PORTUGUESE DRIVER WINS TITLE IN ESTORIL SEASON FINALE - WILLIAMS ONE-TWO AHEAD OF BRABHA - FORMULA ONE THROUGH THE STREETS OF LISBON AT RUSH HOUR!
Amid scenes of jubilation the local hero was hoisted onto the shoulders of the race winners on the podium in front of his adoring fans at the end of the race. Duncan Dayton won the race just ahead of Joaquin Folch and Christian Glasel. Mike Wrigley, the out-going champion, was unable to make enough progress sin his class to take his second championship honours. Fredy Kumschick secured his third consecutive class C title, Wrigley won class D and Gallego added the class B crown to his overall title.
The Build Up
The FIA TGP World Championship arrived in Estoril on Thursday last week brimming with excitement and promising a weekend of high drama on and off the track. The Estoril Historic Festival has become one of the historic motor racing season’s main events and consistently draws vast crowds from the local area of fans starved of F1 action at the historic circuit. The local populus had already been wowed by a unique sight even before they arrived at the track on race day. On Thursday evening, local TGP driver, Rodrigo Gallego, Britain’s Alistair Morrison lead a procession of vehicles in their TGP cars that included a Le Mans winning Ferrari Daytona, an Enzo, BMW M1, Alfa Romeo Zagato and more, at full tilt through the streets of Lisbon city centre. Starting at the Sporting Lisbon Football Stadium at the height of rush hour on the Thursday evening, the cars roared through red lights behind police outriders and if people weren’t aware of the race meeting by that stage, they certainly were afterwards. The news reports the next day were full of the images of F1 cars sliding through Lisbon at rush hour and the crowds duly turned up on raceday for the spectacle.
Back at the track things started in earnest on the Saturday morning with the first of two qualifying sessions for TGP drivers. An immediate red flag after about 1 minute brought session to a halt as the timing system at the circuit crashed. There would be two more such flags, results of crashes of a completely different kind in the next half an hour. As the conditions fluctuated between bright sun and squally showers, some damp patches on the tarmac were causing problems. Alistair Morrison, dramatic at rush hour the previous evening, provided the drama once again as he lost shape of his Tyrrell 012/3 and smashed into the armco at the end of the pit straight after 10 minutes of the session. He sprang from the heavily damaged car and after a brief check up at the medical centre, was brought back to the pit were the team and many others from the TGP fraternity set to work repairing the damaged front end of the Benetton liveried machine. To everyone’s credit, the car was patched up and back in the session for the afternoon, which was a slower affair due to the rain that kept lashing at the circuit. The second session of the day would be run in the wet meaing drivers’ first session times were the crucial ones.
Duncan Dayton (Williams FW07C), returning to TGP for the first time since April took the pole position ahead of Hubertus Bahlsen (Arrows A4) by 7 hundredths of a second. Behind Bahlsen, Christian Glasel, in the beautiful Brabham BT49D would line up alongside 2 time TGP 2004 race winner, John Wilson in his Tyrrell 011. Joaquin Folch and Richard Eyre would form a row of two Williams FW08 cars ahead of Fredy Kumschick (Williams FW07/14) and Steve Hartley (Arrows A6).
The two title contenders were further down the grid. Rodrigo Gallego, who was married only a few miles away from the circuit, was flying in his March 761/8. His closest challenge in Class B through out the season, John Crowson (Ensign N175) was nearly 2 seconds slower whilst the TGP debutante, John Bosch, in the spotless ex – Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 312T3, thought to be a real challenge to Gallego, was yet further back. In Bosch’s defence, it was the first time he has driven the Ferrari in a competitive event and if he goes through with his intentions to race a full season in 2005 TGP, he will certainly be one to watch out for.
Gallego had yet more to be pleased with as his title rival, Mike Wrigley (Tyrrell 012/3) – who won the title at Estoril in 2004 - was having yet more problems in a season that has been blighted with technical issues. A spin in session one that brought out the 3rd red flag of the day saw the front of the car get knocked off. It was repairable and he went out in session 2, but the change in conditions meant that he would not improve his time and he would start a lowly 18th on the grid, 5th in his class D when only 2nd or higher would give him a chance of retaining the crown.
