Pedro Lamy

Pedro Lamy was born in March 1972 in Aldeia Galega, Portugal. The Opel-powered Reynard 923 made its debut at Guia Circuit in 1992, from mid-way through the race, he moved onto second position right behind Rydell. With a clear track in front of him, Lamy clocked the quickest lap time of 2:19.26, which was even faster than Rydell’s pole position time.

Lamy then set his sights on Rydell and got past him four laps later, however, on the penultimate lap, drama ensued. Lamy was stuck behind Peter Aslund after coming through “R” Bend, but with yellow flags still waving from an incident earlier at the Melco Hairpin Bend, Lamy stayed behind and waiting for the all-clear green flag. However, a chasing Rydell came flying past, with Rydell taking the lead and holding it to the chequered flag. Lamy protested immediately, Lamy and Rydell were declared equal first for the opening leg, with Lamy on pole position for the second leg. 

Although Rydell got past Lamy and opened up a gap, Lamy began to close in and by the heat’s mid-point had reduced the gap to just over a second. Despite piling on the pressure, Lamy was unable to get past Rydell and finished second on his debut.

The Reynard 923 was designed by David Brown and was an evolution of the 1991 chassis with much taller sidepods than the previous season’s car. This had the effect of improving downforce levels and reducing drag, as well as encasing the rear of the car which was the in-vogue design in Formula 1 at the time. The taller sidepods allowed the left-mounted radiator to be mounted vertically, allowing a reduction in its angle to the airstream. Improvements to the front suspension allowed for more camber change, which in turn improved mid-corner understeer. In addition, the car boasted new rear suspension, which allowed the gearbox pick-up points to be moved further inboard and out of the airflow, again improving aerodynamics and thus speed.