Dijon-Prenois 1981, was Piquet 3rd or 5th?

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alelanza
alelanza
7
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 05:05
Location: San José, Costa Rica

Dijon-Prenois 1981, was Piquet 3rd or 5th?

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I was watching the French GP of 1981 yesterday and just now i was reading this race report: http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr350.html which says:

"Prost stayed ahead all the way to the flag to win his first F1 victory and he was followed home by Watson. Piquet was given third place (although he was fifth on the road) while the remaining points went to Arnoux, Pironi and de Angelis."

Given the 1981 championship outcome these points are crucial and was hoping someone on here knew exactly what happened.
The race I watched had Japanese narration, and also had newer non FOA titles/lettering that looked like were put in place years after the race, so that didn't help me much. Also the usage of cameras wasn't optimal so i can't really tell whether Piquet was third of fifth, i only saw him losing many places when the race got restarted.

So if anyone knows what actually happened i'd appreciate the knowledge, thanks!
Alejandro L.

Project Four
Project Four
0
Joined: 24 Jan 2008, 23:28

Re: Dijon-Prenois 1981, was Piquet 3rd or 5th?

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The race was in two parts, on lap 59 the race was red flagged after a heavy rain storm. At this time Piquet was leading, with Prost about 6 1/2 seconds behind in second. For the second part of the race, which was 22 laps, it was restarted after a 20 minute delay in which the track had dried out. Prost and Watson using Michelin tires started on qualifying tires, while Piquet was on Good Year's, which were no match for the Michelin. End result was Piquet finished in 5th behind Prost, Watson, Arnoux and Pironi all on Michelin's.

The time differences between the two parts of the race resulted in Prost winning, Watson finsihing second and Piquet finishing in third.

alelanza
alelanza
7
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 05:05
Location: San José, Costa Rica

Re: Dijon-Prenois 1981, was Piquet 3rd or 5th?

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Wow, i wasn't expecting such a good answer so soon, thanks a lot!
Alejandro L.