WET WET WET IN’ 89

he first Australian Grand Prix (GP) to be part of the world championship was run in early November 1985 in stinking-hot conditions. I can still recall how warm it was in the early evening when I was walking back to the train station along North Terrace after another day in the baking sun. The 1986 race, the one in which Nigel Mansell’s tyre exploded late in the race, along with his chances of finishing the day as world champion, was run in late October; it wasn’t just cooler on race day — it was noticeably colder across the entire event, with even an occasional sprinkle. For 1987, the race was moved to mid November, and it was back to the heat of ’85. I had initially decided to give the 1988 race a miss because the McLaren-Honda domination that year made the result inevitable (it was) but a week or so out, I couldn’t resist and booked a flight — having friends to stay with made it easy; the ’88 weekend was another hot one. With the date now firmly fixed in November, there became an expectation of warm weather across the four days of the