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00:00:00Nuremberg Ring and Oesterreich Ring where the Austrian Grand Prix is held.
00:00:03Juhland's Ring not far from my home in Denmark, Ring Knutstorp Sweden, Norris Ring and Hockenheim
00:00:10Ring in Germany.
00:00:11But for the past 50 years, when all types of race fans worldwide referred to the ring,
00:00:18this unquestionably meant Nuremberg Ring.
00:00:22Since 1934, the 14.2 mile circuit through the Eifel Mountains of Germany has been the
00:00:30epitome of the European motorsports challenge.
00:00:33The exact number of its turns has always been a great topic of controversy, but everyone
00:00:39agrees over 150 curves had to be memorized to the last degree of difficulty before a
00:00:46driver could become really competitive at the ring.
00:00:51And it is this unusual length that had much to do with the Nuremberg Ring's demise as
00:00:55an F1 facility.
00:00:58To bring 14 miles of track up to the necessary F1 standards is financially impossible.
00:01:05The organizers constantly tried to keep pace, starting by placing simple hay bales in front
00:01:11of trees and telephone poles to a major reconstruction in 1970.
00:01:17The final incident that prompted moving the German Grand Prix to Hockenheim Ring was Niki
00:01:22Lauda's horrifying accident on lap two of the 1976 F1 championship event.
00:01:30This once again clearly illustrated the problem of long delays for safety and fire crews to
00:01:36reach the scene of an accident.
00:01:39Only one marshal and three drivers, including American Brett Lunger, were around to save
00:01:45Lauda's life by pulling him from his blazing Ferrari.
00:01:50If the pride and prestige of a Formula One Grand Prix meeting was ever again to be part
00:01:56of Nuremberg Ring's motorsport legacy, it would have to be on an entirely new circuit.
00:02:01Well, eight years and a staggering $27 million later, this new 2.8 mile track has once again
00:02:10allowed the beautiful sound of F1 motors to echo through the Eiffel Mountains.
00:02:16The new Nuremberg Ring is as modern an example of a race facility as the old North Circuit
00:02:22is classical.
00:02:24Thirty spacious garages line a wide, safe pit lane.
00:02:29Atop them are 32 hospitality suites where sponsors can entertain VIP customers in the
00:02:36grandest of Grand Prix styles.
00:02:39Safe towers instantly display race information direct from the timing center to a maximum
00:02:45crowd capacity of over 175,000.
00:02:50And in the best German spectator tradition, almost 150,000 of these fans will be watching
00:02:56from well-placed grandstands, allowing excellent views of the track.
00:03:02Rightfully so, part of the old North Circuit has been incorporated into the new Nuremberg
00:03:08Ring.
00:03:09The original start-finish line and pit straight will still be carrying out their same old
00:03:14role.
00:03:15And just opposite, the 1934 grandstand retains a great length with past moments of glory.
00:03:23From about 60 miles south of Cologne, West Germany, at the new Nuremberg Ring, this is
00:03:28John Bisignano with Simon Taylor.
00:03:31We'll be your hosts for this ESPN Auto Racing 84 coverage of the European Grand Prix for
00:03:37Formula One race cars.
00:03:39Over the next 90 minutes, Simon and I will be presenting the complete Grand Prix story,
00:03:44including technical reports, driver interviews, all the latest F1 updates, plus the fantastic
00:03:50Grand Prix race action.
00:03:52So please be with us after these short messages when we return with the event that could grant
00:03:57Niki Lauda his third World Championship driver's title and a detailed look at his team, McLaren
00:04:03International, that has accomplished the finest race record in the history of a single
00:04:08season of Formula One.
00:04:10Stay with us.
00:04:11We're coming right back.
00:04:25It's a very difficult task to win a Formula One World Championship, or even a single Grand
00:04:31Prix event.
00:04:33There are no guarantees that if a team surrounds itself with the most clever race engineers,
00:04:39quickest drivers, finest equipment, best mechanics, all tied together with a huge budget, that
00:04:45victory will naturally come their way.
00:04:48The competition is fierce, and total success is separated from zero results by a fine line
00:04:55of effort and luck.
00:04:57Since 1960, Lotus, Ferrari, McLaren, and Brabham have been the most consistent winners.
00:05:04Very rarely does a team totally dominate an entire season, but McLaren International has
00:05:11claimed that distinction for 1984 by establishing the finest single season result record in
00:05:18the history of modern Grand Prix racing.
00:05:22They will capture both championships for drivers and constructors with an incredible
00:05:2710 wins for 14 starts to date.
00:05:31This European Grand Prix and Nürburgring could decide which of their drivers will take home
00:05:36the crown.
00:05:38We talked to the team about how it all came right.
00:05:42Managing Director, Creighton Brown.
00:05:45When you and Ron Dennis joined forces under Project Four, did you ever think that you'd
00:05:50end up having the most successful season in the history of Formula One?
00:05:54The answer to that, John, is that when we joined forces, we always intended and expected
00:05:59to run a highly successful team and eventually to get into Formula One, but I don't think
00:06:05anybody can ever expect something like this.
00:06:10I mean, this year has been exceptional by any standards.
00:06:14We're very fortunate that it's turned out that way, but you can't predict this kind
00:06:19of thing, however hard you work towards it.
00:06:21The first effort was actually in Formula Two, correct?
00:06:24Yes.
00:06:25When we first joined forces at the end of 1978, we'd both been running successful Formula
00:06:30Two teams.
00:06:31In 79, we won the British Formula Three Championship.
00:06:34We were by far the most successful team in Formula Two.
00:06:37We won the World Pro Car Series with Niki Lauda driving a BMW M1.
00:06:42We really had a clean sweep, and that really springboarded us into the Formula One project,
00:06:48which we then undertook for 12 months or 18 months ahead.
00:06:52Well, how did that merger actually come together then, moving from Formula Two into Formula
00:06:58One?
00:06:59It's still quite a change.
00:07:00Yes, it is, and it was, but the reason that it turned out was that we'd already made a
00:07:05decision to do it, and just shortly after we made the decision, we were very fortunate
00:07:11to manage to grab John Barnard before he was grabbed by somebody else.
00:07:18He was just coming back from the United States, from producing and designing the fabulously
00:07:24successful Chaparral IndyCar, and he decided to come back to England, and we managed to
00:07:30get hold of him before anybody else did.
00:07:32And that's really when it really did take off, because we gave John the very simple
00:07:36brief to design and build the ultimate Formula One car with no holes barred, complete clean
00:07:43sheet of paper.
00:07:45Back in those days, Creighton, I can remember a lot of press people bringing out the point
00:07:48that you were sponsored in Formula Two by Marlborough, and then you ended up in a Marlborough
00:07:54McLaren team.
00:07:56How important was that aspect?
00:07:57Well, obviously it was important, but it's fair to say, I think, that originally we were
00:08:02intending to get into Formula One anyway and go it alone.
00:08:06I suppose, ultimately, the amalgamation to form McLaren International with Team McLaren
00:08:15as it then was, was very much a marriage of convenience for both sides, and it served
00:08:20a very useful purpose.
00:08:22Their strengths were our weaknesses and vice versa, and I think it was beneficial for all
00:08:26sides, and Marlborough too in the end, that this should come about.
00:08:31So the very first group were you and Ron and John Barnard, Tyler Alexander and Teddy Mayer,
00:08:37all working together.
00:08:38That's right, absolutely.
00:08:39And I like to think that then and now, we do our absolute utmost always to uphold the
00:08:47tradition and the standards that Bruce McLaren himself set when he first formed the company,
00:08:53and we're very conscious of that.
00:08:56It's nice now to know that we've managed to pull off another championship, and for Bruce,
00:09:04I'm sure he would be happy with it.
00:09:06I think he'd be very proud of this season.
00:09:08The car itself, the P4, it was quite revolutionary when it first came out with the first carbon
00:09:13fibre chassis.
00:09:14Yes, it was.
00:09:16Nobody had ever built a Grand Prix car or any race car out of carbon fibre, and there
00:09:21were a lot of people who looked at what we were doing when the car appeared, who thought
00:09:27that we were really out on a limb and probably weren't doing it right.
00:09:32But John Barnard, whose idea it was, of course, was completely convinced right from day one
00:09:38that it was the correct way to go, and all I can say is that events have very much proved
00:09:43him right.
00:09:44If you look around the current Grand Prix paddock, you'll find that almost without exception,
00:09:51the cars are built out of carbon fibre as far as certainly the monocoque is concerned.
00:09:56How did the TAG turbo motor deal come about?
00:09:59There was one company that nobody had approached at the time who probably had more experience
00:10:04of producing turbo-powered engines than anybody else in the world, and of course that was
00:10:10Porsche.
00:10:11So we in fact opened discussions with Porsche, and to cut a long story short, they agreed
00:10:19to build us an engine, but obviously as a commercial customer, and then it was up to
00:10:24us to finance it.
