Updates from the Rest of the Racing World
Atlas F1 Magazine Writer
Sperafico's Debut Win as Wilson Claims Title
Back at the start of the season Formula 3000 was enthusing about a set of Brazilian twins named Sperafico. While Rodrigo Sperafico has been replaced at Team Coloni, Ricardo took his first international race win in the Petrobras Lola. Sperafico bolted from pole position to lead the first lap, then hovered behind the safety car while marshals attended to Webber's wreck. From the restart, Sperafico ran away from Wilson. Wilson himself cruised behind Sperafico, with none of the cars behind consistently rising to challenge the champion elect.
The battle for fifth was a fierce one, which was led for by Coloni's new boy Marc Goosens. A downpour struck the race in the final laps, which may have contributed to Patrick Friesacher's (Red Bull Junior) dive at the Bus Stop to take sixth from Bas Leinders (KTR), which ended up with both Friesacher and Leinders off track and allowing Goosens and Sebastien Bourdais (DAMS) to skip away and take the final points.
With only the final round at Monza remaining, interest is now on the battle between Mark Webber and Tomas Enge, tied on 39 points, for second in the championship. For the Benetton test driver this represents the only chance to stop Nordic Racing from having the perfect season.
Results of International Formula 3000 Championship, Round 11, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium:
Standings: Justin Wilson 65, Mark Webber and Tomas Enge 39, Sebastien Bourdais 26, Antonio Pizzonia 22, Ricardo Sperafico 20, Bas Leinders 14, Ricardo Mauricio 13, Darren Manning 9 etc.
Bayliss's Championship Ride
Assen is one of the greatest tests of ability for a motorcycle racer. When you add rain to the Dutch circuit it's going to make you earn your money. On just such a day Troy Bayliss produced a top drawer effort to take two rain interrupted wins. The wins give Bayliss a 52 point lead over the now outgoing 2000 World Champion Colin Edwards, as there are only 50 points on offer at the series finale at Imola, returning the World Championship to Ducati.
The first race was stopped by the riders on lap 13 with just three laps to go as rain began to fall. Bayliss had won the start and was never headed. For almost the whole race he had Ducati Infostrada teammate Ruben Xaus riding shotgun in second position, Xaus having swept around the outside of Edwards to take second early in the race. Edwards gave chase to the two Ducatis and must have been acutely aware of the championship situation when he immediately agreed with Bayliss and Xaus about stopping the race. Fourth when the rain came, Pierfrancesco Chili was the first of the 'fours' home on the Alstare Suzuki, some distance behind Edwards and ahead of the at times fierce fifth place battle. That battle was won by Neil Hodgson on the semi-factory Ducati over Troy Corser (Aprilia). Three seconds further back was the trio of Tady Okada, Akira Yanagawa and Regis Laconi. Edwards's third place kept him in the title hunt, but eleventh was too little for Ben Bostrom, so the championship battle became a race in two.
With the title at stake, Edwards had to try something different to stay with the fleeing 'Dukes'. In race two however, flee they did. Bayliss and Xaus sprinted away from the field and very quickly were playing amongst themselves. Xaus took the lead at one stage, but the result was clear and Bayliss led his young teammate across the line, becoming the second Australian to take the World Superbike Crown. The other Australian world champ, Troy Corser, was third on the Aprilia after a spirited race with fellow veteran 'Frankie' Chili. Hodgson was again fifth, and again had to battle to claim it, finishing just ahead of the Kawasaki of Akira Yanagawa and the Aprilia of Regis Laconi.
Good results for Troy Corser, poor results for Colin Edwards and abysmal results for Ben Bostrom means the battle for second in the championship is wide open going into the final round at Imola.
Results of World Superbike Championship Round 12, Assen, The Netherlands:
Debut Win for Xaus As Edwards Closes on Bayliss
It was a dramatic return to Germany for the World Superbikes. At Oschersleben, a clutch failure for Troy Bayliss and a dominant win to Colin Edwards saw a squeeze put on the championship pointscore. For race two the championship was briefly forgotten as unbridled joy filled the Infostrada Ducati camp after Carl Fogarty's young protege, Ruben Xaus, scored his first ever World Championship race win. In race one, a second place was Xaus's best ever finish to that point. His win secured the manufacturers' title for Ducati. It was a day to be savoured for the young Spaniard.
