FIA International Formula 3000 Championship
Brands Hatch, 21^st August 1988

Dreams and nightmares

This is the Autosport race report on Johnny's huge F3000 accident at Brands Hatch on 21st August 1988. Many thanks to the magazine, writer Marcus Pye, photographer Jeff Bloxham, and to fan Harry Lythgoe for sending us this from his collection of old Autosports.

If ever assurance was needed that the future of British participation in Formula 1 Grand Prix racing was secure, it was provided emphatically by Johnny Herbert and Martin Donnelly at Brands Hatch last weekend. Eddie Jordan's newly united pairing totally dominated qualifying for round 7 of the FIA International F3000 Championship, and the Camel/Q8 Reynards were cruising towards a comfortable one-two finish on Sunday when an appalling accident halted proceedings for the second time.

Herbert was the centre of this nightmare, his ankles badly broken, while Donnelly went on to score a hollow victory. His dream debut was totally overshadowed, however, by two days of carnage which had also left France's Michel Trolle seriously injured in a needless practice accident.

Qualifying

Rarely has there been such dominance in F3000 qualifying as the crushing performance delivered by Eddie Jordan Racing's Camel/Q8 Team Ford duo on Saturday. That Herbert should claim pole position on his 'home' circuit was no surprise. but for him to be joined on the front row by his debutant team mate Donnelly, fresh out of F3. was the first revelation of the weekend.

Martin set the pattern, in fact, being drawn in Group A. Thus it was that the Ulsterman had to feel his way into the groove first, albeit with confidence bolstered by a most encouraging maiden run at Oulton Park under his belt Riding high on his staggeringly successful Lotus-Honda F1 test at Monza meanwhile, Johnny was eager to enhance his ever growing reputation. He matched his partner's achievement move for move. the pair emerging atop the timesheets for free training, as well as both official qualifying sessions.

"I was surprised, very surprised to be where I am," offered Martin. "but I knew from the start that if I got to grips with the car quickly I had as good a chance as anybody. To be totally honest, Eddie and the team have given me a superbly set-up car. All we have done is gone up and down on the wings, and adjusted the ride heights. We haven't even played with the bars and springs, the Reynard is that good.

"Everyone out there is trying to be up the sharp end of the grid. I would have been happy with a place on the first tour rows, first tome out, but to be up front is a tremendous bonus. I must admit I'm a bit nervous of the start - I haven't done it in F3000 yet - but otherwise I'm very happy. I’ve raced on this revised circuit recently, and the car feels just like a big heavy F3 car except that you can control understeer and oversteer on the throttle, and can slide it more. Everything happens more quickly, but gear-change points remain the same, and I know, from them whether or not a lap is quick..."

It beating points leader Moreno to best time in the first hour's reconnaissance run was a fillip, Donnelly's controlled aggression in the afternoon's twin half hours demonstrated his immediate mastery of a car with almost three times the power of his previous mount. On each official sortie he headed off Foitek by a heady margin. the second-row Swiss suppressed by over half a second in the final reckoning.

Herbert was in even more scintillating form, reeling off a stunning series of low 1 min 5s laps before throwing in the 1:14.77 flier which left his rivals gasping for breath. The only man to break the 125mph/200kph average speed barriers, Johnny's millimetre-perfect assault was simply in a class of its own. Unapproachable on the clocks, Herbert sat out most of the final session, watching the monitors, eyeing the fruitless on-track struggle, before popping out and dropping in a nonchalant 1:15.58, just to remind them who was boss, and underline his rivals’ doubts...

The yellow Camel Reynard, which ran perfectly all day (and expended only one of the allotted three sets of Avon tyres!) was, intriguingly, the only 88D to feature a development undertray. through which the Alan Smith-built Cosworth engine's exhausts were carefully fluted to outlets in the rear diffuser (see P&P). It proudly sat beside its bright blue stable-mate come Sunday afternoon, atop the quality 24-car grid filtered from a seasonal record entry of 39.

In marked contrast to the dry, if increasingly gusty qualifying conditions, Sunday morning’s warm-up was horribly wet after heavy overnight rain. It was drizzling initially, although the grooved tyres did begin to cut a widening swathe of drier tarmac 'on line' towards the end. The going remained greasy though, catching out Marco Apicella and Volker Weidler who went ballast collecting in the Druids quarry.

And then along came Bert Gachot, a little too quickly to make the hairpin. As he skated off, he could not avoid the rear corner of the right-hand March and cannoned into the barriers. Both nearside corners of the Reynard were battered, leaving the Spirit/TOM'S crew with a lengthy repair job, and FIRST with memories of the similar incident which damaged Gabriele Tarquini's beached machine in last year's race. The Italian March was but lightly tweaked.

The session totally threw any ideas of serious 'full tank' evaluation off course, but again the Reynard contingent emerged on top, with Spence and Bernard working hard to be second and 4^th quickest, headed by Herbert and split by Moreno.

