MRC GPC79

Winning Pole Position five times, and winning five MRC GPC79 Grand Prix including Jacarapagua, Oulton Park, Autodrom Most, Essington Park, and Suzuka, Gomez made the best of a very consistent season. Driving for team Brabham he made very few mistakes and finished well in the points at all events aside from 3 races.

Gomez held a very confident control over his car this season, and was really never under any serious threat that he could not out last for a race. His closest competition throughout the season would be Mario Ledesma, Augusto Demarchi, Cesare Ascari and Dave Cooke Jr. Cooke would not last the season however, and Demarchi and Ascari had problems with endurance. Ledesma was a serious threat however, but failed to get a good start to the Championship, how he might've threatened the overall lead will never be known. To sum it up cleanly, Gomez simply out drove the competition.

Hats off to the season 5 Champ !

MRC GPC79

With a massive 142 points separating the super star lineup of team Brabham in season 5 from the 2nd place team of McLaren, it wasn't even a contest. Team Brabham scored 342 points in the championship, and secured a new record for the most points by a constructor in the 5 seasons of MRC GPC79. Team drivers included Daniel Gomez of Argentina, Jonathan Stiener of the Untied States, Steve Bocskay from Canada and Boni Piket also from Argentina.

Well done and congratulations and a superb show for the season guy's !

MRC GPC79

With a brilliant performance at the final grand prix held at Brands Hatch, Gabriel Legnini drove his Ligier home to a podium, and secured the MRC GPC79 Rookie Championship. With more than his share of problems this season in the reliability department, Pai continued to press for the championship as his biggest competition Augusto Demarchi was alway's close behind, or in front at some points.

Congratualtions Gabriel, well done !

Britain - Brands Hatch

For the thousands of world wide fans who have been following the MRC GPC79 series since spring, this season gave them an added bonus in the form of a make-up race held here at Brands Hatch. Unlike past races held here, the track remained quite dry and the day saw a sparkling yellow sun in the sky. Leading up to the grand prix, celebrations for Daniel Gomez and the Season 5 Championship had already been taking place wherever you saw fans of the sport. Gomez had sealed the championship points race after Monza, and it was now just a matter of time before he could be awarded the most sought after prize in racing history, the coveted MRC GPC79 forum badge.

Testing for the Brands Hatch Grand Prix was held daily, and as times were being recorded, reviewed, and scrutinized, it would be Gomez with the fastest time followed closely by his teammate Jonathan Stiener. Not surprisingly, this would follow through into qualifying as Gomez ripped an amazing lap and took pole position once again. Ascari and his RS11 Renault would climb into 2nd, but Jonathan Stiener would soon knock Ascari down to 3rd on the grid by edging him out by just over 1/100th of a second. Mike Muldoon, also known as " The Loon from High Noon " because of his intense disco parties at 12:00pm noon on race day, followed Ascari to the grid to take up 4th position. But Muldoon's race in the Tyrrell was about to change drastically in just a few moments.

" Arriving late to the track is something I tried to avoid if at possible, but for me, it seems that I am crazy to think this will not happen to me at every race because I lose my luggage at every ( censored ) airport in the ( censored ) world ! " - Kinst VonSterga of team Renault.

The teams mechanics cleared the track and as the cars headed into T1 for the formation lap, no one could've guessed that it would be the last time they saw Daneil Gomez and his Brabham. Gomez, perhaps running over an oil patch on the track, or just mis judging his own skill, spun the Brabham hard into the armco ending his race, before it even began. Stiener was now on pole position, and in a very good seat to win his first grand prix of season 5, and as the teams rounded the last corner, waving Argentine flags with Gomez face painted in the center suddenly fell silent when they realized their champion had somehow vanished from the field.

" It was a very strange ( Listening to the Brabham team radio ) conversation to be honest with you, following Dan, I saw what he did, and immediately the team started yelling at him to push the car back to the pits ! I mean they actually expected him to push the car ! Then I heard Daniel singing the song to the cartoon " The Jetsons " as if he didn't even care and I thought, well, let's get down to business here. " - Jonathan Stiener of team Brabham.

As the lights went green, Ascari took up a very intimidating position on the inside of Stiener into T1, but would have to yield and let Stiener lead up the hill into T2. Muldoon had quickly took up a comfortable position in 3rd place as well, hoping for a gear miss to grab any spot he could as quickly as possible. As Stiener rounded the tight Surtees corner heading towards Pilgrims Drop and Hawthorn Hill, Ascari's turbo power screamed as he took 1st place away from Stiener before heading into the right hander Hawthorn Bend. Stiener seemed to have trouble with this and fell off the pace considerably, allowing a fast Mike Muldoon through and into 2nd place. Muldoon would not have to wait long as a lap later Ascari was off the track and Mike Muldoon was leading the British Grand Prix.

" Eat right, exercise, and watch your attitude, that was the first thing I remember hearing when I met Gomez for the first time ! " - Boni Piket of team Brabham.

Muldoon had now led the race for half the distance and was leading comfortably over 2nd place Steve Bocskay who made an incredible journey from 9th on the grid. Unfortunately for Bocskay and his Brabham, he was not alone as Ascari chased for a few laps, then Gabriel Legnini gave chase for the remainder of the grand prix. Bocskay would hold them off though and today, Legnini would have to settle for a well earned 3rd place podium. Behind the podiums, a battle between Dale Ballweg of team McLaren and Larry Sheehy of team Arrows provided some exciting entertainment for the fans. Sheehy would never be able to catch the speedy Ballweg however and Ballweg would end the season on a very high note with a 4th place finish.

For Mike Muldoon, the victory sent his emotions to full throttle as his tears and struggle to talk coherently after the race were quite obvious. At one point he began laughing historically without the ability to control his laughter, and some people weren't sure he would be ok. But he would be, and the win was well deserved as his struggle for much of the season was shown on the massive LED screens throughout Brands Hatch.

A special presentation to Daniel Gomez took place after the podium ceremonies as well, awarding him the coveted Season 6 League Championship Drivers Trophy, and Gomez made a powerful speech, thanking his family and friends for all the support they gave him through his turbulent times back home, and his teammates and mechanics as well. Gomez would comment to the thousands of on-looking fans at Brands Hatch...

" For me, this does not mark the end of a season. This does not mark the end of this brilliant team. This does not mark the end of our late night scrabble games. To me, this marks the beginning of a new season, and the beginning of new friendships ! God Bless Brabham ! God Bless Argentina ! and God Bless the Parker Brothers! "

Japan - Suzuka

With wonderful race conditions in the forecast last night, the teams prepared for the illustrious Japanese Grand Prix here at the legendary Suzuka circuit. And with only this race and Brands Hatch remaining, Daniel Gomez and his fantastic speed in the Brabham did not disappoint the fans, even though he had clinched the Drivers Championship and team Brabham had also secured the Constructor Championship as well. Could he be challenged here ? Team Renault and Cesare Ascari threatened for pole position by only falling short by less than 1/100th of a second, but it was Gomez on pole again for the 4th time this season. The absense of Williams ace driver Mario Ledesma who had won 3 consecutive races to this point was also an item of interest.

" This season has made me sad, very sad indeed. I can not seem to find the problem, but yet, there is a problem you see. And this, this my friends, is a (censored) problem ! " - Gabriel Legnini of team Ligier.

20 drivers had taken the formation lap and were now ready to take part in this 25 lap battle to glory. Dom Leste of team McLaren was amazing in qualifying and was slotted in 3rd ahead of Larry Sheehy, but when the tires spun off the line, Leste was in 2nd place almost immediately. Ascari struggled to get his Renault up to speed, being challenged now by Brabhams Jonathan Stiener in 4th place who got by a cautious Sheehy quickly. As the front runners rounded the turn 1 entrance, smoke and debris at the rear of the field began to erupt as Maxi Mica of team Ligier slammed into the Tyrrell of Ha Maha, and then lost control forcing more drivers to go off. The shunt took out Eric Schappach of team Ligier almost immediately as his car was forced into the sand and his engine overheated as he attempted to rejoin the circuit.

" I can't believe I continue to do this sometimes, when I could be back home in the States working on my magnificent 12 foot rooster carvings. " - Eric Schappch of team Ligier.

Gomez had already worked on a gap before then end of lap 1, and Ascari was now starting to find the car as he began to reel in Dom Leste. He would challenge Leste down the back straight on lap 2, but would have to back off the position and try again, when he had more room. However, on lap 3, Leste would go wide in the final chicane and Ascari was through as Leste avoided a marshal's penalty by yielding the position. On lap 7, Leste and his beautiful McLaren had 2nd place back though as Ascari boggled turn 1 and lost several positions and time as he fought to get the car free from the deep sand.

