Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore XII - Dutch Grand Prix - II

Driving on the Zandvoort track

With ghosts of 1970 Dutch GP haunting the organisers and fresh in driver’s memory, the race in 1971 went ahead smoothly. Though there were no casualties, the track was slippery and the conditions tested the wet weather driving skills of Jacky Ickx and Pedro Rodriguez, who prevailed when compared to the rest of the field to finish one and two. Interestingly, Rodriguez was the last podium finisher for a Mexican until recently when Sergio Perez, in 2012 came second in the Malaysian GP. 

The race in 1972 was cancelled because of safety reasons as the Zandvoort track had not been upgraded with the much improved racing standards at other circuits. The track underwent severe modifications and safety upgrades. The hard work paid as the race was reinstated in 1973.

Welcomed back to the F1 circus, Zandvoort circuit with its new avatar saw a lot of crowd. The excitement was seen and the race was a carnival. With race safely underway, the organisers who, until then had done a great job, saw their worst nightmare come true. Roger Williamson on lap 8, crashed out courtesy of a tyre failure. Within no time, his car was in fumes, inverted with the driver stuck inside it. The petrol tank ignited while lying on the track and caught fire.

David Purley stopped his car and came to Williamson’s rescue. The race continued but with yellow flags as they believed it was Purley’s car which had suffered this fate. He tried stopping other drivers, but they all thought it was his car that had gone off track.

Purley calls out the on-field fire marshals for help; they hesitate initially, he snatches the fire extinguisher and tries to quench the flames, but in vain. He hears his friend’s screams from the car and tries unsuccessfully to overturn the car to safety. The track side assistants were poorly trained, ill-equipped (without fire retardant suits) and bad communication didn’t help the situation as the fire rescue truck came around eight minutes later. Purley was left disappointed, helpless as he saw his friend consumed by the fire and die of suffocation. 

He was awarded the George Medal for his bravery, but he knew the medal meant nothing when compared to the way the whole situation was handled. 

Jackie Stewart won the race, his 26th and thereby took his tally of wins one more than Jim Clark’s total Grand Prix victories (which was a record then). He retired at the end of 1973 season after winning his 3rd Driver's World Championships.

Nikki Lauda by this time in 1974 had emerged as one of the stars in F1. Ferrari made it 1-2 with Lauda and the Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni claiming the top two places. 

James Hunt was steadily making his way up in his F1 career and in the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, he won the race by 1 second over Nikki Lauda. The Austrian driving ace Lauda was quicker than the rest all weekend, had the pole position and fastest lap. James Hunt gave his constructor Hesketh Racing their first and only race win in F1.

With Lauda’s life threatening accident in West Germany during the German GP, Ferrari dropped out of the next race in Austria keeping in mind of Lauda’s condition. Call it a miracle, the Ferrari ace driver recovered well and ended up missing just the two GP’s. Ferrari returned to racing without Lauda to Zandvoort where Hunt again won the race, this time in a McLaren. The rest of the 1976 season is well documented in the forthcoming Ron Howard’s movie ‘Rush’.

The 1977 edition was won by Nikki Lauda aided by the accidents and retirements of Mario Andretti and James Hunt. Mario Andretti had a successful 1978 season. In Zandvoort, it was no different. He won the race after starting the race from pole. Incidentally this win also happened to be his final GP victory. Its been 25 years since an American driver has won a F1 race since that Andretti’s victory; and it will remain this way unless there is an influx of American race drivers in F1.

Alan Jones won the 1979 race and the 1980 edition saw the future 3-time World Champion Nelson Piquet battle it out with Alan Jones for the top spot. After an impressive debut season for the McLaren, Alain Prost was racing with his home team Renault in the 1981 season. He won his second of his 51 victories at Zandvoort.

1982 is one of the landmark years in the history of F1. Boycott of constructors, tussle with the F1 heads (FISA-FOCA war) and death of few drivers on track including that of Gilles Villeneuve.  For three races after Villeneuve’s death, Ferrari had just one of its cars running during the races. Patrick Tambay, an experienced French driver was called in to replace Gilles Villeneuve. Didier Pironi won the race, which also happened to be his last win in F1. 

Ferrari dominated the next year’s Dutch GP with Rene Arnoux winning last of his seven GP victories here and Patrick Tambay coming in second. In 1984, McLaren-TAG was close to unbeatable barring for few races (four); Alain Prost and Nikki Lauda won the remaining 12 races. Alain Prost won the race with his team mate coming in second.

Nikki Lauda after winning his third World Championships, raced one last time with McLaren in 1985. Alain Prost was fresh and had all the hunger while it was clear Lauda was well past his previous best. The season belonged to Prost hands down; however the race in Zandvoort will be remembered for the Austrian racing legend’s victory, his 25th win and most notably his last GP win.

After the 1985 season, it was curtains for Zandvoort as it turned to be the last time they hosted the Grand Prix. Outdated track and facilities which needed up gradation and housing facilities in the proximity protested against the sound levels were some of the infrastructural reasons given for the closure.

