Wednesday 30 April 2014

Imola at 20: Simtek's painful story

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Sometimes in life, we can forget about people so quickly – harshly in most circumstances. That shouldn’t happen to individuals who give their life to a certain dedication. Roland Ratzenberger fits into this category. Although only a newcomer into the sport, the charming Austrian had already become a popular soul in the paddock before he became the first driver to die at the wheel of a racing car in 12 years during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Ratzenberger was driving for one of the two new teams in the sport, Simtek Grand Prix. Set-up by former FIA president Max Mosley and the hard-working Nick Wirth, Simtek were the natural underdogs of the pitlane who seeked a dream and ultimately went bust for the challenge.

In the fifth edition of the Imola at 20 series and exactly 20 years to the day since Ratzenberger perished at the circuit, I pay tribute to one of the most hard-working teams who never got much more than pain and punishment.

Early founding
Created by Mosley and Wirth, Simtek Research was founded in 1989 and began their journey as a consultancy firm in the world of engineering. Its aim was to be a third party in helping out construct racing chassis and constructions of wind tunnels for competitors to the highest possible standards.

With a facility in Banbury, Simtek built up their contracts in Formula One, Formula 3000 and IndyCars and their engineers ran the BMW 3-series cars that entered the German Touring Car Championship in 1991. Two years later, Wirth’s Grand Prix dream almost came true when Simtek won the contract to design the car for the Bravo Grand Prix team. Unfortunately, the sudden death of Frenchman and project backer of the Bravo team, Jean Francois Mosnier, saw these plans end up in the scrapheap.

With Mosley having sold his stake in Simtek Research to Wirth after becoming FIA president, Nick realised that if he was to achieve his racing dream, he’d have to do it himself rather than through a third party route. So in the summer of 1993, he took the decision to enter Formula One with his own team for 1994. They would be a newcomer on the grid along with Pacific Grand Prix.

There were realistic hopes but good backing for Wirth. The major television cable channel MTV came on board as title sponsors and three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham became a shareholder, meaning his son David Brabham would drive one of the cars.

However they still needed funding for the second seat. Step forward Roland Ratzenberger.

Roland gets his chance
Having narrowly missed out on a Jordan drive during 1991, Roland Ratzenberger’s own Grand Prix dreams didn’t look like they were going to happen. He’d spent the majority of his junior career racing in formulae in Britain and then in Japan, racing single seaters, touring cars and sportscars. He had joined the Toyota squad to compete at Le Mans, finishing fifth in the 1993 24 Hours event and already having secured a drive for the 94 edition.

However when negotiations broke down with a number of drivers, including Gil de Ferran and the experienced but shunt friendly Andrea de Cesaris, Ratzenberger swooped in to do the deal and take the second seat.

He had impressed the engineers with his technical feedback and dedication to the cause at a winter test, ironically at Imola. He signed a contract for five races to see how things would go for both parties. For most drivers, winning is what drives them on but for Roland Ratzenberger, just being on the grid was a victory in itself.

The odds were against Simtek. Only 35 people were employed in the racing team, only 10 per cent of the staff employed by legendary Italian constructor Ferrari. Also, Wirth had designed an active suspension car for 1994 which of course would have fallen foul of the new regulations put in place at the start of the year. With a heavy chassis, which included a manual gearbox and a less than powerful V8 Ford engine, although reliable – there weren’t any expectations for them to reach the midfield.

Beating Pacific was an achievable goal and they did this in the first two races. Some technical problems and over-exuberance from Ratzenberger meant the veteran Belgian Bertrand Gachot from Pacific got onto the grid instead for the season opener in Brazil. Brabham kept out of trouble though and finished 12th, although that was the last of the 26 finishers. Three weeks later, both Brabham and Ratzenberger made the grid at the TI Aida circuit, taking the final two spots on the grid. Brabham retired early on but Roland, with previous track knowledge from his Japan days, ended a fighting and proud 11th.

Despite teething problems, the Simtek project had made a good start but then came Imola.

Tragedy
Both Brabham and Ratzenberger were excited and competitive but enjoyed each other’s company. Roland’s contacts from his days in Asia meant he was close to a number of the drivers in the paddock, including Eddie Irvine, JJ Lehto and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

At Imola, the car looked better in terms of handling stability. With the hopeless Paul Belmondo no threat to anyone but himself in the second Pacific and Rubens Barrichello out of the weekend’s activities following his Friday crash, Simtek were on course for a second successive race with both cars on the grid.

On Saturday, Ratzenberger set a high target, to beat both Gachot and his more experienced teammate Brabham. Whilst the first goal was realistic, the second was possibly too ambitious. Nevertheless, he was full of confidence going into the second qualifying session. On his first out lap, he had an excursion at the Aqua Minerali chicane, which damaged the front assembly of the car. Rather than come back to the pits for checks, the Austrian (pictured below) pushed on to start his first flying lap of the afternoon.
Roland Ratzenberger on his final lap before tragedy strikes
Through Tamburello and the front wing weakened, then failed and already exiting the corner, having built up speed close to 200mph, he had no chance. The impact with the wall at the Villeneuve kink is beyond description and there wasn’t much left of the car when it eventually rolled to a halt at the Tosa hairpin.

