Arriving in a hot and sticky Pau on Thursday afternoon one could sense that a storm was brewing. No sooner had the awning gone up when the rain came down and it pretty well did not stop! This did not bode well for those new to the daunting street circuit. Attending the lengthy drivers briefing on Friday night the safety measures pressed upon us rang very true as the lightning storm played out above the flimsy shack in which the briefing was held.

Saturday did not start with a hearty breakfast but with a phone call from a fellow

Car below the collapsed awning

competitor saying get to the paddock as your awning has collapsed! On arrival it was clear that irreparable damage had been done due to the sheer weight of water but, fortunately, not to the cars beneath it. Having cleared what could be cleared we set about getting the cars ready for practice and qualifying. When the 25 minute session commenced a certain amount of tip toeing around was done to try and get a feel for the track. With a tunnel of Armco dictating your line and painted pedestrian crossings offering zero grip it was a baptism of fire to the newcomers. Those with experience of Pau in the dry the previous year made it count, with Neil and David qualifying 2nd and 7th respectively and, yours truly with no experience, coming 23rd out of 36. It was a relief to have come through unscathed if a little disappointed.

Neil Fowler at Pau

The race on Saturday came in the early afternoon and, guess what, it was raining cats and dogs! Another new experience to newcomers was the rolling start. Clearly this worked well as there were no dramas through the fast right kink as you pass the pits. Having braked heavily for the station hairpin we were then under yellow flags for the next two corners. We had been warned this would the case as it is very easy to have an incident through this tight section. However having come out of the top hairpin the green flags were waving and the race was on again. Neil was battling hard to get to the top spot against a French hot shoe. A certain amount of friendly rubbing and trading positions ensued and 25 minutes later Neil finished second, not totally content with the position as the leader was defending very aggressively and blocking in dangerous places around the circuit. David stayed out of trouble and finished a commendable 7th. The novice finished 14th picking up the places as people hit the scenery. 

Unbelievably, we woke on Sunday to clear skies and the racing got off to a pleasant start. However come three o’clock the rain came again. The second Formula Ford race was due to start at 5pm and this time, although it was a rolling start, the safety car did not go into the pits. The conditions were so bad that there were two full laps before it pitted. Neil once again went to work trying every trick in the book to get past the leader. Every time he got close the safety car would come back out whilst another incident was cleared up. The race was packed full of spins and crashes but, thankfuly, the Neil Fowler Motorsport team came through unscathed.  This meant that the team finished an excellent 2nd, 4th and 6th - a pleasing effort given the circumstances.  

Despite the conditions spectators enjoyed some exciting racing from all the grids attending. A huge Formula Junior field slithered their way around and Oliver Bryant pulled off his usual win in the mighty Cobra in the endurance race. Most of the Formula 5000’s thought better of it when the rain really started to come down during the second race and Martin Stretton was mighty during the dry spell on Sunday, pedalling a March in the F2 race.   

by Thomas Brimblecombe of Grandstand Motor Sports, May 2007