A lot of history, fatal accidents, deaths on track and yet Dutch Grand Prix hosted the F1 family no less than 30 years since the start of F1 World Championships.

I can only say I was privileged to have had an opportunity to burn some rubber on this track. Zandvoort is no Spa, Silverstone or Monza; nevertheless it has its own stories to share and the racing cars at different levels do make a visit even today to this dune town close to North Sea.

Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore XII - Dutch Grand Prix - Part I

Last Turn of Circuit Park Zandvoort

Two memories come to my mind as I write this. Mind you, these are just the two out of many memorable ones I have since the time I have known F1. The decision to visit Singapore GP and watching the first ever night race in 2008 tops the list and secondly driving around the streets of Monaco to complete a lap on a busy traffic day. I was happy with the latter because I tested myself mentally with the circuit route to replicate the one used in Monaco Grand Prix. Let’s just say it was more than satisfying. BMW X5 driven by my co-brother is not such a bad car, but the traffic made sure we went in the speed range comparable to the pit lane speed limits. I always wondered then, how it would be to drive on a purpose built F1 circuit. In this edition of Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore, I write about Dutch Grand Prix (in two parts), about the Circuit Park in Zandvoort where a race was completed without a single pit stop and notoriously known for few appalling deaths on track of the likes of Piers Courage who incidentally was born today a good 71 years ago and Roger Williamson (in Part II).

 The road trip to the country of Orange from Switzerland was breathtaking. Driving majorly through the limitless speed highways of Germany was filled with pleasure, thrill and excitement. I had made up my mind to visit Circuit Park at Zandvoort which is North of Holland at any cost, while we were at Netherlands. The idea was to just have a look at the F1 circuit and its surroundings. What followed is indeed interesting. I drove the Ford (hired rental) into the circuit and managed to complete an uninterrupted lap on the same. The timing was just perfect; the junior racing competition had just completed that evening and the track from the parking lot was open. I didn’t know what I was getting in to, and the next moment I found myself at the last corner, few meters from the start-finish line. The track was empty and barely could I see people around me. I was hesitant, but seconds later decided to just lay some rubber on the track. What followed is a lap to remember, that’s another story. 

Races began under the banner of Dutch Grand Prix in the late 1940’s. By the time F1 World Championship finished its 3rd year, the circuit at Zandvoort had made its way to the annual F1 calendar. The track which is just over 4 km long was dominated by the Ferrari powered engines driven by Alberto Ascari and won consecutively in its first two years. There was no race held in 1954 and the 1955 race was hosted just a week after the disastrous 1955 LeMans race which was tragically remembered for many spectator deaths. The Mercedes duo of Fangio and Moss was unbeatable as they won the race comfortably 1-2 in the 1955 race.

 The race did not return until the 1958 season by which time the focus in the paddock had entirely shifted to Stirling Moss from the legendary five times World Champion Fangio. Moss, under the shadow of Fangio for three years running finally had an opportunity to claim his maiden World Championships. He won the Dutch Grand Prix in his Vanwall but could not win the championships that year. He won four races that season, but was overhauled by a point. Mike Hawthorn who had just one victory the entire season won the driver’s crown by a solitary point and retired from racing at the end of that season.

 With emergence of Jack Brabham and other talented rookie drivers, Moss did not get enough opportunities and thus remained to this day the best driver never to have won driver’s World Championship.

Joakim Bonnier, the first Swedish driver to win a F1 race won it in 1959 which incidentally also happened to be his sole Grand Prix of his 15 year career in F1. The 1960 race saw the future two-time World Champion Jim Clark make his debut at Zandvoort but the race was marred by Dan Gurney’s unfortunate accident which resulted in killing of a spectator who at the time of the incident was in a prohibited zone. The race was won by the then reigning champion Jack Brabham. 

 The 1961 race saw a German winning a Grand Prix for the first time in F1. Wolfgang Von Trips in his Ferrari won the race. This race was the first time all drivers on the starting grid completed the race (since then it has happened in 2005 Italian GP and 2011 European GP) and even more interesting the 1961 race had no pit stops. Quite a contrast when you compare with the current season and complaints we hear on the number of pit stops.

 Graham Hill driving in a BRM won his first GP in 1962. In those years, each circuit in Europe took turns to be designated as the European Grand Prix. Dutch Grand Prix was to be known as ‘European GP’ in 1962. The next three years it was the dominant Jim Clark who took the top step of the podium. In those three years, Clark went on to win two World Championships.

 Ford Cosworth with its revolutionary design DFV (Double Four Valve) made its first appearance at the 1967 Grand Prix. The defending champion and the previous year winner Jack Brabham had no chance as Jim Clark went on to win his 4th Dutch GP. 

 By the time the season of 1968 began, the French race car constructor Matra had roped in the talented British driver Jackie Stewart. Jackie Stewart won the race and thereby gave the first victory to a French constructor in the history of F1. He also won the next year’s edition. The only posthumous World Champion in F1, Jochen Rindt won the race in 1970.

