The Month In Motor Sport

Aug 20: FISA releases draft plans for its proposed GT supercar class. Pre-requisites include a power to weight ratio of 400 bhp/tonne. The proposals are scheduled for further discussion early in October. The future of the existing SWC looks more than a trifle bleak, however.

Aug 21: Three days of F1 testing concludes at Monza, with Damon Hill comfortably fastest for Williams.

Aug 21: Amid rumours that March F1 is on the verge of being sold, Jan Lammers signs to drive for the team in the final two Grands Prix of the season.

Aug 23: Luca Badoer scores a third straight European F3000 victory at the Nurburgring, prompting speculation that Ferrari is interested in offering him a test contract. In the supporting rounds of the German F3 series, Marco Werner and Pedro Lamy score a win apiece, thereby remaining deadlocked at the top of the championship table.

Aug 23: Emerson Fittipaldi beats Al Unser Jnr and Bobby Rahal in the lndycar contest at Road America. During the weekend, Chip Ganassi announces that he is releasing Eddie Cheever for 1993. Rick Mears turns up wearing a plaster cast, following a wrist operation that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

Aug 23: Although beaten by Tommy Kristoffersson in Holland, Will Gollop edges closer to the European Rallycross title.

Aug 24: BRM announces its withdrawal from the SWC, preferring to develop the fledgling P351 for a long-term future in IMSA.

Aug 24: Leading Formula Renault team Manor Motorsport, run by former racer John Booth, states its intention to contest the 1993 British F3 series.

Aug 24: Toyota Team Europe confirms that Carlos Sainz will again be a key factor in its 1993 World Rally Championship programme.

Aug 24: The Ivory Coast Rally, the 12th round of this year’s WRC, is reported to be in danger of cancellation. An internal dispute at the nation’s motorsport federation and confusion over transport arrangements are cited.

Aug 27: Brabham fails to arrive in Spa. Pre-qualifying for the Belgian GP is cancelled. The team says it hopes to return at Monza.

Aug 27: Odd fragments of the 1993 jigsaw are beginning to fall into place. Gerhard Berger holds a press conference to announce that he is rejoining Ferrari. Lotus confirms that it is retaining Johnny Herbert. Elsewhere, there is no firm news from Williams. Remarks made by both Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell lend further weight to the theory that Alain Prost has already signed. Senna looks set to take a year’s sabbatical; Mansell is linked to a possible Indycar drive.

Aug 27: The on/off saga of the Jarama SWC race is finally settled, with confirmation of the event’s cancellation.

Aug 27: Venturi, which has a 65 per cent interest in the Larrousse F1 team, sells its shareholding to The Comstock Group. The team will be renamed Comstock Larrousse next season.

Aug 29: Andrea Moda F1 owner Andrea Sassetti and team manager Sergio Zargo are arrested in Belgium, on a charge of forging receipts. The pair are released after a night in the cells.

Aug 29: European F3000 series leader is briefly hospitalised after a race-stopping accident in the GP support race at Spa. Andrea Montermini, who has stepped in to replace F1 debutant Emanuele Naspetti at Forti Corse, wins from pole position. Badoer’s misfortune closes up the title race. Just 10 points cover five drivers. David Coulthard finally scores his first championship points in the series, finishing a good fourth.

Aug 29: On the eve of the Suzuka SWC race, Peugeot announces that it won’t supply customer F1 engines in 1993, but there is a hint that it will enter F1 in its own right in 1994.

Aug 30: Michael Schumacher celebrates the first anniversary of his F1 baptism with a splendid victory in continually changing weather conditions at Spa. With Mansell second and Riccardo Patrese third, Williams-Renault is confirmed as constructors’ champion.

Aug 30: Victory at Suzuka makes Derek Warwick, Yannick Dalmas and Peugeot this year’s SWC world champions. Andy Wallace has a close shave when his Toyota suddenly ignites; the Englishman gets no warning of the impending blaze, but manages to sprint clear.

Aug 30: Darrell Waltrip takes NASCAR honours at Michigan.

Aug 30: Series leader Max Angelelli wins the 10th round of the Italian F3 series at Monza.

Aug 30: Michael Andretti wins the Vancouver lndycar round, moving to within 12 points of series leader Bobby Rahal. Russell Spence’s hopes of success in the Toyota Formula Atlantic championship ebb slightly when he crashes out in one of the support races. The Yorkshireman slips to third in the points table as Canadian rookie Patrick Charpentier takes his first win.

