The month in Motor Sport

November
16: Rally driver Paul Frankland is one of a group of men arrested and charged with conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. Frankland had earlier been subject of an investigation by the BBC’s Cook Report.

17: Golfer Nick Faldo, rock star Chris Rea, Jordan designer Gary Anderson and South African sports car racer George Fouche all have a run in a Jordan 193 at Silverstone.

17: Hideki Noda becomes one of the first confirmed European F3000 entries for 1994, after signing for Ford Corse.

18: Jos Verstappen tests for McLaren at Silverstone. In freezing conditions, the Dutchman laps steadily, a little way shy of Mika Hakkinen’s pace.

18: The future of former world rally champion Carlos Sainz is finally settled. The Spaniard signs for Subaru.

18: Lamborghini’s F1 future appears to have been secured, following Chrysler’s sale of the company to Megatech, an Indonesian controlled company which is committed to motor sports.

21: Jorg Muller (above) wins the Macau F3 Grand Prix, finishing unbeaten in the two heats. Tom Kristensen is second on aggregate, Kelvin Burt third. The weekend is marred by the murder, on the eve of the race, of Hong Kong touring car racer Andrely Chan and one of his friends. The local press blames triad gangs for the incident.

21: Walter Rohrl wins the International Rally Britannia . . . on the road. At post-event scrutineering, however, his Porsche 911 is found to have slots in its lower front wishbones, and the car is excluded as a result, handing victory to 1992 winner Monty KarIan’s 911.

21: Canadian racing driver Stéphane Proulx dies, aged 27. Proulx had contracted the HIV virus, which leads to AIDS.

22: Michael Schumacher is said to be recovering well from a recent knee operation.

22: The working relationship between Ferrari and Honda, rather uncomfortably admitted by the former at Suzuka, is reported to be over.

22: Lola releases drawings of its T94/00 Indy challenger (right, inset). Elsewhere on the CART front, Al Unser Jnr. emerges delighted from his first test with Penske, at Sebring.

22: Davy Jones, a leading light in British F3 circles during the early 1980s, signs to contest a full IndyCar season with AJ Foyt.

22: Permission is granted for the running of a rally in London’s Docklands. Provisional date for the event is October 1994. 4

22: The news that the organisers of the Boucles de Spa rally almost secured an entry from Ayrton Senna for 1994 is made public. The Brazilian was being lined up to drive a TTE Celica until logistical problems intervened. The enterprising Belgians still hope to attract an F1 name to the event, however, and are said to be negotiating with Mauricio Gugelmin.

23: Colin McRae, leading the RAC Rally, is forced to retire when he slides briefly into a ditch, and his Subaru Impreza’s radiator is punctured by a branch, damaging the engine terminally.

23: A ceremony at Zhuhai in southern China marks the start of construction at what is intended to be the country’s first international motor racing circuit. The plan is to stage World Championship Grands Prix by 1996.

24: Juha Kankkunen arrives back in Birmingham to win the RAC Rally, ahead of Kenneth Eriksson’s improved Mitsubishi. British disappointment over Colin McRae’s retirement are offset slightly by the performances of Malcolm Wilson (third), Richard Burns (seventh), Alister McRae (10th) and Gwyndaf Evans (11th, and winner of the Group N category).

24: Paolo delle Piane rejoins Vortex Motorsport for what will be his fourth season of European F3000. Elsewhere, Pedro Diniz has re-signed for Forti Corse, ‘Jules’ Boullion is tipped to be DAMS-bound and Eric Helary is talking closely to Apomatox.

24: The British club racing fraternity is saddened by the death of reigning Champion of Brands Formula Ford racer Moss Thorpe. The 20 year-old perishes in a road accident.

25: Ligier aspirants Olivier Panis and Emmanuel Collard test for the team at Magny-Cours.

25: Damon Hill escapes with a shaking from a huge shunt during testing at Estoril. The Englishman is quickest of those drivers present, ahead of David Coulthard, who is carrying out further test work for Williams. JJ Lehto impresses during his first run for Benetton. Luca Badoer fares less well in the same environment. The Italian flies off the circuit on three occasions, writing off one B193B. Benetton also gives Andrea Montermini and Eric Bernard a few laps.

