Updates from the Rest of the Racing World
Atlas F1 Magazine Writers
Skaife & Longhurst Claim Bathurst Crown
In recent times the key to victory has been to stay on the lead lap, pit at the right time and weather the storms of the safety car periods. All day Skaife and Longhurst were content to let other cars make the running and just stay in contact with the leaders. In the final laps Skaife took the fight to those cars gathered around the lead, took it, and pulled clear to take a defining win. For Skaife it all but assures him of the Shell Championship Series, the old Australian Touring Car Championship. For Tony Longhurst, it's a second Bathurst win after years of what ifs and nearlys.
Third was the K-Mart Holden team of Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly. K-Mart Racing, the sister team of HRT, looked as strong as its stablemates, and Murphy and Kelly were fast all day. In the final 30 laps, they came from eighth to take third. It was a result the K-Mart boys were more than stoked with.
Results of Shell Championship Series, Round 11, V8 Supercar 1000, Mount Panorama, Bathurst, Australia:
De Ferran Dominant in Texas
Gil de Ferran took a start-to-finish victory on the streets of Texas to retake the lead of the CART World Series in his attempt to take back-to-back championships. De Ferran led every lap to take a 12 point lead over Kenny Brack in the championship, in a race that started off quietly but saw some intriguing strategies develop as the race progressed.
On lap 39, Roberto Moreno spun in a cloud of tyre smoke but resumed racing. Seconds later, Oriol Servia dived under Michel Jourdain Jr but carried too much speed, planting himself in the tyre barrier. Jourdain couldn't avoid the now-stationary Servia however, and ended up under the back of Servia's car, causing a full course yellow which saw pit stops for everyone except Scott Dixon, who moved into 2nd behind de Ferran, with Tagliani still in third, followed by Junqueira, Castroneves and Franchitti. While exiting the narrow pit lane exit side by side with Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Andretti ended up in the wall, losing several laps in the process. Racing resumed on lap 44 for two corners before teammates Shinji Nakano and Adrian Fernandez made contact at turn 2, sending Fernandez into the air and bringing out the yellow again.
Racing resumed on lap 55, with de Ferran now leading Franchitti, who was followed by Gugelmin, Takagi, and Moreno, which was how things remained until lap 64 when Moreno had severe gearbox problems which ended his day, moving his teammate up to fifth place. Further back, Tagliani passed Papis for eighth on lap 61 and Gidley for sixth on lap 67 as he led the drivers who pitted just after half distance. Franchitti was the first driver of those who didn't pit at half distance to pit for fuel on lap 77, just as Gugelmin retired with gearbox problems, Franchitti resuming in fifth after Gugelmin's retirement. The yellow flags were out once again which saw the rest of the cars pit for fuel. The order was now de Ferran, Tagliani, Franchitti, Gidley, Takagi, Papis, Castroneves, da Matta and Brack.
With three rounds to go, there are six drivers who could be 2001 CART World Series champion, but it is more likely to be a battle between Gil de Ferran and Kenny Brack as the season winds down to its conclusion. With a road course, street circuit and superspeedway still to come, the champion needs to be versatile to score maximum points over the remaining three races.
Results of FedEx CART World Series, Round 18, Houston, Texas, USA:
Standings: Gil de Ferran 163, Kenny Brack 153, Helio Castroneves 133, Michael Andretti 125, Dario Franchitti 105, Cristiano da Matta 100, Patrick Carpentier 86, Scott Dixon 86, Tony Kanaan 78, Paul Tracy 76 etc
Rossi Almost Wraps Up Title at Motegi
Honda rider Valentino Rossi has set up a big lead in the 2001 title chase after winning the Pacific Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. After an early battle with Max Biaggi, Rossi took the lead when Biaggi crashed, going on to take a steady win which almost guarantees the former 125 and 250 champ the 2001 title.
Loris Capirossi took pole by almost half a second. At the start, Kenny Roberts Jr got a great start and fought with Biaggi for the lead at turn 1, taking the lead on the exit, with Rossi a close third. However, Roberts was passed by both Biaggi and Rossi early on lap 1, while polesitter Capirossi was down in fifth behind teammate Barros by the end of lap 1. Biaggi and Rossi steadily moved away from the pack as on lap 5 Roberts was passed by Pons teammates Barros and Capirossi, moving them up to third and fourth.
