By Huw Alban
July 6 2002

It was one very worried and concerned OrangeArrows fan that went to Silverstone today, and I have to admit that I was gearing myself for the worst, despite all the support the team was getting from up and down the grid. Thursday was filled with mobile phone calls from a Dutch friend telling me about text messages from the Dutch RTL TV service informing him that Arrows were locked in a court battle with major shareholder Morgan Grenfell. Friday was a difficult day as I was out of the country, but as soon as the train emerged from the Channel Tunnel I was back on the phone to learn that the team had not run on Friday.

Today as I travelled to Silverstone from my home in Northamptonshire, I knew that the cars were at the circuit and that they had passed scrutineering. A quick trip onto the concrete stand, just down from Copse corner and opposite the Arrows garage, revealed two garages open and heaving with activity. The Silverstone TV station, Octane, shortly confirmed that the money problems that had stranded the team on Friday were resolved, and that the team were going to be participating in the Saturday practice and qualifying !

Tom Walkinshaw gave a brief interview with Octane TV as he walked into the paddock, saying that the problems were sorted and that was that. He looked very drawn and tired, but obviously relieved that this weekend’s dramas for the OrangeArrows team were over.

I cannot describe the magical feeling that rippled through me a couple of minutes into the first practice today seeing both the Arrows cars, one in front of the other, weaving through the Maggotts and Becketts turns. Better still was the fact that after the first Saturday session the team was in a very competitive fourth and eighth fastest positions. Both cars did a series of long runs throughout the session and looked very comfortable on track, in cool and overcast conditions.

From the euphoria of this, imagine the sharp climb down to see to both Arrows cars suddenly stop at the pit lane exit. Despite the spectacle, it was encouraging to see both drivers wave the stewards away and push their stricken cars back into the pit lane proper, in order to solve their problems. The TV audio coverage at the circuit informed us that if the stewards helped then the cars would have to be removed from the track. Thanks to the quick thinking from both the drivers, the team were allowed to fix a software problem and again both cars took to the circuit line-astern, filling me with pride for this great little team for the second time today.

Again both cars ran strongly and neither driver made any mistakes. The only heart stopping moment of the day came when Heinz-Harald Frentzen came up behind a slowing Juan Pablo Montoya leaving the Vale hairpin. Both cars, Montoya on the inside and Frentzen on the outside, travelled side-by-side around Club corner with neither driver letting the other by. Clearly there had been some mis-communication between them as to who was letting who by. Frentzen eventually got by on the short uphill straight up to the Abbey chicane, but it left me on my tiptoes just waiting for the two to have an accident and put paid to the entire session.

The team finished the final free practice session in ninth and 15th places which, considering the weekend they’d had, was absolutely fantastic ! In a post practice interview with Octane TV Frentzen commented, “When they went out yesterday, that didn’t have any advantage for today. So everyone had to start back to square one today on dry conditions. We didn’t lose basically a lot of time.”

Heinz-Harald was then asked, “ You must be pretty pleased - I mean, you finished up after two of the sessions today ninth quickest. The first session was really quite stunning.”

“I think we were there, spot on,” he said. “Our car is quite good, basically, and we did a little fine tuning here this morning and we have a chance here to finish in the top ten. If that would be the case then that would be a sensational result after a strange weekend.”

Heinz-Harald was then asked, “As far as qualifying goes, what would your hopes be for a qualifying position ?”

“We’ll try very hard to be in the top ten,” Frentzen answered. “It will be very tight here, but I think we are looking good and we have a good opportunity.”

Enrique Bernoldi also didn’t escape the interviewer’s microphone. “How do you feel your free practice has gone ?” he was asked. “We can improve the car, we know what was the problem on the balance. So, we should be a little bit better if we can get a good lap for qualifying,” Enrique answered. “Obviously this was just practice and is early days. Are you feeling comfortable with the way the car is set up ?”

“The car is running OK,” the Brazilian commented. “We are surprised because we didn’t run yesterday, but anyway that was in the wet and we don’t look so bad, so I think that I’m confident for the qualifying.”

“That was going to be the next question, not running yesterday. There wouldn’t have been much data though that you could have accumulated because it was so wet surely ?”

“Yeah,” Enrique said. “If the track stays dry, we didn’t miss much yesterday. But if it gets wet now in qualifying, then we are a little bit behind.”

After two strong free practice performances from both drivers, and little change in the weather conditions, the team looked to be in superb form for the qualifying hour. Luffield corner, stand B, was the viewing spot for the qualifying laps and Enrique Bernoldi was the first man out, followed by the Minardi of Mark Webber.

Watching the 60 minute session on the TV can sometimes drag but, believe me, when you are there it flies by. It didn’t seem five minutes before both Enrique Bernoldi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen were sticking in their final runs of the session in the 20 car jam that flooded the track for the final minutes. The qualifying performance was nowhere near as competitive as the practice times (16th and 19th on the grid), but Arrows fans gathered at the track didn’t care. The cars were running, and both were in the race on Sunday, and that’s what really mattered this weekend.

Both drivers were appearing on the Orange stand at 15:00 so, as soon as the qualifying hour was over, it was a mad dash to get to the stand quickly, in order to grab a good spot. The reward was the second row from the front, the opportunity to see both men close up being interviewed by ITV’s Louise Goodman and, best of all, my OrangeArrows cap being signed by both of them too. 16th and 18th on the grid was the final, and perhaps slightly disappointing result for the team, but it didn’t matter to me. I’d seen my team in action, seen them up close, and got something to take home to remember the whole day by. In contrast to the start of the day, it was one very happy and confident OrangeArrows fan that went home from Silverstone today.