Despite the best efforts of the doctors, both at the track and at the Bologna hospital, fatal neck injuries led to Ratzenberger’s death.


The team was inconsolable, as were the rest of the paddock. Bernie Ecclestone urged Simtek to race on to help with the shock. Whilst Bernie’s enthusiasm for the show to carry on was not called for in the circumstances, the team leader shone through.

On race morning, Brabham said: “I lost a close friend yesterday. Though teammates for a mere few weeks, we had already a lot of fun together and had every reason to look forward to a great year with the Simtek team. I am confident that the greatest tribute we can pay to Roland is to race today, hence my decision.”

Bravely, David continued and won many admirers for his spirit, not just at Imola but throughout the rest of the season. Suspension failure put him out of the San Marino event but he would not quit. It was his passion that also kept a devastated Wirth going.

When Ayrton Senna died, the attention switched away, understandably so but the majority seemed to totally forget what had happened to Roland Ratzenberger. On Friday, 6 May 1994 – Ratzenberger was buried in the town of his birthplace, Salzburg in Austria. Compatriots Gerhard Berger and Karl Wendlinger attended, along with his closest pal in the paddock, Frentzen. Mosley went too, adding: “Roland had been forgotten. So I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna’s. I thought it was important that somebody went to his.”

With Brabham’s courageous attitude, Simtek decided to carry on – adding a ‘For Roland’ sign on the airboxes of the cars. It wouldn’t get any easier.

More agony
The shattered Simtek mechanics then had another write-off when Andrea Montermini, who was signed up to take the seat vacated by the dearly departed Ratzenberger, lost control and crashed heavily during Saturday morning practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. Wirth’s dreams were turning into the stuff of nightmares.

Frenchman Jean-Marc Gounon took over the car from the French Grand Prix afterwards and achieved the team’s best ever result on his debut, with ninth place. Brabham finished 10th in Barcelona. 11th in Hungary and 12th in Japan and he started to occasionally outqualify the Lotus and Larrousse cars as the season progressed. When he started a fantastic 21st in Belgium, Brabham rubbed salt into Erik Comas’ wounds. After Comas had joked that he would retire if ever outqualified by a Simtek a fortnight earlier in Hungary, Brabham did just that at Spa and went on to quip; “I want to wish Erik a happy retirement!” Simtek finished damaged but survived a turbulent 1994 season. They were the best of the debutants and hoped 1995 would be better. It wouldn’t.

MTV decreased their sponsorship levels for 1995 and although Brabham’s heart was with the Simtek project, a huge financial offer from BMW to go and race in the British Touring Car Championship was impossible to ignore. Wirth replaced him with the talented Dutchman Jos Verstappen, partnered by Italian Domenico Schiattarella. The S951 chassis was much better, with Jos qualifying a sensational 14th in Argentina, and ran as high as sixth before gearbox problems intervened. Schiattarella finished ninth in Buenos Aires but the team’s financial plight was getting worse. £6m in debt and failure to get more financial backing left Wirth in a miserable position. Monaco 1995 was the team’s last race and they filed for liquidation shortly afterwards, taking 48 jobs with it. The assets were auctioned off and Wirth’s dream was over.

He moved to Benetton as an engineer, then chief designer but left the company in 1999 and after an unsuccessful return with Virgin Racing in 2010 and 2011; Wirth has given up on the sport he so wanted to succeed at.

If the funds had been there, Simtek had a decent chance of creating some success. Sadly though, the word pain dominates Nick Wirth’s dream. For Roland Ratzenberger, at least he achieved his ambition, even if it was far too short-lived.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Imola at 20: Did the rule changes play a part in F1's horror weekend

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The fourth instalment of this special week of articles to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Formula One’s darkest weekend involves a look into the rules and regulations that were enforced on the teams at the start of that fateful 1994 season.

It is unfair to say what caused the accident that killed Ayrton Senna. However, Senna for one did warn of concern at the changes made by the sport’s governing body that eliminated the electronic war and ensured driver skill returned to the cars. So, Imola at 20 continues with a look into the rule changes and how much of a part they played in the horror show that was the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

How complacent were the FIA?
The pinnacle of motorsport is Formula One. Teams come and go, drivers arrive and depart and circuits change and evolve over time. The same can be said for the cars designed to blast around some of the fastest tracks in the world.

The FIA had lost control of the costs that were engulfing teams. Five years before Imola 94, more than 40 cars were turning up at Grand Prix weekends, with only 26 of them to start the main event on a Sunday in 1989. Eight cars were already on their way home by the time pre-qualifying ended at 10am on a Friday morning! By 1994, that number had dwindled to just 28.

Two new teams arrived at the start of that particular season but in the previous four years, Brabham, March/Leyton House, Dallara, Fondmetal, AGS, Osella, EuroBrun, Coloni and Zakspeed had all collapsed as racing teams due to financial implications – whilst the historic Lotus team were in crippling debt and France’s number one team, Ligier needed Flavio Briatore’s help to save them from a similar fate.