28: Tom Kristensen, Roberto Colciago and Max Angelelli finish on the podium in the Fuji F3 International, ahead of Britons Oliver Gavin and Warren Hughes, the latter of whom gives the Ralt 93C its most impressive race to date.

28: Ireland’s Birr Forestry Rally is abandoned following the death of co-driver John Finnegan in an accident on the second stage.

29: Paul Stewart announces that he is to retire from race driving, in order to concentrate upon development of Paul Stewart Racing as a business. PSR aims to be in Formula One by the end of the millenium.

29: McLaren arrives at Silverstone for two days of testing. Drivers include Philippe Alliot, Yannick Dalmas and former McLaren/ Autsport award winners Oliver Gavin and Gareth Rees (shown below). Adverse weather conditions mean that Alliot is the only one who gets to run in the dry, though the two F3 racers both enjoy their stints.

29: Racing car designer Jo Marquart succumbs to heart problems, aged 57.

December
1: Kelvin Burt (below) tests for Williams at Paul Ricard, as part of his prize for winning the British F3 crown. It’s the final day of three at the circuit for the team, which gives various celebrities a run. These include former F1 racers Jochen Mass and John Watson, Renault’s Bernard Dudot, Williams designer Patrick Head and Eurosport TV commentator Allard Kalff, whose impressions of the FW15C can be read elsewhere in this issue.

2: Arthur Mallock dies, aged 75.

3: Reynard unveils its new Indy challenger, the 941, in public.

3: McLaren issues a statement containing the less-than-surprising news that Mika Hakkinen will be one of its race drivers.

5: Rubens Barrichello (Jordan) beats Pier-Luigi Martini (Minardi) in the annual F1 match-race event at the Bologna Motor Show. F3000 racer Vittorio Zoboli finishes third, in the second Jordan.

5:Indonesia’s Sentul circuit, which harbours long-term Grand Prix ambitions, stages its first international event. Emanuele Pirro leads Schnitzer BMW teammates Jo Winkelhock and Steve Soper across the line.

5: The Porsche 911 of Bruno Eichmann/ Owen Evans wins the Wellington street race. Several BTCC regulars contest the popular annual event, but all of them run into trouble.

5: Didier Auriol wins rallying’s Race of Champions in the Canary Islands, beating Carlos Sainz by 0.01s.

5: Possum Bourne clinches the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, winning the final round of the series in Thailand. He dedicates his success to his late former co-driver, Rodger Freeth.

5: Martin Schanche wins the British Rallycross GP at Brands Hatch, leading home Barry Squibb. Tony Bardy takes Division One honours, and debutant David Brabham beats the Vauxhall Nova Challenge regulars.

6: Benetton confirms that it will give F1 veteran Michele Alboreto a test run at Barcelona shortly.

6:Simtek confirms that it will use Ford HB engines in 1994. Fellow F1 newcomer Pacific has still to make its mind up: it will choose between the Ford HB V8 and the Ilmor V10.

6: Timo Makinen and Paul Easter, Monte Carlo rally winners in 1965, are to team up again on the 1994 event. The duo will drive a Mini Cooper, naturally. It will be entered by Rover Japan.

6: Belgian rally star Bruno Thiry signs to drive a Group A Escort Cosworth in a limited programme of 1994 World Championship events.

6: Formation of a new company, BPR, is announced. BPR will take care of a pilot series of GT events in 1994.

7:Countering continued speculation that McLaren has been trying to poach its star asset, Benetton announces that it has agreed an extended contract with Michael Schumacher.

9: Lotus announces that it will be retaining the services of Alessandro Zanardi. The Italian will be employed as test driver.

9: The FIA’s World Motor Sports Council is in session in Paris. Amongst the items on the agenda are the post-Japanese GP fracas between Ayrton Senna and Eddie Irvine and definitive versions of both the 1994 F1 calendar and the series’ technical regulations. Their findings were made public after Motor Sport had closed for press.