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Washed Away
On lap 20, Mario Dominguez pitted for the fourth time. It was the move that won the Mexcian rookie his first CART event.
Qualifying was severely disrupted as the cars pushed harder at Surfers than they had for three years. With the last two years having being disrupted on Friday by rain, the extra day of effective qualifying saw the three-year-old record tumble. Bruno Junqueira made the most of the Friday session to take the championship point for provisional pole, sneaking under Paul Tracy with a minute to go. In the second qualifying session, Cristiano da Matta was the first to undercut Junqueira's time, followed by Junqueira himself. The two battled for the pole, which was claimed by da Matta by one hundredth over Junqueira. Tony Kanaan completed a Brazilian trifecta in third.
A storm cast a pall over the morning warm-up. Significantly lower temperatures and all the accumulated rubber on the circuit was washed away, making a mockery of car set-ups. There were several spinners but it would be Dario Franchitti who creased the barriers. It rained again just before the start of the race. The conditions were cold and miserable. Da Matta led the field around to the green and was passed by Junqueira into Honda Chicane with whiteout behind them.
Carpentier immediately leapt from his car to run over towards Vasser who was upside down and burning. The Simple Green safety team swung into action immediately to give attention primarily to Fernandez and Takagi. The rest of the field returned to the pits. Both drivers were transferred to the Gold Coast Hospital where Takagi was diagnosed with a broken pelvis and Fernandez with cracked vertebrae. Fernandez is likely to be out for the rest of the season. The grid was covered in oil and the rain started thumping down again during the extractions.
The race finally started after three yellow flag single file laps in grid order, over an hour after the original incident. The first pass of the race was Kenny Brack, taking Kanaan for third on the back straight on the first flying lap. Da Matta led the first flying lap from Junqueira, Brack, Kanaan, Paul Tracy and Scott Dixon. Tracy spun on lap 7, quickly recovering, but as he did so the back of the Kool Green Lola-Honda hit Scott Dixon as it swung around. Both continued.
Pit strategy started to exert its forces of the event as some cars took their compulsory stops, as Jourdain, Nakano and Junqueira stopped early. Dixon pitted and had an inspection done underneath the sidepod. As the laps clicked by it became apparent that those who pitted early would have to make their second stops in the pace car queue. Lap 30 arrived and those who pitted on lap 10 had no choice left, they had to pit under the rule which required cars to pit every twenty laps. Da Matta, Kanaan, Franchitti all pitted. This brought Michael Andretti into the lead. The race was degenerating into a pitstop race. The winner would be decided how close the cars' individual twenty lap zone was to the point at which the race would be declared or the time limit reached.
For Cristiano da Matta it became irrelevant when he spun trying to rejoin the back of the pace car queue. The car was push started but da Matta had lost contact with his 'lap group'. There was no longer a chance for the defending champion to win.
The 'Andretti Group' reached their 20 lap limit and pitted. The new leader? Tailend charlie, Mario Dominguez. Lap 39 was reached and the race could be declared, and the officials waved the red flag along with the chequered flag. Incredibly, the team, which battled just to repair their smashed car to get to the grid, won the race.
Result of FedEx CART Championship Series, Round 17 of 19, Surfers Paradise, Australia:
Standings: Cristiano da Matta 218, Bruno Junqueira 144, Dario Franchitti 135, Patrick Carpentier 131, Christian Fittipaldi 116, Michel Jourdain Jr 105, Alex Tagliani 103, Paul Tracy 101, Michael Andretti 94, Kenny Brack 93 etc.
Busch Back-To-Back
Kurt Busch made it two wins in two weeks when he won a rain-affected race at Atlanta on the weekend, a much faster track than the one he won on the week before, showing great versatility. Series leader Tony Stewart had an up-and-down day, but showed great speed to finish fourth after a pit stop problem early in the race. Most importantly for Stewart, his finish saw him extend his lead in the title race with just three rounds remaining in this year's season.