In race one it was all Colin Edwards. The Texan skipped away at the start and only increased his advantage in an expression of dominance over the Superbike field. The signal was clear: Bayliss, I'm coming after you. For Bayliss the race was a misery as a clutch failure put him out of the race. Ruben Xaus put behind several misfortunes and crashes from earlier in the year to finish second, running just ahead of his team leader until Bayliss disappeared. It was a career best finish for Xaus, and better was still to come. Ben Bostrom claimed third after fighting his way through the pack. Fourth would be Akira Yanagawa on the Kawasaki, his and Kawasaki's best result for some time. Fifth home was the second of the Japanese riders, Tady Okada, ahead of Pierfrancesco Chili's Suzuki, Neil Hodgson on his GSE Ducati and the Aprilias of Regis Laconi and Troy Corser.
In race two, Edwards led early but could not hold back Xaus, who blasted past the Honda and disappeared, never to be seen again, winning by nine seconds. Edwards could do nothing about the Ducati but closed further on Xaus's teammate in the championship, who limited the damage by finishing third behind the Honda. Bostrom was fourth, his championship hopes slipping away. Fifth was a fierce battle, with less than half a second covering four bikes at the line. Regis Laconi claimed fifth for Aprilia, keeping the snappers at bay with some aggressive riding, just beating home Frankie Chili, Gregorio Lavilla and Tady Okada, with Akira Yanagawa's Kwaka less than half a second behind in ninth.
Results of World Superbike Championship Round 11, Oschersleben, Germany:
The Veteran of Vancouver
Moreno hovered near the front of the field all race and was the fastest car on the track when it counted. De Ferran continued on to finish in second position. Those points took de Ferran past Kenny Brack and Helio Castroneves and into the championship lead.
Pole position was won by Canadian Alex Tagliani, with fellow Canadian and Player's Forsythe teammate Patrick Carpentier alongside. It would be an emotional moment for the Canadian team as Tagliani received the pole position award, named in honour of the late Canadian and Player's Forsythe driver Greg Moore, from Ric Moore, Greg's father. The third team car and arm's length teammate to the Player's cars, Bryan Herta, was last in what was a dramatic Saturday for Forsythe.
After the restart the race settled down until Tagliani's car went up in smoke on lap 69. A lap later Max Papis hit the wall hard, bringing out the yellows again. With the pits 'closed', Cristiano da Matta, Dario Franchitti and Jimmy Vasser still decided to pit. Later, all three are sent to the rear of the pace car queue for not waiting for the pits to 'open'.
Results of FedEx CART World Series, Round 15, Vancouver, Canada:
Standings: Gil de Ferran 115, Helio Castroneves and Kenny Brack 110, Michael Andretti 103, Dario Franchitti 85, Scott Dixon 82, Cristiano da Matta 78, Roberto Moreno 74, Patrick Carpentier 69, Tony Kanaan 66 etc.
Rossi Re-Asserts
Max Biaggi won the jump at the start, taking van der Goorbergh on Kenny Roberts Snr's Proton KR3 with him while Tohru Ukawa, Alex Barros and Norick Abe were down on the floor, victims of a turn one accident on lap 1. Gradually the Proton fell down the field, and so the battle was joined, as it always has been it seems, between the three Italians: Biaggi, Capirossi and Rossi. Rossi took the lead on lap three while Biaggi came under the guns of Loris Capirossi. When Biaggi fell he immediately remounted but dropped to sixth.
Rossi had Capirossi under control and won. Third place went to a lonely Garry McCoy, the Australian now fully recovered from the broken scaphoid that sidelined him for most of the year. Charlie Checa was fourth and Noriyuki Haga should have been fifth but fell with two laps to go, bring Biaggi back into the top five.
