Originally Posted by Peter Zimmermann

Thanks, Chris, the footage was taken in Dec '96. Willow Springs will earn a warm place in your heart, but it'll take a while for you to get used to the speed. If you don't mind a suggestion, tape over your speedo from here on - it's too great a temptation to glance down! I've done thousands of miles on the big track, and my most incredible memory of the place wasn't even in a car - it was watching one! We were there on an open practice Friday when a big, white, semi pulls in. Out of the trailer comes, largely in pieces, an open-wheeled race car. I discover that I'm standing twenty feet away from the Williams F1 team assembling Alan Jones' F1 car for a shake down before the Long Beach GP!!! Jones got in the car, did a recon lap, the team checked the car over, and out he went. In less than five laps he did a 1:09.00!!! At that time I had not seen anyone go quicker than about 1:26.00 - no wonder the guy was a world champ! You should have seen that car go through turn 8, must have been pushing 200 - 210, WOW!