The Daily Telegraph from London, Greater London, England • 44

44 FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2000 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH Danger in the slow lane Former Benetton mechanic Steve Matchett describes the risks of the pit-lane in a high-pressure F1 race THE pit-stop accident during last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix in which Nigel Stepney, Ferrari's chief mechanic, was hit by Michael Schumacher's car as the driver sped from the pitlane, has once again heightened awareness of the high risks faced by Formula One mechanics as they battle against the clock to service the cars. Split timing is as much a of the work in the pits as it is out on the circuit. With a scarcity of overtaking opportunities for drivers, mechanics are working under immense pressure to out-perform one another to get their man out ahead of the opposition amid all-too-evident dangers. I can vouch for that, suffered singed eyebrows and burned overalls when operating the rear jack on Jos Verstappen's Benetton, which burst into flames during a pitstop at Hockenheim in 1994. As a mechanic you feel anxious for the next few races after such an incident, imagining a variety of scenarios: fire, wheels bouncing off, the car setting off with the jack attached to the back but fear disappears five seconds as before the car comes in and autopilot switches on.

In no way can the Ferrari accident be attributed to nerves or inexperience. Stepney is arguably the most accomplished mechanic working within the sport, a man with more than 20 years of F1 service. The first English mechanic to be signed by Ferrari throughout their involvement with grand prix racing, he is also the only chief mechanic to personally take responsibility refuelling the cars, a unique situation, as it is usual practice for the teams' chief mechanic to ating the board. coordinate the pit by operstops Stepney, however, has never been one to bask in the lethargy of tradition. He is ingenious, hardworking and ambitious: a foreigner does not rise to such heights at Ferrari without being special.

Following an embarrassingly slow refuelling stop on Gerhard Berger's Ferrari back in 1995, Stepney decided to handle the job himself. "Nigel is pretty determined, a strong character," explains Ross Brawn, Ferrari's technical director. "He has the ability to adapt Picture: JOHN TOWNSEND Life on the edge: Nigel Stepney is one of the most accomplished mechanics in the sport himself to whatever circumstance. He has plenty of experience and is willing to give whatever let's say he isn't afraid to give suggestions." Ferrari's problems at Barcelona stem from a premature "allclear" signal given to Schumacher by the mechanic standing at the front of the car. The driver's field of vision to the rear is extremely limited and his moment of release is controlled entirely by the movement of the "brakes-on" board.

The second Schumacher was given the indication to go, he was away, exactly as he has done a thousand times before. Sunday's was a dramatic moment, certainly; an accident which ultimately robbed Schumacher and Ferrari of another potential race victory. Stepney suffered relatively light injuries stretched leg tendons and a cracked tibia which will see him sidelined for the next two races, but it could easily have been much worse. After the race Schumacher apologised to him. It would have been pointless to have stopped the car at the time the best thing a driver can do in that situation is to try and compensate his mechanics by winning the race.

Sadly, however, such incidents are not rare. There has been a series of Champ Car pitlane accidents, the latest of which saw Newman-Haas Racing's fuel vent man break a leg when Michael Andretti accelerated off while his crewman struggled with a jammed hose. It is not so long ago that the world was shocked by pictures of Verstappen's Benetton bursting into flames, with all his me- McNish keeps F1 hopes alive THREE weeks ago the grandstands at Silverstone were thronged with soggy hordes waving the Scot, David Coulthard, home to a popular win. This weekend a smaller, but hopefully drier, contingent will be wishing for a victory from another Scot, Allan McNish, who once promised a Formula One career as successful as Coulthard's. McNish, a professional to the soft soles of his driving boots, is focused on success for his Audi team at this weekend's round of the American Le Mans Series at the Northamptonshire circuit.

But in the rare moments of relaxation that his schedule allows, he looks forward to the distant possibility of reviving his ambitions of enjoying a career at the pinnacle of motor sport. McNish's long career he is now 30 has featured more downs than ups. Evidence of great talent in Formula Three and Formula 3000 was rewarded with test drives for a number of top Formula One teams, But, through no fault of his own, his way on to the grand prix grid was barred while lesser talents slipped through, often aided by the size of their wallet rather than the scope of their talent. Undeterred, McNish has forged a successful career in Diary By Andrew Baker Touring Car Ch'ship: Reid is heading home rounds seven and eight of British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill to end the dominance of Vauxhall's Yvan Muller, who the two races at Thruxton. Scot is third in the championship and knows the better than any of his Reid said: "I went to just down the road and I how weather works in part of the country, which advantage.

