Sweden's Roland Ehnstr?m Escapes With NTT Kyalami Grand Prix Victory
Practice and Qualifying
After five long, grueling days of qualifying, the drivers competing for the NTT World Championship were more than ready for the big, international season opener which brought the best drivers in the world together for one shot at determining, once and for all, who had truly "nailed that track" at Kyalami. The entry list read like a Who's Who in Formula One: Huttu, Ehnstr?m, Calestani, Prydden, Lake. The capacity crowd had every reason to expect a spectacular display of driving talent, and they would not be disappointed.
Two of the favorites, Sweden's Roland Ehnstr?m and Finland's Greger Huttu, immediately ignited the fireworks with a fight for the pole that wouldn't be settled until time had expired in the hour-long practice and qualifying session. As the two talented Lotus drivers traded hot laps, it appeared that, on this day, Huttu had the upper hand in qualifying. But with fifteen minutes remaining, Ehnstr?m was unwilling to concede that Huttu's lightning quick time of 1:18.80 was unbeatable. He felt sure that he could find the little more than one-third second around the 2.54-mile circuit that it would take to oust Huttu from the pole. But Ehnstr?m's hopes failed to materialize, as he saw the grass several times during his final six-lap attempt and was unable to improve on his already outstanding time of 1:19.14.
But two big questions remained in everyone's mind: Would Team Lotus succeed in sorting out the problems with Ian Lake's car in time for the affable Aussie to make a run at the pole? And where were the top drivers from the Americas division? The first question would be answered when Lake finally took the course for the first time, with just 13:34 remaining to qualify. On his first timed lap, Lake recorded a time (1:20.91) that many drivers had failed to achieve in a full hour of work. Yet it was ultimately clear that Lake had lacked the time he needed. In his seven qualifying laps he would do no better than 1:19.31, well short of his near-world record time of 1:18.454 that he had recorded just the day before, but still good enough to place him third on the grid. To the disappointment of the crowd and their fellow racers, the question as to the whereabouts of the top Americas competitors would go unanswered, as two rookie Americas Division drivers were called upon as last minute substitutes for their missing elite compatriots.
The Race
As the starter raised the green flag overhead, the field screamed in unison, like thirteen seething wild cats ready to strike. Assembled in a 2 x 2 grid, Huttu and Ehnstr?m led the attack from the front row, pursued by Lotus driver Matteo Calestani and Lake in row two. When the flag dropped, Ehnstr?m sprang into action to negate the advantage Huttu held in the pole position. Here's how Ehnstr?m described it after the race.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- My front row position gave me a small chance of getting the lead into the first corner, so I was very concentrated at the start. When the flag dropped I got a perfect start, with just the right amount of wheelspin, and pulled a car's length ahead of Huttu. I steered very slightly to the right... I was on the left side...to force Huttu to lift off. I was careful to give him enough room, so it was not an unfair move. He did, and I was ahead! He still tried to take the inside line going into turn one, but wisely backed off and let me take my line. I thought, "My God, I'm leading the race!". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the front two rocketed away from the line, Calestani got heavy into the throttle, knowing that if he was to stand a chance of victory he had to maintain constant contact with the pair at the front. Yet his cold tires were not yet up to the task and as his Lotus bolted away from the grid, it slid to the left allowing Calestani's left rear tire to nudge Lake's right rear tire just hard enough to send the Aussie careening across the track with virtually the entire field screaming down upon him. Miraculously, only fifth-seeded Rick Prydden was gathered up by the incident. But the first lap incidents were far from over! As the anxious field poured through turn one, Crowthorne Corner, Lotus driver Francois Dubuc smacked the rear of fellow Canadian Scott Velez's Ferrari, sending Velez into a spin that virtually sealed off the track for the balance of the field, while Dubuc continued unencumbered. American Jason Nickol dove to the outside hoping to avoid an impact and his Eagle went spinning off into the grass. Nickol's fellow Eagle driver and compatriot Jack Rambo was not so lucky, as he was unable to avoid the spinning Velez. But up front, the leaders, too, would soon be affected by incidents. On the first lap, Ehnstr?m and his newly-acquired shadow, Huttu, would start to inch away from Calestani. But as the Huttu accelerated out the final turn, a little premature throttle led to enough of a fishtail to allow Calestani to tuck right up onto Huttu's gearbox. As they crossed the start/finish line and began the 190 mph (306 kph) sprint to Crowthorne, Huttu suddenly pulled off the line and to the right. Surprisingly, Calestani, rather than staying on the line and attempting a pass, moved immediately to the right with Huttu. It was a decision that both he and Huttu would regret, because as Huttu reached his braking point, Calestani drove right through it and into Huttu's gearbox, sending the pair flying wildly off the track. Huttu had this to say about the incident: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got the car a little sideways exiting the last corner and Calestani got a good exit and was right on my slipstream. I moved to the right to protect my position. I don't know what happened but Matteo hit the back end of my car hard under braking and I became a passenger immediately. This incident allowed a determined, hard-charging Lake to inherit fourth place as he dove past fellow Aussie Carl Blundell