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.
Down To The Wire As Kenseth Takes Phoenix
His engine needed to be refired after his first green flag pit stop, but it didn't stop Matt Kenseth taking his fifth win of the season after taking two tyres at the last caution and running on to the win. Kenseth in fact set his fastest lap on only two fresh tyres as he went on his way to take the win, consolidating his place in the top ten in points. With just one race remaining, the fight for the title is down to just two, Tony Stewart and Mark Martin, with Martin reducing the gap to ensure Stewart needs a 22nd place or higher finish next week if Martin can win and lead most laps at Homestead. The bad news for Martin is that in Stewart's three starts at the track, he has won twice.
The race restarted on lap 31, with Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon passing Robby Gordon one lap after the restart, Kurt Busch and Dave Blaney doing the same one lap further on. Four laps after the restart Earnhardt Jr was the leader again after passing Newman. Gordon soon came up to challenge Newman, and ran side-by-side lap after lap, but couldn't complete the pass. As these two battled, Blaney moved in, and then Mark Martin moved in to make it a four-way battle for second. Blaney eventually helped Newman to go back to second, before Blaney moved ahead of Gordon to third, and Newman a lap later for second. One lap later Gordon was ahead of Newman, and a few more saw Martin past as well.
After taking two tyres at the first stop, Kenseth was moving up and now running in fifth place, while points leader Tony Stewart was up to eighth after starting 16th as they passed one-quarter distance. After building a lead early in the run, Earnhardt's lead began to shrink, while at the same time Gordon closed in on Blaney for second place, eventually taking the place. Not long after lap 100, green flag stops began, Gordon taking the lead after the stops after Dale Earnhardt Jr ran out of fuel, dropping to sixth, Kenseth also running out of fuel and losing more time trying to fire the car in the pits.
Mark Martin and Tony Stewart were both moving up through the field, soon running fourth and sixth respectively, Martin moving up onto the tail of Jeff Gordon before battling side-by-side with him for the place. Also running well were Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr, in eighth and ninth despite both earlier running out of fuel. As they approached the second stops Gordon and Martin caught Wallace, running nose-to-tail and even side-by-side, while Stewart was up to fifth ahead of Sadler. After many laps of battling, both Gordon and Martin moved ahead of Wallace, Martin once again pushing hard to pass Gordon.
Not long after two-thirds distance the green flag stops began again. When all the stops were done, Busch was back in the lead ahead of Tony Stewart, though Gordon quickly demoted him to third and Kenseth a few laps later to fourth, while Mark Martin dropped to sixth after the stops but moved up to fifth as the laps passed by when he passed Stewart and battled with Blaney for fourth place, eventually taking the place. Up front Gordon closed in on leader Busch, but before he could look too hard for a way to pass him, there was another caution, on lap 259. It came out after Christian Fittipaldi, in his first Winston Cup race, hit the turn three wall hard thanks to contact from Jason Leffler.
Busch continued to slide back as firstly Mark Martin and then Dale Earnhardt Jr passed him over the next several laps, dropping him to sixth. Up front Kenseth ran clear of Wallace, going on to take the win. Wallace finished second from a fast-closing Jeff Gordon, with Mark Martin in fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr fifth after his earlier fuel problem, while Busch finished sixth just ahead of Dave Blaney after leading before the final stops.
Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 35 of 36, Phoenix International Raceway, Arizona, United States:
Standings: Tony Stewart 4691, Mark Martin 4602, Kurt Busch 4461, Jimmie Johnson and Rusty Wallace 4453, Jeff Gordon 4452, Ryan Newman 4438, Matt Kenseth 4389, Dale Jarrett 4292, Ricky Rudd 4217 etc.
