(Le Mans, France) - With high expectations after his thrilling podium finish in the July race at Le Mans, Emmanuel Crouvisier was clearly disappointed with the final race weekend of the 2002 Formule Campus championship. Throughout the weekend, the young French-American fought problem after problem with the racecar, unable to complete the first race after contact with another car, and finishing a hard-fought 8th place in the second race. As a result of the DNF in the first race, his chances of 6th place in the championship faded away, ultimately finishing the season 8th overall.

The weekend problems began after just two laps into the first qualifying session, when a heim joint broke in the rear suspension, making the car oversteer tremendously in almost every corner. With only five minutes between the two sessions, Crouvisier had no choice but to do his best with the ill-handling car. The result was a tremendously disappointing 10th and 13th starting position for Sundayﾒs two races.

The La Filière FFSA mechanics completely re-adjusted the alignment of the racecar, and Crouvisier quickly capitalized on the improvements by slotting into the 7th position before the end of the first lap of the first race. Unfortunately, there was now a significant brake problem, as the rear brakes were consistently locking up. Adjusting the brake partitioning valve completely to the front had almost no effect on the system, but he was determined to drive around the problem and again finish on the podium. At the end of the first lap, championship runner-up Julien Poncelet braked far too late into the Raccordement turn, rear-ending Crouvisier and pushing his car completely outside of the track. Three cars were then able to get by before Crouvisier slotted back into position. At the end of the front straight, Vincent Cassaignau spun his car in the middle of the Dunlop chicane. Arriving on the parked car, Crouvisier decided to pass to the right, but the slick track proved to be fatal, as the rear-end of the car snapped out just a few centimeters, but it was enough to hit Cassaignauﾒs front nosecone with the left-rear of his car, sending his car into a spin and destroying that corner of the car. Fortunately, no one was injured, but a number of valuable points were lost in the process.

The car was repaired just in time for the second race, and after another stellar start, Crouvisier had already moved into the top 10 by the end of the first lap. Fortunately, he was able to avoid all of the race incidents, but with the alignment not being quite right, the car was now understeering coming out of corners, losing valuable tenths throughout the track. After several heated battles with Vinay Basavaraja, Florent Tafani and several other drivers, Crouvisier crossed the finish line in 8th position.

Despite the lackluster finale, the progress made throughout the 2002 season is very promising for Emmanuel Crouvisierﾒs career. Despite two disappointing weekends towards the end of the season where luck just wasnﾒt on his side, after scoring one podium, three top-five and twelve top-ten finishes, it is clear that he will be challenging for race wins next year. More information about the 2003 season will be available soon at www.emmanuelcrouvisier.com ﾖ be sure to check back often!