00:10:26I'm very happy to say that TAG eventually picked up the whole programme, and the TAG
00:10:32Turbo P01 is their first turbo engine, and the association between them and Porsche and
00:10:41ourselves I think, again, has borne wonderful fruit this year.
00:10:45The last thing to get together then were the drivers, and again, the best motor, the best
00:10:50chassis, you must have the best drivers.
00:10:52Going back to the press statements in 1982 when you took on Nicky Lauda, a lot of people
00:10:57think that you were taking quite a risk picking him up straight out of retirement.
00:11:02For anybody who doesn't know Nicky, they might well think that, but when you do know him,
00:11:08you realise that with Nicky almost anything is possible, because as a person he has such
00:11:15extraordinary strength of will and determination.
00:11:19When he decided to come back, at that point I think certainly Ron and I knew without any
00:11:27doubt at all that he'd get the job done in the end.
00:11:29As events turned out, he won his third Grand Prix after his return, which by any standard
00:11:35is a quite remarkable result.
00:11:38But you grabbed Alain Prost like lightning when he became available at the end of last
00:11:43year.
00:11:44You have to be quick-footed in this game, John, as you well know, and when Alain did
00:11:49become available, it was a question of, as you say, grab him quick, and I'm very happy
00:11:55that we did, because this year I think that the way that Alain and Nicky have worked together
00:12:02is exceptional.
00:12:04Having two number one drivers in the team, how much pressure does that put on the whole
00:12:08organisation?
00:12:09Funnily enough, John, I think it puts less pressure ultimately, because pressure is the
00:12:16wrong word.
00:12:17I think it engenders greater enthusiasm and greater effort on everybody's part, but I
00:12:22have to say that having two drivers of the calibre of Nicky and Alain together only helps
00:12:29us in every single way.
00:12:31It's going to be tough to have ten Grand Prix victories next year.
00:12:35People are trying to catch up to you, and over the winter everyone's going to be even
00:12:39copying your design more.
00:12:41We're acutely aware of that, John, but all I can say is that we're going to be out there
00:12:46trying harder than ever to stay on top next year.
00:12:50Alain Prost, driver for McLaren International.
00:12:53You actually started your F1 career with McLaren back in 1980.
00:12:58Was there a big change in the team when you came back to it after three years with Renault?
00:13:03Yes, it's a very big change.
00:13:05I mean, the McLaren team in 1980 was completely different than the McLaren team in 1984.
00:13:11And it was not the same people, the same organisation.
00:13:14Only the sponsors were the same.
00:13:17But the car was much more competitive with a tight Porsche engine, and they did a big
00:13:24improvement about everything in the team.
00:13:27That's why I changed from Renault to McLaren, because I was sure this year they were very
00:13:32competitive for me.
00:13:34The word sure is a rare thing in Formula 1.
00:13:38How much confidence does a team add to your track results?
00:13:43I mean, when you sign for a new team, you're always confident, even if it's a bad team.
00:13:46But I was sure at the beginning of the season the tight Porsche engine was the best, and
00:13:50I was sure the organisation of the McLaren team was the best.
00:13:53So I had no problem.
00:13:56A winning effort in Formula 1 is a very difficult thing.
00:13:59What is it about the McLaren organisation that's been so superior this year?
00:14:03Why?
00:14:04I mean, I don't know exactly why, but Rondini's organisation is the best in Formula 1.
00:14:11I don't know why.
00:14:12It did very good work.
00:14:13And the McLaren team is not a big, big team.
00:14:16We are only 60, between 60 and 70 people, and everybody knows his work.
00:14:23And it's not like a big manufacturing.
00:14:27And that's why I want, I like to drive in the McLaren team, because everybody knows
00:14:31what he has to do.
00:14:33The rivalry is a healthy thing between you and Niki Lauda.
00:14:36It's something that makes you both push one another as fast as you can go.
00:14:41Yes, exactly.
00:14:42And we had a good competition together this year, but I think we were always working for
00:14:47the team.
00:14:48And what is important in the team also, everybody, the mechanic, the designer, were working for
00:14:54the McLaren team, not for Alain Prost or Niki Lauda.
00:14:56That was very important.
00:14:57You're going to stay with them next year?
00:14:59Yes, no problem.
00:15:00That's completely sure.
00:15:02Maintenance of millions of dollars worth of equipment and the personal safety of McLaren
00:15:07drivers Prost and Lauda are the final responsibility of the men who turn the wrenches.
00:15:14Not one member of Bruce McLaren's original team is with today's world championship effort.
00:15:20But this current group of mechanics have proven themselves winners all over the world.
00:15:26Chief mechanic Dave Ryan.
00:15:28Dave, this is a two-car team, but how much competition develops between the separate
00:15:34mechanics of Prost and Lauda?
00:15:37Yes, it is a two-car team, but the mechanics do work on one car.
00:15:44The team comes first, whatever happens.
00:15:47And we've always got situations where one car, maybe something's gone wrong, the engine's
00:15:51gone wrong or something, and we'll take guys off Alain's car to work on Niki's car, just
00:15:56so long as we get the car finished and running.
00:15:59That's more important than anything else.
00:16:01And what about the worry of having to prepare every last nut and bolt, some four or five
00:16:07thousand of them, on a world championship effort?
00:16:10That's a great deal of pressure for everyone.
00:16:11Yeah, I suppose it is, but then again, the guys are all very professional, they're all
00:16:16very good.
00:16:17They wouldn't be working for us, really, if they weren't very good at their job.
00:16:23So apart from the natural worry, I don't think it's a heck of a lot to worry about for them.
00:16:29What does it mean to you to be the chief mechanic on a world champion Formula One effort,
00:16:35the most successful in history?
00:16:36Well, naturally I'm very proud, but then again, so is every other mechanic in the team.
00:16:42It is a team effort.
00:16:43We all have worked, I think, very hard, and everyone's done a good job.
00:16:47So we're all very pleased, and it will be nice in two or three years' time to be able
00:16:51to say, yeah, we were working for that team at that time.
00:16:55Hopefully we'll still be working for them.
00:16:58For the past 19 years, beautiful McLaren cars have been winning races all over the world,
00:17:04but the results from 1984 are the best ever.
00:17:08It took the well-managed perfection of 70 employees and more than $10 million of sponsorship
00:17:14investment to secure both the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships.
00:17:19To everyone involved, a very well-deserved congratulations.
00:17:24Simon Taylor will return with an all-important qualifying story here at the very cold New
00:17:30Nürburgring right after these short messages.
00:17:33Stay with us.
00:17:47The European Grand Prix is significant not just because it's the first Formula One race
00:17:52at the new Nürburgring, but also because as the penultimate run of the 16-race 1984
00:17:59World Championship, we could today see that championship settled.
00:18:03Because Niki Lauda has a 10.5-point lead over Alain Prost, and it's only one of those two
00:18:09McLaren drivers who can end up World Champion.
00:18:12If Niki Lauda has a good run here today, and Prost doesn't score more points, then Lauda
00:18:18could end up World Champion, clinching it here at the circuit where, ironically, back
00:18:23in 1976, he had his near-fatal accident.
00:18:27But after practice, it's neither of the McLarens on pole position.
00:18:31Once again, it's the flying Brazilian, the reigning World Champion, Nelson Piquet, who
00:18:36takes pole position for Bravo.
00:18:39Nelson, your eighth qualifying on pole position so far this year.
00:18:44You must be pleased with yesterday's time.
00:18:47I'm pleased with all the qualifying, but I'm not pleased with all the races that have been done.
00:18:51What about the times in the wet?
00:18:54There are several people that are...
00:18:56Well, like Prost, he's three and a half seconds faster in the wet.
00:18:59That's going to be a problem if it's raining tomorrow, no?
00:19:02Well, nobody knows here who has a few, who doesn't have a few.
00:19:07It's very difficult to say who's quicker, who doesn't kick in the morning now.
00:19:10So you have to wait for tomorrow and see.
00:19:12Were you running with full tanks then?
00:19:14Yeah, I was running all the time, full tank.
00:19:16In the wet, as the load gets lighter in the car, does there even less downforce?
00:19:22Is it harder to drive as the fuel's used up throughout the race?
00:19:25No, it's opposite. You don't have a G-force.
00:19:28The car's much lighter, much more acceleration, much easier to brake.
00:19:32And I go much quicker.
00:19:34So the second half of the race in the wet is usually faster than the first?
00:19:38It has to be, yeah.
00:19:39Of course, it depends on how much water I have on and how much oil I have in the circuit.
00:19:43Nelson, you came in the pits with the car a little bit muddy.
00:19:46How did that happen at the end of this last session?
00:19:49Well, I missed one of the braking points, went in the mud and got stuck there.
00:19:53And I waited for the finish. I missed three minutes for the practice wait finish.
