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Round 7 - Canada (Montreal) |
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In the Pro class, Parkhouse took his usual pole - half a second ahead of Leroy. Robert Wilson and Jim Spratt took up the final grid positions.
On lap 2 Crawford took second from Diener while Hogg lost it altogether and spun off, rejoining last. Diener managed to slide past Crawford for second on lap 3 whilst on lap 4 Hogg passed 3 Pro runners while trying to catch back up again. The Pro battle was intense and Spratt had to pit for repairs after losing a wing on Parkhouse, the Phoenix gaining quite a reputation as Hogg hit it as well, also having to pit for repairs.
On lap 17 Leroy was a little too generous in letting 3rd placed Diener lap him and he spun out of the race whilst Diener himself had to pit for a new wing after bouncing through a gravel trap at high speed before rejoining 4th, Jan Svehlik entering the top 3 for the first time.
A spin by Volders allowed Parkhouse to take up the Pro lead on lap 19 but 10 laps later he aquaplaned off in the still lashing rain to retire.
A pitstop for Crawford to take on fresh wets allowed Svehlik through to second whilst Diener just nipped past the Corgi as it left the pits.
Lap 43 saw Spratt take the Pro lead while Volders was in with damage but he promptly pushed too hard and lost a wing on a high kerb, allowing the Lancia to retake the lead. On lap 48 a frustrated Crawford, mystified by his car`s lack of pace Since switching to new wets and promptly falling 10 seconds behind Diener, pushed too hard as well and went off - pitting for a decent set of tyres. On the same lap the crowd went wild as Diener found a way past Svehlik for 2nd, something not a lot of people can lay claim to.
Lap 61 saw Crawford lose 4th place to a recovering Mike Hogg, the Corgi still oversteering like crazy.
Things remained the same to the end with Roberts a huge 2 minutes ahead of Diener who himself finished an impressive 20 seconds ahead of Svehlik. However with the Bolgani`s taking 3rd and 4th they leapfrog Powertech at the head of the Constructors Championship. A no-show by Bodlien means he plummets from second to fourth in the standings.
In the Pro race, Bert Volders in the Lancia was the only finisher while Parkhouse took the lead in the Championship.
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"I didn't have much time to practice, so I followed past experience and raised the rear wing and dropped the gear ratios to cater for the slower top speed and less traction in corners. I spent about 10 laps fine-tuning this to a well-balanced setup, and the result was pretty good... After getting into the race, it almost felt like I was in a dry race :) I was pushed very hard at the start by the two McLarens, but managed to break away from them when traffic came up. Throughout the race, I was trading fastest laps with Hakkinen and Schumacher, which made it very exciting and I was able to push very hard throughout the whole race, since the car handled so well, although I could have done with a little less understeer in the latter stages of the race."
Steffen Diener (Power Tech), 2nd:
"The 1. part of the race went pretty bad for me. I couldn't
keep the CCs behind me and then broke a frontwing while
overtaking a laped car. After the pitstop I could make
up some positions. The second half of the race went a
bit better, but I'm not really happe with my result."
Jan Svehlik (Bolgani), 3rd:
"I don't like wet weather. In the first laps i haved much wheelspin and
almost ended in wall. Then the control of the car got better and
i made some good laps. The best CC's were faster that mine car, i ended
at 4. position. Also there were only some overtaking's.
The tyre choice was easy. Only W tyres. I made no pitstops.
I have lucky that I made the whole race without major accidents.
Bye."
Mike Hogg (Bolgani), 4th:
"Overall I can' t compain too much - If I hadn't lost a wing half way through then I think
I could have been on the podium but I was happy with my fastest race lap."
Darren Crawford (Corgi), 5th:
"Slip, slide and away was the beginning of the race, followed by cars climbing up my rear for most of the middle. The best part was when I came up behind some cars after the finish line into the first corner. Everybody was going an even pace until the orange pumpkin in front slams his brakes on and I lose a wing. Not my best race, But again I survive."
Bert Volders (Lancia), 6th:
"Only one comment: Rain sucks!! "
Jim Spratt (Lotus), 7th:
"Alrighty. this was my first ever race in the wet. Started off well, although I
made a cock-up at the first turn on lap 3, resulting in me going from 1st to
6th. However by lap 7 I was back to third, but crashed into Schumacher
resulting in a trip to the pits for a new nose. I only dropped to 9th, which I
found surprising, and decided to bide my time, till half the drivers in front
went out. Sure enough on Lap 10 it happened, and I ended up 4th. On lap 14
Barrichello retired, bring me up to 3rd. I then started to build a lead over
Ralph to allow me to come in for new tyres. Hakkinen went on lap 29, resulting
in me being 2nd :). However Button ran into meon lap 44, as I missed my
braking area turning onto the start/finish straight, resulting in a new
rear-wing being reqired. 5 laps later I was in again, this time for a front
nose :(. By this time I'd been lapped, and set about unlapping myself, setting
consistent fastest laps, but on lap 62 I pushed too hard, and put myself out :("
Ian Parkhouse (Phoenix), 8th:
"Well, I didn't expect much from this race (not enough practice in the wet).
I got through the difficult early laps without losing much time, then got a bit of rhythm going before smashing into the back of Barrichello well after the green flag.
He crashed at the last chicane, I was following a back marker closely when they slowed down slightly, I pulled out to the left to go pass and there was Barrichello's car, giving me no chance to get out of the way."
Olivier Leroy (CyberSpeed), 9th:
"I had an awful race, because I didn't find the good setup. I started from the pole, but Coulthard
had a good start and took the first place. After that, it was impossible for me to drive the car
and few laps later, I was 11th, then 15th. At lap 17, I did a big fault, and I had to stop my race."
Benjamin Suerig (Amiga Racing), 10th:
"I tried several car setups during the training session, but whatever I did, I was not competitive on the wet track. Having lost many positions in the first two laps of the race, I simply gave up."