Grand Prix

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The drivers are all on the grid now, and

the Monaco Grand Prix is about to start.

There's Scott Stoddard

with his Jordan BRM.

And with him now, is Jeff Jordan himself,

talking to this brilliant English driver...

... who's won so many races

in the dark-green BRMs.

Even faster than Stoddard in practice,

was the Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Sarti.

Twice world champion, an absolute master

of these twisting Monte Carlo streets...

... he's won the Grand Prix here

three times.

He drives for the great Italian manufacturer,

Ferrari.

His teammate is the Sicilian, Nino Barlini,

who's also won a place on the front row.

Barlini's the former world champion

motorcyclist...

... who made a very successful switch

to car racing last year...

... and is certainly a potential

world champion in Formula 1 racing.

On the second row, is Pete Aron,

the American, now driving for BRM.

Pete hasn't won a Grand Prix since

he left Ferrari three seasons ago.

But in spite of two bad accidents last year,

he's still just as fast as ever.

Yesterday he lapped only a tenth slower

than Scott Stoddard...

... number one driver in the BRM team.

Let's try and get the season

off to a good start. Shall we?

Drive the car, don't try

to stand it on its bloody ear.

Tim Randolph, another American, driving

a Japanese Yamura, also on the second row.

This team's only been in Formula 1 racing

for two years...

... and so far the car's not been

reliable enough to win a Grand Prix.

But the Japanese have

the most powerful engines of all.

Ten seconds.

Five...

...four...

...three...

...two, one.

Go!

Ste. Devote,

then Sarti in the lead.

From Stoddard, Aron, Hulme,

Anderson and Randolph.

Stoddard's drawing level with Sarti

up the hill. He's going to overtake him.

Now, it's Sarti in the red Ferrari,

number 17 leading...

... past the Hotel de Paris

and into the Casino Square.

Along the seafront, at the tobacconist...

... it's Sarti's red Ferrari ahead of

Stoddard's green BRM number 12.

As they finish the first lap, it's Sarti first,

Stoddard second, Aron third...

... and fourth now

is Barlini's Ferrari, number 16.

I used to think nothing

could be better than motorbike racing.

Three times I'm awarded champion

on my motorbike. I'm happy.

Then I go into one of these...

These cars... You sit in a box, a coffin.

Gasoline all around you.

It is like being inside a bomb.

Crazy.

But, of course, the cars are faster.

And that is the most important thing.

You have to remember that at Monte Carlo,

because of the nature of the circuit...

...you shift gears over 2600 times

during the race.

That's an average of once

every three seconds.

No reason to expect gearbox trouble.

On the other hand, potential problems

are in the back of your mind all the time.

I've driven this course six times before...

...the way I see it, I've only got

three big problems today, and that's:

Two Ferraris starting ahead of me

and my own teammate, Scott Stoddard.

Walking the course is just about the last

thing I'd do on the morning of a race.

It's become a bit of a thing with me.

I do a lot of thinking...

... collecting my thoughts about how I'll

run the race, all that sort of thing.

Of course, it originated with my brother,

Roger. He used to do the same thing.

As a matter of fact, before I started racing

I often used walk the course with him.

The funny thing about Roger,

you know...

...the day he was killed, he hadn't walked

the circuit for some reason or another.

I suppose I'm rather superstitious

about that.

I love the challenge of Monaco.

Driving through ordinary streets full out,

is to me what racing is all about.

It's a pity it's the only one

left of its kind.

At the end of 10 laps the order is still

Sarti, Stoddard, Aron and Barlini.

Stoddard can't quite squeeze his BRM

past Sarti's Ferrari.

There's very little room to pass

on these narrow Monte Carlo streets.

Barlini and the other Ferraris

can't quite...

- Oh, my darling. You're not ready?

- Ready? For what?

Pat, you've forgotten.

Hugo, the way I feel now...

...if I could remember my own name,

I'd consider myself very fortunate.

- What have I forgotten?

- Last night.

I told you I'd be by to take you

to the winner's circle...

...if Scott wins.

- Hugo, there's lots of time.

The dungarees.

Hugo, have you ever had ouzo?

I have had everything, my dear.

I was with two Greeks last night

and we drank ouzo. A lot of ouzo.

And where, may I ask,

was your husband...

...while all this Greek

and ouzo business was going on?

Where he always is the night before a race:

Trying to sleep.

The danger? Well, of course.

But you are missing

a very important point.

I think, if any of us imagined,

really imagined...

...what it would be like to go into a tree

at 150 miles an hour...

...we would probably never get

into the cars at all. None of us.

So it has always seemed to me,

that to do something very dangerous...

...requires a certain

absence of imagination.

Number 17, the Ferrari of Jean-Pierre Sarti,

is still in front...

... but he just cannot get away from

number 12, Scott Stoddard in the BRM.

And the second BRM driver, number 11,

Pete Aron, is only three seconds behind...

... with Nino Barlini in number 16

Ferrari breathing down his neck.

That's 25 laps gone.

One-quarter of the race distance.

As Sarti and Stoddard fight for the lead,

they're leaving Aron and Barlini behind.

Stoddard's pressing Sarti. The Frenchman's

usually unbeatable at Monaco...

... but today the Englishman is faster

on some parts of the circuit.

Now that Stoddard's out in the lead,

his lap times are faster and faster.

And he's going steadily away from Sarti.

There doesn't seem to be anything

the Ferrari driver can do about it.

There's Scott Stoddard completing his

30th lap and increasing his lead over Sarti.

But there's the third man, Barlini,

in his red Ferrari now well-clear of Aron.

And he's just lapping a slower car.

That can be tricky here at Monte Carlo.

It's almost impossible to pass...

... unless you can rely on the driver in the

slower car to move over and make room.

That's 32 laps completed and the order is

Stoddard, Sarti, Barlini, Randolph, Aron.

- Get back out there.

- It's sticking in between third and fourth.

It didn't do it in practice.

Do you suppose it could be you?

All right, I'm doing it on purpose.

On purpose or not,

you're breaking her up.

- I didn't build the damn car.

- We can't do anything about it.

- Do the best you can.

- What lap is this?

- Forty-two.

- It's a cinch. I'm halfway home.

You're never halfway home!

Pete Aron's away again.

He's had some sort of gearbox trouble.

There's Stoddard now. He'll lap

his BRM teammate, Aron, next time round.

Stoddard's driving a tremendous race.

Bet he's broken the lap record again: 129.3.

Blimey, they nearly collided

at the Gasometer hairpin. That was close.

Louis Chiron's waving

the blue flag at the American...

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