Updates from the Rest of the Racing World
Atlas F1 Magazine Writers
Advice: The points tables for most series covered by Elsewhere In Racing are available here. Individual series are linked to their corresponding points table after each report.
Justice Delayed
Back in Monaco the most remarkable factory WRC debut of recent times was spoiled when the driver's team didn't know the correct servicing regulations. That driver made up for losing Monaco when Sebastien Loeb finally took his debut WRC victory in the Citroen Xsara at Rally Deutschland.
But while Loeb and Citroen celebrated their debut WRC victories, the real winners were Peugeot. Citroen aren't in the battle for the various championships, having not registered for it in the pre-season. For Citroen, the real test is 2003. In the meantime, any Citroen victories are taking away opportunities for Ford and Subaru to catch Peugeot. Second for Richard Burns and third for Marcus Gronholm pushes the 2000 Champion closer to regaining the title he lost last year to Burns.
Burns and Gronholm shared the first stage win, but Loeb won the second stage. Loeb was 14 seconds faster on Moselwein to take the lead of the rally. Loeb would not be headed again, proving the superiority of Citroen on tarmac. Years of testing on the all-tarmac French Rally Championship set the Xsaras up for their effectiveness on bitumen. Loeb was 27 seconds clear at the end of the first stage with Burns second. Third was Philippe Bugalski in the second Citroen Xsara. Hydraulic problems delayed Gronholm by over half a minute and dropped him behind Colin McRae.
Gronholm soon recovered on the second leg and climbed up to third after the retirement of Bugalski. The second Citroen ruptured an oil pipe on a transport and the engine ground to a halt before Bugalski could reach service. By the end of Leg Two McRae in fourth was almost two minutes behind the three French cars. At only ten seconds down, Burns was still within striking distance of Loeb. Loeb however maintained the gap on Leg Three, drawing out four more seconds by the end of the rally. Gronholm slid off the road early in Leg Three but had more than enough gap over McRae that the 1-2 finish in the manufacturers' standings for Peugeot was never in doubt.
McRae tried hard but at this rally, on this surface, the Focus was not up to the job of keeping up with the Xsaras and 206s. McRae was three and three quarter minutes adrift of Loeb. The other Fords fared less well. Carlos Sainz limped home some six minutes off the pace. Most of that time was lost when Sainz stalled at the start of Stage 17. Any chance of a points finish ended when the engine refused to fire. Gear selection problems delayed Markko Martin on Leg One, but the Estonian battled his way back from 13th overnight to take the final point for sixth position by rallies end.
Subaru took away only a few manufacturer points, but otherwise had nothing to show for the event. Tommi Makinen had to drive Leg One without a handbrake, leaving the four times world champion to three point turn his way around the sharpest corners, losing time by the bucketfull. Once repaired, Makinen ran cleanly and well to be six seconds behind Martin at the end, but seventh does Makinen no favours. With 40 points left in the championship, Makinen finds himself 36 points behind his countryman Gronholm. 2003 is what Makinen drives for now. Petter Solberg crashed out of the event in Stage 11 while firmly entrenched in the points in fifth position, just thirteen seconds behind McRae. Of the team's other cars, Achim Mortl crashed twice, finishing the car at the second attempt early on Leg Two and Toshihiro Arai stopped with gearbox problems in Stage 4.
Kenneth Eriksson brought his Skoda Octavia to the chequer in tenth position, a perhaps fair indication of the car's competitiveness on tarmac. Eriksson broke a propshaft in Stage 9, forcing him to complete the stage at a ridiculously slow pace. A crash in Stage 14 ended Toni Gardemeister's run. He was in ninth at the time, between Martin and Makinen. An engine failure claimed Matthias Kahle before he could have any effect on the event.
The most disappointed of all must have been Hyundai. Freddy Loix was competitive throughout Leg One, finishing eighth on Friday night. Loix was even third fastest over Schones Moselland in Stage 5. However on the transport prior to the beginning of Leg Two the Accent lost oil pressure and the engine stopped. A stage and a half later Armin Schwarz had what he described as the biggest accident of his career when he rolled in Stage 10 while in eighth position, destroying the car. Schwarz broke and dislocated a rib, and both he and co-driver Manfred Heimer suffered shock. It was an opportunity lost. It does appear though that the Hyundai is now a point-scoring machine, and both drivers are looking forward to San Remo.
With four rallies left Gronholm leads McRae by 18 points. Almost two rally wins. With Peugeots running first, third, fifth and seventh, McRae is the only championship opposition, but it is a formidable gap to breach. McRae will have to hope for a crash and a mechanical failure, at least, to restore his chances.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 10 of 14, Rally Deutschland:
Standings: Marcus Gronholm 51, Colin McRae 33, Richard Burns 31, Carlos Sainz 26, Gilles Panizzi 21, Petter Solberg 19, Harri Rovanpera and Sebastien Loeb 18, Tommi Makinen 15, Markko Martin 10 etc.