" I had to pack Eric Sheehan's luggage for him on tuesday and let me tell you something, there was an awful lot of cheese in his apartment, it was everywhere. What the hell he does with it all, I don't want to know ! " - Cesare Ascari of team Renault.

As Gomez continued to expand the gap from 1st to 2nd, Leste was now on his way to finishing on the podium and in 2nd place, the first time for Leste since his race at Monaco back in round 5. Stiener avoided some early pressure from Sheehy and Ledesma and was now on his way to finishing in 3rd place, ahead of his Brabham teammate Steve Bocskay who was in an exciting duel with Larry Sheehy of team Arrows. Augusto Demarchi who had to serve a penalty here at Suzuka had skillfully managed to climb from last place to 5th place, but unfortunately, only for a brief moment as his race came to violent end on lap 12 as he crashed heavily into the tire barriers midway through the lap. For Demarchi, this marked the 9th race he failed to bring the Lotus home, and it doesn't take a one armed welder to know that team Louts may be considering a change for season 6.

" At the midpoint of the race, I felt something wet under my bottom, and I was afraid of it what it might be. When I parked the car later, I soon realized that I had just completed a 25 lap Grand Prix with a juice box under my rear ! " - Dale Ballweg of team McLaren.

Next Race - Round 15 - The British GP at Brands Hatch.

Belgium - Spa Francorchamps

The biggest question on all the teams minds at the round 12 grand prix here at Spa was where is Mario Ledesma finding this unbelievable speed ? He was untouchable in practice sessions and clearly in full control in qualifying out pacing Lotus driver Augusto Demarchi and Daniel Gomez of team Brabham by almost half a second. His Williams FW07 seemed to stick to the track like glue through Spa's fast corners, but where was this amazing speed throughout most of the season ? MRC GPC79 fanatics can only speculate, but as qualifying came to a close thursday night, Ledesma was certainly on his game heading into the Belgian grand prix with a win under his belt at Monza, and pole position here at Spa.

The Belgian track seemed to glow as the flash bulbs from the crowd were twinkling off the polished fiber glass chassis lined up on the grid after the formation lap. The excitement was incredible as the engines revved to a fevered pitch and the lights went from red-red-green and tire smoke filled the air. As children plugged their ears, suddenly there was shock in the sold out stands surrounding the grid as Ledesma's FW07 failed to launch as expected. Demarchi and his Lotus also got off to a slow start, and when it began to look as though the car had finally gotten a bite on the tarmac, it spun to the left as quickly as it had started, settling with it's nose planted against the armco and it's rear vulnerable to oncoming traffic. Behind Ledesma, Daniel Gomez had come to a sudden stop to avoid any collision, but the resulting change of plans were unforeseen behind him and Dom Leste could not avoid the Argentine's car. Behind Demarchi, Ascari and the Renault luckily avoided any contact and the Canadian superstar was in 2nd place after only 20 meters, chasing fellow countryman Mike Muldoon in his Tyrrell.

" I always' expect it to rain here at Spa, and when it doesn't, the track, which is a beautiful venue in any weather, lights up like the wedding dress of a long forgotten princess ! " - Jim Sikora of team Williams.

Muldoon has championed some incredible odds to avoid trouble early on and was now leading Ascari through Eau Rouge, the famous right-left-right downhill then uphill complex here at Spa. But the Renault had been fast on the straights here all week and Ascari was not simply going to follow Muldoon to Les Combes. His RS11 quickly drafted the Tyrrell and Ascari was now leading the Belgian grand prix. Ledesma had now recovered and was in pursuit only a few positions behind, but Demarchi was not so lucky. His Lotus had suffered severe front wing damage, and after the confusion, he was able to rejoin the chase, but from a dismal 15th place. Daniel Gomez has amazingly escaped the starting carnage with very little damage at all and was running in 4th place, behind was Dom Leste and his McLaren who also seemed to avoid serious damage, but was obviously struggling to keep Gomez in check, and Gomez would get through a lap later to take up 3rd place.

As the cars engines echoed through the Ardennes forest, fans jumped to their feet as Ledesma made an incredible move on Muldoon at Blanchimont corner, taking the inside of the fast left hand sweeper heading towards the Bus Stop chicane. It was quite clear that Muldoon had not expected the brave maneuver, but Ledesma was wasting no time in his pursuit for the lead, which was only now 2 seconds ahead as Ascari skillfully negotiated the Bus Stop chicane and began his 2nd lap.

" I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Spa scares me, because the track itself is quite easy to drive, it's driving here with some of these other crazy drivers that scares the hell out of me ! " - Jonathan Stiener of team Brabham.

" Number 4, Mike Muldoon has spun at the bus stop entrance " came over the public address system, and as the volume of the engines grew louder towards the paddocks, Ascari was now being chased hard by a frantic Mario Ledesma. Again the crowd jumped from their seats as Ledesma skillfully narrowed the 4 car gap and went into the T1 hairpin on the inside of Ascari's Renault. What an incredible battle for 1st place we were witnessing so early in the grand prix ! Now on their way to Eau Rouge once more, team mechanics and management rushed to the rear of the paddocks as Ascari's turbo screamed it's anthem, and pulled inches ahead of Ledesma's Williams, forcing the son of Argentina to let way and avoid what could be a disastrous entrance into the tricky high speed complex. As the cars sped to 190mph towards Les Combes once again, Ascari's Renault suddenly went into a deadly spin under braking, much like his maddening spin at Monza, and before team Renault knew it, their only RS11 driver was again, out of the race.

" I don't know what the (censored) happened ! Leave me be, why can't you just leave me be ! What terrible thing have I done to (censored) deserve this ! What terrible (censored) thing ! " - Cesare Ascari of team Renault RS11.

Behind Ledesma who was now safely out front, Gomez has made his way to 2nd place, again the flashy Argentine who coined the phrase " Lemmy do it or else screw it " had somehow avoided all the odds against him and made his way towards what looked to be another podium. Gabriel Legnini had found some consistency after many frustrating weeks, and was running a strong 3rd place, just ahead of Jonathan Stiener, the shy unassuming prodigy from the United States who holds several records in his home country for his beloved rose gardens. Muldoon, now back in 5th and pressing Stiener, seemed to fully recover from his small shunt at the bus stop chicane earlier in the race, but the Brabham of Stiener's teammate, Steve Bocskay was lurking ever closer to Muldoon in 6th place.

" When I'm not racing motor cars, I enjoy practicing the long jump. I know it seems weird, that this race car driver derives pleasure from such a sport, if you are to call it that, but there's something about it that intrigues me to no end " - Bo Bruce of team Lotus.

On lap 14, Mike Muldoon could hold off Steve Bocskay no longer and the Canadian who's chances for a podium seemed great earlier on, had now vanished completely as his car seemed to become un drivable, and he would eventually be out of the Belgian grand prix completely on lap 17. Gomez would continue to push in hopes of catching Ledesma's speedy Williams, but it was of no use, Mario was on a run, and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop it. On lap 17, the bad luck that's plagued Gabriel Legnini would again rear it's ugly head, and Jonathan Stiener would now share a podium with his teammate Daniel Gomez. Finishing his best race of the season, Eric Schappach of team Ligier had brought the car home in 5th position, a major milestone for a man who only 2 years ago was cleaning the paddocks at Limerock park for some spending money and a chance to run his used GTI around the track at night.

" I've never been so exhausted, yet so full of joy at the same time, wait a second, ahh ya, that's not entirely true. " - Eric Schappach of team Ligier.

As Ledesma brought his FW07 across the line to the cheering masses here at Spa, he had to feel as if finally, he has done something special. Three weeks earlier, the young Argentine had not won a single GP in his career. Now he had 2 straight victories at such prestigious venues, his contract negotiations would certainly be something of interest for next season.

Of course, as much as team Williams would be celebrating in their paddock, team Brabham had completely abandoned any MRC GPC79 rulings and jumped the fencing separating the pits from the main straight, and surrounded Daniel Gomez and his car as it rolled to a stop over the finish line. Gomez has now become the 1st Argentine to win the MRC GPC79 Championship in it's 5 seasons of running, with 3 races yet to go. An accomplishment worthy of track marshals, looking the other way.

Stiener, only half a minute behind, slowly nudged the car of Daniel Gomez as he crossed the line, pumping his fist wildly as their other teammate Steve Bocskay brought home his BT49 in 4th place moments later. For team Brabham, nothing could matter now, they had the championship driver, and the combined team championship, both completely locked and they were happy. Even their rookie potage' Boni Piket was cheering as he sat on the side of Gomez' car, " Usted lo ha hecho mi amigo, usted lo ha hecho ! ".