Kiwi Warrior
The two enduros did not treat Greg Murphy kindly. The excitable New Zealander had his car run out of fuel at the Queensland 500 after the team took too great a strategy risk. Then at Bathurst, in the most controversial incident of the season, Murphy was asked to park the KMart Holden for five minutes (more than two laps) after a bungled pit stop put fuel all over pit lane. At his home circuit of Pukekohe, it all came back to him, and not even a race three puncture would deny Murphy with his third consecutive event win at the Auckland circuit.
The field couldn't complete a lap cleanly as a three car collision saw both Shell Falcons of Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson out for the duration. Local hero Radisich was reduced to a spectator for the weekend. The two teammates blamed another driver for the high speed incident but neither could name who.
Once the race did get under way there was no stopping the runaway series leader. Skaife was never headed and the HRT Commodore comfortably took the chequer after 36 laps of the fastest circuit the V8 Supercar series visit, Murphy second. The battle for third was decided when the Stone Brothers crew launched Ambrose ahead of the Holdens he was battling with and was able to keep Bright, Todd Kelly and Steven Richards at bay.
For the longer race two Skaife again got the jump to lead from Murphy, Bright, Todd Kelly, Steven Richards, Ambrose and Rick Kelly. Craig Lowndes was spun around at the hairpin in the pack by Russell Ingall, who copped a drivethrough penalty for his troubles. Todd Kelly was having trouble early, falling to Steven Richards then Ambrose in the opening laps. Besnard was in real trouble, stuck in the pits with the car jammed in gear.
With both Dean Canto and Larry Perkins bunkered at the hairpin and Cameron McLean limping around on three wheels, the Safety Car appeared, wrecking Skaife's lead. But Skaife was in trouble. The five litre Chevrolet V8 was now a V7 and the series leader pitted just as the safety car pulled off. After a brief attempt to diagnose the problem HRT pulled the pin.
At the restart Anthony Tratt inherited the lead briefly as the backmarker had yet to pit. He was quickly swamped as Murphy led the fastest cars past the pit-bound Falcon. As Skaife sat in pitlane revving his engine to try and diagnose, the crowd noise built up and overpowered the five litre V8 as Murphy led across the line for the first time.
Murphy bolted away to win. Bright won the fierce battle for second from Ambrose, the Kelly brothers, Todd ahead of Rick and the slowing Steven Richards who had suspension problems. Neil Crompton took seventh in his best result of the year ahead of Steven Johnson who had driven from last on the grid in his repaired Falcon.
Glenn Seton was spun in the back by Craig Baird and Anthony Tratt, with McLean hitting the rear of Seton trying to avoid the stationary Ford. The track surface was taking its toll on tyres with Besnard the first to visit the pits with a puncture. Murphy made his compulsory stop on lap 6 and bolted on a set of almost untouched tyres the team had been saving. For all intents and purposes the race was now over.
Steven Ellery slid off into the barriers as did Skaife. Skaife returned to the pits with a radiator full of mud and did not re-emerge. Brad Jones was leading on lap 17, with Jones yet to make his stop. Murphy was second ahead of Bright, but that wouldn't last long as HRT had their second engine failure for the weekend with Bright disappearing into a smoky white cloud near the hairpin. Lowndes too was out with a dud engine but Besnard was flying, taking Johnson and Longhurst in the same move at the esses.
Seton spun luridly after hitting the tyres in the esses. With the tyre barrier knocked clean away it exposed the tie down bolt the tyres were secured to. With the tyres now absent, several drivers started over running the kerbs but any chance of the officials taking action quickly became unnecessary as car after car started limping in to the pits with punctured and delaminated left side tyres. First Jason Bargwanna, then Russell Ingall and sensationally Greg Murphy. This allowed Ambrose to charge through into the lead. The most vocal of kerb hopping complainants, John Bowe, was also limping in having received his own kind of poetic justice.
As the race closed down Ford's race win was taken away when Ambrose blew a tyre. This gave the win to Todd Kelly. Larry Perkins had stormed through the field, taking second from Rick Kelly on the last lap at the hairpin. Murphy survived to finish fourth and take the round victory. Best Ford was Dean Canto, guesting in the Caterpillar Falcon with Paul Weel next ahead of Brad Jones, Cameron McLean and Max Wilson.
