Chris Dagnall F1 Career -- 1984/????

[DemocalypseNow]

Firstly, I want to congratulate Chris Dagnall for his awesome 1989 campaign. He really deserves the McLaren seat, and I hope he will continue to show his great form and challenge for the title. As for the options, I go for B. Naninni's incident in Estoril was avoidable and Berger really deserves a competitive seat.

I agree, I'd choose B as well.

D simply is not an option, I'd have prefered Dagnall and Berger at McLaren.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Congratulations to Chris Dangall for a great 1989 campaign and securing the second seat at McLaren as a result.\
EDIT: I choose C. Nannini and Berger both deserve good seats and Mansell has done a total of nothing this season to prove that he should keep the seat at Ferrari

[AndreaModa]

I'd go for number B definately

Great championship too, looking forward to seeing Dagnall beating Mansell to be the first British champion since 1976!

[Aerond]

I'd go for number B definately

Great championship too, looking forward to seeing Dagnall beating Mansell to be the first British champion since 1976!

Actually, Mansell won the 1986 championship!!

1986 FINAL STANDINGS

Drivers

1. N. Mansell -- 99
2. N. Piquet -- 52
3. A. Prost -- 45
4. A. Senna -- 31
5. K. Rosberg -- 21
6. J. Lafitte -- 18
7. J. Dumfries -- 14
8. R. Arnoux -- 12
9. M. Alboreto -- 11
10. J. Palmer -- 11
11. A. Jones -- 11
12. H. Rothengatter -- 9
13. S. Johansson -- 9
14. P. Tambay -- 7
15. C. Dagnall -- 6
16. G. Berger -- 6
17. T. Boutsen -- 5
18. P. Streiff -- 4
19. T. Fabi -- 4
20. R. Patrese -- 4
21. A. De Cesaris -- 3
22. D. Warwick -- 2
23. M. Brundle -- 1
24. A. Nannini -- 1

[AndreaModa]

Haha oh dear I got reality and your world a little mixed up!

[Phoenix]

There's a thing I've always wondered about Chris Dagnall...What's his age, and how does his helmet look?

[tommykl]

There's a thing I've always wondered about Chris Dagnall...What's his age, and how does his helmet look?

I don't know about his helmet, but he turns 30 in 1990. It's in the first post.

[Aerond]

There's a thing I've always wondered about Chris Dagnall...What's his age, and how does his helmet look?

Dagnall debuted being 24 years old in 1984. His birthday is in February, so for the start of the 1990 season he will be 30

The helmet has a close design to one of his childhood heroes: Tiff Needell, being most of it red with blue details.

[Phoenix]

There's a thing I've always wondered about Chris Dagnall...What's his age, and how does his helmet look?

Dagnall debuted being 24 years old in 1984. His birthday is in February, so for the start of the 1990 season he will be 30

The helmet has a close design to one of his childhood heroes: Tiff Needell, being most of it red with blue details.

I've seen his age in the first post; my bad, I didn't remember that. It's being quite a ride, isn't it?
Thanks for the helmet clarification, though.

[watka]

Dagnall in a Mac should be a site to behind.

I'm in a minority with choosing Option A I think.

[Aerond]

I said nothing here!

[Aerond]

21st November, 1989 - FIA press release

After a series of meetings by the FIA world council, the FIA and its president, Jean Marie Balestre, want to make some corrections about the 14 teams limit cap and new team entries for the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship.

1.- Only 14 teams will be allowed to participate in the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship
2.- A list of the participant teams and drivers will be announced on January 31st 1990.
3.- All of the 12 teams which got points in the 1989 season have their place assured. The list of these teams are as follow:
Honda Marlboro McLaren
Canon Williams Team
Benetton Formula
Camel Team Lotus
(...)
4.- The restant two entries will be given to the best two teams in a test session at the Silverstone track to be held on January 17th. The teams allowed to participate in this session will be those teams which took part in the 1989 season and wish to take part in the 1990, and those teams which sent an entry petition to the FIA before October 31st 1989. The list of teams to participate are as follow:
Moneytron Onyx Formula One
Fondmetal Osella
Automobiles Gonfaronaise Sportive
Espo Larrousse F1
Subaru Coloni Racing
Euro Brun Racing
Life Racing Engines

4.A.- The teams must participate in this session with a car compiling with the 1990 Formula 1 rules. These cars must be custom built and not be used by any other team.
4.B.- The tyre supplier used in this session will be the same as the one the teams want to use in the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship.
4.C.- Any driver with a Formula 1 license can take part in this session, even if signed to another team.
(...)