Having let standards slip greatly when it came to budgets, sweeping rule changes were introduced for 1994. Electronic driver aids were all outlawed, including ABS braking, traction control and active suspension. Whilst the technological affect was making the sport less than appealing in the early 90s, was too much change at the same time too much?

Narrow escapes
Before Imola 94, Formula One had escaped the turbo era with a belief that it was almost impossible to die behind the wheel of a racing car. After the appalling 1982 championship, where two drivers died and Didier Pironi suffered career-ending injuries at Hockenheim, there had just been one fatality since and that was Elio de Angelis during a private test session in France four years later.

However, that didn’t mean to say there weren’t narrow escapes. Both Nelson Piquet and Gerhard Berger had humongous accidents at Imola on the Tamburello corner in the late 1980s that would claim Senna’s life. Erik Comas, Martin Donnelly and Alessandro Zanardi all cheated death in the early 90s and Riccardo Patrese walked away from this massive crash on the pitlane straight at Portugal’s Estoril circuit (video below) during the 1992 race.


There were a feeling though that the cars could be strong enough to anything thrown at them. This was probably part to luck, part to the hard safety work already in place by Professor Sid Watkins and also because of the electronics in the cars.

The active suspension system in particular when it worked did the job, made you fast and seemed to protect the driver from almost invincibility.

Electronic criticism
The competition became distorted when the clever designers at Williams pioneered the active suspension concept. In 1992, they produced a system that left the rest of the field standing. What it basically did was control each side of the car from four different angles and all the driver had to do was put his feet on the accelerator and brake pedal.

Nigel Mansell won the championship with a record (at the time) nine wins in the season but frankly, you could have put any average racing driver in that car and they would have also won the title by a country mile. By the start of 1993, it became clear that if you didn’t have the active suspension technology, you were basically beaten before the year had even begun.

Concerned about increasing corner speeds and pressure from teams who couldn’t develop such clever technology (McLaren being a prime example), active suspension was banned by the FIA at the end of the 1993 championship. When the car worked, it was fine but an active suspension failure for Zanardi during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix nearly killed him. FIA president Max Mosley’s concerns about the technology’s safety seemed to have been vindicated.

Senna was one of those who voiced his displeasure at this electronic war during his late McLaren days. He was fed up of driving his heart out and getting little reward for it. By the time he was off to Williams, his mind seemed to have changed.

Did traction control have to go?
Whilst the banning of active suspension was the only way forward for the sport at the time, traction control was another matter. Sure, it made an ugly noise when cars were braking into bends and accelerating away from them but making too much change sometimes doesn’t work and is extremely risky. The sense was that it was going to be difficult for the FIA to police this.

After early testing signs, despite being the pacesetter, Senna wasn’t happy and warned observers that this would be a season with a “a lot of accidents.” This was a man who wanted traction aids banned a year earlier but now with the team, who had pioneered such software, seemed to have had his head turned by his new employers.

The FIA did struggle to control the traction control effect. Accusations of cheating began from an early stage with Senna himself privately concerned that not all of the banned aids had been taken off the Benetton of Michael Schumacher, who had comfortably won the first two races of 1994. He asked his team principal Frank Williams to protest the results, which Frank decided not to do. Nevertheless, Benetton had now become public enemy number one and with Senna voicing his concerns in the build-up to the Imola race to the public, he had got the media on his side.
Michael Schumacher was the early 1994 pacesetter, but were Benetton bending the rules?
Whilst not fully proven, the allegation is Schumacher’s car (pictured above) had a traction control function within its system, behind a blank menu labelled ‘option 13.’ Anyone who saw his unbelievable getaway at the start of the French Grand Prix later in the year had every right to be further suspicious. Ferrari were also accused of cheating when test driver Nicola Larini made a remark a fortnight before Imola about switching off the car’s traction control system in Japan.
Therefore, whilst the FIA had been keen to get rid of all electronics with immediate effect, they only managed to open up a web of allegations, suspicion and criticism by getting rid of traction and launch control.

Did the rules play their part then?
1994 had already begun with a chain of crashes. JJ Lehto injured his neck heavily during a pre-season testing shunt at Silverstone, whilst Jean Alesi missed two races after damaging his back in a similar kind of crash at the Mugello circuit in Italy. Jos Verstappen, subbing for Lehto had been involved in a colossal multiple pile-up in the first race, with one of his Benetton wheels striking Martin Brundle’s helmet and an ambitious lunge on Karl Wendlinger during the race in Aida had seen Michele Alboreto ride over the Sauber’s front suspension.

The danger signs were there before Imola, so did the rules play their part in the weekend that claimed the life of a rookie and one of the greatest drivers of his generation?

Well many believe it played a role, but how much of a factor was it all? It is dangerous to say it was significant but the changes did make the cars far harder to drive which was fine but had made it much more difficult to control when it came to spins and accidents.

Changes were needed to bring driver skill back to the heart of the sport but perhaps too much alteration and the bickering from the teams, both mid-1993 and early 1994 had not helped in the lead-up to the Imola weekend.

The 1994 regulations were among the biggest and most complex of changes in the sport’s history. It is fair to say they weren’t very popular but to ensure the integrity of racing in later years, it was needed. It is a shame that the longer term benefits couldn’t be seen by all.

