The 1991 season, the first experienced by Gabriele Rumi as team manager of his Fondmetal team, which fielded the Fomet-1 single-seater built in the namesake British workshop in Bicester run by Robin Herd, ended quite unsatisfactorily, with only six qualifications out of 14 races, of which just three were completed, without scoring any points. At the end of 1991, the agreement with Fomet was terminated, also because the British atelier had begun to make deals with other teams for the design of their respective cars. Gabriele Rumi then decided to entrust the design of a new car to Astauto, the firm of Argentine designer Sergio Rinland, intending this time to name it with his own initials "GR". The deal with Astauto was formalized only in November, which led to Herd’s advanced Fomet-2 project being redirected and sold to the French Larrousse team, where it became the Venturi LC92. Meanwhile, Rinland’s work on the new Fondmetal began significantly behind schedule.
 |
| FONDMETAL GR02, Gabriele Tarquini Montréal, Canadian GP 1992 |
At the start of the 1992 season, the Bergamo-based team was thus forced to begin the championship with a slightly revised and updated version of the previous Fomet-1, now renamed GR01, as desired by Rumi himself. The two chassis from the previous year were modified to accommodate the new engine for the 1992 season. In fact, instead of the old Cosworth DFR, Rumi secured the more powerful Ford HBA5 engines, which had been used by Benetton in 1991. Furthermore, Fondmetal doubled its effort for the new season by fielding two cars at the start of the championship, driven by Swiss rookie Andrea Chiesa and Italian Gabriele Tarquini, who had already raced for Fondmetal at the end of the 1991 season.
 |
| FONDMETAL GR01, Gabriele Tarquini Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1992 |
For this reason, two more cars were assembled using the old Fomet-1 chassis. The GR01 was used in the first six races of the 1992 season, but despite the more powerful engine, it resulted only in a series of failures to qualify for Chiesa, while Tarquini managed to qualify every time but was always forced to retire due to mechanical issues, never reaching the checkered flag. Meanwhile, in the London district of Tolworth, at Astauto headquarters, Sergio Rinland and aerodynamicist Hans Fouche, who had previously worked together at Brabham on the historic team’s final car, worked hard on the development of the new GR02.
 |
| FONDMETAL GR02, Gabriele Tarquini Magny-Cours, French GP 1992 |
The first prototype was completed only in early May and first tested at Ferrari’s private Fiorano circuit. It was brought as a spare car to the Imola and Monaco races but was deemed ready to race only by mid-June, during the Canadian Grand Prix, and even then only with Gabriele Tarquini. On paper, the car had significant potential, but this could not be fully developed due to the financial difficulties Fondmetal faced, especially in the latter half of the season. Powered by the potent Ford HBA5 engine, the GR02 also featured a new semi-automatic six-speed XTrac gearbox, redesigned front and rear suspension, and refined aerodynamics, including a raised nose and an intriguing integrated front wing in the style of the Jordan 191, but with a dual-element profile. At the rear, Fouche brought in flowing, enveloping shapes typical of modern Formula 1 cars, giving the GR02 a sleek and proportionate appearance.
 |
| FONDMETAL GR02, Eric Van de Poele Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 1992 |
Despite good single-lap performance that consistently allowed easy qualification, the car's main problem was reliability, and it only managed to finish two races. The tenth place earned at Spa-Francorchamps by Belgian driver Eric van de Poele, who replaced Chiesa starting from the Hungarian Grand Prix, remained the best result of the season and also the best in Fondmetal’s short Formula 1 history. However, the financial effort made by Rumi in an attempt to raise the bar proved excessive. With no funds left and after a failed negotiation with Tom Walkinshaw to sell the team, Gabriele Rumi decided to shut down operations after the Monza race, withdrawing from the final three races of the season.
Comments
Post a Comment