Nurburgring - 16/09/2001   Werner Lupberger Column Snakes & Ladders At The `Ring   Talk about ups and downs in motor racing. Last weekend at the Nurburgring was like a cruel rollercoaster for Team Ascari and myself. We had some good fortune in qualifying by getting pole after Konrad's disqualification, then I made a mistake at the start that saw me spin down to the back of the field, then I clawed my way back in to contention before Ben Collins took over and brought the car home third. Just as we were trying to get our heads round what a topsy turvey race it had been, we heard that we had been thrown out of the results for a measurement problem over our front wheel vents. It was almost too much to take in at once. If all that were not enough, the whole weekend was conducted in an air of despondency after the events in America. It sounds like a real cliché but life goes on and the best way to show these people that they will never win by acts like that is to carry on as normal as is possible. We paid our respects on the grid with a minute's silence and then on the podium we did away with champagne and anthems, which was a good decision by the organisers. Coming in to the race we were pretty confident that we could challenge for our second win of the year and throughout free practice we were the pacesetters. The car felt fantastic all around the track and Ben was closer to me on pace than he has been all season. That boded well for the race itself after I set second quickest time in the qualifying period on Saturday afternoon. The session was wet and I really seem to revel in these conditions. Indeed, ever since I was in Formula Three I have liked the challenge of driving in these conditions; it proves to be a real leveller, that is why I think you see guys like Lammers and Gounon right up there when there are greasy conditions. There was only one real moment that I had in the qualifying period when I got all crossed up at the Veedol chicane and went autocrossing for a little while, thankfully without any damage to the car. Later on Ben got hold of some photos that the championship's photographer John Brooks had taken. This made my life hell on Saturday evening as Ben viewed them and constantly took the mickey! We heard about the exclusion of the Konrad Lola late on Saturday night and I must say that I was happy for the team that we had finally achieved our first pole. It would have been nice to have done it in the conventional sense and have been able to go to the Press Conference, etc, but it was pole nonetheless and I was really looking forward to the start of the race. Raceday at least dawned bright and dry but still the temperature was only about eight degrees. I knew that the start was going to be hard and although we got an extra two laps to warm everything up, it was not enough to get the same warmth that we usually get in to the tyres and brakes for the start of the race. As the safety car peeled off I felt comfortable because I knew that Hillebrand was starting for the very first time in the Racing For Holland Dome and that he would be under instructions to take it relatively easy at the start. However I had not reckoned on Jean-Marc Gounon making quite as good a start as he did and as we approached the braking area for the first chicane I had to defend the inside and get right over to where the pit exit white line is (the same one that cost Ralf Schumacher victory in this year's European Grand Prix). Through the first right I ran wide, but so did Gounon but then going in to the left I could feel the car gently go away from me. I couldn't believe it, our first pole and all the hard work of the team was slipping away from me as if it were in slow motion. There was nothing I could do and it was almost like I could feel it happening even before it came around. The brakes and the tyres were so cold it was like I was on ice and now all I could do was hope that nobody hit me. Luckily they all avoided me but I was so angry with myself for making the mistake, that's what it was in simple terms, just a silly mistake. I immediately got on to the team and said I had spun and that the car was not damaged. I rejoined in 15th place and knew that I had to do some serious work. After a few laps I came on the radio when I had some time and just said sorry to all the team for the spin. In my mind I knew I could make it up to them and after a few laps I was up to the tail end of the SR1s, taking Bryner, Lavaggi and then Smithson's Reynard quite easily. After that it became a little more difficult, but at least now I could see the leading bunch of cars as I went in to the hairpin at the bottom of the circuit. You get a glimpse out of the corner of your eye of the exit and up the hill there and it gives you a psychological advantage to know you are lapping faster than anyone else, which is exactly what I was doing. There was a gaggle of cars in front of me including Baldi, Pescatori and Nielsen. One by one I picked them off which was really satisfying, especially as they are all well-established, quick and experienced sportscar racers. I got Baldi on the run down to the quick right hander before the Veedol chicane and I can tell you it wasn't easy to pass him as we had a lapped Lucchini in front of us and we went either side of