Unfortunately for the race, the rider and the championship, Biaggi crashed towards the end of lap six when he lost the front end, his bike spectacularly somersaulting out of the race. Fellow Yamaha rider Noriyuki Haga crashed less than a lap later. On lap 12, Norick Abe made his way past Roberts and began his chase of polesitter Capirossi. Roberts soon found himself in a battle with teammate Gibernau, Tohru Ukawa and Shinya Nakano, with Gibernau passing his teammate on lap 17 and Ukawa and Nakano passing Roberts on the next lap.
Up front, it was still Rossi a couple of seconds clear of Barros, who was well clear of teammate Capirossi and Yamaha rider Abe. This is how it stayed for the rest of the race, Rossi winning the race from teammates Barros and Capirossi, with Abe fourth. Gibernau was passed late in the race by both Ukawa and Nakano who took fifth and sixth, while Gibernau having a problem on the last lap to finish down in 9th.
With three rounds remaining, Rossi has a 67 point lead over Max Biaggi, who is the only rider who can deny him the title. Both riders' recent record suggests this task is close to impossible however, as the riders head to Phillip Island in Australia this weekend.
Results of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 13, Twin Ring Motegi, Japan:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 250, Max Biaggi 183, Loris Capirossi 163, Alex Barros 147, Shinya Nakano 126, Norick Abe 121, Carlos Checa 111, Sete Gibernau 100, Alex Criville and Kenny Roberts Jr 96 etc.
Panizzi Wins Second Consecutive San Remo As Loeb Stars
After fighting with Puras throughout Leg 1, Panizzi probably thought he had it easy when Puras and teammate Philippe Bugalski both exited the rally early on Leg 2. And that was pretty much the case, with Loeb and Panizzi's teammate Auriol battling for 2nd, until the penultimate stage of the rally. On the wet SS 15, Loeb took more than 20 seconds out of Panizzi's lead as he set his second fastest stage time of the day to reduce the gap to just over 10 seconds. Although SS 16 was even wetter, Panizzi only lost another 1/2 a second to Loeb, to take the win after a bit of a scare from a driver many people hadn't heard of. Panizzi's teammate Auriol finished third after his battle with Loeb, while Marcus Gronholm took 7th after suffering gearbox problems late in Leg 1 and Leg 2, hitting a wall early in Leg 2 and having power steering problems in SS 13 on Leg 3. Peugeot's 1-3 result saw it take maximum manufacturers' points, bringing them back into contention for the title.
For Ford, it was a disappointing rally. Sainz finished fourth after battling with privateer Peugeot driver Roberto Travaglia on the final leg, whilst Delecour finished 6th after setting the fastest stage time in the final stage. Meanwhile Colin McRae finished out of the points in eighth after suffering electronic problems during Legs 1 and 2 which caused handling problems as the differentials didn't work as expected.
After Richard Burns's win in New Zealand, his first stage exit in San Remo must've been the nightmare scenario for Subaru. His teammates Markko Martin, Petter Solberg and Toshihiro Arai weren't particular competitive, with all three drivers bouncing off the scenery. Such accident damage caused Martin and Arai's retirement, while Solberg soldiered on to finish 9th.
Skoda entered three cars, with Bruno Thiry finishing 13th while teammate Armin Schwarz retired with alternator problems and Roman Kresta retired on the final stage of the rally with engine problems.
Despite no points for either driver, Tommi Makinen and Colin McRae continue to head the championship, now seven points ahead of Carlos Sainz in third and nine ahead of Burns in fourth. With three rounds to go, the battle for the title is still wide open as they head to the roads of the Tour de Corse.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 12, Rallye San Remo:
Standings: Tommi Makinen and Colin McRae 40, Carlos Sainz 33, Richard Burns 31, Harri Rovanpera 27, Marcus Gronholm and Gilles Panizzi 16, Francois Delecour and Didier Auriol 15, Petter Solberg and Freddy Loix 9 etc
Manufacturers Standings: Ford 83, Mitsubishi 67, Peugeot 60, Subaru 48, Skoda 15, Hyundai 10
Xaus & Laconi Last Winners
It was honours shared at Imola for the final two races of the World Superbike Season. The championship had been decided last time out, as Troy Bayliss was comfortably clear of Colin Edwards. The world champion elect celebrated with a special silver paint scheme on the Infostrada Ducati 996. It was not to be a happy day for Bayliss though, as a fall in Race 1 would break his collarbone. After being hit by a car in the paddock while riding a pushbike, Bayliss might have perhaps gotten the hint. At least there is the off season to recover.
