Needham Savors Huge Win in Epic NTT French Grand Prix

"Nail That Track" Training Race Series Needham Savors Huge Win in Epic NTT French Grand Prix Circuit Rouen-les-Essarts Rouen Series Race No. 1 Saturday, March 6, 1999 Race Report The "Nail That Track" circus pulled up stakes, leaving behind the glitz and glamour of the crown jewel of the Mediterranean, and headed for the picturesque forests of France for the French Grand Prix at Circuit Rouen-les-Essarts. With his affection for Monaco apparent, ever-quotable Lotus driver Steve Blankenship confided, "it's nice to be out of that parking garage again, out in the country where the DFV can breathe." Qualifying for the first race of the Rouen series was marked by a flurry of last-minute, quick laps. Honda driver Stephan Beck was the first to drop below the 2:00 benchmark by recording a 1:59.93 with but just over four*** minutes remaining in qualifying. On his next lap, only his third timed lap of the fast 4.065 mile (6.542 km) circuit, Beck would extend his lead in the race for the pole by dropping his time to 1:59.88. But just slightly over a minute later, it was evident that Coventry driver Rene Beitz had found the magic, grabbing the pole by flashing across the finish line with a time of 1:58.61. Not to be denied, Team Lotus desperately made some last minute geometry changes to the car of Matteo Calestani. With less than 1:40 remaining in qualifying, Calestani began his *first* timed lap. Qualifying would close before Calestani completed his lap! Yet when he bolted across the line, clearly Colin Chapman and the other Lotus engineers had found the answer. The one-lap wonder Calestani had captured the pole recording a 1:58.55 with no time remaining in qualifying. Remarkably, the engines of the top two qualifiers succumbed to massive ignition failures as the field gathered on the grid. So when the green flag dropped, the next five qualifiers dashed into the perilous first turn in the order in which they qualified: Beck, Honda teammate Brian Needham, Ferrari's Graeme Nash, Brabham's Pierre Robitaille, and Coventry's Peter Arnholm. As nerves relaxed and tires warmed, the front five completed the first lap with no change in order although Beck was extending his lead and Nash was progressively closing the gap on Needham in the second Honda. As the leaders approached the end of the second lap, the pressure on Needham was too great and he pushed his braking point for the tight, straight-ending Scierie turn a bit too far. As Needham slid off into the grass outside of Scierie, the talented young Brit, Nash, scampered into second position. On the third lap, Nash, anxious to make contact with the escaping Beck, pushed too hard, dropped a wheel off outside of the sweeping right-hand first turn, and executed the oft-seen spin up the banking on the outside of the turn. Nash's Ferrari was left with a loose cowling from the excursion and he was forced to pull off just past the Nouveau Monde hairpin to secure the threatening cowling. The series of events provided very costly for Nash who saw his position drop from second to eighth once he had clear track and could once again be on his way. The order at the front now stood: Beck, Robitaille, Arnholm, Needham, and Lotus driver Dave Lung. Four laps later, Robitaille and his Brabham would inherit the lead when Beck would duplicate the earlier error of his teammate at Scierie. Beck would recover from his rendezvous with the grass to find third place Arnholm glued to his gearbox. It was still very much anyone's race. For nine more laps, only seconds would separate the front four, as the crowd enjoyed epic racing. By this reporter's count, the turnaway crowd witnessed five lead changes and seven*** position changes among the front four during those nine laps alone. As they entered the seven***th and final lap, the Honda team hoped for a 1-2 sweep as the order was now: Beck, Needham, Arnholm, and Robitaille, all still only separated by seconds. And the epic was about to become the unimaginable! Here's what we witnessed: As the pair of lead Hondas screams down the back straight and through the perilous near 170-mph Gresil sweeper, Beck pushes a little too hard to insure his win and drops both left tires onto the grass on the exit from the right-hand sweeper. Amazingly, Needham, seemingly hypnotized by his teammate's gearbox, follows Beck right out onto to the grass! As the two lead Hondas execute nearly parallel slides down the top-gear, full-throttle straight, Arnholm, watching all this unfold just yards ahead, struggles to reel in his Coventry so that he doesn't become part of the disaster that is besetting Team Honda. Miraculously, Needham, now almost perpendicular to the track, manages to catch his slide before the now hard-braking Arnholm has an opportunity to pass. But Beck doesn't share in the good fortune as he slides helplessly off into the grass on the right side of the track. Finally, Robitaille, in a desperate effort to catch the recovering Beck for third, goes well off into the grass in the *last* turn before the finish line. Dave Lung cruises home to fourth as Robitaille wrestles his Brabham back onto the racing surface. An incredible conclusion to a Grand Prix battle of truly epic proportions! Official Standings 1 0 B. Needham MUR 118.2 mph 2 17 P. Arnholm COV 1.49 3 0 S. Beck MUR 5.80 4 0 D. Lung LOT 41.88 5 0 P. Robitaille REP 47.67 6 14 D. Chicane BRM 50.44 7 16 D. Ewing LOT 1:55.81 8 4 J. Rambo FER -1L 9 0 G. Nash FER -9L 10 0 J. Taylor LOT -10L 11 0 D. Pillost REP -13L 12 0 B. Davis EAG -16L Fastest Lap 17 P. Arnholm COV 1:59.33 Practice 1 0 M. Calestani LOT 1:58.55 2 0 R. Beitz COV 1:58.61 3 0 S. Beck MUR 1:59.88 4 0 B. Needham MUR 2:00.94 5 0 G. Nash FER 2:01.33 6 0 P. Robitaille REP 2:01.44 7 17 P. Arnholm COV 2:01.56 8 0 D. Lung LOT 2:02.37 9 14 D. Chicane BRM 2:02.41 10 16 D. Ewing LOT 2:04.85 11 4 J. Rambo FER 2:07.32 12 0 D. Pillost REP 2:08.81 13 0 T. Wheatley FER 2:13.78 14 0 J. Taylor LOT 2:24.47 15 0 H. Rogster EAG 2:29.52 16 0 B. Davis EAG 2:47.51

