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                              1996 Formula News
                          ***  January 17 1996 ***
                          ***  Issue Number 9 ***
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All of the information in this section was obtained from a bloke down the
pub, which means that while we believe all the following information to be
true, we couldn't swear that it is.
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Jordan First With 96 Car
Weather Disrupts Testing
Tyrrell 024 Ready
Bouillion Keeps Williams Test Seat
Hill Crashes in Testing
Schumacher Crashes In Testing
Villeneuve Quickest
Blundell Off To Indy
F1 Drivers To Sit Exams !
Ferrari To Quit F1 !!


Jordan First With 96 Car
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Jordan have had their 96 car out on the track at Silverstone. The new 196 has
a high nose like the Williams and Benetton and the cockpit sides are almost
level with the drivers ears.
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The cars is also rumoured to have power steering (should help with parking
down at the supermarket!) and a seven speed gearbox. The radiator inlets are
also very distinctive. From what I've seen it is a great looking car, lets
just hope it handles as well as it looks.


Weather Disrupts Testing
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Bad weather has disrupted the testing of McLaren and Ferrari. McLaren were in
Estoril where heavy storms meant that their test schedule was restricted.
Headlines

concentrated on brake testing, while Alain Prost was there tesing
electronics. Ferrari were at Paul Ricard were fog and heavy rain disrupted
testing.


Tyrrell 024 Ready
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The new Tyrrell 024 has just finished passing its FIA crash tests, and is now
ready to take to the track for testing.


Bouillion Keeps Williams Test Seat
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Jean Christophe (Joules) Bouillion has had his test contract with Williams
renewed for another year. Team boss Frank Williams said that continuity at
all levels is important. 


Hill Crashes In Testing
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Damon Hill crashed during testing at Estoril on Tuesday. He lost the car on
the long fast second corner and hit the barrier with his rear wheel. Hill was
unhurt and managed to walk back to the pits. 


Schumacher Crashes In Testing
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Michael Schumacher crashed on Tuesday while testing the Ferrari V10 at the
teams Fiorino test track. Michael hit the barriers on only his second lap,
destroying the front suspension of his Ferrari.

Michael was unhurt and blamed himself for driving too hard on cold tyres, and
on a section of the track that was still covered in frost.


Villeneuve Quickest
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The Williams drivers are testing at Estoril. Heavy rain on Monday morning
meant that times were slow and Hill only completed 8 laps in the first
session.

The track dried in the afternoon and both drivers managed some flying laps.
Villeneuve was quickest on the day with a time of 1.21.7. Damon Hill managed
a best time of 1.22.1


Blundell Off To Indy
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The knock on effect of Arrows signing Ricardo Rosset has led to Mark Blundell
leaving Formula 1. The Arrows place taken by Rosset meant that Inoue went to
Tyrrell, which in turn left no competitive seats for Blundell.

Mark is off to the states to join the Pac West team, who he tested for before
christmas. He joins another ex Formula 1 driver at Pac West, Mauricio
Gulgelmin.

Mark said that he was in the business of winning, and without a competitive
drive in F1 he felt Indy was his best option.


F1 Drivers To Sit Exams
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Yes it is true. The FIA have said that from 1997 any driver who wishes to
obtain an FIA superlicence will have to sit a written exam. The exam will
center around rules and safety regulations.

All current F1 drivers will have to sit the exam and any that fail will not
be allowed to race until they re-sit and pass. The exam has arisen out of
concerns that not all F1 drivers know and appreciate the rules and safety
legislation that govern Formula 1.


Ferrari To Quit F1 !!
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This story has grown out of an innocent remark, said in jest, and taken out
of context. FIAT president Gianni Agnelli joked in the summer that with
Schumacher behind the wheel there were no excuses for Ferrari not winning
the title.

Once the tabloid press had reworked the story it sounded more like... "if we
don't win the constructors title this year, then Ferrari will quit". FIAT
number 2 Cesare Romiti said the Ferrari fans can sleep easy. There are no
plans to quit F1. Ferrari will continue as they always have.


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This document is most definitely copyright 1996 Formula 1 News. This
publication is free for the Internet community and may be freely
distributed to news groups and forums provided it is reposted completely,
in a wholly unedited form and credited to Neil Whiley.
None of these articles are guaranteed 100% true, accurate or correct. We
report it as we hear it. In many cases one weeks story will be completely
contradicted by next weeks, such is life :-)
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Formula 1 News is edited by Neil Whiley. (Neil@bigvern.demon.co.uk).
Check out the Web Site at: http://www.u-net.com/enigma/formula1
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