Fortunately, and to the immense relief of most drivers and the sizeable audience the weather had cleared up by the 2.30pm start time. With a gap on row 5 where Raphanel should have been, the remaining 24 came under orders, Enrico Bertaggia's Dallara still woefully afflicted by its morning misfire and stuck in the pitlane, rather than in position at the back.

Arms waved aloft signalled Gachot's inability to fire his Cosworth for the final 'green flag' lap. thus after a push he was relegated to the rear of the field, where the engine died again 11 laps into the event.

Herbert, his car pointed down the slope to counteract the camber of the road, made a beautiful start with Donnelly dodging right looking for the inside line down paddock. Up at the hairpin, Alesi was punted up the rear in the frenetic sort-out, the Marlboro Reynard gyrating into the boondocks but able to return to the pits' back door under its own steam. The completion of a weekend to forget for ORECA.

Finding their rhythm immediately, cold tyres or not, Herbert and Donnelly settled into a pace which was unmatchable and appeared almost effortless. They inexorably pulled away from their pursuers, Martin shadowing Johnny before the leader cut his lap times down into the 1m16s bracket, where they remained.

Behind the fleeing pair, Martini was having to resist all sorts of pressure, with Foitek, the eager Moreno, Grouillard and Blundell all breathing down his neck, intent on third place and a shot at starting a breakaway.

Aguri Suzuki, running really strongly in the Footwork Reynard, had by, now worked his way through Langes and Weidler and was whittling down the deficit to the jostling quintet in front of him.

An altercation at Paddock had split a gaggle at the back on lap 6 when Gachot, who had already been off, nudged Dave Hunt into a spin. The closely following Jari Nurminen was then clouted by Andrea Chiesa, to the detriment of the Lola's rear wishbone and the Reynard's nose. The Finn's race was run and he was shortly joined in retirement by the clutchless Michel Ferte

Russell Spence, embroiled in a midfield scrap with Mario Hytten, Cor Euser, Eric Bernard and Gary Evans, was on the verge of breaking free to pursue Paolo Barilla, when his car jumped out of gear at Surtees, at the instant cost of several places, although he wasted little time in bouncing back after the resulting spin.

He was aided in this recovery albeit very luckily - by Hytten's extraordinarily ill-conceived attempt to enter the pits at the end of lap 9, the centre of the Ralt's expensive carbon clutch having apparently pulled out. Mario, in the middle of the road, decided to dive in without a hand signal to warn the bunch scrapping close behind. That there was not a major incident was a miracle.

Out front, Herbert gradually extended his advantage over Donnelly to around 5secs, the EJR pair still stretching away from their pursuers, more concerned With their internal battle. As the leading Reynards sailed serenely on, all attention focused on this melting pot, on the boil and showing little sign of simmering with Foitek and Moreno ducking and diving, Martini still at the controls.

It all reached a head, its onlookers had long suspected it would. As the squabbling fivesome raced onto lap 24, Moreno, always quicker than Foitek into Paddock, tried to outbrake him down the inside, coaxed the Swiss right to cover, then flicked outside him. The moment Roberto hit the brakes his wheels locked, and with insufficient room to get round the Lola, the yellow car slewed into the rubber protected barriers.

The red lights were activated instantly as the damaged and immovable Reynard was protruding into the track and the livid Brazilian walked back to the pits, to issue a bitter personal attack upon Foitek s driving standards over the public address. While it is true to that Gregor has featured rather too often for comfort on incident sheets this season, many onlookers believed that he had merely protected his line and that no contact was made at that point. Whatever, Moreno the opportunist was out, the points leader's car badly holed.

After a 35min delay the 19 survivors were called forward to rejoin their steeds, left in Parc Ferme on the grid. To results declared at 22 laps, would be added those of a further 24, for an aggregate result. After the usual tyre warming formalities it was back for a second go, under ominous skies and with spots of rain beginning to lick in on the wind.

This time Herbert's angled ploy failed him, for as the poleman snaked with wheelspin, Donnelly and Martini harnessed their power perfectly and rocket ahead. Foitek, too, got away well, alongside Johnny on the rise. Wheels were banged there yet neither would cede, and at Druids the Lola's nose tapped the Reynard again.

Plunging down Graham Hill the battle of nerve continued in the wake of Martin and Pierluigi, and when Herbert was a little slow out of Surtees, Foitek was quick to pull left out of his slipstream and gain momentum up the hill and over the crest. Precisely what happened next is a matter of conjecture for nobody centrally involved from the outset could remember anything when questioned later. What follows is culled from the reports of drivers who returned from the biggest British racing accident in a decade or more, and photographs subsequently studied.

