HFO 2012 - Paul Ricard
Joaquin Folch becomes 2012 FIA Historic Formula One Champion
![Peter Mayrick [GB] - March 761](http://historicformulaone.com/assets/images/992.jpg "Peter Mayrick [GB] - March 761")
Images by Jon Bunston and Dave Smith of the Historic Formula One cars and drivers at their 2012 Championship Rounds 8 and 9 races, at Circuit Paul Ricard near Marseille.
After a lengthy summer break, HFO decamped to warmer climes for Rounds 8 & 9 of the 2012 season.
Continuing the theme of the season so far, a number of entries dropped out in the week leading up to the event resulting in a very disappointing 6 cars taking the track for practice.
I could try and do the PR thing and talk up the positive aspects of the weekend but with just a few notable exceptions, many historic motorsport series are struggling to maintain grids and HFO is no exception. Much thought needed for 2013!
Free practice on Friday was notable for an uncharacteristic spin by Joaquin Folch in the beautiful Brabham BT49 which was thought to be caused by fuel starvation through the high speed corners casuing the engine to cut momentarily.
By Saturday qualifying, Fredy Kumshick’s team had clearly fixed the problem as Folch claimed pole with Richard Eyre (Williams) and Peter Meyrick (March) behind.
As race 1 got underway, both Folch and Philippe Bonny had poor starts. It looked like Richard Eyre would get the jump on Folch at the first corner but with pole giving him the inside line, Folch managed to hold Eyre off and then pulled out a lead which was never challenged.
Further back, Bonny also recovered quickly only to drop back again on lap 4. Peter Meyrick was about to given a taste of the luck he was to experience all weekend when the Cosworth engine in the March threw a con rod just as he crossed the line at the end of lap 5. More bad luck was to come in Sunday’s Group C race which Peter was also contesting.
The race now settled down and finished with Folch first, followed by Eyre and Terry Sayles in the Osella.
To avoid a timetable clash with the Group C race on Sunday, the second HFO race was scheduled as the last race of the day but this precluded Folch from taking part. However, following some mental arithmetic, it was confirmed the popular Spanish driver who has been an HFO regular for many years had secured the 2012 Championship as his points tally put him beyond any challengers.
With Folch no longer a factor, Richard Eyre enjoyed a comfortable run to take race 2. Poor Philippe Bonny was looking certain to take a step on the podium when he could be heard searching for a gear at the chicane. He came past the pits obviously in a lower gear than normal and circulated slowly for a couple of laps before deciding to call it a day with an unknown gear selection problem.
HFO now heads to the last race of 2012 at the fabulous Jerez circuit. With the overall Championship and all class winners now decided, there will be something of a party atmosphere at Jerez where a (thankfully) larger grid is expected.
Results – Race 1
| Position | No | Name | Difference | Class | Class Place | Car | Time | Fastest | In Lap | Ave Speed KPH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joaquin Folch (ES) | C | 1 | Brabham BT49C | 25:28:016 | 2:05:593 | 4 | 165.2 | |
| 2 | 6 | Richard Eyre (GB) | 41.006 | C | 2 | Williams FW08 | 26:09:022 | 2:09:055 | 2 | 160.8 |
| 3 | 3 | Terry Sayles (GB) | 2:19.479 | D | 1 | Osella FA1D | 27:47:495 | 2:16:290 | 5 | 151.3 |
| 4 | 23 | Phillipe Bonny (FR) | 1 Lap | B | 1 | Trojan T103 | 25:37:106 | 2:17:788 | 6 | 150.5 |
| 5 | 14 | Michel Baudoin (FR) | 1 Lap | B | 2 | Hesketh 308E | 25:37:554 | 2:17:884 | 7 | 150.5 |
| - | 9 | Peter Meyrick (GB) | DNF | B | March 761 | 11:06:548 | 2:11:641 | 5 |
- Car 9 – 1 point for fastest lap in class B
Results – Race 2
| Position | No | Name | Difference | Class | Class Place | Car | Time | Fastest | In Lap | Ave Speed KPH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Richard Eyre (GB) | C | 1 | Williams FW08 | 27:10:826 | 2:13:715 | 5 | 154.8 | |
| 2 | 3 | Terry Sayles (GB) | 24.043 | D | 1 | Osella FA1D | 27:34:869 | 2:15:537 | 2 | 152.5 |
| 3 | 14 | Michel Baudoin (FR) | 1 Lap | B | 1 | Hesketh 308E | 27:45:746 | 2:20:987 | 2 | 138.9 |
| - | 23 | Phillipe Bonny (FR) | DNF | B | Trojan T103 | 13:40:791 | 2:22:817 | 2 | - | |
| - | 7 | Joaquin Folch (ES) | DNS | C | Brabham BT49C | - | - | - | - | |
| - | 9 | Peter Meyrick (GB) | DNS | B | March 761 | - | - | - | - |
Points Totals after Rounds 8 & 9
Overall Championship Points
| Driver | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 | Rnd 7 | Rnd 8 | Rnd 9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joaquin Folch | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 7 | DNS | 67 |
| Terry Sayles | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 46 |
| Phillipe Bonny | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 9 | DNF | 42 |
| Richard Eyre | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 41 |
| Michel Baudoin | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 29 |
