Paul Ricard Testing ReportsFebruary 11th,FridayCode: Select all
Paul Ricard Testing Session--Friday 18th February
1 Alain Prost (Renault) 1:36.853
2 Jacques Laffite (Renault) 1:38.184
3 Manfred Winklehock (ATS-BMW) 1:40.966
4 Martin Brundle (Empire-Hart) 1:42.175
A relatively quiet day at Paul Ricard circuit,with Renault still testing at the track after three days or so. ATS join in for the weekend. Finally,the Empire car arrived from Britian to test for the weekend,like they did previously at Brands Hatch. Today saw the Renaults top the timesheets,although Alain Prost was obivously the faster of the two.The ATS somehow managed to find a way to blow-up,delaying testing for a while,but Manfred Winklehock still set a time faster than the Empire car of Martin Brundle,who was new to the circuit.
February 20th,SaturdayCode: Select all
Paul Ricard Testing Session--Saturday 19th February
1 Alain Prost (Renault) 1:37.090
2 Jacques Laffite (Renault) 1:37.948
3 Rene Arnoux (Alfa Romeo) 1:38.675
4 Mauro Baldi (Ligier-Ford) 1:40.729
5 Martin Brundle (Empire-Hart) 1:42.058
A slightly busier day saw the Renaults and Empire stay on track,Winklehock's ATS was taken off it to investigate what went wrong and do some repairs,and two teams hopped on board. Rene Arnoux joined with a singular Alfa Romeo chassis,that would be shared between him and De Cesaris for a couple days,while Mauro Baldi entered the track with the Ligier,although this was a one-day test as the team had tested at Jarama and were on the way back to the factory. In track times,the Renaults again went quickest to no surprise,however Rene Arnoux kept within a distance to the Renaults. Baldi was slightly disappointing in his Ligier,though he was still 1.3 seconds ahead of the Empire.
February 21st,SundayCode: Select all
Paul Ricard Testing Session--Sunday 20th February
1 Alain Prost (Renault) 1:36.871
2 Jacques Laffite (Renault) 1:37.863
3 Andrea de Cesaris (Alfa Romeo) 1:39.243
4 Manfred Winklehock (ATS-BMW) 1:41.109
5 Martin Brundle (Empire-Hart) 1:42.345
6 Piercarlo Ghinzani (Osella-Ford) 1:43.411
7 Corrado Fabi (Osella-Ford) 1:43.501
The busiest day of the weekend saw the Renaults testing here for the final time before moving to Silverstone,with the Empire and the Alfa Romeo squad staying put,thoguh Andrea de Cesaris was in the Alfa instead of Arnoux for today. ATS got their repairs done and dusted,while the backmarkers Osella joined in the fun. Again,the Renaults were on top,whle de Cesaris was a chasm and a bit away at third,although he did have a few problems with the Alfa engine. The ATS was fourth,while Martin Brundle in the Empire outpaced both the Osella's by over a second,with newcomer Piercarlo Ghinzani outpacing teammate Corrado Fabi by a bit.
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Mr Thomas Travers slept well in the bed in his hotel.Strangely,that was the only thing he liked in France:the beds. That's not including the food,but whatever. He had a good rest,confident that his car was a success, especially with Martin Brundle giving rave reviews about how the car handled the power delivered by the Hart engine,especially down Mistral. It was a minor miracle just to get the car running in the first place,even moreso to see it have an edge over some of the more experienced,though slightly lower budget teams. He still had one more test to go,and he had a feeling that he might be the only one there...