00:19:57And I took the car and drove back.
00:19:59And the new Nürburgring, what do you think of the facility here?
00:20:02It's a fantastic circuit.
00:20:06It's a pleasure to come and race in a place like this.
00:20:11I hope only the weather will be good for tomorrow.
00:20:13So good weather for you. Is that dry or wet?
00:20:16It's dry for sure. For everybody.
00:20:19Most of the rain came on Saturday.
00:20:21And the second day of qualifying was therefore a complete washout for setting fast times.
00:20:26But it was also raining for part of Friday's qualifying.
00:20:30And you needed to be out on the circuit at just the right time to set a quick one.
00:20:34Alain Prost was lucky.
00:20:36He was out there when the track was almost dry.
00:20:39And he was quicker than everybody else except Nelson Piquet.
00:20:42So Alain Prost, so anxious for world championship points in this race,
00:20:46will start from the front row of the grid.
00:20:49His rival, Niki Lauda, was less lucky.
00:20:53Third quickest, one of the Renaults, this was Patrick Tambay,
00:20:56who's just re-signed to stay with the Renault team next year,
00:21:00after a lot of rumours that Niki Lauda would switch to Renault for a very big bag of French gold
00:21:05and ease Patrick Tambay out.
00:21:07But the amiable Frenchman, secure in the knowledge that his seat is now organised for next year,
00:21:12set a splendid third fastest, just a fraction slower than Prost.
00:21:17But it hasn't been a great year for Renault.
00:21:19And Patrick, talking to his mechanics after practice,
00:21:22was obviously not happy with the way the car was handling on the new circuit.
00:21:25Perhaps the race will bring better luck for him.
00:21:28Fourth quickest, another ex-world champion, Keki Rosberg, with the Williams Honda.
00:21:35It's been a difficult season for him too,
00:21:37because despite his wonderful win in Dallas,
00:21:40frequently the Honda's reliability has not been of the best.
00:21:43He's over a second slower than Patrick Tambay.
00:21:46But nevertheless, helped by a shower in the middle of Friday's practice,
00:21:50he has gained a second row grid position.
00:21:53Even so, Frank Williams and the team still look worried.
00:22:04The Ferraris are going well here as well.
00:22:06They're both on the third row of the grid,
00:22:09with Michele Alboreto, the Italian, fractionally quicker than his team-mate René Arnoux, the Frenchman.
00:22:15Michele Alboreto has been given a tremendous boost by his second place
00:22:19in his home Italian Grand Prix in the last round four weeks ago,
00:22:23and he's determined to follow that up with a good performance here at the new Nürburgring.
00:22:27In the dry, he gets the Ferrari round just a quarter of a second slower
00:22:32than Rosberg's Williams Honda.
00:22:38But deciding that it may well be wet in Sunday's race,
00:22:41he spends a lot of Saturday learning the circuit in the wet.
00:22:45And what of Niki Lauda?
00:22:47We'll have his qualifying story and the rest of the practice news from the Nürburgring
00:22:51after these short messages.
00:22:54Through the murk of Saturday's qualifying here at the Nürburgring
00:22:58come Derek Warrick in the Turbo Renault,
00:23:01and René Arnoux in the second of the two Ferraris.
00:23:05He still could finish third in the World Championship,
00:23:09but he admits that 1984 has been a tough year for him.
00:23:14Yeah, it's true, it's been a difficult season,
00:23:16but I think there was a lot of fun,
00:23:21but I think the biggest problem is the chassis.
00:23:26But now it's late because there's only two races to finish the season,
00:23:32and my car is really much better.
00:23:36Anyway, it's necessary to work very hard,
00:23:39because I think that for start next year we have a good car, a very competitive car.
00:23:46Do you feel the motor is as strong as the tag turbos in the other cars?
00:23:52I don't think it's the best engine now in Formula 1,
00:23:56but I think it's one of the best engines.
00:23:59Because if you see every time the maximum speed on every track,
00:24:05the McLaren is not very quick.
00:24:08It's one of the best also, but it's very near to the Ferrari.
00:24:12I think the problem of Ferrari is especially the handling,
00:24:18and it's necessary to work on the chassis, suspension, everything like that.
00:24:23Well then, in wet conditions like you've had these two afternoons here,
00:24:28handling must be very important under those circumstances.
00:24:31Yeah.
00:24:33Today I'm very happy with my car and the weight,
00:24:36because it's much better to drive,
00:24:39and I'm happy to have a good time also.
00:24:42And I think if tomorrow it rains, it's possible to make a good race.
00:24:49Well, you've qualified 6th. That's a very respectable qualifying position.
00:24:54It'd be nice for you to score some points these last two races,
00:24:57and end this season on an up swing.
00:25:00Yeah, for me this race is very important,
00:25:03because I have a possibility to finish 3rd in the championship,
00:25:06because De Angelis is only 4 points ahead of me.
00:25:10And I want to finish 3rd after the two McLarens,
00:25:14because the two McLarens this year are too much competitive for their car.
00:25:19And I have this possibility, and I try to finish 3rd in the championship.
00:25:26So if you finish 3rd in the championship,
00:25:29you actually finish 1st behind the McLarens, in a way.
00:25:32Yeah, and I'm not very happy, because I want to finish 3rd.
00:25:35It's normal, but if I finish in this position,
00:25:40I am happy, because this year the two McLaren cars are very competitive.
00:25:46And next year, again with Ferrari?
00:25:48Yeah, I stay with Ferrari, because I like to work with Ferrari.
00:25:54This year is a very difficult year, but there's always a good ambience in the team,
00:26:00and this is very important.
00:26:02All people understand what is a problem for Ferrari,
00:26:06and we work very hard, and I think that now we are on the good way.
00:26:13And what of Niki Lauda?
00:26:15After trouble in the dry practice session with both his race car and the spare,
00:26:21he's going to start the race from 15th position on the grid,
00:26:24right back on the 8th row,
00:26:26which isn't going to help his battle with Prost one little bit.
00:26:30But first, what emotion does Niki Lauda feel coming back to the Nürburgring,
00:26:34the scene of his 1976 near-fatal accident?
00:26:38There are no emotions really. I'm here to fight for a championship,
00:26:41which is the 84th championship, so that's what I'm trying to do.
00:26:44So there are no emotions for or against the Nürburgring.
00:26:46I sure had my accident here, but it doesn't need me to come here to remember it.
00:26:50I was re-reading your book, My Years with Ferrari,
00:26:53and your review of that accident, you say that you can't remember anything
00:26:57after the pit stop, all the way to the helicopter, to the hospital.
00:27:00Can you recall anything about it whatsoever?
00:27:04That's the way it is. Unfortunately, I don't remember, so I don't know.
00:27:07Well, it was a dramatic thing that going into the left-hander,
00:27:11partially wet, just like tomorrow could be,
00:27:14that doesn't raise any fears for tomorrow's start.
00:27:19How do you overcome an accident if I couldn't overcome it in eight years going?
00:27:23I will never overcome it, so I've overcome it a long time ago, so that's no problem.
00:27:27When you look around this excellent facility that they've built,
00:27:31a lot of that had to do with your campaigning for greater safety.
00:27:35What do you think of the new Nürburgring?
00:27:38It's the best ever built circuit I know, and it's very safe and good,
00:27:41so that's all you can say about it.
00:27:43What about challenging as far as the track line?
00:27:45It's a difficult place to race on, so that's no problem.
00:27:48You're starting 15th tomorrow in the middle of the field.
00:27:52What happened in the first qualifying session?
00:27:55My car had technical problems, so I couldn't run on the first day where it was dry.
00:27:59Therefore, I'm only 15th today. Everything was perfect, I was quickest,
00:28:02but then the rain came, so I couldn't improve my grid position.
00:28:06This morning, when it was raining absolutely the heaviest,
00:28:09you were the fastest of 26 cars.
00:28:11That must give you some confidence for a wet start tomorrow.
00:28:14Yeah, that's right, but the problem is the grid position.
00:28:16I'm so far back, if it rains heavily, you don't see anything,
00:28:19so it's going to be a very difficult race for me tomorrow.
00:28:21So, visually, the fact that a driver cannot really see anything because of the spray,
00:28:26is that the biggest problem in racing in the rain?
00:28:28That's the biggest problem.
00:28:30Not the handling. Most people think it's the handling, trying to stop corners.
00:28:34The handling is difficult, but the visibility is the worst thing.
00:28:37There's been a lot of commotion in the press over the last two weeks
00:28:40about the fact that you were thinking about changing teams,
00:28:43but you have signed a contract for next year. Is that correct?
00:28:46Yes, I will stay in my team. I am in the Marlboro-McLaren even for next year.
00:28:51Nicky, personally, for you to win your third world championship title,
00:28:56what would that mean to you as far as a goal that you've always wanted?
00:29:01To win another championship is very important, especially today,
00:29:04trying to beat Alain Prost, to finish this season with the best possible chance.