Are replays of the races available? buzard

Quoted text (129 lines)

> "Nail That Track" Training Race Series > Needham Savors Huge Win in Epic NTT French Grand Prix > Circuit Rouen-les-Essarts > Rouen Series Race No. 1 > Saturday, March 6, 1999 > Race Report > The "Nail That Track" circus pulled up stakes, leaving behind the glitz and > glamour of the crown jewel of the Mediterranean, and headed for the > picturesque forests of France for the French Grand Prix at Circuit > Rouen-les-Essarts. With his affection for Monaco apparent, ever-quotable > Lotus driver Steve Blankenship confided, "it's nice to be out of that > parking garage again, out in the country where the DFV can breathe." > Qualifying for the first race of the Rouen series was marked by a flurry of > last-minute, quick laps. Honda driver Stephan Beck was the first to drop > below the 2:00 benchmark by recording a 1:59.93 with but just over four*** > minutes remaining in qualifying. On his next lap, only his third timed lap > of the fast 4.065 mile (6.542 km) circuit, Beck would extend his lead in the > race for the pole by dropping his time to 1:59.88. > But just slightly over a minute later, it was evident that Coventry driver > Rene Beitz had found the magic, grabbing the pole by flashing across the > finish line with a time of 1:58.61. Not to be denied, Team Lotus desperately > made some last minute geometry changes to the car of Matteo Calestani. With > less than 1:40 remaining in qualifying, Calestani began his *first* timed > lap. Qualifying would close before Calestani completed his lap! Yet when he > bolted across the line, clearly Colin Chapman and the other Lotus engineers > had found the answer. The one-lap wonder Calestani had captured the pole > recording a 1:58.55 with no time remaining in qualifying. > Remarkably, the engines of the top two qualifiers succumbed to massive > ignition failures as the field gathered on the grid. So when the green flag > dropped, the next five qualifiers dashed into the perilous first turn in the > order in which they qualified: Beck, Honda teammate Brian Needham, Ferrari's > Graeme Nash, Brabham's Pierre Robitaille, and Coventry's Peter Arnholm. > As nerves relaxed and tires warmed, the front five completed the first lap > with no change in order although Beck was extending his lead and Nash was > progressively closing the gap on Needham in the second Honda. As the leaders > approached the end of the second lap, the pressure on Needham was too great > and he pushed his braking point for the tight, straight-ending Scierie turn > a bit too far. As Needham slid off into the grass outside of Scierie, the > talented young Brit, Nash, scampered into second position. > On the third lap, Nash, anxious to make contact with the escaping Beck, > pushed too hard, dropped a wheel off outside of the sweeping right-hand > first turn, and executed the oft-seen spin up the banking on the outside of > the turn. Nash's Ferrari was left with a loose cowling from the excursion > and he was forced to pull off just past the Nouveau Monde hairpin to secure > the threatening cowling. The series of events