2010
Joaquin Folch finishes 2nd at Hockeneim
Round 1 of the FIA Historic Formula One Championship saw 17 cars of the 18 registered for the event take the grid at the popular Hockenheim Historic event at the German GP venue. Reigning HFO Champion Bobby Verdon-Roe made certain that his investment in the stunning ex-Christian Gläsel McLaren MP4A showed its class right away by taking pole position with just minutes to go in the second qualifying session. BVR had only driven the car for twenty minutes before arriving in Germany but a test and two qualifying sessions was enough time to make the car work to good effect.
I just need to know how the car works and how I am supposed to drive it.
said the resident of Portugal.
Until BVR took pole, a stunning qualifying lap in the cold early morning session had looked positive for the Brabham BT49 of Joaquim Folch. Run by Fredy Kumschick the Spaniard sat out most of the second session hoping not to have to use his best tyres for the second run but when BVR hit the front his few laps could not produce any advance. Rowland Kinch worked his way up to third fastest with some neat tweaks whilst the Colin Bennett family-run Williams FW07 of Japanese communications entrepreneur Katsu Kubota finished fourth fastest with Steve Hartley’s Mirage Arrows fifth and Richard Eyre’s Williams sixth.
The grid also included Nico Bindels returning to the series with Hall & Hall fettling his Lotus 87B, Laurent Fort with his own Espirit Competition Surtees TS9B and Austrian Gunther Alth with the beautiful Class A March 701. Former Italian Touring Car Champion, Cosimo Turizio performed very well to be halfway up the grid on the first session in his Hesketh 308 but a broken hub carrier put a premature stop to his weekend. Regular Dave Abbott sat out this meeting whilst his shoulder operation fully heals in time for Spa and all the teams suffered travel chaos from the Icelandic volcano, almost all having to make last minute drive arrangements as flights were cancelled across the world in the two days preceding the event. Return journeys also became a stress.
A really good volume of spectators basked in sunshine for the Sunday race and as John Felix switched off the red lights BVR dropped the clutch for a superb start and headed a fast starting Kinch with Folch snapping at the back of the Arrows. Hartley was already under pressure from Kubota as they came into the Stadium for the first time with Richard Eyre sixth, Peter Meyric, Abba Kogan’s Williams already heading Class B, then Bindels, Peter Weunch, John Delane and Terry Sayles. On lap 2 Verdon-Roe built a 4.4 second advantage and Kubota got past Hartley.
Kinch had the throttle fuel cam jam virtually at the start and driving on the brakes, gears and ignition switch was proving to be a handful and the number 7 Brabham of Folch got past on lap seven and the Arrows retired to the pits four laps later, albeit with the fastest lap point to its credit. At lap 11 Folch was 9.8 seconds behind the McLaren with Katsu Kubota working hard to close the gap. Hartley and Eyre were involved in another mighty tussle which went to Eyre on the following lap. Bobby started to ease the pressure slightly for the final three tours leading Folch home by 8.8 seconds with Kubota less than a second behind at the finish. Eyre was fourth ahead of Hartley, Meyrick, Kogan, Bindells, Weunch and Delane in tenth place overall to take Class A whilst Terry Sayles in the Osella took Class D victory.
Bobby Verdon-Roe took top podium spot and was delighted with his weekend.
We only got the MP4 at Christmas so there has been a lot of work to get the car ready. I did 8 laps at Estoril last Monday, loaded up and set off to drive the truck to Hockenheim. I’ve worked with Alan Mugglestone before, he is simply the best race engineer I know and has won 50 championships, so I think we are in great hands. This is a job well done, my first overall pole position in HFO and my first overall win. I wonder if McLaren will notice that they have won the races for the two FIA Formula One Championships today!
Compiled by Stuart McCrudden
Second round of the FIA Historic Formula One Championship is at Spa, Belgium 23 May
Fredy and Wisu rebuilt the Sauber C11 in time
Sauber C11 ready for Spa after rebuild
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| Joaquin finishes 3rd at Monaco | |
Joaquin Wins at Spa
Proving the adage that age and experience can beat youth and enthusiasm, Joaquin Folch celebrated his 29th wedding anniversary with a text-book victory at Spa yesterday, edging home just five hundredths of a second ahead of the McLaren MP4 of Bobby Verdon-Roe to move into the lead in the championship by one point from the former BTCC driver.
The experienced Spaniard gunned his Ecclestone-owned Brabham BT49 from second place on the grid to beast BVR through La Source, held his nerve and passed the McLaren into Radillon. The two were never more than inches apart for the whole ten laps thereafter and headed Steve Hartley in third place by more than 26 seconds at the finish. This leaves the Historic Formula One Championship nicely balanced on points after two rounds with Bobby 15 and Joaquin on 16.