12th January 1990 -- McLaren press release

Due to an unexpected delay in the production of the new car, which is now to be tested for the first time at Silverstone on 3rd February, the Honda Marlboro McLaren team would like to announce that it will release Chris Dagnall for a day of testing with the new team Life Racing Engines. The test will happen on January 17th. This is an agreement between both teams and the driver for one day and will not affect any other plans for the 1990 season.
The Honda Marlboro McLaren team would like to wish Chris Dagnall and Life Racing Engines all the luck for the test session in order to assure an entry for the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship.

[dr-baker]

Hurrah! Chris Dagnall has a Life!

[SDHammer]

Interesting what with Mr Dagnall's all red crash helmet in an all red car he's gonna look like the Stig's Communist Cousin.

[Aerond]

I had to modify the set a little bit after doing this, as with the reported 450bhp the original Life engine got, I was able to reach 270km/h, so I turned it down to 350bhp in order to achieve the reported top speed by a Life car.

13th and 14th TEAMS QUALIFYING SESSION FOR 1990 F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Silverstone

All of you can imagine my face when I arrived at the Life box in Silverstone. It took me around 10 minutes to get used to the sight, after having been at Woking the day before, working with the engineers and Ayrton around the new McLaren. It didn´t even remotely remind me of my first season at Osella; This team is definitely smaller! I could count with my fingers the whole team personnel. But anyway, it was just a day of work, so after meeting everyone, I quickly spoke to Gary Brabham (the other team driver) about the car, but he couldn´t tell me much about it as it was yet to try it seriously. At that moment I just tried to concentrate on driving as fast as possible, but I knew it would be impossible to qualify the car. At least the experience would be interesting to try the W12 engine, I guess...
So, just after a couple of minutes into the Morning session, I went to the track for one lap. The steering was ... bad. The grip wasn´t bad at all for a new car, but I have to say the speed was simply awful. In the lowest downforce possible setup, I just managed to reach 250km/h! There wasn´t much that could be done about it, except tweaking a little bit the gear rate. After that, I got into the track again, and when I was about to finish the first timed lap, I suffered an Oil leak, ending with a time over 1:16, about 11 secs slower than Eric Bernard´s Larrousse. The oil leak had me just watching the rest of the session. Gary Brabham did it even worse.
In the Afternoon session (which would fortunatley be the last), I could score a time of 1.13.976, which was 11 secs slower than my qualifying with the Benetton last year. Even though, I could only make two timed laps before the car gave up. Even the Coloni of Bertrand Gachot and Langes Eurobrun went faster. This is how the session ended:

1. Bernard -- 1.05.255
2. Suzuki -- 1.05.696
3. Foitek -- 1.06.303
4. Lehto -- 1.06.396
5. Moreno -- 1.06.662
6. Dalmas -- 1.07.028
7. Tarquini -- 1.07.518
8. Grouillard -- 1.08.367
9. Gachot -- 1.10.914
10. Langes -- 1.11.640
11. Dagnall -- 1.13.976
12. Brabham -- 1.23.795

Qualified teams: Larrousse and Onyx Monteverdi

An odd experience this one. I have to say that this experiment will allow me to enjoy the McLaren way more!

P.S. I think I´ll let the game chose the last teams for 1991 and 1992 after this experience, rather than chosing the last teams myself

[Phoenix]

It was always going to be hard, I guess...

[Aerond]

It was always going to be hard, I guess...

Yeah, anyway, I managed to do a 1.08.608 with the 450bhp setup. I think with a 450bhp set I would be able to qualify the car for some GPs!

[Phoenix]

It was always going to be hard, I guess...

Yeah, anyway, I managed to do a 1.08.608 with the 450bhp setup. I think with a 450bhp set I would be able to qualify the car for some GPs!

According to Stats F1, the engine produced 650bhp. Is this true?

[Aerond]

It was always going to be hard, I guess...

Yeah, anyway, I managed to do a 1.08.608 with the 450bhp setup. I think with a 450bhp set I would be able to qualify the car for some GPs!

According to Stats F1, the engine produced 650bhp. Is this true?

I don´t think so, given that the old Cosworth´s at that time gave around 600bhp (although they were V8´s), but anyway the Renault V10´s produced that year around 660 and Honda V12 around 700bhp -according to official reports!-, so I seriously doubt the Life could push as much, given the top speed of the car was around 230km/h. Maybe 650bhp is what it could do in theory...