 It is not Jochen Rindt and his victory which people remember from the 1970 edition. A lot of them recall the race for the sad demise of Piers Courage who died after a crash on lap 22; the failed suspension causing the car to hit the curbs and the grass embankment. Earlier that season, Williams had opted to use the newly designed De Tomaso 505 through a business arrangement with Alessandro de Tomaso, rather than the tried-and-tested Brabham, for the 1970 season. The problems began to unfold due to the new design’s unreliability and overweight. For more than half of the season’s races, the team struggled to finish in points scoring positions. However, the entire team had high hopes just before the start of Dutch Grand Prix.

 Courage qualified in 9th position looked all set to improve from the failures of the previous races.

Twenty-three laps of the Grand Prix were down and by that time the Williams driver was in pursuit of Clay Regazzoni. The cars reached the Turn 8 of the circuit - Tunnel Oost; Courage’s front suspension of the car broke loose and went straight instead of turning to complete the bend.

 The scenes were very disturbing as the car somersaulted and exploded like a ball of fire. The car was lined heavily with Magnesium in suspension and chassis which made matters even worse. The flames from the car were so intense; trees surrounding the accident site were lit up as a result. During the impact, one of the wheels from the car hit Courage on his head, thereby breaking his helmet. From what I have read, he died on track due to sheer impact and from the head and neck injuries he sustained in the course of that crash. 

 He passed away just shy of one month after celebrating his 28th birthday leaving behind Sally Courage, his wife of four years and their two kids.

 Sir Frank Williams, Courage’s boss at that time summed up nicely in his foreword to a book titled - Piers Courage: Last of the Gentleman Racers written by renowned F1 expert Adam Cooper - "He was a great man, highly popular, and I remember clearly that when he died a nation grieved, as did all of us in Formula One at that time. He was the greatest fun, utterly charming. They don't make them like that anymore."

 People poured in their comments, consoled Courage's family. However in few days time, the life in the world of Grand Prix and F1 went on, knowing such incidents can happen to anyone. In the next part, I write about the races and the fall of Dutch Grand Prix post 1970. 

Anatomy of Indian Sports Governance

 Around the time of August in 2010, while I was working in Delhi at Commonwealth Games (CWG), i first witnessed the uneasiness surrounding the preparation of the games and competition. It was just the beginning, watching Times Now expose several irregularities; weeks before the games began and yet with each accusation surfaced the CWG went on. Personally, i credit the success of execution during Games time to the entire workforce who gave more than their best to ensure not all was bad. They just wanted to their job irrespective of the hurdles and each one deserved a medal for the efforts.

 The CWG incident summed up a quote from a T-shirt I had picked up in Delhi. The occasion was perfect to flaunt it; more than a personal statement, i felt the atmosphere was just right to wear the quoted tee. “Come to India, one billion people can’t go wrong” – the quote went something like that. It did catch many eyes and even got comments on that being a nice shirt. Yes, i knew the white round neck T-shirt of mine was good because of the quote. Such is the power of words, when used can create ripples. Alright, that might be a bit stretchy, but atleast it held attention. A lot of foreign work staff, including many of my colleagues were waiting for the games to be completed in order to rush back to their homes; for them the holiday of exploring India besides work was over. The constant scrutiny of the games was just too hot to handle coupled with the Delhi heat. The work culture of few people determined the way Indians worked in general. It was tough, but we went on.

Tantra's Shirt

 And so, CWG turned out to be the best ever India could manage with the resources and people we had at that time. Indian Athletes won medals, Delhi infrastructure improved slightly, a lot of the workforce got their life lessons and they moved on once the curtains were drawn to the event.

 Not all was pleasant after all and this was solely on the part of governance. Call it corruption, mismanagement or whatever that comes to one’s mind – it is all part of governance. I learnt a lesson or two in governance from the Commonwealth Games.

 The publicity the event gathered was in foreign media and mind you, even the non-commonwealth nations found it interesting. How a country with billion people can go wrong when it came to governing a sports event?  Well, it did and simply because India has no sporting tradition of hosting international events except for playing. There was never a priority from the Government to include Sports in their bucket list and rightly so. Even more appalling is the fact that, there were few attempts to change the mindset. I felt in 2003, hosting CWG will pave a way for all-round sports culture in India. Only few bricks were removed from the wall of bad governance and it magnified in 2010 when media was penetrative more than ever before.

 If only Olympic and non-cricket Sports had money, they would have been different. Allegations consistently on cricket administration was heard regularly, but it could manage as the game developed with better infrastructure and more money for the players. But the question of governance remained and remains untouched to this date.

 There were visionaries in Indian Sports setup but perished because of the system, as the might of rival faction was just too strong to counter. Very few start their professional careers thinking they will be corrupted for rest of their lives. The decision makers are honorary and hence unaccountable.

 The people (non-decision makers and paid staff) who chose to remain silent will be silenced forever and they will be in the setup only for the execution of the task. Though they don’t need to agree to a lot of things that happen, they earn their wages to survive in India. So the stage is set for the battle of egos. Simple men with vision are blindfolded forcefully or the victims choose to remain blindfolded only because they do need that ‘extra’ tension in their lives. Tell me, what are the odds of David winning against Goliath - One in ten?