Ruben Xaus would take Race 1, and Regis Laconi won the last race of the season, and his first win since arriving in Superbikes at the start of the year. The racing was fast and exciting on the undulations of Imola, the four stroke bikes turning on a lesson in exciting racing for their two stroke cousins.
In Race 1 Bayliss got the jump and took the early lead from Ben Bostrom, Laconi, Neil Hodgson, Xaus, and Edwards leading Antonello. It already looked like a day for the Italian bikes, with only Edwards on his Honda competitive at the start for Japan. Remarkably poleman Troy Corser was swamped. Neil Hodgson was soon out of the leading group, the orange Ducati wildly overshooting a brake marker, heading off course for a slow climb back through the field. This left a squabbling group of eight bikes fighting over the positions that mattered, consisting of all three factory Ducatis and Aprilias, and the two Castrol Hondas. At the front Bayliss, Laconi and Xaus fought over the lead constantly trading places, and gradually pulling away from Bostrom, while Antonello was equally gradually dropped from the lead battle. Okada had a small off and recovered.
Bostrom and Edwards slipped away from the front three to have their own battle for fourth that Corser would upset, charging through for what became second. Coming out of the second Rivazza, Bayliss slid wide across Laconi's bows to take second, but slid too far and the bike bit on the grass and paving outside of the bitumen, flicking the Australian off the bike hard. Laconi had no room and no time, climbing over Bayliss silver machine before falling. Bayliss immediately went to Laconi's aid afterwards, but it was Bayliss that was hurt, his season ended prematurely with that bane of riders, the broken collarbone. This left Xaus all on his lonesome and after the race he dedicated the win to his mentor, Carl Fogarty, laid up with a leg broken in a motocross event. Corser took second from Edwards, Bostrom and Okada. Best of the rest was the privateer Ducati of Steve Martin ahead of the Kawasaki of Gregorio Lavilla and the Suzuki of Stephane Chambon.
Race 2 saw Laconi get the jump from Edwards, Bostrom, Hodgson, Antonello, Xaus, Corser, Okada and Pierfrancesco Chili. Xaus was quickly through the field to resume his Race 1 battle with Laconi. Edwards and Bostrom followed until Corser dived under Bostrom. Corser would have an early exit though, crashing at Villeneuve, just missing Edwards. Edwards took to the gravel in avoidance, but also fell. While Corser stopped where he was, Edwards got going and rode dazed back to the pits. Antonello would also fall, leaving all of Aprilia hopes with Laconi. The Frenchman did not disappoint, taking the win after an incredible dice with Xaus. Okada would catch and pass the again fading Bostrom for third. Steve Martin again led home the second rank for an incredible fifth placed finish on the DFX Ducati. Lavilla's Kwaka led home the privateer Ducs of Hodgson and Broc Parkes.
In the 600 Supersport category the result went down to the wire, but Andrew Pitt took his Kawasaki to the World Championship, completing an Australian championship quinella on the SBK tour.
Results of World Superbike Championship, Round 13, Imola, Italy:
Final Standings: Troy Bayliss 369, Colin Edwards 333, Ben Bostrom 312, Troy Corser 284, Neil Hodgson 269, Ruben Xaus 236, Pierfrancesco Chili 232, Tadayuki Okada 176, Akira Yanagawa 170, Gregorio Lavilla 166 etc
Manufacturers Final Standings: Ducati 553, Honda 401, Aprilia 343, Kawasaki 289, Suzuki 256, Yamaha 36, Benelli 7
Pirro Seals Drivers' Title at Petit Le Mans With Audi 1-2-3
Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela led home an Audi 1-2-3 as Pirro clinched the American Le Mans Series drivers' crown by winning Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Georgia, USA. Pirro and Biela took the lead early in the race after the Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen Audi crashed into the barriers, and remained at or near the front for the rest of the race, eventually winning by 3 laps.
Pirro held on to the lead until pitting and handing over to Biela during hour five, which saw Lemarie in the lead once again, until he pitted soon after, handed the car over to Johansson and the lead to Biela. Hours six and seven saw pitstops but no lead changes. Early in hour eight, Andy Wallace lost a wheel, dropping to third, allowing Pirro and Biela to take a two lap lead by the end of the hour, and going on to take the win by 3 laps from Johansson and Lemarie who finished 3 laps ahead of Herbert and Wallace, giving Audi a 1-2-3 finish.
LMP 675 was won by Milka Duno, John Graham and Scott Maxwell in a Reynard 01Q-Judd, while GT was won by the BMW M3 GTR of Bill Auberlen, Boris Said and Hans Stuck. Jorg Muller, who finished second in GT, won the class championship.