Imola at 20: How lucky was Rubens Barrichello?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the nightmare at Imola in 1994 for Formula One. It was a weekend of catastrophic events that changed motorsport irreversibly. On Viewing Perspectives this week, I am looking back at some of the events that made the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix such a hellish weekend for all concerned in the sport.

Imola at 20 continues tonight with a look into the accident that started the weekend’s chain of terrifying accidents. Grand Prix’s luck ran out in the days afterwards with the fatal accidents of Roland Ratzenberger and of course Ayrton Senna but it remained intact just about on Friday, 29 April 1994. Rubens Barrichello had a huge shunt at the Variante Bassa but escaped with only minor injuries. However, how lucky was Barrichello to survive his crash at Imola?

The prodigal Brazilian
A young Rubens Barrichello was considered by many to be the country’s next bright spark in Formula One. At just 21, he had made his debut in the sport in the previous year and despite not having decent equipment at his disposal, Barrichello put in some starring performances in the Jordan Hart car of 1993. Only a fuel pressure problem robbed him of a famous podium in just his third race at Donington Park and he finished a fine fifth on his first visit to the testing Suzuka track, home of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Barrichello was loved within the Jordan team and was retained for 1994. Together with fellow youngster and countryman Christian Fittipaldi, who had moved to the solid Footwork squad, both were considered as potential heirs to Ayrton Senna who took great time in mentoring the young prodigals of Brazilian motorsport.

Rubens started 1994 on a crest of a wave. A fine fourth place finish at his home event was followed by a maiden visit to the podium with third spot at the Pacific Grand Prix at the tight and dusty TI Aida circuit. He arrived at Imola in second place in the championship with seven points. Only the dominant Michael Schumacher had also scored in both world championship events.

Desperate action
Barrichello was 10th fastest in the Friday morning practice session before afternoon qualifying and looked like he would be in the mix with the Sauber cars, the Tyrrell’s and Martin Brundle’s McLaren for qualifying positions inside the first five rows. That all changed on his first flying lap.

Approaching the end of his first quick run, Rubens lost sudden control of his car in the second part of the fast Variante Bassa chicane just before the pits at Imola. He then caught an outside kerb at some 140 mph, which immediately launched him into the air. By sheer luck and nothing more, Barrichello hit the final row of tyres at the top of the barrier, the momentum and speed enough to roll his Jordan car twice, before remaining upside down when it came to a halt.

He was knocked unconscious and the session was immediately stopped with Senna having just gone fastest. Less than 20 seconds after impact, an over-exuberant marshal turned Barrichello’s car over and gave the unconscious driver a sudden jolt. While this individual was only trying to do his job, this could easily have given Barrichello serious spinal injuries from the landing. Luckily it didn’t and only around 60 seconds later, Professor Sid Watkins and his medical team arrived at the crash site to treat the driver (pictured below).
The medical team arrive only moments after Rubens Barrichello's huge accident
Precautions were taken to stabilise the 22-year-old. Watkins managed to prevent Barrichello from swallowing his tongue which was blocking his airway. If the Doc hadn’t managed to do this, it is almost certain he would have died. It would have been a similar outcome if it was catch fencing and not tyre barrier that Rubens had hit. Sheer luck plays a part in this story.

He was taken to the circuit’s medical centre. Senna was one of the first to go and visit him, before telling reporters; “He’s alright, he’s shocked of course but he’s alright.” After being transferred for further observation to the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna, Barrichello was released the next day and returned to the circuit briefly to say his farewells to his pitcrew. Only a broken nose prevented him from taking part in the remainder of the weekend’s activities. Along with an evident cut to his lip and bruising, he was so lucky to not be the first victim of this weekend.

Confidence
Qualifying resumed as normal once the track was cleared. The majority believing the worst of the weekend’s moments was behind them. Damon Hill described the feeling back in 2004, saying: “We all brushed ourselves off and carried on qualifying, reassured that our cars were tough as tanks and we could be shaken but not hurt.” Everyone would have agreed with this sentiment until Ratzenberger’s fatal crash a day later.

The late F1 medical delegate Professor Sid Watkins, who died in September 2012 after a short illness wrote in his 1996 book ‘Life at the Limit’: “By the time the helicopter took off to take Rubens to hospital, we were all fairly confident that he was going to be alright. Spirits were high; congratulations to the medical team were welcomed. The system had worked and the result was joyful.”

Barrichello put aside his own personal grief after Senna’s death and claimed Jordan’s first pole position in a wet qualifying session at Spa later that year. He finished sixth in the drivers’ championship in 1994 and went on to drive in over 300 races for Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn GP and Williams, winning nine races and coming in as runner-up in the championship standings to teammate Schumacher in 2002 and 2004. After a year in IndyCars in 2012, Rubens is now racing stock cars in his homeland and also entering into a media career with TV Globo in Brazil.

Sometimes, you are lucky in life and there is no doubt that Rubens Barrichello falls into that category. Fate and fortune were on his side that day at Imola and we are all thankful that he went on to have such a strong and likeable career that spanned another 17 seasons after Imola in 1994.