Is it assuring to be with those nine men than wage a sole battle? It comes down to choice and the vision of an individual.

 Now, to governance part – I am open to an individual who can wear multiple hats as long as his intentions are clear and clean when it comes to decision making. Multiple hats dims one’s thought process in passing important regulations. Heading a sports organisation is a voluntary job and only established business men or a politician can easily don that hat. Why are such individuals voted into the system?

 Is it because of the influence they can generate among many Government, public and private sectors in getting the necessary permissions? Do they help athletes in securing a job in one of these sectors simply by their name appearing in the recommendation letter or by means of a humble phone call? While one cannot ignore these facts or benefits they provide for less privileged sports, my question is – Should such favours be made only if they head the organisations?

 The saga will continue but who will own the moral hat when there is suspicion. A leader is the one who steps down and comes back after proven innocent. Sadly, in India if the judicial process would be swift we could have seen many instances of people being suspended upon inquiry. I lament, it is not so. Hence we have the organisation heads refusing to step down and will go out only when forced out.

 Crisis is part of everyday life and so that doesn’t mean events must be stopped or banned. India went ahead with CWG for the sake of Sports alone, and two years later had a successful London Olympics (when compared with past Indian performances). Cricket too will move on amidst all this mess - But at what cost?

 I wish to see a day where the heads of the organisation communicate and state the facts ardently. Money and grants allocation for non-cricket sports can be made only if there is a willingness to create a plan for the Sports development. India is blessed with such a population that many private establishments are getting involving in development of sports. Yes, India is a land of more than one billion and not all of them will be wrong. But those few who create such ‘wrong perception’ come from the influential and political category and that is the worrying sign. Private firm can do only much unless there is the administration heads of sports work with alacrity.

 Will there be smart administrators who can look beyond and interpret rightly the Buddha’s saying of ‘Living in Present’? Coz, acknowledging and solving the present problems can only help the Sports Industry better. 

Perils of Indian Cricket Administration

Last week, Cricket made headlines (again) for illegal activities concerning spot-fixing. A two-time World Cup winner, a first-class cricketer and a club cricketer all playing for the same franchise Rajasthan Royals were accused, taken to custody, their contracts suspended, banned and the investigations are still on. Not so long ago, in 2000 this game discovered the term match-fixing being added to its glossary. Spot-fixing is the latest addition.

 

 Illegal by its widely accepted definition is “Prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules”. While the connotations and the usage are unparalleled in today’s world, illegal is also a situation where there is a degree of punishment when a personnel or a firm involved.

 A lot of noise is heard at the moment in India; with social media easily accessible to public, the news is viral and with each passing hour there are updates and more dirt being unearthed. What is the truth? I ask this question each time when such allegations threaten to disrupt a sport, let alone be cricket. Quel dommage!

 Individuals or a collection of individuals may be playing for the same team, but their personalities are different. Just as their skill sets are unique, their sociological background and their vision towards life are varied. This is what team sports are made up of – a bunch of idiosyncratic athletes coming together with a simple purpose and a common goal – to win. It is their profession and like any other profession, sport is no different. Win at all costs is the mantra; losing at all costs?

 Losing is a constant part of the game; if done deliberately you discredit the effort put in by your peers and opposition. Cricket like many other games evolved from being a recreational sport to the present day business establishment. There are contracts, employee agreements and commitments which is necessary to fulfill.

 The business over recreation in its modern avatar became very evident in cricket with the advent of T20 cricket and since the conception of Indian Premier League (IPL). Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in partnership with International Management Group (IMG) drew the league structure for IPL in 2008.

 Currently, IPL is in its sixth edition and barring the first season; each season had its share of controversies. This is nothing new for the tournament that unites the best of international cricketers from around the world for a good part of ten weeks. The teams are owned by well-known business magnates and few of the famous Indian movie celebrities. State Associations of Cricket are involved in tandem with BCCI and team owners as they provide the playing facilities, while the sponsors who pump in money to these franchises also play an important role. Not to forget, amidst all this, there are local Indian cricketers and umpires who are given a platform of their lives to showcase their respective talents to the global audience.

 With deals in the tune of millions of dollars for TV rights, Mobile rights, League Sponsorship this is easily one of the top leagues in the world when it comes to money involved. So with a short introduction to IPL, the basic question remains unanswered or I might say skewed. What is the purpose of IPL - Is it to promote cricket? Money?  To showcase cricketer’s talents?  To remain in the limelight or is it a cocktail of all the above factors?

 BCCI’s objective is simple – To make money from cricket and to utilise that money to promote cricket across the country. What about other stake holders? Their involvement in IPL is simple too -Win matches, increase their presence in the social circles and add IPL as an extension to their well established businesses. While this is true for owners, a lot of companies utilise IPL to showcase their products through advertisements and sponsorship. IPL is not merely for cricket, it is entertainment, business, money and fame with cricket as its vital ingredient.