Result of American Le Mans Series, Round 8, Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Georgia, USA:
Currently, Ford, Honda and Toyota provide engines to teams in the series. However, all three manufacturers believe it is unlikely they will be able to produce a competitive engine in such a short time span, and have threatened to withdraw from the series. Also causing a problem is the lack of detail in the announcement, with no confirmation on the possible use of rev limiters, as used in IRL with similar engines, or even the number of cylinders.
In the Super Production class, Peter Kox is only three points clear of fellow BMW 320i driver Duncan Huisman. Jarama round winner Tommy Rustad (Nissan Primera) is too far behind on points to give the series a shake.
Touring Cars
Over the past six or seven years, the Tom Walkinshaw owned Holden Racing Team has gone into the Bathurst 1000 as race favourite. Disappointingly, they only won once, in 1996. All the past losses were swept away when Mark Skaife and Tony Longhurst drove car #1 to the line first after 161 laps of the famed and feared Mount Panorama circuit.
Second was a remarkable result for the Ford Falcon of the OzEmail backed Brad Jones Racing team. For two years since joining the V8Supercar series after winning nine championships over an eleven year period in other categories, Jones and his brother Kim have struggled to get the team's Falcon on the pace. After qualifying in 22nd position the team completely pulled apart and rebuilt the front end. The new suspension worked a dream and at the end of the day Brad Jones put in a herculean effort to chase Skaife. Jones and co-driver dual BTCC winner John Cleland's second place is a result far better than anyone predicted or expected.
Fourth again was the result for the second Shell Helix Falcon. Same as last year, Cameron McLean and new co-driver Greg Ritter were right there at the death, even leading the race with 26 laps to go, but faded to fourth. Strung out over the rest of the lead lap were the second Ford Tickford Racing Falcon of Jim Richards and Dean Canto, defending champions Garth Tander and Jason Bargwanna in the Valvoline Cummins Repco Holden Commodore, ahead of the Super Cheap Autos Falcon of Steven Ellery and Geoff Brabham, the rather battered Castrol Commodore of Russell Ingall and Larry Perkins and the lead Ford Tickford Racing Falcon of Glenn Seton and Steven Richards. Just one lap down were the two car Holden team of the Lansvale Racing Team, Cameron McConville and Rick Bates leading team owners, Steve Reed and Trevor Ashby.
Of the favourites, the second Holden Racing Team Commodore of Jason Bright and Tomas Mezera were well placed before sliding off the track at the Chase when a bunch of cars were caught wrong footed by a localised shower. Mezera and the CAT Falcon of Simon Wills also disappeared into the huge sandtrap and were out. Pole car, the Pirtek Falcon of Marcos Ambrose and Wayne Wakefield struggled with engine dramas which surfaced in the morning warm-up. Frantic changes before the race start failed to cure the problem. The lead Shell Helix Falcon of Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson ended its race when its engine cried enough on the climb from the Cutting to Reid Park at half distance. The Gibson Motor Sport Falcon of Craig Lowndes and Neil Crompton finished several laps down after a myriad of small incidents, the biggest when Lowndes put the car into the wall at Forrest's Elbow during a hailstorm.
Several cars were eliminated by a gust of sleet and snow across the Mountain early in the bitterly cold day with a hailstorm following a couple of hours later. The first indirectly caused a pile-up at Reid Park just after a safety car restart. The crowded group of cars of varying speeds were presented with the Commodore of Mick Donaher backwards to the field, the most heavily damaged the John Faulkner Racing Commodore of Peter Doulman.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Mark Skaife/Tony Longhurst Holden Commodore
2. Brad Jones/John Cleland Ford Falcon
3. Greg Murphy/Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
4. Greg Ritter/Cameron McLean Ford Falcon
5. Jim Richards/Dean Canto Ford Falcon
6. Garth Tander/Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore
7. Steven Ellery/Geoff Brabham Ford Falcon
8. Russell Ingall/Larry Perkins Holden Commodore
9. Glenn Seton/Steven Richards Ford Falcon
10. Cameron McConville/Rick Bates Holden Commodore
CART
De Ferran claimed pole by over half a second from Bruno Junqueira, and led the field around lap one, followed by Junqueira, with Tagliani in third after he passed Kenny Brack two turns after the start. De Ferran ran away from the field, while the next move of note occurred on lap 11 when Dario Franchitti passed Brack when Brack locked his rear brakes entering turn 3, allowing Franchitti to duck inside. On lap 32, Castroneves finally made his way past Brack. By lap 35 de Ferran has built up a 10 second lead over second placed Junqueira as he begins to lap backmarkers.