provided very costly for Nash > who saw his position drop from second to eighth once he had clear track and > could once again be on his way. The order at the front now stood: Beck, > Robitaille, Arnholm, Needham, and Lotus driver Dave Lung. > Four laps later, Robitaille and his Brabham would inherit the lead when Beck > would duplicate the earlier error of his teammate at Scierie. Beck would > recover from his rendezvous with the grass to find third place Arnholm glued > to his gearbox. It was still very much anyone's race. > For nine more laps, only seconds would separate the front four, as the crowd > enjoyed epic racing. By this reporter's count, the turnaway crowd witnessed > five lead changes and seven*** position changes among the front four during > those nine laps alone. > As they entered the seven***th and final lap, the Honda team hoped for a > 1-2 sweep as the order was now: Beck, Needham, Arnholm, and Robitaille, all > still only separated by seconds. And the epic was about to become the > unimaginable! > Here's what we witnessed: As the pair of lead Hondas screams down the back > straight and through the perilous near 170-mph Gresil sweeper, Beck pushes a > little too hard to insure his win and drops both left tires onto the grass > on the exit from the right-hand sweeper. Amazingly, Needham, seemingly > hypnotized by his teammate's gearbox, follows Beck right out onto to the > grass! As the two lead Hondas execute nearly parallel slides down the > top-gear, full-throttle straight, Arnholm, watching all this unfold just > yards ahead, struggles to reel in his Coventry so that he doesn't become > part of the disaster that is besetting Team Honda. Miraculously, Needham, > now almost perpendicular to the track, manages to catch his slide before the > now hard-braking Arnholm has an opportunity to pass. But Beck doesn't share > in the good fortune as he slides helplessly off into the grass on the right > side of the track. Finally, Robitaille, in a desperate effort to catch the > recovering Beck for third, goes well off into the grass in the *last* turn > before the finish line. Dave Lung cruises home to fourth as Robitaille > wrestles his Brabham back onto the racing surface. > An incredible conclusion to a Grand Prix battle of truly epic proportions! > Official Standings > 1 0 B. Needham MUR 118.2 mph > 2 17 P. Arnholm COV 1.49 > 3 0 S. Beck MUR 5.80 > 4 0 D. Lung LOT 41.88 > 5 0 P. Robitaille REP 47.67 > 6 14 D. Chicane BRM 50.44 > 7 16 D. Ewing LOT 1:55.81 > 8 4 J. Rambo FER -1L > 9 0 G. Nash FER -9L > 10 0 J. Taylor LOT -10L > 11 0 D. Pillost REP -13L > 12 0 B. Davis EAG -16L > Fastest Lap > 17 P. Arnholm COV 1:59.33 > Practice > 1 0 M. Calestani LOT 1:58.55 > 2 0 R. Beitz COV 1:58.61 > 3 0 S. Beck MUR 1:59.88 > 4 0 B. Needham MUR 2:00.94 > 5 0 G. Nash FER 2:01.33 > 6 0 P. Robitaille REP 2:01.44 > 7 17 P. Arnholm COV 2:01.56 > 8 0 D. Lung LOT 2:02.37 > 9 14 D. Chicane BRM 2:02.41 > 10 16 D. Ewing LOT 2:04.85 > 11 4 J. Rambo FER 2:07.32 > 12 0 D. Pillost REP 2:08.81 > 13 0 T. Wheatley FER 2:13.78 > 14 0 J. Taylor LOT 2:24.47 > 15 0 H. Rogster EAG 2:29.52 > 16 0 B. Davis EAG 2:47.51

