Did Nigel Talk Smack Too Soon?
Only 700ths of a second separated the top three drivers in qualifying for the fourth round of the Grand Prix Masters event at Silverstone. Ex-Formula One driver and German Touring Car Champion, Christian Danner, took pole position followed by Stefan Johansson, and Britain Derek Warwick.
Nigel Mansell, who had a tongue-in-cheek war of words with Emerson Fittipaldi Thursday had a day he would rather forget.
A hydraulic failure caused a line to burst on his first lap out of the pits, causing him to spin in his own water. He will start from the back of the grid Sunday. Will he be able to carve his way through the pack? Well, this is ‘il Lione’ after all, we’ll see won’t we?
Nige never at a loss for words had this to say:
“First of all I’d like to congratulate GP Masters on the most fantastic qualifying session yet. To have nearly four cars separated within a tenth of a second is a tremendous success. For me the session was quite difficult. I didn’t get out until half way through and then we had a major problem with the engine and gearbox. Eventually there was a hydraulic lock on the water system which blew one of the pipes off. Then I had a huge spin at about 170mph, which woke me up a bit! Knowing the problems we have, I parked it as soon as I could so we didn’t destroy the engine. Success tomorrow will be tough, coming from the back of the grid. Plus I’ve had so little running. I’m not holding my breath, but I would love to have a great race tomorrow.”
1st Christian Danner (Germany): “I was lucky to finish the session ahead of Stefan and Derek, as it was very close. The car is easy to set up and I was able to dial it into my driving style, and I had no problems from the car or engine. It’s so much fun to drive a car with this much power on big slick tyres around a track like this - you think you’re never going to make it through the corner, and yet it manages to find the grip. I’m in a great position to get down to that first corner first. We’re a pretty experienced bunch and we’ve got a few race starts to our names, so hopefully we’ll all keep it together.”
“The long fast corners of Silverstone are such a challenge, and I’ve always loved to drive on circuits like this. You can really really push it.”
2nd Stefan Johansson (Sweden): “I had a few problems this morning to do with the engine mapping, but I’ve been happy with the handling and I think the session went pretty well and it’s looking good for me. The long fast corners of Silverstone are such a challenge, and I’ve always loved to drive on circuits like this. You can really really push it.”
3rd Derek Warwick (Britain): “Full credit to GP Masters for getting all the cars onto the grid for tomorrow. There have been 32 engine changes over the course of the past couple of days, and they’ll have changed 40 by tomorrow. We as drivers feel very let down by the engine manufacturer, Nicholson-McLaren, but we’re also very proud of the GP Masters guys for dealing so well with the problem, by juggling engines and giving everyone time on the track. So, full compliments to them. On my quickest lap I mistakenly went from fourth to sixth gear as I exited Becketts and the car bogged right down. I went back for new tyres but on my last run pushed a bit too hard. I think I just got a bit frustrated with myself and overdrove. However, we all out-qualified Nigel Mansell. Okay, so he only managed half a lap, but that’s not our problem! Nigel, coming from the back, should be an interesting spectacle.
“We all out-qualified Nigel Mansell. Okay, so he only managed half a lap, but that’s not our problem! Nigel, coming from the back, should be an interesting spectacle…”
4th Riccardo Patrese (Italy): “I made some small mistakes, so I’m happy with fourth on the grid. The times are very close, closer than we’ve ever seen them. Everyone’s pushing harder than ever because we all want to win this. Silverstone has so much history and tradition that coming here again after all these years, with our old colleagues, is a wonderful treat.”
5th Jan Lammers (Netherlands): “I think it’s incredible that I’m only three tenths off pole and I’m fifth on the grid. It goes to show what a great job the guys have done with these cars. I was pleased today because I managed to get quite upset, and that just shows how much we care! I had a collision with Andrea DeCesaris in the complex. He apologised to me afterwards, explaining ‘I was looking in my mirror, just the wrong one!’ He’s a character.”
6th Eddie Cheever (USA): “Many of us haven’t driven around here in a single-seater in 20 years, and it’s fantastic to blow the cobwebs out of my head. I love the level of commitment Silverstone demands. It’s a shame what happened to Mansell. I got caught in traffic, which slowed me for a while. We’re all focused on victory tomorrow and the racing tomorrow will be tight and exciting.”
POS NR ENTRANT/DRIVER TEAM FASTEST LAPS
1 11 Danner C. (GER) Team LUK 1:36.916
2 2 Johansson S. (SWE) Team Virgin Radio/BP 1:36.932
3 12 Warwick D. (GBR) Team Lixxus 1:36.982
4 6 Patrese R. (ITA) Team INA 1:37.087
5 9 Lammers J. (NED) Team LG 1:37.242
6 17 Cheever E. (USA) Team GPM 1:37.492
7 10 De Cesaris A. (ITA) Team INA 1:37.761
8 7 Fittipaldi E. (BRA) Team LG 1:37.859
9 14 Stuck H. (AUT) Team Phantom 1:38.511
10 8 Salazar E. (CHI) Team Phantom 1:40.314
11 27 Tambay P. (FRA) Team Lixxus 1:40.532
12 4 Arnoux R. (FRA) Team Golden Palace 1:42.390
Not classified
5 Mansell N. (GBR) Team Altech 1:46.973
Grand Prix Masters, Silverstone, F1, Formula One, Sports, Nigel Mansell, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle
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