headed into Crowthorne and motored past the recovering Huttu and Calestani. After his unfortunate start line tangle, only three now stood between Lake and the top step of the podium: Brit Ian Parker, American Larry Heir, and the escaping Ehnstr?m. There was little any driver could do to hold Lake back as he almost magically drove up the inside past Parker in Clubhouse Bend on lap two for third place and then dove past Heir on the inside of Sunset Bend on lap three, to take second position. Seeing Lake on the charge, Huttu knew that he had to match the threatening Aussie move for move. And match he did! As Heir attempted to get back on line after being forced wide by the pressing Lake, Huttu also surged up the inside of Clubhouse. Anxious to bring an end to his free fall, Heir moved abruptly back onto the line as Huttu passed, drawing contact from fifth-place Parker as he began to move up onto the adjacent sidewalk to avoid Heir. As Heir went spinning across the track, his Lotus proved an unavoidable object for a hapless Blundell, and then Calestani and Dubuc would become a part of the tangled mess. By the end of the third lap, Lake could now see Ehnstr?m at the end of the long straight leading into the first turn. On tires that had still not reached optimum temperature, Lake had turned the fastest lap in the race so far with a 1:19.68. By the end of the fifth lap, it was clear that the amazing Lake was continuing to reel in his prey, having reduced Ehnstr?m's lead by roughly another two seconds. But it was on the sixth lap that a nightmare would start to unfold for Lake. Well before the start finish line, Lake fall victim to a warp of enormous proportion. The pursuing Huttu must have certainly had mixed feelings as Lake appeared to vanish in thin air, victim of a disconnect. But imagine Huttu's surprise, when Lake suddenly reappeared just short of the first turn, literally glued to the Finn's gearbox. An unavoidable collision ensued, with Huttu once again sent spinning off into the grass. As Huttu nursed his Lotus through the slick grass and back onto the racing surface, Calestani moved into third behind the unfettered Lake. However Calestani's hold on third would be brief as he suffered a disconnect in the final turn of the seventh lap. But Lake's good fortune of having escaped unscathed from his shunt with Huttu, was about to be more than offset by an erroneous black flag penalty that was a result of the sixth-lap warp. To compound his difficulties, the engine in Lake's Lotus expired as he tore through the Jukskei Sweep, causing a spin that allowed Huttu to close right up to Lake as he got back underway. Later that lap, the race that was truly full of surprises for Huttu once again held true to form as Lake, with Huttu in his slipstream, suddenly darted down pit road to serve his black flag. And so with that black flag, and amazingly another that would beset him later in the race, Ian Lake's run for the chequer would effectively come to a disappointing end. But Huttu was far from being out of the hunt. For the next six laps he would continue to narrow the gap to the leader, until, on the fourteenth lap, he fell victim to his own impatience as he slammed into the gearbox of a backmarker in a clearly avoidable accident that once again sent him into the South African grass. Undaunted he continued his pursuit of the leader, but by the end of the 24th lap, it was clear that Huttu's target had been just out of range. Ehnstr?m rejoiced with an amazing 3.22 second margin of victory! After catching his breath, the likable Swede described the experience. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I crossed the line for the final time, three seconds in front of Greger Huttu, and won the first ever NTT Grand Prix! Fantastic! My first impression was "WOW!!!!!!". Then I thanked my luck star that I didn't get another disconnection! I know I was very lucky to get the win, but since I'd driven twenty-four fast and consistent laps, without putting a wheel wrong even once, I still felt that I deserved the victory. Sure, Huttu and Lake were both faster that me, but sometimes you get lucky... For once, luck shone on me, and after being unlucky in three of my four qual races, perhaps this was fair after all! And I'd like to thank my team, Comet Motorsports, for their help and encourage everybody to check out their web sit at http://welcome.to/comet_motorsport. I'm off to celebrate now! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- And, of course, Huttu was already looking ahead to the NTT World Championship Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday. As he left the paddock, he shared these thoughts: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had two incidents later in the race...with Ian Lake when he had a major warp and with a Ferrari when I was lapping him. Although second position is good, I'm still a little disappointed because without those incidents I would've been fighting for the win. Congrats to Roland, I'll get you in Monaco!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sounds like the stage is set for a thrilling rematch through the streets of Monte Carlo! NTT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Fastest Lap 14 Practice 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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World Championship
Kyalami Grand Prix
Official Standings
12
R. Ehnstr?m
LOT
113.0
8
G. Huttu
LOT
3.22
19
R. Prydden
LOT
44.72
20
A. Marx
FER
47.42
16
I. Parker
LOT
1:05.21
14
I. Lake
LOT
1:06.25
13
C. Blundell
LOT
1:20.87
15
L. Heir
LOT
-1L
11
J. Nickol
EAG
-1L
7
F. Dubuc
LOT
-1L
3
S. Velez
FER
-1L
4
J. Rambo
EAG
-1L
10
M. Calestani
LOT
-18L
I. Lake
LOT
1:18.93
8
G. Huttu
LOT
1:18.80
12
R. Ehnstr?m
LOT
1:19.14
10
M. Calestani
LOT
1:19.29
14
I. Lake
LOT
1:19.31
19
R. Prydden
LOT
1:19.73
16
I. Parker
LOT
1:20.17
15
L. Heir
LOT
1:21.17
13
C. Blundell
LOT
1:21.47
20
A. Marx
FER
1:21.64
7
F. Dubuc
LOT
1:21.79
11
J. Nickol
EAG
1:22.87
3
S. Velez
FER
1:22.97
4
J. Rambo
EAG
1:25.31