 With cricket as the vital ingredient, it is the onus on the governing body BCCI in the lead with ICC as a indirect partner to take the moral responsibility for the smooth running of the league. India as a political nation is divided by region, language and caste politics. Indian cricket has them all - BCCI is the only organisation that had and has representatives from all the major political parties across India consistently in its governing body. With such a powerful network, it is perhaps explained why this unity can fail and is deemed ineffective when it comes to tackling or checking illegal activities or resolving conflicts of interests. That is the flip side of being democratic in an organisation where the rules can be skewed and altered easily while none of it all is explained in lay man’s language.

 What can BCCI do? While the responsibility of integrity rests with the individual athletes, BCCI can consider this latest fiasco to lead by example and demonstrate its might to educate the upcoming cricketers, strengthen its laws, rewrite it such that there is no scope for misinterpretation and finally look beyond money and take care of Indian cricket that lays the golden eggs.

 BCCI with its increased reach, stronger and deeper than the Indian Olympic Committee can set examples to other athletes in matters related to match-fixing, spot-fixing, doping, mentoring and faking age in junior cricket. While many of the cricketers earn good money by playing cricket, the present generation needs monitoring and the future generations to come needs education on the ill-traps of sport. BCCI needs to control cricket from playing and administrative aspects such that there are clear, well defined laws and rules to tackle such aforementioned issues.

Will they? Time can only answer. 

Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore XI - Dallas Grand Prix

One of the rare sights I have ever seen in F1 is the sight of a driver pushing his car to the chequered flag. These days, such a situation is rare. From what I have seen in the video archives and read in several articles, pushing a car was a normal thing to do for many drivers in the past, even more so when they were close to the finishing line.

In this edition of Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore, I am looking back at the solitary race that took place at  a track where Nigel Mansell - after securing his first pole position, having driven a steady race fell unconscious due to exhaustion and dehydration near the start-finish line, while he attempted valiantly to race completion pushing his car.

Last year, United States hosted a Grand Prix in the state of Texas at Austin. It became an interesting race for many of the teams as drivers struggled with tyres because of relatively cooler conditions, as it took time for all the racers to warm up with new tyres. This is in contrast with the issues faced when the state of Texas first hosted a Formula One race. It was in the year 1984 at Fair Park, a 277-acre recreational and educational complex located in Dallas were hosts to a Grand Prix.

Dallas in a bid to demonstrate as ‘World class city’ hosted this race and the track was a street circuit of length just short of 4 km.  The circuit itself was not conducive for overtaking and the drivers had to rely on their sharp instincts to negotiate more than one sharp turn. With just two hairpin bends and short straights, this race was a challenge to the best of the drivers. Challenge is what champions thrive on, but this time they had an external challenge too – the hot weather.

The race was scheduled in the season where the summer was at its peak in Dallas. Commitments had been made and the commercialisation had just started in F1. Any new international venue was welcomed and at the same time attractive to the business of F1. And moreover, Bernie Eccelestone and FOCA were trying to find a home ground in North America.

There was no enthusiasm on the part of several teams to race under extreme heat than normal conditions which they were quite adapted to. Mind you, this was a street circuit and the heat did not help matters to the concrete laid on the public roads at Fair Park. After the Friday practice, there were noises to be heard complaining about the circuit, especially concerning the track being bubbly. Nelson Piquet, the then defending champion was most vocal – he wondered which among the three would break first; cars, the drivers or the track itself. In the end it turned out to be all the three at different times of the race.

Martin Brundle became the first of the casualties when he crashed his Tyrell into a barrier. He broke both his knees and spent rest of the race and season recuperating from that horrific accident. The battle for the championship was between the McLaren teammates – Nikki Lauda and Alain Prost, with Prost leading the championship. Under extreme hot conditions, the Lotus pair Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis secured 1-2 for the race. Ferrari was struggling but they did put up a good show as the Frenchman Rene Arnoux came fourth while the Renault powered car driven by Derek Warwick was to start from the third. The McLaren duo had to be content with five and seven on the grid sandwiched by Aryton Senna, who incidentally was in his rookie year.

With complaints about the heat becoming a threat to cancel this race, the organisers had agreed the race would begin at 11 am on Sunday and the practice was scheduled for 7 am. For few drivers this was way too early for scheduling a practice. Jacques Laffite, the French driver for Williams was in his pyjamas when he arrived at the circuit instead of overalls and helmet. Due to the damage made by the Can-Am racing the previous day, the practice was cancelled and instead the organisers were busy fixing up the circuit. The track was showing some degree of degradation and this called for fresh protests from the drivers led by Nikki Lauda and Alain Prost before the start. Who likes to lay on the line, the championships and more importantly the safety of the drivers?

With 80,000 disappointed fans at stake and the overall image of F1, there was no way the race would have been cancelled. Jimmy Carter, ex-US President was one among the elite celebrities who were invited for the race. Larry Hagman (Capt. Tony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie and J.R. Ewing in Dallas) waved the green flag to start the ninth round of the 1984 season.