Sunday 27 April 2014

Imola at 20: Why did Erik Comas stop at Tamburello?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Motorsport is dangerous, it always has been and always will be but no-one could predict the horrific chain reaction of accidents that marred the weekend at the Imola circuit in April/May 1994. By the end of the weekend, mechanics and spectators had been hurt, and two drivers had been killed on consecutive days – one of them perhaps the greatest human being ever to have sat behind a steering wheel – Ayrton Senna.

20 years on and in a series of daily posts on Viewing Perspectives – I reflect on San Marino 1994 as we approach this sad and painful anniversary. Whilst my Formula One passion has dwindled in the last year, the past can’t be ignored. Coming up this week, there will be pieces on the rule changes, the pain the Simtek team had to deal with following Roland Ratzenberger’s death and pay tribute to Ayrton Senna by choosing his top five races of his career.

This piece though focuses on one of the stranger incidents of that horror weekend. Why did Frenchman Erik Comas stop at Tamburello to try and save Ayrton Senna?

Spa history
Erik Comas was among a crop of promising French drivers emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Along with Jean Alesi and Eric Bernard, he was producing some great results in the junior categories. After losing out on the 1989 F3000 title to Alesi on count-back of positions, Comas went one better and achieved the crown in 1990.

That won him a Formula One contract with Ligier for 1991 but the French team was already in rapid decline. Only minor points finishes were achieved with fifth place his best result in the 1992 French Grand Prix. It was four races later though where he cheated death.

On a sunny Friday morning during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, Comas had a monumental accident at the fast Blanchimont corner and was knocked out in the impact. Senna was the first driver to approach the scene. He drove past slowly and seeing the stillness of the Ligier driver, he switched his engine off and got out of his car, rushing to the aide of his stricken colleague. Senna managed to switch Comas’ engine off to stop a potential leaking of petrol that could be catastrophic and held his head in a stable position until medical assistance arrived on the scene.


Senna was the only driver to stop to help him. Even Erik’s Ligier teammate at the time drove past. In an interview recorded in French years later, Comas revealed what he was told of Senna’s heroism. He said: “I don’t remember anything but I have seen the videos. The front right wheel hit me on the helmet which knocked me out. The car then slid back onto the track but I was accelerating full throttle. Ayrton arrived and immediately heard the sounds, the revving of the engine. He stopped, took off his seatbelt and came running towards me while there were still cars running. He then looked for the short circuit and shutdown my car because at that time, there was a real risk of an explosion or fire. It’s likely Ayrton saved my life at that moment.”

Attempting to return the favour
When Senna crashed on Sunday, 1 May 1994 – the rest of the field carried on racing as they would during a Grand Prix. The race was halted pretty quickly and the medics started working on the stricken Brazilian. Comas was desperate to find out what state his friend was in.

He revealed: “For the first time in my career, I find myself sitting next to him at the driver’s briefing. Ayrton was very touched by the accidents of the weekend; he remarked that something had to be done to prevent this from happening. However I do not believe at all there was emotional weakness behind Ayrton’s accident.”

Erik Comas driving in the prettier of the two Larrousse liveries of 1994
Comas was now driving for the financially crippled Larrousse team who had split liveries for the season (green livery pictured above). At Imola, he and teammate Olivier Beretta were driving in the hideous and ugly looking red and white striped Larrousse car with heavy sponsorship from French beer Kronenbourg. Whether it was Larrousse or the track officials who made the mistake to wave him out of the pits during the red flag, it could have had even further tragic consequences.

Eurosport commentators Allard Kalff and John Watson are stunned (video below) when they hear the noise of Comas’ Ford engine scream out of the pits and drive virtually flat-out to the scene of the crash. Only at the last moment did marshals managed to flag Comas down, narrowly missing corner workers and the helicopter that had landed on the track to airlift Senna to hospital in Bologna.


Comas added: “When I came up to Tamburello, the medical helicopter, the ambulances, Ayrton’s car…were already there. I saw Ayrton was already put on a stretcher so I stopped my car. I was in the middle of the track a few feet away from the drama.

“As I arrived, I understood that…there was a message…that Ayrton was a man who sort of radiated and there it felt like an atomic bomb just exploded at Tamburello. There truly was a very heavy atmosphere hanging over the area and without knowing any details, I knew it was very bad. A sort of paralysis came over me because there I was standing next to a man who two years earlier had saved my life and I couldn’t do anything to help him. That felt horrible.”

Distressed by what he had seen as medical staff attempted to revive Senna, Comas retired from the race and it was a pain that he only revealed 10 years later to French television. He went on to say in the interview that Williams should never had allowed Senna’s teammate Damon Hill to take the second start and the podium celebrations that happened afterwards were scandalous as everyone knew at least the severity of Senna’s condition by the end of the race.

For Comas, he was done with Formula One. His motivation and passion for the sport was gone and he quietly went away at the end of the 1994 season, continuing his racing career in Japan. Today, he runs Comas Historic Racing which provides paying customers the chance to enter historic rallies driving cars from his fleet of automobiles.