Results of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 11, Estoril, Portugal:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 220, Max Biaggi 177, Loris Capirossi 147, Alex Barros & Shinya Nakano 107, Norick Abe 100, Alex Creville 91, Carlos Checa 89, Kenny Roberts Jr 72, Sete Gibernau 68 etc
Audi Takes 1-2-3 at Monterey
Johnny Herbert and Andy Wallace brought the Champion Racing Audi R8R home in second after being involved in controversy early in the event. Herbert clashed with Jan Magnussen in the lead Panoz LMP-1 for the lead early in the race, which ended with Magnussen crashing into the pit wall. Herbert and Wallace were later penalised by the stewards but still managed to finish clear of the Gulf backed Audi of Stefan Johansson and Patrick Lemarie.
With both Panoz LMP-1s succumbing to accidents, the remaining top five positions were taken by the two Cadillac Northstar LMP 01s. While not having the pace to match it with the Audis and Panozes, they were well clear of the rest of the field.
In GT, the BMW M3 V8s again took the class over the massed Porsches. JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller won the class ahead of factory teammates Frederik Ekblom and Dirk Muller. Third in class and on the same lap was the first of the Porsches, the Alex Job car of Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen.
Only one of the LMP675 cars made it to the finish, a massive 72 laps down on the race winning Audi. Didier de Radigues and Milka Duno brought the Dick Barbour Racing Reynard 01Q Judd home to the class victory. The car lost time behind the pit wall with suspension dramas. Teammates Scott Maxwell and John Graham crashed out of the race while the only other LMP675 car was the first retirement of the race, the Lola B2K/40 Nissan of Claudia Huertgen, Mel Hawkins and Steven Knight blowing its engine after 20 laps.
Results of American Le Mans Series, Round 7, Laguna Seca, California:
Earlier, at Mid-Ohio, Panoz breathed new life into the series when David Brabham and Jan Magnussen won Round 6 ahead of the lead Audi of Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. Third was James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger in a venerable Riley & Scott-Lincoln.
The Chevy Corvettes scored another 1-2 win in GTS with Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell leading home Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim. Franz Konrad and Terry Borcheller brought the Saleen S7R home one lap adrift in third.
GT was another BMW M3 benefit with JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller leading home Dirk Muller and Frederik Eklbom with the Porsche 996 GT3RS of Randy Pobst and Christian Menzel third.
Results of American Le Mans Series, Round 6, Mid-Ohio, Ohio:
The final round of the European Le Mans Series was won by the only LMP900 car present, the Panoz LMP01 of Gary Fromato and Richard Dean at Vallelunga in Italy. They finished three laps clear of the GTS Saleen of Ian McKellar and Chris Goodwin, and ten laps up on Terry Rymer and Magnus Wallinder Porsche 996 GT3R which won the GT Class. The only LMP675 car was the Debora of Jackubowski and Bich, almost 40 laps off the winning Panoz. The series was won at the previous round by Stefan Johansson in his Audi R8R.
Formula 3000
He only needed one point from the last two races, but the championship was over before Justin Wilson was awarded any of the six points he received for second place. Mark Webber clipped the kerbs coming through that most feared of motor racing's corners, Eau Rouge, and demolished his SuperNova Lola against the tyre barriers. Webber escaped the fearsome impact with heavy bruising to his ankle. With his only title rival out of the race, Justin Wilson (Nordic Racing) won the 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship.
Darren Manning (Arden Team Russia) looked threatening for a while until wrecking his front wing on the new taller Bus Stop ripple strips. Sperafico's teammate, Antonio Pizzonia, also briefly looked threatening until spinning while in the safety car queue. Pizzonia then tried to regain his lost positions in the queue until the his team informed him he had to drop to the rear. This left Ricardo Mauricio (Red Bull Junior) in third, a third he would retain until the end. Mauricio would be prevented from challenging Wilson by the presence of the second Nordic car as Tomas Enge harried him to the flag.
