1980 Monaco Grand Prix - WARNING! LONG LONG POSTTalking PointsMichael Bleekemolen makes his return for JLD this weekend after Pierre Depault elected to cut back to a management role. Depault has failed to qualify for the last 4 races, whilst Keegan has made the grid for the last 5. Bleekemolen, on the other hand, will be looking to reenact his successful debut at 1979 Duch Grand Prix, where he qualified the JLD and dragged it to a 13th place finish, 1979's best result for JLD.
Ladislav Sedlak also makes his Formula One return replacing Martin Rossler in the Ensign this weekend, after he was severely injured in the 1979 Australian Grand Prix.
Qualifying 
Harvey Jones claimed his first career pole position two weeks ago in France, and he added to that with pole position around the principality. Scheckter lined up second, ahead of Alan Jones and Callum McAllister, ensuring that it would be a straight fight between Williams and Lotus for first position into Ste Devote. It was another day of mixed fortunes for Brabham, Perkins lined up 5th on the gird but Piquet was wallowing again down in 25th position on the grid. The gap between the McLaren duo was much closer this time out, with Gauthier lining up 13th and Daly 17th, whilst rivals Audi experienced a Brabham-esque session - Surer making the grid in 20th, whilst Mr Motivation slunk to 33rd and a ignominious DNQ. Also at the back of the gird, Padraig O'Connell worked miracles to qualify 22nd, Bleekemolen made the cut in 23rd position, as did Sedlak in 26th, Horford in 27th, Brancatelli 28th, and Sutherland 29th. Meanwhile, 'Jesus of Monaco' (thanks darkapprentice for that) Thomas Nurmester hauled the Osella, kicking and screaming, onto the grid in 30th position for their first ever start. Clarke, Rangelov, Lauda, Ghinzani, Keegan, Giacomelli, Stohr, Prost, Patrese and Mansell all failed to qualify.
Race, 78 Laps, Weather - Sunny, not a cloud in the skyThe grid lined up for what was set to be an epic Monaco Grand Prix. Lotus on the right; Williams on the left; Renault v Honda; Harvey vs all comers. The lights went green, and Scheckter sprinted of the line, catching Harvey unawares into Ste Devote. Harvey slipped to 2nd, but Alan behind went around the outside of McAllister to claim 3rd place at the first corner, and surprisingly, all 30 cars didn't sustain any damage. Up the hill to Massenet, Scheckter was clear out in front, with the two Lotuses, Perkins, both Renaults and Kevin all squabbling.
Alan attempted to pass Harvey for 2nd at the hairpin, but was denied, and the field settled down a little around the course of the lap, but across the line Scheckter had pulled out a massive 4 second lead! The order was Schekter - Harvey - Alan - Perkins - McAllister - JPJ, and with the lap one squabbling over, Harvey was able to cut down into Scheckter's lead, which by the start of lap 3 was already down to 2.1 seconds. Hiroshi Takagi became the first victim of the Monaco barriers after putting the power down to early in Rascasse, bringing his battle with Bleekemolen to a premature end. Mario Andretti in 10th position breathed a sigh of relief.
By lap 6, Harvey Jones had closed the gap to Scheckter to almost nothing - and so had everyone else, with the top 7 nose to tail down towards Mirabeau. Harvey couldn't get past Scheckter at the Hairpin, but Alan had no fears about taking 2nd from his dithering team mate. Ina banzai move, he took second from Harvey and left the door wide open for Perkins, who gladly followed Alan through and into 3rd position. Scheckter was still in the lead, but realised the pressure was on and began to pull away from the closing pack with Alan in hot pursuit. The top two sprinted away, and through Ste Devote on lap 8, the gap back to Harvey (who was back into 3rd place) was 4 seconds. Alan was clearly faster than the Williams, but couldn't get past, with Scheckter shutting the door each time, and Harvey closing back up in 3rd place.
Down in 21st position, Valentino Nicchi's Lada badged Renault expired in a cloud of smoke, with the Vatican hotshot stopping his car before Portier. Right in the middle of the track. With things already tight between the barriers, the rest of the field struggled to get by, but luckily a crane was poised to spring into life immediately. Still, FISA decided to hand out a £1,500 fine.