00:29:07So, that's what I'm trying to do.
00:29:09It seems like there's still a great ambiance within the team.
00:29:13The competition and the pressure of the championship,
00:29:16you're still working together to do the best job for the team.
00:29:20Sure, I mean, from the team point of view, there's no problem.
00:29:24So, Lauda in 15th spot on the grid, Prost in second spot on the grid,
00:29:29and everybody's looking for the weather forecast.
00:29:31Will it be wet for tomorrow's race? Will it be dry?
00:29:34Always questions and lots of excitement still to come.
00:29:39A great facility like this, and virtually every type of motor racing,
00:29:43depends on a great investment from sponsors.
00:29:46The only American entrant sponsor in Formula One is the Skoll Bandit team.
00:29:51Today we have Joe Taddeo, the managing director of Skoll Bandits in Europe,
00:29:56to talk to us about their team.
00:29:58Joe, Skoll Bandits, your name is on NASCARs, NASCARs,
00:30:04NASCAR stock cars, and dirt track cars,
00:30:07and how does Formula One compare to your car investment
00:30:11and those other types of racing?
00:30:13Well, I think there's a lot of similarities between our racing,
00:30:16but we look at racing as a great way of gaining attention and awareness
00:30:20for our product, Skoll Bandits.
00:30:22There's a lot of similarities in those races,
00:30:24but there are also a lot of differences,
00:30:26especially when you're talking about Formula One versus NASCAR, for example.
00:30:30NASCAR is very popular in the States,
00:30:32but it's more regionally segmented to the southeast, as you're aware.
00:30:35Formula One has a much wider and larger audience,
00:30:38but it does the same thing for us.
00:30:40It gets attention and awareness for our product,
00:30:42and we think it's a good investment.
00:30:44So the RAM team actually carries your racing banner all over the world.
00:30:48Yes, they do.
00:30:49And, of course, through television, we get coverage all over the world.
00:30:52Back to the States, you're racing in Detroit,
00:30:56Back to the States, you're racing in Detroit and Dallas.
00:31:01You must have been promoting those two events quite heavily.
00:31:04Very much so.
00:31:05They're doing basically the same thing in the States with racing as we do here,
00:31:09really taking advantage of the exposure.
00:31:11As a medium of advertising and sales promotion,
00:31:15do you feel that Formula One is a good investment?
00:31:19It gives you a good return.
00:31:21We think it does.
00:31:22Obviously, it's an investment in the future of our brand, Skoll Bandits,
00:31:25and we give it a lot of thought before we make the investment,
00:31:29and I think it's paying off.
00:31:31What about your plans for next year?
00:31:33This is the time of year where all the sponsorships are being under discussion.
00:31:37You might not be able to reveal too much,
00:31:39but will there be a Skoll Bandit racer in Formula One next year?
00:31:42I think racing is always going to play a place in our marketing mix,
00:31:45and right now, like you said, we're deciding right now
00:31:47what we're going to be doing next year,
00:31:49but I'm pretty confident racing will be part of our marketing mix.
00:31:53Sunday, race day dawns.
00:31:55Cold, windy, but mercifully dry.
00:31:58And as the 26 cars assemble on the grid,
00:32:01we even get a little bit of autumn German sunshine.
00:32:04At the front, once again, on pole position,
00:32:07the Brazilian Nelson Piquet with the Brabham.
00:32:1124 points only in the championship so far.
00:32:14He's bound to lose his World Championship title at the end of this year,
00:32:17but he's still one of the very quickest men.
00:32:20And here's a man who could still win the World Championship.
00:32:23He's not going to clinch it today, but he wants points today
00:32:26to stay on terms with Niki Lauda,
00:32:28the little Frenchman Alain Prost,
00:32:30with five wins under his belt this year.
00:32:33Row two, Patrick Tambay, the always charming Frenchman.
00:32:37Only ten points this year after a very difficult season for Renault.
00:32:42They haven't had a lot of luck, but they're always fast.
00:32:45Alongside him, Keke Rosberg, ex-World Champion with the Williams Honda,
00:32:49and thanks to his Dallas win,
00:32:51one of only three men who've beaten the McLarens
00:32:54to the chequered flag during this season.
00:32:57On the third row, the faster of the two Ferrari drivers today
00:33:01is Michele Alvareto.
00:33:03He's another man to have beaten the McLarens
00:33:05because he won the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder way back in May.
00:33:10Alongside him, his own teammate,
00:33:12the ever-smiling Frenchman René Arnoux.
00:33:1524½ points in the championship.
00:33:17He's fourth, he knows he can't beat the McLarens,
00:33:19but he wants third place in this year's table.
00:33:23As the field goes off on its final warm-up lap,
00:33:2667 laps of racing ahead of them,
00:33:29let's quickly run down the rest of the grid.
00:33:31Derek Warwick in the Renault and Nigel Mansell in the Lotus on the fourth row.
00:33:35Riccardo Patrese in the Alfa Romeo,
00:33:37Theo Fabi in the Ramon on the fifth row.
00:33:40Then it's Thierry Bootsen in the Arrows
00:33:42and Ayrton Senna in the Toleman Heart.
00:33:45Eddie Cheever in the Alfa Romeo and Jacques Lafitte in the other Williams Honda.
00:33:49Then Niki Lauda right back in 15th place with the Marlboro McLaren
00:33:53and Marc Surer with the Arrows.
00:33:55André de Cesaris with the Ligier and Gerhard Berger with the ATS.
00:33:59François Eno's Ligier, Ghinzani's Osella,
00:34:02Jonathan Palmer in the Skol Bandit Ram and Joe Gartner in the Osella.
00:34:06Then it's Elio de Angelis, another man out of luck in practice with the Lotus.
00:34:10He's right down in 23rd position alongside Mauro Baldi's Spirit.
00:34:14And Philippe Elio in the second of the Skol Bandit cars
00:34:17with Stefania Hansen right at the back in the Toleman Heart.
00:34:21This could be the race if Niki Lauda can recover from that starting position
00:34:25where he clinches his World Championship,
00:34:27but it's going to be a long 67 laps.
00:34:30We'll be back with the race action after this.
00:34:37So to the start of the European Grand Prix here at the new Nürburgring,
00:34:42the first time the Formula 1 cars have been here,
00:34:44so we're going to establish a new lap record today.
00:34:47We could even establish a new World Champion today.
00:34:50Alain Prost, the second car on the grid there,
00:34:54the red and white McLaren, doesn't want that to happen
00:34:56because he knows he can't clinch the championship today,
00:34:59but Niki Lauda could.
00:35:00Niki Lauda right back on the eighth row of the grid.
00:35:03Nelson Piquet on pole, there's the red light.
00:35:06Here comes the green, it's green well away and Piquet hangs far.
00:35:10Prost makes a superb start.
00:35:12Patrick Tambay is away quickly in the Renault as well,
00:35:14but it's Alain Prost who leads down the hill to the Castro Chicane.
00:35:18It's Tambay on the outside, Piquet is squeezed out.
00:35:20Tambay trying to go ahead of Prost.
00:35:23Oh, and there's trouble for Senna.
00:35:25Ayrton Senna right up the back of Keke Rosberg's car.
00:35:29Several other cars involved spinning to a halt,
00:35:31others driving across the infield to rejoin the race,
00:35:34but Keke Rosberg, very lucky there.
00:35:37Look at the tyre mark right down the side of the car near the cockpit,
00:35:40but he's getting out, he's obviously unhurt.
00:35:43Rosberg's race is over almost before it started,
00:35:46and the leader is Alain Prost from Patrick Tambay.
00:35:49There is Ayrton Senna picking up the debris from his badly damaged Toleman.
00:35:56And another car involved there, I think, was Tao Fabi.
00:36:00There is Fabi coming to a halt in Brabham number two
00:36:04as they push Keke Rosberg's car out of the way.
00:36:07And let's look at that first corner accident again.
00:36:10Prost and Tambay side by side.
00:36:12Behind them, Ayrton Senna spins, goes up the back of Keke Rosberg's car.
00:36:17Behind them, also spinning, Marc Surer in the Arrows
00:36:21and Gerhard Berger in the ATS.
00:36:23Several other cars coming to a halt, squeezing through the gap.
00:36:28And Senna is out of the race, his car quite badly damaged.
00:36:32Keke Rosberg also out of the race.
00:36:34Tao Fabi came to a halt, and I think he's about to restart.
00:36:38And Prost has an enormous lead already at the end of the first lap.
00:36:42From Tambay, then it's Nelson Piquet in third place,
00:36:46Derek Warwick is fourth, the two Ferraris are fifth and sixth,
00:36:49but Alain Prost is driving like a man possessed and pulling away already.
00:36:53Alboreto, Arnoux, Patrese.
00:36:56There is Niki Lauda, so Niki Lauda is already up into ninth place
00:37:00at the end of the first lap.
