Updates from the Rest of the Racing World
Atlas F1 Magazine Writer
Report Indicates a Combination of Factors Contributed to Dale Earnhardt's Death
After six months of intensive investigation, NASCAR's report into the death of legend Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500 at the start of the season has been released.
"The conclusion is not the easiest conclusion to report," said Dr. James Raddin, one of the lead investigators. "We conclude that there were a number of factors in which the timing came together to produce this result." Raddin also admitted to not having seen the controversial autopsy photos.
A number of experts presented NASCAR's findings with much technical detail.
Significantly, despite much expert evidence to the contrary in recent weeks, the seat belt and more specifically the seat belt manufacturer Simpson Performance Products was not absolved of blame. Legendary safety product manufacturer Bill Simpson and a team of lawyers were in attendance at NASCAR's extravagant release of the report at a hotel convention centre in Atlanta. Simpson did not comment on the findings.
Meanwhile, two drivers have been killed in oval racing in the last fortnight in the US. ARCA racer Dean Roper died of a heart attack in Illinois at the age of 62, and 35 year old Stock Car racer Tim Boswell crashed through the fences and into trees in Ohio. Tragically, Dean Roper's son Tony was killed in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck race last October.
Junqueira Takes Debut Win Amid Safety Fears
Gidley smashed into the end of a bridge overpass and rolled several times on lap 21 of the restarted race. Gidley fractured his right leg in the incident, but should be able to race at the Molson Indy at Vancouver on September 2. This was not the first serious accident of the race, however.
Heavy rain had drenched the circuit prior to the start and a river of water was crossing the circuit between the kink and Canada corner. All the cars started on wets, and were led around the first five laps of the race by the safety car. The track went green on lap 6 but Junqueira spun after a touch with Christian Fittipaldi. As the field crossed the water at the slight bend of turn 11, thick spray enveloped the track. Unsighted, Max Wilson hit the back of Bryan Herta and climbed atop Herta's car, before each car separately clipped Paul Tracy who had tried to dive inside on the grass to pass the developing accident. All three were out on the spot.
The race was restarted with Helio Castroneves leading. Within a few laps, Gidley had his crash when he put a wheel on a damp kerb and lost control of his car. Scott Dixon was the next car along, which saw debris rip away his rear wing, taking several stops under the yellows for the damage to be fixed. At the restart, Castroneves led Carpentier and de Ferran, with de Ferran forcing his way past at Canada corner to make a Penske 1-2 on lap 33. The leaders, out of sync with most of the field, then pitted. Fittipaldi led briefly, until he turned in on Michael Andretti who was alongside him trying to pass, let Bruno Junqueira pass both of them.
Series leader and new Chip Ganassi signing Kenny Brack was down in fourteenth and duly lost the series lead to Helio Castroneves who finished seventh.
A series of images of the Memo Gidley crash follow:
Results of FedEx CART World Series, Round 14, Road America, Wisconsin, USA:
Standings: Helio Castroneves 110, Kenny Brack 105, Gil de Ferran 99, Michael Andretti 89, Scott Dixon 82, Dario Franchitti 81, Cristiano da Matta 78, Patrick Carpentier 69, Paul Tracy 65, Christian Fittipaldi and Roberto Moreno 54 etc.
Gronholm Wins His Second Rally Finland
Finally, this was the rally that saw Peugeot get its act back on track after a dreaful season thus far for the defending World Champions. It was a great rally for Peugeot, with the form of Harri Rovanpera as positive for the team as Gronholm's win. Unfortunately for Rovanpera, a 1-2 finish was destroyed when a rock broke a tyre valve, as well as suffering from damper problems, Rovanpera dropping to fourth overall behind the two Brits. The team's third car of Didier Auriol went out on day two after a suspension collapse in Stage 13.
Second place for Richard Burns was also an encouraging result after an indifferent year thus far. All three Subarus were consistent and fast, and the team were rewarded accordingly. Burns challenged the Peugeots early in the event, but only came into contention for second when Rovanpera struck trouble. Markko Martin had an excellent drive into fifth place for the young Estonian. Petter Solberg's drive to seventh also netted Subaru an extra manufacturer's point.