Alan tried again to get past Scheckter at the hairpin on lap 10 and was again shown the door, but with Harvey right behind again, the pressure was now on the Williams to try and keep the lead. Pressure which was obviously too much, as coming up the hill the next lap, the Honda decided enough was enough and an early bath was in order. Scheckter's slowing car took up most of the track, allowing Alan to eek out a 3 second lead as Harvey tried to get past the expired Williams. Starting lap 13, the two Joneses were out in front, with Perkins and Jabouille 6 seconds behind Harvey's Lotus. Villeneuve pulled into the pits after a tangle with someone to replace a front wing, a very lengthy pitstop that would put him last and in danger of being lapped.
Harvey was able to close the gap to the lead in almost no time at all and with Perkins still 7 seconds back, he set about challenging Alan for the lead. But Alan wasn't about to concede the lead that easily, shutting the door everytime Harvey tried to poke a nose inside at either the hairpin or Rascasse. After a poor qualifying session for Merzario, Andretti was setting about making up for lost time , and was challenging Kevin for 8th position. Again, it was a case of Kevin putting his car in all the right places, and the lack of success seemed to dishearten the Lambo engine which blew up on lap 19. Lap 20 saw the first Renault demise of the afternoon, as Reutemann's works Renault had had enough of 6th place and decided being a lump of scrap metal was more appealing.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, Piquet had only made it as far up as 18th place. Surer, meanwhile, was on a mission for points, and launched a well-executed move down the inside of Pironi at the hairpin to claim 15th.
Back at the front, the Lotus pair were still inseparable, with Perkins closing slowly but surely in 3rd. McAllister had been having a bit of a quiet afternoon in 6th position, but after being held back by Reutemann's retirement, succumbed to engine failure himself, parking his smoking Williams at Mirabeau on lap 23. Perkins had worked the gap down to the two Joneses, with Alan still leading, to about half a second, but the presence of lapped traffic provided him with an oppurtunity to get through. Michael Bleekemolen had been running strongly in 20th position on his 1980 debut, but his gearbox jammed in 2nd on lap 24, reducing the Dutchman to a crawling pace as he struggled back to the pits. The leaders come across the stricken JLD approaching Tabac, and with Sedlak, Brancatelli and Villeneuve already struggling to get by, it was chaos. Through Piscine, Alan and Harvey deliberated passing Bleekemolen, allowing Perkins to take advantage of the situation and take the lead! Harvey also got by, and with Bleekemolen pulling into the pits to retire, Perkins lead by a tenth from Harvey and Alan up the hill, with JPJ and Laffite right behind as well.
This time, the leader wasn't able to get away, with Villeneuve in front providing a lapped barrier. Perkins still hadn't got by Vilelneuve on lap 28, with Alan in 2nd, Harvey in 3rd, JPJ in 4th, Laffite in 5th, and Kevin, who was beginning to catch up to the leading 5, in 6th. Brancatelli's Restov, which had been chucking out smoke like a chimney for the last two laps, crawled to a halt exiting the tunnel. Then Laffite, who'd passed JPJ for fourth at the hairpin, slowed heading towards Tabac with the Talbot on fire! Henton's Shadow stopped in the tunnel, allowing Fittipaldi past, with the Ford turbo up in flames as well! And all of this was on lap 29!
The smokescreen allowed Edward 'The oppurtunist' Kevin into 3rd position, with Perkins still leading, and all the retirements had allowed Guilliame Gauthier into 6th position. Things were looking good for a stunning 6 finishes from six races, with a 3rd consecutive points finish to boot, until the normally reliable Ford turbo let go on lap 31, in the tunnel of all places. This benefited Arnoux, who despite the shortcomings of the terrible Ferrari chassis, had been stuck to Gauthier's gearbox for most of the race and was now on for a solitary, if undeserving, point.
At the sharp end of the pack Kevin had found pace from somewhere, managing to keep Harvey behind, despite his best efforts. When Alan made a slight mistake on lap 37, Kevin pounced to take second position, with Perkins still leading by 2 tenths! JPJ was still clinging on to the back of Harvey, and with the leaders past the lapped Villeneuve, Perkins began to pull away for the first time since taking the lead 15 laps previous.