Pos Driver Team
1. Ricardo Sperafico Petrobras Junior Team
2. Justin Wilson Coca-Cola Nordic Racing
3. Ricardo Mauricio Red Bull Junior Team
4. Tomas Enge Coca-Cola Nordic Racing
5. Marc Goosens Coloni F3000
6. Sebastien Bourdais DAMS
7. Bas Leinders Keerbergs Transport Racing
8. Antonio Pizzonia Petrobras Junior Team
9. Derek Hill DAMS
10. Patrick Friesacher Red Bull Junior Team
Superbikes
Race 1
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Troy Bayliss Ducati 996 R
2. Ruben Xaus Ducati 996 R
3. Colin Edwards Honda VTR1000 SP2
4. Piefrancesco Chili Suzuki GSX-R750
5. Neil Hodgson Ducati 996 RS
6. Troy Corser Aprilia RSV 1000
7. Tadayuki Okada Honda VTR1000 SP2
8. Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki ZX-7RR
9. Regis Laconi Aprilia RSV 1000
10. James Toseland Ducati 996 RS
Race 2
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Troy Bayliss Ducati 996 R
2. Ruben Xaus Ducati 996 R
3. Troy Corser Aprilia RSV 1000
4. Piefrancesco Chili Suzuki GSX-R750
5. Neil Hodgson Ducati 996 RS
6. Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki ZX-7RR
7. Regis Laconi Aprilia RSV 1000
8. James Toseland Ducati 996 RS
9. Gregorio Lavilla Kawasaki ZX-7RR
10. Colin Edwards Honda VTR1000 SP2
Race 1
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Colin Edwards Honda VTR1000 SP2
2. Ruben Xaus Ducati 996 R
3. Ben Bostrom Ducati 996 R
4. Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki ZX-7RR
5. Tadayuki Okada Honda VTR1000 SP2
6. Piefrancesco Chili Suzuki GSX-R750
7. Neil Hodgson Ducati 996 RS
8. Regis Laconi Aprilia RSV 1000
9. Troy Corser Aprilia RSV 1000
10. James Toseland Ducati 996 RS
Race 2
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Ruben Xaus Ducati 996 R
2. Colin Edwards Honda VTR1000 SP2
3. Troy Bayliss Ducati 996 R
4. Ben Bostrom Ducati 996 R
5. Regis Laconi Aprilia RSV 1000
6. Piefrancesco Chili Suzuki GSX-R750
7. Gregorio Lavilla Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Tadayuki Okada Honda VTR1000 SP2
9. Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki ZX-7RR
10. Neil Hodgson Ducati 996 RS
10. Sean Emmett Ducati 996 RS
CART
Roberto Moreno first came to international attention winning an international Formula Atlantic event against a strong field of current Grand Prix drivers in 1981. Twenty years later, Moreno is still winning international open wheeler races. One of motor racing's great survivors, against tougher odds than most, Moreno took the lead from Gil de Ferran with eight laps to go to become the 10th race winner this season in the FedEx World Series.
Also having a dramatic weekend was Paul Tracy. After a crash in practice and another in the warm-up, Tracy was involved in a clash with Bruno Junqueira on lap one as the Brazilian swerved in front of Tracy to avoid running into Kenny Brack, bringing out the pace car. Later on, another clash, this time with Cristiano da Matta, put Tracy out of the race. Up front, Tagliani, Carpentier, de Ferran and Brack made the early running, with Roberto Moreno up in the top five. Helio Castroneves brought his Penske Reynard-Honda to a halt directly under the starter's box, bringing out the yellows. All but three cars pitted during this yellow, leaving the order as Tagliani, Dixon, Carpentier, Gidley, de Ferran and Moreno. Gidley was forced to pit under green, while Dixon lost a lap after a clash with Tora Takagi. At the next corner Alex Zanardi triggered a lengthy safety car period after nosing straight into the barrier.
By this point Mo Gugelmin was now the leader but at the green was quickly swamped by de Ferran and then Moreno. The yellows were soon out again for Adrian Fernandez and da Matta, both in the barriers after separate incidents. As the laps wound down, Kenny Brack punted himself and Patrick Carpentier down the order with a brave move under brakes which didn't come off. Moreno took the lead down the back straight and led until CART waved the checker after two hours instead of the scheduled race distance, as the yellow flags had taken their toll timewise. Michael Andretti battled through the field to pick up third ahead of survivors Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia, Michel Jourdain and Tora Takagi. Then came Brack, Franchitti and Gidley leading in those who had been delayed during the course of the race.