The retirements started from the first lap and as the race (which began minutes after the track was repaired) progressed there were many added to this list. With heat taking a toll on driver’s concentration, there were errors made which costed the race for few drivers. Nigel Mansell could not sustain his lead, made a mistake by hitting the wall and thereby lost his position to Keke Rosberg. Keke Rosberg who had started the race from 8^th on the grid was unstoppable just after half-way through the race. There were moments when Alain Prost looked good to win the race before he made an error and the lead and with it the race was once again for Rosberg’s to lose. After close to two hours of racing in extreme hot conditions, the Finn won the race, one lap short of the total laps. The drama wasn’t over – Nigel Mansell who had to settle for fifth position ran out of fuel on the last lap.  Mansell, out of his car started pushing the car to the finish line and in the process collapsed on the track out of exhaustion. He finished sixth out of eight drivers who managed to stay on the track till the end. 

                 

Incidentally, Rosberg’s pace was so exemplary coupled with race attrition, he won it by a margin of approximately 23 seconds of Rene Arnoux, who finished 2^nd in a Ferrari. The rest of the cars (six of them) were all behind Rosberg and Rene Arnoux by a lap or more. In a traditional Texan style, Rosberg wearing a Stetson hat looked relieved and visibly very fresh. It was later known to public that Rosberg had invested close to $2000 for a special designed water-cooled helmet, which did play a crucial role in keeping his head cool amidst chaos and heat during the race.

The Grand Prix in Dallas was a one-off event. With a narrow track lots of concrete falling apart, cars colliding with the protected fencing than ever seen in a previous F1 race and the heat (though this could have been worked out) were just too big reasons to be ignored and have teams visit the place next year. This race was replaced by the Australian Grand Prix in 1985 at the street circuit of Adelaide. 

Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore X - Montjuïc Spanish Grand Prix

Lella Lombardi, the only female to score points in F1

I recently read the news of the future of Women drivers in F1 and controversy surrounding it. Sir Stirling Moss was quite vocal about women being incapable to handle F1 mentally; though physically he said it didn’t matter. This didn’t go well with many and the F1 world was divided, with many voicing their opinions and few openly disagreeing (mainly Susie Wolff, the Williams test driver) with Moss. According to me - Women are ready to race for F1 teams; it is just a matter of teams having them. Only time will tell as to when.

It isn’t like there were no women F1 drivers before. There were many who test drove but very few women were part of the F1 business. Till date, there have been only five women racers (when compared to thousands of male drivers) to have been part of the Grand Prix circus; the last female took part in a race thirty three years ago. Out of these five drivers, only one managed to score a point, well almost a point (0.5 points to be precise). So clearly, statistics are not the medium through which you can bias and deny opportunity to female drivers. F1 in its current state is a lot safer and hence it eliminates the fear of life or one can say, fear of flying if thing do go awry in a F1 car.

Lella Lombardi (one of the five female drivers) competed in 17 races and her moment of glory in F1 came amidst the chaos and death of few spectators in a race which was stopped midway. The year was 1975 and all this happened at the hilly circuit of Montjuïc, located in Barcelona. It hosted Spanish Grand Prix briefly in late 60’s and early 70’s before facing the wrath from the F1 drivers. In this edition of Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore, I will be featuring the enigmatic street circuit at Montjuïc.

Spanish Grand Prix first became part of the F1 calendar in the year 1951, when Pedralbes hosted the race. It hosted one more time in 1954 and was cancelled the next year as a consequence of the disaster that took place at 24 hours of LeMans disaster in 1955. With authorities calling for regulations governing spectator safety, the scheduled Spanish Grand Prix (like many others) was cancelled and the pedestrian-lined street track at Pedralbes was then never used again for motor racing.

It took some effort on the part of ‘Real Automóvil Club de España’ (RACE) known as Royal Automobile Club of Spain in English to bid for the races in Spain. There were two front runners, one from Madrid (Jarama) and Barcelona (Montjuïc) respectively. After hosting a number of F2 and F3 races in the 1960’s, Spain was ready for F1 action. In 1967, a non-championship race took place at Jarama, which is situated north of Madrid. The race was won by Jim Clark and the F1 fraternity was impressed and came to an agreement to have the Spanish Grand Prix regularly. The two venues - Jarama and Montjuïc were in concord to host the Spanish Grand Prix alternatively. Jarama would host the Spanish Grand Prix in even-numbered years and Montjuïc in the odd-numbered years. 

                                        

Montjuïc, also known as the ‘Jew Mountain’ in Catalan hosted its first F1 championship race in 1969. Located in the hills, the drivers had to drive their machines along the slopes facing the city. It was challenging, it was tricky, but was exciting too. It was the second race of the calendar and the Ford-powered engines of Matra driven by (Sir) Jackie Stewart took the top step of the podium. Bruce McLaren in his McLaren-Ford came second. The race marked the end of the high-wing era. Also, this was the first race where the winner finished the race two laps ahead of the runner-up. This feat was repeated just once since then (Australia GP, 1995).

