F1:- Ferrari have signed former Honda engineer Osamu Goto to lead their engine development team for the 1994 Formula One season.
PARIS-DAKAR RALLY Positions after 9th special stage: hrs mins secs 1 P Lartigue Fr Citroen ZX 15:37.55 2 E Weber Ger Mitsubishi @ 0:19.22 3 K Shinozuka Jpn Mitsubishi @ 0:22.00 4 H Auriol Fr Citroen ZX @ 1:19.36 5 JP Fontenay Fr Mitsubishi @ 1:43.38 6 P Wambergue Fr Subaru @ 2:54.08 7 J Schlesser Fr Schlesser @ 3:49.58 8 F G'manetti It Nissan @ 3:56.43 9 S Servia Sp Lancia @ 4:01.27 10 G Beccaris It Nissan @ 4:26.21Michel Sansen of Belgium was killed when his motorcycle crashed at high speed in Mauretania.
06.01.94 - F1Oliver Gavin has been named as test driver for new Formula One team Pacific Grand Prix. The 21-year-old Briton finished second in the 1993 British F3 Championship. He will also race for Pacific in the 1994 European F3000 Championship. French Formula One team Larrousse have named Olivier Beretta, 24, as one of their two drivers for this year's championship.
08.01.94 - PARIS-DAKAR RALLY Positions after 14th special stage: hrs mins secs 1 P Lartigue Fr Citroen ZX 28:22.09 2 H Auriol Fr Citroen ZX @ 1:27.14 3 K Shinozuka Jpn Mitsubishi @ 4:25.08 4 JP Fontenay Fr Mitsubishi @ 4:50.05 5 F G'manetti It Nissan @10:05.34 6 G Vismara It R'ge Rover @10:11.30 7 T Dalmau Sp Mercedes @11:06.02 8 H Masuoka Jpn Mitsubishi @11:40.49 9 B Saby Fr Mitsubishi @12:19.11 10 J Rivieres Fr Bourgoin @13:16.51Hubert Auriol won special stage 14 in 6:02.56 from Pierre Lartigue and Hiro Masuoka.
09.01.94F1:- British Formula One driver Mark Blundell is expected to join the Tyrrell Grand Prix team on Tuesday according to sources close to the team. Blundell was previously with Brabham and Ligier.
PARIS-DAKAR RALLY - SS15 was stopped after the cars, trucks and motorcycles all struggled in the soft sand near Mauritania.
11.01.94F1:- The Sasol Jordan Formula One team have revealed their new car for the1994 World Championship season. Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello said the new Jordan-Hart 194 was "very impressive" after taking the car around the Silverstone circuit. Team owner Eddie Jordan has yet to confirm their other driver for 1994 but Britain's Martin Brundle is among the favourites for the drive.
PARIS-DAKAR RALLY Positions after 16th special stage: hrs mins secs 1 P Lartigue Fr Citroen ZX 31:45.09 2 H Auriol Fr Citroen ZX @ 1:29.14 3 K Shinozuka Jpn Mitsubishi @ 4:27.08 4 JP Fontenay Fr Mitsubishi @ 5:00.05 5 P Wambergue Fr Bourgoin @11:03.41 6 H Masuoka Jpn Mitsubishi @12:23.49 7 B Saby Fr Mitsubishi @12:27.11 8 J Rivieres Fr Bourgoin @13:49.51 9 V Cauwenbe Bel Toyota @14:57.14 10 F G'manetti It Nissan @15:33.04After ploughing through the Mauritanian desert, Mitsubishi withdrew their cars from further stages for safety reasons.
12.01.94 - PARIS-DAKAR RALLY Positions after 18th special stage: hrs mins secs 1 P Lartigue Fr Citroen 37:18.07 2 H Auriol Fr Citroen @ 1:27.34 3 P Wambergue Fr Bourgoin @11:42.15 4 H Masuoka Jpn Mitsubishi @13:04.20 5 F G'manetti It Nissan @16:16.27 6 V Cauwenbe Bel Toyota @16:46.50 7 T Dalmau Sp Mercedes @17:14.29 8 G Vismara It RangeRover @17:16.22 9 B T Harkel Hol Mitsubishi @17:16.51 10 J Riviere Fr Bourgoin @17:39.15 13.01.94 - PARIS-DAKAR RALLY Positions after 20th special stage: hrs mins secs 1 P Lartigue Fr Citroen 42:52.18 2 H Auriol Fr Citroen @ 1:27.58 3 P Wambergue Fr Bourgoin @12:08.20 4 H Masuoka Jpn Mitsubishi @14:14.17 5 F G'manetti It Nissan @16:49.41 6 J Riviere Fr Bourgoin @17:45.10 7 G Vismara It RangeRover @17:48.55 8 T Dalmau Sp Mercedes @17:54.01 9 B T Harkel Hol Mitsubishi @18:13.36 10 V Cauwenbe Bel Toyota @18:37.13 15.01.94F1:- Benetton have named Finn JJ Lehto as their second driver for the 1994 Formula One season, teaming up with German Michael Schumacher. They have also signed Dutchman Jos Verstappen as test driver on a two year agreement, pipping McLaren and Footwork for his services. Benetton will be using the new Ford Zetec-R engine and the Ford B194 will be fitted with conventional front and rear suspension. The Enstone based team has teamed up with Japan Tobacco Inc to run the Mild Seven Benetton Ford.