Knockhill is a I enjoy as well." FedEx Championship: Franchitti has had a disappointing start to the in the opening three of the US-based championship after finishing in the series last year. Scot now hopes his fortunes change in Montegi, Japan. Group Limited, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, Tel: 0161 872 5939. Registered as a newspaper at copy cuttings from this newspaper contact the NLA SPORT 7 Allan McNish: long career has more downs than ups sports car racing, comforted by the knowledge that it is better to win competitive races than to stooge around at the back of the field in an underfunded and slow Formula One car. Besides, he is not emotionally equipped for bitterness.

"There's no point looking back," he said at Silverstone yesterday. "That way you just get sad and grumpy before your time, and that's not my way." Better by far to focus on the positives: a chance to reprise his Le Mans victory of 1998, and a serious crack at the ALMS title with Audi. The championship, as its name suggests, is American-based and intended for cars qualified to race in the French 24-hour race. The Silverstone round is one of two events in Europe, and the rest take place in the US before the season closes on New Year's Eve in Adelaide, Australia. The cars taking part are a mixture of what used to be known as sports prototypes, swift winged monsters with factory budgets from the likes of Audi, BMW and the American Panoz marque, and GT cars recognisably based on more.

going vehicles, usually entered by privateer outfits. The resulting high-octane cocktail requires the best drivers to go flat-out throughout their stints at the wheel, while avoiding the mobile chicanes presented by their slower rivals. "That's the nature of sports car racing," McNish said. "I remember a race at Daytona where I drove 1min 50sec-laps for seven hours and in all that time there were only two laps when I didn't have to pass someone else. It certainly keeps you awake." The cars themselves are challenging to drive.

"They're like a Formula One car of a few years ago," McNish said. "Plenty of power and down-force, but slick tyres rather than the grooves that F1 uses today. You really have to pick them up and throw them around. Great fun." McNish was throwing his Pizzonia put to test By Gary Emmerson BRAZILIAN teenager Antonio Pizzonia swapped Spain for Snetterton this week after his Formula One test with AngloItalian team Benetton was put on hold. The 19-year-old has impressed Formula One scouts this season after he burst on to the British Formula Three scene with Manor Motorsport, and Benetton offered him the chance to test their world championship challenger at Jerez.

Pizzonia, who heads the F3 Championship by two points, had to pass up the opportunity because duties with Manor Motorsport required him to test at Snetterton. However, the young driver who seems assured of a future in Formula One insisted: "I will definitely be testing with Benet- London, E14 5DT. Tel: 020 7538 5000. the Post Office. Newspapers Support on 01892 525273, e-mail TELEVISION REVIEW Grey area between drama and real life O0KING back on it now, Nice Girl (BBC2) seems an admirable piece Jof television drama beautifully acted by a cast mostly of unknowns; powerfully bleak working portrait of messed-up young lives.

And yet, it must be admitted that actually watching the programme was a pretty boring experience. (As you may already have guessed, the I'll be trying to avoid today is "worthy but So, why was this? The main reason, I think, is that in striving so hard tip look like real life, Nice Girl ended with the worst of both worlds. On the one hand, we were never fooled into believing that this wasn't drama. On the other, it was drama without any dramatic going clubbing. At which point, her younger sister Mel (Kate Jarman) intervened, by adding Steve to her alarmingly long list of sexual conquests.

When Jo found out, she went off to live with her older sister who'd also been pregnant at 15 and soon had all the vodka and clubbing her heart desired. And that, most of the programme still left, was about it. The children shuttled between their parents. Mel unexpectedly metamordrank phosed and into a slept solid family, The aimlessness of all concerned felt convincing enough. So although the Welsh tourist board, probably won't agree did the sense of motorsport on Focus is British Anthony for the looking won The circuit rivals.

school know this is an circuit CART Dario season rounds second The will Published by Telegraph Manchester, M17 1SL To obtain permission to shape or sense of direc- place. Nonetheless, it was tion. Documentary-style definitely a relief when interviews with the main those final credits rolled. characters, for example, And so, by way of stark were interwoven with the contrast, to Harry and the action but, given that Wrinklies (ITV), a new this device dates back to at children's series that has least Woody Allen's Take no more interest than an the Money and Run (1969), Ealing comedy in repreit wasn't enough to do the senting real life. Harry these-must-be-real-people James Walton (Nick Robinson, the boy trick.