Bobby Verdon-Roe had taken his second consecutive pole of the HFO season at Kiki Bruyns’ RMU Classic meeting. The Ardennes were bathed in glorious sunshine throughout, which made for a highly competitive atmosphere with an excellent 22-car entry, including three new faces, delivering an entertaining weekend.
Friday’s test session saw Folch fastest in his Kumschick run Brabham ahead of Katsu Kubota’s Williams with Verdon-Roe third in the McLaren MP4, Steve Hartley fourth and Richard Eyre fifth.
First qualifying followed this pattern with the Spaniard setting the pace on 2m.12.068 seconds well ahead of the Japanese with Hartley’s Mirage Arrows third and Roland Kinch fourth in his G-Cat Arrows, although he was worrying about engine endurance. Verdon-Roe was also concerned about oil pressure on the MP4 and then ended the session in the gravel trap with brake fade put down to the wrong pad material.
Dave Abbott took seventh spot ahead of Nico Bindels in his Hall & Hall run Lotus 87B, Peter Meyrick’s AMR March, Belgian Jean-Michel Martin in the beautiful Fittipaldi F8C, Abba Kogan’s Williams and Peter Wuensch’s Wolf. Right at the end of the session Kinch’s engine let go curtailing his weekend’s enjoyment. The Hesketh of Turizio Cosimo suffered front suspension failure that could not be repaired at the circuit.
The second session looked like being too hot for much improvement but BVR was determined as ever and after a couple of laps to check the new brake pads’ performance he bolted a new set of BMTR Avon’s onto the MP4, listened to engineer Alan Mugglestone’s cryptic “right mate, concentrate” did just that and planted the Marlboro car on pole a fifth of a second faster than Folch.
Abbott’s sixth place was a great result following his shoulder surgery just a couple of months back. Nico Bindels had his Luxembourg Capital Lotus running sweetly in seventh ahead of Peter Meyrick, Martin’s Fittipaldi, Dan Collins Classic Team Lotus entry and Peter Weunsch’s Wolf. Abba Kogan constantly improves under the tutelage of the Bennett family for twelth on the grid ahead of Frenchman Patrick D’Aubreby’s Tyrell, the earlier chassis of the same marque of John Delane, commuting once again from California, newcomer Bernard de Saint Hubert in his Surtees, Belgian based Brit, John Grant in the interesting Trojan, Michel Baudoin’s Shadow, Christophe D’Ansembourg’s recalcitrant Williams and Italian lawyer Luciano Quaggia’s Theodore. D’Ansembourg had started the weekend in his McLaren M26 but that launched the motor in first practice forcing Stefan and Michael Kupta to race back to the MEC Auto shop to collect the Williams. The fuel system then played up at every opportunity until a final desperate re-piping just before the start had the car running sweetly for the race.
The grid lined up mid-afternoon Sunday in continuing glorious weather. Folch got the best start from row 2 and was beside the MP4 into La Source, Kubota chose second gear wrongly and lost several rows to the first corner, Hartley held off Eyre and Abbott. The leaders were side-by-side out of the corner and the Brabham dragged ahead into the famous kink at the bottom of the hill to take a slender first lap lead that would be the thrilling feature of the whole ten laps.
“ I could make up a few metres at Les Combes and Fagnes but that car has a really strong motor for the straights,” said BVR on the Podium. Kubota had dropped to twelth on the first lap but worked his way back to fifth by lap four and having squeezed close to Richard Eyre passed the Southend steelman into fourth spot on lap seven. Jean-Michel Martin brought the F8C into sixth at the finish ahead of Collins, D’Ansembourg’s cleanly running Williams, Meyrick’s March taking class B honours and Peter Weunsch in tenth spot. D’Aubreby won class D and John Delane took his customary class A award.
Pundits had forecast that the ex Christian Glasel McLaren MP4 in BVR’s quick hands would romp away with this year’s HFO title but now two races in and the BT49 is clearly a straight match. What an exciting season this is going to be for the FIA’s premier historic championship. Folch was typically reserved at the finish, celebrating his victory with Freddy Kumchick’s friendly team and toasting his victory to his wife, Virginia, as the best anniversary celebration possible. “Now for the fast race at Monza; I think the two cars should be evenly matched there too so we will continue the fun!”
Compiled by Stuart McCrudden
Just the podium we like!
Joaquin finishes 3rd at Monza
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