Manufacturers: Peugeot 115, Ford 81, Subaru 42, Mitsubishi and Skoda 8, Hyundai 6
Biaggi's Brno
For the first time in 2002, something other than a Honda four-stroke won, and although Valentino Rossi failed to finish, it probably didn't affect the result as Max Biaggi led from start to finish at Brno in the Czech Republic. Rossi's DNF closes up the fight for the title but realistically it would require an injury to Rossi for someone other than Rossi to win it.
As they entered those esses they were four wide, Valentino Rossi slotting up the inside to take second, the other three still dicing through the esses, with the order on the exit finally decided as Checa third, Katoh fourth and Loris Capirossi fifth, with Rossi's teammate Ukawa sixth. Ukawa moved up to fifth and Katoh third before the end of lap one, Shinya Nakano had already crashed out and Garry McCoy had dropped from fourth on the grid to sixteenth after the first lap.
Two laps in, and the top five were beginning to break away, no-one under any great pressure at this point. By the end of lap three, the top three were beginning to break away as Ukawa was looking for a way past Checa. On lap five Ukawa passed Checa at the first esses, but was not able to close the gap on the leading three who continued to ride together but at the same time not threatening each other. At times Rossi pressured Biaggi, and a few times Katoh pressured Rossi, but they seemed to be waiting until later in the race to decide the result.
Lap nine saw Sete Gibernau move up to sixth past Capirossi, two laps later doing the same to Checa and quickly closing on Ukawa, getting on his tail but not really able to make a move to pass him. As they completed lap fourteen, Biaggi and Rossi finally had broken away from Katoh, making it a two-way fight between the two Italians for victory. Lap sixteen saw a defining moment in the race, as Rossi dramatically slowed halfway through the lap as his rear tyre fell apart. Rossi made it slowly back to the pits and changed the rear tyre but pulled in with two remaining.
This left Biaggi safely in the lead from Katoh, Ukawa up to third and clear of Gibernau whose charge faded towards the end of the race. This was how things stayed to the end, Biaggi going on to score his first win for Yamaha this season, also the first time a bike apart from the Honda RC211V has won, but it continued the four-stroke dominance of the MotoGP class.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 10 of 16, Brno, Czech Republic:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 220, Tohru Ukawa 140, Max Biaggi 134, Carlos Checa 96, Alex Barros 94, Norick Abe 90, Daijiro Katoh 80, Loris Capirossi 75 etc.
Barry Sheene, Britain's last motorcycling world champion, has been diagnosed with cancer.
"On July 22nd I was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus and upper stomach," Sheene, 51, said in a statement released in Australia, where he has lived for the last 20 years.
"Although this is a complete pain ... it happens to a lot of people and a lot of people get over it."
In his heyday in the 1970s, Sheene was a household name in Britain and around the world. He came across as the archetypal cheeky 'Cockney' - quick-witted, charming, outspoken and with a healthy disregard for those in authority.
As much as his world titles, his rise to fame was sealed by two spectacular crashes. The first was at Daytona in 1975, when he came off his Suzuki at 170 miles per hour (273.6 km/h). He fought his way back from that to win back-to-back world titles before his outspokenness led to a falling out with Suzuki and he switched to Yamaha in 1980.
Two years later in practice for his home GP race at Silverstone, he had another horrendous high-speed crash in which he suffered terrible leg injuries. As a consequence of that crash, 27 metal bolts keep his legs together. By then, Sheene had a place in British life that no motorcycle rider had ever occupied. He was married to a model, mixed with pop stars and was as likely to be found in a night club as at a race track.
Sheene maximised his earning power by endorsing products such as clothes and aftershave.
As such, his influence on the sport as it entered the television age transcended his two world championships and 19 500cc grand prix victories in a career at the top class of world championship racing that lasted for 10 years from 1974.
Since his retirement from riding in 1984 he has lived on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia where he has worked as a television commentator. Age has not made him less opinionated, and earlier this year he was involved in a row with four times Superbike World Champion and fellow Briton Carl Fogarty, who Sheene said was a poor role model.
He returned to Britain earlier this year to make an appearance at the British Grand Prix at Donington, where, as ever, he got a great reception from the fans. "I and my family would appreciate privacy at this time so I can get on with fighting this in my own way," he said on Friday. "At this time I feel there is nothing more for me to add and I thank all my well-wishers for their thoughts."
