TGP TITLE HAT-TRICK FOR BERRIDGE

TGP TITLE HAT-TRICK FOR BERRIDGE

BOB BERRIDGID THE EMPRESS

Racing team were deservedly crowned as Thoroughbred Grand Prix Champions for the third successive year at Barcelona on October 2, as Spain welcomed the FIA showpiece series for the first time. Berridge’s ex-Keke Rosberg Williams FW08 held sway, but the Lotus 9Is of local hero Joaquin Folch and Steve Hitchins closed up very dramatically in the final stages, Hitchins grabbing second with a lastditch effort, and the trio crossed the

line together, to the delight of the crowd, estimated at 30,000.

In the absence of Martin Stretton and the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34, Mike Whatley won the dass for pre-ground effect cars with a storming run to fourth place in his Ensign N175, but was under pressure from Ralph Moog’s Tyrrell 009 until the German missed a gear and went grass-cutting. The final round of this fifth spectacular season of the close-fought series takes place at Kyalami in South Africa on November 27. MP