 The Spanish Grand Prix returned to Montjuïc in 1971, a race which saw the introduction of slick tyres for the first time in F1 by Firestone, who had considerable experience in US Open wheel racing series. Jackie Stewart was once again unstoppable; won the race starting from fourth.

In 1973, Jackie Stewart could not complete the hatrick of victories at Montjuïc. He retired early in the race due to brake problems. Emerson Fittipaldi, the reigning World Champion at that time won the race in his Lotus-Ford.

Two years later, the race at Montjuïc came to be known as one of the horrific and controversial races in the annals of F1 was the last this circuit hosted the Spanish Grand Prix. This is how the drama unfolded.

Before the race started, many drivers expressed their displeasure over the barriers and how recklessly it was bolted. The situation got so heated up that, many of the drivers went on strike and refused to get their cars out for practice sessions, which forced the track workers to spend overtime in fixing the barriers. The strike didn’t cool down; it required a threat by the race organisers which prompted the drivers to call off the strike. The threat was simple – If the race were to be cancelled, all the cars parked in the circuit would have been seized as compensation.

The race finally did take place; few drivers took part hesitantly while one refused to race. Emerson Fittipaldi, then the youngest double World Champion protested the race and did not start this race. There was a big accident and few of the cars at the front were taken out; Wilson Fittipaldi and Arthuro Merzario withdrew from the race after lap one. By the end of three laps, eight out of 26 cars were out of the race. By the end of 25 laps, the number swelled to 18. On lap 25, the tragedy struck as explained by a report – “The rear wing on Rolf Stommelen's Hill-Ford broke, sending him into the barrier. He bounced off it and back into the road, hitting the barrier across the way, and flying over it.”  

While trying to avoid Stommelen as he crossed the track, the Brazilian driver Carlos Pace crashed. Five spectators were killed by Stommelen's flying car with the driver suffering a broken leg, a broken wrist and two cracked ribs. The race continued for four more laps before it was stopped. Jochen Mass won the race and since, only 29 laps out of scheduled 75 were complete, points were reduced to half. The Italian, Lella Lombardi who finished sixth became the first and till date the only female to score points in F1.

 After the tragedy of 1975, F1 never returned to Montjuïc and was deserted completely. Jarama became the sole custodian of the Spanish Grand Prix before the baton was passed on to Jerez, Circuit de Catalunya and Valencia.

With F1 being ruled out, Montjuïc was used extensively to build an Olympic park for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Few parts of the race circuit were included in the Olympic Park plan.

Montjuïc was in the headlines again in October 2007 when the circuit was used for the Martini Legends, to honour the 75th anniversary of the circuit.

With Circuit de Catalunya and the recently built street circuit at Valencia being in the calendar (agreed to host Spanish Grand Prix alternatively), it is unlikely Montjuïc will feature in the F1 calendar in the near future. It hosted the Spanish Grand Prix four times and as they say; you are only as good as your last race. 

Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore IX - Jacarepaguá Brazilian Grand Prix

Picturesque view of the mountains from the track

Today on March 21^st fifty-three years ago, in a small neighbouring city to Sao Paulo Ayrton da Silva was born. At a much later stage before he started racing in F1 he had decided to change his surname to that of his mother’s. Senna fitted well as he started winning the British and Formula Ford championship’s in the early 80’s and thus knocking doors of the many constructor teams in F1.

He started his F1 career in the season of 1984, the year I was born. And before I could understand what F1 meant, he was long gone. I feel at times, I did not get the privilege of watching him race live on TV and all I got was to read stories about his driving and the way he went about racing.  In this edition of Lost Track: Circuits of the Yore, I will write about the circuit where Senna made his F1 debut with Toleman.

It all began in the year 1978 for this circuit; built around a city with backdrop of scenic mountains of Rio de Janeiro. It was a visual treat. The distance was just over 5 km; the circuit was a permanent racing facility and was the first from outside Sao Paulo. Brazilian Grand Prix was included in the F1 calendar only in 1973 (Interlagos), though the championships had begun in 1950. It was won by the local Sao Paulo resident Emerson Fittipaldi. It is interesting to note that, Brazilian drivers in the 1970’s were mainly from Sao Paulo. But the Sao Paulo was not going to be the only circuit in Brazil, as there was another circuit (modified and re-built) in Rio which was ready to host the event. The growing interests in the exotic place of Rio resulted in it getting a foot into Formula One. 

Jacarepaguá (named after the neighbourhood in which it is located) was ready to welcome the F1 world and it hosted its first Grand Prix in 1978. It was a significant one for Michelin Tyre Company as they registered their first victory with Carlos Reutmann winning the race. Emerson Fittipaldi came second and thereby scoring the first podium finish for Fittipaldi-Ford car.

 

After an eventful inaugural race, the event moved to Sao Paulo the following season. But it didn't last long. Safety issues with the track with complaints like bumpy track surface, deep ditches, inadequate barriers and improper embankments surfaced in 1980. In fact, prior to the race several drivers protested for the aforementioned reasons. But in F1, the show must go on and so it did, but Interlagos faced a lot of embarrassment. In addition to the concerns, with F1 becoming a glamour sport the slums of Sao Paulo was at odds for Formula One's new found international image.