Next MRC GPC79 Event : Round 13 at Oschersleben

Monza - Italy

" When the clouds cleared up and the rain stopped, I was happy, but a little disappointed as well, I really wasn't ready for this race ! " - Cesare Ascari of team Renault RS11.

Monza, in it's dangerously high speed glory was the venue for round 11 and the MRC GPC79 championship thursday night, and though the forecast called for a clear night, an early shower thwarted qualifying getting started right away. During the week leading up to the race, teams had been preparing their cars for the high speed circuit, taking off as much wing as possible without risking some cornering grip. The Renault teams, with the obvious advantage of the turbo powered engines had ran well all week, and Ascari held the fastest lap by just over 1 second. Team Lotus and Augusto Demarchi were also running well in the newer Lotus 80mk model, a car more streamlined for faster tracks like Monza, as well the Williams team and last weeks surprise Mario Ledesma who was struck with a bizarre technical failure midway through British GP, costing him the win. Jonathan Stiener of the US was out front for team Brabham, again setting the pace for the rest of this amazing team which included current points leader Daniel Gomez, Steve Bocskay and Boni Piket, all of which lead the team championship by more than 75 points.

As the clouds began to part, the pace within the paddocks picked up immensely as teams rushed to get their cars out for qualifying as soon as possible incase the race gods changed their minds and it didn't take long for Renault's Cesare Ascari to set a lap time that would be the time to beat, as well a being a new world record for the 79 formula's. Demarchi had taken up residence in 2nd place for some time, but was moved to 3rd on the grid when Mario Ledesma took his Williams FW07 to 2nd on the grid, less than 6/100ths behind Ascari. Finally coming to terms with his car, Mike Muldoon and his Tyrrell have picked up the pace as of late and were sitting quite comfortably in 4th, just in front of Ligier's Gabriel Legnini, who was calmly eating a popsicle in his cockpit, after ripping a fast lap to move 3 spots ahead as the final stages of qualifying wound down.

" I personally believe that racing at Monza is for very fast men, and very crazy men, which one you are depends on where you finish, or whether you finish ! " - Kinst VonSterga of team renault RS12.

Now sitting on pole for the 3rd time this season, Ascari has yet to loose a grand prix from this position, but his frantic waving to the Renault paddock seemed to signal a problem, which later would be found to be an electrical fault controlling the cars ignition. As the cars took off for the formation lap, things seemed to work themselves out and the Italian Grand Prix would be started in just moments, whether Ascari and the powerful Renault RS11 was ready or not.

" There's one thing about Monza that really erks me every time I'm here, they have the worst hotdog's of any other circuit in the world ! " - Mike Muldoon of team Tyrrell.

For Ascari, things couldn't have started out any worse, he lost his pole position advantage immediately, as Ledesma easily powered by him at the start, and Demarchi and his Lotus began to squeeze through, hoping for a slot into 2nd before the first chicane. Behind Ascari, Legnini and his Ligier were cutting the gap, in fact, the gap was nil as Gabriel Legnini tapped Ascari at the first chicane causing Ascari to take evasive action and head through the safety zone of the chicane and wait for the leaders to pass again. Ledesma held onto first place for much of lap 1, but by lap 2, Demarchi was now out front, and would stay there for many laps. Behind Demarchi, Tyrrell pilot Mike Muldoon had gotten by the struggling Ascari for 3rd, but Ascari was quick to recover and began his pursuit of the fellow Canadian, finally getting by on lap 6, and then chasing down Ledesma who he passed on lap 7 when Mario got into a spin with his Williams FW07 and lost 2 positions, putting Muldoon into 3rd place now.

" I have trouble going under the bridge, or old oval on the back straight here at Monza, the large Coca-Cola sign makes me thirsty and I lose my concentration every time I go under that damned sign ! " - Phil Ashio of team Ligier.

Now more than 8 seconds back of Argentina's Demarchi who was simply driving superbly, Ascari began to take time out of the gap little by little, corner by corner until lap 14 when Demarchi exited the Lesmo's and spun the Mk80 into the armco on the right, then parked the car for the race in the sand trap on the left side of the circuit. As Ascari went by, Demarchi could be seen yelling at the RS11 Renault driver, but what he said would remain only known to himself as the noise of Ascari's Renault and Tyrrell's Mike Muldoon's engines over-powered the spanish superstars screaming. Incredibly, Ascari had somehow managed to get lucky and was now leading the Italian Grand Prix for the first time of the race.

" When I'm in the cockpit, I try to remain focused on the car in front, not the car behind. What the car behind me is doing is not my concern, that's his. " - Cesare Ascari of team Renault RS11.

Now leading for 5 laps, and putting more time between himself and 2nd place Mike Muldoon, Ascari could take his time and drive carefully home for a much needed victory. But as the laptimes would show later, he was not taking his time, he was pushing the Renault hard lap after lap, trying to secure the fastest lap of the race and a chance for one more point in the standings. Unfortunately for him, 1 point would be all he would retain from Italy as on lap 19 his brakes would suffer a catastrophic failure heading into the final turn Curva Parabolica and the Renault would spin relentlessly into the sand until coming to an abrupt stop against the armco, now minus it's front right wheel. Mike Muldoon was now in first place, with Mario Ledesma chasing him furiously in 2nd place.

" It is a funny thing to drive a car so fast here at Monza, on the first hand, the chicanes make you stop very very abruptly, and on the second, the high speeds one reaches scare the living hell out of you ! " - Mario Ledesma of team Williams.

While the battle for first place raged on, which Mike Muldoon would hold the lead over Ledesma, another battle was shaping up behind them which involved 2 teammates, and another fellow teammate just out of reach in 5th spot. Steve Bocskay and his Brabham teammate Daniel Gomez had held 5th and 6th place for some time, and now with Ascari and Demarchi out of the picture, they found themselves in a battle for 3rd place on lap 19 of the 30 lap event. Bocskay drove brilliantly, and at many times it would seem Gomez would enter a corner with an upper hand on position only to simply be thrust back into 4th by Bocskay's amazing cornering ability. Traveling in excess of 180mph at some points the 2 drivers seemed quite at home in each others company, but this has not been the first time fans watching the series have witnessed this as the British GP also had these teammates fighting for positions, as well as Jonathan Stiener, who by his own rights was about to be thrust into the battle with only 4 laps remaining in the grand prix.

" Being on a team with 4 drivers, all of which are from a different country would seem like a hopeless prospect, but we've managed to really make a go of the series, and I really could not think of 3 better teammates a driver could ask for. Don't forget, we have a wide variety of food we get to try out too ! " - Jonathan Stiener of team Brabham.

On lap 26, things went sideway's for Bocskay and Gomez, and they both lost precious time which let Jonathan Stiener not only make up valuable seconds, but take 3rd place outright from 5th. Gomez would lose the most time, and find himself in 5th place, less than a second out of 4th at the end of the race, but Bocskay would challenge Stiener for 3rd overall, and at the end of this battle and race, he would finish just 4 seconds ahead of Stiener in a brilliant display of racing ability and team respect throughout the race. Up in first place, Muldoon had spent 8 laps barely holding off the charging Williams FW07 of Mario Ledesma, but on lap 28, Ledesma finally got through and could put 2 seconds between himself and Muldoon to finish 1st place, and make up for the terrible luck he had at Essington and the British GP. Ledesma was now a part of the GP winners here at MRC GPC79 and his teammates and pit crew were completely ecstatic. For Mike Muldoon, the 2nd place finish was considered a victory in itself, and his best finish of the season since grabbing 3rd place at Nordshliefe in round 7 of the championship.

Gomez and his 5th place finish now command an incredible lead in the championship over Larry Sheehy in 2nd by 37 points. Sheehy finished a frustrating 6th place for team Arrows here at Monza but will take some sort of relief in the fact Ascari couldn't make any ground in the championship, now 15 points behind Sheehy in 3rd place overall, with Muldoon now just a mere point behind in 4th.

The teams now move onto round 12 at the Belgian Grand Prix held at the historic Spa Francorchamps.

Essington - Great Britian

Mario Ledesma of Argentina has had anything but a memorable season, in fact he has missed a handful of races and his best finish of the championship, and only points finish came at last weeks grand prix with a 5th place at Autodrom Most. Driving the FW07 for team Williams, arguabley the best car in the feild of 1979 teams, there has never been any doubt that if Mario could manage to put a solid race night together, he would be a very serious threat to the top 5 drivers.

