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Malaysian
Grand Prix 2000
Sepang, 20th-22nd October
Johnny
goes out with a bang
Ananova,
22nd October: Johnny Herbert knew it just had to end like
this as he finished his Formula One career in Malaysia the way
he started it - by being carried from his car. The 36-year-old
had to be chair-lifted by two marshals out of his smashed Jaguar
Racing car after spectacularly crashing out of his 161st race.
The
irony was not lost on Herbert who had to be carried to his Benetton
for his maiden race in Rio in 1989 because he still could not
walk properly following an horrific accident a few months earlier.
"I
guess it was inevitable that because I began my career being
carried to the car, I would end it being carried out of it,"
said Herbert. "There is nothing like ending your career with
a bang."
Herbert
was sent skidding along the gravel when his suspension broke eight
laps from the finish of the season-ending race in Kuala Lumpur.
The Essex-born racer, who was lying 10th, slammed into a tyre
barrier while a tyre and bits of the car bounced down the track
summing up his last, retirement-dogged, few years in Formula One.
Herbert managed to get out of the cockpit, but then had to be
carried away by marshals. He was taken to the Sepang circuit's
medical centre where x-rays revealed he had severe bruising to
his left knee.
"I'm okay, I have a bit of pain from the knee but nothing too
serious," said Herbert, hoping to forge a career in Champs Cars
in the United States next season. "When the car pitched, I was
trying to work out which way I was going in so I could position
my legs for the impact but I lost my sense of direction. I'm
pretty disappointed to have a good race ruined by a failure
such as that."
The
initial fears were that the legs he badly injured when he crashed
in an F3000 race in Brands Hatch in 1988 had suffered further
damage which could had put at risk his plans to compete in the
States.
"The
legs were our main worry," said his father, Bob, who watched
the race with Herbert's wife, Becky, and mother Jane. "It is
not the way he wanted to go out of Formula One, but at least
he is okay.
"Johnny
is looking forward to America - they will love him over there.
He still loves racing and that's what he has always wanted to
do. I
feel sorry for Luciano Burti (Herbert's replacement) for next
year because he has got to drive that thing."
Herbert,
who won three races during his career, had earlier seen his hopes
dashed of finishing his last race in the points having started
off with a stunning fourth place in Brazil. The Jaguar stalled
as he came in for his first stop for fuel and tyres while lying
fourth, having started 12th, and the lengthy spell in the pit-lane
sent him tumbling back down the field.
"I was running well early on until the problem at the pit stop,"
he added. "I braked for the line in the pit-lane and the engine
cut so I had to coast into the box."
Herbert
was still receiving medical attention as team-mate Eddie Irvine
went on to finish sixth, only the second time in 17 races this
year that Jaguar have picked up points.
"I'm
glad Johnny is okay," said Irvine, who won last year's maiden
race in Malaysia for Ferrari and who grabbed the big cat's other
points in a disappointing debut season with his fourth place
in Monaco. "It's a shame his career had to end with an accident.
Unfortunately that seems to be the story of his life.
"I
wish him all the best, he's deserves it. He's provided a load
of laughs in the short time we were team-mates. Formula One
will miss him. It's pleasing to end with a point - a very hard-earned
point at that. Whenever the top four finish, the battle for
crumbs is tight so we can be proud of our efforts. Everything
clicked."
Gary
Anderson, Jaguar's technical director, said:
"Johnny
drove very well, doing exactly what we wanted him to do but
unfortunately locked the gears going in for his stop which caused
the engine to stall. "We lost time restarting the engine and
that undid all his hard work. His accident towards the end of
the race was caused by a broken suspension link. That shouldn't
happen and we will be looking at the cause."
A
sad end to Johnny's F1 career
Johnny left F1 on a stretcher after his Jaguar's rear suspension
failed with only 7 laps to go in his final race. The rear wheel
parted company
with his R1, pitching him into an uncontrollable slide into the
barriers at a fast part of the Sepang track.