Perkins had worked out a 3.8 second gap by lap 40, Kevin now looking like he was struggling with the Ligier, with Alan demoting the Leinsterman to 3rd after a small error from the Ligier driver at the hairpin. Harvey looked almost certain to make a pass next time around, by he was spared the difficulty of overtaking Kevin by another Talbot engine failure, forcing Kevin to stop at Mirabeau and walk slowly back to the pits.
Perkins had the lead still, although lapped traffic meant that the two Joneses were now right behind again, putting pressure on the Brabham driver to find a way past Horfords Alfa. At the other end of the field, Nelson Piquet's poor day came to an end with engine failure, putting him out of the misery of being unable to get past Bellof's Shadow. An extremely poor performance from the supposed championship contender, who could well be on his way out at Brabham. The order was now Perkins - Alan - Harvey - JPJ - Arnoux - Daly, but with Horford still holding up Perkins, Alan tried a move at the hairpin, but was shown the door by Perkins under the bridge. Horford managed to get past Horfords Alfa, with Sedlak's Honda powered Ensign presenting itself as the next obstacle for the leaders. In a dramatic twist, the TV cameras captured Patrick Head walking down to the Ensign garage to talk to Mo Nunn, and leaving the garage with a big smile on his face. It looked like Head had told Nunn to tell Sedlak to hold the leaders up, but if that was the plan, it couldn't come into frution, as Sedlak became stuck in 3rd gear before the leaders approached, allowing them to go harmlessly by.
The backmarkers allowed Arnoux's Ferrari in 5th to close right up to the leading 4, and despite having the slower car, had no fears in getting past JPJ when he slid wide at the hairpin in a move missed by the cameras. Perkins had managed to pull a half a second lead out in front of Alan, but when traces of white smoke began to appear from Perkins engine, it looked as if his race would be over very soon. The Renault engine lasted two more laps before it finally blew up on lap 52, forcing Perkins to stop on the inside of Casino. Alan and Harvey went through into the lead, with JPJ in 3rd and Arnoux being promoted to a stunning fourth place for Ferrari.....or so he was, until he ran straight into the back of Perkins stopped car! The Ferrari was broken, and Perkins - who'd just stepped out of the car - looked on with disbelief at Arnoux's ineptitude.
Arnoux's crash and Perkin's engine failure prmoted Daly to 4th, Bellof to 5th, and allowed Surer into the points for the first time in his career. He was on track for his and Audi's first points, if only that troublesome TAG prepared engine could hold together....
Alan now lead Harvey by less than two tenths, with JPJ the same distance behind but were now stuck behind the stubborn Alfa of Horford again. Alan could not find a way past the Alfa, with Horford refusing to move over, and on lap 56 Harvey fancied his chances of taking the lead at the hairpin. Alan - too focused on Horford in front- left the door open, allowing Harvey to make a move down the inside. He couldn't make it stick, however, with both Lotuses side by side under the bridge down to Portier. Alan was on the inside, Harvey was on the outside with just a nose in front, and sweeped in front of Alan, taking the racing line into Portier. Alan on the inside was forced to take the corner at an impossible angle, and with slight contact, slid into the harbour wall! In an incredible turn of events, Harvey Jones now led, with JPJ now seconds, and Alan in 3rd, who was 10 seconds back from the lead when he got going again.
With Horford still holding Harvey up in the lead, Alan was able to close right back up to the leading pair - in fact just two laps later, the gap was down to 2.6 seconds already! Lap 58 also saw Derek Daly retire from a strong 5th position, and Kevin Sutherland's suspension also gave way, allowing Pafraig O'Connell in the Rebaque into the points on his first start since Australia. Alan had closed to the back of JPJ just a lap later, and looked set to make a move, whilst it was heartbreak for Audi, as Surer pulled his sick sounding machine into the pits to retire from 5th, and two points. At the other end of the pitlane, however, the tiny Osella team were celebrating! After just sneaking onto the grid to make their first ever start, Thomas Nurmester had led a queit race, and with Surer's retirement, found himself in 6th position and on track to record Osellas first points on their first start! In a TV interview, Valentino Nicchi hailed Nurmester as the 'Jesus of Monaco', and rightly so - Nurmester found himself ahead of Pironi, Villeneuve, and Roberto Horfords works Alfa.