The green flag waved to resume racing on lap 48, but immediately there was more action as Nakano made an ambitious attempt to pass Herta at turn 1, and then slowed, which saw Tracy run into his left rear. At the same time, Tracy's gearbox failed, putting him out of the race. On lap 51, Junqueira ran into the back of Dixon's car under braking for turn 3, just as Dixon got the call from the team to pit that lap for fuel and tyres, which he took after resuming down the field. With a damaged car, Junqueira quickly lost several places, before pitting along with Tagliani, Castroneves, Brack, Kanaan, Carpentier, da Matta, Herta and Fittipaldi when the yellows came out for debris from his collision with Dixon. However, Junqueira didn't leave the pits as when he attempted to leave his pit stop he had no drive.
On lap 84 racing resumed once again as the race stayed green for the remaining laps. While de Ferran pulled away from the field again, Franchitti remained in Tagliani's mirrors. On lap 94, Tagliani lost the rear end mid-corner in turn 5 and overcorrected, hitting the wall and putting him out of the race with damaged front right suspension. Meanwhile Papis lost three places between lap 91 and lap 96 despite Tagliani's retirement as Papis was driving in fuel conservation mode to make it to the finish, as his last pit stop was on lap 47! Just as it seemed the places were set, Dixon spun exiting turn 4 on lap 97, putting himself out of the race with damage to the right rear corner as he hit the wall. Gil de Ferran went on to take the win, with Dario Franchitti and Memo Gidley filling out the podium. 'Bad boy' Tora Takagi scored his best ever CART finish with fourth, which was also the best finish for a Japanese driver, ahead of de Ferran's teammate Helio Castroneves, Cristiano da Matta in sixth and former championship leader Kenny Brack in seventh.
Pos Driver Car
1. Gil de Ferran Reynard-Honda
2. Dario Franchitti Reynard-Honda
3. Memo Gidley Lola-Toyota
4. Tora Takagi Reynard-Toyota
5. Helio Castroneves Reynard-Honda
6. Cristiano da Matta Lola-Toyota
7. Kenny Brack Lola-Ford
8. Christian Fittipaldi Lola-Toyota
9. Max Papis Lola-Ford
10. Patrick Carpentier Reynard-Ford
MotoGP
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Honda NSR500
2. Alex Barros Honda NSR500
3. Loris Capirossi Honda NSR500
4. Norick Abe Yamaha YZR500
5. Tohru Ukawa Honda NSR500
6. Shinya Nakano Yamaha YZR500
7. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR500
8. Kenny Roberts Jr Suzuki RGV500
9. Sete Gibernau Suzuki RGV500
10. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki RGV500
Rally
Frenchman Gilles Panizzi has taken his first win of 2001 after holding off charging WRC rookie Sebastian Loeb at the Rally of San Remo. Panizzi took over the lead on SS 7b during Leg 2 when leader Citroen driver Jesus Puras crashed, after the two had exchanged the lead several times throughout Leg 1.
Citroen ended the rally with a good result, but not with either of the drivers they would have expected it from. Both Jesus Puras and Philippe Bugalski crashed out early on Leg 2 while in the top 3. This left Sebastian Loeb to take up the running for Citroen. Despite it being his first drive in the Xsara WRC, he was competitive throughout the event and threatened to win it late on Leg 3, finishing a close second. Maybe people should have paid more attention to his success in this year's World Super 1600 Championship, where he has dominated and won the three rounds he has contested, and despite missing the fourth round at San Remo (as he was driving the Xsara) still has a 6 point lead over second place.
If Ford's rally was disappointing, words can't describe how Mitsubishi felt, especially after their poor result in New Zealand. Debuting the Evo VII Lancer, Makinen and Loix had trouble throughout Leg 1 with their differentials, leaving them 14th and 17th respectively at the end of the day. Leg 2 saw both drivers still unhappy with the handling of their cars, with the differential problems returning late on Leg 2 in Makinen's car, both cars well down but further up the order than after Leg 1. However, Makinen's rally ended during SS 15 on Leg 3 when he hit a wall on wet roads, while Loix completed the rally, finishing in 12th position. With less than two weeks before the next round of the championship, there isn't much time to correct the problems they experienced in San Remo.