Although
Johnny was able to lever himself out of the car quickly, he could
not stand on his left leg and had to be helped from the gravel
trap by marshals before being carried away on a stretcher. His
left leg was X-rayed at the track, no bones were broken in the
accident, and Johnny suffered nothing more than bruising.
During
the race, Johnny had run as high as fourth before a slow pitstop
put an end to a promising early run. It looked as though a one-stop
strategy was going to pay dividends but it all ended in tears.
Team-mate
Irvine finished 6th, only his second finish in the points this
year. Johnny finished one of his worst ever seasons without a
single point. After last season's promise, it was a sad end to
a long F1 career of ups and downs. At least he had a good send
off party on Friday night...
Race
results from AtlasF1:
1.
M Schumacher Ferrari 1h35:54.235
2. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes + 0.732
3. Barrichello Ferrari + 18.444
4. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes + 35.269
5. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 1:10.692
6. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:12.568
7. Wurz Benetton Playlife + 1:39.314
8. Salo Sauber Petronas + 1 Lap
9. Fisichella Benetton Playlife + 1 Lap
10. Verstappen Arrows Supertec + 1 Lap
11. Alesi Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap
12. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda + 1 Lap
Jaguar
Racing Press Release, 21st October 2000: Eddie Irvine and
Johnny Herbert Will start tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix the
2000 season finale, in 7th and 12th positions respectively.
Johnny
commented:
"It's
strange to me how, after changing the engine for qualifying,
the car can completely change. I've gone from a well-balanced
this morning to an understeering car this afternoon. My first
runs had similar times to Eddie's but he managed to pull out
a fast one whereas my car didn’t improve. It's annoying as,
being my last racem, I wanted to put in a good showing. Having
said that I am not giving up. If we can get the balance right
I can do well here as I like the track. What we need to do now
is work out the difference between this morning's car and the
one I had in qualifying."
Eddie
commented:
"The
car changed from this morning so it was a bit of a struggle.
My target after this morning was fifth place, so I'm a little
frustrated to fall narrowly short. I drove a bad first quick
lap, a messy second I could have nailed a quicker time on the
last run but I just backed off slightly at the last corner because
I was conscious of keeping it all together. Ultimately, it cost
me fifth place. As for the race, I have a strong claim on points
which would he a great way to end the season. If the weather
stays as it is, the cockpit is going to be a warm place to be
tomorrow!"
Gary
Anderson, Technical Director Jaguar Racing:
"Oh
for a hundredth of a second or two! It was quite a pressure
session really. I thought Eddie drove very well. He responded
when it was needed to get the best our of the car. To be so
tantalisingly close to fifth spot, which is the coveted prize
if your car's not red or silver, was a great effort. Johnny
grappled with understeer from the very start of the session
and could not improve on his time from this morning which is
a little mystifying. Points were our objective before the race
and we're still on target."
Times
from AtlasF1:
1.
M Schumacher Ferrari 1:37.397 204.881 km/h
2. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:37.860 + 0.463
3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:37.889 + 0.492
4. Barrichello Ferrari 1:37.896 + 0.499
5. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:38.644 + 1.247
6. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:38.653 + 1.256
7. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:38.696 + 1.299
8. R.Schumacher Williams BMW 1:38.739 + 1.342
9. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:38.909 + 1.512
10. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:38.988 + 1.591
11. Zonta BAR Honda 1:39.158 + 1.761
12. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:39.331 + 1.934
13. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:39.387 + 1.990
14. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:39.443 + 2.046
15. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:39.489 + 2.092
16. Button Williams BMW 1:39.563 + 2.166
17. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:39.591 + 2.194
18. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:40.065 + 2.668
19. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:40.148 + 2.751
20. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:40.521 + 3.124
21. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:40.662 + 3.265
22. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:42.078 + 4.681
Jaguar
Racing Press Release, 20th October 2000: Johnny
Herbert and Eddie Irvine finished today's free practice sessions
for the Malaysian Grand Prix in 13th and 14th places respectively.