During the weeks testing leading up the Essington Grand Prix, many drivers showed flashes of brilliance as they out paced each other day after day. Daniel Gomez, the series current leader struggled with his laptimes but his Brabham teammate Jonathan Stiener seemed to make this challenging circuit his own, putting up a laptime that would stand for several days. The night before the race however, it would be Ledesma that pushed the envelope further, as he calmly put together laps that were almost a full second quicker than previous times. Interviewed later, before the race, he was quite happy to tell reporters that " It's the car, it's not me ! ". But regardless, it seemed as though Mario Ledesma was the man to beat here at the British Grand Prix.

As the official clock for qualfying began to count down, no less then 20 drivers were on the circuit, pushing thier respective cars to their limits, hoping for just a bit more speed in one or another corner to get as far up the grid as possible. Renaults Eric Sheehy had finally returned from his 3 week hiatus, but his pace was off tonight, obviously he was still suffering jet lag from his recent excurtion to his large duck ranch in Bermuda. His teammate however, Cesare Ascari was tightening the wire and after dozens of struggling laps, managed to finally put a laptime up he was comfortable with, landing him in 4th place on the grid before being demoted to 5th by the speedy Daniel Gomez. Larry Sheehy was unbelievable as usual driving the radical Arrows car, but tonight he could'nt overcome the drawbacks of the chassis, and would enivatebly find himself in 7th place behind Brabham's Steve Bocskay, who looked fantastic to say the least. Up front, it was all Mario Ledesma, unchallenged, unfeathered, and poised to take what was rightfully his, for the frist time in the 5 previous seasons. Behind Mario stood Jonathan Stiener wearing that college boy smile that could'nt be missed from the moon as he went over last minute thoughts with his teamate Gomez on the grid. Argentina's bad boy, Augusto Demarchi had sealed up 3rd place on the grid with his Lotus 79, and as usual, had little to say to anyone as the seconds fell off to the start of this exciting British Grand Prix.

" Rolling up to the grid after the formation lap alway's leaves me with a very un-easy feeling, it's as if all the laps I've put in before the race are meaningless now and I'm learning the track again from scratch, I hate it ! " - Dale Ballweg of team McLaren.

The crowd here at Essington were all on thier feet as the cars pulled up for the start, and moments later the lights began thier sequence without delay and the British Grand Prix rocketed to full song. Up front Ledesma had an excellent take off and was clearly in command of the FW07 tonight. Behind Mario however, things were not going according to plan as Augusto Demarchi attacked Jonathan Stiener's position from the outside and pulled ahead leading into T1. Stiener made an effort to hold onto 2nd place by diving to the inside of the corner, but it was too late and Demarchi who was caught unaware of the tactic, drove his Lotus right into the Brabham and both cars were sent into the grass safely behind T1. This proved benefial to Gomez and Ascari however who were now safely into 2nd and 3rd place and preparing for a battle of their own.

Back in the grid, the stalled 11th place Williams FW07 of Adnan Dizdarevic made circumstances less than desirable for drivers behind him and a train wreck ensued. Boni Piket of Brazil, who was lined up directly behind Dizdarevic came to an abrupt halt to avoid contact, but unfortunately drivers following Piket stumbled in confusion and the resulting shunt placed heavy damage to his rear wing and suspension, which ultimately forced a devastated Boni Piket out after any efforts to repair the damage proved futile. " Such a terrible thing to happen to Boni, he has finally pulled things together after a long struggle this season and now this happens! " - Brabham teammate Steve Bocskay.

As Stiener and Augusto rejoined the middle of the pack safely, Mario Ledesma had already begun to increase his lead over Gomez and Ascari by several seconds. Ascari had taken back 2nd place from Gomez after the long straight heading to sector 2, and also held on as the 2 drivers went into T4 side by side. But nearing the end of lap 1, Gomez was able to capitalize on an Ascari error and take 2nd place back. As if this wasn't enough excitement for the thousands of cheering British fans, an epic battle of grand proportion had begun to form behind Ascari for 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th place.

" It's not that I don't like driving this car, it's a great car to drive ! I just wish it was a lot faster and had a real front wing ! " - Larry Sheehy of team Arrows.

Now in full recovery mode, Jonathan Stiener had made up considerable time on the 5 drivers out front. His crew chief kept telling him that he was gaining every lap, but now he could see for himself, Bocskay, Sheehy, and Mike Muldoon were within striking distance. In 4th place, Bocskay was in fine form holding off a charging Larry Sheehy at every corner and the 2 drivers seemed to dance around the circuit like they were sprinkled with magical F1 fairy dust. Muldoon, only a short breath away watched them battle, hoping he could capitalize on a mistake, but his time for hoping turned into a time for coping as Stiener was now filling his mirrors, and his mind.

" I love eating several hotdogs before a race, I guess it's my thing, my, comfort zone if you will " - Mike Muldoon of Team Tyrrell.

Sheehy had his hands full as he juggled several chances to steal 4th place from Bocskay, and hold off Muldoon at the same time, and on lap 8 it went south as Muldoon finally got by for 5th place, unfortunately for Muldoon, only for a lap, as Sheehy took the postion back, and Stiener rocketed by both of them to take 4th place as the Brabham paddock clapped their hands and cheered in excitement. Not only did they have 3 Brabhams in the top 5, but Gomez had just moved into 1st overall !

" Driving a racing car fast is like making love to a woman, you just need the right tools at your disposal ! " - Daniel Gomez of team Brabham.

Ledesma and his Williams had proved to be the perfect combination for Essington, as his lead extended unchallenged for 8 laps, pushing the distance between himself and 2nd place incredibly on every lap. But on lap 9, fate came into play, and remarkabley this would not be Ledesma's day. His Williams would lose power completely, and he was forced to move aside and let 15 drivers pass before he finally got things fired up and rejoined the track. He would eventually finish this race in 8th place, but many people are confused as to what happened to Ledesma's Williams on lap 9 of the Essington grand prix. Daniel Gomez, who started this grand prix in a struggling 4th place has somehow managed to find himself in 1st place once again as if the racing gods had reached down and touched him on the helmet for the 4th time this season.

Ascari would hold onto a 2nd place finish, a position he knew was fortunate considering the car and track, but the real avenger for the Essignton grand prix would be Jonathan Stiener who after his near demise on lap 1 would go onto a podium with all odds stacked against him. The fight for 3rd, 4th, and 5th place he had just taken part of was nothing short of astounding and as he exited the confines of the Brabham cockpit, he looked over at Muldoon and Sheehy and gave an appreciative thumbs up. Bocskay, who ran a beatiful race for many laps finished a fine 6th place but was the disappointed driver that came out of the astonishing scrap for 3rd early on. Demarchi never recovered from the terrible circumstances that led up to the collison in T1, and was sadly out of contention very early.

How the race would've worked out had Stiener and Demarchi not gotten together at the start and lost 2nd and 3rd place, one wonders, but rest assured, after the trophies were handed out, and the champagne was sprayed, Gomez, Ascari and Stiener, really didn't care.

Next race - The Italian Grand Prix at Monza - Thursday October 2nd.

Autodrom Most - Czech Republic

Daniel Gomez of Argentina held a 25 point lead going into this weeks grand prix, and the question on the other drivers minds was could he be stopped ? During the weeks testing sessions, 2 other drivers would put in very competitive times, trying to find the magical setup for this technical track. But Gomez would continuously top the times, perhaps with a " I can do better " attitude leading up to Thursday's main 37 lap event. Larry Sheehy was again working hard to get the Arrows in a position to challenge, as was Cesare Ascari and team Renault, who would top the testing sessions with a world record lap of 1.18.998. Of course testing sessions and the official qualifying sessions were completely two different things.

Sheehy shot out in front in qualifying on thursday night, but it was still very early in the 45 minute session and no time to sit back and celebrate as Gomez topped the time by only 1/100th to take the valuable position just moments later. Ascari could not seem to find the speed to equal Gomez or Sheehy, and would have to settle for 3rd place behind Sheehy as qualifying came to a close, just barely edging out Mario Ledesma of Argentina who's Williams looked utterly fantastic in qualifying. Fellow countryman Augusto Demarchi also struggled at this twisting off camber venue, and could only bring his Lotus to 5th position.

After the formation lap, the 20 car field lined up on the grid and awaited the start of the grand prix. Nerves were fraying, and it didn't take long before Autodrom Most had it's first victims. Joseph Mudrak had to regretfully allow track marshals to push his Renault off the track as he had blown the turbo just seconds after the lights went green. Adnan Dizdarevic also had to leave early as he scrubbed the T1 wall barrier and lost control of his Williams, which unfortunately for Maxi Mica of Argentina, was directly in his race path and would end his race prematurely just seconds after it started. The American veteran and playboy, Kinst VonSterga also had a brief moment of fear, but was able to continue with slight damage after the T1 confusion. America's Dizdarevic would climb out of his Williams FW07 in total frustration and throw his helmet in anger to the tire barriers, obviously not happy with this finish to the race as Marshals ushered him back to the paddocks safely.