The same goes, only from Goodnight Mr Tom) more so, for the jerky goes to live with his two James Walton camerawork and "overheard" dialogue. Such techniques are now so familiar that they no longer denote unmediated grim reality only drama hoping to pass itself off as unmediated grim reality. (For this reason, I bet that The Cops will date more quickly than Dixon of Dock Green ever did.) Still, Nice Girl's grimness wasn't in doubt. It began in Port Talbot in 1995, with the father of 15-year-old Joanna (Joanna Griffiths) finding her in with hunky Steve (Steve Meo). Sure enough, moments later she was pregnant; and not long after that, she was married.

Cut to the present day. Steve was now a squaddie, but with a commitment to unexciting domesticity that Charles Bovary might have found excessive. Jo was doing her best as a mother of two, but missed the simple teenage pleasures of necking a bottle of vodka, donning a tiny skirt and great-aunts in the country. There, he discovers that they, together with a group of irreproachably eccentric and lovable friends, are profitable sideline as robbers. (But they do give the money to deserving causes.) What makes this such good fun is not only the overwhelming geniality of tone, but the adults take full advantage of the chance traditionally offered by children's television to overact wildly.

Not that Victor Spinetti ever needs much of an excuse. And, when I tell you that he here plays a hammy old thesp with a taste for theatrical anecdotes (not a role, I suspect, that he found very demanding) you'll be able to imagine just how much he enjoys himself. Meanwhile, in a most welcome bonus, Gareth Hunt makes a rare recent television appearance as a flat cap-wearing cad of the old school. chanics rolling on the ground in an attempt to extinguish burning overalls. In 1995 Eddie Irvine's Jordan suffered a similar fate during the Belgium Grand Prix, though thankfully not with such severe injuries to his frightened crew.

In 1996, a faulty fuelvalve aboard the Ligier of Pedro Diniz caused the car to catch fire as it sped back into the race. Stepney himself is pragmatic about his accident. "The guys are working constant 18-hour days and then they're expected to perform at peak performance during the pit-stops," he said. "I still have faith in the mechanics who work around me, but accidents will always happen in motor racing. Fine, in Barcelona we messed up, but in Imola they won Ferrari the race with their work in that last pit-stop, yet they get paid Audi around to good effect in free practice yesterday for Saturday's 500km (310 mile) race, though the Lola of Mimmo Schiattarella and Didier De Radigues clocked the fastest time of all.

Schiattarella's time of 1min 38.527sec was three tenths of a second faster than McNish and David Brabham's Panoz. These days McNish is based near Beaconsfield, which is handy for Heathrow, but his heart remains north of the border. "It's good that we're racing at Silverstone because it gives a chance for my pals to come down from Scotland to watch. The coaches hes are rolling south right now it always worries me when I hear that my local cricket club are on their way down." Cricket is a passion for McNish, and he has a longharboured ambition to watch a Test match in the Caribbean. But that will have to wait while he accomplishes more immediate goals, notably winning for Audi and finally landing the grand prix drive that he has long deserved.

Light at the end of that tunnel appeared with McNish's appointment as development driver for Toyota's F1 team, who will race in 2001. Whether he makes it to the grid depends on his efforts in the meantime. "It's like lapping backmarkers," he said. "You have to take your chances when you can." Pitlanequiz 1 Which F1 driver had an arm severed in a helicopter accident in 1990? 2. Name the three drivers who shaved their heads after the Japanese Grand Prix of 1996.

3 Who won the first race at the revised Nurburgring circuit in 1984? 4 Which Williams driver lost victory in the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix when he waved to the crowd on the final lap? 5 Jackie Stewart (below) began his F1 career in 1965 with what team? 'euues roles pue pueuinoo plea 'a senboer ape 8NX, and at Trafford Park Printers Limited, Longbridge Road, in 1998. on 020 7538 7505, e-mail Channel hopper When BBC Knowledge made the welcome decision to concentrate on specialist factual programmes, it carried this worthy mission a little too far for me when it allotted each weeknight an improving theme. Thursdays now are for European language and culture. Fortunately this seems a broad brief, as last night's vintage Jazz Legends: Billie Holiday (Radio 3, 4.00 pm) Polyrhythmic pianist Julian Joseph (right) continues his series with a look at the recording legacy of jazz diva Billie Holiday. Born Eleanor Gough McKay in 1915, Holiday debuted with Benny Goodman and later joined Count Basie in 1937.