Herbert and Foitek collided at around 150mph, their cars cannoning violently left into the bridge, whereupon the GA machine cartwheeled down the guard-rail. Johnny s car rebounded into the path of Grouillard, who had no alternative but to ram him hard. While Blundell got through, albeit with a nosefin endplate wedged upright - like a hillclimb timing strut - in the nose of his car. "Out of the corner of my eye. I could see Foitek rolling, and when I looked in the mirrors, relieved to have escaped, there was carnage everywhere. The track was completely blocked."

By the sudden lack of cars in their mirrors. the leaders knew that there had been an incident of calamitous proportions and instinctively slowed. Only when but nine cars returned solemnly to the grid - those of Spence and Apicella crippled but mobile - did stories begin to unfold

"The crash is terrible," revealed an emotional Barilla. "Many cars are in two pieces, drivers are badly hurt, and there are bits everywhere.''

Spence, who had made a tremendous getaway, gaining several places, had a wheel, "complete with driveshaft," smash down on the nose of his car. deranging its tracking, before bouncing off the cockpit side, and over his head.

Wallace slowed on sight of the danger, was rammed and screeched sideways down the centre of the track, to be hit again and biffed into the barrier, and team-mate Evans went left, down the grass between Apicella and Bernard, before glancing the wall. Suzuki meanwhile, in the middle, wound up embedded in the remains of Lange’s Lola, with Chiesa's cosmetically damaged machine off to his left Bernard managed to dodge a gearbox in his path and escaped.

As the dust settled. Herbert (his feet protruding from the severed front of his car), Foitek (unconscious after a blow to the head) and Grouillard remained trapped in their chassis in the dip, and rescue crews, assisted by drivers, set about the arduous task of freeing them. David Hunt and Cor Euser pulled up and were among those first on the scene.

"Johnny was being tended and I ran to see Olivier. I asked him how he was, he said OK and waved me to get to Gregor. He was unconscious for some time, but came round and I stayed with him, helping where I could."

Foitek was taken to the medical centre, where he joined Grouillard (Evans and Suzuki were able to break part of the front of his car away in the extrication process), although Herbert took a great deal longer to rescue, the doctors anxious to stabilise his condition and not risk further complications to his extensive ankle injuries.

As the last of the wrecks was cleared away, and repairs to the barriers were effected, the F3000 circus, in the knowledge that none of its drivers was in danger, began to count the cost of personal injury, then of mechanical damage. The cars of Cor Euser and Hunt returned unscathed (the Dutchman driving. David on tow as marshals had warned him against restarting amid much spilled fuel). Although there was little interest among the teams, all but Spence of the returnees would continue.

After a stoppage of over two hours, a pathetic field of six cars formed the grid for the third time of asking, to he joined by Bernard, Chiesa and Apicella from pit lane (each allowed a change of tyre after re-scrutineering. on safety grounds). Marco would he further delayed by a nose repair, not permitted until after the green, while poor Hunt was almost grudgingly allowed to restart after protests from his team.

This time the start was clean. Donnelly out-dragging Martini, with Barilla easing round the outside of Blundell, only to he repelled, and Euser chopping down the grass on the inside of Weidler at Paddock. In the knowledge that he had a 19secs cushion over Pierluigi from part 1, Martin might have been excused for letting the Italian go, but he had the old adrenalin coursing quickly again through a superbly precise series of opening laps which saw him clear, never to be challenged.

A clean scrap ensued throughout the 20 lap closing sequence, between Martini, Blundell and Barilla. The March driver again withstanding great pressure and preserving his defences unbreached. Mark made a big effort round the outside of Druids which nearly came off, but lost momentum saw Paolo able to exploit the tiniest of gaps at Surtees. Aware that third was his on corrected times, the Briton was content to play cat and mouse.

Into fifth came Euser, whose repeated ignorance of the black and orange flag (shown as his rear diffuser was flapping in the wind) became the subject of a enquiry and protests from rival teams. He was allowed to keep his place, unlike the hard-charging Bernard, whose new Reynard was disqualified for a rear wing infringement at Post race scrutineering. Weidler's perseverance with a wicked misfire thus gained him his first point, for an inherited sixth position.

Up on the rostrum, victor Donnelly's pride was subdued in respect of his injured team-mate. "I'm not going to open the champagne - this win is for Johnny Herbert," asserted the Belfast man quietly. "Realistically, he had it in the bag, so it's for him. Martini, scathing in his criticism of some of his fellow drivers, professed himself "happy for my result, but not for the competition of F3000. Many drivers do not use their head out there. I hope that the organisers can bring a solution."

A further protest. by Martini entrant Lamberto Leoni, against Donnelly (for overtaking poleman Herbert during the final warming up lap at the original start), is being referred to FISA, so the results remain provisional. Thus ended a black weekend for British motor racing and F3000, in which certain drivers, the race organisers and the sport's governing had hardly covered themselves in glory. From out of the carriage what will be learned, and what will emerge at Birmingham next weekend?

Many thanks to Autosport and the writer for the above report. All rights reserved.
The series of historic reports comes to you from the archives of fan Harry Lythgoe
This page prepared 5th October 1998.