1992 Life SuperPrix of Australia

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Flag of Australia svg.png 1992 Life SuperPrix of Australia
Race 19 of 19 in the 1992 Life Grand Prix Series season
Eastern Creek.png
Date November 15, 1992
Official Name I Life SuperPrix of Australia
Location Eastern Creek Raceway, Eastern Creek, Australia
Course Permanent racing facility
Distance 14 laps
Weather Wet
Pole Position
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png James Davies Foster's Good Call Racing
Time 1:25.744
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png James Davies Foster's Good Call Racing
Time 1:36.836 on lap 3
Podium
First Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png James Davies Foster's Good Call Racing
Second Flag of France svg.png Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler Foster's Good Call Racing
Third Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Dave Wilson Team DAYP Loans Racing


The 1992 Life SuperPrix of Australia was the 19th and final round of the 1992 Life Grand Prix Series season. It was held at Eastern Creek Raceway on November 15, 1992.

The race was one of the most controversial in LifeGP history. Four drivers, (James Davies, defending champion Dave Wilson, Jan van der Maeyede, and Jose Braggia) all entered it with a chance of winning the championship. Davies would start from pole position, as he had for every race he entered that year. He also entered the race off the back of 3 consecutive perfect scores, the only man to ever achieve that in the history of the series.

The race would take place under severe monsoon conditions, and like the previous three, was characterised by a dominant performance from Davies. Championship contenders van der Maeyede and Braggia were quickly eliminated from contention - van der Maeyede was unable to keep his car on the track in the tricky conditions, while Braggia only had a remote chance which was snuffed out when Davies took pole position.

The race continued until lap 15, when Davies' teammate, Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler suffered a problem which caused him to stop in the middle of the frontstraight. Davies, unsighted by all the spray, smashed into his teammate, taking both Foster's Good Call Racing cars out of the race on the spot. Dave Wilson motored past the pair of them to take the lead, when the race was red flagged due to the conditions. A heated debate then occurred in the steward's office, as one faction, largely made up of representatives of Davies and Foster's Good Call Racing attempted to get the results of the race taken from the end of the last completed lap, while others would wanted the race to continue. In the end, the stewards ruled in favour of calling the race and taking the results from the end of lap 14, thus giving the win and championship to James Davies by half a point.

Despite the dramatic fashion in which Davies took the title, having only entered the final 7 rounds of the season, the controversy surrounding the outcome of the race is widely considered to be one of the key factors in the ultimate demise of the Life Grand Prix Series. The decision ultimately resulted in a loss of confidence of the series' management from some major backers, who pulled out and left the series in quite a vulnerable position for the 1993 season. This, combined with several other factors such as the relative dominance of the the Good Call and Al Smith Racing Enterprises teams, the infamous 1993 Life Irish GP, and the departure of 1991 champ and fan favourite Dave Wilson, left the series insolvent at the conclusion of the 1993 season.

Classification

Race

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 00 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png James Davies Foster's Good Call Racing 14 1 5.5
2 9 Flag of France svg.png Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler Foster's Good Call Racing 14 2 3
3 5 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Dave Wilson Team DAYP Loans Racing 14 5 2
4 19 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Christopher Arthurs Team Sandinista! 14 6 1.5
5 264 Flag of Namibia svg.png Anderson Angula Life of Namibia 14 24 1
6 16 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Pieter Kickert Kickert Motorsport Engineering 14 16 0.5
7 40 Flag of France svg.png Jean-Pierre Balivernes Mazzacane Motorsport 26
8 55 Flag of the United States svg.png Vic Sunset Blokkmonsta Racing 15
9 88 Flag of Italy svg.png Jose Braggia Scuderia Asso di Fiori 32
10 29 Flag of the United States svg.png Algernon Bell Zeroforce 25
11 444 Flag of Brazil svg.png Cleide do Nascimento V.I.D.A. 27
12 42 Flag of Greece svg.png Apostolos Alianopoulos Racing for Greece 30
13 4 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Geoff Donnelly Alstom GPE 29
14 99 Flag of Cameroon svg.png Cameron Maroon Nicchi Motori 36
15 76 Flag of Japan svg.png Shigeru Hashimoto H.T.M.T.R.T. 20
Ret 10 Flag of Australia svg.png Joe Bloggs Aussie Motorsport 12 Collision damage 33
Ret 8 Flag of Australia svg.png Joe Gaera Aussie Motorsport 12 Engine 12
Ret 666 Flag of Uzbekistan svg.png Mikhail Karimov The Team of the Workers Party 12 Engine 21
Ret 53 Flag of the United States svg.png Marky Howard Rockets to Russia 12 Accident 9
Ret 39 Flag of Argentina svg.png José Pablo Mazzacane Mazzacane Motorsport 12 Accident 13
Ret 20 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Rachel Graham Team Sandinista! 12 Accident 10
Ret 17 Flag of France svg.png Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler Al Smith Racing 11 Suspension 7
Ret 25 Flag of Iceland svg.png Fidrik Arnason Ursus Racing 11 Brakes 34
Ret 13 Flag of North Korea svg.png Kim Jong-Sung Great Leap Backward 11 Gearbox 19
Ret 98 Flag of Belgium svg.png Gio van Dycke Scuderia Asso di Fiori 6 Brakes 3
Ret 34 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Richard Richardson EuroBrum 5 Suspension 17
Ret 69 Flag of the United States svg.png Charles Jericho Herbalife Racing 5 Engine 11
Ret 47 Flag of Australia svg.png Will Roberts HURT Racing 4 Gearbox 37
Ret 71 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Jan van der Maeyede Al Smith Racing 1 Brakes 4
Ret 445 Flag of Bolivia svg.png Julio Vaca V.I.D.A. 1 Gearbox 14
Ret 35 Flag of the United States svg.png Danny Ramone Rockets to Russia 0 Clutch 8
Ret 33 Flag of Germany svg.png William Anker EuroBrum 0 Suspension 31
Ret 43 Flag of Cyprus svg.png Atos Koumettou Racing for Greece 0 Suspension 23
Ret 888 Flag of the United States svg.png Ralf Alden The Team of the Workers Party 0 Clutch 28
Ret 190 Flag of Russia 91-93.png Pjotr Madunochev Foxhound Life 0 Suspension 18
Ret 500 Flag of the United States svg.png Ronald Tenpecost Caraxl 0 Electronics 22
Ret 31 Flag of Serbia and Montenegro svg.png Josip Stalic Great Leap Backward 0 Accident 35

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos. Driver Points
1 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png James Davies 46.5
2 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Dave Wilson 46
3 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Jan van der Maeyede 40
4 Flag of Italy svg.png Jose Braggia 32
5 Flag of the United States svg.png Marky Howard 30