A sensitive performer, Holiday constantly suffered racial prejudice throughout her career and sought refuge in drink and drugs. Radio 1 FIt: MHz 6 30 a.m. The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Sara Cox. 9 00 Simon Mayo. 12 00 Jo Whiley.

2 00 Mark Radcliffe. 4 00 Chris Moyles. 5 45 Newsbeat. 6 00 The Essential Selection with Pete Tong. 9.00 00 Judge Jules.

11 00 Westwood: Radio 1 Rap Show. 2 00 a.m. Fabio and Grooverider. 4 00 7.00 Sarah HB. Radio 2 FIt MHz 6 00 a.m.

Sarah Kennedy. 7 30 Wake Up to Wogan. 9 30 Ken Bruce. 12 00 Jimmy Young. 2 00 Steve Wright the Afternoon.

5 05 Johnnie Walker. 7 00 Hubert Gregg. See Choice. 7 30 Friday Night is Music Night. 9 15 Lucky Jim.

9 30 Listen to the Band. 10 00 Latins from Manhattan. 10 30 Sheridan Morley. 12 05 Lynn Parsons. 4 00 6.00 a.m.

Janey Lee Grace. Radio 3 FIt: 90.2-924 MHz 6.00 00 a.m. Morning on 3. Cantique de Jean Racine; Field, Piano Quintet in A flat; Strauss, Morgen! (Capriccio); Walton, Two Pieces for violin and orchestra; Vivaldi, Concerto in flat, RV253 (La Tempesta di Mare); Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue. 9:00 Composer of the Week: Rameau.

10 00 Work in Progress: Frances Barber. 10 05 Masterworks. Uccellini, Aria Quinta. 10.10 Britten, Our Hunting Fathers; 10.37 Ravenscroft, Fantasia a 10.41 Mozart, Piano Concerto No 27 in flat, K595; 11:14 Svendsen, Two Swedish Folk Tunes; 11.20 Anon, arr Britten, Waly, Waly; Come You Not from Newcastle; The Plough Boy. 11 30 Morning Performance.

1.00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert. A concert from the Royal Pavilion, Brighton featuring the Jerusalem Quartet. Mozart, Quartet in flat, K458; Tchaikovsky, String Quartet No 1 in Op 11. 2 00 The BBC Orchestras. BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Bernstein, Overture: Candide; Copland, Quiet City; Schoenberg, Nacht, Op Bartok, Piano Concerto No Sibelius, Symphony No 2. 4.00 00 Jazz Legends: Billie Holiday. See Choice. 5 00 In Tune. 7 30 Performance on 3.

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No 2 in Holst, Suite: The Planets; Colin Matthews, Pluto (first performance). 9 30 Night Waves. 10 15 Hear and Now. Arena, Otto Dix: Postcards from the Front, would also have been eligible for the Friday arts fest. Dix was fascinatingly difficult to pin down, either personally or as a painter.

An enthusiastic soldier in the First World War, yet the great "new realist" chronicler of the Weimar years, he kept his head down under the Nazis, painting RADIO Today's Choice by Alexander Reynolds 12 05 6.00 a.m. Through the Night. Massenet. 12.10 Beethoven, Triple Concerto in 12.50 Corelli, Violin Sonata in minor, Op 5 No 1.00 Shostakovich, Symphony No 11; 2.05 Kempf, Zvukolik; 2.20 Pierre de la Rue, Missa Sancto Job (exc); 2.55 Kraus, Symphony in minor; 3.15 Mozart, Piano Sonata, K330; 3.35 Rautavaara, Cello Concerto; 4.05 Nocturne, Op 63; 4.15 Leonarda, Sonata Prima 4.25 Schickhardt, Concerto in minor for flute and two oboes; 4.50 Mozart, Die aus dem Serail (exc); 5.00 Jarzebski, Corona Aurea; 5.10 Grainger, Hill Song No 5.20 Vivaldi, Bassoon Concerto; 5.40 CPE Bach, Concerto for harpsichord and fortepiano, Wq47. Radio 4 Mic LW: 198 kitz 5 30 a.m.

