1985 Australian Grand Prix

The **1985 Australian Grand Prix** was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 3rd November 1985. It was the twelfth and final race in both the 1985 Drivers' Championship and the 1985 Constructors' Championship.

## Background

Vivaldo Margheriti and Chuck Dingley entered the final round of the season separated by a single point in favor of the Williams driver. After the application of drop rounds, however, Dingley held a five point advantage. This meant if Margheriti won the race, Dingley had to finish third or higher to win the championship.

## Qualifying

An extremely hot day in the early Australian summer meant that getting a good lap together was difficult, as the high track temperatures meant that drivers were struggling to keep their tyres in their temperature window over their flying laps.

The unfavorable track conditions didn't deter the two title rivals, who traded the top spot throughout Saturday's qualifying session. When the checkered flag flew it was Dingley who took pole position honours, after a last gasp effort saw him beat Vivaldo to the top spot by less than a tenth of a second.

## Race Summary

The weather that had characterized Saturday's qualifying session became even worse come race day, with air temperatures of 36**°**C being recorded shortly before the start of the race. The hot temperatures resulted in the track surface being extremely greasy, which made the challenging Australian street circuit even more difficult.

Pole-sitter Dingley narrowly maintained his lead over Vivaldo into the opening chicane, and the two were neck and neck until Dingley made a mistake entering turn 13 on the third lap, running wide and allowing Margheriti to take the lead of the race. Two laps later Vivaldo handed the lead back to Dingley, as he locked up entering the *Dequetteville Hairpin.* While the two leaders continued to push each other to the limit, others were struggling to keep their cars on the greasy track surface. After only seven laps of running there had been five retirements, including a heavy crash for Stefan Wolff at *Brewery Corner*. After seeing the severity of the incident, the safety car was deployed and the pits closed while Wolff was extracted from his heavily damaged McLaren. Due to the extent of his injuries, Wolff had to be transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by helicopter. Wolff suffered extensive leg fractures in the crash, forcing him to sit out the 1986 season.

Racing resumed at the end of lap ten and it wasn't long until there was another incident. Australian driver Bruce Kerrigan slid into the wall on the exit of *Wakefield Corner*, which broke his steering column and forced him to retire. At the front, Dingley continued to extend his lead over Vivaldo, who was struggling to get his tyres in the right window and was under heavy pressure from his brother Fabiano behind. Vivaldo was able to stay ahead of his brother until the pit-stops, where he was forced to fit hard tyres since his only available set of mediums were punctured in Friday practice. Vivaldo was caught quickly by Fabiano in the following laps. Fabiano then passed Vivaldo into the corner in a brave move that almost saw the two brothers crash each other out of the race.

Struggling on the hard tyres and having been recently passed by his brother, Vivaldo's became more frustrated. His title rival Chuck Dingley was leading the race by a considerable margin and Vivaldo needed a miracle if he wanted to clinch the 1985 championship. Vivaldo was pushing his Williams to the limit in a desperate attempt to close the gap, but this was growing more futile as the race entered the final ten laps. On lap 21 Vivaldo Margheriti ran over the inside kerb at *Brewery Corner,* causing the car to oversteer and launch over the outside kerb. Vivaldo attempted to correct the slide and slow the car but without success and he slammed into the wall at high speed. The medical team reached the scene of the accident quickly and the race was red-flagged whilst Vivaldo was extracted from the car. His injuries were severe and the medical team tried all they could to save him but he passed away by the time they reached Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The race was restarted after the debris and Margheriti's car had been cleared up. Although the FIA knew of Vivaldo's passing, they withheld this information from the teams and drivers until after the race. Dingley continued to lead the race after it was restarted, followed by Fabiano Margheriti and Santiago Reyes. Dingley's fifth championship was within his sights following Vivaldo's crash and his pace slowed in the final laps. On the third-to-last lap he suddenly had an engine problem caused by damage from debris he had picked up at *Brewery Corner*. His pace slowed even further and Fabiano Margheriti closed the gap before passing him as they started the final lap of the race. Margheriti went on to win the race, taking his first and only victory of the season, whilst Dingley finished second, taking his fifth championship in the process. Reyes finished third, rounding out a solid end to the season, whilst Jack Wilson finished fourth. James McLean was the final classified car and took fifth, his best result of the season.

## Post-Race

The mood in the paddock was sombre and quiet following the event. Although the drivers knew little of Vivaldo's death, the podium celebrations were muted and restrained. Fabiano was told about his brother's death following the podium ceremony and he left the circuit immediately.

The FIA and race organisers drew harsh criticism for continuing the race after Vivaldo's crash. Only five cars finished the race and the future of the race was immediately in doubt at the end of the race weekend. Drivers and the media questioned whether the circuit was safe enough to host a Grand Prix in the future, especially with the cars getting faster.

## Championship Standings

 2
 3
 4
 5

 2
 3
 4
 5

## Lap Leaders

Chuck Dingley (Laps 1-2, 5-16, 20-29)

Vivaldo Margheriti (Laps 3-4)

Santiago Reyes (Laps 17-19)

Fabiano Margheriti (Lap 30)