Brian Smith at Snetterton

by Jacquie Groom - Racing Information Systems

In spite of gathering grey clouds, Brian Smith cheerfully told me that it wasn't going to rain.  Not that he would mind if it did - the rain suits his driving.

No matter what happens, Brian Smith always seems cheerful.  The twenty-year old from Argentina, racing this year for TOMs Racing in the British Formula 3 Championship, speaks excellent English with a charming accent.  Last year he won the Formula Renault championship in his native country.  Now, living in Norwich, his obvious talents have already landed him a pole position at Donington Park - the first for the TOM'S Toyota team this season in the Dallara dominated series - and 21 points in the championship.

"It's been an interesting season," he said with a smile.  "I think I've made people notice me. Good results, bad results, crashes ..."  But yes, all in all, it's been a good season.  He hopes to race again in Britain next year, especially as he now knows the tracks.  And he is beginning to get used to the weather.  Coming from the height of an Argentine summer to the depths of a British winter was a shock to him.  "So cold ..." he said with a shiver, in spite of the muggy Norfolk day.

Born on the 22nd April 1975, he started his racing career in karts.  Moving into Formula Renault in 1993, he finished 18th overall in his first season.  In 1994 he  improved to sixth, before winning the series in 1995. This year, his best result so far is a fifth place at Brands Hatch.  And of course, the pole position at Donington which took many people by surprise.  Unfortunately, he was not able to make good advantage of that lead, as he stalled on the grid.  A problem that seems to have affected quite a few of the young Formula 3 drivers.  "Nervous, perhaps," Brian said with a smile that seemed almost like an admission.

He was one of the drivers who took part in the Marlboro Masters, competing against other Formula 3 drivers from the various European championship in Zandvoort.  "Interesting," he said, when asked about the experience.  An excellent qualifying performance saw him eighth on the grid, on a track he compared to the sort you'd rent by the hour if you were karting.  "Very slippery."  He was not so lucky in the race. After an excellent start, he was involved in the chain of events which saw Firman, Meier, Cunningham and Guy Smith out of contention.  The chaos on the track meant that the pace car was brought out.  As the cars bunched up, Smith had nowhere to go, and ended up sandwiched between Beltoise and Trulli. The car was damaged, but after repairs and consulting with his team, he was able to carry on.  Which he did, finishing last of the classified drivers.

Snetterton is his 'home' track - that of his team, and the nearest one to his temporary home.  But things weren't going too well for the young Argentinian when I spoke to him.  In the first qualifying session, a broken upright meant he could not manage higher than twelfth on the grid.  And an unidentified problem during the second session saw his best time drop steadily down the list, finally finishing seventeenth.  He shrugged when I asked him about it.  "We don't know what's wrong," he said with a smile.  They had changed the differential, but without a warm-up, the first opportunity to test it would  be in the first race. 

Minutes before round 11 of the British Formula 3 championship was about to get underway, the rain started.  A real downpour.  After a few minutes it calmed enough for the race to get underway.  Plumes of spray followed the cars as they cautiously made their way onto the grid.

Brian confirmed his predilection for the wet weather as he made a good start, rapidly rising from his twelfth grid position to eighth, overtaking  Zandvoort winner Kurt Mollekens and Cunningham. 

But the conditions were awful, and as the rain started again, the race was stopped.  "It was incredible," he told me afterwards.  "I was aquaplaning everywhere, and there were huge puddles.  If you hit one of them, you were out of control.  You couldn't see anything. Totally blind."

Later, hiding under a huge umbrella, Brian Smith ventured into the awning of the FOTA motorhome, where crowds of damp journalists were hiding from the weather.  "Everyone was scared," he said, explaining how the drivers had been slowing down for the corners.  But at least he was still smiling !