Soon after the cars were stopped in pit lane, as rain led to a delay of over two hours before the cars were rolling again. A few more laps under caution helped to dry the track out before the race resumed on lap 46. Before this happened a few cars made pit stops, including the top two runners of Kyle Petty and points leader Tony Stewart, Stewart dropping back to 32nd after being forced to pit with two loose front lug nuts.
So the race eventually restarted with Nemechek leading the field from Burton and Jeff Gordon, Burton soon dropping down a few places as Gordon passed him and then Nemechek to take the lead by lap 47, Busch and Newman passing Burton on that same lap, and then Busch passing Nemechek a lap later. Meanwhile, Stewart was absolutely flying, moving back up to 19th place by the end of lap 48!
Up front Busch was running away, while a little futher back Stewart was in fifth and on McMurray's tail, passing him for fourth on lap 129. The next caution came out soon after on lap 139 when top ten runner Jimmie Johnson had a lazy spin coming off turn four. Most of the field pitted, Nemechek taking the lead again from Gordon ahead of Stewart and Busch. The race restarted on lap 145, Gordon taking the lead once again as they ran through turns one and two. On lap 148 Nemechek returned the favour through turns three and four and took the lead back while Busch took third from Stewart a lap later.
Three laps later and Stewart was side-by-side with Busch, taking the place after a two lap battle. Lap 159 was right on Gordon's tail and looking for second, making the move into second as they completed lap 162. By this time Earnhardt Jr had moved up to sixth place after some pit stop problems dropped him down the field earlier in the race. We had also passed the half distance mark, meaning the race would be official and would be declared if heavy rain made another appearance, the cars already racing under lights for quite a while.
These stops shuffled the leaders, Busch now leading from Nemechek, Gordon, Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. Soon after, Stewart took third from Gordon. By lap 230 Nemechek had closed back in on race leader Kurt Busch. But just as this happened Jimmie Johnson spun again, this time coming out of turn two, bringing out another caution on lap 232. Despite the fact that rain had begun to fall again, everyone headed for the pits, Busch keeping the lead from Stewart, Nemechek, Jarrett, Earnhardt Jr and Gordon.
Lap 238 and it was green again, Nemechek soon on Stewart's tail, taking the place from him down the backstretch on lap 240, Jarrett taking third from Stewart in turns one and two a lap later before Stewart fought back and retook the place down the backstretch, this side-by-side dicing allowing Earnhardt Jr to sit right on their tails. Into turns one and two on lap 242, and Jarrett took third for good, and with Stewart running high, Earnhardt Jr snuck through as well. But with the yellow coming out for rain, Stewart stayed alongside and went deep into turn three to reclaim the place.
With the race already running under lights after the earlier rain delay, it only took a few minutes for the decision to be made to flag the race early, the chequered flag coming out 77 laps early, at the end of lap 248, Busch taking his second consecutive win, with Joe Nemechek having his best result of the year to finish second.
Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 33 of 36, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Georgia, United States:
Standings: Tony Stewart 4428, Mark Martin 4282, Jimmie Johnson 4278, Ryan Newman 4225, Rusty Wallace 4201, Kurt Busch 4131, Jeff Gordon 4127, Matt Kenseth 4067, Dale Jarrett 4027, Ricky Rudd 3990 etc.
Barging The Weather
The championship is over, but there is still much glory to be had. More than ever before the V8s were trying hard for the Gold Coast CART crowds as the V8s shared double billing with the US-based open wheel series. Jason Bargwanna broke through for a surprise victory. The diminutive Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore driver drove into fifth place on Saturday before an electric drive on Sunday in the wet to win. Second for the weekend was Craig Lowndes, starting to build something from the season after all, and third was Greg Murphy, ever helping his attempt to claim the runner's-up spot in the championship.
Qualifying was a different affair, with the all-conquering Holden Racing Team only annexing rather than conquering. Jason Bright was third, Mark Skaife sixth. Garth Tander took provisional pole in Garry Rogers Motorsport's best qualifying performance of the year. John Bowe carried his recent form through to be second with HRT's Jason Bright in third. When the Superpole session came around Greg Murphy scorched around the circuit with a 1:50.7030 to take pole. Bowe was just unable to snatch top spot away, with Craig Lowndes third fastest. Champion-elect Skaife was fourth with teammate Bright ninth after the engine went off song. Steven Richards was disqualified for shortcutting a chicane.
