MARCH 3, 1997

Magnussen back in action

JAN MAGNUSSEN was back in action last week at Silverstone just nine days after he had to have six stitches in a leg wound after a suspension failure caused his Stewart-Ford SF1 to crash heavily in testing at Estoril on February 15.

JAN MAGNUSSEN was back in action last week at Silverstone just nine days after he had to have six stitches in a leg wound after a suspension failure caused his Stewart-Ford SF1 to crash heavily in testing at Estoril on February 15.

The injury had been caused by a lower front wishbone being punched through the side of the monocoque and grazing the Danish driver's leg. The team has managed to repair the damaged chassis so the Milton Keynes team goes to Melbourne with three chassis as had been planned, the damaged car acting as the spare.

Magnussen ran on Monday and Wednesday at Silverstone, completing a total of 83 laps shaking down the second chassis which he will use in Melbourne. Barrichello will have a brand new third car to use in Albert Park.

Jackie Stewart says that the race in Melbourne will be "the single most important race of my career" as his F1 team struggles to make an impact in Grand Prix racing.