00:37:02He started 15th, he's ninth already.
00:37:05If he can progress up the field that fast,
00:37:07then he's going to be able to get on to terms with the leaders.
00:37:10Prost doesn't want that to happen.
00:37:12Prost is trying to make a break, and there is Fabi's car,
00:37:15come to a complete halt, but he is restarting.
00:37:18They've given him a tow start behind the Porsche 928 course car,
00:37:22and Tao Fabi in Brabham number two is back in the race.
00:37:26Right at the back and right at the front is Alain Prost.
00:37:30There's the second place battle.
00:37:32Patrick Tambay is second for Renault.
00:37:35Nelson Piquet is third for Brabham.
00:37:37Derek Warwick is fourth for Renault.
00:37:39Then Alboreto and Arnoux in Ferraris are fifth and sixth,
00:37:42and Niki Lauda is attacking the seventh place man.
00:37:45Niki Lauda is already attacking Riccardo Patrese in the green Alfa Romeo.
00:37:50He's between the two Alfas of Patrese and Cheever.
00:37:55End of lap two, and look at that lead that McLaren number seven has.
00:38:00Second man Patrick Tambay, meanwhile, is under real pressure
00:38:03from Nelson Piquet, Derek Warwick, Michele Alboreto, René Arnoux,
00:38:08and there is Lauda. Lauda is up into seventh place.
00:38:11Niki Lauda has now passed both the Alfa Romeos
00:38:14as we see Piercarlo Ghinzani, the Osella driver, walking home.
00:38:18Also a shot there of Berg as ATS, another car to retire in the first lap accident.
00:38:23But Niki Lauda is storming up through the field.
00:38:26He's already seventh. He's got the two Ferraris of Arnoux and Alboreto ahead of him.
00:38:31Niki Lauda in seventh place, Alain Prost in first place.
00:38:34Remember, you'll get championship points for finishing in the first six.
00:38:38Nine points for a win, one point for sixth place, nothing at all for seventh.
00:38:43So Niki Lauda isn't going to be at all satisfied in seventh place.
00:38:46He's going to want to attack those Ferraris.
00:38:49Alain Prost's pit signals no doubt telling him exactly how much lead he's got over second man Patrick Tambay.
00:38:56But there's a very long way to go, the championship in the balance.
00:39:00And there's the gap, two and a half seconds was Prost's lead at the end of two laps.
00:39:04It's more than that now, and we'll be back with more race action here on Autoracing 84 after this.
00:39:11It's on Niki Lauda's progress up the field here at the Nürburgring.
00:39:20He's seventh, but he's on the tail of sixth man René Arnoux, and he's attacking down the long straight.
00:39:25The two Alfa Romeos well behind him, and Elio De Angelis has caught up with the two Alfa Romeos.
00:39:30And that's a tremendous performance for him, because remember he started 23rd on the 26 car grid.
00:39:38So De Angelis is 10th, Cheever the American is 9th, 8th is Patrese, 7th is Niki Lauda's McLaren, 6th the Ferrari of René Arnoux.
00:39:48And already Alain Prost is the new lap record holder at the new Nürburgring,
00:39:52with an average speed on still full fuel tanks of just under 120 miles an hour.
00:39:58Now it'll be interesting to see how long it takes Lauda to get past René Arnoux.
00:40:03He's caught up with him very quickly, but you need a certain amount of power to close on somebody.
00:40:08You need a bit more to get past him, particularly on a fast circuit like this.
00:40:12And Lauda through these endless curves as they go up the hill.
00:40:16There's Piercarlo Ghinzani still on his way back from his abandoned Osella.
00:40:21And up through those curves goes Alain Prost coming up to the final corner on the circuit.
00:40:27That's the Roma curve, which leads him back onto the start-finish straight.
00:40:31And his mirrors are empty as he crosses the start-finish line, because the 2nd place battle is some way behind.
00:40:39Tambay, still in 2nd place.
00:40:423rd, still Nelson Piquet. Still 4th, the other Renault of the Englishman Derek Warwick.
00:40:475th, Michele Alborete's Ferrari.
00:40:49And the 6th place battle between René Arnoux and Niki Lauda.
00:40:53Niki Lauda still in 7th place, still out of the championship points at the moment.
00:40:58And that's all good news for Alain Prost.
00:41:00Remember the gap between them. 10½ points. You get 9 points for a win.
00:41:05If Prost can win this race and Niki Lauda doesn't score, if he stays down in 7th place,
00:41:11then that 10½ points lead of Lauda's becomes a 1½ point lead as they go into the final race in Portugal.
00:41:19There's the position at the end of 5 laps. 3.7 seconds, the lead that Prost had over Tambay.
00:41:25But Lauda, 11.9 seconds only behind Prost. That's not a long way.
00:41:30Lauda now in 6th place. He has got past René Arnoux. He's split the two Ferraris.
00:41:36So Lauda is 6th, René Arnoux pushed down to 7th.
00:41:40And how long will it take Lauda to pass the other Ferrari of Michele Alboreto?
00:41:48Tambay there in 2nd place.
00:41:50The Brabham of Piquet having dropped back a little bit in 3rd place.
00:41:54But Derek Warwick now has his mirrors full of the Ferrari of Michele Alboreto.
00:41:59Warwick 4th, and 6th there is Lauda. There is Arnoux in 7th place.
00:42:04So René Arnoux has immediately lost touch with Niki Lauda.
00:42:08Lauda has thrown off the attentions of René Arnoux's Ferrari
00:42:13and is setting about applying his own attentions to the 5th place Ferrari ahead of him of Michele Alboreto.
00:42:19There is Alboreto and there is Derek Warwick in the Renault.
00:42:22And that little group has the makings of quite a battle for 4th place.
00:42:26Warwick, Alboreto, Lauda, Arnoux.
00:42:29Then the two green Alfa Romeos in 8th and 9th places.
00:42:34And while all that battle is going on, for 4th place Alain Prost is pulling away all the time.
00:42:40Prost, Tambay, Piquet round the Dunlop curve.
00:42:45Then there's Warwick with Alboreto on his tail and Lauda closing all the time.
00:42:50A slightly more distant René Arnoux.
00:42:52And then the two Alfa Romeos with the Lotus of Elio De Angelis there with them.
00:43:01Into the Bittkurva. Warwick, Alboreto, Lauda.
00:43:08Still completely dry here, still jolly cold, but no sign of rain.
00:43:16And there is Tambay, there is Piquet. A gap.
00:43:21There is Warwick, Alboreto, Lauda closing up in the 4th place battle.
00:43:28Niki Lauda tucked down in the cockpit, his head forward.
00:43:33Concentrating on shaving the split seconds from every corner to close that gap to the back of the Ferrari.
00:43:40There's 4th man Warwick, 5th man Alboreto, 6th man Lauda.
00:43:47And the battle going on through the curves with 7th man Arnoux,
00:43:53then the Alfa Romeos, 8th and 9th, that's Patrese and Cheever,
00:43:5610th the Black Lotus of De Angelis, followed by Thierry Boets and the Belgian,
00:44:01de Tresuris and Johansson.
00:44:03More Nürburgring action after this short message.
00:44:11And still they battle on.
00:44:14Derek Warwick 4th, Michele Alboreto 5th, Niki Lauda 6th.
00:44:19Alain Prost still the leader here at the Nürburgring of the European Grand Prix.
00:44:24With this big lead, Alain Prost just settling down to the job in hand
00:44:30to build up as big a lead as he can, while he can,
00:44:34and make sure that 9 championship points can be his.
00:44:38Alain Prost there.
00:44:40And at the end of 9 laps, 4.8 seconds, all but a fraction,
00:44:45is the lead that Prost has over Patrick Tambay.
00:44:47And Niki Lauda is 13.7 seconds behind Alain Prost.
00:44:52So the gap has got bigger.
00:44:55Another 2 seconds gap between Prost and Lauda,
00:44:59and I think that's because Lauda is stuck in that high-speed traffic jam
00:45:03behind Michele Alboreto's Ferrari and the Renault of Derek Warwick.
00:45:08And talking of high-speed traffic, that's Alain Prost's next problem,
00:45:13because while he's out on his own in the lead,
00:45:15he's already caught up with the backmarkers.
00:45:17He's got the Frenchman Philippe Alliot in the Ramscole Bandit car to lap,
00:45:21which he does easily, pulling alongside and storming by down the long straight.
00:45:28Now, it's often the case that backmarkers can provide a wild card in a race of this sort.
00:45:34Prost is just concentrating on building up as long a lead as he possibly can.
00:45:38But if you're the leader, you're the first man to catch up with the backmarkers.
00:45:42Perhaps they're having their own battle amongst themselves.
00:45:45Perhaps they're not ready for it.
00:45:47They might even not see the blue flag,
00:45:49which the marshals will be waving to say,
00:45:52there's a faster car closing up behind you, watch your mirrors.