The first race saw Murphy holeshot the start, with Lowndes moving into second ahead of Skaife, Bowe, David Besnard, Marcos Ambrose, Tander and Steven Richards, while just behind, Jones was monstering Bright. Besnard dived late under Bowe down the back of the circuit, but Besnard was squeezed into the wall. Besnard limped back into the pits with what looked like broken steering. Across the line the first time Murphy led from Lowndes, Skaife and Bowe. Bowe pitted the moment the pit window opened at the start of the third lap. Tander, Russell Ingall, Bright, Neil Crompton, Todd Kelly were amongst the pitters, Bright running into the back of Ingall on the pit lane entry, crumpling the front of his bonnet.
Lowndes overshot the Energex Chicane, and under the rules the 00 Motorsport Falcon came to a complete halt before resuming, allowing Ambrose, Skaife and Bowe through. Seton finally pitted on lap 10 dropping to 19th. After leading a lap, Tratt pitted as well. Back up front Bowe spun at ANA corner, dropping behind Lowndes and Jones. Jason Bright and Russell Ingall went side-by-side into the Fosters Chicane. There is no way two cars can negotiate that chicane and come out safely the other side. The pair bounced over the kerbs and Bright caromed off the wall on the exit, bouncing hard into Ingall and forcing the Castrol Commodore into the wall. A safety car was called for to remove Ingall's wrecked car.
Behind the safety car, Murphy led from Ambrose, Skaife, Lowndes, Jones, Bowe, Steven Richards, Jason Bargwanna, Bright and Todd Kelly. The race resumed on lap 17. Seton and Jason Richards clashed on the first flying lap, while black flags flew for Mark Skaife and Brad Jones. Skaife had been informed, and pitted immediately, penalised for kerb hopping. A lap later and Bowe was black flagged as well. Rick Kelly spun down the back of the field at ANA leaving Crompton nowhere to go. The pair resumed with little damage. The first two cars built a small gap on the field, aided by the black flags. Murphy held on to win from Ambrose. Lowndes led in the bunch for third place ahead of Richards, Bargwanna and Bright. After their late race penalties Skaife finished 25th, Jones 26th and Bowe 27th.
The damp conditions were catching drivers out as Ellery spun down at ANA corner. John Faulkner was out of the race by this point. Johnson also spun, again at ANA. Skaife was the first to stop for tyres followed by Cameron McLean. Cars pitting early were changing onto wet tyres. Ambrose went straight on down at ANA corner and parked it. Bargwanna was pushing Lowndes now, the Valvoline Commodore flying in the wet conditions. Richards was falling away from the leaders' back towards Todd Kelly, while Max Wilson was now sixth.
Bargwanna got a run down the back straight, taking second from Lowdnes into Bartercard but Lowndes clawed back into second into Konica. Rick Kelly was into the wall on the inside of Foster's Chicane. With the track drying Tander pitted and put wets on. It seemed like a strange decision. Tander's teammate Bargwanna had another go at Lowndes into AAPT and made it stick this time.
On lap 11, the safety car finally emerged as Radisich pitted. McConville was leading the field but had yet to stop for his compulsory tyre stop. Bargwanna was the effective race leader in second ahead of Lowndes, Tander, Todd Kelly and Steven Richards. Ellery had spun in the Honda Chicane, hitting the wall. The rain intensified as the pace car came out.
At the restart McConville leapt away with the rest of the field held up briefly by the lapped Caterpillar Falcon. Greg Murphy, trapped on slicks was nowhere and dropping further away. Tander had pounced on Lowndes after the restart, but two laps later Tander was wide through Energex Chicane losing momentum and Lowndes was through to second. Tander was in trouble again a lap later in Foster's Chicane, almost hitting Todd Kelly.