Luckily for Brazil, Jacarepaguá was an alternative which was immediately available and from 1981, the race shifted to Rio. 

PASSING THE BATON:

Emerson Fittipaldi, twice F1 World Champion hailed from Sao Paulo. With his increased business interests, the country needed a new hero, not just in Sao Paulo. Though, there were many talented drivers, none could go on to win championships (Fittipaldi had won in 1972 and 1974). That was all to change at the beginning of the next decade. Nelson Piquet started out his sports career in tennis before switching to karts after getting bored with the former. He hailed from Rio and made his way to the top in F1 after advice from Fittipaldi to race in Europe. After creating quite an impression, he made his debut in the year 1978 with Brabham. By the time the Brazilian GP had shifted its attention towards Rio, the crowd had a local who by merit had all the signs of a future world champion.

LONG RUN FOR JACAREPAGUA’:

In 1981, the circuit had a carnival atmosphere and the expectations of the local crowd went high as their city boy Nelson had taken the pole position. The race track was wet at the start and Nelson Piquet started the race with dry slicks. It didn’t help him as he was easily overpowered by both the Williams drivers Reutmann and Alan Jones. Carlos Reutmann went on to win the race despite the clear instructions to finish behind the 1980 World Champion, his team mate Alan Jones which made Jones furious and later refused to come on the podium to take his 2^nd place. Nelson Piquet could not finish in points, but he did win the World Championship in his Brabham-Ford, the first of his three and Brazil had a new hero and this time it was not from Sao Paulo.

Nelson Piquet and the eventual world champion Keke Rosberg finished 1^st and 2^nd respectively in the 1982 edition. But both the places were disqualified due to the car being underweight promoting Alain Prost as the winner. This resulted in FOCA teams boycotting the SanMarino GP.

The local boy eventually tasted the victory champagne at his home circuit the following year while Keke Rosberg (the 1982 World Champion) was disqualified from his 2^nd position for the second year running. Nelson Piquet took his second World Championship and this time with Brabham-BMW.

While the nation was celebrating their new found hero in Piquet, another kid (so to speak) was finding his feet in F1. He was none other than Senna. Debuting for Toleman, the Brazilian didn’t have a good time, but did show early signs about being a champion material. Alain Prost, the French driver nicknamed ‘Professor’ took his second title at the Brazilian GP. He repeated this feat by driving his McLaren-TAG powered engine to the top step in 1985 too.

After having two unsuccessful seasons at Brabham (1984 and 1985), Nelson Piquet shifted to Williams powered by the reliable Honda engine. The 1986 race in Jacarepaguá was the first to be held after the disastrous car accident to Sir Frank Williams in France. Nelson Piquet went on to win the 1986 Grand Prix, but was unable to win the overall title, which went to Alain Prost for the second time.

Alain Prost by this time was simply unstoppable. His rivalry with Nelson Piquet was intense but never so controversial. Prost went on to win his 4^th Brazilian GP in 1987 but the McLaren driver was beaten to title by Nelson Piquet. Nelson won his 3^rd World Championship title and joined the ranks of Fangio, Brabham, Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda as the only drivers to win three or more World Championship titles.

ANOTHER PASS IN THE BATON:

By the time the season started in 1988, a lot of changes had taken place; Piquet was no more with Williams and he had joined Lotus. Senna joined Prost at McLaren and thus began an epic rivalry for the next 2 years. In the meantime, there was a change made to the circuit as well. It was renamed as ‘Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet’, a tribute to the local hero and for being the only Brazilian triple World champion. In his first race since it was renamed after him, Piquet finished driving a Lotus-Honda, finishing behind the McLaren-Honda of Alain Prost (won his 5^th Brazilian GP title), and the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger. By the end of the season, Piquet’s career had taken a nose-dive and he had to be content with the fact that Senna was the new face of Brazilian motorsports as he won his first World Championship title.

The last race at Jacarepaguá paralled with the career of Nelson Piquet, the attention was now towards Sao Paulo and its new hero. In 1989, Senna took the pole and Mansell became the first man since Mario Andretti in 1971 to win on his Formula One debut for Ferrari, a feat that was not matched until Kimi Raikkonen won for Ferrari at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix.  Nelson Piquet who was slowly losing his aura finished in ninth.

The baton was not just in the drivers but it again coincided with change in location. With Senna’s growing popularity and more importantly Interlagos, newly shortened and safe circuit provided a tempting offer and finally the FIA awarded the Brazilian GP to Interlagos, Sao Paulo in 1990. FIA and F1 have not looked back and till date the Brazilian Grand Prix is hosted at Interlagos.

CURRENT STATE:

In total, it hosted 10 races in a period of 12 seasons. And there will not be any more additions to this tally as there won’t be any further F1 race hosted at Jacarepaguá. The track and motorsport facilities were finally demolished last November and will be re-built as training facilities venue for the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016.