00:45:55But Prost is past Philippe Alliot.
00:45:57He's got some other backmarkers ahead of him.
00:45:59And meanwhile, Patrick Tambay in second place is the next man to close on Alliot.
00:46:04Still the Brabham in third place, that's the reigning world champion Nelson Piquet.
00:46:09And Derek Warwick still hanging on to this fourth place ahead of Alboreto and Lada.
00:46:14René Arnoux back in seventh place.
00:46:16The two Alphas running eighth and ninth.
00:46:18And Elio de Angelis storming along in tenth place.
00:46:23And Elio in the ram now, about to be lapped by this fourth place battle.
00:46:28A little puff of dust from the front wheels of Derek Warwick's car there.
00:46:32I think he almost locked up a front wheel under braking.
00:46:36Oh, and he's up the kerb too.
00:46:38Derek Warwick really driving hard, doing everything he can to shake off the Ferrari.
00:46:43Alboreto and the Ferrari looking quite a lot tidier through these turns.
00:46:46But Niki Lauda very close to Alboreto now.
00:46:49Niki Lauda lining up for a lunge.
00:46:51Now, as they come up to the back markers, that could slow the pace of Warwick and Alboreto.
00:46:58And that could play a part.
00:46:59In fact, Warwick is past Elio safely.
00:47:02So is Alboreto.
00:47:04And Lauda tucked in behind Alboreto.
00:47:06Using the slipstream, using the still air behind the Ferrari.
00:47:09And in fact, having a little look at the inside as they go into the right-hander.
00:47:13Which is the start of the double Castrol S-Bend at the end of the long start-finish straight.
00:47:18That's where the accident happened on the first lap.
00:47:21But those three are through and safely past the ram.
00:47:25And Warwick it is who seems to have got a little bit of an advantage there.
00:47:28Warwick has pulled out just a bit from Alboreto.
00:47:32And it's Alboreto who's now having to start to drive defensively.
00:47:3616.49 seconds.
00:47:38So the gap is still lengthening between Prost and Lauda.
00:47:42And Lauda really must start to work his way through if he's going to have any chance of closing on Alain Prost.
00:47:49And Lauda knows it.
00:47:50The pit signals are telling him how quickly Prost is going.
00:47:52Prost, the new lap record holder, pulling away from the rest of the field.
00:47:56And Niki Lauda stuck behind the fifth-place Ferrari of Michele Alboreto.
00:48:01A little feint up the inside there once more.
00:48:05Neither Alboreto nor Lauda using the kerb as Derek Warwick was there.
00:48:09But Warwick pulling away just a little bit.
00:48:12Renault second, Renault fourth, Brabham third, Ferrari fifth, McLaren's first and sixth.
00:48:20But Lauda anxious to do something about that sixth place.
00:48:23On to the start-finish straight once more.
00:48:25Warwick glances in his mirror as he changes up through the gearbox over the start-finish line to see just how far behind Alboreto is.
00:48:32And that was a ram spinning. That was Jonathan Palmer.
00:48:35Jonathan Palmer spins just after having been lapped by the leader Alain Prost.
00:48:42That could have been quite a nasty moment, but fortunately Prost was already past and through ahead of Palmer.
00:48:48But there's a lot more lapping still to come, a lot more excitement still to come.
00:48:52There's Palmer restarting.
00:48:54Stay with us for more action from the Nürburgring on Autoracing 84.
00:48:58Alain Prost still leads the European Grand Prix here at the Nürburgring.
00:49:02Niki Lauda still in sixth place and the gap has gone up to almost 20 seconds now.
00:49:07Niki Lauda stuck behind the fifth-placed Ferrari of Alboreto and the fourth-placed Renault of Derek Warwick.
00:49:14And that's really where the battle is as the leading trio space out.
00:49:18This battle for fourth place is getting closer and Alboreto is alongside the Renault.
00:49:22Alboreto makes his charge but Derek Warwick isn't having it.
00:49:25Derek Warwick has the inside line and keeps the door shut.
00:49:28Now Lauda is lunging up behind.
00:49:31Niki Lauda trying to make use of the fact that Alboreto has made an attempt and has failed.
00:49:35And Lauda is alongside. Lauda nearly gets through on that left-hander.
00:49:39And Warwick getting away now as Alboreto struggles to maintain the fifth place.
00:49:45Niki Lauda saw his chance there and nearly got through.
00:49:49But at the end of all that excitement the status quo prevails because Lauda is still sixth.
00:49:54Alboreto is still fifth.
00:49:56And the British driver of the French Renault has hung on to his fourth place by the skin of his teeth.
00:50:01Three top Grand Prix drivers driving absolutely as hard as they know how.
00:50:06But Lauda hasn't found the solution to a route past the Ferrari.
00:50:12The McLaren is quick but it hasn't got enough of an edge over the Ferrari.
00:50:17to be able to get through.
00:50:19So Niki Lauda, that most experienced of Grand Prix drivers, the wily old fox of Formula One, has a problem.
00:50:25He doesn't seem to be able to get past the Ferrari on a straight fight.
00:50:29What can he do? Can he use a back marker?
00:50:32Can he manage to put Alboreto in a position where he's got to yield?
00:50:36And he must be thinking about all those sorts of tricks as he follows Michele Alboreto round in sixth place.
00:50:43Over the start-finish line. Down the hill.
00:50:46And he closes a little bit on Alboreto as they go into the braking area.
00:50:50But not enough.
00:50:52And Alboreto follows Derek Warwick through the curves on down towards the Dunlop hairpin.
00:50:59The sun now quite low in these drivers' eyes.
00:51:02A lot of them wearing smoked visors to cut down the glare.
00:51:07Because it's really sunny here at the Nürburgring now.
00:51:10Because it's really sunny here at the Nürburgring now.
00:51:13And all thoughts of rain are completely forgotten.
00:51:15A couple of the slower cars ahead of them now.
00:51:17There is Mauro Baldi's Spirit, the Italian driver who has replaced Huub Rottengasser now,
00:51:25the Dutchman who has been driving the Spirit recently.
00:51:28And ahead of them, it's Joe Gartner, the Austrian, in the Osella.
00:51:32So two of the slower cars to be lapped.
00:51:35And as they go through, that could well change the gap between Warwick and Alboreto,
00:51:41or between Alboreto and Lauda.
00:51:43And I think that's what Lauda must be thinking of working on.
00:51:46Can he use the lapping of the backmarkers to find a slot to get past the Ferrari?
00:51:51All this time, Alain Prost continues to increase his lead.
00:51:55And there goes Warwick past Baldi. Warwick is past Baldi, but Alboreto isn't.
00:52:00So that has helped Warwick, but now Alboreto goes through on the inside.
00:52:03Lauda's following through. Oh, and Lauda's in trouble! Lauda spins! Lauda spins!
00:52:08He locked up his wheels as he tried to squeeze past Mauro Baldi.
00:52:12The yellow flags waving. Lauda fishtails off the wet grass, back onto the track.
00:52:17He's still in 6th place. There is Elio De Angelis in 7th, close to him,
00:52:22and we see it from another angle. And clearly, Lauda made a mistake there.
00:52:27Baldi didn't shut the door on him. He was able to go through.
00:52:30He was following Alboreto through, but he left his braking very late,
00:52:33hit the brakes hard, locked up the back wheels, spun to a halt in a cloud of rubber smoke,
00:52:40but at once got back onto the circuit, and this is Lauda 6th.
00:52:44But Elio De Angelis in 7th place in the Lotus is right up with him.
00:52:48Now, if Lauda is in trouble, if Lauda has a braking problem,
00:52:53or indeed if he's worn flats on his tyres with that spin,
00:52:58which obviously used up a lot of rubber, then Michele Alboreto will get well away,
00:53:04and Elio De Angelis indeed may be able to close up on the McLaren.
00:53:09But as I say that, already Lauda has increased the gap back to De Angelis,
00:53:15and I don't think Lauda's going to lose that 6th place.
00:53:18I think Lauda is going to hang on to it, and Elio De Angelis,
00:53:22who incidentally has come up, as you see, to 7th place from that 23rd starting position.
00:53:27A tremendous performance by the Italian is not going to get past Lauda this time.
00:53:33We reckon that that spin probably cost Niki Lauda a further 14 seconds.
00:53:38That's added to Alain Prost's lead, and Alain Prost looking even more secure in the lead of the European Grand Prix,
00:53:45but Lauda still has plenty of race left to fight back.
00:53:49Stay with us for more Nürburgring action on Autoracing 84.
00:53:58At the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, the drama continues,
00:54:03because Jacques Lafitte is bringing the Williams Honda into the pits, smoking,
00:54:07and Elio De Angelis, who came storming up the field to 7th place from a 23rd starting position,
00:54:14has parked the Lotus number 11 out on the wet grass.