Johnny
commented:
"We
made a change between the two sessions today which calmed the
car down a lot. Before that we had a fair bit of rear end instability
which seems to be the problem here, compared to the understeer
we had last year. It seems to be a problem for a lot of people
as there were a fair few spins and slides out there today. All
we need to do now is work on calming the car down even more
which should stand us in good stead for qualifying."
Eddie
commented:
"We
were on the pace straight away this morning but we didn't progress
at the same rate from the first session to the second as some
other teams. There’s nothing untoward happening with the car
and we know it is suited to this circuit. We have the set-up
just about tight I think we are in pretty good shape for qualifying."
Gary
Anderson, Technical Director Jaguar Racing:
"We
concentrated on finding a good balance in race trim. We stuck
with the one set of tyres on both cars. Looking at the time
sheets there seems to be a significant gain from new tyres,
so we should be able to make a leap forward tomorrow. I'm reasonably
content with our day’s work - we laid some solid foundations
for qualifying and the race."
Times
from AtlasF1:
1.
Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:40.262 199.027 km/h
2. M Schumacher Ferrari 1:40.276 + 0.014
3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:40.498 + 0.236
4. Barrichello Ferrari 1:40.877 + 0.615
5. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:41.304 + 1.042
6. R Schumacher Williams BMW 1:41.493 + 1.231
7. Zonta BAR Honda 1:41.497 + 1.235
8. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:41.593 + 1.331
9. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:41.679 + 1.417
10. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:41.751 + 1.489
11. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:41.914 + 1.652
12. Button Williams BMW 1:42.012 + 1.750
13. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:42.113 + 1.851
14. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:42.141 + 1.879
15. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:42.254 + 1.992
16. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:42.457 + 2.195
17. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:42.649 + 2.387
18. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:42.868 + 2.606
19. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:43.284 + 3.022
20. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:43.424 + 3.162
21. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:43.655 + 3.393
22. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:43.786 + 3.524
Jaguar
Racing Press Release, 14th October 2000: After a difficult
first Season in Formula One, the Jaguar Racing team heads to Kuala
Lumpur for the final round in the 2000 championship with a positive
outlook. A good performance, albeit just out of the points, has
given the team a much needed boost ahead of the Malaysian Grand
Prix.
Jaguar Racing’s Technical Director Gary Anderson reflects on the
season gone by...
"We’ve
got to the end of a tough season and, even though it’s only
October, we’re looking forward to next year. We're starting
afresh and are keen to get on with the job. We've got one more
race to go though. Sepang is a very good facility and a nice
place to go at the end of the year. We had a good run last year
and would hope for more of the same as it would be good to end
the season on a strong note so we can carry the momentum through
to next year.
"This
is our last chance for points and with Johnny leaving Formula
One after this race it would be nice for him to get those points,
for himself and the team. We'll certainly be giving him all
the support he needs to do just that."
After
160 races in a career spanning 12 years, this will be Johnny Herbert’s
161st and final Formula One Grand Prix.
"I
had a great race in Malaysia last year so hope I will nave the
same this time around. It's a tough race to compete in as the
track is physical and the weather is extremely humid. I hope
I have a good race so I can go out on a high. It's going to
be a bit emotional getting out of the car for the last time
and out of Formula One but I’m really looking forward to the
challenges that lie ahead of me."
Winner
of last year's inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix, Eddie Irvine is
hoping for a good race this time around...
"It's
been a long hard season with little to show for all the effort
the whole team has put in, at the circuits and the factory,
so it would be good to get a reasonable result in this the final
race. Last year, I had the best possible result, winning the
first Malaysian Grand Prix, so I have pleasant memories of the
track, although the awful humidity makes life far from pleasant.
The track itself is very interesting, wider than most, with
a good variety of corners and that very long straight, so overtaking
is on the cards. Let's hope Johnny has a good one, as it's his
last grand prix."
Every
effort is made to ensure factual accuracy but
no responsibility is accepted for this information
Jaguar-Racing
material used by kind permission
Last updated 22nd October 2000
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