursuing pack. Sainz broke a window, Didier Auriol spun and suffered rear brake failure while Markku Alen made the wrong tyre choice to stand fourth overnight. Swede Ingvar Carlsson ran out of fuel in the middle of the stage and Mazda team-mate Rod Millen split a fuel line.
CLASSIC MARATHON:- Ireland's Ronnie McCartney holds a slender two second lead after the penultimate stage to Cortina d'Ampezzo despite problems with his Mini Cooper. He drove superbly from Merano after watching 20 of his rivals set off while he was waiting for exhaust manifold repairs to be completed. Gijs van Lennep is hot on his tail after difficulties on Wednesday with his Austin Healey's head gasket. "Neither car nor driver is overheating now.. but the Healey is still using far too much petrol," he said.
Finland's Timo Makinen has pulled out of the event after a dispute over penalties incurred in the German Alps. The stewards' decision dropped him from first to 78th, but he improved to 47th by Wednesday's overnight halt at Merano. Makinen lodged an appeal against the ruling and when that was turned down he withdrew from the event even though his Mini Cooper S was running perfectly.
Norway's John Haughland was taken to hospital with a throbbing wisdom tooth at Merano. "I enjoyed all the attention of the young nurses," he commented.
28.6.91F3000:- Dave Coyne of Camberley made a fine start to his British F3000 debut with the fastest time in practice sessions on Friday at Brands Hatch.
NZ RALLY Positions half-way through third day: Accumulated penalties hrs mins secs 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota Celica 5:29:32 2 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Delta 5:31:08 3 D Auriol Fr Lancia Delta 5:31:42 4 M Alen Fin Subaru Legacy 5:35:18 5 R Dunkerton Aus Mitsubushi 5:44:37 6 N Allport NZ Mazda 323 5:55:02 7 B Stokes NZ Ford 5:55:50 8 R Millen US Mazda 323 6:00:20 9 R Meekings NZ Toyota 6:10:02 10 B Watkin NZ Subaru 6:10:26World champion Carlos Sainz tightened his grip on the event by winning the first four stages on the third day. The Toyota driver's effort, who was 40 secs clear of Juha Kankkunen overnight, increased his lead to 1 min 36 secs. Sainz set new record times on two of the stages but collected more scars on his car after clipping a bank. Kankkunen remains second with Lancia team-mate Didier Auriol 34 secs behind in third place. "The rally is over, now I drive just to finish," said Auriol, who lost valuable time on day one.
CLASSIC MARATHON:- After six gruelling days and nearly 2000 miles only two seconds separated the top two crews in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The remaining 92 competitors in the rally took a well-earned rest before Friday night's final make-or-break section through the Dolomites. This morning's two tests, the Tre Cime hillclimb and Tre Croche regularity trial, left Irishman Ronnie McCartney with a tiny advantage over Dutchman Gijs van Lennep. Husband-and-wife team Rick and Jane Bourne lie third in their Morgan.
29.6.91F3000:- Paul Warwick maintained his 100% record of pole positions in the British F3000 Championship by beating Dave Coyne's time in the closing moments of practice for Sunday's race at Brands Hatch.
F3:- Gil De Ferran led from start to finish to win the British Formula 3 race at Silverstone in a time of 23 mins 39.17 secs. Jordi Gene finished second, 1.20 seconds behind.
TOURING CAR:- Tim Sugden lapped Brands Hatch in 49.11 secs to claim pole for the second round in a row in the Esso Touring Car Championship. Will Hoy will be alongside him on the grid.