Up front, Gomez led the race confidently around the first lap, already putting time between himself and Sheehy, who was holding off Ascari in 3rd place without much of a problem. Behind Ascari, Augusto Demarchi had gotten by Mario Ledesma early for 4th place, and seemed to press the Superstar Canadian for several laps in the hope that Ascari would falter. But Ascari would finally get the tires warmed, putting some time between himself and Demarchi, and begin to press Sheehy in 2nd, now several seconds behind Gomez up front. Early in lap 8, Ascari would spin the Renault in the tight right hander, which allowed Demarchi and Mike Muldoon, the Canadian trouble maker to pass by easily.

Demarchi would set his sights now on Sheehy, who was only 3 - 4 seconds ahead in 2nd place, running after Gomez who was consistently increasing the gap. Regrouping his Renault, Ascari now began to pressure Muldoon as the top 5 cars were increasing their distance from the rest of the field. Muldoon would eventually slip, and go wide at the end of sector 1, and Ascari was by for 4th place, now trying to catch Demarchi and Sheehy, almost 6 seconds ahead. On lap 29 the crowd here at Autodrom Most stood up and gasped with nervous tension as Demarchi and Sheehy were going into the last corner side by side and Demarchi would make it stick beautifully to take 2nd place from last years reigning champion.

Demarchi had started in 5th place, and was now running in 2nd place comfortably, as the jumbo-tron here at the circuit showed his home town in Argentina, erupting with joy on the streets. Sheehy unfortunately was not out of the hot water yet, as a regrouping 4th place Ascari seemed to be finding more speed in each passing lap, and with only 3 laps remaining, Ascari would draft Sheehy out of the last corner and take over 3rd place before T1, leaving Eric Sheehy to finish 4th and puzzled as to what went wrong.

Gomez would cross the finish line moments later with both arms raised high, and as he pulled into the paddock a jubilant crowd waving Argentine flags surrounded the young hero, congratulating him on his 3rd grand prix victory of the season and a 31 point lead over 2nd place Sheehy in the championship.

Gomez had little to say after the GP - " There's nothing else to say after this, only congrats to the podium, and thanks to the organization and server. "

Larry Sheehy shared some thoughts later - " Well it was a really satisfying race. I qualified better than expected and actually started P2. Then on top of that I got a pretty decent start for a change ! But it was clear after the first two laps that Daniel was going to pull away with ease and he did just that. I had my hands full with CA but he spun coming out of the hard right and gave me a little breathing room. Then Augusto was 3 to 4 seconds back....I was literally driving as hard as I could and pushing it to the edge but he just kept chipping away the gap about a 1/10th of a second a lap. Finally he was right on my tail and he followed me for a couple laps before he was close enough that I ran a little wide and he was able to get by. Great patience Augusto.. ...Then CA was about 3 to 4 seconds back and it was the same thing.. but he brought the time down quite a bit quicker and was able to get me out of the last turn with about 2 laps to go. I pushed again as hard as I could hoping to that CA would have to look in his mirror and possibly miss a brake marker but....nope.. .....Ended up P4..which really feels good right now. "

3rd place Ascari added some comments in the post race interviews - " Well qualifying did not go as planned. I wanted to grab pole here for the simple reason that if I did not get it, I would not be able to keep up because of the massive amount of fuel. Testing went well, and I should have been able to grab it away from Daniel, but with such a track, the traffic comes into play on thursday night, and if there wasn't traffic, I was causing my own problems. Settled for 3rd, regretfully. Awesome laps by Dan and Larry ! Was hangin onto Larry for the first few laps, watchin Dan slip away without Larry or myself being able to do anyrthing about it hehe. Spun in the chicane and had to let Gusto and Mike go by. Mike put in some great laps, and after the tires settled down a bit, I could catch him slightly. He spun going up the hill on the backstretch, now I was after Gusto. The damn leader board was stuck on the bottom drivers for some reason, so I couldn't see a time difference. Switched it to another instant, and could see myself not catching Gusto, but catching Larry ! Not sure what position, but I gained on him alot easier with a lighter car and made the pass down the front straight with 2 or 3 remaining. "

The teams now prepare for the British Grand Prix being held at Essington on September 25th.

Germany - Hockenheim

As the championship hits the mid point of the season, the lowest score a driver has accumulated from the first half is taken off his total points for the season. But unlike previous seasons, remarkably, no one driver has scored points in every race. After 8 races, only 2 drivers have won more than 1 race, Daniel Gomez of Argentina who won at Jacarapagua and Oulton Park, and Canada's own Cesare Ascari who won at Road Atlanta and this weeks Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Unfortunately for Ascari, this is all he has in common with Gomez who leads the Championship with 85 points, and a massive 25 point lead over 2nd place. Be that as it may, Ascari still put up a fight claiming 1st place at the European Grand Prix and gained 2 spots in the Championship, now sitting in 6th overall, 37 points behind Gomez. His teammate and threat to Gomez, Eric Sheehan of the United States failed to make the Grand Prix and lost valuable points in his hunt for the Championship, and now finds himself tied for 2nd place overall with last seasons champion Larry Sheehy. Sheehy has found a way to contend lately in his Arrows but could only manage a 6th place finish at Hockenheim after a harrowing incident with his teammate Pablo Flores on lap 13, leaving the Argentine out of the Grand Prix with a finish of 13th place. Speculation arose once again in the paddocks as to what exactly went wrong on lap 13, but after league stewards convened, the incident which also involved Mike Muldoon of the United States was left as nothing more than a racing incident.

Ascari who took pole position with Gomez following in 2nd on the grid, never really allowed Gomez to get a run at him using his Renault RS11's straight line speed at this fast track, and the two drivers would finish the very way they started. In 3rd, behind Gomez on the grid was Gabriel Legnini who surprised the field with an impressive time in qualifying, but the Argentine could not hold onto that position and fell back to 6th place by the end of the 27 laps. Jonathan Stiener of the U.S. however, made the best of others misfortune and ran a spectacular race to advance from 5th on the grid, to 3rd place and a podium. Canada's Mike Muldoon also had a fantastic race starting in 7th place and finishing 4th overall. Fellow Canadian Oliver Day also made up quite a bit of places starting from 13th place and finishing 5th.

The first chicane here at Hockenheim, saw early action in the Grand Prix. Dave Cooke Jr narrowly escaped a dizzying shunt as he slammed into a tire barrier at well over 190mph. He was able to continue however, but unfortunately not for long as the damage to his suspension and front wing would prove to be too much for the young American. The first chicane was again in action, later in the race on lap 13, as Mike Muldoon and Pablo Flores battled hard for 4th place. Flores was under pressure from Muldoon leading up to this lap, but Muldoon found little room to pass at this narrow circuit. Finally, a brave but desperate attempt on Muldoons part to take the inside leading into the first chicane at high speeds led to Flores losing control, and spinning through the chicane. He exited the chicane somewhat unscathed, but his teammate Larry Sheehy could not avoid Flores and this wreck left Pablo's Arrow without it's rear wing and rear left tire.

Heading towards Round 9 at Autodrome Most in the Czech Republic, the Championship heats up significantly. With Gomez ahead of Sheehan and Sheehy by 25 points, the 2 drivers will be trying to do anything within they're reach to catch the speeding Argentine. When you throw in the fact that there are at least six to seven other drivers able to win at any given race, the Season 6 Championship is anything but a lock for Gomez at this point.

Thursday September 18th - 37 laps of The Czech Republic Grand Prix !

Nordschleife - Germany

Unlike the 5 seasons that preceded this seasons championship, each Grand Prix has produced a different winner, something that's kept all the drivers wondering who exactly is the future season 6 champion ? With the standings being so close, it's hard for anyone to predict that answer. Daniel Gomez has no doubt become one of the shining stars in the last few races, making his way to the top of the standings and increasing his point lead race after race. But last years champion Larry Sheehy of the United States was not about to sit quietly on the side and watch it slip away from him as he found a magical setup for the Arrows here at Nordschleife, possibly the most famous circuit in the world.

During the weeks testing sessions Sheehy not only led the leagues time trials, but he also produced record breaking lap times to take his place amongst the worlds fastest GPC79 drivers as the #1 Arrows pilot in the world. How this affected the other MRC GPC79 drivers came to past on thursday night as the countdown to the prestigious German Grand Prix began.