| John Delane | 7 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | 24 |
| Patrick D’Aubreby | 7 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 10 | WD | WD | 24 |
| Steve Hartley | 6 | 3 | DNS | DNS | DNS | NC | 9 | - | - | 18 |
| Mauro Pane | - | - | - | - | 10 | 7 | - | - | - | 17 |
| Nico Bindels | 3 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | 15 |
| Chris Drake | 6 | 7 | - | - | - | - | WD | WD | WD | 13 |
| Jean-Michel Martin | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 12 |
| Peter Meyrick | 10 | 0 | - | - | - | - | WD | 1 | DNS | 11 |
| Hughes Taitinger | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Mark Higson | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 10 | - | - | 10 |
| Christophe d’Ansembourg | - | - | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| David Abbott | - | - | DNS | DNS | 3 | 4 | DNF | - | - | 7 |
| Cenzig Artam | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Tommy Dreelan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Richard Meins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Ian Simmonds | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Robs Lamplough | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | 4 |
| Abba Kogan | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | WD | - | - | 4 |
| Mr John of B | - | - | - | - | 4 | DNS | - | - | - | 4 |
| Bill Coombs | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| Luciano Quaggia | 3 | 0 | - | - | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | 3 |
| Chris Locke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Simon Fish | - | - | DNS | DNS | WD | WD | DNF | WD | WD | 0 |
| Andrew Beaumont | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNF/NC | - | - | 0 |
| Dan Collins | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNF/NC | - | - | 0 |
| Zak Brown | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNS | - | - | 0 |
| Richard Dean | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNS | - | - | 0 |
| Bobby Verdon-Roe | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNS | - | - | 0 |
Class Championship Points
| Drivers | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 | Rnd 7 | Rnd 8 | Rnd 9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | ||||||||||
| John Delane | 7 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | 24 |
| Cenzig Artam | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Abba Kogan | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | WD | - | - | 4 |
| Class B | ||||||||||
| Phillipe Bonny | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 9 | DNF | 42 |
| Mauro Pane | - | - | - | - | 10 | 7 | WD | - | - | 17 |
| Michel Baudoin | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | 7 | 15 |
| Chris Drake | 6 | 7 | - | - | - | - | WD | WD | WD | 13 |
| Peter Meyrick | 10 | 0 | - | - | - | - | WD | 1 | DNS | 11 |
| Mark Higson | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 10 | - | - | 10 |
| Hughes Taitinger | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Tommy Dreelan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Mr John of B | - | - | - | - | 4 | DNS | - | - | - | 4 |
| Robs Lamplough | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | 4 |
| Luciano Quaggia | 3 | 0 | - | - | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | 3 |
| Andrew Beaumont | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNF/NC | - | - | 0 |
| Zak Brown | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNS | - | - | 0 |
| Class C | ||||||||||
| Joaquin Folch | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 7 | DNS | 67 |
| Richard Eyre | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 41 |
| Steve Hartley | 6 | 3 | DNS | DNS | DNS | NC | 9 | - | - | 18 |
| Nico Bindels | 3 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | 15 |
| Michel Baudoin | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 14 |
| Jean-Michel Martin | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 12 |
| Christophe d’Ansembourg | - | - | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| David Abbott | - | - | DNS | DNS | 3 | 4 | DNF | - | - | 7 |
| Richard Meins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| Bill Coombs | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| Chris Locke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Simon Fish | - | - | DNS | DNS | WD | WD | DNF | WD | WD | 0 |
| Dan Collins | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNF/NC | - | - | 0 |
| Richard Dean | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNS | - | - | 0 |
| Bobby Verdon-Roe | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNS | - | - | 0 |
| Class D | ||||||||||
| Terry Sayles | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 46 |
| Patrick D’Aubreby | 7 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | 24 |
| Ian Simmonds | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | 6 |
DNS = Did not start
DNF = Did not finish
WD = Withdrew
NC = Not classified
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