[FullMetalJack]

I thought it was kind of obvious that Larrousse would make it through if you were using 1990 cars as their 1990 car was actually very competitive.

[nikmondo]

Dude this is hilarious!!!

Man I used to love playing GP2, Gp3 and still have GP on my PC. Microprose were great at F1 sims....

So are you sort of making this up for example offers from teams for the new season and team order etc!? I don't remember any of this is Gp2!

Oh did you ever play grand prix manager 2!? That game was brilliant!!

Also where do you get your car sets from?

Thanks,

Niki

[Aerond]

Dude this is hilarious!!!

Man I used to love playing GP2, Gp3 and still have GP on my PC. Microprose were great at F1 sims....

So are you sort of making this up for example offers from teams for the new season and team order etc!? I don't remember any of this is Gp2!

Oh did you ever play grand prix manager 2!? That game was brilliant!!

Also where do you get your car sets from?

Thanks,

Niki

Hey!

Yeah, I make everything up, based on my own performance, the other teams performances, nationalities, how they did in real life, etc.

Yeah! There was a time I really loved GPM but i haven´t played for a while!

The carsets can be found in grandprix2.de or gprix2.com. Anyway, I modify them so they fare as close as real life as possible.

[DemocalypseNow]

Dude this is hilarious!!!

Man I used to love playing GP2, Gp3 and still have GP on my PC. Microprose were great at F1 sims....

So are you sort of making this up for example offers from teams for the new season and team order etc!? I don't remember any of this is Gp2!

Oh did you ever play grand prix manager 2!? That game was brilliant!!

Also where do you get your car sets from?

Thanks,

Niki

GPM2 is quite popular here too...there's even an F1 Rejects mod, which I came up with the idea for and Nuppiz compiled!

This is the most recent version with the bug fixes!

It's the only mod on the planet with Yuji Ide and Masami Kuwashima as team-mates

[Aerond]

1990 - ROUND 1 - USA

Being in a big team is truly amazing! There´s also lots of pressure, of course, but the core material you work with makes quite easily cope with it compared to when I debuted with a Osella 6 years ago. Anyway, it´s never easy to take your car to the points, not the podium of course. Nobody said my debut with the best of the teams would be an easy one...

Qualifying

Given that my pace here last year wasn´t very good, I wasn´t thinking of an amazing result here, but things got quite complicated when I went straight into the wall in Q1. In Q2 I was able to complete a couple of laps but the lost of valuable track time made me finish 7th... Not the best of my qualifying performances I guess.

1. Senna -- 1.18.934
2. Mansell -- 1.19.256
3. Prost -- 1.19.649
4. Piquet -- 1.19.842
5. Boutsen -- 1.19.894
6. Patrese -- 1.19.928
7. Dagnall -- 1.20.289
8. Alesi -- 1.20.294

Race

I didn´t have many expectations. Maybe skip into the points and stand there, as we thought there would be high attrition, given last year results and being the very first race... However, I did a brilliant start and passed the Williams and sneaked for 3rd position after Mansell and Senna. They were much faster than me, but I didn´t have any difficulties keeping Prost and the Williams behind me, so I dedicated the 1st part of the race to this. Mansell passed Senna in lap 5 but both were so fast that in lap 6 Senna was 13.6 ahead, then 22.7 in lap 15, then 26.9 in lap 20 when I did my first pit. Luckily, Prost stopped the same lap so I kept the position to him and came out 14th. Then 12th after passing Boutsen in the pits and the retirement of Modena when ending the 22nd lap I found Capelli crossed in the last chicane and couldn´t avoid him, losing a wheel in the process. Up to there, patience, as the pit entrance was there and I could reach it, but Prost hit me from behind taking out another wheel and retiring, while the french could continue without any damage! Capelli also retired and I got a disappointing DNF, specially given that only 6 cars finished the race.

1. Senna -- 1h41m11.505
2. Boutsen -- +1 lap
3. Prost -- +1 lap
4. Caffi -- +1 lap
5. Warwick -- +1 lap
6. Larini -- +1 lap

ROTR - Benetton drivers - Ended their races in laughable crashes

Standings - After 1 race

Drivers

1. Senna -- 9pt
2. Boutsen -- 6
3. Prost -- 4
4. Caffi -- 3
5. Warwick -- 2
6. Larini -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 9
2. Williams -- 6
3. Ferrari -- 4
4. Footwork -- 3
5. Lotus -- 2
6. Ligier -- 1

[FullMetalJack]

4. Footwork -- 3

The team was still known as Arrows in 1990.