During qualifying, 7 drivers would be under 8 minutes, but only 2 drivers were quick enough on the twisting road circuit to battle for pole position. Gomez looked as though he had the #1 spot locked, putting up a lap time of 7'52"985 late in the session. But while he brought the car in and team Brabham celebrated, Sheehy was on the track pushing his Arrows to it's limitations, knowing full well his pole position had been stolen by the Argentine. As Sheehy entered the new section of Nordschleife, and sped towards the finish line, it would be unbelievably close. Gomez held his breath as Sheehy's lap time was transferred to the time board, 7'52"166. Sheehy had bettered the time by a near full second. The team Arrows paddock erupted in jubilation, as they now had 2 drivers in the top 3 with Pablo Flores of Argentina taking 3rd place on the grid. The session came to a close as Gomez' teammate, Jonathan Stiener crossed the line late to jump into 4th spot on the grid to increase the team Brabham threat up front.

As the 10 teams and 24 drivers lined up for the race start, the excitement to be running 6 laps at the famous Nurburgring could be felt throughout the paddock. Last minute setup changes and full tanks were prepared, but how would the car handle this torturous venue, let alone the drivers. Time would tell.

GREEN GREEN GREEN !!

As the lights flashed, and the engines revved into a fevered pitch things got off to a rocky start right away for team Brabham, as Gomez spun his car changing gears and slammed into his teammate Jonathan Stiener immediately before Stiener could do anything to avoid the contact. This opened a door for Renault driver Cesare Ascari and he quickly went from 5th to 2nd after T1, something he could not have planned better if he knew it would happen before hand as the remaining 24 drivers made their way through T1 cleanly.

As Sheehy led the way through the opening lap, Ascari seemed remarkably quick and pressed Sheehy for the first 2 sectors, but Sheehy would open the gap to 4 seconds before the end of lap 1. Behind Ascari, Mike Muldoon had taken up camp in 3rd place and was now mounting an attack on Ascari for 2nd place. Behind the front runners, things went bad for Lotus driver and past champion Rob Harrison who started in 8th, but to everyone's shocking surprise was sadly the first driver out of the German Grand Prix. But perhaps the most astounding news after lap 1 came from his teammate, Augusto Demarchi, who had remarkably past no less than 15 drivers on lap 1. Demarchi who was penalized for making contact with Jonathan Stiener at Oulton Park started from the back of field but was now on lap 3, attacking Ascari who had lost 2nd place to Muldoon and Pablo Flores after a mistake in T1 left him wide and somewhat sandy. Demarchi pressed Ascari who was still shaken, and it would lead to Ascari's demise as his Renault seem to rocket over the kerbing and into the Armco, causing severe suspension damage

.

Sheehy led the entire race, and set the fastest lap of the race as well. His teammate Flores would make the move past Muldoon and finish in 2nd place. Quite simply a stellar performance from team Arrows who have gotten off to a slow start this season. Tyrrell superstar Mike Muldoon would bring her home for a well deserved 3rd place, the second podium of the season for Muldoon who now moves into 9th overall in the championship with 8 races remaining. Team Brabham, after such a fantastic performance in Qualifying, and the unfortunate incident at the start, managed to get what they could out of the cars and race with Gomez placing a opportunistic 5th, and Stiener, a dismal but trying 15th. However, they only trail the powerful team of McLaren by 9 points in the constructors championship. Demarchi, starting in 19th place for team Lotus, would finish a glorious 4th place and take over 6th place in the championship, just 5 points ahead of Ascari and Stiener. Ascari's teammate Eric Sheehan would finish 7th at Nurburgring, and jump Dave Cooke Jr in the championship to take 2nd overall, who was sadly out of the race after lap 1 here at Nordschleife.

Larry Sheehy shares his post race thoughts - " Well it's been a fun two weeks for my part. I've always enjoyed running at the ring and this race just topped it off! Couldn't believe I could actually run with Daniel and CA and the other fast guys this season. Pretty much an uneventful race, just tried to keep it as mistake free as possible and I can say I didn't make a single mistake, and it was a good thing since Pablo was right there to take advantage. Congrats to Pablo and Tdog ! "

Daniel Gomez gives his analysist - " I've managed to nail a good qualy lap at the end and put myself on front row. The problem came at the start..., I had to take a difficult decision about differential power setting..., I think I chose the wrong one. In the seconds before the green I was repeating to my self "don't break it, just don't break the thing....", then green....., then DOH! I think I spun the car when engaged 2nd...., diff 0 setting proved fatal, and messed it all up and banged the fence. SORRY Jonathan, you'couldn't avoid me and I damaged your susp too. From then on, escaped the carnage at T1, and tried to chase T-Dog., but I forgot to change brake balance (this is almost mandatory when you mess a suspension) and left the track at one of the fast esses, that further damaged the car, but it seemed to correct the balance again. Then I've adjusted my brake setting and tried to save what I could. Nice chase on Dom for almost all the race, I've managed to take the spot just before entering old section in the last lap. All in all, it was a positive outcome, but I've suffered all the race.

BIG BIG Congrats to the Arrows team, they're truly skilled and gifted drivers, an awesome race-driving lesson. Congrats also T-Dog on the podium ! "

Pablo Flores elaborates on the fine 1-2 finish of team Arrows - " My start was really bad... i started with neutral.. so when i put 1st everybody was gone lol.
So i was like 7th at the start and then on t1 i had some touches with other cars but i managed to keep without damage. After that i started overtaking people, Augusto, Mike, CA, etc. Oh, I also saw my friend Dany spining at the top of the hill like 5 corners before karrusell. That was nuts. well. The thing was that larry was gone by 9~ seconds, that was what i lost on first lap. Then i couldn't make difference, were driving almost at the same speed, so i was doing my best but sometimes i overdrove. Also my car was really bad after the karrusell. Very very loose and it was damn hard to go fast and not crash anything.

Hey.. a really great race for team Arrows, 1-2 !

Congrats Larry ! "

3rd place Mike Muldoon give an interview - " Awesome good FUN, Tons of STRESS, Moments of TERROR ! SMILES all the way !

Good start for me, but I usually get a good start. There was one stopped car on the grid as I took off, maybe an Arrows? Got through the excitement of the first few corners ok and saw I was behind CA in 3rd. It was clear that CA was faster in some areas and I was faster in others but I had no idea about where and when I could even remotely consider a SAFE pass. Then, I guess one-2-many looks in the mirror or something and CA went off track long enough for me to sneak by (thanks for the care in letting me through CA!)

Apparently the idea of running second to "King Larry" was too much for me, not to even mention the pressure I was feeling from behind as the cars in the mirror flashed and dashed about. Sure enough, I did the same as CA and lost a bit of control at a dangerous place and 2 cars went screaning by. I held onto 4th for a bit while having some exciting battles with Augusto. I can't even remember what put me up from 4th to 3rd !? but I sure remember being chased ALL the way to the finsih line!

Great Win Larry - You just makes this sh*t look easy ( damn it ! ) "

The teams now head to Hockenheim for round 8 on September 11th.

Oulton Park - Britain

Team Brabham knew they had a fair chance at the prestigious Oulton Park venue, but they never could've guessed that teammates Daniel Gomez and Jonathan Stiener would run as well as they did to grab 1st and 2nd place up top and 13th from the rookie driver Boni Piket, and a stellar score of 29 points !

As Gomez landed his Brabham on pole for the second time this season, it seemed it was only a matter of hanging on for the first lap or 2 that would ensure his victory for the second time this season. Lotus star Augusto Demarchi tried to force the issue into T1 after the lights went green, but went wide and lost a handful of positions due to the unfortunate error. 3rd place on the grid belonged to Canadian Cesare Ascari who's alway's a consistant threat, and he made good on a challenge immediately and took 1st place from Gomez on the backstretch, pushing the Renault's turbo-charged engine hard enough to overtake a solid Gomez. The lead would not hold for long however, as Gomez would outbreak Ascari a few laps later into the last hairpin and regain the position to the delight of all the Brabham fans here at the British GP.

After hanging on for 17 laps, Ascari would inevatebly run into trouble with traffic, and then later spin trying to make up lost time. It would be the last time Ascari would see Gomez in this race and he would ultimately settle for a deserved 4th place, just 2 seconds out of reach of a struggling Demarchi in 3rd with only 3 laps remaining.

Demarchi would battle Dave Cooke early on for 3rd place, but Cooke would fall back and then lose the M29 McLaren into the armco trying to catch Ascari running in 4th. Demarchi sitting in 3rd place now would fall back and give way to Brabham's Jonathan Stiener, who was quite baffled later on as Demarchi chased his Brabham succesfully, then seemed to lose control of his Lotus and tag Stiener, forcing him off after T1. Stiener would regain the 2nd position later in the race and bring home the big points for team Brabham, now sitting only 9 points back of team McLaren in the constructors championship.

For Daniel Gomez, it meant taking the championship point lead away from Dave Cooke Jr, and putting a very cushy 9 point lead between the 2, with Eric Sheehan who struggled terribly here at Oulton only 10 points back in 3rd overall.

