Jungle Fever Racing - The Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix
13 october 1997

The new season has started. Right after the previous season a lot of teams started to work on and improve the new car for the new season. In the previous month the result could be tried out in the pre-season tests. One of the teams that was not completely ready for the races was 'Jungle Fever Racing'. It just all did not work out very well for the team. And now, the team can prove that during the tests it was all a minor set-back.

Qualifying

Unfortunately for the team the misfortune continued... Few drivers of the team had a good first session. One of the drivers, Stefan 'Ace' Petrovic, had an excellent first session. He set a time of 1:10.6xx! But then it all went wrong again. During the technical inpection of the car it seemed that he had been driving with illegal driving aids and was therefor disqualified. The team went into appeal, but with no success. The only luck there was, was that he was allowed to drive the second session without any consequenses. In that session he again was very fast, but not as fast as in the first session. The difference between these sessions was just half a second.

Warmup

Not many drivers of 'Jungle Fever Racing' were spotted on the track during the warmup. The only one who was seen, was Stefan Petrovic. After his disappointment a few days earlier he had to win back his confidence in both the team and himself. By looking at the times he drove, you could see that he was not very motivated. But during this session he got better and better and he obviously was working on a setup for the race.

Race

The moment when it all has to happen is coming... When we take a look into the pitbox of the team we can see a lot of engineers still working very nervously on one of the cars. When we take a closer look we can see that it is the car of Edwin van den Brink. It is at that moment still uncertain if he will start the race at all, with only 15 minutes to go. In one corner of the box we can see him sitting. He looks very relaxed, but now and then he gives a quick look to the car and shakes his head. The other drivers and cars are already ready for the race...

With only a couple of minutes to go, we notice that all cars are ready.

The start went pretty well and the cars make a good first impression. Everybody drives the first couple of laps without any problems. Then after about 6 laps the first problems arise. Edwin van den Brink suddenly drives his car to a safe position and gets out of it. There are no visible defects to the car and it sounded just fine. This calls for a small interview... We tracked him down and asked what was wrong.

"As you may have seen, we had some trouble with the car, just before the race. The first couple of laps it seemed that the problem was solved. But after lap number 3 it started to feel a bit strange. I asked the engineers over the radio if they could see something strange about the car. They said they were looking at everything, but did not see anything unusual at that time. But it started to feel worse and worse. And because I think that my life is worth a lot more than finishing a race, I decided to stop. Sad, but true..."

Lap number 20 was even more disastrous... 2 cars crashed in the same lap. Both Bart Gunneman and Marcel van den Brink were unable to finish the race, unlike the other drivers. They experienced no problems for the rest of the race. With only one lap to go, the team still can see that Stefan Petrovic is driving in an excellent second position. The crew in the pits is starting to look real nervous now... If the car holds it, it will be the best result ever the team. One minute later the cars comes through the final corner. The crew has walked to the pitwall to give the driver a big ovation. A little time later the other cars go past the finish line. Finally the team has proven that it can be threatening. Suddenly there is a lot of activity in the pits. One of the cars seem to have crashed into another car, after been flagged. We rushed to the place where the driver, Gerhard Alink, is sitting on the wall. He still looks a bit shakey, but nevertheless he tells us what happened...

"Damn... My very first real race ever and I screw up! I am driving for what I'm worth and when I come driving through the final corner I see a lot of flags being waved. Man... that really confused me for a moment. I keep going the same speed and suddenly I notice that a car in front of me is driving very slow... At that moment I didn't realise that the race was actually over. Because I was going way too fast, I was not able to stop in time and therefor could not avoid the little crash I had. This won't happen a second time... That is one thing I know for sure... I have learned my lesson today."

This incident could not spoil the mood off the team. After the podium ceremony we spoke to one of the owners of the team. At that moment he was very emotional and had some trouble handling all the attention he suddenly got from the press. Somehow he managed to form a short statement.

"After the tests it all seemed very 'out of reach'. Then during qualifying one of our drivers gets disqualified. That looked like the beginning of another disaster-weekend. But it all turned out excellent! We're on the right track with this team... And if you will excuse me now.. I'll have some champagne to drink."

And with this comment we end this weekend of excitement, frustration and emotion. We are, just like the teams, going to pack our stuff together and prepare for the next race. See you soon!