1994 F1RGP2C European Grand Prix
The 1994 F1RGP2C European Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 1994 F1RGP2C season. John Zimmer won the race for Benetton to keep his title hopes alive. Jack Christopherson finished in second for Williams.
Race Report
Qualifying
Jack Christopherson took pole in the dying stages of the second qualifying session with a 1:25.196. His closest rival, John Zimmer, lined up in second. Daniel Moreno and Rory McAllister filled out the second row.
Race
Christopherson held the lead into Turn 1 with Zimmer closely behind. Thankfully, there were no collisions at the first corner and the field made it through the first five laps unscathed. George Tramontani's engine died within the first lap of the race. Zimmer quickly tracked down Christopherson and passed the Williams driver for the lead on Lap 5. Pablo da Silva's engine expired on Lap 10. Damon Cannon retired on Lap 14 with an engine problem. Pit stops began on Lap 14 and most of the heavy hitters pitted before Lap 20. Zimmer retained the lead, extending his advantage over his Williams rival to about ten seconds. By Lap 28, Zimmer had pulled out a twenty second lead over Christopherson. Takagi and Daniel Moreno were third and fourth, respectively. Douglas Mann spun off on Lap 28 and broke his front wing.
Zimmer made his final stop on Lap 30, briefly handing Christopherson the lead. However, Williams called in Christopherson on the next lap, giving the lead back to Zimmer. Dennis Mignolet's suspension failed spectacularly on Lap 36, sending the Ligier straight into the gravel. Samael Meerwick's engine failed on Lap 44, Mugen-Honda's second failure of the day. Leonhard von Gottorp sustained an electrical problem with his Jordan and dropped out of the points. Masta Valsattis was forced into the pits with a brake problem on his Minardi. Poppy Whitechapel retired for the sixth straight race on Lap 50, further frustrating the Tyrrell driver. On the same lap, Daniel Moreno retired from fifth place. He had lost two spots during the race to Douglas and Takagi and a suspension failure curtailed his race yet again. After the race, Moreno commented: "Although I have been signed for 1995, and I will honour that contract, I expect the team to produce a car that does not crumble easily."
Douglas Mann's Peugeot engine blew up on lap 52, removing any possibility for points. The typical late-race retirements did not bother John Zimmer who won by a margin of forty seconds. Christopherson finished second, Takagi was third and Rory McAllister finished in fourth. Tom Douglas and Padraig O'Connell rounded out the points-paying positions. The result left Christopherson with a slim five-point over Zimmer in the Drivers' Championship. Benetton pulled to within nine points of Williams in the Constructors' Championship thanks to their double-podium. Ferrari took a decisive nine-point lead on Jordan for third.
Standings after the race
- Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jack Christopherson
|
63 |
| 2 |  John Zimmer
|
58 |
| 3 |  Padraig O'Connell
|
28 |
| 4 |  Daniel Moreno
|
27 |
| 5 |  Leonhard von Gottorp
|
25 |
- Constructors' Championship standings
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Renault
|
90 |
| 2 | Benetton-Ford
|
81 |
| 3 |  Ferrari
|
52 |
| 4 | Jordan-Hart
|
43 |
| 5 | McLaren-Peugeot
|
37 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
| Previous race: 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix |
Formula 1 Rejects Grand Prix 2 Championship 1994 Season |
Next race: 1994 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Previous race: None |
Portuguese Grand Prix | Next race: 1995 European Grand Prix |