Who needs N3 with finishes like that! Another good read, JR; almost as much fun as being there. SB remove "edy" from address for email

Great article - I wish I'd been in that virtual crowd, Cheers, Paul

Quoted text (129 lines)

> "Nail That Track" Training Race Series > Needham Savors Huge Win in Epic NTT French Grand Prix > Circuit Rouen-les-Essarts > Rouen Series Race No. 1 > Saturday, March 6, 1999 > Race Report > The "Nail That Track" circus pulled up stakes, leaving behind the glitz and > glamour of the crown jewel of the Mediterranean, and headed for the > picturesque forests of France for the French Grand Prix at Circuit > Rouen-les-Essarts. With his affection for Monaco apparent, ever-quotable > Lotus driver Steve Blankenship confided, "it's nice to be out of that > parking garage again, out in the country where the DFV can breathe." > Qualifying for the first race of the Rouen series was marked by a flurry of > last-minute, quick laps. Honda driver Stephan Beck was the first to drop > below the 2:00 benchmark by recording a 1:59.93 with but just over four*** > minutes remaining in qualifying. On his next lap, only his third timed lap > of the fast 4.065 mile (6.542 km) circuit, Beck would extend his lead in the > race for the pole by dropping his time to 1:59.88. > But just slightly over a minute later, it was evident that Coventry driver > Rene Beitz had found the magic, grabbing the pole by flashing across the > finish line with a time of 1:58.61. Not to be denied, Team Lotus desperately > made some last minute geometry changes to the car of Matteo Calestani. With > less than 1:40 remaining in qualifying, Calestani began his *first* timed > lap. Qualifying would close before Calestani completed his lap! Yet when he > bolted across the line, clearly Colin Chapman and the other Lotus engineers > had found the answer. The one-lap wonder Calestani had captured the pole > recording a 1:58.55 with no time remaining in qualifying. > Remarkably, the engines of the top two qualifiers succumbed to massive > ignition failures as the field gathered on the grid. So when the green flag > dropped, the next five qualifiers dashed into the perilous first turn in the > order in which they qualified: Beck, Honda teammate Brian Needham, Ferrari's > Graeme Nash, Brabham's Pierre Robitaille, and Coventry's Peter Arnholm. > As nerves relaxed and tires warmed, the front five completed the first lap > with no change in order although Beck was extending his lead and Nash was > progressively closing the gap on Needham in the second Honda. As the leaders > approached the end of the second lap, the pressure on Needham was too great > and he pushed his braking point for the tight, straight-ending Scierie turn > a bit too far. As Needham slid off into the grass outside of Scierie, the > talented young Brit, Nash, scampered into second position. > On the third lap, Nash, anxious to make contact with the escaping Beck, > pushed too hard, dropped a wheel off outside of the sweeping right-hand > first turn, and executed the oft-seen spin up the banking on the outside of > the turn. Nash's Ferrari was left with a loose cowling from the excursion > and he was forced to pull off just past the Nouveau Monde hairpin to secure > the threatening cowling. The series of events provided very costly for Nash > who saw his position drop from second to eighth once he had clear track and > could once again be on his way. The order at the front now stood: