ERIK'S EXPOSE'
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04\12\98- Once again it seems I didn't have my facts straight as to when a race was going to take place. I stated last week that the Winston Cuppers would be racing at Martinsville this week when they were actually off, next week is The Goody's 500 at aforementioned short track. That being said, Formula One was the only major racing series active this week. They were out to take on Team McLaren and the Buenos Aires "go-kart track" in the Grand Prix of Argentina.
Like the first two events of the year a McLaren would be fastest in qualifying, but pole sitter David Coulthard would not be followed by teammate Mika Hakkinen. A rejuvenated Michael Schumacher split the McLaren-Mercedes duo on the grid, foreshadowing a fall from dominance for the silver and black West sponsored machines.
A clean start saw Coulthard run away from teammate Hakinnen and Schumacher in his Ferrari early, only to be caught by Schumi on lap five. Michael looked to be the strongest machine on the circuit and asserted himself after Coulthard slipped wide entering a corner. The two cars touched and the McLaren was lifted from the ground. Schumacher took the lead and never looked back, winning by over 22s even after shooting through a gravel trap very late in the grand prix. This was the German champion at his best, fast and furious, sliding his red Marlboro machine into turns and setting fast lap after fast lap. Coulthard continued to have problems, leaving the track on more than one occasion, even colliding with another car, eventually finishing sixth.
Once again, Alexander Wurz proved his worth to Team Benetton, climbing as high as third before spinning off on lap 65 while battling Eddie Irvine. He would regroup and motor home to fourth place, this in only his sixth grand prix. I think Benetton has found the young talent they've been looking for. Irvine drove a good race as well, claiming the third position on the day, nearly a minute behind Mika Hakinnen's McLaren. Hakinnen gladly claimed second as the track became slick, strengthening his hold on the championship points standings and proving that he can be wise as well as fast. Fifth went to Jean Alesi who had lost a portion of his central wing during a pit stop.
Both the Williams' drivers had terribly disappointing days. Frentzen suffered due to a horrid stop on lap 41 which saw him penalized for speeding on pit lane and then stall the engine. He came out tenth and was not heard from again for the remainder of the day. Defending champion Jaques Villeneuve had been running in the top six all day until he and David Coulthard touched on lap 52, both spun and Jaques was unable to rejoin the race. Certainly a horrible weekend for F1's defending Manufacturer's Champions.
I went and triple checked myself this week, the only racing action among the big three next Sunday will be at Martinsville Speedway. Formula One and the CART FedEx boys won't burn the asphalt again until April 26th. F1 heads to San Marino as CART takes on Nazareth Speedway for the Bosch Spark Plugs Grand Prix.
See you at the virtual raceway,
-Erik