Report provided by Reuters
Dario's Day
There is almost no stopping Cristiano da Matta on road courses. After wins at Monterrey, Laguna Seca, Portland, Toronto and Road America the series leader was odds on to claim his sixth road course and seventh overall win of the series. However da Matta's Newman-Haas pit crew called him pitward when a full course yellow appeared on lap 11, still some ten laps short of the pit window. Da Matta would now have to make one more stop than everyone else and lost a large amount of track position. Dario Franchitti was there to capitalise on the mistake and the Team Kool Green driver added to his Vancouver victory with another Canadian street circuit, the familiar surrounds of the Ile Notre Dame.
Da Matta led a clean start through the first corner, but into the right hand second corner Alex Tagliani shoved Kenny Brack sideways across and off the track. Tagliani had been pushed out of shape by contact from behind from an anxious Paul Tracy. Yellows were flown immediately as Brack abandoned his Chip Ganassi Lola-Toyota. Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain Jr popped into the pits for a fuel top-up, while Michael Andretti was in with a shredded left rear tyre. Mario Dominguez also popped in for a top up. At lap four the light went green and da Matta led the field away again. Tagliani wasn't done with controversy yet, and had a look on the inside of Jimmy Vasser into the hairpin. Tagliani braked too late though and slid wide and spun, dropping to the tail of the field.
Da Matta led from Dario Franchitti, Patrick Carpentier, Bruno Junqueira and Jimmy Vasser. Paul Tracy was now closing on Vasser and was the mover in the pack. Dominguez was in trouble and stopped just past the pit exit. Yellows came out to retrieve Dominguez's car and with ten laps to go before the fuel window opened, da Matta's team called him to the pits. The green was delayed though as Oriol Servia ground to a halt in pit entry.
This left Franchitti in the lead and he immediately underlined the point on the greens, flashing around in the fastest lap of the race on the first flying lap. Only a few laps later the fuel window opened and the leaders pitted under greens. With the front-runners all pitward, Adrian Fernandez assumed the lead, but handed it to Michel Jourdain Jr after a single lap. Another lap and da Matta was leading as Jourdain pitted. Tora Takagi was now second with Tony Kanaan, Franchitti and Carpentier following. Carpentier would not last much longer and coasted into the pits with the engine quiet.
On lap 63 Franchitti makes his final stop followed in by Junqueira and Tracy. Da Matta was now leading, but it had been twelve laps since his stop and still another 14 laps to go. There wasn't enough fuel on board. Five laps later da Matta succumbs to the inevitable and stops. With Franchitti now decisively in the lead the question was where would da Matta finish? On lap 70 Bruno Junqueira retired and Adrian Fernandez crashed in turn seven, bringing out the yellows. The race went green again with five laps to go, Franchitti leading da Matta, Kanaan, Tracy and Dixon. Franchitti used traffic to build up a winning margin. Da Matta moved well clear of Kanaan for third ahead of Tracy and Jimmy Vasser with Dixon having pulled over and retired with two to go.
The result sees Franchitti slide past Carpentier and Junqueira take second in the championship. But Franchitti is some 55 points behind da Matta. There are still a lot of points left in the CART series, but it is still a huge lead considering the fight for second is so close.
Result of FedEx CART Championship Series, Round 13 of 19; Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Canada:
Standings: Cristiano da Matta 161, Dario Franchitti 106, Patrick Carpentier and Bruno Junqueira 101, Christian Fittipaldi and Michel Jourdain Jr 88, Alex Tagliani and Michael Andretti 82, Paul Tracy 81, Kenny Brack 68 etc.
Penske Reasserts
With Sam Hornish Jr having opened a small points gap in the IRL series race, Penske's two drivers answered the best way they could, scoring an important if not emphatic 1-2 victory at Gateway International Raceway. Gil de Ferran took the lead from his teammate, Helio Castroneves with 16 laps to go, and held on to win.
The sensation of qualifying wasn't so much who won pole but who didn't. The Red Bull Cheever squad arrived and set up a car for Tomas Scheckter only for the South African to ring the circuit and tell the team he wasn't coming. It was the latest in a series of controversial incidents of Scheckter's 2002 season and bodes ill for a future in the IRL. Buddy Rice was on hand, and he stepped into the car and qualified 15th. Gil de Ferran took pole with Hornish second and Castroneves third. Series new boy Vitor Meira was fourth in the Menards Dallara. Felipe Giaffone was seventh.
At the green Castroneves slipped past Hornish to make a Penske 1-2 in the early running with Meira moving into third a lap later. Meira didn't make it stick, as Hornish keeps the Penskes in sight. Behind Meira were Jeff Ward, Laurent Redon and Giaffone. The first yellows arrived on lap 12 for the dead car of Tony Renna. At the green Hornish regains second from Castroneves who then moves to close down de Ferran. The top order raced with little change until the first pit stops started. Ward was the first front-runner in on lap 43. Meira pitted on 54. The others hold out for a yellow and are rewarded when Scott Sharp stops with a gearbox full of neutrals on lap 63.
