first meeting of the all-star fernando alonso fan club

[bella]

order, order...he did it again! what a god. and only 3 laps down!

first, attendance. who's here. anyone got any other matters they wish to mention? can saint fernando do any wrong?

[Ralf's Girl]

I'm here!

Not bad, this Alonso bloke, is he?

[MichaelC]

Yeah I'm here. First time I've ever been awake this early on a Sunday (I got up at 6:45 to watch the GP), I drop by here after for the 11am chat, and it's bloody well moved.

Where were we? Ah yes, Mr Alonso. He does seem to be very good at not causing trouble, and getting the car to the end. If they could just finish a little nearer the front, Nirvana will have been reached.

[Tristan]

You are welcome to dissagree with me, but I thought Mr Marques was pretty reasonable too.

[R]

There was some talk about him being outqualified by Marques - well, Fernando had to do his first two qualifying stints in the spare car, and the last in his ordinary car. He had a troublesome qualifying session, but still qualified well within the limit.

In the race he went fairly un-noticed. I only saw him when he went into the pits to change tyres. Three laps down (Marques was four), so Fernando definitely have the firm upper hand in the team, if anyone doubted after yesterday.

[Wrex]

Alonso did well as did Tarso, but I think credit should go to Minardi for getting both cars home. Great effort

[R]

Agreed.

[bella]

damn right. all credit to the team for getting 2 cars to the end. i'll buy the lot of them a pint.

marques did well to hang on to it, albeit 4 laps down, and not 3, unlike saint fernando (He Can Do No Wrong)...

they're getting there. all they need is a concorde engine on the back, and they're sorted. i'm a tad worried about them and traction control. do they have time to develop something...?

[bella]

MINRDI PRESS RELEASE (nicked off nice minardi site - www.minardi.it)

TWO CARS HOME AND DRY

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 18, 2001 – European Minardi F1 had reason to celebrate for its second race in succession. Drivers Fernando Alonso and Tarso Marques both took the chequered flag in this year’s Malaysian Grand Prix, an incident-packed event that, in its early stages, resembled a powerboat competition more than a Formula One race. The achievement was all the more creditable for the fact both drivers had to deal with major problems during the course of the hot, humid afternoon, Alonso with soaring gearbox temperatures, and Marques with a punctured tyre that destroyed itself dramatically and, in so doing, damaged the rear wing of his car. There was also another “drama”, as the torrential downpour early in the race soaked the team’s pit-wall equipment and left personnel without radio or telemetry signals for much of the event.

FERNANDO ALONSO
Fastest lap 1:45.585
Position: 13
Time: 1:47:40.354
Chassis: PS01-03


It was quite a strange Sunday for us. From the very beginning of the day, I did not get a very good feeling from my car, probably due to the fact I had a few problems trying to find the right chassis set-up. The hardest time, though, was when it started to rain and my car did not go well in the corners. I was forced to change tyres many times and, as a result, I had to pit five times, which is quite unusual. The positive side of today’s race is that I accumulated a lot of experience in these conditions, and I feel sure I will be better prepared for Brazil as a result. I felt more comfortable in my car as every lap went by.”

TARSO MARQUES
Fastest lap 1:46.016
Position: 14
Time: 1:47:39.484
Chassis: PS01-01


“I made a good start, then I came in for my tyre stop at the right time, but from that point onwards, I started having problems. During my first stop, I couldn’t engage first gear as I tried to leave the pits, losing two seconds as a result. Later, I started to lose pressure in the right rear tyre due to a puncture, and then I lost the tyre on the track, which cost me more time. I’m quite happy, though, because I succeeded in finishing the Grand Prix. I learned a lot about my car today, which is important for the team, and now we will work hard to prepare for the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is, of course, my ‘home’ race.”

PAUL STODDART
Team Principal, European Minardi F1

“After an incredibly exciting Malaysian Grand Prix, where the pre-event weather forecast was clearly wrong, European Minardi triumphed by getting both its cars home in very difficult circumstances. Fernando must have come close to setting a record for the number of pit stops in a race; however, the team took the decision to let him continue racing despite a mechanical problem that necessitated all the non-scheduled stops. We’re also really pleased that Tarso took the chequered flag despite suffering a puncture that caused him to have to limp back to the pits. Overall, though, to have finished three out of four race starts is more than we could have expected in our wildest dreams six weeks ago.”

[R]

Thanks for that, Bella. I didn't know Fernando (Yoy're Right, He Can Do No Wrong) pitted five times. That makes his performance even more impressive. And of course Tarso lost the tyre, which we saw, and also had other problems, which we didn't know, so well done to him too.

I'm leaning more and more towards becoming a Minardi fan! (Don't worry, MF, I'm not gonna nick your nick!)

[Liz]

Amazing run by both Minardi boys - and I wish we could have seen Marques saving the car after that blowout! You can bet we'd have seen him if he'd been in a Red Car ...

A very respectable finish considering they are racing with both hands behind their backs! The unsung heroes of the grid, for sure.

[bella]

uh, liz, we saw tarso catch that puncture...the tread just seperated from the car and rolled across the track... did you have an ad break?

[Liz]

Guess we must have done - we saw the tread lying in the middle of the track, but it took M&M about 2 or 3 minutes to figure out who had thrown it and where he went.