[Aerond]

4. Footwork -- 3

The team was still known as Arrows in 1990.

I´m not sure... The official name of the team is Footwork Arrows Racing

[Phoenix]

4. Footwork -- 3

The team was still known as Arrows in 1990.

I´m not sure... The official name of the team is Footwork Arrows Racing

That's because Footwork was the main sponsor. They took over in 1991.

[FullMetalJack]

Who was ROTR for Phoenix?

[Aerond]

Who was ROTR for Phoenix?

Edited for your pleasure!

[Aerond]

1989 - ROUND 2 - BRAZIL

Ah! We finally got rid of Rio! Really, Intergalos is an exciting track! It reminds me of Suzuka a little bit, with the elevation changes and the variety of corners. It was also the home GP for Ayrton, which made the whole weekend a bit of a party around him. That´s good, as I could concentrate on my driving.

Qualifying

Not good. Ended Friday 21st without finding the correct setup, then improved a bit on Saturday and got to 10th, but not being really comfortable with it.

1. Senna -- 1.12.496
2. Mansell -- 1.12.924
3. Prost -- 1.13.229
4. Patrese -- 1.13.275
5. Piquet -- 1.13.347
6. Boutsen -- 1.13.348
---
9. Martini -- 1.13.850
10. Dagnall -- 1.14.091
11. Nakajima -- 1.14.153

Race

Although the setup hadn´t improved much I thought that my higher speed in the straights would help me out to climb the field. I had reasons to be optmistic after the first lap, as I was 7th and pursuing Berger and Patrese, but coming into Ferradura in second lap, Boutsen touched me from behind with no options at all to pass me and he sent me to the wall to record another disappointing DNF.

1. Senna -- 1h41m11.505
2. Prost -- +8.592
3. Bernard -- +56.602
4. Boutsen -- +58.510
5. Patrese -- +1.00.260
6. Alesi -- +1.04.558
7. Nannini -- +1 lap
8. Berger -- +1 lap
9. Modena -- +1 lap
10. Alliot -- +1 lap
11. Larini -- +1 lap
12. De Cesaris -- +1 lap
13. Alboreto -- +1 lap
14. Foitek -- +2 laps

ROTR -- Aguri Suzuki: Ruined a good race in perspective by coming in first lap for a new front wing then retired quietly.

Standings - After 2 races

Drivers

1. Senna -- 18
2. Prost -- 10
3. Boutsen -- 9
4. Bernard -- 4
5. Caffi -- 3
6. Patrese -- 2
= Warwick -- 2
8. Larini -- 1
9. Alesi -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 18
2. Williams -- 11
3. Ferrari -- 10
4. Lola -- 4
5. Arrows -- 3
6. Lotus -- 2
7. Ligier -- 1
= Tyrrell -- 1

[Aerond]

1990 - ROUND 3 - SAN MARINO

Although I haven´t got good results at Imola (a 7th last year as best), it´s a track I´ve always liked. Anyway, I was thinking before the Friday session started, why this year would be very different...

Qualifying

Although I´ve now got the fastest car I decided to go for a low downforce setup, close to that I use in Mexico... Well, this approach paid off!! I earned enough in the straights not to worry in the rest of the track and I didn´t even go on track on Saturday at all: I had the pole!!

1. Dagnall -- 1.21.688
2. Senna -- 1.22.201
3. Mansell -- 1.22.357
4. Prost -- 1.22.594
5. Boutsen -- 1.22.867
6. Patrese -- 1.22.983