Aug 30: Oliver Gavin wins the Vauxhall Lotus Euroseries round at Spa. Series leader Gareth Rees is sidelined by fuel pump failure, but remains firmly on course for the title.

Aug 31: Tim Harvey wins both rounds of the BTCC at Brands Hatch. Will Hoy takes a brace of second places to close to within a couple of points of series leader Will Hoy.

Aug 31: Philippe Adams’ F3 win at Silverstone is not enough to prevent runner-up Gil de Ferran from clinching the title. Part of de Ferran’s prize will be a run in a Williams FW14B later in the year, a boost to the British Championship’s status which had been announced just a couple of days before the Brazilian clinched the crown.

Aug 31: Jamie Spence clinches the Rapid Fit Open FF 1600 Championship at Castle Combe. Second place, behind Jan Magnussen, is good enough for the Essex teenager.

Aug 31: Didier Auriol’s victory on the 1000 Lakes Rally makes him a firm championship favourite. During the Finnish event, Lancia announces that it will, contrary to initial expectations, be sending two cars to the Rally Australia for Auriol and Juha Kankkunen.

Sep 1: Details of Brands Hatch Circuits’ proposed ‘grading’ system for race meetings and championships are leaked to the press… and are roundly panned. The documents appears to spell the end for the popular winter club series at Brands, and also puts one-make series for VW Beetles and Ferraris in a higher bracket than either British F2 or F3.

Sep 1: Toyota drops Mikael Ericsson from its rallying line-up.

Sep 3: Despite repeated denials that such a deal had been done, Benetton confirms that it has signed Riccardo Patrese as Michael Schumacher’s 1993 team-mate. Martin Brundle is left to look elsewhere.

Sep 6: Yvan Muller’s storming drive in the rain at Brands Hatch moves him to within four points of the British F2 title. The Frenchman will stay with the Omegaland team in 1993, for a crack at the European F3000 series.

Sep 6: The Ford Escort Cosworth makes its circuit racing debut in the ITCC at Enna. Roberto Moreno runs fifth in part one, before retiring, and finishes eighth in part two. Giorgio Francia’s Alfa wins both heats, breaking Nicola Larini’s eight-race winning streak.

Sep 6: Toshio Suzuki takes Japanese F3000 honours at Fuji. Ross Cheever is a stunning second, having qualified last following practice bothers.

Sep 6: Bernd Schneider (Mercedes) wins both GTCC heats at Singen; Sascha MaaBen likewise notches up an F3 double.

Sep 6: The onset of rain brings the Darlington NASCAR event to a sudden halt. Darrell Waltrip is declared the winner.

Sep 6: Gualter Salles is pick of the Vauxhall Lotus Euroseries contenders at Zandvoort. Gareth Rees is only eighth, but he remains the overwhelming favourite for the championship crown.

Sep 6: Sixth place in Norway is enough to give Will Gollop the European Rallycross title, the first Briton to clinch the honour since John Taylor in 1973.

Sep 7: McLaren confirms that Michael Andrew will replace Gerhard Berger in 1993. The American, 1991 Indycar champion, thus gets the opportunity he has long craved. Compatriot Al Unser Jnr had hoped to move into F1 with either Benetton or Sauber, but he now looks likely to remain in the USA.

Sep 7: Lotus takes up its option on Mika Hakkinen. Another driver who will be staying put next year is Minardi’s Christian Fittipaldi.

Sep 7: FISA’s World Council votes to expel Andrea Moda from Grand Prix racing, after a series of farcical events which had plagued the team since South Africa.

Sep 7: Derek Warwick’s hopes of making his CART debut at Mid-Ohio are dashed. Penske doesn’t have a car available, following a series of accidents in recent races.

Sep 7: F3000 team GJ Motorsport has its Lola chassis reclaimed by the factory, after a financial dispute. GJ is forced to miss the next round, at Albacete, but promises to return at the end of the season.

Sep 7: Italy’s governing body, the CSAI, announces a list of 12 drivers who will no longer be eligible to race in F3 next year, on grounds of either age or experience. The move is seen as a bid to create a driver pool, prior to the creation of a national F3000 series in 1993.

