FEBRUARY 2, 1998

... Brunner to follow

GUSTAV BRUNNER is to return to Minardi after nearly five years with Ferrari in Maranello.

GUSTAV BRUNNER is to return to Minardi after nearly five years with Ferrari in Maranello. The Austrian designer is a good catch for Minardi's major shareholder Gabriele Rumi as he tries to build Minardi into a more competitive operation. The 47-year-old engineer has been involved in top-flight motor racing since joining the ATS F1 team in 1978. He went on to work with Maurer in Formula 2 before returning to ATS in 1983, producing an impressive ATS-BMW which was quick but rather unreliable. When ATS closed down at the end of 1984 Brunner joined RAM before being poached by Ferrari in 1986. The arrival of John Barnard saw him pushed aside at Maranello and he moved on to Rial for a year before joining Zakspeed. In 1990 he joined Leyton House and stayed there, becoming technical director, until moving to Minardi in mid-1992.

Brunner's knowledge and experience will certainly help Minardi to build a more competitive car which, the team hopes, will lead to a more competitive engine for 1999.

Rumi has also announced that the team is to have a new Sporting Director with the appointment of 45-year-old MichelÊAdreani, a leading member of the Automobile Club de Monaco and chairman of its technical committee, to look after the team's relationship with the race authorities and officials. Frederic Dhainaut will continue to be team manager.

Adreani is a qualified lawyer and has over 30 years of experience as a steward in a variety of different forms of the sport. He is also a member of various FIA working groups.