PARIS-DAKAR RALLY Result after 24 special stages: hrs mins secs 1 P Lartigue Fr Citroen 44:29.27 2 H Auriol Fr Citroen @ 1:28.35 3 P Wambergue Fr Bourgoin @12:22.27 4 H Masuoka Jpn Mitsubishi @14:34.51 5 F G'manetti It Nissan @17:04.56 6 J Riviere Fr Bourgoin @17:47.56 7 G Vismara It RangeRover @17:59.34 8 T Dalmau Sp Mercedes @18:02.25 9 B T Harkel Hol Mitsubishi @18:36.14 10 V Cauwenbe Bel Toyota @19:06.58 17.01.94SPORTSCARS:- Honda will take part in the Le Mans24 Hours race this year for the first time. The Japanese carmaker's NFX cars have been entered in the GT category for production cars.
NEWS:- Lord Hesketh is to succeed the late Innes Ireland as president of the British Racing Drivers Club.
19.01.94 - F1Northern Ireland's Eddie Irvine is expected to be named as Jordan's second driver for the 1994 season. Irvine is reported to have agreed to race alongside Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and will test the team's new F1 car at Estoril. Irvine drove two races for Jordan at the end of last season, gaining worldwide attention after his debut at the Japanese Grand Prix. He finished sixth and was later involved in a fight with Ayrton Senna, who accused him of dangerous driving.
Frank Williams has said that Alain Prost cannot return to Formula One with another team after retiring at the end of last season. Prost drove to his fourth title last year as part of the Williams team before retiring half-way through a two-year contract.
There has been talk that he may now join McLaren but Williams said: "He is not contracturally free to race with any other team in 1994." Williams added he doubted that Prost really wanted to return. "He retired which was his privilege."
20.01.94 - F1Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi will drive for Footwork in this year's Formula One world championship.
21.01.94 - F1McLaren kept their second driver's slot open when the deadline for entries in this year's Formula One world championship closed on Friday. The decision refuelled speculation that the team are trying to tempt Alain Prost out of retirement to drive with Mika Hakkinen. But Williams, with whom Prost won last year's title, insist he is still under contract to them. Ayrton Senna and Damon Hill were, as expected, nominated as the two drivers for the Williams team.
WILLIAMS A Senna Brz 0 D Hill GB 2 TYRRELL U Katamaya Jpn 3 M Blundell GB 4 BENETTON M Schumacher Ger 5 J Lehto Fin 6 McLAREN M Hakkinen Fin 7 To be announced 8 FOOTWORK C Fittipaldi Brz 9 To be announced 10 LOTUS J Herbert GB 11 P Lamy Por 12 JORDAN R Barrichello Brz 14 E Irvine GB 15 LARROUSSE E Comas Fr 19 O Beretta Fr 20 MINARDI To be announced 23 To be announced 24 LIGIER E Bernard Fr 25 To be announced 26 FERRARI J Alesi Fr 27 G Berger Aut 28 SAUBER K Wendlinger Aut 29 H-H Frentzen Ger 30 SIMTEK D Brabham Aus 31 J`M Gounon Fr 32 PACIFIC P Belmondo Fr 33 B Gachot Bel 34 22.01.94F1:- Benetton Formula One driver JJ Lehto will be moved to the London Clinic following his accident at Silverstone. The Finnish driver had been taken to hospital following the crash in which he damaged his vertabrae.
MONTE CARLO RALLY The 1994 FIA World Championship gets underway on Monday with the opening round in Monte Carlo. Flying Finn Juha Kankkunen, who captured his fourth world title in thrilling style last year, will once again be the man to beat. Colin McRae spearheads the British challenge, while his new Subaru teammate Carlos Sainz is aiming to get back to his best after a disappointing 1993. Didier Auriol will be chasing a hat-trick after winning in Monte Carlo for the last two years.
Contestants headed for the starting line from six points across Europe on Saturday, the official but non-competitive start of the rally. The cars are due to arrive in the Alpine City of Valence on Sunday, with the event getting underway Monday morning. The first leg begins in Saint Pierreville and stretches for 22 miles. The rally will cover nearly two dozen sections of winding roads in all, finishing up in Monte Carlo itself next Thursday.