Race

I didn´t the best of the starts but the top speed was enough to arrive in front at Tossa. In first lap second was Senna, then Mansell, Boutsen and Prost.
In lap 4 I had 1.5 secs over Senna, then 2.4 in lap 8. I was trying to build a slightly bigger gap for the first of my two stops when Senna spun at the last corner in lap 15!! He was down to 15th and lost any chance to win, so it was down to Mansell and me for the moment. I managed to increase the gap a bit and it was 6.6 secs in lap 22 when we both stopped. After that, I was 3rd, with Piquet at the front now after an excellent first part of the race. In lap 23 Prost was 3.8 secs ahead, and in lap 25 I was just behind and passed him at Tossa, while he was trying to lap Alliot, who held the Ferrari for a second. Enough to pass. In lap 27 Piquet went into the pits and I led again while Senna was 8th now. In lap 34 Prost stopped so Mansell came 2nd again, and he was now 8.7. In lap 42 I did my second pit and came out 2nd behind Mansell. He stopped in lap 45 as I scored the fastest lap and Prost came 2nd again some 18 secs behind me. I just had to take the car to the end now!! ... but that isn´t an easy task sometimes. In lap 50 I was running behind Larini and Dalmas and I passed the italian at Tossa, only to brake a little bit too late and collide with Dalmas! It was ok, as I lost several seconds but my advantage was 11.6 after that over Mansell, who had passed Prost. But, in lap 53, I came to lap Foitek for the 2nd time and the Swiss did something really stupid: He opened the door then suddenly closed at the entrance of the chicane, nearly touching wheels. After that, he just stayed in the middle of the road!! I touched the grass and somehow he managed to hit my wheel again as I tried to put the 4 wheels over the asphalt again, and he crashed to the wall, retiring inmediately. After that, the advantage was only around 8 secs, and I had time for another stunt when Alesi spun in front of me in lap 59... Anyway, I just took a relaxed last two laps and scored my first win of the season and my first win for the McLaren team!! I hope is the first of many to come in Marlboro colours. Piquet passed Prost in the last lap to claim a podium finish

1. Dagnall -- 1h27m27.562
2. Mansell -- +4.049
3. Piquet -- +13.602
4. Prost -- +14.402
5. Senna -- +35.826
6. Berger -- +45.692
7. Alesi -- +1 lap
8. Caffi -- +1 lap
9. Alliot -- +1 lap
10. Larini -- +2 laps

ROTR: Gregor Foitek: Almost took the leader out, then crashed in the same action ruining a top 10 finish.

Standings - After 3 races -

Drivers

1. Senna -- 20
2. Prost -- 13
3. Dagnall -- 9
= Boutsen -- 9
5. Mansell -- 6
6. Bernard -- 4
= Piquet -- 4
8. Caffi -- 3
9. Patrese -- 2
= Warwick -- 2
11. Larini -- 1
= Alesi -- 1
= Berger -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 29
2. Ferrari -- 19
3. Williams -- 11
4. Benetton -- 5
5. Lola -- 4
6. Arrows -- 3
7. Lotus -- 2
8. Ligier -- 1
= Tyrrell -- 1

[TomWazzleshaw]

Dangall will be a world champion by the end of 1992.

You heard it here first

[Aerond]

1989 - ROUND 4 - MONACO

It´s always special to come back to Monaco! A track I truly love, and where I had been a bit unlucky until the 3rd place last year. Even though there´re other street circuits (which I use to like), points in Monaco should count double.

Qualifying

I got the grip very fast. The McLaren is a very easy car to setup and, after the two first races, I´m finally taking advantage of it. On thursday Senna was a bit faster than me, but on Saturday I took the best out of the car and could beat my team-mate for the 2nd time this season, making for a new pole-position.

1. Dagnall -- 1.18.198
2. Senna -- 1.18.613
3. Prost -- 1.18.788
4. Mansell -- 1.19.207
5. Alesi -- 1.19.372
6. Boutsen -- 1.19.404

Race

This time I made a bad start and Senna made an incredible one. While I had to manage to keep Prost behind Senna got a gap of 1.9 at the end of the first lap! However, it became clear that I was faster than him very soon and in lap 4 I passed him at Tabac. I suppose it took him by surprise because he didn´t try anything to block me. Next lap his gearbox failed so Prost became my main enemy now, but he was no rival and I started to build a big gap over him: It was 6.8 in lap 8, then 13.9 in lap 14 and 15.6 in lap 20 thanks to the slower cars. I did my first pit out of 3 in lap 22, and then is when Prost definitely lost the race if all went normal: I passed him in lap 24 with the new tyres and after his pit-stop in lap 27 he was 32.9 seconds behind. I lost a bit of time in lap 38 at Mirabeau but after my second pit in lap 40 I still had 13.0 seconds. I put my best laps there (including the fastest lap of the race) and that left the Ferrari driver 30.9 secs behind by lap 50. He did his 2nd stop in lap 54 and I did my last in lap 59, with my advantage being in the region of 43 secs. Even though I slowed a bit down the gap grew to some 52 secs by lap 70, enough to cover any problem. However, nothing happened and I took my first win at Monaco, which makes the 2nd of the season and the 4th of my career!! Behind, De Cesaris lost his 5th place in the last two laps to the Larrousses, and Nakajima did so when going too wide as I tried to lap him. Nannini was 5th but a late pit-stop destroyed his fantastic performance.