Pos Driver Car
1. Roberto Moreno Reynard-Toyota
2. Gil de Ferran Reynard-Honda
3. Michael Andretti Reynard-Honda
4. Tony Kanaan Reynard-Honda
5. Oriol Servia Lola-Ford
6. Michel Jourdain Jr Lola-Ford
7. Tora Takagi Reynard-Toyota
8. Kenny Brack Lola-Ford
9. Dario Franchitti Reynard-Honda
10. Memo Gidley Lola-Toyota
MotoGP
Valentino Rossi won again and Max Biaggi fell again, restoring the two-wheeled series to the status quo prior to Biaggi's recent resurgence. The young Italian has found his limitless confidence again and is on a march, almost two race wins clear of Biaggi in the points race.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Honda NSR500
2. Loris Capirossi Honda NSR500
3. Garry McCoy Yamaha YZR500
4. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR500
5. Max Biaggi Yamaha YZR500
6. Kenny Roberts Jr Suzuki RGV500
7. Jurgen van de Goorbergh Proton KR3
8. Olivier Jacque Yamaha YZR500
9. Shinya Nakano Yamaha YZR500
10. Jose Luis Cardoso Yamaha YZR500
Sports Cars
Emanuele Pirro is in the box seat to take the American Le Mans Series title after he and Frank Biela won the Laguna Seca round of the series. After the lead factory Audi of Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen had a clutch failure, Pirro and Biela led home an Audi 1-2-3 with the two privately run Audis filling the podium positions.
The top GTS car was the Konrad-run Saleen of Terry Borcheller and Franz Konrad. The Saleen proved to have the legs on the Corvettes, and reliability is now improving. The two factory Corvettes came home second and third in class, the Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell car leading the Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins car. They were 10 laps clear of the first of the Dodge Vipers, the Tom Weickardt/Mike Silcox car.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro Audi R8R (LMP900)
2. Johnny Herbert/Andy Wallace Audi R8R (LMP900)
3. Patrick Lemarie/Stefan Johansson Audi R8R (LMP900)
4. Max Angelelli/Wayne Taylor Cadillac Northstar LMP 01 (LMP900)
5. Emmanuel Collard/Christophe Tinseau Cadillac Northstar LMP 01 (LMP900)
6. Terry Borcheller/Franz Konrad Saleen S7R (GTS)
7. Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS)
8. Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS)
9. JJ Lehto/Jorg Muller BMW M3 GTR (GT)
10. Frederik Ekblom/Dirk Muller BMW M3 GTR (GT)
LMP675 was won by Didier de Radigues and Bruno Lambert in the Dick Barbour Reynard-Judd from Claudia Huertgen and Steven Knight in the Lola-Nissan. Third in class was Jimmy Adams and Joe Blacker in a Pilbeam-Nissan. The win secured the class championship for de Radigues.
Pos Drivers Car
1. David Brabham/Jan Magnussen Panoz LMP-1 (LMP900)
2. Tom Kristensen/Rinaldo Capello Audi R8R (LMP900)
3. James Weaver/Butch Leitzinger Riley & Scott Mk IIIC Lincoln (LMP900)
4. Emanuele Pirro/Frank Biela Audi R8R (LMP900)
5. Andy Wallace/Johnny Herbert Audi R8R (LMP900)
6. Klaus Graf/Frank Lagorce Panoz LMP-1 (LMP900)
7. Wayne Taylor/Max Angelelli Cadillac Northstar LMP01 (LMP900)
8. Christophe Tinseau/Emmanuel Collard Cadillac Northstar LMP01 (LMP900)
9. Didier de Radigues/Bruno Lambert Reynard 01Q Judd (LMP675)
10. Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell Chevrolet Corvette (GTS)
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Volume 7, Issue 37
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