With 17 to go, Alan passed JPJ at Rascasse after the Renault slid wide, and found himself back in 2nd place. Harvey was still being held up by Horford, and even Colin Chapman shouting obscenities in the Alfa garage, and a pitboard reading 'Move over Roberto', would make the Alfa move over to let the leaders through. The top 3 had spent so long behind Horford, Stefan Bellof in fourth place was now just 4 seconds behind, and JPJ had found a way back past Alan. But it would be another tragic non-finish for JPJ and Renault, as the engine failed exiting Rascasse, leaving JPJ only a short walk back to the pits to rue what might have been.
With 8 to go, the two Joneses were fighting intensely for the win; still stuck behind Horford's Alfa, of course. Alan passed Harvey at the hairpin on lap 73, and with 3 to go, Horford was shown the black flag, but elected to plod on anyway. But with the race was on for the win. Harvey took the lead at the hairpin on lap 76, and managed to hold off Alan through Piscine, but left the door open at Anthony Noghues! Alan now led on lap 77 with two to go, with Harvey right behind, and Bellof 4 tenths back! When Harvey couldn't get past at the hairpin, Alan looked to have the race in the bag, but a banzai move from Harvey into Rascasse secured him the lead starting the last lap! There was nothing between the pair coming up the hill, they were so close they were almost touching. Through Mirabeau, Harvey managed to get a few tenths advantage over Alan. But Harvey left the door wide, wide open, allowing Alan to lunge down the inside and take the lead! Harvey glued himself to Alan's gearbox, but Alan planted his car in all the right places. Harvey had one last chance to pass Alan aRascasse, but Alan planted his car on the inside, with no way through for Harvey!
Alan Jones, after an exhausting 78 laps, and still behind Horford, crossed the line to win the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix just 4 tenths ahead of Harvey Jones. Stefan Bellof came home third, to score valuable first points for Shadow in 1980, and Horford holding up the leaders allowed O'Connell to close within 2 seconds of the lead! The Osella garage erupted with joy as Thomas Nurmester crossed the line to take an amazing 2 points for the Italian team, and Roberto Horford finished 6th. FISA elected to disqualify Horford from the results, promoting JPJ to a classified 6th and a point, and also earning Horford
Reject of the Race. FISA determined that Horford should have let the leaders by.
SANCTIONSValentino Nicchi's fine was lifted after a successful appeal by Restov Racing.
Roberto Horford has been disqualified from this race, fined £5,000, and banned for 8 races.
Results
It really was a fantastic race, best race I've ever seen, RL or virtual.
PICTURE GALLERY = http://s1049.beta.photobucket.com/user/pasta_maldonado/library/rFAF1%201980%20Monaco%20GPCOMMENTARY RECORD http://pastebin.com/NzkUSS6aSTANDINGSDriver's Championship1. Alan Jones - 27
2. Harvey Jones - 24
3. Callum McAllister - 22
4. Larry Perkins - 18
5. Jody Scheckter - 12
= Nelson Piquet - 12
7. Jacques Laffite - 8
= Mario Andretti - 8
= Jean-Pierre Jabouille - 8
10. Edward Kevin - 6
11. Stefan Bellof - 5
12. Carlos Reutemann - 4
= Guilliame Gauthier - 4
14. Rene Arnoux - 3
= Padraig O'Connell - 3
16. Jan Lammers - 2
= Thomas Nurmester - 1
Constructor's Championship
1. Lotus-Renault -51
2. Williams-Honda - 34
3. Brabham-Renault - 29
4. Ligier-Talbot - 14
= Renault - 14
6. Merzario-Lamborghini - 7
7. Shadow-Ford - 5
8. McLaren-Ford - 4
9. Ferrari - 3
= Rebaque-Ford - 3
10. RAM-Ferrari - 2
= Osella-Alfa - 2
And what was that by Mansell? Was he secretly replaced by a Voeckler with a fake moustache?