Some will feel that the actions of Erik Comas on that Imola weekend were idiotic and unforgivable. Whilst driving out of the pits at full speed was brainless, he was only concerned for a man who had saved him from a similar fate less than 18 months earlier at Spa in 1992. He had his reasons for stopping at Tamburello and it is a sight that always will remain with him, even 20 years on from these distressing moments of anguish for everyone connected with Grand Prix motor racing.

Saturday 26 April 2014

Imola at 20: A dreadful weekend relived

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

There are some moments where if you were old enough, you will remember where you were when a historic moment occurred. Events such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 9/11, 7/7 and Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 probably spring to immediate thoughts.

Those connected with the world of sport will have the same when relieving the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, England’s 5-1 football win over Germany two years earlier and Super Saturday at the Olympics in London. If you can remember, the same sadly applies to the events of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Motorsport is dangerous, it always has been and always will be but no-one could predict the horrific chain reaction of accidents that marred the weekend at the Imola circuit in April/May 1994. By the end of the weekend, mechanics and spectators had been hurt, and two drivers had been killed on consecutive days – one of them perhaps the greatest human being ever to have sat behind a steering wheel – Ayrton Senna.

20 years on and in a series of daily posts on Viewing Perspectives – I reflect on San Marino 1994 as we approach this sad and painful anniversary. Whilst my Formula One passion has dwindled in the last year, the past can’t be ignored. Coming up this week, there will be pieces on the rule changes, the pain the Simtek team had to deal with following Roland Ratzenberger’s death and pay tribute to Ayrton Senna by choosing his top five races of his career.

However, it is only appropriate to start this series, Imola at 20 with a lookback at just what occurred on Friday 29 April, Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 1994.

Early warnings
The paddock arrived at the popular Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the third round of the 1994 championship. German wunderkind Michael Schumacher had comfortably won the first two events in Brazil and at the TI Aida track under the Pacific Grand Prix banner. 

Championship favourite Ayrton Senna had scored absolutely nothing in points and was under pressure to deliver. Autosport magazine ran on their front cover SCHUMACHER 20, SENNA 0 in their preview to the weekend.

Senna was a previous three-time winner at the track and was desperate to perform, despite still big concerns about the handling of the evil Williams Renault FW16. He set the pace in Friday qualifying by some distance but reported to his race engineer David Brown that the balance was worse than it had been a fortnight earlier at the tight and twisty Aida track.

Friday brought a chilling omen though to the weekend’s forthcoming events. Early on in Friday qualifying, Rubens Barrichello had a massive accident at the Variante Bassa. The Jordan driver overshot the chicane and somersaulted into the barriers, narrowly avoiding catch fencing that probably would have killed him. Despite the ferocity of the accident, Barrichello suffered only minor cuts, bruises and a broken nose but his weekend was over.

Everyone hoped that would be the only lucky escape of the weekend but F1’s luck was about to run out.

Luck runs out on the sport
Around 18 minutes into Saturday’s second qualifying session, 31-year-old Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger left the circuit at the flat-out Villeneuve kink on the approach to the Tosa hairpin. Ratzenberger was travelling at close to 200mph, unaware that an excursion on a previous lap had damaged the front wing of his Simtek Ford. As he went to start his next flying lap, the wing weakened and fell off exiting Tamburello. With no control on his steering or braking, he stood little chance.

The impact was destructive as the wrecked chassis finally reached a stop point at Tosa, with Ratzenberger slumped in the cockpit and clearly in big trouble. Marshals quickly gathered around him to prevent any further distressing images to television viewers around the globe. The fraternity was stunned – Senna close to tears in the Williams garage when he realised how big the shunt had been. He went down to the scene of the crash to see the damage for himself. 

When he got back, he told Brown and teammate Damon Hill that he had no chance of surviving.
Sure enough, FIA press officer Martin Whittaker had the tough task of confirming the death of Roland Ratzenberger on arrival at the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna. His fatality was the first in a Formula One racing car in eight years – the last being Elio de Angelis perishing at the wheel of a Brabham during a test session at Paul Ricard, France in 1986. The last driver to die on a racing weekend was Riccardo Paletti at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.

Qualifying did resume but Benetton, Williams and Sauber immediately withdrew from carrying on that day. Everyone looked lost and wondered what they were doing racing in these circumstances. Senna claimed a joyless 65th pole position from Schumacher, Ferrari favourite Gerhard Berger and Hill. If Saturday had been a hellish day, Sunday would be even worse.

The king of racing is dead
Sunday morning began with a minute’s silence and the confirmation of the reformation of the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association). Three-time world champion Niki Lauda would chair the new committee with a meeting scheduled to improve safety from the next event in Monaco two weeks after Imola. Senna, Berger and Schumacher were among the prime movers.

With Ratzenberger’s fatal crash still on everyone’s mind, the show must go on and the 25 cars lined up for the start of the race. Senna looked pensive and very thoughtful on the starting grid as he sat in his FW16 chassis. This wasn’t a weekend for happy faces.