Race day began early for the teams. An 08.30 warm-up start time had the majority of the field out on a damp track. Tony Smith (Williams FW07B) was caught out by the conditions and span into a gravel trap half way through the 10 minutes but was able to continue in a car that looked more like a rally cross machine than the Alan Jones World Championship winning vehicle that it is. The sun came out later in the day but the threat of rain was never far away. As the race start time approached, all eyes were once again on the skies as the nerves mounted and the stage was set for a dramatic grand finale to the 2004 FIA TGP World Championship season.
SHOW TIME
As has happened for every race this season, the weather held for the main event. Under a warm sun the TGP cars rolled out of the pits and formed up on the grid. John Wilson’s Tyrrell had developed engine cut out problems on the formation lap and he pointed it out to Oli McCrudden, Championship Co-ordinator on the grid. It would turn out to be the end of Wilson’s weekend. As the ‘30 seconds’ board was shown, Wilson raised his hand as the engine died. His team jumped over the wall and tried to restart the car but the Tyrrell wouldn’t co-operate. The marshals pushed the car up the straight and through the pit wall gate where the Terry King Racing team set to work on it. The spark box – which had ruled out Jo Willenpart at the same event last year in the same car – was faulty. Wilson did not make the race.
Further drama was to follow. The cars eventually got under way for the green flag lap. Hubertus Bahlsen stuttered off the line in his Arrows and reports soon came back that he was in the gravel at turn one. It later materialised that a drive-shaft had given up on the car and he had been forced to pull up. It brought out the 4th red flag of the TGP weekend, thus reducing the race by one lap to 11.
At the second attempt, the race was under way. Dayton made a strong start with Folch and Glasel close behind. The American ace pulled out about a 2-second advantage over the first 3 laps but the Brabham and Williams of Glasel and Folch began to haul him in thereafter. Time after time they lapped within a second of each other with Folch challenging for the lead on numerous occasions whilst himself coming under intense pressure from Glasel, out for the first time in 2004. Glasel’s team boss, Fredy Kumschick, in what might be his last TGP race for 12 months as he concentrates on running Glasel’s full shot at the championship in 2005, was not showing the form that has lead to his ‘Fast Fredy’ nickname. He dropped off the pace and ran a distant 5th behind Richard Eyre.
The most improved performance of the last two races of the season came from "Wee" Steve Hartley (Arrows A6), who’s Mirage Motorsport prepared machine has carried him up onto the podium in his class several times in 2004. He ran a very strong race, staying ahead of Mauro Pane (Lotus 92-5) and way ahead of Wrigley who, despite getting past Gallego on the track, could only muster 3rd in class thus failing to make enough points to catch the March driver. On track, Dan Collins (Lotus 91/10) had a ding-dong battle with Gallego, Dave Abbott (Ensign N180) and Crowson and finished a mere second behind the 92-5 to make for a photo finish for the JPS Lotus cars.
Elsewhere, Nico Bindels (RAM March 02) finished a 3rd consecutive race in the temperamental car just ahead of Ian Barrowman who ‘s points for the race would keep him 5th in the overall table, 3rd in class D behind Hartley and Wrigley. Gianfranco Merizzi finished on the same lap as the leader in what was a great drive from the stalwart Italian. Peter Weunsch, out for the first time in the Wolf WR2 struggled away from the line but made up for lost time well and finished a lap down with Pietro Ratti (Copersucar 185), Morrison, Andrea Bahlsen (Lotus 80) & John Bosch. Sid Hoole won class A and was the only finisher in the class following Ron Maydon’s early retirement in the Cooper. Brad Krause (BRM P180), out for the first time in TGP also had start line troubles but both he and fellow débutante Graham Willcox (Williams FW06) remained only 1 lap down on the hard chargers.
SO Dayton took the spoils despite suffering from a stomach upset ahead of Folch and Glasel. But the day really belonged to Gallego who was mobbed by the fans and soaked in champagne following the race as he was crowned 2004 FIA TGP Champion.
