After forty years of working in Formula One, former McLaren team co-ordinator Jo Ramirez joins the millions of racing fans who watch the action on TV. Now writing for Atlas F1, Jo follows the 2002 season in a personal column, which comes straight from the heart of a guy who is, after all, just a racing man...

With all the rumours flying around the Grand Prix circus regarding the future of this Grand Prix due to the government ban on tobacco advertising and the possibility of the circuit being chopped and converted into another short and boring race track, I decided that I had to come, because if it did disappear from the scene I would never have forgiven myself for having had the chance of being there one last time but not taking it.

I was also trying to get Mika Hakkinen to come and spend a weekend at Spa, a place that he also enjoyed very much. We always stayed at a wonderful guest house owned by a friendly Belgian family with whom, over the years, we have developed a close friendship. Unfortunately, Mika decided not to come to a race this year, perhaps he felt it was too soon to show his face so close to his official retirement announcement.

It was a great shame he didn't come, as with Belgium being so near to the UK, I wanted to ride my Harley Davidson; my 60th birthday and leaving present from Mika and David last year. My birthday always fell around the Hungarian Grand Prix and at last year's meeting, I had one of the most wonderful days of my racing career because of the way and the style in which they presented it.

Late afternoon, after qualifying, as I was doing some paperwork in the race car transporter, I was told to go to the motorhome, which I did, but found it empty. Therefore I returned to the truck, thinking I had been given a bum steer. Shortly after, Ellen Kolby came and insisted I went back to the motorhome. I returned to the empty seating area to find Mika coming out of one door and David out of the other... then it clicked that something was going on. Maybe they knew that I was having a big birthday, so I got ready for a defensive move as I could feel a cake coming straight for my face! But instead they produced a superb leather jacket by which time dozens of photographers had gathered at the edge of the motorhome.

'Do you like leather jackets?' they asked. 'Sure I do!' I replied as they slipped the jacket on to my back. I noticed the Harley-Davidson emblem on the front and across the back, not having the slightest clue what was about to happen. I said jokingly, 'Oh! Harley-Davidson, great! All I need is the bike!' At which point they lifted me onto their shoulders and carried me back out of the motorhome. I then heard the unmistakeable brooom vrooom sound of a Harley engine almost at the same time as I saw this monster of a shining Road King Harley-Davidson coming towards us. They put me down and said 'Do you like it?' The emotion was taking over as I replied, 'Do I like it? I love it!' at which point they exclaimed, 'It's yours!' My eyes were watering and I was absolutely lost for words as I had my first ride across the paddock with all the GP photographers taking pictures.

It took over 24 hours for it to actually sink in that I really was the proud owner of a Harley-Davidson Road King. The dream of a lifetime, sitting in the Cafe Senequier in St Tropez admiring the Harleys parked at the port, had become a reality. I had to pinch myself and make sure that I was not still dreaming.

This, without a shadow of a doubt, had been one of the greatest moments of my life and for which I will be eternally greatful to Mika and David. So much for those that say racing drivers never put their hands in their pockets. Even now, and I guess for the rest of my life, whenever I feel low, I just have to think of that August day to have a smile across my face again.

Before coming to the Belgium Grand Prix, I was trying to get a small group together as it is always more pleasant travelling with a few riders together. However, those bikers that are involved in Grand Prix tend to go during the first part of the week as that is when their work requires them to be there. I only wanted to go out Friday and return Monday. I tried to convince Neil Trundle and Neil Oatley from McLaren to join me but they were busy, so I went on my own and I had a great time. Not surprisingly, I got soaking wet on the way to Dover, but the rest of the time I was lucky and never saw a drop of rain throughout the trip.

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Spa Francorchamps has been the host of some of the greatest races in the history of our sport and every one of us has a particular recollection of this event. For me there have been too many, purely because I have been to more races than the average man, but the one that will always stay with me is achieving my first Grand Prix win in 1967. Dan Gurney's win in the Eagle was the first and only time that an American has won a Grand Prix event with a car bearing his own name. For me it was my first out of 114 wins in 479 starts, a record of which I am always very proud, although I am sure that there must be someone at Ferrari close to beating it, otherwise surely Michael Schumacher himself will break it in a few years time!!

One of the things that I was most looking forward to doing in Spa, which in 40 years of the sport I was never able to, was to get close enough to Eau Rouge corner to see qualifying from there. This was THE corner of the year, the only corner left in the calendar where the men get separated from the boys, now that corners like the Curva Grande at Monza or Curva 1 at Interlagos don't exist any more. It was great to be close to this corner and hear who was lifting and who took it flat. I remember talking to Francois Cevert at Monza where he would say, taking the Curva Grande flat, it is not a question of bravery, it is a question of decision. Once you have made the decision to take it flat, your balls which were up around your neck at the time, returned to their original position and you would always take it flat again!!

I was however somewhat disappointed this year at Eau Rouge with the new surface and obviously more grippy tarmac laid down this year. There is also extra tarmac outside the corner instead of gravel in case a driver makes a mistake and needs a little extra space to correct his error, plus the dreaded traction control! All the drivers went flat out, some cars seemed to be on rails while others were merely a little bit twitchy. I watched the start just outside La Source, which I think is the best place to see the top 20 drivers in the world trying to miss each other without losing ground and more often than not, managing to. It is always great viewing.

I was very glad that David Coulthard was able to show that he had made the best choice of tyres for the race, and that the rising future star Kimi was having to work hard to keep his position after such a tremendous show in qualifying before his engine expired.

I was able to spend some real quality time with some of my old colleagues from McLaren over the weekend. But I also had a very strange feeling of being on the outside looking in, much more than I had in the previous two Grands Prix that I was at this year. Well, my racing fix for this year is complete and I look forward to catching up with you in two weeks' time from Ferrari land as I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed in the hope of seeing the Arrows Grand Prix team back in action again.

Jo X

About the author:
Jo Ramirez began working in Formula One in 1961, when he arrived to Europe from Mexico with his childhood friend Ricardo Rodriguez. He worked as a mechanic and a team manager with Dan Gurney, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ken Tyrrell and many others, before making McLaren his home for 18 years - where he worked as team co-ordinator between the years 1983 and 2001 and where he made life-long friendships with the sport's top drivers. Jo retired from F1 at the end of the 2001 season. He joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in February 2002.