1978 Austrian Grand Prix

The **1978 Austrian Grand Prix** was a Formula One motor race held on 13th August 1978 at Österreichring. It was the ninth race in both the 1978 World Championship of Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

## Background

Following successful debuts in the German Grand Prix, Vivaldo and Fabiano Margheriti were once again given race seats, with Vivaldo returning for Wolf whilst Fabiano drove for Arrows due to the absence of their drivers. Jermaine Ashwood made his debut for Arrows.

## Qualifying

Stefan Van Damme set the pace early on until his laptime was beaten by Chuck Dingley. Although setting the pace in practice, Vivaldo Margheriti's car lost a cylinder during the qualifying session and this was unable to be fixed in time. Despite this, he qualified 4th.

Van Damme upped his pace near the end of the session but a mistake on the penultimate corner cost him pole position, with Chuck Dingley going on to take his 4th pole position of the season.

Further down the grid, Gervais Trémaux was unable to set a competitive lap time due to a combination of car problems and traffic and had to start from 20th.

## Race Summary

Dingley elected to start on the hard tyre whilst Van Damme chose the soft tyre and the difference in grip allowed Van Damme to take the lead into the Hella Licht chicane on the first lap. Further behind, Jermaine Ashwood ran into the back of Michael Geni, spinning him and giving him suspension and rear wing damage. There was further chaos moments later as Joao Coutinho span on the exit of the chicane and was collected by Richard Harford's Ligier, ending both their races. Both drivers escaped the incident without injury.

Trémaux was making slow but steady progress from the back of the grid before spinning at the chicane on the 3rd lap. After almost stalling the car whilst waiting for the pack to pass, he returned to the race. Meanwhile, his Ferrari teammate Richard Jockey was in a fight with the Margheriti brothers and Jeremy Spocinklass for 3rd. Jockey was pushing hard on lap seven when he lost the rear at the exit of the chicane and lightly tapped the wall. Although the hit was at low speed, the car started leaking fluid and Jockey's pace dropped considerably. After coming into the pits to have the team inspect the car, Jockey returned to the race. After taking the chicane, his gearbox immediately jammed and he was forced to retire the car.

Van Damme had created a gap to Dingley which extended to around 5 seconds before Van Damme was held up by the limping car of Michael Geni. With the soft tyres starting to go off, Van Damme decided to pit for new tyres on lap nine and emerged in 5th just ahead of his teammate. The Belgian driver closed up to the back of Vivaldo Margheriti on his fresh tyres but then lost control at Bosch Kurve, hitting the barriers slightly. The crash forced him to pit once again to repair and effectively denied Van Damme of any chance of a points finish for the first time this season.

The Renault drivers were closely matched on lap 13 and were running with each other when Strip Weathers made a mistake at the chicane and travelled over the grass. Eldridge-Moffat attempted to capitalise and pass Weathers but was collected by his teammate as he recovered, breaking Eldridge-Moffat's suspension and causing him to retire. Weathers continued into the race before hitting the wall at the final corner and ending his race too.

Following Van Damme's crash, Chuck Dingley coasted ahead of the Margheriti brothers and managed a gap of over 10 seconds to the car behind. Vivaldo Margheriti's car continued to run in 3rd with the same problem he had endured in qualifying, much to the anger of the Italian driver. Dingley went on to win the race, closing the points gap in the championship down to just 3 points to Van Damme ahead. Fabiano finished 2nd, taking Renault's best result of the season so far, whilst his older brother finished 3rd. Stanley Robson finished 4th, taking his joint best Formula One result, with Trémaux finishing in 5th, despite starting at the back and having to manage soft tyres for the entire race. Spocinklass took the final points position.

## Post-Race

Vivaldo Margheriti was unhappy with the mechanical issues he had endured during qualifying and the race and stated that he could have challenged for 2nd or even the race win without the car's issues. Impressed by his speed, Frank Williams contacted Vivaldo shortly after the race and he was given a full race seat at the team for the remainder of the season.

### **Vienna Incident**

A Drivers Association meeting was due to take place on the night after the race but the meeting soon turned into an out-of-control drinking binge that resulted in the destruction of the hotel room in which the drivers were meeting. The police were called and Trémaux, Van Damme and Spocinklass were all arrested but were released the next day, whilst Dingley continued to be held after reports that he assaulted a police officer. Dingley was released two days later after paying a substantial bail amount and issuing an apology. Many Austrian politicians called for a harsher punishment for Chuck, but they were quickly dismissed.

### **Trémaux Accident**

Following his release from prison in Vienna following the drinking incident, Gervais Trémaux started a road-trip on his motorbike from Austria to Italy. He had intended to use the time to relax following several race retirements and a 5th place finish in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Two days into the trip, Trémaux collided with a car on a high mountain pass near the Austrian-Italian border. He was thrown from his motorbike and quickly rushed to hospital by witnesses to the accident. Doctors confirmed that his injuries were "life threatening" but that his condition had stabilized several days after the accident. It is unsure when he will return to racing but his Ferrari seat was quickly filled by the young Italian Fabiano Margheriti for the remainder of the season.

## Classification

Fastest lap: Stefan Van Damme (Lotus) on lap 14 - 1:36.085

## Lap Leaders

Stefan Van Damme (Laps 1-9)

Chuck Dingley (Laps 10-16)