Murphy has now taken the point position from Bright in the five car battle for second position. With only Sandown's V8 Ultimate to run, there will be some desperate racing at the season ender.
Result of V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 12 of 13, Pukekohe, New Zealand:
Standings: Mark Skaife 2064, Greg Murphy 1403, Jason Bright 1376, Todd Kelly 1303, Steven Richards 1277, Marcos Ambrose 1258, Craig Lowndes 996, Russell Ingall 942, David Besnard 879, Garth Tander 858 etc.
V8 Supercar points distribution
Superbike Champion Edwards Joins Aprilia In MotoGP
By Simon Evans
World superbike champion Colin Edwards has switched to the rival MotoGP championship with Italian team Aprilia for next season. Edwards, 28, has signed a two-year deal with the team, a team spokesman told Reuters. He will be joined by another recruit from superbikes - Japan's Noriyuki Haga, 27, who finished fourth in last season's championship for Aprilia.
"I am really excited about this," Edwards told Reuters by telephone from Las Vegas, where he is enjoying a break. "I was a bit concerned that I didn't know the bike but I saw it in the last Grand Prix and I have now seen how it can perform. It is a great bike and I am really looking forward to riding it."
Edwards said Aprilia's track record in the sport was a major factor in his decision to join the Italian team. "These guys know how to win, they have won so many titles. I am the kind of guy who needs a company that expects him to win," added Edwards. Australian Bayliss has also joined the exodus to MotoGP and will race for Ducati next season alongside Italian Loris Capirossi.
The top category of grand prix motorcycling has been opened up to the bigger four-stroke bikes following the abolition of the old 500cc restriction for the start of last season.
Aprilia, who competed with one bike ridden by Frenchman Regis Laconi in MotoGP this year, will concentrate all their efforts on grand prix racing this year after pulling out of superbikes.
"I have always wanted the MotoGP project to go forward, in the hope that it will become a centre of technological and sporting excellence in Aprilia," said Aprilia president Ivano Beggio. "The results of the first year of development work on the bike will act as a launching pad towards greater competitiveness next season. The project has solid foundations and plenty of room for improvement, so it is hardly a surprise that we have decided to double our commitment next year."
Edwards will begin testing his new bike in Spain later this month and said he is eagerly looking forward to the challenge. "I can't sleep at the moment, I am just as excited as hell about getting on the bike."
Report provided by Reuters
Max Biaggi finally confirmed his 2003 plans and will race for Sito Pons semi-factory backed Honda team after signing a three year deal which involves Italian industrial giant Pramac. Biaggi will take over the team's Honda RC211V which Alex Barros was able to use to great effect towards the end of the season. In other Honda news Sete Gibernau will move from Suzuki to Honda along with Telefonica to become Daijiro Kato's teammate, while 2002 AMA Superbike champion Nicky Hayden will be Valentino Rossi's 2003 teammate. Tohru Ukawa's future at the moment is unclear, as is Shinya Nakano's - both may end up riding for satellite teams for their 2002 manufacturers. Meanwhile Aussies Andrew Pitt and Garry McCoy have been testing Kawasaki's Ninja and are expected to ride for the team in 2003.
NASCAR
Ryan Newman made it six poles for the season and set a new best for a rookie, holding onto the lead at the start, Dale Earnhardt Jr immediately on the move taking third on lap one, and second from John Andretti on lap three, Jeff Gordon following through to third a lap later as front row starter Andretti began to fade. Earnhardt continued his charge and took the lead as they began lap seven, Gordon again following through a lap later. Lap 28 and the first caution of the day came out after Jamie McMurray spun in turn four. The field dived for the pits, Newman winning the race off pit road from Robby Gordon, both taking two tyres, followed by the former leading duo of Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon.