1. Dagnall -- 1h47m59.270
2. Prost -- +59.707
3. Piquet -- +1 lap
4. Berger -- +1 lap
5. Suzuki -- +2 laps
6. Bernard -- +2 laps
7. De Cesaris -- +2 laps
8. Nakajima -- +2 laps
9. Nannini -- +2 laps
10. Alliot -- +2 laps
11. Larini -- +3 laps
12. Foitek -- +4 laps

ROTR - Williams: Out of the pace and both cars retired mid-race for the 2nd time in a row with reliability issues.

[Aerond]

Championship standings - after 4 races:

Drivers

1. Senna -- 20
2. Prost -- 19
3. Dagnall -- 18
4. Boutsen -- 9
5. Piquet -- 8
6. Mansell -- 6
7. Bernard -- 5
8. Berger -- 4
9. Caffi -- 3
10. Patrese -- 2
= Suzuki -- 2
= Warwick -- 2
13. Alesi -- 1
= Larini -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 38
2. Ferrari -- 25
3. Benetton -- 12
4. Williams -- 11
5. Lola -- 7
6. Arrows -- 3
7. Lotus -- 2
8. Tyrrell -- 1
= Ligier -- 1

[TomWazzleshaw]

I feel happy that 15 years later Daniel Melrose managed to emulate his idol's performance around Monaco taking a similarly crushing win

[nikmondo]

Hey Chris. I've d/load GP2 and i'm using it on a mediocre laptop which has XP and i've encountered a few issues. No.1 the game runs sooooo quick it's almost running in fast forward speed!! How do I slow them down? Secondly there is no sound which is really annoying...

Any ideas chris or anyone?

[Aerond]

1990 - ROUND 5 - CANADA

Qualifying

For the first session I wanted to try the possibility of using a high downforce setup. The car was certainly very easy to drive this way but I ended up 4th, with Mansell first, Senna second and Prost third. On saturday, I headed towards a low downforce setup. It made the car a bit uncomfy to drive but it paid off and got my third pole in a row!! Everybody else improved as well but Senna was still 3rd. Caffi didn´t get to qualify the Arrows.

1. Dagnall -- 1.14.729
2. Mansell -- 1.14.888
3. Senna -- 1.14.937
4. Prost -- 1.15.369
5. Patrese -- 1.15.849
6. Boutsen -- 1.15.851

Race

I did a decent start, and Senna passed Mansell for 2nd. I knew from the very beggining that it was going to be a battle between Senna and me, as the Ferraris disappeared in my mirrors by 2nd lap. In lap 5 the gap between me and Senna was just 1.5, then 1.2 in lap 10. We were having a very intense fight, lap by lap, with very similar lap times, but Senna suffered a bit more the tyre degradation and the gap grew to 3.7 by lap 15. Meanwhile Prost abandoned in lap 14. By lap 20 I had made a couple of mistakes and the gap was down again to 1.5, then 5.1 at the end of lap 24. Then I made my first stop. I didn´t know Senna strategy at all so if he went for just one stop it was going to be very hard to win the race, but to some relief he stopped in lap 27 and regained the lead, this time by 6.7 secs, which grew to 8.7 by lap 35, thanks to some traffic, which I handled better.
In lap 36, I approached Nakajima´s Tyrrell to lap him before the hairpin, but he suddenly closed on the inside when it was clear I would go that way!!! The result: My front wing flew off, and I had to pit for it. Then I decided to keep my 2 stops strategy, which meant I would have to stay 34 laps on the same tyres!! Having a heavier car, I couldn´t take advantage of the new tyres and from lap 37 to lap 45 the gap to Senna grew to 28.0 secs, before he went into the pits in lap 48. Maybe, if I passed him, I had a chance of keeping him behind but, as I passed through the finish line, he went out of the pits, just a handful of meters in front! I had nothing to do with his fresh tyres, so I just concentrated on losing as less time as possible in the next 10 laps. In lap 49 the gap was 1.4, while in lap 60 it peaked at 7.5 with just 10 laps to go. From then on, he started having problems with the tyres and the traffic as well, while I did the impossible to keep the car on track, which at least was easier to handle as the fuel level went down. By lap 65 the gap was 3.8 and I was determined I could do it, then 2.5 in lap 67 after lapping a group of cars. With nobody ahead, it would just be a fight between me and my team-mate. The gap went down to 1.5 by the end of lap 68, then 1.3 by lap 69, after I almost lost the car at the final chicane. I knew I could do it, maybe with a little bit of luck... I think Murray Walker did a better job telling what happened for the BBC:
"And here we go for the final lap at the 1990 Canadian Grand Prix. Both McLarens are leading with Senna first and Dagnall second as they head into the Island hairpin. We will see if Dagnall can throw a final attack at his team-mate after recovering of a crash with Satoru Nakajima´s Tyrrell. They pass through the first chicane now, and we see that Dagnall has closed on. He´s just behind Senna right now. They head into the right-left chicane before heading for the old pits hairpin. There they go, Senna is in the middle trying to guess where Dagnall may attack. Dagnall heads for the outside... and he´s moved into the inside!!! The english driver has moved into the lead at the final lap! Let´s see if Senna can react and try a move at the final chicane... but no, he´s lost the chance of slipstreaming at the straight and Dagnall heads for the chicane to win for the third time in a row this season and for the lead in the drivers championship. He is passing now the line and he celebrates it. What an end to the race!"