NZ RALLY:- Positions at the end of the third day: Accumulated penalties hrs mins secs 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota Celica 6:14:34 2 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Delta 6:16:00 3 D Auriol Fr Lancia Delta 6:16:35 4 M Alen Fin Subaru Legacy 6:20:23 5 N Allport NZ Mazda 323 6:44:11 6 B Stokes NZ Ford 6:44:20 7 R Millen US Mazda 323 6:47:17 8 R Meekings NZ Toyota 6:59:59 9 I Carlsson Swe Mazda 7:00:03 10 B Watkin NZ Subaru 7:00:27World champion Carlos Sainz capitalised on a mistake by his rivals on the third day to tighten his grip on the event. The Spaniard was quickest on all four morning stages after Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol paid the penalty for making the wrong choice of tyres. He finished the day with a 1 min 26 sec lead over the Finn with Auriol 35 secs behind his Lancia team-mate. Sainz's only moment of alarm came in an early forest stage when his Toyota clipped a bank in slippery conditions.
CLASSIC MARATHON FINAL RESULT: 1 McCartney/Crawford Mini Cooper S 2 Coulter/Howcroft Mini Cooper S 3 McBride/Fraser Austin Healey 3000 4 Anderson/Elvin Jaguar E Type 5 Wignall/Wignall Sunbeam Tiger 6 Harrison/Jenkins Sunbeam Tiger 7 Bruce/Tucker Triumph TR3A 8 Martin-H/Bilton Mini Cooper S = Richardson/Matheson Reliant Sabre 6GT 10 Boyd/Woolley Daimler SP250Ulsterman Ronnie McCartney has won the Pirelli Classic Marathon Rally at his first attempt. McCartney, 52, driving a Mini Cooper S, led for five of the seven days in the 1,800 mile event. "It has been fantastic to win at my first attempt," he said. Another Ulsterman Beatty Crawford was the Newtownabbey man's co-driver. Journalist Jeremy Coluter, also in a Mini Cooper S, finished second.
30.6.91F3000:- Paul Warwick collected his fourth win in succession after overhauling Dave Coyne, making his British F3000 debut, when the newcomer suffered gearbox trouble in the Brands Hatch race.
TOURING CAR:- Tim Sugden in a BMW won the sixth round of the Esso Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch in 29 mins 59.33 secs from championship leader Will Hoy in second and Andy Rouse third.
NZ RALLY:- World champion Carlos Sainz tightened his grip on his crown with a convincing victory in the seventh of 14 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Toyota star took the lead on the second stage on Thursday and never lost it, finishing 75 seconds clear of Finn Juha Kankkunen in his works Lancia. Frenchman Didier Auriol, also in a Lancia, was third a further 63s back, with Subaru driver Markku Alen fourth. Sainz completed his triumph in style, clocking the fastest time on three of the final day's six stages.
Final leaderboard: Accumulated penalties hrs mins secs 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota Celica 6:57:18 2 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia Delta 6:58:33 3 D Auriol Fr Lancia Delta 6:59:36 4 M Alen Fin Subaru Legacy 7:03:02 5 N Allport NZ Mazda 323 7:28:19 6 R Millen US Mazda 323 7:30:51 7 B Stokes NZ Ford 7:31:40 8 I Carlsson Swe Mazda 7:42:38 9 R Meekings NZ Toyota 7:46:43 10 B Watkin NZ Subaru 7:47:17 DRIVERS STANDINGS after round 7, New Zealand 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota 95 pts 2 J Kankkunen Fin Lancia 73 3 D Auriol Fr Lancia 52 4 M Biasion It Lancia 39 5 M Alen Fin Subaru 30 MANUFACTURERS (after 6 rounds) 1 Toyota 77 pts 2 Lancia 71 3 Ford 28 4 Subaru 20 5 Nissan 10 D'YPRES RALLY:- Alister McRae from Lanark moved into second place in the Vauxhall Nova GSi Super Challenge points table after winning round 4, the classic 24 Hours d'Ypres in Belgium. Championship leader Richard Forster was runner-up.
K&N FILTERS RALLY:- Gwyndaf Evans in his Ford Escort won the K and N Filters rally at Pembrey, in the Demon Tweeks/Motoring News National Tarmac Championship.