it. I could see the guy (Chiminelli) looking in both mirrors, almost shaking his head as we both went passed either side and I managed to claim the inside for the kink before the chicane. That one will look really good on TV I can tell you and so will the dice that I then had with Pesca's Ferrari and 'Big John's' Dome. I love racing against these guys because they know every trick in the book but this time I got the better of them. I outbraked the Ferrari in to the first turn quite easily, probably because Pescatori knew he had to keep his nose clean for the championship. Then I latched on to Nielsen and coming in to the Veedol I ducked around a bit to try and distract him and it seemed to work because he went straight on down the escape road. That is the second time I have done that to the Dome this season because I did the same to Katoh when he spun at Donington too! Now I was up to fourth place behind Gounon, Hillebrand and Boullion and not that far behind them as I came in to our first pit stop window. It had started to spit with rain but nothing major and nothing that would make you consider changing tyres, but just as I came in it started to get a little heavier. I made the decision to stay on slicks and we were a bit unlucky because we stopped a lap or two before the Domes and the Courage, which made all the difference, as when they came in the rain was quite heavy. In hindsight that was where the race was lost because if we could have come in a lap or two later we would have had parity on the front three, who now had miles more grip. Gounon had done exactly the same but his team called him again, whereas our thinking was that we may as well gamble on the sun coming out and the track drying. I can tell you it was pretty slick on slicks out there! I had to work so hard just to keep the car in a straightline but I just about managed it despite a couple of harmless spins. At one stage we were losing 12 seconds a lap to the wet-shod cars, but we stuck to our plan and sure enough after a while the clouds disappeared and the sun came out, drying the track amazingly quickly considering the relatively low temperature out there. That meant everyone had to come in and suddenly I was lapping 3-4 seconds quicker than anyone else. As they all went in I actually took the lead for a while before I too had to come in. I had radioed through to tell the team that I was still feeling fresh and knew that I could go even quicker given a third stint. I wanted to stay in the car and felt that I could make even more progress in the second half of the race. But this year the team has been very fair and we have split our stints fairly and Ben it was who would take charge after 45 laps, which was exactly half distance. I was really pumped up for a third stint and I guess some of that was a way of saying, 'look guys I'm sorry about the start but please let me make it up to you some more'. Ben as ever did a great job and he consolidated third place after Hancock retired the Kremer Lola and the Ferrari had its well-documented gearbox problems. A podium is always nice and it was the fourth one of the season for us and it would have been 12 more points, which would have been good enough to snatch third place in the points table with just a round to go. Still, I got fastest lap by some seven tenths so there was a little something to celebrate. After the race though, I was thinking more along the lines that had the first corner situation not happened then we could have still had a mathematical chance of upsetting the Ferrari stranglehold at the top. But there is no point thinking like that and after the news came of our disqualification it just made us all the more determined to finish the season off on a high at Kyalami in November. Before that we have a test at Daytona next month with the turbo car, which should be quite interesting. Unfortunately we will not be at Petit Le Mans like we thought but to be honest the finale to our season at Kyalami will be just as important for me as it will be first time in seven years that I have raced down there and I will have all my family and friends on hand to witness it. Let's hope it is a better weekend than it was at the Nurburgring, although there was one moment of levity when we went round the Nordschliefe on Thursday in some road cars. I took my wife Theresa and Fred (our hospitality chief) while Ben took Sam the FIA Media guy. That is some track and to think they raced Grand Prix around it 25 years ago is amazing. We did two laps and whilst I have been round before, Ben hadn't, and he had a couple of interesting moments, particularly at the sweepers before the Karusell. He was like a kid in a sweet shop around that place and afterwards was absolutely beaming, which was more than could be said for Sam who had to be counselled considerably by Brooksie in the bar afterwards! This weekend I am hoping to see my old friend and team mate Max Wilson at Rockingham, where he is competing in the ChampCar race. Then it is more hard work in the Gym before America and then the big one for me at Kyalami. I'll be writing about the build up to the race and giving you an insight in to Team Ascari so you'll be hearing a lot more from me soon. Cheers Werner Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport