ATLAS F1 - THE JOURNAL OF FORMULA ONE MOTORSPORT
Elsewhere in Racing
Updates from the Rest of the Racing World

By Mark Alan Jones and David Wright, Australia
Atlas F1 Magazine Writers



  Rally

Colin's Safari Tour

Argentina didn't suggest much in the way of form for the rough mid-season event apart from the fact that the Peugeot was a very nice car, but we already knew that. Greece was another matter, and the renowned robustness of the Ford Focus came to the fore. It cast a warning that the rest of the field failed to listen, or they listened but failed, or lacked the ability to do anything about it. Colin McRae jumped right into championship contention with a comfortable win on the roughest event on the calendar, the Safari Rally in Kenya.

Nicky Grist and Colin McRae celebrate winning the Safari RallyMcRae lost 16 seconds on the opening leg to Tommi Makinen, but yet another retirement to the Subaru driver left McRae in a lead that was measured in minutes. It was too large a lead to peg back, even supposing you could start to peg back the fleeing Scot. In the end, second was claimed by the Peugeot of Harri Rovanpera with Thomas Radstrom coming home third in the Citroen.

After being ceremonially flagged off by Prince Edward in Nairobi, the field were soon being gapped by Makinen and McRae. They each took two stage wins on the opening leg of the rally, before arriving back in Nairobi almost two minutes clear of the third placed Ford of Carlos Sainz. It looked like being a classic confrontation between the two former world champions. One of the other world champions had not fared so well however. Series leader Marcus Gronholm stopped mysteriously with less than 20 kilometres covered. The Peugeot refused to fire, leaving the 2000 champ waiting for rescue.

Attrition is always a hallmark of the Safari, and it's worth noting that six factory cars were lost on day one. In addition to Gronholm, Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz reduced the Hyundai team to one car before the first stage was completed. Francois Delecour (Mitsubishi), Toni Gardemeister (Skoda) and Petter Solberg (Subaru) were also reduced to spectators before the end of day one.

The lead of the rally changed at the end of the first stage on day two as Makinen's troubles began. Makinen noticed the beginnings of a problem even as they left parc ferme, with both rear dampers leaking fluid. Makinen dropped to fourth in Stage 5 and dropped further after puncturing in Stage 7. Stage 8 delivered the coup de grace with a broken wishbone. Some days it is not worth getting out of bed. With Solberg already out of the event and Toshihiro Arai contesting Group N that was the end of Subaru's rally. Just as icing on the cake, Arai retired with clutch failure with a stage and a half to go while battling for Group N victory.

Colin McRae tackles a water splash, a rare but occasional sight on the SafariMcRae then inherited a two-minute lead over his Spanish teammate, and almost three minutes over Harri Rovanpera. The rally effectively ended at that point. A problem could have always befallen McRae, but he was not going to lose the rally for any other reason. McRae's lead became even more secure when Sainz stopped with engine failure. His lead would probably have been greater but for being held up behind the slowing Makinen in Stage 5. With no problems in Leg 3 McRae maintained his gap over Rovanpera to win and close within seven points of Gronholm in the championship chase. The team's third Focus also finished, brake problems besetting Markko Martin who still finished in fourth place, backing up his team leader and helping to put Ford back into the manufacturers race.

Peugeot claimed second place through Rovanpera, and they got a second car in the points in the blue car of Gilles Panizzi, but it was a disappointing rally for them. Their two championship contenders both retired through mechanical dramas. In addition to Gronholm's Stage 1 problems Richard Burns's wounded car made it to the service area at the end of Leg 2, but was terminally bogged short of Peugeot's space. Previously a broken bolt on the chassis cross member had broken one corner of the car and would lead to his retirement.

Citroen brought their Xsara to Kenya for the first time as an ultimate test of the car prior to a full championship assault in 2003. Their drivers collected six championship points. On a rally when retirements decimated the rally, Citroen got both cars home, in the points, with one of them on the podium. At the end of Leg 2 Thomas Radstrom was third and Sebastien Loeb was fourth, but Loeb was struck with savage shock absorber problems that dropped him below Martin.

Richard Burns's wounded PeugeotYoung Roman Kresta had the drive of his still-new factory career to bring his Skoda Octavia home to collect points. Kresta was four seconds behind Panizzi at the end of Saturday but any chance of catching the Peugeot would be denied by the car after a broken wheel bearing and a broken damper separately delayed Kresta. Whilst drivers points eluded him, three manufacturers points moved Skoda past Mitsubishi to take fourth place. That more than made up for the loss of Toni Gardemeister to suspension failure of Friday and Kenneth Eriksson to a broken gearbox on Saturday.

The opening stage decimated Hyundai with mechanical failures striking both Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz. By Sunday Juha Kankkunen's Accent was a basket case. A clogged intercooler had damaged the engine and it would be a battle to even finish. No one in the event has the experience of Kankkunen, and the veteran world champion Finn dragged his car in to eighth place, and two manufacturer points.

Safari would be a new low for Mitsubishi. Alister McRae and Francois Delecour were uncompetitive, then struck problems. Delecour lost an engine on Stage 3 whilst McRae would drive to the finish with a few broken dampers along the way and was unable to catch even Kankkunen's dying Accent. With speculation over the future of Mitsubishi's major sponsor Marlboro, questions will be asked over the future viability of Ralliart in the WRC.

McRae took the maximum possible chunk out of Gronholm's championship lead, and suddenly the series is wide open again. After the grind of Africa we return to the forests of Scandinavia for the fastest event on the calendar. The rally, once known as 1000 Lakes, but now as Rally Finland. Peugeot will be back on top form, but will a home rally finally get Makinen's Subaru to the finish?

Result of World Rally Championship, Round 8, Safari Rally, Kenya:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Colin McRae           Ford Focus
 2.  Harri Rovanpera       Peugeot 206
 3.  Thomas Radstrom       Citroen Xsara
 4.  Markko Martin         Ford Focus
 5.  Sebastien Loeb        Citroen Xsara
 6.  Gilles Panizzi        Peugeot 206
 7.  Roman Kresta          Skoda Octavia
 8.  Juha Kankkunen        Hyundai Accent
 9.  Alister McRae         Mitsubishi Lancer
10.  Karamjit Singh        Proton Pert

Standings: Marcus Gronholm 37, Colin McRae 30, Carlos Sainz 23, Gilles Panizzi 21, Richard Burns 19, Harri Rovanpera 18, Petter Solberg 15, Tommi Makinen 14, Sebastien Loeb 8, Markko Martin & Philippe Bugalski 7, etc

Manufacturers: Peugeot 83, Ford 69, Subaru 35, Skoda 8, Mitsubishi 7, Hyundai 6 etc


  CART

One For Reynard

Patrick Carpentier celebrates with the winner's trophyCristiano da Matta's winning streak came to an abrupt end at Cleveland. Da Matta has been nigh on unbeatable in the last couple of months, and was leading again when mechanical problems claimed his Lola-Toyota. After that Patrick Carpentier took control of the race in the Forsythe-run Reynard-Ford. The Forsythe team has been the only leading team to keep using the Reynard chassis after the collapse of the British manufacturer. Carpentier demonstrated that the car is very definitely a winning option, comfortable leading in Team Green Lola-Honda drivers Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy.

As at the last start at Toronto, the first attempt at a start was waved off, but second time around polesitter da Matta led the field away. Tora Takagi and Jimmy Vasser got together into turn one with Takagi running into the back of Vasser, which resulted in Vasser spinning. Both had to be pushstarted along with Mario Dominguez. Townsend Bell though was out on the spot. Dominguez, Takagi and Vasser would all pit to inspect damage, the worst of which was a nosecone for Takagi, while Adrian Fernandez was also a visitor, adding fuel.

At the restart da Matta jumped away with Dario Franchitti and Carpentier in pursuit, as they built a small gap quickly on Michael Andretti and Tony Kanaan. The race at the front settled with the highest mover being Paul Tracy, climbing into sixth before lap ten. Another ten laps and the Canadian was fifth as da Matta slowed and peeled off into the pits to end his race just as the first stops were about to begin. Tracy was the first in. His teammate was given excellent service and held the lead after the stops. Scott Dixon joined da Matta in retirement in what was starting to not be the best of days for Toyota teams.

The running order wasn't significantly changed with Franchitti leading from Carpentier, Andretti, Kanaan and Christian Fittipaldi. On lap 39 the leaders caught Fernandez and dropped him from the lead lap. Lap 49 and Franchitti again started the pitstop cycle, Carpentier assuming the lead for the first time. Carpentier had an excellent pitstop and kept the lead after the second stops. Tracy had now climbed back up to fourth to be in behind his 'sort-of' teammate Andretti.

Patrick Carpentier on his way to victoryThe lap record tumbled as the third stops approached with Tracy getting to keep the award as Kenny Brack started the third stop cycle under greens again. Franchitti lost second when he arrived for his third stop with no motive power. Andretti took the lead when Carpentier pitted, but Carpentier retook it when Andretti made his stop. Lap 88 saw the start of the final stops, again with Brack leading the way as his surviving teammate Bruno Junqueira ground to a halt before turn 4. Less than ten laps later another Toyota failed and Christian Fittipaldi was left with the long walk back to the pits. Carpentier holds out his final stop some 14 laps after Brack started the fourth stops and holds a 20 second lead over Andretti upon resuming. Andretti closed during Carpentier's out lap but never got closer than ten seconds. Tracy hung on to third while Kenny Brack would be the only Ganassi car to take the chequer, and the first Toyota in fourth. Alex Tagliani completed the great result for the Forsythe team with fifth place ahead of Jimmy Vasser.

With Carpentier not being a significant player in the championship race, the positions have not altered, with da Matta still 50 points clear of a tight bunch of Junqueira, Franchitti, Michel Jourdain Jr and now Carpentier. In two weeks' time the series is back on the streets of Canada, this time in Vancouver.

Result of FedEx CART Championship Series, Round 9, Cleveland, Ohio, United States:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Patrick Carpentier    Reynard-Ford
 2.  Michael Andretti      Lola-Honda
 3.  Paul Tracy            Lola-Honda
 4.  Kenny Brack           Lola-Toyota
 5.  Alex Tagliani         Reynard-Ford
 6.  Jimmy Vasser          Lola-Ford
 7.  Tora Takagi           Reynard-Toyota
 8.  Tony Kanaan           Lola-Honda
 9.  Michel Jourdain Jr    Lola-Ford
10.  Shinji Nakano         Lola-Honda

Standings: Cristiano da Matta 120, Bruno Junqueira 70, Dario Franchitti 64, Patrick Carpentier 62, Michel Jourdain Jr 62, Kenny Brack 60, Christian Fittipaldi 58, Michael Andretti 52, Alex Tagliani 52, Scott Dixon 52 etc.


German CART Race Cancelled

The German 500 CART series race due to take place in Lausitz on September 21 has been cancelled.

EuroSpeedway Lausitz's insolvency filing earlier this month was the main reason for the race being cancelled, said CART on its official website on Wednesday.

"Germany is an important market and we are disappointed the race will not be held," said CART president Christopher R Pook. "But the only proposed solution was basically for us to write a large cheque on top of the financial commitment we had already made. We will shift our European focus to other markets."

England is due to stage a CART series race at Rockingham in Northampton on September 14.

Last week, CART vice president of promoter operations Tim Mayer met EuroSpeedway officials, the receiver and local government officials in Germany but was unable to save the race, CART said. Last year's inaugural German 500 race was marred when twice former CART champion and former Formula One driver Alex Zanardi of Italy had both his legs amputated after a high-speed crash.

Report provided by Reuters


  MotoGP

Who Else But Rossi?

Valentino Rossi smiles as he holds holding the winner's trophyValentino Rossi celebrated his 100th GP start with yet another win to make it seven from eight for the year as he put one hand on the 2002 title, despite a fall during Friday morning practice which saw him suffer bruising and a small fracture in his left thumb. Rossi's cause was ironically helped when teammate Tohru Ukawa also had a crash on Friday morning, Ukawa having a huge crash in the Craner curves, the team and Ukawa deciding to sit out the rest of the weekend, leaving Rossi's closest title contender sitting on the sidelines.

Polesitter Valentino Rossi was beaten into turn one by Carlos Checa on the four-stroke Yamaha, Mx Biaggi on the other four-stroke Yamaha just behind Rossi as Kenny Roberts led the rest of the field. As the completed lap one the field began to string out, the top seven breaking away from the rest. By the end of lap two the top three had broken away from the rest of the pack, a gap that only got bigger.

Up front Checa was being pushed hard by Rossi, who seemed to be biding his time as he had several looks at passing Checa but ducked back in behind him, while Biaggi sat on Rossi's tail for a short while but was soon dropped off by the leading duo after four laps, Biaggi sitting a second or so behind the leading duo, occasionally catching up but soon dropping back again. Further back in the field Alex Barros was up to fourth place after making a poor start.

Rossi continued to pressure Checa for the lead and continued to look to pass as the race passed half distance, Biaggi dropping further back, putting him out of contention for the win as Checa tried to break a four year stretch without a win. Further back in the field there were several close battles, as up front Rossi looked even harder for a way past as they ran lap 18. As they rounded the final hairpin Checa lost the front end of the bike and slid off the track. He remounted but soon retired.

Valentino RossiThis handed the lead to Rossi, who with a comfortable enough lead over Biaggi went on to complete the rest of the race to take the win, Biaggi finished two seconds behind in second with Barros the only other rider in the same race as them finishing third, as Abe in fourth finished over 22 seconds behind Rossi, while Abe was six seconds clear of Jacque in fifth.

In series news, it was announced before the start of the weekend that Garry McCoy had signed for 2003 to stay with the Red Bull team, which is still yet to decide what bikes it will use next year, while the Proton KR team has announced plans for a V5 challenger for next season.

Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 8, Donington Park, Great Britain:

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Valentino Rossi       Honda RC211V
 2.  Max Biaggi            Yamaha YZR M1
 3.  Alex Barros           Honda NSR500
 4.  Norick Abe            Yamaha YZR500
 5.  Olivier Jacque        Yamaha YZR500
 6.  Sete Gibernau         Suzuki GSVR
 7.  Daijiro Katoh         Honda NSR500
 8.  John Hopkins          Yamaha YZR500
 9.  Nobuatsu Aoki         Proton KR3
10.  Shinya Nakano         Yamaha YZR500

Standings: Valentino Rossi 195, Tohru Ukawa 108, Max Biaggi 89, Alex Barros 87, Carlos Checa and Norick Abe 72, Loris Capirossi 65, Daijiro Kato 60 etc.


  NASCAR

Harvick Happy Again

Kevin Harvick won his first race for 2002 as he held off Jeff Gordon despite a mid-race spin which could have seen his race end in the wall. Instead Harvick saved the car, ending the spin on the grass, continuing on to later take the lead and hold off Jeff Gordon, who continues to run well but just can't quite break through to take the win. Third was Tony Stewart in his Pontiac, a sight which may not be seen much longer as the Joe Gibbs team is switching to Chevrolet for 2003 and may even race Chevrolets at Indianapolis later this month. Series leader Sterling Marlin saw his lead shrink again as he finished a lap down in sixteenth place after a pit infringement cost him a lap.

Kevin Harvick with the winner's trophyPolesitter Ryan Newman kept the lead at the start, which was soon followed by a caution on lap four when Ward Burton spun on the front straight. The race got back underway but was soon under yellow again when Ward Burton left his driveshaft on the track. A lot of the drivers in the second half of the pack took the opportunity to take a pit stop at this time.

The race restarted on lap 21 with Newman still in the lead, and began to edge away from the field initially. However, as the race closed in on fifty laps Bill Elliott reeled in Newman. Elliott was then passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr who passed Newman down the back straight on lap 57 to take the race lead as the field began to take green flag stops for tyres and fuel. After all the stops were completed Tony Stewart emerged as the new leader of the race.

Things stayed fairly stable as the field began the second round of pit stops around lap 120, Stewart pitting and handing the lead to Jarrett for a few laps before he pitted as the pit stops continued. Lap 139 and the yellow flags were waving once again thanks to Michael Waltrip's car expiring in a cloud of smoke. Most cars had made their stops except for Jeff Green and Mark Martin who were running at the front of the field as the caution flew. Several cars dived for the pits, though these didn't include Earnhardt Jr who became the race leader again. Sterling Marlin suffered badly as he was penalised a lap for a pit infringement, as only 26 cars remained on the lead lap due to the long green run.

The race restarted with Earnhardt Jr stretching his lead out to several seconds before the caution lights flashed again for debris on the track as they approached three quarter distance. By this point in the race Jeff Gordon had marched his way up to fourth place. Most of the field pitted, Matt Kenseth winning the race on pit road to be the new leader. The race soon restarted with Kenseth being passed immediately by Earnhardt Jr, though the caution lights were flashing again a few laps later when Elliott Sadler spun on the front straight.

Winner Kevin Harvick battles with Joe NemechekThe race was once again underway on lap 196 but only two laps later the yellows were out again as Kevin Harvick got loose down the front straight, finally spinning in turns one and two. Other cars took avoiding action, some ending up with damage to their cars. The race restarted on lap 202 with Earnhardt Jr just leading Newman, Newman eventually moving ahead down the front straight on lap 209, Stewart also passing Earnhardt a few laps later.

Lap 239 was a busy one. Jimmie Johnson continued his great runs in his rookie year as he passed Earnhardt Jr for third through turns one and two. Elsewhere Stewart was right on Newman's tail as Newman suffered a flat front right tyre. Also at the same time Joe Nemechek had a right front go down through turn one, sending him hard into the wall and bringing out the caution. The question was could anyone make the distance without stopping, and whether these drivers would stop for tyres as the rest of the cars headed for pit lane.

Having studied the Busch race the day before, most cars who needed to pit took two or no tyres, while those who had enough fuel stayed on the track, Kevin Harvick the new leader ahead of Jeff Gordon and his namesake Robby Gordon, Kurt Busch in fourth the best of the drivers who pitted, while Ryan Newman managed to hang on to the lead lap in 14th after his flat tyre.

The race restarted on lap 248 with Kurt Busch taking third from Robby Gordon immediately as Harvick and Jeff Gordon edged away from the rest of the field. Busch lost third to Stewart on lap 255 down the front straight as he attempted to run down the two leading Chevrolets, with Johnson taking fourth from Busch four laps later. Despite their older tyres, Harvick and Gordon were as fast as the other drivers on fresher tyres, Harvick taking the win just ahead of Gordon, followed by Stewart in third and young guns Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman in the next three places.

Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 18, ChicagoLand Speedway, Illinois, United States:

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  Kevin Harvick      Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 2.  Jeff Gordon        Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 3.  Tony Stewart       Pontiac Grand Prix
 4.  Jimmie Johnson     Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 5.  Ryan Newman        Ford Taurus
 6.  Kurt Busch         Ford Taurus
 7.  Bill Elliott       Dodge Intrepid
 8.  Robby Gordon       Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 9.  Mark Martin        Ford Taurus
10.  Dale Earnhardt Jr  Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Standings: Sterling Marlin 2483, Mark Martin 2434, Jimmie Johnson 2394, Jeff Gordon 2388, Tony Stewart 2326, Rusty Wallace 2312, Ricky Rudd 2274, Bill Elliott 2230, Kurt Busch 2223, Matt Kenseth 2219 etc.


  Superbikes

Bayliss and Edwards Split It Stateside

Colin Edwards finally beat Troy Bayliss in a straight-out fight in the second race at Laguna Seca. Unfortunately for Edwards, Bayliss did a better job in race one as he and teammate Ruben Xaus finished 1-2, demoting Edwards to third after leading most of the race. Nevertheless Colin Edwards's special 'Captain America' livery did the trick as Bayliss failed to win both races and only expanded the gap between them by four points as the duo continued to show why they are the champions of the last two seasons.

Polesitter Colin Edwards won the start and led the field ahead of Troy Bayliss, Neil Hodgson, Eric Bostrom, Noriyuki Haga and Nicky Hayden. Going up the hill on lap one Haga ran wide and allowed Hayden and Ben Bostrom through. At the end of lap one the top three had edged away slightly from the chasing pack. Into the corkscrew on lap two Hayden and Ben Bostrom passed Eric Bostrom. Haga followed through down the pit straight at the end of lap two and was followed by Ruben Xaus, Eric Bostrom dropping from fourth to eighth in half a lap.

Completing lap four there was a pack of five fighting at the front, Haga having already passed Ben Bostrom for fifth earlier in the race. One lap later and Xaus was past Bostrom as well, and began chasing down the leading pack. Lap six saw Haga move up to fourth as he amzingly passed Hayden at the downhill left just after the corkscrew. Haga tried the same move a lap later on Hodgson but failed to make it stick (just!). Early on lap nine Haga moved to third when Hodgson ran wide on two consecutive corners, as Edwards still held on just ahead of Bayliss at the front.

Lap ten and a small error by Bayliss at the Corkscrew saw Haga repeat his earlier move at the following left hander, taking second place in a seemingly relentless charge. Bayliss passed him back at the entry to the hairpin at the start of the next lap but Haga turned inside of him on the exit to take the place straight back.

It took Haga a few laps to catch Edwards but when he got to Edwards he attacked immediately. At the start of lap 13, Edwards ran in a little too hot into the hairpin, and Haga saw his chance, turning inside Edwards. Unfortunately it was too much for his Aprilia's tyres, with the Aprilia lowsiding off the track, just missing Edwards on the way out. The damage sustained was enough to end Haga's day soon after. At about this time Xaus finally made it ahead of Nicky Hayden.

The top five ran as a pack as they passed half distance, with Edwards leading Bayliss, Hodgson, Xaus and Hayden, Hayden just hanging on to the lead pack. As they completed lap 16 Xaus passed Hodgson down the pit straight to move further up the field, right on to the tail of his teammate Bayliss who he started to attack. Bayliss decided this would be a good time to look seriously at passing Edwards, otherwise Xaus would be through instead.

Finally the top three made a small break on Hodgson and Hayden, as the two Ducatis attacked Edwards on the Honda. Hayden dived inside Hodgson at the end of lap 20 to take fourth, Hodgson passing him back down the pit straight, Hayden passing him again into the hairpin at the end of the pit straight.

Meanwhile, up front Bayliss dived down the inside at the hairpin at the start of lap 22, only for Edwards to turn inside him and take the place back on the exit. Bayliss looked and poked for the next couple of laps before finally on lap 24 Edwards made a mistake around the back of the circuit, allowing Bayliss to pass Edwards and Xaus pass both of them, though Bayliss roared pass Xaus up the hill to the corkscrew. Over the remaining laps the two Ducatis of Bayliss and Xaus edged away from Edwards who just held on ahead of Hayden.

Race two began without Ruben Xaus who crashed on the warmup lap. Eric Bostrom made a good start and a demon late braking move into the hairpin to take the lead at the start of the race, followed by Edwards and Bayliss, while Hodgson and Haga battled hard for fourth, Hodgson winning out and Haga dropping to eighth as Eric Bostrom opened up a small lead. By the end of lap two Haga was seventh, and one lap later he was fifth as Edwards had some serious looks up the inside of Bostrom.

Finally on lap five Edwards passed Bostrom for the lead down the pit straight. Around the back of the circuit Hodgson took third from Bayliss, making it a bad lap for Bayliss. Lap six saw Bayliss try to pass Hodgson unsuccessfully around the outside at the hairpin at the end of the pit straight, Bayliss making the pass at the end of the lap when Hodgson was too aggressive into the final hairpin and was baulked. Bayliss began to pressure Bostrom who was still hanging on to the tail of leader Edwards, as a train of bikes battled for the second race in a row.

Lap ten saw Bayliss finally pass Bostrom down the pit straight and head off after Edwards. It also saw Hodgson lose a place as he went in way too deep at the final hairpin, and was lucky to stay upright, almost allowing Haga to get past Bostrom down the next straight. Lap 14 and Hodgson passed Haga back to regain fourth after his earlier mistake. At the final hairpin Hayden took a dive down the inside of Haga, lost the front end and took them both into the gravel, ending Haga's race and losing Hayden several positions.

Meanwhile Hodgson closed in on Eric Bostrom for third place, as Bayliss really attacked Edwards. A mistake at the Corkscrew on lap 18 took some pressure off Edwards while putting it on Bayliss as he fell back towards Bostrom and Hodgson, Hodgson moving to third less than a lap later. Bayliss caught Edwards but Hodgson began to attack him at the same time, so none of the leading three could take a rest.

Finally, at the same place as he took the lead in race one, Bayliss passed Edwards on lap 23 in race two, though unlike race one, he didn't hold on to it for long, going too deep into the final hairpin allowing Edwards to get alongside and take the inside line all the way down to the hairpin to take the lead back from Bayliss. Bayliss wasn't giving up though, getting almost alongside up the hill on laps 25 and 26 but was unable to make it through.

At the end of lap 26 Bayliss wound too much power on at the exit of the final hairpin, allowing Hodgson through to second, shoring up Edwards's position in the lead. Bayliss knew he couldn't win but he still wanted second, taking second place on the entry to the hairpin at the end of the pit straight only to lose it to Hodgson on the exit but by hanging around the outside through the hairpin was able to take second back on the run to the next right hander. Hodgson hadn't given up taking second back on the entry to the next left hander, Bayliss taking second back on the exit of the same corner! That was how they stayed, Edwards winning ahead of the duelling Bayliss and Hodgson, with Eric and Ben Bostrom not that far behind.

Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 9; Laguna Seca, California, United States:

Race One

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Troy Bayliss          Ducati 998 F 02
 2.  Ruben Xaus            Ducati 998 F 02
 3.  Colin Edwards         Honda VTR 1000 SP2
 4.  Nicky Hayden          Honda RC51
 5.  Neil Hodgson          Ducati 998 F 01
 6.  Eric Bostrom          Kawasaki ZX-7RR
 7.  Aaron Yates           Suzuki GSX-R750 Y
 8.  Ben Bostrom           Ducati 998 F 02
 9.  James Toseland        Ducati 998 F 01
10.  Mat Mladin            Suzuki GSX-R750 Y

Race Two

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Colin Edwards         Honda VTR 1000 SP2
 2.  Troy Bayliss          Ducati 998 F 02
 3.  Neil Hodgson          Ducati 998 F 01
 4.  Eric Bostrom          Kawasaki ZX-7RR
 5.  Ben Bostrom           Ducati 998 F 02
 6.  James Toseland        Ducati 998 F 01
 7.  Pierfrancesco Chili   Ducati 998 RS
 8.  Aaron Yates           Suzuki GSX-R750 Y
 9.  Doug Chandler         Ducati 998 R
10.  Chris Walker          Kawasaki ZX-7RR

Standings: Troy Bayliss 405, Colin Edwards 352, Neil Hodgson 221, Ben Bostrom 184, Noriyuki Haga 182, Ruben Xaus 172, James Toseland 124, Chris Walker 108 etc.


  DTM

Bernd's Back

Bernd Schneider has always looked like the driver best able to take the series fight to Laurent Aiello's rampant Audi. At the Europseedway, so it would prove. DTM's only triple champion made a brilliant start from his second grid position to take control of the race. After a perfect pitstop Schneider had too much on the field and won as he pleased, along the way taking second place in the championship from Mattias Ekstrom and cutting Aiello's lead to 21 points.

Bernd Schneider leads Laurent AielloThe weekend started in Aiello's favour though, the Team Abt Sportsline driver taking pole position by two tenths of a second over Schneider's Mercedes. Abt Sportsline dominated qualifying with Aiello on pole, Christian Abt third, Mattias Ekstrom fourth, Karl Wendlinger seventh and the team junior car of Martin Tomczyk in fifth. The best of the Opels was Joachim Winkelhock in eighth.

Aiello then took a lights to flag victory in the damp qualifying race. On a drying track Aiello was too good as Abt got the better of Schneider to take second into the first corner, with Tomczyk also sneaking through to third. Left on the grid though was Jean Alesi, the former Formula One star stalling. Schneider recovered third quickly and Ekstrom quickly put Tomczyk back to fifth. Schneider moved up to second on the second lap and they stayed that way to the finish with Abt third ahead of Ekstrom, whilst Tomczyk got the better of a three car battle with Marcel Fassler and Winkelhock.

Race two began with stallers again, Abt and Wendlinger giving the Abt Sportsline the first hint that things wouldn't go their way. Up front Aiello outjumped Schneider but the Mercedes outdragged the Audi to the first corner with the sensational Opel of Joachim Winkelhock. Schneider settled into the lead from Aiello, Winkelhock, Ekstrom, Fassler and Tomczyk. Alesi, recovering from his awful start clashes with Uwe Alzen ended with Alzen off track and out. Winkelhock was quickly under fire, dropping to fifth by lap five.

Abt reached seventh as the pitstops began. Aiello pitted a lap later and was held up as the stop was slow, dropping him to fourth behind Schneider, Ekstrom and Fassler. Abt was now sixth but soon started attacking Winkelhock in a battle that would last till race's end. Manuel Reuter pushed past the pair of them to finish fifth as the top four settled after the pitstops. Abt and Alesi finished seventh and eighth despite theire woeful starts, but the wiinner was Schneider, his first win for the season.

Result of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 6, Lausitzring, Germany:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Bernd Schneider       Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 2.  Mattias Ekstrom       Audi TT-R
 3.  Marcel Fassler        Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 4.  Laurent Aiello        Audi TT-R
 5.  Manuel Reuter         Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 6.  Joachim Winkelhock    Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 7.  Christian Abt         Audi TT-R
 8.  Jean Alesi            Mercedes Benz CLK-DTM
 9.  Martin Tomczyk        Audi TT-R
10.  Timo Scheider         Opel Astra V8 Coupe

Standings: Laurent Aiello 54, Bernd Schneider 33, Mattias Ekstrom 29, Jean Alesi 20, Christian Abt 13, Marcel Fassler 8, Alain Menu 6, Timo Scheider, Christijan Albers and Martin Tomczyk 5 etc.


  ETCC

Dirk Muller And BMW Dethrone Alfa

In front of a huge home crowd, Dirk Muller took his BMW to a pair of hard fought victories at Oschersleben over teammate Jorg Muller. Rickard Rydell took his Volvo to a pair of thirds on the first weekend of the new weight and rev limits. The best Alfa Romeo result was a fourth for series leader Fabrizio Giovanardi. It's far too early to suggest that Alfa may have been slugged too much, but they were soundly beaten.

Double winner Dirk MullerTom Coronel took advantage of the new regulations to take his first ETCC pole ahead of Fredrik Ekblom, both in BMWs. It was a very different look front row. The Mullers were next, Dirk ahead of Jorg with Rydell fifth in the first non-BMW. Jordi Gene was next ahead of the first of the two factory Alfas, Giovanardi ahead of Nicola Larini. Of the other manufacturers, Tommy Rustad's Nissan was twelfth, Salvatore Tavano's Honda was 14th and the new Ford Focus of Thomas Klenke was 17th.

Coronel threw away his pole as Ekblom charged through into the lead followed by Dirk Muller. Further behind there was chaos as James Hanson, Paolo Ruberti, Tom Ferrier and Salvatore Tavano clashed. Ferrier and Tavano would be out for the weekend, while Hanson limped to the pits. Ruberti was able to rejoin the race immediately. Dirk Muller put the blowtorch on Ekblom, pressuring hard ahead of Coronel while Jorg Muller and Rydell traded places a couple of times. Jorg Muller managed to break away from Rydell, and closed quickly on Coronel. Rydell rejoined the battle, bringing Jordi Gene and Fabrizio Giovanardi with him. It couldn't last and there was contact with Coronel spearing off the circuit. The bad sportsmanship flag was shown to Jorg Muller. Ruberti meanwhile had to retire after a second incident, this time with Eric Cayrolle.

Up front and Dirk Muller took the lead after hitting and spinning Ekblom when Muller out braked himself, also collecting a bad sportsmanship flag for his troubles. Jorg Muller caught his 'brother' and Dirk was forced to defend. Dirk hung on to take his first win of the season. Rydell picked his way through the Mullers' victims to take third whilst Giovanardi took fourth ahead of the flying Fabrizio de Simone and Larini.

Close racing throughout the field as Larini tries to hold off the charging packWith the top six reversed for race 2 de Simone was able to outdrag Larini to take the early lead, whilst the Mullers were quickly past Rydell and Giovanardi. Dirk Muller and Larini were soon embroiled in a fierce battle. Within a couple of laps it was a three-way battle with Jorg Muller joining in. After being shuffled back by Jorg, Dirk Muller took the pair of them with a brilliant move. Larini and Jorg Muller continued to battle hard and soon both lose another spot as Rickard Rydell duplicates Dirk Muller's move. Jorg finally disposes of Larini, but having lost those positions he now takes fourth instead of second. Meanwhile Dirk Muller had caught de Simone and passed him to take the lead. A lap later and Jorg Muller and Rydell catch de Simone with Muller quickly through to second. Rydell would take longer, and have to tap the BMW to do it, sending it spinning, allowing Jordi Gene through as well.

Dirk Muller though had enough in the tank to cover the advancing threat of Jorg Muller to take his second ETCC victory. Rydell was third ahead of Gene, the recovering de Simone and Larini. Giovanardi was a miserable 11th and out of the points. The Alfas still maintain a 1-2 championship position but Dirk Muller is now within striking distance of Larini's second position.

Result of European Touring Car Championship, Round 6, Oschersleben, Germany:

Race One

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Dirk Muller          BMW 320i
 2.  Jorg Muller          BMW 320i
 3.  Rickard Rydell       Volvo S60
 4.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 5.  Fabrizio de Simone   BMW 320i
 6.  Nicola Larini        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 7.  Jordi Gene           BMW 320i
 8.  Luis Villamil        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 9.  Eric Cayrolle        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10.  Tommy Rustad         Nissan Primera

Race Two

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Dirk Muller          BMW 320i
 2.  Jorg Muller          BMW 320i
 3.  Rickard Rydell       Volvo S60
 4.  Jordi Gene           BMW 320i
 5.  Fabrizio de Simone   BMW 320i
 6.  Nicola Larini        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 7.  Luis Villamil        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 8.  Tom Coronel          BMW 320i
 9.  Fredrik Ekblom       BMW 320i
10.  Tommy Rustad         Nissan Primera

Standings: Fabrizio Giovanardi 84, Nicola Larini 66, Dirk Muller 53, Jorg Muller 45, Rickard Rydell 32, Frederik Ekblom 9, Paolo Ruberti, Jordi Gene & James Hanson 5, Fabrizio de Simone 4 etc.


  BTCC

Muller's Revenge

Yvan Muller has not had the best of seasons. While the Vauxhall team are obviously a class ahead of the rest of the field, James Thompson, and more particularly Yvan Muller have not been able to capitalise as well as perhaps they should have. Muller took the feature race win, after failing to finish the sprint race, to close within 20 points of his teammate. The other manufacturers continue to make progress with Andy Priaulx's Honda second ahead of Anthony Reid's MG.

Feature race winner Yvan MullerJames Thompson led flag to flag in the sprint race as retirements marred the frontrunners. Paul O'Neill, Tim Harvey and Tom Chilton all caught fire, Matt Neal had a suspension breakage, Priaulx speared off, Aaron Slight and David Leslie clashed briefly, Reid punctured, Warren Hughes clouted a barrier, Neal, Harvey and Gareth Howell crashed together late in the race. It all conspired to let Thompson win as he chose ahead of the recovering Leslie with the steady Colin Turkington taking third.

Thompson got the jump in the feature only to be blown away by Muller, who was not disadvantaged by Thompson's 66 kilograms of performance penalty. Muller then drove largely a lonely race but was unable to run at full pace because of an overheating engine, then a pitstop which was too crowded delayed him further allowing Andy Priaulx to get away in the lead after the stops. Priaulx though had a rubbing tyre, and the smoke was clouding his vision. Muller pounced when the Honda was delayed by a class car and ran away to win from there. Anthony Reid and Dan Eaves drove consistent runs to be third and fourth while Thompson retired with engine dramas. Colin Turkington completed the best BTCC weekend of his life with fifth place, just behind Eaves's Peugeot.

After the races had finished BTCC organisers applied points penalties to Warren Hughes, Paul O'Neill and Phil Bennett for breaching the engine regulations. There is a five-point penalty for using any engine beyond the four assigned at the start of the season. This is Bennett's second engine penalty.

Muller closes on his teammate while Matt Neal had a miserable weekend - pointless, he has fallen into Muller's clutches with only three points separating Muller from second position.

Result of British Touring Car Championship, Rounds 11 and 12, Croft, Great Britain:

Round Eleven

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  James Thompson     Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 2.  David Leslie       Proton Impian
 3.  Colin Turkington   MG ZS
 4.  Andy Priaulx       Honda Civic Type-R
 5.  Warren Hughes      MG ZS
 6.  Alan Morrison      Honda Civic Type-R
 7.  Aaron Slight       Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 8.  Carl Breeze        Peugeot 406 Coupe
 9.  Dan Eaves          Peugeot 406 Coupe
10.  Norman Simon       BMW 320i

Round Twelve

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  Yvan Muller        Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 2.  Andy Priaulx       Honda Civic Type-R
 3.  Anthony Reid       MG ZS
 4.  Dan Eaves          Peugeot 406 Coupe
 5.  Colin Turkington   MG ZS
 6.  Paul O'Neill       Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 7.  David Leslie       Proton Impian
 8.  Phil Bennett       Proton Impian
 9.  Gareth Howell      MG ZS
10.  Aaron Slight       Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Standings: James Thompson 118, Matt Neal 101, Yvan Muller 98, Anthony Reid 74, Andy Priaulx 66, Paul O'Neill 65, Warren Hughes and David Leslie 55, Dan Eaves 37, Tim Harvey 35 etc.


  FIA GT

Scuderia Italia Threepeat

A third consecutive victory for BMS Scuderia Italia's Ferrari 550 Maranello has seen its drivers Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz jump to the lead of the GT Championship, taking it from the Lister Storm team of Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer who have held it all season. The Lister pairing made it as hard as they could, finishing only a second behind the Ferrari.

The race winning 550 Maranello of Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis DeletrazPiccini made a poor start to be fifth at the end of lap one but swiftly climbed up the order so that when Deletraz climbed aboard the car had risen to second behind the Lister, which had led most of the race. The Lister team rolled the dice at the final stop only changing tyres on one side of the car to shorten the pitstop but it wouldn't be enough. The final hour of the race was dramatic as Deletraz, Campbell-Walter and Marc Duez battled, Duez in the Belmondo Viper finishing third. The Viper faded towards the end of the race on tyres well past their prime.

The second Larbre Viper of Vosse and Rosenblad came home fourth ahead of the second of the Carsport Vipers (Gollin and Cappellari). The lead Larbre car of Bouchut and Terrien had transmission failure and failed to finish while Kumpen and Hezemans in the Carsport car finished 19th after being slowed first by a puncture, then the car refused to fire after the second pitstop. The second Lister got home for a rare finish in sixth position ahead of the second of the Belmondo Vipers.

In N-GT Stephane Ortelli retired his Porsche from the lead battle allowing a fight to develop between the JMB Ferrari of Bertolini and Grabagnati and the Porsche teams from Peter and RWS. In the final stint Philip Peter gradually hunted down Antonio Garcia to take the class win with the Ferrari fading to third ahead of a gaggle of 996 GT3 Porsches.

Result of FIA GT Championship, Round 6, Oschersleben, Germany:

Pos  Drivers                               Car
 1.  Andrea Piccini/Jean-Denis Deletraz    Ferrari 550 Maranello
 2.  Jamie Campbell-Walter/                Lister Storm
     Nicolaus Springer
 3.  Fabio Babini/Marc Duez                Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 4.  Vincent Vosse/Carl Rosenblad          Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 5.  Fabrizio Gollin/Luca Cappellari       Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 6.  Bobby Verdon-Roe/Paul Knapfield       Lister Storm
 7.  Paul Belmondo/Claude-Yves Gosselin    Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 8.  Toto Wolff/Philipp Peter              Porsche 996 GT3-R (N-GT)
 9.  Antonio Garcia/Horst Felbermayr Jr    Porsche 996 GT3-R (N-GT)
10.  Andrea Garbagnati/Andrea Bertolini    Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)

Standings: Jean-Denis Deletraz and Andrea Piccini 31, Jamie Cambell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer 30, Christophe Bouchut and David Terrien 24, Mike Hezemans, Anthony Kumpen, Vincent Vosse, Marc Duez and Fabio Babini 16 etc.

N-GT: Christian Pescatori and Andrea Montermini 35, Stephane Ortelli 30, Toto Wolff 26, Andrea Garbagnati and Andrea Bertolini 21 etc.


  Briefs

  • The FIA Sportscar series has cancelled two of its rounds. The already once moved Imola date is now no more, along with the Rockingham round in England. The series is looking for at least one replacement date in Europe. The Rockingham date will not be replaced however. Rockingham has issued a press release expressing its regret at having to cancel the round after fears the big Sportscars would not be able to adhere to Rockingham's self-imposed noise limits.

  • Paul Tracy, not the winner of the Indy 500After considering the appeal of Team Green, IRL President and CEO Tony George has upheld the existing result, confirming Helio Castroneves's victory in this year's Indianapolis 500. In a statement released by IRL it said (Tony) George determined that the decision by Indy Racing League officials as to the placement of the race cars at the commencement of the yellow caution period immediately after an accident on Lap 199 "is a judgement call and is not protestable nor appealable under the Rule Book."

    George also concluded that League officials were correct in determining that Castroneves' No. 3 car was ahead of Paul Tracy's No. 26 car on Lap 199 when the yellow caution period commenced, and that ample evidence supports that determination.

    Barry Green and Paul Tracy have both expressed their disappointment with the decision but will not be taking the issue further.

  • EuroBOSS series competitor Austrian Frederico Careca has been killed during the EuroBOSS series visit to Most in the Czech Republic. Careca, 58, had taken the lead of the race in his 1995 Arrows FA16 Cosworth when the car clipped a kerb, becoming airborne and rolling several times before hitting a barrier. He sustained serious neck and chest injuries and died after reaching hospital. This is the second death involving a historic Formula One car this year after Spencer Flack was killed in a 1959 BRM P25 at Phillip Island in Australia.

  • The Oschersleben ETCC round saw new regulations come into force for the first time. The parity adjustments saw front wheel drive cars, including the rampant Alfa Romeos, slugged with a 15-kilogram weight penalty. BMW meanwhile dropped 20 kilograms and gained and extra 500 revs on the control rev limiter in a concession for six cylinder engines. Volvo were seemingly left out in the cold getting the same weight slug as Alfa Romeo, but were given a 250 rev increase being a five cylinder car. Neither Nissan, Honda nor the newly appeared Ford Focus gained anything, being forced to wear the same penalties given to Alfa Romeo.

  • Ryan BriscoeToyota has made the decision to pull its Formula One test driver Ryan Briscoe out of the struggling Formula 3000 team Nordic Racing. The defending series champions have struggled to make progress all year with handling appearing to be a major problem. Toyota will now place its young Australian in the German Formula 3 series, while Nordic has named Swede Thed Bjork as Zsolt Baumgartner's new teammate.

  • The Indy Racing League has gotten in early with the announcement of their 2003 calendar. The calendar has been expanded from 15 to 16 events. Ostensibly the increase is to allow for the new race at the Honda-owned facility of Motegi in Japan. Fontana has been moved to the end of the season to make way for the Motegi event. Nazareth too has been moved to later in the season. Four evening races feature in the calendar with two at Texas, plus Nashville and Richmond events.

    Date           Circuit
    March 2        Homestead-Miami Speedway
    March 23       Phoenix International Raceway 
    April 13       Twin Ring Motegi 
    May 25         Indianapolis Motor Speedway 
    June 7         Texas Motor Speedway 
    June 15        Pikes Peak International Raceway
    June 28        Richmond International Raceway
    July 6         Kansas Speedway
    July 19        Nashville Superspeedway
    July 27        Michigan International Speedway
    August 10      Gateway International Raceway
    August 17      Kentucky Speedway
    August 24      Nazareth Speedway
    September 7    Chicagoland Speedway
    September 21   California Speedway
    October 12     Texas Motor Speedway
    

  • NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing has made the decision to change manufacturers. The Pontiac team though will remain 'in house' as a General Motors team by moving to Chevrolet rather than take the more dramatic switch to Ford or Dodge. The JGR team runs Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart in NASCAR's Winston Cup as well as a Busch Grand National team and a Craftsman Truck. Stewart currently lies fifth in the series with Labonte in 21st.


  Upcoming Events Calendar

  • July 20 - International Formula 3000 Championship, Round 8; Magny-Cours, France
  • July 20 - Indy Racing League, Round 10; Nashville Superspeedway, United States
  • July 21 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 9; Sachsenring, Germany
  • July 21 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 19; Loudon, New Hampshire, United States
  • July 21 - British Formula 3 Championship, Round 9; Rockingham, Great Britain
  • July 21 - American Le Mans Series, Round 6; RKF Stadium Circuit, Washington DC, United States
  • July 21 - Formula Nippon Series, Round 5; Motegi, Japan
  • July 27 - International Formula 3000 Championship, Round 9; Hockenheim, Germany
  • July 28 - FedEx CART Championship Series, Round 10; Vancouver, Canada
  • July 28 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 20; Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania, United States
  • July 28 - World Superbike Championship, Round 10; Brands Hatch, Great Britain
  • July 28 - Indy Racing League, Round 11; Michigan Speedway, Michigan, United States
  • July 28 - British Touring Car Championship, Round 7; Snetterton, Great Britain
  • July 28 - V8Supercar Championship Series, Round 7; Oran Park, Australia


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Volume 8, Issue 29
July 17th 2002

Atlas F1 Exclusive

The Twelve Million Dollar Man
by Jane Nottage

Interview with Ross Brawn
by Will Gray

A Weekend with the Dennises
by Biranit Goren

Articles

Giancarlo Fisichella: Through the Visor
by Giancarlo Fisichella

Jo Ramirez: a Racing Man
by Jo Ramirez

French GP Preview

The French GP Preview
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Local History: French GP
by Doug Nye

France Facts, Stats and Memoirs
by Marcel Schot

Columns

The French & German GP Quiz
by Marcel Borsboom

Bookworm Critique
by Mark Glendenning

Elsewhere in Racing
by David Wright & Mark Alan Jones

The Grapevine
by Tom Keeble



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