The teams now prepare for the halfway point of the season, and a 2 week break which will be followed by the historic German GP held at the famous Nordschleife.

For video recap of this grand prix click - MRC GPC79 Round 6 - Oulton Park

Daniel Gomez at the post race press conference - " Start of the race was a bit messy for me, too much wheelspin, but managed to stay front, then CA pressed incredibly on cold tyres and overtook me at the straight before knickerbrook.., tried to stay calm and thinking to my self "go for the points Dan, the points...", but after 4 o 5 laps, CA was still close on front, and I've realized that I had a chance at the straight before the last turn, then on the next lap I've took that chance.
Then CA kept pressing hard, I was givin it all, except at knickerbrook (too much dangerous to gain time there), CA lost ground at some point, and the things became a bit quieter until the end of the race, when Jon Stiener was flying between 8-6 secs behind me.
With much effort I could hold it safe until the end of the race to get an AWESOME 1-2 for team Brabham "

Jonathan Stiener talks about his spectacular race - " Back into a podium spot I was ecstatic, and knew I just had to bring it home for a 1,3 brabham podium, but then i got another lucky break when Augusto went in just a little to hard into that double apex right hander (2nd to last turn), and it put him off into the grass, handing me 2nd place! Everyone was so gracious with giving me free passes.. LOL From then on it was just maintaining my gap to Augusto, and not making any dumb mistakes. For a while I was getting my hopes up for a possible win, as I was actually making some time up on Daniel, but i think he was just in cruise control. Congrats to my teammate on a well deserved victory, and I'm just happy to have finally made a decent showing for my team. "

Monaco - Monte Carlo

Beautiful weather and the majestic sounds of formula one racing were at the top of the menu here at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix for the 5th round of the MRC GPC79 Championship. 10 teams and 24 drivers could be heard throughout the scenic port and twisting streets as qualifying began thursday night without any issues.

Current points leader Eric Sheehan driving for team Renault RS11 put up a beautiful lap to take an early pole, followed by his teammate Cesare Ascari, and Lotus driver Augusto Demarchi of Argentina. But it wasn't long after that when Dave Cooke, the young American hopeful, pushed his way through the tricky circuit and took pole away from Sheehan. Having terrible luck in Belgium by running into trouble while way out front, Dave Cooke seemed determined to give it another go, hoping for a better result this time.

As the rest of the field settled into their respected slots, the tension in the crowd, and on the grid was incredible. Sheehan, starting from the 2nd position seemed calm and poised as the cars rounded the circuit on their warm up lap. His 15 point lead in the championship was comfortable, but another victory here would make things allot easier for certain. Behind Cooke, Sheehan's teammate Ascari lined up for the first time in 2 weeks, and by all accounts, looked very fast in qualifying as did Daniel Gomez and Larry Sheehy, who took up positions in 4th and 5th.

Four bright green lights flashed and the Monaco Grand Prix was on ! Cooke got off the line in terrific shape and wasn't challenged for the lead whatsoever. Ascari pulled up along side of his teamate Sheehan, but would need to back off to allow room for his teammate through T1. It was here that 6th place starter Augusto Demarchi jumped into 3rd place, forcing his way through the tight field in an attempt to gain as many positions as possible, before the chance to do so became almost impossible here at the tight street circuit. Demarchi taps Sheehan slightly going into the apex of T1, but it's worked, he's now made 3 spots in the first turn of the race as Ascari has to allow him through on the inside and follow the Lotus up snake-like street towards T2 and the famed Casino complex.

The rest of the field push their way through T1 patiently, and the fans here at the historic city cheer as the 38 lap Grand Prix get's off to a spectacular start. They didn't have to wait long for the first casualty of the race, as Demarchi, chasing Sheehan out of the tunnel and into the quick left-right chicane loses control of his Lotus and slams either side of the circuit repeatedly. Again, the speedy Argentine is out of yet another GP too early. Colin Chapman raises his arms in disgust as his fastest driver seems incapable of going the distance since his first win at T1 Aida.

Up front, Sheehan seems to struggle slightly, trying to keep a pace with the McLaren M29 of Dave Cooke Jr. His turbo changed RS11 is keeping him at striking distance however, and behind, Ascari slowly tried to make up some lost time from avoiding Demarchi's wreck just 20 seconds earlier. Tyrrell's Mike Muldoon has now moved his way into 4th place and sets his sites on Ascari's RS11 just ahead.

In first place, Dave Cooke was unstoppable. If he made any errors, they were so small that it provided Eric Sheehan little opportunity to close the gap. Sheehan would be out of the race just a few laps later, and so would his teammate, Ascari with severe suspension damage after a hopeful pitstop proved discouraging. Dom Leste would string together an incredible handful of laps that would inevitable thrust him into 2nd place later in the race, followed by Daniel Gomez who currently sat 2nd overall in the Championship. Gomez however would run into trouble and drop his position to Gabriel Legnini of team Ligier who finished 3rd and could not stop from smiling.

As the champagne sprayed, it was the young American David Cooke who conquered the circuit without question. His victory here only overshadowed by his leap into 1st place overall in the championship by 1 point over Sheehan. Daniel Gomez would make a huge 10 point gain on Sheehan as well, now only 5 points back in 3rd overall. Dominique Leste would celebrate a well earned 2nd place here at Monaco and also gain valuable points in the championship, now in 4th overall.

Gabriel "Pai" Legnini after the race - " I started 10th, managed to stay there being very carefully, and then just vultured my way seeing one guy drop after the other. I was completely scared, driving very slow, didn't find a pace until the end, when Dale ( Ballweg ) was pushing me hard from behind. He actually caught me, but couldn't find an overtaking point. Then i caught Daniel who was struggling with suspension, and Dale got trapped there. Luckily, they both continued, and that secured me a...3RD PLACE !

Somebody wake me up ! "

Dom Leste in the press interview - " Qualified 7th i think just behind Jonathan and Mike. I got a good start and passed Jonathan before Turn 1. Then he re passed me at the hairpin. Followed him for a few laps until he lost it a bit on the exit out of the swimming pool area. Then i just climbed from 6th onwards as the others went. After Larry crashed, the gap between me and Daniel was going up and down between 6-8 seconds. Until he got damage. I couldn't find a way to pass without risking a shunt.

He braked abit early or late to pass his teammate Boni ( Piket ) at the hairpin and i dove in the inside to pass him. Then after that, pretty much cruise control until 8 laps to go when i hit the wall into Racasse causing suspension damage costing me 2 seconds a lap. Just tried to keep it together until the end ! "

An exhausted Oliver Day after the race - " Okay, if you have one car that's quick in qualifying and one car quick in the race which do you go with on a track where a fast race car won't matter ? Of course the fast one in the race... if you're an idiot, like me !

Did this help my race at least ? Nope... Lap 1, I was a little nervous about having Joe pushing behind me and I looped it, and then waited for everyone to go by. Then slowly made a 43 point turn, 22nd after lap 1. hoorah! 7th by mid race, that was more like it and hard on SB's ( Steve Bocskay ) tail, though with a well damaged car from the fight up through the field. And not being able to leave well enough alone with about 12 laps to go i decided to start bouncing it off the walls some and ended up just parking it before bruce and Adnan came to get revenge for earlier passes. "

Zolder - Belgium

Eric Sheehan and team Renault RS11 went into the Belgian GP minus their second driver Cesare Ascari, but this was no time to lay back and let the championship slip away for Sheehan. His small 3 point lead over David Cooke in the championship after the Brazilian GP at Jacarapagua was indeed something he wanted to increase if possible.

However, David Cooke in the last couple races, has finally come into his own driving the McLaren, and proved his threat for the championship is no fluke. His qualifying time at Zolder was good enough to place him on pole in front of Sheehan and Demarchi, and on the twisty narrow circuit here in Belgium, there's no better place to start the race.

As the race started, the excitement blasted throughout the spectator seats at Zolder as Sheehan was forced back to 4th place immediately by Demarchi and Gomez, who throttled into 2nd and 3rd heading into T1. Out in front, David Cooke and his M29 were setting up a fast pace as he began to pull away from the rest of field as the first lap ended. The rest of the 24 driver field, minus Maxi Mica who was doomed in the pit area made it through the heavily forested circuit fairly unscathed and the sight was fantastic to say the least.

Lap 6 would claim Augusto Demarchi, and the driver who began this seasons championship with an incredible victory at T1 Aida was again out early for the 3rd grand prix in a row. On lap 24, Sheehan would manage a pass to claim 2nd place from Daniel Gomez which would later eat away at Gomez as only 4 laps later, David Cooke's race would come to an unfortunate end as veteran driver Bo Bruce would lose control of his Lotus exiting T4 and the kerbing would spin his car into the path of a lapping Cooke. The incident however could not be avoided and after the debris was cleared, both drivers left the circuit unharmed and in good spirits.