For an event he has made his own, Tommi Makinen was very disappointed to be out only four kilometres into the event after deranging his suspension on a tree stump in Stage 1. Brake problems would keep Freddy Loix out of the top ten for much of the rally. A rare third factory car for Toni Gardemeister was just behind Loix in 11th on the final stage when the former SEAT team leader rolled out of the event.
Makinen's retirement has allowed everyone to inch closer, but Makinen still looks in the box seat to regain the world championship he lost to Gronholm last year.
Results of World Rally Championship, Round 9, Rally Finland:
Drivers' standings: Tommi Makinen 40, Colin McRae 34, Carlos Sainz 27, Harri Rovanpera 23, Richard Burns 21, Marcus Gronholm and Francois Delecour 14, Didier Auriol 10 etc.
Manufacturers' standings: Mitsubishi and Ford 66, Peugeot 39, Subaru 35, Skoda 15, Hyundai 10
Rossi Capitalises On Biaggi Crash
Kenny Roberts made a typically fast get away on the Suzuki but was quickly reeled in by the Italians, first Biaggi, then Rossi. By lap ten, Norick Abe was through as well. Further back, Alex Criville was fighting through the field, working his way past Roberts and Abe, with Capirossi in close company. Further back a dice developed between Tohru Ukawa and Garry McCoy, McCoy near full race fitness for the first time since breaking a scaphoid bone earlier in the season at Le Mans. At half distance, just as Biaggi was starting to come under pressure from Rossi, Biaggi fell. From there, Rossi backed off slightly to conserve his bike to make sure of the race win.
Criville fought through the field for second place, with Loris Capirossi third on the Sito Pons bike. Abe picked up a competitive fourth from Ukawa, while on only his second race (but third event) back, Garry McCoy took sixth.
Rossi now has a 29 point lead on Biaggi, leaving Max a lot of work to do to catch young Valentino again. Kenny Roberts Jr missing out on the points has dropped the reigning World Champion out of the top ten points standings, and more significantly, behind lowly rated Suzuki teammate Sete Gibernau.
Results of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 10, Brno, Czech Republic:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 195, Max Biaggi 166, Loris Capirossi 127, Alex Barros 107, Norick Abe and Shinya Nakano 100, Alex Criville 91, Carlos Checa 76, Sete Gibernau 68, Tohru Ukawa 64 etc
Wilson Gives Nordic Teams' Title
Wilson got the jump, leading away Red Bull's Ricardo Mauricio and Nordic teammate Tomas Enge. Enge immediately moved into the shotgun role, and held up Wilson's title rival Mark Webber, allowing Wilson and Mauricio to bolt away. A slip by Enge and Webber, saw the closely following Sebastien Bourdais dart up the inside of Enge at the last corner. However Enge then turned in on Webber and the two collided. Both contined, although Enge picked up a stop-go penalty for his troubles. Webber immediately started cutting down the lead, only to spin atop a kerb while pressuring Mauricio for second, leaving his SuperNova car beached.
Wilson only has to score one point in the next two races to secure the title, while Webber, the only other possible champion, has to win both races with Wilson not scoring at all, a rather unlikely scenario.
Results of International Formula 3000 Championship, Round 10, Hungaroring, Hungary:
Standings: Justin Wilson 59, Mark Webber 39, Tomas Enge 36, Sebastien Bourdais 25, Antonio Pizzonia 22, Bas Leinders 14, Ricardo Sperafico 10, Darren Manning and Ricardo Mauricio 9 etc.
NASCAR
"As you know," said NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter, "today marks the most thorough, most intensive and certainly most anticipated investigation in the 53-year history of NASCAR."
CART
Bruno Junqueira took his debut win at the drivers' circuit in the north, Road America, giving Chip Ganassi his first victory of the year. The win was sullied by horrendously bad track conditions early in the race and a fearsome crash involving Junqueira's teammate Memo Gidley.
The race continued, and cars started to change to slick tyres. The first in was Mauricio Gugelmin. Crossing the river, Gugelmin's Reynard snapped sideways and clouted the wall. He was joined moments later by Tora Takagi in an almost identical crash. The race was red flagged while measures were taken to dry the track and prevent the flow of water across the track.
Junqueira and Andretti skipped out a lead which allowed both of them to maintain positions after pitting, giving the reigning Formula 3000 champ his first win in CART as well as his first win since leaving F3000. Fernandez pitted at the right time and finished third, with Dixon fourth, despite spending seven laps under the pace car with no rear wing!
