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  1. #1
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    Favourite Non-Winning Drive?

    Another question to the Forum.

    Which was your favourite, most highly-rated, non-victorious drive in motorsport?

    It doesn't have to involve leading the race, it doesn't have to be a drive that saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

    Although it can, should you wish.

    My starter? Jean Alesi at Paul Ricard in 1989. Grand Prix debut, ran second, finished fourth.
    Q: What's worse than a Bully? A: His Sidekick

  2. Likes: AAReagles (29th July 2015)
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    Obviously too many to choose from, but for fun let's say Schumacher in Malaysia in 1999. He was doing all the tricks, deliberately held others up and deliberately finished second. Irvine might have won the race, but in reality this race was pure Schumacher Show.

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    One which was really nice, and forgotten is Jarno Trulli's drive to 6th at Spain for Prost in 1999, in a race with almost modern day levels of retirements (at least amongst the frontrunners) i.e. precious few to speak of.

    BTW does anyone remember Rubens moaning about an overtaking move Damon put on him for 7th at turn 5 late in that race? It was very good but had Ruby very unhappy afterwards, 10 years before his infamous "Blah Blah Blah" episode at the same track. To add further insult, he was then disqualified!
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  5. #4
    Senior Member Rollo's Avatar
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    Philippe Streiff finished 3rd at Adelaide in 1985 despite coming together with his Ligier team mate Jacques Laffite, busting his front left wheel and suspension and drove the last lap of the race with only three wheels in working order.

    He was not offered a return drive for 1986.
    The Old Republic was a stupidly run organisation which deserved to be taken over. All Hail Palpatine!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rollo View Post
    Philippe Streiff finished 3rd at Adelaide in 1985 despite coming together with his Ligier team mate Jacques Laffite, busting his front left wheel and suspension and drove the last lap of the race with only three wheels in working order.

    He was not offered a return drive for 1986.
    That's a good one. What about Laffite two races earlier at Brands Hatch. Apparently he was out of the points having had problems, but his race pace was supreme. Think he got up to 7th in the end but he was something like the fastest out there, and got fastest lap I think.

    Pierluigi Martini's 5th for Minardi in Spain '94, beating Eddie Irvine, has a similar feel to it as Trulli's I mentioned 5 years later.

    Rubens Barrichello at Adelaide that year, on for a podium on merit before getting a stop-go penalty. He still finished 4th.
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    Speaking of the South African GP…

    Here’s one that completely slipped my mind from a Road & Track race report I read long ago:

    http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/67825.html

    Rhodesian driver John Love, one of the last of the private entries I believe, was piloting a Cooper T79 power by 2.7-litre Climax for the 1967 South African GP. It was the first time that an official F1 race was scheduled at the Kyalami circuit, so most GP regulars weren’t as familiar with the “racing surface” as Love was, so he qualified a respectable 5th on the grid, only to fall back once the green flag flew.

    After the race attrition took its’ toll of the heavy weights (Clark, Stewart, Rindt, Gurney, G.Hill, etc.) Love was gathering himself back up the field, with just Hulme in front. On lap 61, Hulme encountered some problems and had to pit, in which now Love found himself in the lead – ahead of Pedro Rodriguez.

    Unfortunately he encountered fuel-feed problems with 7 laps to go, and had to pit for more fuel; only later to discover there was a problem with the fuel pump. He finished 2nd, some 25+ seconds behind Rodriguez.

    On note of that fuel pump: John Love arrived at the circuit with two fuel pumps, lending one of them to another private works entrant, Rob Walker’s pilot, Jo Siffert. The pump that ended up in RW’s car was suppose to go into Love’s Cooper instead.
    FIDO - Forget It, Drive On

  8. Likes: rjbetty (28th July 2015)
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    Charlie Cox raced a stormer at Brands Hatch in 1995. The track was soaking and he made a clever move to take on some wets while others struggled for grip. Yes, this obviously put him in a far better position to move through the field, but seeing a lovable, independent score the best overall finishing position for a privateer and picking off all the works teams along the way was a joy.
    Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam

  10. #8
    Senior Member Rollo's Avatar
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    I am madly trying to find a look see at the last half hour of Bathurst 1984. David Parsons made up 59 seconds to finish second in the race and I want to see it.
    The Old Republic was a stupidly run organisation which deserved to be taken over. All Hail Palpatine!

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    Junior Member Owain's Avatar
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    My favourite was Alesi in the Ferrari at Suzuka in 1995. It was a wet race.

    He jumped the start and got a 10sec penalty. He made back the places he'd lost with ridiculous ease. IIRC, he then picked up another 10sec penalty for another infringement (pit lane speeding?). He made up all the places again. He was right up behind Schumacher's world-beating Benetton, and it was shaping up to be a fantastic dual for the win, when his driveshaft broke.

    Okay, the penalties were his fault, but the way he fought back was incredible. It was the most amazing non-winning drive I've ever seen.

  12. Likes: Fortitude (8th January 2022)

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