23.01.94 - F1Triple world champion Ayrton Senna began his Williams career in fine fashion, finishing fastest in the four-day Formula One test session. Senna completed 175 laps during the dry session in Estoril, Portugal which ended on Sunday. The Brazilian pushed hard during his first drive in the Williams-Renault FW15D, clocking a best time of 1 min, 12.49 secs. Despite a couple of spins at the same corner he was very happy with his performance and said: "I learnt a lot about the car and the team."
24.01.94F1:- World champion Alain Prost has hinted that he may return to Formula One racing this season. The Frenchman, who announced his retirement on the way to winning the title for Williams last year, is being tempted back by McLaren. He said: "Since rumours have been circulating about my possible return to competition, I have been wondering what people were thinking. Whatever final decision I take, for which no deadline has been fixed, I know it will not be easy."
MONTE CARLO RALLY Positions after 6 stages (end of day 1) hrs mins secs 1 F Delecour Fr Ford Escort 1:51.46 2 C Sainz Sp Subaru @ 00.22 3 J Kankkunen Fin Toyota @ 00.25 4 M Biasion It Ford Escort @ 00.49 5 B Thiry Fr Ford Escort @ 02.35 6 K Eriksson Swe Mitsubishi @ 03.29 7 A Oreille Fr Renault @ 05.57 8 J Ragnotti Fr Renault @ 06.15 9 P-M Jenot Fr Ford Escort @ 09.25 10 M Gregis It Lancia @ 11.23Colin McRae's hopes of victory were dashed when spectator 'sabotage' saw him crash into a tree. The Subaru driver was in second spot when leader Armin Schwarz slid off the road after spectators had thrown snow into his path. McRae swerved to avoid the German Mitsubishi driver on the third stage and was left 38 minutes in arrears with a badly damaged car. Defending champion Didier Auriol then took the lead but spun out on stage five, leaving Francois Delecour ahead after six stages.
25.01.94F1:- Finnish Grand Prix driver JJ Lehto is in excellent condition after surgery following his crash during testing last Sunday. Lehto is expected to be released from the clinic at the weekend and should resume driving in eight weeks time.
MONTE CARLO RALLY Positions after 12 stages: hrs mins secs 1 F Delecour Fr Ford Escort 3:35.28 2 J Kankkunen Fin Toyota @ 0.44 3 C Sainz Sp Subaru @ 2.06 4 M Biasion It Ford Escort @ 2.54 5 B Thiry Fr Ford Escort @ 4.38 6 K Eriksson Swe Mitsubishi @ 6.38 7 J Ragnotti Fr Renault @ 13.13 8 A Oreille Fr Renault @ 13.27 9 A Schwarz Ger Mitsubishi @ 18.32 10 P-M Jenot Fr Ford Escort @ 21.00Frenchman Francois Delecour ended the second day with a 44-second lead over Finn Juha Kankkunen but was still under pressure. Kankkunen, the world champion, led the Escort Cosworth driver by 12 seconds over the last stage of the day to stay in touch in the Toyota. Spain's Carlos Sainz is in third place a further 1 min 22 secs behind Kankkunen. Scotsman Colin McRae finished the day in 20th place in his Subaru.
26.01.94 - MONTE CARLO RALLY Positions after 16 stages: hrs mins secs 1 F Delecour Fr Ford Escort 4:49.15 2 J Kankkunen Fin Toyota @ 1.33 3 C Sainz Sp Subaru @ 2.04 4 M Biasion It Ford Escort @ 4.27 5 B Thiry Fr Ford Escort @ 6.05 6 K Eriksson Swe Mitsubishi @ 7.10 7 A Schwarz Ger Mitsubishi @ 18.12 8 P-M Jenot Fr Ford Escort @ 27.26 9 J Puras Sp Ford Escort @ 30.51 10 J Ragnotti Fr Renault @ 37.15Francois Delecour was on the verge of Ford's first Monte Carlo rally win as he more than doubled his lead over Juha Kankkunen. The Frenchman increased the gap to one minute 33 seconds after Wednesday's four stages. Delecour won the opening stage but as he let up, German Armin Schwarz took the next two and Scotland's Colin McRae won the last one. Former Irish Tour de France winner Stephen Roche is in 65th place in his first Monto Carlo rally.
27.01.94F1:- Alain Prost is not expected to be named as part of the McLaren driver line-up when the team unveil their new MP4/9 car on Friday. Prost retired from F1 after winning his fourth world title at Williams last year but had been widely tipped to return with McLaren. A spokesman said boss Ron Dennis had spoken to Prost but he was only one of a number of drivers who may earn a seat alongside Mika Hakkinen. Prost may have to return a large 'golden handshake' if he chooses to return to F1 with a rival team.