At the green light, there was more trouble. The unsighted Lotus of Pedro Lamy careered into the stalled Benetton of JJ Lehto on the grid. Lamy’s car was shattered but the Portuguese driver walked away without injury. Lehto likewise but an errant tyre from the Lotus vaulted a fence and entered an area where spectators were located. A policeman and seven fans were injured by the flying debris, although lightly in comparison to the weekend’s earlier events.
Rather than choose to halt proceedings, the safety car was deployed whilst marshals cleared up the wrecked cars and the various pieces of carbon fibre. Senna still led Schumacher, Berger, Hill and the fast-starting Sauber Mercedes of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. After five laps at reduced speed, the race restarted again with the top two breaking away considerably from the chasing pack.

The wrecked Williams of Ayrton Senna is returned to the pits
Senna had been faster than Schumacher all weekend but the Benetton’s aggressive three-stop strategy plan meant he was keeping up with the Brazilian. Entering Tamburello on lap seven, Senna’s car went straight on rather than turning to the left kink of the bend. He was powerless to correct the car and headed straight for the concrete wall. The Williams rebounded towards the racing track, stopping just short of the tarmac in a crumpled wreck (pictured being taken back to the pits) with the Brazilian motionless. The race was stopped.

From an early stage, it became clear that Senna was at best gravely injured. The accident had been heavy but he would have walked away unharmed had it not been for a piece of suspension assembly from the car that broke away and pierced the great man’s helmet. Professor Sid Watkins and the rest of the medical team got to work and a helicopter quickly arrived on the circuit. Watkins later revealed that when he got to the scene, he could see that from Senna’s neurological signs, it would be a fatal accident.

After 45 minutes of work, Senna was airlifted to hospital in Bologna and the race was unbelievably restarted. For the record, Schumacher was beaten off the line by Berger but quickly passed the Ferrari and went on to win by over a minute from the second Ferrari of Nicola Larini and Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren Peugeot. Berger retired due to a handling imbalance with his car, whilst Hill finished a lapped sixth after contact with Schumacher on the first lap of the restart. There was also another accident in the pitlane that injured mechanics from Ferrari and Lotus when an errant wheel came off Michele Alboreto’s Minardi after his second pitstop.

The most important thing now was to find out Senna’s condition. The news came through before 6pm UK time that he was clinically dead at the age of just 34, as confirmed by Sky News (video below).


It had been a truly terrible weekend and 20 years on – the pain for those closely associated to both Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna will never go away. Both left memories and they will never be forgotten by anyone who is involved in the Grand Prix fraternity today.

Saturday 12 April 2014

Hillsborough - A Candle for the 96

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Another football weekend approaches (12-13 April) and it includes crunch matches at both the top and bottom of the Barclays Premier League and the two FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium. However, this is not a normal football weekend.

Tuesday, 15 April marks the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. It was a day when 96 Liverpool supporters went to see a football match and never came home. It still is Britain’s worst sporting disaster and no-one has still been found fully accountable for the nightmare that befall the Reds fans on the terraces of Sheffield Wednesday’s ground that fateful day.

For the families of the 96, plus those who survived but remain scarred by the events of that sunny, Saturday afternoon in 1989, the pain will never ease. They are currently in Warrington as new, fresh inquests opened a fortnight ago into the disaster. The flawed verdicts of accidental death to all the victims was quashed two years ago and the hope is that the families will finally get the justice they deserve after 25 years of endless campaigning and crushing setbacks.

As a mark of respect this weekend, all matches will kick-off seven minutes later than scheduled, before a minute’s silence at every ground across the country to mark the anniversary. This tribute by the FA is a nice touch as the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was stopped at 3.06pm on that horrible day in April 1989. On Sunday, Liverpool face Manchester City in what is sure to be a poignant day at Anfield before the annual Hillsborough Memorial Service at the famous ground two days later. The game between the Merseysiders and the Citizens could be the one that decides the destination of this season’s Premier League title race. However this weekend, football games take a distant second place behind remembrance and paying our respects. As a Liverpool fan, I always have my thoughts away from the field at this time of year.

I pay my respects now with a poem on the 25th anniversary. It is called ‘A Candle for the 96’

Saturday is here and so is the sun
This day could turn out to be a lot of fun
Hoping that Liverpool would have won
However, the lives of 96 by day’s end were done

For John, Colin, James, Kester and Gerald
A candle is burning bright
For Simon, Barry, David, Tony and Paul
A candle is burning bright
A candle for the 96, the never to be forgotten 96

On that bright day, many families said to their loved ones goodbye
Little did they know that their souls would depart into the sky
The big question on many, both then and now is why
Other higher forces decided to start telling lies

For Andrew, Carl, Henry, Peter and Raymond
A candle is burning bright
For Gary, Joseph, Stephen, Tracey and Christopher
A candle is burning bright
A candle for the 96, the never to be forgotten 96

In some instances, people might have forgot
The families of the 96 remain distraught
However, they have continued the justice campaign and fought
To ensure those responsible for this disaster are caught

For Vincent, Thomas, Jon-Paul, Barry and Ian
A candle is burning bright
For Derrick, Roy, Phillip, Eric and Nicholas
A candle is burning bright
A candle for the 96, the never to be forgotten 96

