35. AvD OLDTIMER GRAND PRIX
10-12. August 2007

On Thursday we awoke to fog and heavy, squally, rain that had to be endured in order to complete the necessary pre-race requirements of signing on and scrutineering.  Wet weather gear was the dress code of the day.  All that cleaning and polishing of cars had been in vain, drivers and their teams were dispiritedly scurrying around the paddock before retiring to their base camps to dry out and warm up!  Entrants arriving on Thursday were worse off as they set up in these miserable conditions - oh what fun to be in the Eiffel Mountains in summer!  

On Friday the circuit was once more covered in a blanket of fog delaying the start of the program, then as the predicted improvement in the weather failed to materialize the complete day’s program was cancelled;  a great disappointment to all.  The Marathon and the 100 Challenge on the Nordschleife was cancelled so many drivers in those events had an expensive, wasted weekend.

Saturday dawned damp and foggy, racing was postponed once again but at last GOOD NEWS, a reorganized program was to commence at ten.  First out were two German Championship qualifying sessions followed by the first FJ. Race, Duncan had to arrange a grid and decided the fairest way was to start with the fastest class and number of championship points, Thus Urs Eberhardt in the Lotus 27 was on pole with Chistoph Burkhardt’s Lotus 22 alongside.  The track was damp and very slippy in places but the fog had lifted when the Juniors took to the track.

The first three laps were behind the pace car which, given the track conditions, was the safer option as by the time the leaders crossed the line to start racing the field was well strung out and there was not a mass charge to the first corner.  Eberhardt hung on to the lead closely chased by Emanuele Benedini in the Brabham BT6 up from third on the grid, these two circulated as though glued together until Benedini seized his chance on the back straight during Lap Four and took Eberhardt on the uphill drag.  Eberhardt retook the lead two laps late after the ‘Esses’ only for Benedini to best him once more on the back straight whilst negotiating traffic and head for home, in the process setting the fastest lap, to win by three seconds.  Christoph Burkhart (Lotus 22) completing the podium almost ten seconds behind the winner.  Meanwhile Robin Longdon’s Lola Mk 2 was fast making up ground from twenty-first on the grid to cross the line as class B winner by a large margin from Stuart Roach, driving the Ring for the first time, in the Alexis Mk II which gained twenty places up from thirty-eighth.  John Delane in his Lotus 18 easily won Class D after early round tussles with Chris Chilcott in the Lotus 20, but found the early part of the race difficult as his car does not like running in first gear and falls off the cam as he changes up to second. He also had an adrenaline rush moment when he came across two cars making contact ahead; Philipp Buhofer spun in the Lola Mk 5A and rolled back onto the track to be collected by the unfortunate Christian Traber in the Lotus 22, who had no possibility of avoiding him.   Kevin Musson led home Group C with his Lotus 18 and the final Class win was claimed by Jason Wright in the Stanguellini. Once the cars were tucked up in Parc Fermé the sun shone through and for the rest of the day the track was bathed in glorious sunshine. 

The drivers with the greatest improvement in race position compared with start position were Stuart Roach (Alexis Mk II) 30th to 10th; Jason Stuart Wright (Stanguellini) 38th to 19th; Tony Steele (Lola Mk II) 29th to 14th and Robin Longdon (Lola Mk II) 22nd to 8th.

Starting in Class order brought home to the drivers that this championship was all about racing your class competitors rather than the overall race order.  The race also provided many with plenty of experience of overtaking moves!

Sunday provided a dry and sunny race for which all were thankful.  For Race Two the grid was set on the finish position for Race One, thus most cars were in the correct grid slot for their pace and were starting from the grid rather than the previous day’s less familiar rolling start.  The three podium drivers from Saturday set off at a determined pace and pulled further away from the rest of the field.  This was in part assisted by Rob Goodwin spinning his Lotus 22 at the first corner with the rest of the field somehow finding a way round him.  Urs Eberhardt led for the first lap but was soon taken by Emanuele Benedini.  Christoph Burckhardt managed to get the better of Eberhardt on Lap Four and then set his sights on Benedini, achieving this on Lap Eight to take and keep the lead to the line.  His slightly slower pace at the beginning was due to low tyre temperature but began to fly as they became good.  With just two and a half seconds covering the first three cars this race provided an example of close Formula Junior driving at its best.   Christian Traber had managed to repair his car from the previous race and finished fourth from thirty-eighth and his accident partner Phillip Buhofer made fifth position from thirty-seventh.  Stuart Roach had another superb drive to bring the Alexis Mk II home to win Class B  with eighth overall despite an outstanding start from Robin Longdon that kept him in fourth position at the end of the first lap  Kevin Musson easily won Class C as did  Daniele Salodini in the Taraschi for the Class A win.  John Delane took Class D after a battle in the early stages with Chris Chilcott’s Lotus 22 which unfortunately dropped out with a possible damaged crownwheel, and Martin Carter’s Lynx 3 which slowed with a high oil temperature reading.

Robin Longdon and John Delane both picked up maximum points so remain level on 30 points each in the Lurani Trophy. 

Prize giving was delayed for two hours whilst the Stewards deliberated some race incidents and reviewed the video footage.  This involved two cars overtaking on waved yellow flags and being penalized with a one minute time penalty; “failed to respect the yellow flag”. Also Bruno Ferrari failed to notice a board giving him a drive through penalty and was black flagged and disqualified.  

RESULTS OLDTIMER GRAND PRIX 2007
LURANI TROPHY

Fastest Lap Emanuele Benedini 2:07.166 == 131.299kph

The organization of the weekend must have been a headache for all concerned but they kept us informed of when and why decisions were made.  The weather could have dampened our spirits but at least we managed two races and completed another round of the Lurani Trophy.  The Drivers Club facilities were well used especially on Friday, and those of us in Motorhomes appreciated the rest from cooking!  All the reserves attending managed to race so it was far from a wasted weekend for the Formula Junior competitors.

Jill Carter August 2007