MONTE CARLO RALLY Result after 22 special stages: hrs mins secs 1 F Delecour Fr Ford Escort 6:12.20 2 J Kankkunen Fin Toyota 6:13.25 3 C Sainz Sp Subaru 6:14.07 4 M Biasion It Ford Escort 6:16.56 5 K Eriksson Swe Mitsubishi 6:19.17 6 B Thiry Fr Ford Escort 6:19.18 7 A Schwarz Ger Mitsubishi 6:29.19 8 P-M Jenot Fr Ford Escort 6:49.16 9 J Puras Sp Ford Escort 6:53.49 10 C McRae GB Subaru 7:01.30Frenchman Francois Delecour gave Ford a long-awaited win when he won the Monte Carlo Rally for the first time, ahead of Juha Kankkunen. Delecour, who started the final night with a 1 min 33 sec lead over the world champion, kept his cool to give Ford their first win in the principality in 41 years. Kankkunen held off a strong challenge for second place from Carlos Sainz. Britain's Colin McRae battled his way into 10th place.
28.01.94 - F1Alain Prost could be a test driver for McLaren before a possible return to Formula One with the team this year. McLaren boss Ron Dennis confirmed he was still talking to the four time world champion, who retired at the end of last season. Dennis added that discussions would continue between now and March 18, the final date for McLaren to name its second driver to Mika Hakkinen. Williams team owner Frank Williams said last week it would be "deeply embarrassing" if Prost came back.
29.01.94 - F1JJ Lehto will be fit to make his Benetton debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix on March 27 despite his recent high-speed crash. The Finn suffered a serious neck injury in testing at Silverstone earlier this month but expects to be fit by the beginning of March.
02.02.94INDYCAR:- Nigel Mansell broke his own unofficial lap record for the Laguna Seca Raceway in California during testing on Monday. A spokesman for the Newman-Haas racing team confirmed his new record time of one minute 10.47 seconds, beating his previous best of 1:10.80 set last year. Emerson Fittipaldi set the official track record of 1:12.296. Mansell said: "The car is just fabulous but it will be difficult to repeat this time."
F1:- Ferrari have unveiled their new Formula One car in Maranello. The gearbox was created by British designer John Barnard.
03.02.94 - F1Williams Formula One team boss Frank Williams says he has not been approached to free Alain Prost from the second year of his contract. Williams insists that if the retired world champion wished to make a comeback, he would have to seek permission from the team. Prost has been involved in talks with the McLaren team about a possible return to Formula One. Williams said: "No attempt has been made to gain his release from the second year of his contract."
04.02.94 - F1Italian Michele Alboreto will team up with compatriot Pierluigi Martini to drive for the Minardi Formula One team this season. He has won five Grands Prix, the last in 1985 and drove for the Lola team in 1993
07.02.94 - DAYTONA 24HRSUS quartet Paul Gentilozzi, Steve Millen, Scott Pruett and Butch Leitzinger drove a Nissan 300 ZX to the first GTS-class victory in 17 years in the Daytona 24 Hours.
10.02.94 - F3000Lola Cars will be represented in the 1994 FIA International F3000 Championship as Nordic Racing will race two of their vehicles.
18.02.94 - F1Sasol Jordan will be the first Formula One team to try out the new re-fuelling equipment which is set to be introduced this season. Jordan driver Eddie Irvine will test the Jordan-Hart 194 in Barcelona in a long-distance race next week. Pacific Grand Prix completed a systems check on their new Formula One car at Snetterton.
23.02.94 - F1Pacific Grand Prix's first chance to test Pacific-Ilmor PR01 on a full circuit saw a very impressive showing from the car and driver. Bertrand Gachot lapped the Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone in 1min 26.8secs before snow ended his 15-lap run.
24.02.94 - F1Ken Tyrrell's Formula One team have unveiled their new Tyrrell-Yamaha 022 car at the London Motor Racing Show at Olympia.
26.02.94 - MINTEX NATIONAL RALLYDavid Gillanders of Aberdeen has won the opening round of the Mintex National rally series. He and co-driver John Bennie finished in front of fellow Scots Raymond Munroe and Graham Brunton.
28.02.94 - PORUGUESE RALLYFrancois Delecour will be aiming to follow up his success in Monte Carlo with another victory in the Rally of Portugal starting Tuesday. The Frenchman, an easy winner of last year's rally, is seeded No 1 for the first time at this level. The four-day rally gets underway in Estoril and features 11 asphalt stages on the first stretch to Povoa de Varzim. The rest of the 36 special stages are on gravel, with the finish back in Estoril.