Sep 7: Indycar team Euromotorsports announces the creation of the Jovy Marcelo Foundation, in memory of the young Filippino who was killed during qualifying for the Indy 500. The foundation aims to nurture the careers of young drivers.

Sep 7: News breaks that there could be two international rally series in Britain next year, at the instigation of the organisers of those events which have been omitted from the RAC British Championship schedule.

Sep 8: Le Mans announces its 1993 regulations, which are designed to attract a capacity field.

Sep 8: Customs & Excise officers arrest 11 people in connection with a haul of cocaine, street value estimated at six million pounds, found in a racing car transporter on its way from Flushing in Holland, to Sheerness. Vic Lee, patron of top BTCC team VLM, for whom Tim Harvey has won the past four rounds, is amongst those held for questioning. Lee and three others, including former top special saloon racer Rob Mason, are subsequently held to face charges the following morning. Three of the 11 are released without charge; the remaining four are freed on bail, pending further enquiries…

Sep 9: Vic Lee is remanded on custody, to stand trial at a future date. He is charged with the illegal importation of cocaine. Former VLM driver Ray BeIlm subsequently takes control of the racing assets, to run Tim Harvey and Steve Soper’s BMWs under the M-Team Shell Racing with Listerine banner.

Sep 10: Andrea Montermini beats Luca Badoer in the Albacete F3000 race. The latter leads the championship by six points, with two rounds to go.

Sep 10: Andrea Moda arrives at Monza with a court order allowing its truck access to the paddock. FOCA steadfastly refuses to let the team run, and the truck finally sidles away again.

Sep 10: Esso withdraws its sponsorship of the BTCC.

Sep 11: At the end of a fraught week for the BTCC, series leader John Cleland crashes in testing at Donington, and breaks his sternum. He hopes to be fit for the next race, only eight days hence. On a brighter note, the championship gains an extra entry with the confirmation that Tiff Needell will drive a third Nissan Primera in the final round.

Sep 11: Honda confirms its withdrawal from Grand Prix racing at the end of the season. The Japanese giant is expected to switch its attention to Indycar racing, but confirmation is not yet forthcoming. The Honda-based Mugen VI will still be seen in F1, however. Footwork announces that it will use the engine again next season.

Sep 11: Tom Walkinshaw discloses that he has sold 50 per cent of the TWR Group to 21 Investimenti, the company which promotes diversification of Benetton’s investments.

Sep 11: Colin McRae clinches the British Rally title with victory on the Manx International.

Sep 12: As is common at this stage of the year, the Monza paddock is a cauldron of speculation. JJ Lehto is thought certain to drive for Sauber, F3000 racers Giuseppe Bugatti and Rubens Barrichello are tipped to replace Eric van de Poele and Stefano Modena, at Fondmetal and Jordan respectively. Jordan issues a firm denial.

Sep 12: Pacific Grand Prix, entering F1 in 1993, confirms that its new car — the S102 — will be powered by Ford.

Sep 13: In a press conference on the morning of the Italian GP, Nigel Mansell announces that he is to quit F1 at the end of the season. An lndycar drive with the Newman-Haas Lola team is on the cards for 1993.

Sep 13: Ayrton Senna wins the Italian GP after both Williams-Renaults suffer hydraulic trouble. Martin Brundle, widely expected to replace Mansell at Williams, has his best result of the season, finishing second.

Sep 13: Second place in the British F2 race at Silverstone is enough to clinch the title for Yvan Muller. Enrico Bertaggia wins.

Sep 13: Emerson Fittipaldi wins the Mid-Ohio lndycar event. Third place moves Al Unser Jnr into a one-point series lead as Bobby Rahal fails to finish. Stuart Crow’s Raft wins the supporting Formula Atlantic event. A broken fuel line costs Russell Spence second place. Robbie Groff takes Indy Lights honours, fending off debutant Fredrik Ekblom.

Sep 13: Anthony Reid moves to within a point of the Japanese F3 title, taking his fifth win of the year at Sugo.

Sep 15: Sauber confirms that JJ Lehto will partner Karl Wendlinger in 1993, and releases the first shots of the Ilmor V10-powered C12 chassis undergoing shakedown work at Lurcy-Levis, in France.

Sep 15: Williams unveils its new FW15 F1 challenger, which looks very similar to its FW14B progenitor. The team has still officially to confirm that it has signed Alain Prost.