World News. 5 35 Shipping Forecast. 5 40 Inshore Forecast. 5 45 Prayer for the Day. 5 47 Leisure Update.

6 00 Today. 8 32 hw Yesterday in Parliament. 9 00 Desert Island Discs. 9 45 Book of the Week: The Shark Net by Robert Drewe. 9 45 lw An Act of Worship.

10 00 Woman's Hour. 00 The Way West. 11 30 Married. 12 00 News. 12 04 You and Yours.

1 00 The World at One. 1 30 Food Court. 2 00 The Archers, rpt. 2 15 Afternoon Play: M. for Mother by Marjorie Riddell, rpt.

3 00 Logged On: 0870 010 0444. 3 30 Improvisations. 3 45 The Man With the TwoStroke Engine, rpt. 4 00 Bookclub, rpt. 4 30 The Message.

5 00 PM. 6 00 Six O'Clock News. 6 30 News Quiz. 7 00 The Archers. 7 15 Front Row.

7 45 Diary of a Provincial Lady, rpt. 8 00 Any Questions? 8 45 Letter from America. 9 00 The Friday Play: Vox Bopp by Lesley Bruce. 00 The World Tonight. 10 45 Book at Bedtime: As It Is In Heaven by Niall Williams.

11 00 Late Tackle. Today in Parliament. 290 a.m. News. The Late Book: The Owl's Watchsong by JA Cuddon, rpt.

12 48 Shipping Forecast. 1 00 5.30 As World Service. Radio 5 Live 693. 909 kHz 5 00 a.m. Morning Reports.

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7 00 5 Live Sport. classical landscapes. After the war he could find no real place in either East or West Germany. He never came to terms with abstraction which represented freedom and the West but was never recognised by the socialist realists of the East either. An intriguing history lesson.

Marsha Dunstan Hubert Gregg (Radio 2, 7.00 pm) Hubert Gregg returns to Radio 2 with another series of old hits from Broadway and the West End. The show features jazz, swing and lots of tunes from musicals. (Plenty of Fred Astaire and Guy Lombardo we hope.) Gregg also takes to the microphone, with the prized Gordon Langford tinkling the ivories in accompaniment. 10 00 Late Night Live. 100 5.00 a.m.

Up All Night. Classic FM 100-102 MHz 6 00 a.m. Easier Breakfast. 8 00 Henry Kelly. 12 00 Lunchtime Requests.

2 00 Relaxing Classics at Two. 4.00 00 Home Run. 6 30 Newsnight. 7:00 Smooth Classics at Seven. 9 00 Evening Concert.

11 00 Tonight at 11: Classic FM Magazine. 12 00 Midnight Classics. 2.00 00 6.00 a.m. Mark Griffiths. talkSPORT 1053, 1089 kHz 6 00 a.m.

The Weekend Starts Here with Brian Woolnough. 10 00 Sports Break with Derek Hatton. 12 00 Time Smart with Jeremy Nicholas. 1 00 Memorabilia. 2 00 Inside the Boardroom with Brian Moore.

4 00 Season Ticket with Tom Watt. 7 00 Superleague Live with Adrian Durham: London St Helens. 10 00 James Reeve. 1 00 6.00 a.m. Tommy Boyd.

Virgin 1215 Fit 105.8 MHz 6 30 a.m. Breakfast Team. 9.30 Russ Williams. 1 00 Nick Abbot. 4 00 Harriet Scott.

7:00 Johnny Boy and the Wheels of Steel. 11 00 Leona Graham. 2.00 6.30 a.m. Richard' Allen. ton, but I don't know when at the moment.

I couldn't test with them in Jerez because I had to be with the team at Snetterton. Obviously, I couldn't be in two places at once." Pizzonia's F3 challenge suffered a setback last weekend at Donington, where he could finish only 11th on the Saturday before being beaten into second place by Tomas Scheckter, of Stewart Racing. However, he claimed he had ample time to secure the championship, and follow former British Formula Three driver Jenson Button on the road to the top. "We had a difficult weekend, not just in the race but also in qualifying, he added. "The race was very disappointing because I was leading on the first corner and then someone hit the back of my car." Printed at West Ferry Printers Limited, Recycling.

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