Memo Gidley crash image #1
Memo Gidley crash image #2
Memo Gidley crash image #3
Memo Gidley crash image #4
Memo Gidley crash image #5
Memo Gidley crash image #6
Memo Gidley crash image #7
Memo Gidley crash image #8
Memo Gidley crash image #9
Memo Gidley crash image #10
Pos Driver Car
1. Bruno Junqueira Lola-Toyota
2. Michael Andretti Reynard-Honda
3. Adrian Fernandez Reynard-Honda
4. Scott Dixon Reynard-Toyota
5. Gil de Ferran Reynard-Honda
6. Cristiano da Matta Lola-Toyota
7. Helio Castroneves Reynard-Honda
8. Alex Tagliani Reynard-Ford
9. Patrick Carpentier Reynard-Ford
10. Oriol Servia Lola-Ford
Rally
Reigning World Champion Marcus Gronholm has finally broken through for his first win of the year at his home event, Rally Finland, the fabled 1000 Lakes. Gronholm took the lead on Day 2 from teammate Harri Rovanpera after being embroiled in a battle for the lead. By the third day Gronholm had the event under control after seeing off the challenge of the Brits.
The tough Ford Focus was less at home in Finland where speed is more important than survivability. Colin McRae was able to come through the field on day 2 to be fighting with Burns. Third would have to be enough for McRae though. 'El Matador' Carlos Sainz was short of pace and had to settle for sixth. Francois Delecour was forced to retire on leg three with no fuel pressure.
Privateers filled the rest of the top finishers on an event where the power deficiencies of the Hyundais and Skodas were most apparent. In the 'veterans' category, only Stig Blomqvist made the finish in his Skoda Octavia after Juha Kankkunen's Hyundai Accent and Markku Alen's Ford Focus both retired.
Pos Driver Car
1. Marcus Gronholm Peugeot 206
2. Richard Burns Subaru Impreza
3. Colin McRae Ford Focus
4. Harri Rovanpera Peugeot 206
5. Markko Martin Subaru Impreza
6. Carlos Sainz Ford Focus
7. Petter Solberg Subaru Impreza
8. Sebastian Lindholm Peugeot 206
9. Pasi Hagstrom Toyota Corolla
10. Freddy Loix Mitsubishi Lancer
MotoGP
Max Biaggi has started to look threatening towards Rossi's charismatic dominance of this year's 500cc season. But at the moment when Biaggi should have maximised his resurgence, the Italian fell and slid into the gravel, gifting Rossi the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Honda NSR500
2. Alex Criville Honda NSR500
3. Loris Capirossi Honda NSR500
4. Norick Abe Yamaha YZR500
5. Tohru Ukawa Honda NSR500
6. Garry McCoy Yamaha YZR500
7. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR500
8. Sete Gibernau Suzuki RGV500
9. Alex Barros Honda NSR500
10. Max Biaggi Yamaha YZR500
Formula 3000
Justin Wilson has now all but secured the International Formula 3000 title after winning Round 10 at the Hungaroring. The win also gives Nordic Racing an unbeatable lead in the teams' championship with two races in hand.
Pos Driver Team
1. Justin Wilson Coca-Cola Nordic Racing
2. Ricardo Mauricio Red Bull Junior Team
3. Sebastien Bourdais DAMS
4. Patrick Friesacher Red Bull Junior Team
5. Giorgio Pantano Team Astromega
6. Bas Leinders Keerbergs Transport Racing
7. Ricardo Sperafico Petrobras Junior Team
8. Andrea Piccini European Minardi
9. Gabriele Lancieri Durango Formula SRL
10. Antonio Garcia Durango Formula SRL
Upcoming Events Calendar
Please Contact Us for permission to republish this or any other material from Atlas F1.
 Email to Friend
Volume 7, Issue 35
Articles
Interview with Alain Prost
Ken Tyrrell: Fallen Titan
Belgian GP Preview
The Belgian GP Preview
Technical Preview: Belgium
Focus: Senna in Belgium
Columns
Elsewhere in Racing
The Tyrrell Trivia Quiz
Bookworm Critique
The Weekly Grapevine
> Homepage |