Two years ago, the families finally got some hope
Finally, the truth emerged from a steep slope
It is amazing how they have coped
Ensuring there is little chance of letting go of the rope

For Sarah, Victoria, Gordon, Arthur and Alan
A candle is burning bright
For Christine, Richard, Anthony, Michael and Brian
A candle is burning bright
A candle for the 96, the never to be forgotten 96

The community of Merseyside have formed a strong committee
Liverpool should be proud of what it has as a city
Thanks Everton for your gritty and loving support
You are our friendly neighbours, not the noisy local rivals

For Francis, Marion, Joseph, Keith and Lee
A candle is burning bright
For Jonathan, William, Graham, Steven and Henry
A candle is burning bright
A candle for the 96, the never to be forgotten 96

Hillsborough left many with plenty of difficult emotions to feel
What happened was a truly terrible ordeal
Then the truth was finally revealed
There is vindication for our 96, justice is the final deal

For Inger, Paula, Adam and Philip
A candle is burning bright, burning bright
For Patrik, Stuart, Martin and Kevin
A candle is burning bright, burning bright
A candle for the 96, the never to be forgotten 96

What happened 25 years ago wasn’t fair
It drove football and those affected to deep despair
The publication printed in the aftermath was a scandal
For our 96, we should always light a candle

A quarter of a century on from Hillsborough and we have stayed strong
Whether it has been through poem, campaign or song
What happened was so wrong
It is time to remember those we lost and light a candle for the 96

HILLSBOROUGH MEMORIAL – 25 YEARS ON
John Alfred ANDERSON (62)
Derrick George GODWIN (24)
Joseph Daniel McCARTHY (21)
Colin Mark ASHCROFT (19)
Roy Harry HAMILTON (34)
Peter McDONNELL (21)
James Gary ASPINALL (18)
Philip HAMMOND (14)
Alan McGLONE (28)
Kester Roger Marcus BALL (16)
Eric HANKIN (33)
Keith McGRATH (17)
Gerald Bernard Patrick BARON (67)
Gary HARRISON (27)
Paul Brian MURRAY (14)
Simon BELL (17)
Peter Andrew HARRISON (15)
Lee NICOL (14)
Barry Sidney BENNETT (26)
Stephen Francis HARRISON (31)
Stephen Francis O’NEIL (17)
David John BENSON (22)
David HAWLEY (39)
Jonathan OWENS (18)
David William BIRTILE (22)
James Robert HENNESSY (29)
William Roy PEMBERTON (23)
Tony BLAND (22)
Paul Anthony HEWITSON (26)
Carl William RIMMER (21)
Paul David BRADY (21)
Carl Darren HEWITT (17)
David George RIMMER (38)
Andrew Mark BROOKES (26)
Nicholas Michael HEWITT (16)
Graham John ROBERTS (24)
Carl BROWN (18)
Sarah Louise HICKS (19)
Steven Joseph ROBINSON (17)
David Steven BROWN (25)
Victoria Jane HICKS (15)
Henry Charles ROGERS (17)
Henry Thomas BURKE (47)
Gordon Rodney HORN (20)
Colin Andrew Hugh William SEFTON (23)
Peter Andrew BURKETT (24)
Arthur HORROCKS (41)
Inger SHAH (38)
Paul William CARLILE (19)
Thomas Anthony HOWARD (14)
Paula Ann SMITH (26)
Raymond Thomas CHAPMAN (50)
Thomas HOWARD (39)
Adam Edward SPEARRITT (14)
Gary Christopher CHURCH (19)
Eric George HUGHES (42)
Philip John STEELE (15)
Joseph CLARK (29)
Alan JOHNSTON (29)
David Leonard THOMAS (23)
Paul CLARK (18)
Christine Anne JONES (27)
Patrik John THOMPSON (35)
Gary COLLINS (22)
Gary Philip JONES (18)
Peter Reuben THOMPSON (30)
Stephen Peter COPOC (20)
Richard JONES (25)
Stuart Paul William THOMPSON (17)
Tracey Elizabeth COX (23)
Nicholas Peter JOYNES (27)
Peter Francis TOOTLE (21)
James Philip DELANEY (19)
Anthony Peter KELLY (29)
Christopher James TRAYNOR (26)
Christopher Barry DEVONSIDE (18)
Michael David KELLY (38)
Martin Kevin TRAYNOR (16)
Christopher EDWARDS (29)
Carl David LEWIS (18)
Kevin TYRRELL (15)
Vincent Michael FITZSIMMONS (34)
David William MATHER (19)
Colin WAFER (19)
Thomas Steven FOX (21)
Brian Christopher MATHEWS (38)
Ian David WHELAN (19)
Jon-Paul GILHOOLEY (10)
Francis Joseph McALLISTER (27)
Martin Kenneth WILD (22)
Barry GLOVER (27)
John McBRIEN (18)
Kevin Daniel WILLIAMS (15)
Ian Thomas GLOVER (20)
Marion Hazel McCABE (21)
Graham John WRIGHT (17)

These are the names of the 96 who will never be forgotten. You’ll Never Walk Alone!  

The memorial to the 96 outside the gates at Anfield