1986 United States Grand Prix East

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  1986 United States East

Race details
Race 7 of 17 in the 1986 Formula One season.
Date	June 22, 1986
Official name	5th United States Grand Prix East
Location	Detroit street circuit Detroit, Michigan
Course	Temporary street course 2.56 mi / 4.120 km
Distance	63 laps, 161.28 mi / 259.56 km
Weather	Cloudy, hot
Pole position
Driver	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault
Time	1:38.301
Fastest lap
Driver	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda
Time	1:41.233 on lap 41
Podium
First	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault
Second	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Renault
Third	Alain Prost	McLaren-Porsche

The 1986 United States Grand Prix East was a Formula One race held on June 22, 1986 in Detroit, Michigan. This event was also referred to as the Detroit Grand Prix.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Classification 3 References

[edit] Summary

Rising Lotus star Ayrton Senna started on the pole and came away with a hard-earned win, the fourth of his career. The young Brazilian charged through the field after dropping to eighth with a deflating tire for his first USGP victory. The race saw six lead changes among five drivers, and the victory for Senna began a streak that would see him take five United States Grand Prix wins in six years.

American Eddie Cheever, in his only F1 race of the season, was taking Patrick Tambay's seat in the Carl Haas Lola, as Tambay had not fully recovered from his Montreal injuries. Haas had attempted to get the legendary Mario Andretti, but, apparently because of a FISA-CART feud, Andretti's application for a FISA license was denied. Cheever qualified tenth, and retired at just over half-distance with a broken wheel peg.

As expected, the drivers had difficulty finding grip in Friday's sessions, as the temporary street circuit needed time to get some rubber down. Williams driver Nigel Mansell was the only one under 1:40, putting in two outstanding laps on race tires. On a gorgeous Saturday, Mansell and Senna bided their time, waiting until halfway through the one-hour session to take the track. Senna came out on qualifiers, managed to get a clear track, and clocked a course record 1:38.301. Mansell was balked on his run on the fragile qualifying tires when Alain Prost crashed in the chicane, and Senna had the pole by more than half a second.

Sunday was hot and humid with a chance of rain. At the start, Senna led Mansell into the first corner, and René Arnoux's Ligier jumped ahead of Nelson Piquet in the second Williams.

LAP 1: First: Senna  Second: Mansell  Third: Arnoux

Beginning lap 3, the Brazilian missed a gear entering Turn One, and Mansell's Williams shot by into the lead.

LAP 3: First: Mansell  Second: Senna  Third: Arnoux

By the end of lap 5, Mansell's lead was 4.3 seconds, but that was as big as it got. His rear brake pads were too cool and had become glazed, and Senna was able to draw back up to him. By lap seven, he was right on his gearbox, and on lap 8, he retook the lead.

LAP 8: First: Senna  Second: Mansell  Third: Arnoux

Senna immediately began to draw away, while Mansell slipped back through the field. On lap 14, with a 6.5 second lead, Senna suddenly ducked into the pits with a slowly deflating right rear tire. Despite a quick change, he re-entered in eighth place, twenty seconds behind the new leader, René Arnoux.

LAP 15: First: Arnoux  Second: Laffite  Third: Piquet

Arnoux held the lead for just three laps before having to pit for new rubber. His Ligier teammate Jacques Laffite, running with harder compound Pirelli rear tires, moved to the top of the score sheet. At age 42, it was Laffite's first time to lead a race in more than three years, and the last time in his career.

LAP 18: First: Laffite  Second: Piquet  Third: Mansell

After his stop on lap 14, Senna had begun to carve his way back to the front, overtaking, not back markers, but the best drivers of the era. He passed Michele Alboreto on lap 15, Stefan Johansson on lap 17, Arnoux when he made his tire stop on lap 18, Prost on lap 28, and Mansell on lap 31. When Laffite also stopped for tires on lap 31, Piquet became the race's fifth different leader, and Senna was up to second place, just 1.7 seconds behind.

LAP 31: First: Piquet  Second: Senna  Third: Mansell

With the two of them in front on their own, and Piquet leading by up to 3.5 seconds, Senna was content for the time being to follow his countryman. After eight laps in the lead, Piquet pitted for tires, and Senna regained first place.

LAP 40: First: Senna  Second: Piquet  Third: Arnoux

Piquet's 18.4 second stop was even slower than teammate Mansell's had been, but when he returned to the track, the two-time champion got the bit between his teeth. Running second behind Senna, Piquet set the fastest lap of the race on lap 41, but with a pit stop ten seconds quicker than Piquet's, Senna was able to retain the lead.

On the very next lap, the 42nd, Piquet pushed a bit too much, and crashed hard at the left-hand corner before the last chicane. He ended up in the tire barrier, unhurt, but with his car in a very precarious position. The crane, present for just that reason, was unable to move the car. Arnoux, now 16.6 seconds behind in second, took a second a lap off Senna's lead for five laps while a yellow was displayed in the corner where Piquet had crashed. As soon as the yellow flag was gone, Arnoux went wide and hit Piquet's abandoned Williams! The Frenchman decided that his car was not damaged, and attempted to rejoin the field, but did so right in front of Thierry Boutsen's Arrows, sidelining both cars.

Very uncharacteristic of a street race, these three -- Piquet, Arnoux and Boutsen -- were the only drivers all afternoon to retire due to accidents.

With 17 laps to go, Senna led Prost by 27 seconds, and the McLaren's Porsche engine was cutting out under braking. Laffite was able to close as Prost struggled, and quickly the Ligier moved by into second place. Senna came home 30 seconds in front for a brilliant and hard-earned win, his first in the United States, and the only American win for the great French engine maker Renault.

[edit] Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault	63	1:51:12.847	1	9
2	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Renault	63	+ 31.017	6	6
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	63	+ 31.824	7	4
4	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	63	+ 1:30.936	11	3
5	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	62	+ 1 Lap	2	2
6	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham-BMW	62	+ 1 Lap	8	1
7	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus-Renault	61	+ 2 Laps	14
8	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	61	+ 2 Laps	20
9	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell-Renault	61	+ 2 Laps	18
10	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham-BMW	60	+ 3 Laps	15
Ret	17	Christian Danner	Arrows-BMW	51	Electrical	19
Ret	25	René Arnoux	Ligier-Renault	46	Accident	4
Ret	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows-BMW	44	Accident	13
Ret	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi-Motori Moderni	43	Gearbox	23
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda	41	Accident	3
Ret	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	40	Electrical	5
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton-BMW	38	Gearbox	17
Ret	16	Eddie Cheever	Lola-Ford	37	Steering	10
Ret	15	Alan Jones	Lola-Ford	33	Steering	21
Ret	22	Allen Berg	Osella-Alfa Romeo	28	Electrical	25
Ret	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell-Renault	15	Electrical	16
Ret	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Alfa Romeo	14	Turbo	22
Ret	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren-TAG	12	Transmission	9
Ret	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-BMW	8	Engine	12
Ret	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi-Motori Moderni	3	Turbo	24
Ret	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	0	Electrical	26

Previous race: 1986 Canadian Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1986 season	Next race: 1986 French Grand Prix
Previous race: 1985 United States Grand Prix East	United States Grand Prix East	Next race: 1987 United States Grand Prix East

[edit] References

• Rob Walker (October, 1986). "5th Detroit Grand Prix: Front And Senna". Road & Track, 130-132.