1. Dagnall -- 1h33m03.563
2. Senna -- +0.410
3. Piquet -- +1.05.071
4. Berger -- +1.10.607
5. Alesi -- +1 lap
6. Capelli -- +2 laps
7. Nannini -- +2 laps
8. Martini -- +2 laps
9. Alliot -- +2 laps
10. Nakajima -- +3 laps
11. Larini -- +3 laps
12. Foitek -- +8 laps

ROTR: Derek Warwick: Crashed into the "wall of champions" in lap 3.

Standings -After 5 races-

Drivers

1. Dagnall -- 27
2. Senna -- 26
3. Prost -- 19
4. Piquet -- 12
5. Boutsen -- 9
6. Berger -- 7
7. Mansell -- 6
8. Bernard -- 5
9. Caffi -- 3
= Alesi -- 3
11. Patrese -- 2
= Suzuki -- 2
= Warwick -- 2
14. Larini -- 1
= Capelli -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 53
2. Ferrari -- 25
3. Benetton -- 19
4. Williams -- 11
5. Lola -- 7
6. Arrows -- 3
= Tyrrell -- 3
8. Lotus -- 2
9. Ligier -- 1
= Leyton House -- 1

[Aerond]

Hey Chris. I've d/load GP2 and i'm using it on a mediocre laptop which has XP and i've encountered a few issues. No.1 the game runs sooooo quick it's almost running in fast forward speed!! How do I slow them down? Secondly there is no sound which is really annoying...

Any ideas chris or anyone?

Are you running it directly on XP? I think you should try to run it through a Virtual PC with Win 98 or DosBox. You shouldn´t have any issues that way.

[Aerond]

1990 - ROUND 6 - MEXICO

It must be the first time ever I arrive to a race being the favourite, but that´s the truth, for the first time everybody expects me to win. And is not very comfortable, though is great to know that if people expect you to win is because you have real chances of doing so.

Qualifying

it all went pretty well and think I could have gone even faster, but I didn´t need many laps to get the pole position. Luckily, i did it on Friday as on Saturday I had a heavy crash in my first flying lap as Berger carelessly left the pitlane and driving into the line and into me.

1. Dagnall -- 1.21.871
2. Senna -- 1.22.777
3. Mansell -- 1.22.960
4. Prost -- 1.23.226
5. Patrese -- 1.23.762
6. Boutsen -- 1.23.802

Race

I kept the leading at the start and Prost gained 2nd, giving me way to be leading with 3.0 secs at the end of the first lap. Senna passed Prost during the 2nd lap but I was still gaining time when in lap 4 I spun in the infield. Seconds later, Nakajima crashed into me and I lost one wheel, but I could still reach the box, but 26th and last and almost a lap down when I left the pits! In lap 5 I was 15 secs down Nakajima and determined to come back, but the handling wasn´t the same: The car was damaged. I was still closing the gap on the japanese when I lost the car at the Peraltada and retired in lap 7. After that, the race was a mayhem and Boutsen took the big price, when first Senna, then Prost and finally Piquet led until they all retired.

1. Boutsen -- 1h38m36.764
2. Donnelly -- +53.602
3. Alesi -- +1.04.313
4. Caffi -- +1.13.485
5. Warwick -- +1.20.456
6. Nannini -- +1 lap
7. Nakajima -- +1 lap
8. Alliot -- +2 laps

ROTR - Dagnall: Of all the retirements at the front, he was the only one retiring on his own fault.