De Ferran leads the field out of pit lane ahead of Castroneves, Giaffone, Hornish, Meira, Redon and Alex Barron. Helio takes up the running, diving under de Ferran to take the lead. Further back Barron moves up another spot, taking Redon. On 99 Meira loses the car and has his nose damaged by Redon. Meira pits for a new nose while the field stops for their second stop under the yellows. Castroneves holds the lead out of the pits from de Ferran, Giaffone, Hornish, Barron, Robbie Buhl, Al Unser and Buddy Rice. The four title protagonists were keeping close tabs on each other and making sure no one else got in the way. Just as the race turned green it became three as Giaffone pitted and climbed from the car with a broken engine.
Barron continued to be the form driver though, and was up to fourth on lap 164 and took third ten laps later. The Penskes however looked too good. De Ferran closed down on his teammate and on lap 184 swept by coming out of turn four. De Ferran gradually moved the gap out to over 1.5 seconds and took the win. Barron was unable to close in on Castroneves and had to be happy with third while Buddy Rice starred to take fourth. Hornish took fifth, limiting the damage as much as possible to his championship chances.
Castroneves now leads the championship by a solitary point over de Ferran. Hornish is eight points off the lead. With potentially 52 points for a win, the gap is insignificant. If anyone stumbles now, like Giaffone did, then they are out of the race. Giaffone is still fourth but now 46 points adrift of Castroneves, his chances are over. With two races to go it is the might of the Penske dynamic duo versus the Pennzoil Panther.
Result of Indy Racing League, Round 13 of 15; Gateway International Speedway, United States:
Standings: Helio Castroneves 437, Gil de Ferran 436, Sam Hornish Jr 429, Felipe Giaffone 391, Alex Barron 318, Scott Sharp 274, Airton Dare 272, Al Unser Jr 261, Jeff Ward 253, Buddy Lazier 244 etc
Jeff Breaks The Jinx
For the second time at Bristol this year, and the third time this season, Jeff Gordon was on pole. With Bill Elliott the only winner so far to win from pole position, this didn't seem like a good omen for Jeff Gordon to score his first win in 31 races, his last win at Kansas in September 2001. When he was again beaten into turn one at the start for the second time at Bristol this year, it must have seemed like deja vu. But this was to be the race that Jeff Gordon would break the winless streak, though to do so, he would make a pass in the dying laps that ensured Rusty Wallace's own winless streak reached 50. It was a race which featured three main contenders for the win, Gordon, Wallace and Earnhardt Jr, and a tense battle over the last 100 laps as other drivers used strategy to try to beat this trio. The battle for the title continues to remain a close race.
The race resumed on lap twelve with the same trio breaking away again, Wallace right on Earnhardt's rear bumper. Todd Bodine brought out the next caution on lap 18 after spinning into the wall on the back straight. Lap 23 and the race resumed, continuing its previous pattern before Bobby Hamilton spun Robby Gordon into turn three which brought out the third caution on lap 31. On lap 36 it was green again, Earnhardt edging away as Wallace and Gordon were unable to pass the lapped Park until lap 41. Before they had a chance to catch back up to Earnhardt another caution came out on lap 57 after Ricky Craven got a light tap in turn one from Robby Gordon and spun. Most of the rear half of the field took this opportunity to make a pit stop.
Racing resumed on lap 62 with Earnhardt still in the lead from Wallace as Jeff Gordon got temporarily caught behind some lapped traffic. Lap 69 and it was caution time again as Elliott Sadler was helped into the inside wall after side-to-side contact with Joe Nemechek. Lap 76 and it was go again, with Kurt Busch joining Earnhardt, Wallace and Gordon to make it a four car breakway at the front. Just after lap 100 these leading four compressed, with Gordon giving Wallace a particularly hard time, taking second place on lap 111 through turns three and four as Earnhardt edged away a bit through the lapped traffic.
This caution saw the field pile into pit lane, with Gordon retaining the lead, but Jimmy Spencer was the big winner, moving up six places to second ahead of Earnhardt Jr and Wallace. The race restarted on lap 157. Lap 159 saw Wallace move ahead of Earnhardt Jr for third. Derrike Cope and Scott Wimmer both had problems not long after but racing continued for a couple of laps before the caution came out on lap 169 for debris. Lap 175 and Gordon and Spencer broke away at the restart before Wallace and Earnhardt Jr closed the gap down as the race continued a familiar pattern, with the top five close together by lap 200.
Spencer was now coming under increasing pressure from Earnhardt Jr, who had just taken third, Wallace and Bobby Labonte. Lap 214 and Earnhardt took second from Spencer, Wallace following past Spencer a lap later, Labonte finally doing the same on lap 220. Gordon edged out a small lead over Earnhardt Jr who himself had a small break over Labonte who passed Wallace for third on lap 234. This didn't last long as Earnhardt closed back in on Gordon through the traffic, taking the lead back from Gordon on lap 247, though Gordon was not about to give up, riding right on Earnhardt's tail.