Recognition must go to the MEC Auto team run out of Belgium by Stephan and Mike Kupka and their ever suffering engineer Olly who have really put the hours in during the year to make it work for their driver. It started badly for them when the car was dropped off the recovery truck at the first race in Bahrain, but they picked both the car and themselves up to mark a memorable title win at Gallego’s home event. The champagne was flowing in the garage after the event with the Portuguese Minister for Sport and the Tourism Minister both in attendance and there are sure to be some sore heads on Monday morning. Congratulations to Rodrigo and the team as wellk as the class winners – John Delane (Class A), Fredy Kumschick (class C) and Mike Wrigley (Class D). And thanks to every team member, to Cosworth for their support and to the fans that made the 2004 FIA TGP World Championship a truly memorable one.
Rodrigo Gallego: "It’s been a a fantastic year. To win at home, against a super competitive field of drivers is a very special moment in my life."
Oli McCrudden, TGP Championship Coordinator: "The year has seen some bloody good racing. We’ve had a good influx of new cars and new drivers to TGP. We were the first F1 cars on track at the new Bahrain GP circuit, have had 8 great events and are well underway with the planing for 2005’s calendar. 2004 was great; 2005 will be even better."
The fantastic action will return in 2005 and for those of you that can’t wait, the DVD of this year’s events will be available at the end of November via the website www.tgpf1.com.
The final points standings for 2004 are as follows:
Pos - Total - No - Driver - Nat - Car - Class1 61 39 Gallego, Rodrigo P March 761/8 B2 53 1 Wrigley, Mike GB Tyrrell 012/3 D3= 44 25 Kumschick, Fredy CH Williams FW07/C-14 C- 44 31 Hartley, Steve GB Arrows A6 D5 37 32 Barrowman, Ian GB Osella FA1 C/D D6 33 29 Bahlsen, Hubertus CH Arrows A4/5 C7 31 26 Crowson, John GB Ensign N177 MN09 B8 28 6 Eyre, Richard GB Williams FW08/3 C9 26 7 Folch, Joaquin ESP Williams FW08/5 C10 24 3 Delane, John USA Tyrrell 001 A11= 21 24 Wilson, John GB Tyrrell 011/6 C- 21 33 Morrison, Alistair GB Tyrrell 012/1 D13= 17 36 Hoole, Sidney GB Brabham BT33 A- 17 21 Dayton, Duncan USA Williams FW07/C-15 C15 13 4 Pane, Mauro I Tyrrell P34/5 B16 12 14 Abbott, David GB Ensign N180 C17= 11 34 Pugh, Ean IRE Brabham BT34/1 A- 11 18 Rini, Nick USA BRM P180 A- 11 20 Sayles, Terry GB SurteesTS20/1 B- 11 38 Weunsch, Peter D Brabham BT37/2 Wolf WR2 B - 11 30 Bindels, Nico LUX RAM March 01/2 D22= 10 65 Lyons, Frank IRE McLaren M26/1 B- 10 8 May, Nick GB Lotus 91/8 C- 10 15 Pane, Mauro (2) I Lotus 92/5 D25= 6 18 Perkins, Chris GB Fittipaldi F5A B- 6 2 Delane, Ryan USA Tyrrell 006 B- 6 37 Walzer, Roy USA Williams FW07D/16 C- 6 11 Collins, Dan GB Lotus 91/10 C29= 5 55 Lyons, Judy GB Surtees TS09/3 A- 5 53 Kogan, Abba BRA McLaren M23/4 B31= 4 71 Bahlsen, Andrea D Lotus 81/2 C- 4 16 Glasel, Christian D Brabham BT49D C33 3 44 Maasen, Karl D Tyrrell 009 C34= 2 9 Walker, Sean GB Lotus 72E-5 B- 2 49 Krause, Brad USA BRM P180 B- 2 22 Tattersall, Paul GB Ensign N179 C~ 0 5 Nishida, Junro J Lotus 49B-R10 A~ 0 10 Williams, Peter GB March 761/5 B~ 0 27 Smith, Tony GB Williams FW07B/7 C
0 69 Maydon, Ron GB March 811 C~ 0 48 Ratti, Pietro I Copersucar F5/A C
