By Huw Alban
April 27 2002

Jos Verstappen's fan club met in Rosmalen on Sunday with the popular Dutchman attending. As expected he was plagued by questions over his driving future and whether he was going to be racing next year. "Jos is one of the drivers who will be competing..." said his manager at the meeting. Message board contributor VerstappenFan was very quick to share his new after attending the gathering.
"I just came back from the Jos Verstappen fanclub day in Rosmalen," he said in his post. "The fanclub currently has over 15,000 members so it was pretty crowded. Jos answered a lot of questions and there were an A21 and AX3 there."

Fellow contributor JosFanatic added his words of amazement at the number of people who had turned up to see Jos. "I find it stunning that Jos has so many dedicated fans," he said. "It's weird that a driver who has the worst luck ever has, so many passionate fans. Imagine if he started doing well in a good car...

"Plus the fans I have met around the world are friendly which makes it all the more fun. Great to see his fanclub day was such a success."

Aside from marvelling over the fan turn out the fans wanted answers, and Jos and his manager Huub Rottengather were only to happy to provide the answers. First off, Huub was asked to clarify the current situation between his driver and Arrows. "We have a 20 page contract signed by Mr. Walkinshaw which says that Jos is one of the drivers who will be competing in the 2002 FIA Formula 1 World Championship for Arrows," he replied.

"I was at the factory a few days before Christmas and talked to Tom," Jos Verstappen added. "We call each other often. I'll be in the factory on Tuesday or Wednesday for a seatfitting, I'll hear about that tomorrow.
"Tomorow (Monday) Simon Jones(Arrows Fitness trainer) will come to Holland to start the 2002 training program."

When asked about the teams testing schedule, Jos replied, "The A23 will run for the first time on the 28th or 29th of January. This will be a systems check on a straight to check the electronics and the new 7 speed gearbox, after that we will travel to Spain."

All of these quote make for very encouraging news for all Jos Verstappen and Arrows fans who are keen to see what Jos can do in what, on paper, looks to be a great car. JosFanatic summed up the feelings of Jos fandom well. "The positive comments are great to read, but I am still waiting to see his name on the FIA list though."

Over to you OrangeArrows...