The race restarted on lap 298 but at the restart Dale Jarrett got into the back of Jeremy Mayfield, both spinning into the path of the pack, fifth placed Jeff Burton unable to avoid Jarrett's spinning car, bringing out another caution on lap 299, during which Bobby Labonte and Burton pitted to repair damage incurred in the restart incident. The race restarted on lap 308 but the race was back under caution on lap 316 when Jeff Green ran into the back of a slowing Ricky Craven entering turn three. Some drivers, including Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth stopped during the caution period, hopefully making it their last stop for the night. The race restarted on lap 331 but was soon under yellow again on lap 334 as Ryan Newman spun after contact with Mark Martin in turns three and four.
The race was back on on lap 339, the order being Gordon, Burton, Wallace, Spencer and Earnhardt, though a move by Wallace on lap 341 moved him up to second past Burton. The caution lights were back on again on lap 348 after Hut Stricklin spun after heavy contact from Jeremy Mayfield in turns three and four. Jimmy Spencer, Sterling Marlin and Harvick made their final stops at this point, dropping them to 12th, 13th and 14th at the tail of the lead lap. The race got back underway on lap 356 but was soon back under yellow on lap 371 when Casey Atwood was helped into a spin by Mike Skinner in turns three and four and Dave Blaney couldn't avoid him, damaging both cars.
As they raced back to the line Robby Gordon tapped Benson as he tried to get his lap back, which Gordon successfully achieved. As the cars circled under the yellow, footage was shown that showed Robby Gordon bumping Johnson twice on the lap before the restart for no obvious reason, suggesting Gordon's spinning of Johnson was not entirely accidental. It seemed NASCAR agreed as they decided to penalise Gordon, holding him for two laps in the pits.
Lap 388 and the race got underway once again, Benson leading Busch but not by much as Busch got alongside Benson through turn four before the lap was completed, Busch completing the move down the backstretch on lap 389 to take the lead. Benson lost second place to Kenseth eight laps later, and two more places to Harvick and Spencer about three laps later as he fell back to fifth. Meanwhile the cars on fresher tyres were struggling to make their way through the traffic. Some of this frustration may have boiled over as the next caution came out on lap 404 when Dale Earnhardt Jr spun Ward Burton into the wall in turn three, Burton throwing his heel protectors at Earnhardt Jr's car as he circulated under yellow.
Before the race restarted Tony Stewart was forced to pit, after accidentally hitting the back of Jerry Nadeau and losing an oil line, the repairs dropping him three laps behind, down to 26th from 9th. The race eventually restarted on lap 424, Busch leading Kenseth, Harvick, Spencer, Bobby Hamilton, Marlin, Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Earnhardt Jr, these drivers forming the likely candidates for the win. Lap 426 saw Marlin and Wallace pass Hamilton, lap 428 saw Earnhardt pass Labonte. Up front the Fords of Busch and Kenseth had opened a small gap.
As Spencer continued to follow Busch, Harvick closed in on Kenseth, and after a short time behind him Harvick went through to the lead on lap 444, the third leader since the restart in a top ten which continued to shuffle, the leaders keeping a small gap over Busch. Spencer's failure to pass Busch meant Wallace was now on Spencer's tail on lap 445. Lap 451 and Gordon was on Wallace's tail, one lap more and Earnhardt made it a five car train, before Busch began to edge away from Spencer. Lap 455 and Wallace was past Spencer, followed by Gordon and Earnhardt on the next lap, the trio setting off after Busch, catching him by lap 459, and the trio finding their way past soon after.
30 laps to go and Harvick just led from Kenseth, with a rapidly closing Wallace in third, Gordon and Earnhardt also closing in to make it a race in five. Lap 463 and the three moved closer together, as Kenseth pressured Harvick to retake the lead he had lost to him less than 30 laps before. With 25 laps remaining, Wallace got right up to Kenseth's bumper, the top three as one, any error to prove costly to whoever made it. On lap 478 Kenseth ran wide through turns three and four, allowing Wallace to get partly alongside, an allowance that allowed him to take the spot through the same turns on lap 479, with Gordon once again taking advantage of the path Wallace had cleared for him during the next lap, Earnhardt having to wait a few more laps before he moved past as well.
With ten laps to go it looked safely in Wallace's hands, as Gordon seemed unable to close in. Then with six laps to go Gordon began to close back in again. Four laps remaining and Gordon was right on or in Wallace's bumper through turns three and four as Wallace passed a backmarker and then had wheelspin out of the next corner. Same corner next lap and again Gordon got more traction on the exit, touching Wallace's bumper lightly through turn three then a 'bump and run' through turn four to take the lead from Wallace as they came up to the line with two laps to go. After that, Wallace couldn't quite keep up, Gordon going on to take the win ahead of Wallace, with Earnhardt Jr coming home third.
Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 24 of 36, Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee, United States:
Standings: Sterling Marlin 3240, Mark Martin 3145, Jeff Gordon 3129, Tony Stewart 3101, Jimmie Johnson 3095, Rusty Wallace 3078, Ricky Rudd 2972, Bill Elliott 2970, Matt Kenseth 2959, Dale Jarrett 2864 etc.
MG TC
MG's foray into touring cars with the ZS bore fruit with a pair of victories going to the factory-supported entries from MG Sport. Anthony Reid took the first race and MG's first 1-2 ahead of Warren Hughes whilst in the second and traditionally incident-packed race on the Indy version of Brands Hatch, Hughes won. For the championship, Yvan Muller collected a couple of points-scoring races and James Thompson did not. With only one event to go Thompson's lead has been cut to four points. The one thing that was decided over the course of the weekend was that Vauxhall claimed a second successive manufacturers' crown.
Polesitter Reid jumped away to lead the sprint race with Hughes second ahead of Gareth Howell (MG), Thompson, Muller and Tim Harvey (Peugeot). A gap opened from Harvey back to the rest, which was closed down after the fourth MG of Colin Turkington had an off. Matt Neal and Phil Bennett were battle furiously just behind the lead group after the restart. Dan Eaves walled his Peugeot while battling with Andy Priaulx. Just past half distance Thompson stopped with suspension failure in the Astra, bringing Muller up to fourth and closing in on Howell's MG. The ensuing battle allowed Tim Harvey and Matt Neal to close in. Howell was unable to keep the more experienced drivers behind him.
The safety car emerged again, allowing Muller to close on the two MGs but closing is one thing, passing in the heavily ballasted Vauxhall was quite another. Reid and Hughes took a 1-2 finish ahead of Muller and Neal. Howell held on to fifth. Harvey just held out Bennett for sixth, whilst Alan Morrison led home David Leslie.
The safety car hit the tarmac after David Leslie crashed. Once the pit stops were done the MG teams slick pitwork and the timing of their tactics put Hughes back in front with Paul O'Neill in second. Vauxhall however didn't cope as well. Whilst the pitwork was the benchmark it has been all season, their drivers undid the good work, when Muller emerged from the pits practically on top of Thompson. The two fought for position ending with contact and both cars off track. Muller regained the track but Thompson was done for the day, his championship lead in tatters.
Alan Morrison climbed to battle O'Neill, a battle quickly won as O'Neill's gearbox began to fail. Harvey quickly followed Morrison through O'Neill. Fifth was the subject of a huge battle, which was eventually claimed by the delayed Reid. Muller, Priaulx, Neal and a fired up Aaron Slight followed closely behind.
The series now travels to the swoops and dives of Donington Park for the BTCC grand final. Either of the factory Vauxhalls could take the title, whilst third in the championship is far from certain with Matt Neal holding a ten point lead over Anthony Reid.
Result of British Touring Car Championship, Rounds 17 and 18 of 20; Brands Hatch, Great Britain:
Standings: James Thompson 161, Yvan Muller 157, Matt Neal 135, Anthony Reid 125, Andy Priaulx 99, Warren Hughes 93, Paul O'Neill 76, David Leslie 68, Alan Morrison 55, Tim Harvey 47 etc.
Rally
"I'm delighted to get my first victory, of course," said Loeb. "Monte Carlo earlier this year was not really a victory for me so this is like the first real win. This is really like my home rally and there were a lot of fans around here for me, all wanting me to win. I'm pleased for them as well. Yesterday was a very difficult day - we made a few small mistakes - but we knew this morning that Richard would push so we just tried our best and it was enough."
Great Peugeot performances didn't end there. Some 90 seconds behind McRae at the end was the privately entered 206 of Bruno Thiry. Thiry was making a comeback to the World Championship after being left on the outer during the driver shuffle after last year. Thiry drove within the car and came home fifth, taking the two points that went with it. Harri Rovanpera in the third factory car was less successful. Hydraulic problems also affected his car, dropping him from the top ten on Leg Two. It would be ill handling from a broken wing that would claim him. Rovanpera crashed on Stage 19, ending his rally.
Francois Delecour was ninth in the Mitsubishi Lancer. The Frenchman had been eighth for much of the event before being displaced by the recovering Makinen. Alister McRae popped a turbo early in the event and played no part in proceedings.