Beck, > Robitaille, Arnholm, Needham, and Lotus driver Dave Lung. > Four laps later, Robitaille and his Brabham would inherit the lead when Beck > would duplicate the earlier error of his teammate at Scierie. Beck would > recover from his rendezvous with the grass to find third place Arnholm glued > to his gearbox. It was still very much anyone's race. > For nine more laps, only seconds would separate the front four, as the crowd > enjoyed epic racing. By this reporter's count, the turnaway crowd witnessed > five lead changes and seven*** position changes among the front four during > those nine laps alone. > As they entered the seven***th and final lap, the Honda team hoped for a > 1-2 sweep as the order was now: Beck, Needham, Arnholm, and Robitaille, all > still only separated by seconds. And the epic was about to become the > unimaginable! > Here's what we witnessed: As the pair of lead Hondas screams down the back > straight and through the perilous near 170-mph Gresil sweeper, Beck pushes a > little too hard to insure his win and drops both left tires onto the grass > on the exit from the right-hand sweeper. Amazingly, Needham, seemingly > hypnotized by his teammate's gearbox, follows Beck right out onto to the > grass! As the two lead Hondas execute nearly parallel slides down the > top-gear, full-throttle straight, Arnholm, watching all this unfold just > yards ahead, struggles to reel in his Coventry so that he doesn't become > part of the disaster that is besetting Team Honda. Miraculously, Needham, > now almost perpendicular to the track, manages to catch his slide before the > now hard-braking Arnholm has an opportunity to pass. But Beck doesn't share > in the good fortune as he slides helplessly off into the grass on the right > side of the track. Finally, Robitaille, in a desperate effort to catch the > recovering Beck for third, goes well off into the grass in the *last* turn > before the finish line. Dave Lung cruises home to fourth as Robitaille > wrestles his Brabham back onto the racing surface. > An incredible conclusion to a Grand Prix battle of truly epic proportions! > Official Standings > 1 0 B. Needham MUR 118.2 mph > 2 17 P. Arnholm COV 1.49 > 3 0 S. Beck MUR 5.80 > 4 0 D. Lung LOT 41.88 > 5 0 P. Robitaille REP 47.67 > 6 14 D. Chicane BRM 50.44 > 7 16 D. Ewing LOT 1:55.81 > 8 4 J. Rambo FER -1L > 9 0 G. Nash FER -9L > 10 0 J. Taylor LOT -10L > 11 0 D. Pillost REP -13L > 12 0 B. Davis EAG -16L > Fastest Lap > 17 P. Arnholm COV 1:59.33 > Practice > 1 0 M. Calestani LOT 1:58.55 > 2 0 R. Beitz COV 1:58.61 > 3 0 S. Beck MUR 1:59.88 > 4 0 B. Needham MUR 2:00.94 > 5 0 G. Nash FER 2:01.33 > 6 0 P. Robitaille REP 2:01.44 > 7 17 P. Arnholm COV 2:01.56 > 8 0 D. Lung LOT 2:02.37 > 9 14 D. Chicane BRM 2:02.41 > 10 16 D. Ewing LOT 2:04.85 > 11 4 J. Rambo FER 2:07.32 > 12 0 D. Pillost REP 2:08.81 > 13 0 T. Wheatley FER 2:13.78 > 14 0 J. Taylor LOT 2:24.47 > 15 0 H. Rogster EAG 2:29.52 > 16 0 B. Davis EAG 2:47.51

I know the drivers are flattered by your request and this was indeed an exceptionally exciting race! And you're not the first to inquire about replays of "Nail That Track" events. The problem is the replay files are huge...typically on the order of 64-80MB uncompressed. And compression only reduces replay files 30-50%. So, thanks for your interest! I encourage you, and everyone, to come experience the e***ment of NTT firsthand! The RAS post entitled "'Nail That Track' Race Registration Procedure" should get you started. Jack Rambo