Posted 12 January 2013 - 23:51
Sad news. Always had a little affection for the plucky Italian team. A shame that it ended the way it did. In year two, the car was better and the drivers were better, but the money wasn't there. Then finally when Forti thought he was securing a future for his team, the Shannon group failed to deliver the money that was promised.
The first race I watched on TV was Brazil in 1995 and thanks to the Forti team, I realised that the pre-season Eurosport guide I had (I think it came free with something) had failed to mention any of the backmarkers. I was ten at the time and I was constantly consulting this booklet throughout the race as though it was some sort of oracle. The leaders kept passing these vivid yellow cars and it confused me because there was no mention of any yellow cars in the guide. Luckily, I eventually discovered the specialist press and all my questions were answered! Incidentally, I wish I'd held on to the first Autosport I bought because it was the one with the Indianapolis qualifying report and of course Penske failed to qualify that year.