[Race] The GROAT - Round 2 - 1988 Suzuka vs 1982 Österreichring

[crmalcolm]

1988 Suzuka
Senna stalled his car at the start of the race, although due to the camber of the Suzuka circuit was effectively able to bump-start his McLaren. He hence tumbled down to fourteenth as he scrambled into action, as teammate Prost entered the first corner in an unopposed lead.

Prost was initially able to escape up the road from Berger, although the Austrian soon slipped behind Capelli who duly went chasing off after Prost. Senna, meanwhile, would quickly carve his way back into the top end of the field, grabbing fourth behind Berger as the field completed the fourth lap.

Rain began to fall on Suzuka as the race ticked past the fourteenth lap, allowing Capelli to sweep into the lead on lap sixteen. That move meant that Capelli became the first driver to lead a race in a non-turbo charged car since the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix.

Unfortunately for Capelli his lead was not to last, with Prost powering back past as they came to the end of the start/finish straight a few moments later. Capelli's hopes would subsequently expire a few laps later with an electrical failure, leaving Prost on his own out front.

However, all was not well with Prost's McLaren, with the Frenchman having picked up a worsening gearbox issue shortly before his fight with Capelli. This allowed Senna to sweep onto his tail with ease, and duly claimed the lead as the pair lapped Andrea de Cesaris.

With that the race, and ultimately Championship, was run, with Senna dancing away to claim victory with a succession of fastest laps. Prost claimed second thirteen seconds behind, while Thierry Boutsen survived well to claim third ahead of a distant Berger.

Because of the dropped score rule used in 1988, Prost effectively scored no points in Japan, and could only claim three, with victory, in Australia. That would only draw him level with Senna if the Brazilian failed to score, with the Brazilian holding eight wins to the Frenchman's seven, ensuring Senna would win on count-back.


1982 Österreichring
There was drama from the start, as Andrea de Cesaris and Bruno Giacomelli smashed their Alfa Romeos into each other off the line, causing both to retire. Their coming together also claimed Derek Daly (whom had nowhere to go), and also had an effect on the leaders, with Tambay picking up a puncture on the second lap from the debris. At the front, meanwhile, the Brabhams (with only half the fuel of their competitors) quickly pulled away, as Riccardo Patrese dived ahead of Nelson Piquet early on.

Michele Alboreto crashed heavily on the second lap, although it was unclear if he was aided into the barrier by Rupert Keegan (whom also retired with accident damage). The race continued unabated, with the Tolemans next to fall with mechanical failures (unrelated) on the seventh lap. The order at the front remained unchanged until the 15th lap, when Arnoux pulled off with another mechanical issue (this time turbo flavoured) as the Renault once again showed it was prone to failure.

Piquet became the first driver to have a pre-planned pitstop in the 1980s when he pitted on the halfway mark, with Patrese coming in a lap later. Piquet fell to fourth, but could not pull away from Keke Rosberg (the cars now with equal fuel), while Patrese held on to his lead. Things got worse for Brabham when Patrese suffered an engine failure on lap 31, while Piquet fell down through the field (ultimately retiring with a damage camshaft). It was advantage Renault at the front, with Alain Prost leading over Elio de Angelis in the Lotus 91, with Keke Rosberg closing the gap to the Italian in third.

Further down, Tambay was making short work of the non-turbo cars to climb back into the points, as Rosberg continued to close on De Angelis as the race entered its final phase. It seemed that they would be battling for second, until Prost pulled off with an engine fire, promoting the young Italian to first. Rosberg was on his tail by the final lap, jinking either side but unable to get past the Lotus. Out of the final corner, Rosberg carried more speed, pulling alongside De Angelis as they came to line. Fortunately for the Italian, however, they crossed the line with De Angelis half a car length ahead (0.05s according to the official time keeper), meaning he had won for the first time in his F1 career.

Behind their duel came the Ligier of Jacques Laffite, whom had had a quiet race to creep onto the podium (mainly through retirements). Tambay stood out with an impressive recovery drive to take fourth, with Niki Lauda (another driver having a quiet day) finishing fifth. Mauro Baldi battled to only his second championship point in the Arrows by claiming sixth, with his name on the lips of many to join a top team in 1983.