Not long after this, on lap 133, there was another caution as contact between Scott Wimmer and Robby Gordon on the front straight saw Wimmer slam into the outside wall. The field came in and stopped again except for Kurt Busch, Busch now leading from Rusty Wallace, Elliott Sadler and Jeff Gordon, the race restarting on lap 139. Just four laps later on lap 143 the caution came out again for debris. The race was soon back to green on lap 146, Gordon taking third from Sadler one lap after the restart while Wallace pressured Busch for the lead before he fell back after getting sideways underneath Busch.
In dived the field to make what would hopefully be their final stops, Matt Kenseth and Rusty Wallace taking two tyres to be first and second on the road, Busch and Gordon taking the usual four to resume in third and fourth place, just ahead of title combatants Martin and Stewart. Lap 265 and it was green again, Kenseth sprinting away as the rest of the field got caught up in the lapped traffic. Further back Earnhardt Jr was moving up, Stewart waving him past to take sixth place, Blaney passing Stewart soon after, while Gordon, after a few laps running side-by-side with Busch, took third place from him.
Pos Driver Car
1. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
2. Rusty Wallace Ford Taurus
3. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
6. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
7. Dave Blaney Ford Taurus
8. Tony Stewart Pontiac Grand Prix
9. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
10. Elliott Sadler Ford Taurus
V8 Supercar
Qualifying king Mark Skaife did what he does and won pole position in the superpole session to start the first race on the front row alongside the Ford of David Besnard. Murphy was the quickest of the large group of New Zealanders in third with Marcos Ambrose fourth ahead of Jason Bright, Todd Kelly and the second of the 'locals' Steven Richards.
Skaife and Murphy pitted together on lap 7 while Ambrose was being held up while his team worked on the stricken Besnard car. Richards jumped up another spot as Bright stalled at his pitstop. The big winner though was Rick Kelly who moved up into the leading group. Skaife though was too good and was disappearing into the distance, Murphy at his heels.
The final race of the weekend had Murphy disappear into the middle distance pursued by team mate Kelly, then Bright, Ambrose, Steven Richards, Johnson with the two 00 Motorsport cars of Crompton and Lowndes next. Further back Jason Richards t-boned Brad Jones into a spin, ending the gradually building drive of the Team Kiwi car with a drivethrough penalty.
The Safety Car was out. David Besnard had struck the wall hard on the front straight. Something had broken, pitching the Falcon off the course. Craig Baird spun the Team Brock car at the hairpin. Crowning Bowe's bad day, he had nowhere to go and ran head on into the stationary Baird. Both cars would be out and the Safety Car was back while marshals attempted to remove the offending bolt.
Race One
Pos Driver Car
1. Mark Skaife Holden Commodore
2. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore
3. Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon
4. Jason Bright Holden Commodore
5. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
6. Steven Richards Holden Commodore
7. Rick Kelly Holden Commodore
8. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon
9. Brad Jones Ford Falcon
10. Russell Ingall Holden Commodore
Race Two
Pos Driver Car
1. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore
2. Jason Bright Holden Commodore
3. Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon
4. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
5. Rick Kelly Holden Commodore
6. Steven Richards Holden Commodore
7. Neil Crompton Ford Falcon
8. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon
9. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon
10. Tony Longhurst Ford Falcon
Race Three
Pos Driver Car
1. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
2. Larry Perkins Holden Commodore
3. Rick Kelly Holden Commodore
4. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore
5. Dean Canto Ford Falcon
6. Paul Weel Ford Falcon
7. Brad Jones Ford Falcon
8. Cameron McLean Ford Falcon
9. Max Wilson Ford Falcon
10. Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon
MotoGP
Texan Edwards won his second superbike title with Honda in the last round of the series at Imola after winning the last nine races of the season to overhaul defending champion Troy Bayliss.
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Volume 8, Issue 46
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