Obviously, we’d like him to step into the car and be on the pace straight away, but he’s not and it’s something he’s got to work out. I could hardly imagine that he believes that was a particularly great performance.”This time last year, both Williams drivers were the class of the field. Now McLaren- Mercedes leads the constructors’ championship and the competition is hotting up. If Frentzen were to receive a report right now, it would read: “Nice fellow, but must do better.” Assuredly, Williams will not expect his current form to continue for long.. After three consecutive finishes as runner-up in the British Touring Car Championship, Alain Menu gave his title pursuit the best possible start with a pair of victories at Donington Park yesterday.
The Swiss, who was outpaced by his team-mate, Jason Plato, in Sunday’s qualifying sessions, was never headed in his Williams-run Renault-Laguna and jumped into an immediate championship lead.
Electrifying starts ensured that Menu was ahead of the pack by the time the world’s top touring car racers reached Donington’s first corner. Such was his dominance that he was able to back off and cruise to the finish of the second race.”The team told me to take it easy and to me easy means backing off a lot,” Menu said later with a smile.Plato gave chase to his more experienced partner in both races, finishing the day’s opening round in second place. However, when he was well placed to repeat the result in the second race of the day, his Renault’s engine overheated and forced him to retire “I’m still happy though. Being fastest in qualifying gave me enormous confidence and I learned a hell of a lot,” the 28-year-old said.Plato’s retirement from the second round ensured the champion, Frank Biela, of a podium place.
His four-wheel drive Audi, forced to run 95kg heavier than its front-wheel drive rivals, had to give way to Rickard Rydell in the closing laps of round two, dropping to third behind the Swede’s Volvo “This result was better than I expected. I’m sure we’ll improve but Menu already has a big lead in the title chase,” the German said.Both Biela and Volvo Rydell were forced out of the day’s first race with damaged radiators, consequences of the close racing which brought over 30,000 spectators to the Leicestershire track. The second Volvo, driven by Kelvin Burt, was third in the opening round, just holding off David Leslie’s Nissan, but gear selection problems dropped him to ninth in the day’s other event.The day could hardly have gone better for Menu. Apart from the mixed fortunes of Biela and Rydell, Gabriele Tarquini, the former BTCC champion, was only able to claim seventh and fourth place finishes. The Honda driver closed on Biela as the second race wound down but, as he explained afterwards, an accident in qualifying had turned his pace-setting car into a midfield runner.His team-mate, James Thompson, proved much quicker but lost a wheel in the first race and was forced to fight back from a spin in race two. The Yorkshireman was lying second, just ahead of Plato, when the Renault driver tried to pass. Thompson spun off then staged a fightback to finish sixth.In his charge, he passed Derek Warwick, the former grand prix driver who was making his debut in a Vauxhall run by his own team.
Warwick brought his car home in the points in both races, while his team-mate and the 1995 champion, John Cleland, was out of luck, suffering clutch failure in the second race.Scotland’s Colin Gallie made an impressive debut, claiming victory in the Total Cup for Independents in his Pyramid Motorsports BMW320.BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP (Donington Park): Round One (18 laps): 1 A Menu (Renault Laguna) 29min 36.77sec, ave speed 91.23mph; 2 J Plato (Renault Laguna) at 3.14sec; 3 K Burt (Volvo S40) at 24.24; 4 D Leslie (Nissan Primera) at 24.52; 5 J Bintcliffe (Audi A4) 30.54; 6 P Radisich (Ford Mondeo) 35.67; 7 G Tarquini (Honda Accord) at 38.83; 8 P Watts (Peugeot 406) at 39.18; 9 D Warwick (Vauxhall Vectra) at 39.35; 10 T Harvey (Peugeot 406) at 44.78.Round Two (18 laps): 1 Menu 29min 49.84sec, ave speed 90.57mph; 2 R Rydell (Volvo S40) at 2.36sec; 3 F Biela (Audi A4) at 4.26; 4 Tarquini at 5.50; 5 Bintcliffe at 11.68; 6 J Thompson (Honda Accord) at 14.44; 7 Radisich at 20.24; 8 Warwick at 22.28; 9 Burt at 23.63; 10 C Gallie (Pyramid Motorsports BMW320) at 1:20.78.Fastest Lap: Menu 1min 37.08secs, ave speed 92.70mph.Championship standings: 1 Menu 30pts; 2 Plato 14; 3= Burt, Bintcliffe, Tarquini, Rydell 12; 7 Biela 10; 8 Radisich 9; 9 Leslie 8; 10= Thompson, Warwick 5.. When the great portfolio of dodgy photographs is catalogued it may be that the Cottingley fairies and The Surgeon’s image of the Loch Ness monster are joined in the album by the finish of the 1997 Irish Grand National. To all who witnessed a traumatic struggle up Fairyhouse’s rising straight yesterday it appeared that the first nose past the line belonged to the home side’s Amble Speedy. When the Polaroid was peeled however the victor was announced as Jenny Pitman’s Mudahim.
A loose horse charging past the central combatants at the post in the opposite direction made detailed analysis of the closing stages even more difficult.
Mudahim’s success etched another line into the record book of British racing’s grand dame, as Pitman completed a full set of National victories following previous glory at Aintree, and in the Welsh, Scottish and Midlands versions.The vibes had been mixed before flag-fall. Only five British-trained runners had been successful in the event’s 127-year history, but Pitman went into the race having already relieved the Irish of one of their treasured baubles, the Ladbroke Hurdle, earlier in the year.Mudahim went into bat with seven other British beasts, the largest contingent ever to cross the water for the race. The challenge was soon diminished when Sister Stephanie decided not to bother. Aardwolf then had a lie down after the second obstacle, though he did take a hand in the finish, travelling in the wrong direction.There were other worrying signs for the travellers, who were reputed to require easy going to give of their best, as little puffs of dust appeared when hooves collided with the ground on landing side. This factor did for The Grey Monk, though the topweight still managed to slog his way round for third place. The grey at least will fight another day, which is not a sentiment that can be applied to Coq Hardi Affair and The Latvian Lark. Both gave their lives and made Noel Meade’s Co Meath yard a less than joyous establishment last night.At the finish though, it initially appeared that Arthur Moore and Francis Woods, successful last year with Feathered Gale, had won it again.