Third place went to Tyrrell's Canadian driver Mike Muldoon, who started in 9th place, only to pass 3 drivers on the first lap of the race and hunt down McLaren's Dom Leste in what would be a great battle for 4th place after Demarchi's accident. On lap 8 Leste would go wide in T3 finally allowing Muldoon to get by and ultimately finish in 3rd. Leste would regroup and finish in 6th place behind Jonathan Stiener and Larry Sheehy in 4th.

Daniel Gomez in the McLaren paddock - " Tried to catch Cooke Jnr, while escaping from Eric, but at the end some failed overtakes on lapped cars and an encouraged-boost 10 Eric made me fight for the 2nd spot instead of fight for the win. I've lost this time.
I've run a bit wide on T4 before the back-straight...the car upsetted a bit on exit...Eric was too close behind me, and I haven't seen the replay but I think he couldn't avoid tapping me, and then came the spin and a lost front wing and damaged front suspension. Things looked bad first after the incident, But I've managed to recover a bit of pace and could hold T-Dog from catching me...., and after David Jnr tragedy, saved a valuable 2nd spot... (good damage limitation).

On to Monaco hell now...."

Jacarapagua - Brazil

His race at Road Atlanta should've been an indication to the other drivers, that Daniel Gomez is racing like a man possessed. His qualifying lap to edge out Augusto Demarchi for team Lotus was brilliant, and his race was even more brilliant still. However, Eric Sheehan for team Renault made things exciting for the better part of the race, challenging over and over again for the lead. The two drivers would both lead the race almost equally, but it was Gomez in his Brabham that would ultimately prevail.

Back in the battle for 3rd, David Cooke was looking quite comfortable for many laps chasing and watching the battle taking place just ahead of him, but when the leaders were within reach, he spun the car, and it cost him dearly. Jonathan Stiener would jump on the opportunity, and the Brabham team would have 2 drivers on the podium.

Race winner Daniel Gomez after the race - "My first pole position since Kyalami Season 1, a long time ago. ( smiles wide ) Started pretty good, trying to make some kind of gap from Augusto, but he recovered after a couple of turns and stood right on my tail again. Then he made a mistake on the fast bend at the end of the long straight. That gave me some air, but only for a couple of laps. For some reason I was very nervous in the first 8 laps of the race, really couldn't set a good lap and was behind my normal pace by at least 0.5 sec a lap, then Eric overtook Jnr and started to chase me down. He was soon on my tail, I knew of the turbo power and I knew that If he managed to stay less than 0.5 in the 1st intermediate, he would eat me up on the straight. And that's how it happened, then the dice started, we swapped all the race, and only finished when Eric realized that there wasn't enough fuel on his RS11 tank to keep pushing, so he had to pull back only at 1 lap from the end, lucky me !

Dom Leste in the McLaren paddock - "Lonely race for me again, I was careful at the start, then at the end of the 1st lap i almost lost it letting a few go pass. Larry as usual made it fun again, he seems to always find me in race I was holding him off until a lotus backmarker held me up on the hairpin i took the outside line and i guess Larry took a better line and passed.

Road Atlanta - USA

The second race of this season took place at Road Atlanta, a favourite track for some, but not so much for others. From early in the week it was apparent that Canadian Cesare Ascari was one of the drivers that favoured it's winding elevation changes, not to mention letting the Renaullt RS11's turbo stretch it's legs down the back straight. By race day, qualifying belonged to Ascari flat out, taking pole ahead of teamate Eric Sheehan, and Daniel Gomez for team Brabham.

The race start went well, but heading up the hill after T1, Ascari went a tad wide and Sheehan had a chance to capitilize on the mistake and take the lead before the sharp right hander at T2. He opted to back off and let Ascari lead the way, and from there Ascari worked on a gap and landed his first win of the season. Back in the battle for 2nd, American driver David Cooke had his McLaren looking fantastic as he brought home a well deserved podium. Third place was secured by Sheehan, but only 2 seconds ahead of a charging Gomez who battled hard with Arrows driver Pablo Flores earlier in the race.

Ascari at the MRC GPC79 press conference - " I tried to get as much off the start as I could. After getting about 6 or 7 secs, I dialed the turbo down and tried to keep the pace with Jr, who now was in 2nd and trying to close the gap. Man was he ever, back up goes the turbo ! Even running it full bore, I couldn't really shake him off, he was quick in sector 1 and 2, and I was fast in 3, making back the time. "

Gomez at the MRC GPC79 press conference - "Started the best I could, behind both Renaults, Eric won the inside so I settled for 3rd, but Augusto rushed and I'd fall back to 4th. Then Augusto missed the braking point, tapping Eric in the two right handers before the long straight, so I took advantage and regained 3rd, but Augusto missed the brake again and tapped me too, I think I lost 2 or 3 places there.

From then on, I had dices with Muldoon, Flores (great battle, friend), and Dave Jnr passed me in the long straight like a spaceship in warp 7 (amazing drive & setup there Jnr). Settled for 4th and started to chase Eric while trying to escape from Larry at the same time. Made a mistake at the end that ruined my (tiny) chances of a fight for 3rd.

Finished completely exhausted, what a demanding track..."

Adnan Dizdarevic in the Williams paddock - "Difficult race for me. For some reason it made me quite tired at the end. Never found a nice pace on the second track, despite my lap times fitting right in mid grid. Survived lots of action in first half of the race, and in the beginning 2nd half, after loosing it in last corner and in the esses, I found my self quite lonely with cars way out in front of me and no pressure from the back so it was just a matter of nursing it back home. There will be not much practice time for the 3rd race for me but I hope I can make it for the race next week."

T1 Aida - Japan

After a long week of testing and preparations, the teams finally got down to the business at hand here in Japan and the T1 Aida circuit last thursday. Perhaps the biggest surprise to some of the drivers were the continuously fast laps of Argentina's Augusto Demarchi and his Lotus 79. Setting the fastest lap in the pre race test sessions, there was no doubting that Demarchi would be the driver to beat. Taking pole position and just edging out a fast Eric Sheehan and Cesare Ascari for team Renault RS11 set the stage for a spectacular season opener.

Demarchi simply did not flinch as the light went green, he drove the race perfectly and left little hope for Sheehan as he could only hold on for a short time, then fall slightly off Demarchi's pace, having to watch him slip away for the victory.

Ascari would be the seasons first victim of car trouble as his gear box, which was showing signs of problems early in qualifying sent him dangerously into a spin in T1, only to succumb to engine failure trying to get the car back on the circuit. This left the door open for America's Dave Cooke Jr. His McLaren M29 seemed to jump to life as he passed Ascari for 3rd place, and he began to hunt down the RS11 of Sheehan. Unfortunately, Sheehan was not about to give the position up and Cooke would eventually settle in for a well deserved 3rd place.

Eric Sheehan after the race : " The race itself was pretty uneventful as I stayed with Augusto for the first third of the race but then he eventually pulled away. Dave Cooke Jr made it interesting towards the end of the race as he closed the gap up to me, but then he fell back with just a few to go, not sure what happened but it was shaping up to be a great battle for 2nd.

Anyway, I was happy to finish this race on the podium as it really wasn't a comfortable track for me. Road Atlanta here we come ! "

Cesare Ascari in the Team Renault pits : " I was happy to watch Eric hunt down the speedy Gus, and try and hold off a quick and persistent Dave Cooke for 3rd, and after 15 or so laps, with 2nd gear acting up in pretty much every corner, I was doing ok. Then on lap 19, into T1, it went bazerke and I couldn't stop her from spinning. Of course, the Renault does not like sitting still for too long with hi revs, and the engine gave out as I got goin. Just as well, the gear thing was driving me absolutely insane by this time. "

T1 Aida - Japan

10 teams, 34 drivers from around the world, 15 rounds at spectacular venues, and only 1 driver to be crowned Season 5 Champion in October. Mybroga Motorsports GPC79 series is geared up to start this thursday evening in Japan.

Speculation as to which team will reign supreme and take the Season 5 constructor cup has been a big topic of discussion the last couple weeks, and there's no shortage of favorites. This upcoming season has more of the worlds fastest drivers MRC GPC79 has ever seen.

All drivers participating this season are encouraged to read over the rules, practice your starts, and make sure your machines and tracks are ready for this thursday in Japan.

Good luck to all the teams, and a special welcome to all the new drivers !

Thursday Night - T1 Aida - 8:00pm EST

LLM !