Standings - After 6 races

Drivers

1. Dagnall -- 27
2. Senna -- 26
3. Prost -- 19
4. Boutsen -- 18
5. Piquet -- 12
6. Berger -- 7
= Alesi -- 7
8. Mansell -- 6
= Caffi -- 6
= Donnelly -- 6
11. Bernard -- 5
12. Warwick -- 4
13. Patrese -- 2
= Suzuki -- 2
15. Larini -- 1
= Capelli -- 1
= Nannini -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 53
2. Ferrari -- 25
3. Williams -- 20
4. Benetton -- 19
5. Lotus -- 10
6. Lola -- 7
= Tyrrell -- 7
8. Arrows -- 6
9. Ligier -- 1
= Leyton House -- 1
= Minardi -- 1

[Aerond]

1990 - ROUND 7 - FRANCE

Qualifying

Everything went perfect again and I did my 5th pole position in a row! This time by a smaller margin but it´s natural to think that everybody is closing down.

1. Dagnall -- 1.07.475
2. Senna -- 1.07.621
3. Mansell -- 1.07.835
4. Prost -- 1.08.135
5. Boutsen -- 1.08.507
6. Patrese -- 1.08.510

Race

I started pretty well thanks to the accel on my McLaren and I managed to beat Mansell at the first corner, advantaging him by 1.1 secs at the end of the first lap. It was looking good but in the infield at the second lap I let the car go from behind and I spun. It was really inconvenient as I was heading for a 3-stop strategy and this would destroy it, but I was happy enough to be back on track safe at 13th. I passed Martini and Modena in lap three, then Berger but I suffered a gear selection problem and had to pit in lap 4! Now I was down to 24th out of 25, but I decided to keep the strategy anyway. By the time I passed the line on 5th lap, I was 11.5 down to Dalmas. I passed Dalmas in lap 8, then Foitek next lap and Alliot and Alboreto in lap 10 for 20th place. In lap 15 I was already 12th, 4.6 secs down to Warwick!!! Mansell retired shortly afterwards and for my first pit in lap 20 I was 9th, which was 12th after it. I gained the 7th position in lap 25 after the stops, then 4th, with Piquet 5.5 secs ahead of me, with Prost and Senna fighting for 1st, with a slight advantage for the french. Piquet was a tough rival, though, and could only reduce his advantage to 3.8 when I came in lap 40 for my 2nd pit, falling to 7th. After the pit-stops and passing Patrese I was 3rd (having passing Piquet during his stop) and I was down 16.0 to Senna, who had done his only stop and was running slower thanks to his fuel load, which would also give Prost the lead. In lap 53 the Ferrari failed and I was promoted to 2nd, with Piquet standing in the region of 3 secs behind me. I managed to reduce the gap to 10 secs in lap 63, when I did my last stop. Piquet stopped two laps later and I kept 2nd but Senna was 30.2 secs ahead. I started to put a series of very fast laps, taking advantage of the new tyres and I managed to reduce the gap to 22.1 in lap 70. I was running as fast as possible to catch Senna by the last lap but I came down to earth on lap 72 when I spun at the spoon corner. Piquet passed me briefly but I regained position before the end of the lap, concentrating of keeping the Benetton behind until the end of the race. Not a bad race, I didn´t deserve to win thanks to my mistakes, so maybe 2nd is fair.

1. Senna -- 1h38m07.189
2. Dagnall -- +35.501
3. Piquet -- +36.025
4. Berger -- +1 lap
5. Bernard -- +1 lap
6. Alesi -- +1 lap
7. Alliot -- +2 laps
8. Larini -- +2 laps
9. Alboreto -- +2 laps
10. Foitek -- +3 laps
11. Patrese -- +6 laps
12. Nakajima -- +7 laps

ROTR - Riccardo Patrese: Ruined a promising race by spinning out and damaging his car, then retired quietly.

STANDINGS - After 7 races

Drivers

1. Senna -- 35
2. Dagnall -- 33
3. Prost -- 19
4. Boutsen -- 18
5. Piquet -- 16
6. Berger -- 10
7. Alesi -- 8
8. Bernard -- 7
9. Mansell -- 6
= Caffi -- 6
= Donnelly -- 6
12. Warwick -- 4
13. Patrese -- 2
= Suzuki -- 2
15. Larini -- 1
= Capelli -- 1
= Nannini -- 1

Constructors

1. McLaren -- 68
2. Benetton -- 26
3. Ferrari -- 25
4. Williams -- 20
5. Lotus -- 10
6. Lola -- 9
7. Tyrrell -- 8
8. Arrows -- 6
9. Ligier -- 1
= Leyton House -- 1
= Minardi -- 1