Voeckler Conquers Wet Spa

Qualifying:

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Report:

McLaren were under pressure to deliver in Belgium. Gerhard Berger had a mediocre race in San Marino and Jeremy Voeckler was struggling throughout the entire start of the season. Things were looking good in qualifying, the French star managed to start second behind Cassidy after a number of drivers struggled to perfectly nail the long lap of the Belgian track.

When the heavens opened around 45 minutes before the start of the weekend, all bets were off: when it comes to wet weather, many specialists have emerged in recent years. Today, the story of the wet race was the story of a Belgian and a Frenchman. Voeckler led off the line and had control for most of the race, as Benetton was able to entrust their fate to Boutsen.

A puncture around one quarter of the race forced JEV to highly modify his one-stop strategy. Trusting his own skill, he went on to do almost 30 laps on one set of wet tyres and a fuel tank loaded to the brim. On his way to his first win of the 1987 season, he went past Boutsen, who put up an heroic effort and was rewarded for it with a second place, Benetton’s best finish in quite a while.

Behind them, Williams continues to disappoint as their (possibly overpaid) drivers fail to make the most of their supreme car. Ayrton Senna made many mistakes, trying to make up for a questionable qualifying effort. Someone who had full control in both dry qualifying and wet race was Jonathan Palmer, the Brit overcoming the lack of engine power to put on an impressive run.

Race:

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Fastest Lap:

Ayrton Senna – 2:09.846

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Jonathan Palmer – Tyrrell looked like having a turbo engine, at least with Palmer driving the car.

Reject Of The Race:

Guillaume Gauthier – French driver could not be bothered to drive fast in the rain.