Pos Driver Car
1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Xsara
2. Richard Burns Peugeot 206
3. Marcus Gronholm Peugeot 206
4. Colin McRae Ford Focus
5. Bruno Thiry Peugeot 206
6. Markko Martin Ford Focus
7. Tommi Makinen Subaru Impreza
8. Carlos Sainz Ford Focus
9. Francois Delecour Mitsubishi Lancer
10. Kenneth Eriksson Skoda Octavia
MotoGP
For the first time this season, and the 50th time in his GP career, Max Biaggi was on pole position, with Daijiro Katoh right alongside him in second on his first ride on the four-stroke Honda. At the start, Biaggi was best away, and led into turn one ahead of teammate Carlos Checa, closely followed by a pack of riders who tried to sort themselves out as they headed towards the first esses of lap one.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Max Biaggi Yamaha YZR M1
2. Daijiro Katoh Honda RC211V
3. Tohru Ukawa Honda RC211V
4. Sete Gibernau Suzuki GSVR
5. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR M1
6. Loris Capirossi Honda NSR500
7. Jeremy McWilliams Proton KR3
8. Norick Abe Yamaha YZR500
9. Alex Barros Honda NSR500
10. Olivier Jacque Yamaha YZR500
Former World Champion Sheene Has Cancer
Sheene won the world championship in 1976 and 1977 and was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame at the Australian Grand Prix in October last year. "I will do everything within my power to beat this thing," Sheene said on Friday.
CART
It was CART's first visit to the home of the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix, and a bumper crowd turned out to support the locals, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy. It was the first time in many years CART had visited a current Formula One venue and everyone wanted to know how pole would compare to Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams-BMW pole time of 1:12.836. Da Matta settled the pole with a 1:18.959 in the Newman-Haas Lola-Toyota.
Da Matta started lowering the new CART lap record immediately once the Carpentier car was clear, but pitted early, now ten laps out of sync with the other quick cars. On lap 42 Franchitti led Junqueira, Tracy, Vasser, Nakano and Dixon into the pits for their second stops. Da Matta was now leading again. Lap 51 and Da Matta was in again, the Newman-Haas team coming up short with the fuel calculations. This gave the lead back to Franchitti, who had the best of the group on the more conservative pit stop cycle. Kanaan was now up to second but Kanaan pitted on lap 53, as da Matta comes up to second, having literally driven through the field.
Pos Driver Car
1. Dario Franchitti Lola-Honda
2. Cristiano da Matta Lola-Toyota
3. Tony Kanaan Lola-Honda
4. Paul Tracy Lola-Honda
5. Jimmy Vasser Lola-Ford
6. Michel Jourdain Jr Lola-Ford
7. Christian Fittipaldi Lola-Toyota
8. Michael Andretti Lola-Honda
9. Shinji Nakano Lola-Honda
10. Scott Dixon Lola-Toyota
IRL
"I tell you, it was a tough race," said de Ferran. "It was probably one of the hardest races certainly I have driven. My car was very good in the first stint. I was really able to push hard and open up a decent gap. We were getting a little bit loose at the end of the stint, but overall the car was really staying more consistent than everybody else's car."
Over the next dozen laps Barron started picking off the three cars in front of him to take the lead on lap 119. Sarah Fisher though was out, with alternator failure. Barron kept the lead up until the third round of stops, triggered by Greg Ray scraping the turn two wall. The Penske team proves superior in the pits and Castroneves jumped back into the lead ahead of Barron, de Ferran, Rice, Buhl, Unser, Hornish and Raul Boesel. At the green Barron tries to regain the lead but gets it wrong, and so de Ferran, Rice and Hornish duck underneath.
Pos Driver Car
1. Gil de Ferran Dallara-Chevrolet
2. Helio Castroneves Dallara-Chevrolet
3. Alex Barron Dallara-Chevrolet
4. Buddy Rice Dallara-Infiniti
5. Sam Hornish Jr Dallara-Chevrolet
6. Robbie Buhl GForce-Infiniti
7. Al Unser Jr Dallara-Chevrolet
8. Raul Boesel Dallara-Infiniti
9. Vitor Meira Dallara-Chevrolet
10. Eddie Cheever Dallara-Infiniti
NASCAR
For the second time this year, Jeff Gordon was on pole at Bristol. And for the second time at Bristol this year Gordon didn't lead lap one, Dale Earnhardt Jr leading the field into turn one, Gordon slotting into second just ahead of Rusty Wallace as these three broke away from the field. Lap five saw Wallace take second from Gordon just as contact occurred between Sterling Marlin and Todd Bodine after Bodine checked up after tapping Jimmie Johnson, Steve Park and Lance Hooper also spinning, bringing out the first caution on lap seven.
Gordon gradually closed the gap to leader Earnhardt before taking the lead though turns one and two on lap 131 as Earnhardt now was stuggling to keep his car low through the turns. Meanwhile Bobby Labonte had carved his way up to third while Wallace was in a battle with Busch for fourth, Wallace losing that battle on lap 141 in a move which also saw Ward Burton move ahead of him, Burton moving past Busch for fourth just three laps later. The sixth caution finally broke the green flag run on lap 151 when Jimmie Johnson hit the wall.