00:54:18There is Lafitte coming into the pits as the marshals manhandle De Angelis' Lotus out of the way,
00:54:26and there is Patrick Tambay, the 2nd place man, still Alain Prost in the lead,
00:54:32still Patrick Tambay in 2nd place with the Renault.
00:54:353rd is still Nelson Piquet in the Brabham,
00:54:39and we've still got this 4th place battle between Derek Warwick's Renault,
00:54:43Michele Alboreto's Ferrari, and Niki Lauda's McLaren.
00:54:47He's still there, back in 6th place.
00:54:50This is 3rd man Piquet in the Brabham, and the gap from Prost to Tambay
00:54:55now is 17.7 seconds, so Prost's lead very, very comfortable indeed,
00:55:01and Niki Lauda a long way further back in 6th place.
00:55:05The championship therefore very much alive.
00:55:08There's Jonathan Palmer in the pits.
00:55:10Jonathan Palmer with the Skull Bandit Ram,
00:55:13still in the cockpit, but he's having a word with one of the Ram team mechanics,
00:55:20and there is Alain Prost once more coming through the Roma curver
00:55:25on down the long start-finish straight, back markers ahead of him to be lapped,
00:55:30and his mirror's almost empty.
00:55:3417 seconds is a long way in Grand Prix racing.
00:55:37That certainly counts as a comfortable lead,
00:55:40and what a wonderful race Alain Prost is driving.
00:55:43And the other Skull Bandit car in the pits,
00:55:46that's Philippe Alliot, the Frenchman, lots of smoke.
00:55:49In fact, it's pretty hot back there.
00:55:51The mechanics starting back from the heat,
00:55:54having tried to get the rear engine cover off.
00:55:56A crowd collects, off comes the engine cover,
00:55:59and I think that Philippe Alliot gets out of the car.
00:56:04And look at the battle for 2nd place suddenly,
00:56:06because Nelson Piquet is right on Patrick Tambay's tail.
00:56:10Nelson Piquet has come right up to Patrick Tambay
00:56:14and looks set for a challenge for 2nd place.
00:56:17Patrick Tambay, who's been in 2nd place ever since the green light that started this race,
00:56:22but there goes Piquet! Piquet goes through into 2nd place!
00:56:25Patrick Tambay makes no effort to fight him off,
00:56:29and Patrick Tambay's car has been sounding a little bit flat
00:56:34as it passes us here in our position at the start-finish line
00:56:38for the last couple of laps or so,
00:56:40and clearly there was absolutely nothing that Tambay could do
00:56:43about that great lunge from Nelson Piquet in the Brabham.
00:56:47Piquet threw into 2nd place and almost at once pulling away,
00:56:51and there is a fastest lap for Niki Lauda!
00:56:53121 miles an hour plus for Niki Lauda,
00:56:57so he may still be back in 6th place,
00:56:59but he's driving harder than ever to close this gap.
00:57:03Patrick Tambay slipping back in 3rd place,
00:57:06so it's Renault's 3rd and 4th.
00:57:09You could hear the engine spluttering there, it doesn't sound at all healthy.
00:57:13Derek Warwick's Renault, however, still healthy enough to maintain 4th place
00:57:18ahead of Michele Alboreto's Ferrari, which is 5th,
00:57:21and, of course, Niki Lauda, still in that 6th place.
00:57:26And a word for Nigel Mansell, because although Elio de Angelis has retired,
00:57:31Lotus number 11, Lotus number 12,
00:57:34Mansell was delayed by that lap 1 accident at the first corner,
00:57:39but Mansell also has come storming up, just as Elio de Angelis did,
00:57:44and he is now in 7th place behind Niki Lauda.
00:57:48Into the pits comes Tambay!
00:57:50So, that misfire, obviously too serious.
00:57:53He's come in there, going to take the engine cover off.
00:57:57The yellow-coated Renault mechanics go into action,
00:58:01Tambay keeping the engine running, and it's pretty hot in there,
00:58:05but it looks as though they're changing the electronic spark box,
00:58:09which lives just behind Tambay's head.
00:58:12And that's Mansell! Mansell on fire!
00:58:14Nigel Mansell, now in 6th place, on fire!
00:58:17And the car, well and truly burning, he's spun to a halt at the Roma Curva.
00:58:22Yellow flags from the marshals, Mansell getting out of the car.
00:58:26And we see it again, the car clearly on fire,
00:58:30after, I would guess, a serious engine blow-up,
00:58:33and Mansell spins the car very rapidly off the track,
00:58:39onto the grass, sheets of flame both sides, very dramatic sight.
00:58:44But Nigel Mansell is safely out of the car,
00:58:47he's helping the marshals with the fire extinguishers,
00:58:50so still the action continues here at the Nürburgring.
00:58:54Stay with us for the closing stages of the European Grand Prix, after this.
00:59:03They're still working on Patrick Tambay's Renault here in the pits at the European Grand Prix,
00:59:08but he's underway again, a fresh electronic spark box at the back,
00:59:12but meanwhile he's dropped out of the first three,
00:59:15and Michele Alboreto has moved ahead,
00:59:18so Michele Alboreto now up to 3rd in the Ferrari,
00:59:21Derek Warwick is 4th, but Niki Lauda is attacking,
00:59:24and Lauda going through, no he doesn't!
00:59:26I thought Lauda had got that, but Derek Warwick slams the door in Niki Lauda's face,
00:59:31Lauda has to drop back again, so Lauda is still 5th,
00:59:35Derek Warwick still 4th, Michele Alboreto moving away from them,
00:59:39in 3rd place in the Ferrari, Nelson Piquet the new 2nd man,
00:59:44and Alain Prost is still out there in the lead.
00:59:47Niki Lauda charging again, right back up to Derek Warwick once more,
00:59:52Warwick with his mirrors absolutely full of the red and white nose of the McLaren,
01:00:01into the Roma kerber, and there he goes!
01:00:05Lauda does it, a very tight line out of the Roma kerber,
01:00:09and nothing that Derek Warwick could do about that,
01:00:11Lauda went storming by up the inside,
01:00:14Niki Lauda now is 4th,
01:00:17and that's a lot better than the 6th place he had just a few laps ago,
01:00:21because you get 3 points for 4th.
01:00:24Meanwhile, here is the leader, Alain Prost,
01:00:26he's on the tail of Andrea de Cesaris, the Italian in the French Ligier,
01:00:31a modified car the Ligier team have produced here at the Nürburgring,
01:00:36but it's certainly not able to hold off the lapping McLaren,
01:00:39which goes storming past down the start-finish straight,
01:00:42Alain Prost now with an enormous lead over the second man, Nelson Piquet,
01:00:48but Piquet putting on the pressure, there's a new fastest lap,
01:00:51122 miles an hour now, 1 minute 23.146 seconds,
01:00:56and that's Nelson Piquet showing that what he was telling John Bisignano
01:01:01in the practice interview much earlier on,
01:01:03the cars go a lot quicker later in the race when their fuel tanks are getting emptier,
01:01:08a lighter fuel load, the car handles better, and of course, its power-weight ratio is improved.
01:01:14Alain Prost also going quickly, but I think that Nelson Piquet is not close enough to worry him,
01:01:21and Alain Prost's main worry now will not be increasing his lead,
01:01:25his main worry will be preserving the car to the end of the race.
01:01:29In fact, he's let Nelson Piquet get to within 15.5 seconds of him,
01:01:34four laps now to go of the 67-lap race, Nelson Piquet 15 seconds behind,
01:01:39and Michele Alboreto is just a couple of seconds behind Piquet,
01:01:43so while Niki Lauda is a whole 43 seconds behind the leader,
01:01:47and René Arnoux, the new fifth-place man, is over a minute down on Prost,
01:01:52Michele Alboreto in Ferrari number 27 is closing very fast on Nelson Piquet in second place.
01:01:58Prost reels off the laps in the lead, but a battle now emerging for second place
01:02:04between Nelson Piquet and Michele Alboreto.
01:02:08Niki Lauda, a fairly lonely fourth, and as Prost goes into the Castrol S at the end of the long start-finish straight,
01:02:15look back up to the top of the straight, and you see the white Brabham in second place,
01:02:19that's Nelson Piquet, the red Ferrari behind it, which is Michele Alboreto,
01:02:23and that's the Frenchman François Henault, who has just had his own little private spin at the Roma Curva,
01:02:30rather mud-streaked Ligier going on its way back into the race down the start-finish straight,
01:02:36but Alboreto really closing on the second-place Brabham.
01:02:39There they are, Brabham and Ferrari, Piquet and Alboreto in second and third places.
01:02:45Remember that Michele Alboreto had a fine second place in the last Grand Prix,
01:02:50that was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza just four weeks ago,
01:02:54and Alboreto certainly on the top of his form, and Piquet, this late in the race,
01:02:59seems to have allowed Alboreto to get much too close for comfort.
