Transport Truck
The Logo!
PLM in Action
Dan, Marcus and his son
Marcus explains the finer points
A Minardi Moment
Report from Marcus Hassall
We sat there in the dismal rain
and withering Silverstone wind, watching the Minardi boys go backwards in
the first race. They clearly could do nothing about it, they'd not driven in
the wet all weekend, it was a punt in the dark on setup, but they were out
there, risking their health and wellbeing for the sheer sodding buzz of
doing it - losing, it's true, but losing in a totally grass roots kind of
way. And we cheered, though we felt that particularly Minardi kind of
despair, when fate snatches any hope of triumph from you and hands it to
those less deserving (in this case the Euronova team - I'll take back the
undeserving bit). But that was but race 1. Our feet may have been wet, but
our spirit was not destroyed. (and at least we didn't have to put up with a
nasty sewage problem, like the FMS team - oh, dear Silverstone!).
Quick coffee, and the whole thing looks kind of different. Sun even comes
out, kinda. We watch poor old Piero skitter round in the Masters event, in
treacherous conditions, from the back, to finish a lowly 7th - but I bet he
had a smile on his face! Those old guys, they really are not just messing
about, when you see the back end get out of shape the moment they hit the
gas out of Woodcote, you can see it's for real. At the front, Cheever plays
it steady, cool and consistent, with nearly man Van Der Poele palying the
crazy firebrand - ahead, behind, in the gravel, back ahead, side by side
through the turns, full on stuff, but he has to give second best. Behind
these two, a lot of similar stuff - ahead! Off! Behind! Ahead again!
Anyway, that cleared the decks for the main event. Which would be revenge.
Cold, necessary revenge. It's still a touch damp, so disaster remains a
distinct possibility. Lights are Green.
Nocera gets a whole bundle of wheel spin off the start, but Tuka has it well
under control, and has him into copse. He sets off into the distance. Cool.
Behind, the other boys suffer mixed fortunes. Roldan has on balance been the
teams fastest driver, but slips back from 5th, and then gets tangled up with
someone (Gattuso? I dunno, no feed even for us). He's out. Tough luck, and
undeserved.
Cacares, meanwhile, has pulled off a miracle, and leapt from 9th to 4th.
Then he takes Bonanomi - so much for the FMS team's myth of invulnerability.
Then Nocera (clearly struggling) succumbs too. That leaves a Minardi 1-2.
Now we're nervous. Good stuff just don't happen in Minardiland this
millennium. But Tuka has been pulling away at a second a lap, and has it
wrapped up. Cacares has a bit of trouble with backmarkers (where's the blue
flags, FFS?), but Martini in 3rd can't take advantage. The dream becomes
reality (and if you can't have a Minardi podium lockout, who better to have
up there than a Martini?).
Podium ceremony is just fantastic - just compare the photos from race 1 an
race 2 on the Euroseries website to see the difference the Minardi factor
makes.
Back to the garage! Hey, we're fans, we just bask in reflected glory, but
that's cool. The team don't let us leave without sending out Tuka and the
trophy for a quick photo op with us.
The curse is lifted. The fight back starts here, guys. You hate that
corporate rubbish? You shudder when Schumi cynically attempts to drive
another off the road, You shake your head in despair at Ron Dennis's
obsession with his headquarters building, or the R*d
B**l Motorhome? Join us! Join us or lose your souls!