By half distance the pace of the leaders, the two long green flag runs and the half-mile lap distance meant there were only 18 cars on the lead lap. Gordon retook the lead from Earnhardt on lap 257 as they were lapping Kyle Petty before edging away a little before lapped cars closed the gap again, Labonte closing in as well. Ricky Rudd pulled into the pits not long after with engine problems. Steve Park brought out the next caution on lap 292 when he spun. The field once again piled into the pits, Gordon keeping the lead ahead of Ward Burton and Bobby Labonte, while Earnhardt Jr dropped to seventh.
The leaders took this opportunity to make their final stops for the night, Gordon, Wallace, Ward Burton, Earnhardt and Stewart pitted, while Bobby Labonte took the opportunity to take some fresh tyres. This handed the lead to Johnny Benson, while those who pitted exited in the order Burton, Wallace, Gordon, Stewart, Labonte and Earnhardt, filling 8th to 13th places. The race restarted on lap 377 but it wasn't green for long, as Robby Gordon got into the back of Jimmie Johnson, Johnson spinning into the path of the pack but escaped relatively unscathed apart from clipping Mark Martin, bringing out the 14th caution of the night on lap 378.
After several laps on his tail, Wallace passed Marlin on lap 432 for fifth as Gordon passed Bobby Hamilton for seventh almost simultaneously. Those fresher tyres were beginning to come into play. Meanwhile, at the the front teammates Busch and Kenseth were racing side-by-side for the lead, Kenseth taking the place on lap 434, Harvick following past Busch one lap later. Soon after on lap 437 Busch had 'old friend' Jimmy Spencer on his tail. Spencer, wary of previous incidents, seemed a little reluctant to try anything risky. Further back Gordon and Earnhardt were up to sixth and seventh as Marlin faded, dropping to eighth.
The small gap Harvick opened up while they fought with Kenseth didn't last long, Wallace moving on to Harvick's tail with twenty laps to go, Gordon not far behind. Exiting turn four with nineteen laps to go it appeared Wallace gave Harvick a slight bump in the rear, enough to allow Wallace through to the lead with Gordon again following through to move up to second. Now it was a straight fight between two drivers on long winless streaks, desperate to win. At first it appeared Gordon was quicker, then Wallace looked quicker, as Earnhardt moved past Harvick to take third.
Pos Driver Car
1. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2. Rusty Wallace Ford Taurus
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
6. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
7. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
8. Jimmy Spencer Dodge Intrepid
9. Bobby Labonte Pontiac Grand Prix
10. Mike Wallace Pontiac Grand Prix
BTCC
"What an incredible weekend for MG," said an ecstatic Hughes. "I knew we weren't going to be the quickest car out there as we were carrying a lot of success ballast from the sprint race result, so I had to drive a really calm and collected race - and it paid off! When I saw Thompson off in the gravel trap I had a feeling the safety car would be called out, so we made the decision to take our pit stop. The timing was spot-on and we reaped the rewards. It all worked out perfectly!"
In the feature race New Zealander Aaron Slight was unable to fire up his Vauxhall from his front row grid spot. With his teammate promoted to the front row for the rolling start, Hughes led Reid away until Reid got through to the lead again. Turkington was fighting hard with Thompson when the two clashed, sending Turkington off track. Turkington's teammate Howell then took up the fight for third with Thompson in a vicious battle that was soon a battle in three with the Eggsport Vauxhall of Matt Neal.
Round Seventeen
Pos Driver Car
1. Anthony Reid MG ZS
2. Warren Hughes MG ZS
3. Yvan Muller Vauxhall Astra
4. Matt Neal Vauxhall Astra
5. Gareth Howell MG ZS
6. Tim Harvey Peugeot 406
7. Phil Bennett Proton Impian
8. Alan Morrison Honda Civic
9. David Leslie Proton Impian
10. Paul O'Neill Vauxhall Astra
Round Eighteen
Pos Driver Car
1. Warren Hughes MG ZS
2. Alan Morrison Honda Civic
3. Tim Harvey Peugeot 406
4. Paul O'Neill Vauxhall Astra
5. Anthony Reid MG ZS
6. Yvan Muller Vauxhall Astra
7. Andy Priaulx Honda Civic
8. Matt Neal Vauxhall Astra
9. Aaron Slight Vauxhall Astra
10. Tom Chilton Vauxhall Astra
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Volume 8, Issue 35
Articles
A Question of Speed: CART vs. F1
Civil War of Motorsports: CART vs. IRL
Jo Ramirez: a Racing Man
Belgian GP Preview
The Belgian GP Preview
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