01:03:04Niki Lauda still fourth, Alain Prost still leading, McLaren's first and fourth,
01:03:09Brabham second, Ferrari's first and fifth.
01:03:13And the new sixth man now is the Italian Riccardo Patrese in the Alfa Romeo,
01:03:20which has come up into sixth place, benefiting by the disappearance of Nigel Mansell.
01:03:25Mansell's engine blew, we now have confirmation that was the start of the fire,
01:03:30and Mansell was able to spin the car off the track to a halt.
01:03:34We're now in the very closing stages of the European Grand Prix.
01:03:37Alain Prost seems to be en route for a fine victory as he goes through the afternoon sunshine,
01:03:43but what about that battle for second place between Nelson Piquet and Michele Alboreto,
01:03:48and can Niki Lauda improve on fourth place?
01:03:51Stay with us for the closing laps of the European Grand Prix after these messages.
01:03:57He's still there, he's on his penultimate lap, the little Frenchman Alain Prost,
01:04:02who wants to be France's first ever world motor racing champion,
01:04:06reeling off the laps in what has been an absolutely exemplary race.
01:04:10He led from the start in this Tag Turbo Porsche-powered McLaren,
01:04:15and everything has gone absolutely right for him,
01:04:18including the fact that his own teammate and his nearest protagonist in the World Championship battle,
01:04:25Niki Lauda, the current championship leader in fact, has not had a particularly happy race.
01:04:30Having started from back in 15th place on the grid, he's fought his way up to fourth,
01:04:36he doesn't look like getting any further,
01:04:38and as Alain Prost comes round the Roma curva to start his final lap,
01:04:43he knows that only one lap remains between him and nine lovely championship points,
01:04:49but what about the battle for second place?
01:04:52Because we've got the Brabham of Nelson Piquet now holding a very narrow second place
01:04:58from Michele Alboreto, who's driven very, very well indeed.
01:05:03Both the Ferraris still running, of course, because René Arnoux is in fifth place,
01:05:07but it's Alain Prost's day, surely,
01:05:10as Alain Prost goes down the hill towards the Dunlop hairpin for the very last time,
01:05:16into the left-hander.
01:05:21There's the Dunlop curve.
01:05:23Out of the corner, on up the hill, into the bit curver section for the 67th and final time.
01:05:31Very smooth line always, no bouncing off curbs for Alain Prost.
01:05:36He's got Riccardo Petrezzi's Alfa Romeo ahead of him,
01:05:39but I don't think he'll need to lap it before he gets to the chequered flag.
01:05:43Unlike Niki Lauda, he's had no trouble with all the back markers that he's had to pass during this race.
01:05:49Remember, Niki Lauda had a spin while trying to lap Mauro Baldi's Spirit earlier on.
01:05:55The leader of the race now in the Vidal chicane with the chequered flag and the start-finish line almost in sight.
01:06:03Alain Prost now comes into the Roma curve through the last corner of the race.
01:06:09The chequered flag is waiting, and over the start-finish line goes Alain Prost,
01:06:14both his arms raised in a great salute of victory as he crosses the line,
01:06:20acknowledging now the plaudits of the crowd.
01:06:22Nine championship points for Alain Prost, and that is going to close the gap
01:06:26and take the championship all the way to the final round in Portugal.
01:06:30But here's the battle for second place, and Alboreto has gone through!
01:06:34Michele Alboreto is second, and what's happened to Piquet?
01:06:37Both of them struggling across the line,
01:06:40and I think both of those cars must have been running out of petrol on the final lap.
01:06:45Nelson Piquet driving his car from side to side to try and get the fuel up to the fuel pumps.
01:06:51There is Niki Lauda in the background. Niki Lauda comes through to take fourth place.
01:06:56So three championship points for him, but Nelson Piquet out of his car,
01:07:00walking up towards Michele Alboreto, both of them giving gestures of astonishment and amusement to each other.
01:07:08Nelson Piquet philosophically acknowledging that he's lost second place as his car started to run out of petrol.
01:07:14He staggered over to take third.
01:07:17And Niki Lauda with his fourth place still leads the World Championship,
01:07:22but that championship lead has been reduced.
01:07:25The other Ferrari of René Arnoux has finished fifth.
01:07:29Sixth goes to Riccardo Patrese, but what a magnificent win for Alain Prost.
01:07:3524 seconds almost ahead of Alboreto, who staggers home in second place.
01:07:40Nelson Piquet is third. Niki Lauda a fine fourth.
01:07:44René Arnoux is fifth for Ferrari, and the sixth man not on the caption is the Alfa Romeo driver Riccardo Patrese.
01:07:52Well, no doubt a lot of the large German crowd came here hoping to see Niki Lauda crowned World Champion.
01:07:59It's not going to happen, but their misfortune is very much Portugal's good fortune.
01:08:05The World Championship battle is going to go all the way to the final round in Estoril in two weeks' time.
01:08:11With now just four and a half points gap between Niki Lauda and Alain Prost,
01:08:16which one of them will end up the 1984 Motor Racing World Champion?
01:08:22In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren, of course, have already conclusively won,
01:08:27with more than double the points of Ferrari and Lotus.
01:08:30So it's been a great day for Alain Prost. He's done everything that anybody could have expected him to do.
01:08:36And we'll be back after this short message to have a word with the winner of the European Grand Prix at Nürburgring, Alain Prost.
01:08:46Alain Prost, you've just been victorious in one of your most high-pressure weekends ever in your career.
01:08:52Yes, for me it was very difficult, but not so much during the race, because it was an easy race for me.
01:08:59I did a good start, and after that the car was absolutely fantastic. I never had a car like that.
01:09:04So the race was easy, but for sure the pressure was very important on my shoulders, and I had to win today.
01:09:10And I think I did a good job. I won the race. Now I go to Estoril and I hope to win the championship.
01:09:17I think I have a very good chance now.
01:09:19What about this morning with your little off-track excursion? Was that because of all the pressure with the weekend?
01:09:26No, I made a little mistake. I put the rear wheel on the kerb, and the kerb was a bit wet.
01:09:35It was a bit humid because it was raining during the night, and I spun.
01:09:38But my spin was not a big problem, but the safety car was on the road, and I hit the safety car.
01:09:43I was lucky in my problem.
01:09:47You say you got a fantastic start. I think it was one of your best starts all year long.
01:09:52Just as the light went green, you were gone in front of everyone else.
01:09:55I used to do some good starts, but I had to do a good one today because it was very important.
01:10:00Nelson's car is always difficult to pass, and I had to win the race today.
01:10:05It was very important for me to start well, and that's what I did. I did a perfect race.
01:10:10Almost a 20 or 30-second lead at some points in the early stages of the race.
01:10:15Were you backing off at all at any stage when you had that much of a lead?
01:10:19No, I wanted to push a little bit because I chose some hard tires, and the Michelin tires today were very good.
01:10:26But I had to push a little bit, otherwise I was picking up the rubber on the ground.
01:10:30That's why I was pushing a little bit more.
01:10:34Also, I was a bit afraid by the shower, so it was better for me to push a little bit,
01:10:41take maybe a 30-second advantage, and after that wait a little bit. That's what I did.
01:10:46Was your pit constantly informing you of the race situation as far as Niki?
01:10:51Were you aware of his positions and his troubles during the race?
01:10:55Yes, not at the beginning, but I had a gap between second and third,
01:11:01but I didn't know about Niki at the beginning. After that, I knew he was fourth, and for me it was perfect.
01:11:07For sure, I would prefer he had stopped, but I take six points on Niki today, and it's a good result.
01:11:15How are you going to spend the next ten days before you arrive in Estoril for the World Championship again?
01:11:21The same as before. Maybe I'm going to do some sport, a little bit more.
01:11:26I'm going to stay quiet, and maybe I'm going to spend holidays to be in very good shape for Estoril.
01:11:34Some more golf?
01:11:36Maybe, but maybe I'm going to be quiet. I don't know, but for sure I'm going to play golf anyway.
01:11:41It's a great drama that you've put back into this championship for 1984, and all your fans are very happy for you.
01:11:47I think it's very important to finish the championship in the last race.
01:11:51For me, I wanted to go to the last race with no holidays. You know what I mean?
01:11:57I did a good, fantastic season, and I absolutely want to win the championship.
01:12:04Even if I do not win it, I want to go to Estoril with a chance. That's what I did today.
01:12:11This has been John Bisignano and Simon Taylor.
01:12:14We've enjoyed bringing you this exciting ESPN coverage of the European Grand Prix from the new Nürburgring.
01:12:20Please watch your local listings for more ESPN Auto Racing 84
01:12:25as we move from the center of Germany to the Atlantic coast at Estoril, Portugal
01:12:30for the final round of this exciting 1984 Formula One World Championship.
01:12:35It's going right down to the wire. Be with us.
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