Meanwhile Hyundai had no finishers as Piero Liatti crashed in SS 1 after suffering power steering problems while Alister McRae retired with brake problems late on Leg 2, having crashed during SS 6 on Leg 1.
Pos Driver Car
1. Gilles Panizzi Peugeot 206
2. Sebastian Loeb Citroen Xsara
3. Didier Auriol Peugeot 206
4. Carlos Sainz Ford Focus
5. Roberto Travaglia Peugeot 206
6. Francois Delecour Ford Focus
7. Marcus Gronholm Peugeot 206
8. Colin McRae Ford Focus
9. Petter Solberg Subaru Impreza
10. Simon Jean-Joseph Peugeot 206
Superbikes
Race 1
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Ruben Xaus Ducati 996 R
2. Troy Corser Aprilia RSV 1000
3. Colin Edwards Honda VTR1000 SP2
4. Ben Bostrom Ducati 996 R
5. Tadayuki Okada Honda VTR1000 SP2
6. Steve Martin Ducati 996 RS
7. Gregorio Lavilla Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Stephane Chambon Suzuki GSX 750
9. Lucio Pedercini Ducati 996RS
10. Neil Hodgson Ducati 996 RS
Race 2
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Regis Laconi Aprilia RSV 1000
2. Ruben Xaus Ducati 996 R
3. Tadayuki Okada Honda VTR1000 SP2
4. Ben Bostrom Ducati 996 R
5. Steve Martin Ducati 996 RS
6. Gregorio Lavilla Kawasaki ZX-7RR
7. Neil Hodgson Ducati 996 RS
8. Broc Parkes Ducati 996 RS
9. Piefrancesco Chili Suzuki GSX-R750
10. Giovanni Bussei Ducati 996 RS
Sportscars
Tom Kristensen put the car he was sharing with Rinaldo Capello on pole, and led early, before crashing out of the race into the barriers on lap 27 after a suspected punctured front tyre. After this, Emanuele Pirro and David Brabham fought each other for the lead, which saw Brabham badly damage his car while trying to lap a slower car less than a hour after the Capello crash. Pirro and Biela swapped the lead with Herbert and Wallace during the second hour but regained it soon after, only to lose it again when Biela spun, handing the lead to Stefan Johansson in another Audi. Biela temporarily retook the lead soon after Johansson's pitstop during hour three, but Johansson's co-driver Patrick Lemarie took the lead back when Biela pits soon after. Pirro retook the lead again soon after, but lost it to Lemarie when he pitted during hour four, before passing him again.
In GTS, Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins and Franck Freon took the win in their Chevrolet Corvette C5R. Terry Borcheller won the GTS championship by finishing second in class, after Ron Fellows, who had led the GTS championship all season, scored no points after his Corvette was sidelined with a problem after two laps, which his team fixed, but only after the team had pushed his car into a position that they could effect the repairs. As no outside assistance is allowed, the car was excluded. However, had the problem occurred on or after lap 10, Fellows would have been champion.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro Audi R8R (LMP900)
2. Patrick Lemarie/Stefan Johansson Audi R8R (LMP900)
3. Andy Wallace/Johnny Herbert Audi R8R (LMP900)
4. Max Angelelli/Wayne Taylor/ Cadillac Northstar LMP 01 (LMP900)
Christophe Tinseau
5. Emmanuel Collard/Marc Goossens Cadillac Northstar LMP 01 (LMP900)
6. Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim/ Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS)
Franck Freon
7. Milka Duno/John Graham/Scott Maxwell Reynard 01Q Judd (LMP675)
8. Hans Stuck/Boris Said/Bill Auberlen BMW M3 GTR (GT)
9. Jorg Muller/Dirk Muller BMW M3 GTR (GT)
10. David Brabham/Jan Magnussen Panoz LMP-1 (LMP900)
Briefs
Gabriele Tarquini took two wins in the European Touring Car Championship in his Honda Accord at Jarama, Spain. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo 156) continues to lead the championship. Giovanardi is 16 points clear of teammates Nicola Larini and Tarquini, in turn over 100 points clear of Fabrice Walfisch (Honda Accord). Giovanardi is in the box seat to claim the title with only one round to run at Estoril, Portugal on October 21.
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Volume 7, Issue 41
Articles
Villeneuve Strikes Back; Pollock Retaliates
Backyard at the Brickyard
Rating Montoya
Japanese GP Preview
The Japanese Grand Prix Preview
Technical Preview: Suzuka
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