Greg Murphy closed in on Jason Bright in the five-driver fight for second in the championship, passing Steven Richards, while Marcos Ambrose dropped behind Todd Kelly, leaving Holdens first through fifth in the driver's standings. The teams don't have time to return to base around the country as the transporters are packed straight onto the ship to head for Auckland, New Zealand for the penultimate round of the series.
Result of V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 11 of 13, Surfers Paradise, Australia:
Standings: Mark Skaife 1984, Jason Bright 1290, Greg Murphy 1217, Steven Richards 1199, Todd Kelly 1146, Marcos Ambrose 1133, Craig Lowndes 946, Russell Ingall 876, David Besnard 849, Garth Tander 840 etc.
V8 Supercar points distribution
"I felt very comfortable with the car and felt the same sensations as I do in MotoGP concerning cornering lines and engine power. On the other hand the braking distances are very different."
Rossi, who has dominated the 2002 MotoGP season onboard his Honda, will have a two-day test in the Welsh forests at the start of November prior to the event. He said that winning was out the question on his debut, adding that reaching the finish after three gruelling days would his target.
"I won't be driving 100 percent on the first day of Rally GB," he said. "My objective? I have got about as much chance of winning the rally outright as I have of winning the soccer World Cup! There will be at least 15 drivers ahead of me fighting for that. I just really want to go all the way to the finish."
Burns is second in the world championship table but Finn and Peugeot teammate Marcus Gronholm has already clinched the title after his victory in New Zealand earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi have confirmed that Alister McRae will remain on the sidelines for the Australian event because of the damage suffered to his liver in a fall from his mountain bike. Briton McRae missed the previous round in New Zealand. His participation in the Rally of Britain remains unclear. Finn Jani Paasonen will continue to deputise.
Rossi and Panizzi reports provided by Reuters
CART
"What goes around comes around!" said Dominguez. "We've had a lot of bad luck this year. The team had a wonderful strategy. They did a great job putting the car back together after the first lap incident. I feel like the luckiest man in the world at this moment. I kept thinking I could win this thing if this or that strategy played out. But our bad luck turned around and we won. It is almost unbelievable! I really think it will be the first of many wins for this team."
Further back on the grid Jimmy Vasser and Adrian Fernandez were spinning. With two cars sideways on the straight, chaos erupted as Michel Jourdain, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani tried to pull up. The cars further back were travelling faster by the time they got to the rotating cars. Michael Andretti drove right into the back of Tagliani, diving underneath the Player's Reynard-Ford, dramatically smashing Andretti's overhead camera. Next on the scene Tora Takagi had nowhere to go and slid into the growing wrecks and finally Mario Dominguez slammed into the back of Takagi, launching the Japanese driver up and over Andretti and across the pile of wrecks over to where Jourdain and Fernandez were coming to rest.
Lap 10 saw the leaders head into the pit for more wets as the rain thumped down again. and yellow flags came out as an electrical storm swept across the circuit. The Chip Ganassi crew won the pit stop race and Junqueira emerged from the pits as the race leader with da Matta second from the flying Shinji Nakano, Brack, Vasser and Jourdain. As the field trundled around behind the Safety Car, Oriol Servia's Reynard-Toyota burst into flame.
Pos Driver Car
1. Mario Dominguez Lola-Ford
2. Patrick Carpentier Reynard-Ford
3. Paul Tracy Lola-Honda
4. Kenny Brack Lola-Toyota
5. Tony Kanaan Lola-Honda
6. Alex Tagliani Reynard-Ford
7. Dario Franchitti Lola-Honda
8. Cristiano da Matta Lola-Toyota
9. Michael Andretti Lola-Honda
10. Michel Jourdain Jr Lola-Ford
NASCAR
With qualifying rained out again, the starting positions for the race were determined by owner points, Tony Stewart taking the 'pole', with Jimmie Johnson alongside. At the start Stewart moved into a clear lead as a few changes happened down the order, but the caution was soon out on lap six when John Andretti pounded the inside wall on the back straight when he spun coming off of turn two. A few cars pitted before the race resumed on lap ten, with Jeff Gordon on the move soon after, passing Ryan Newman and Johnson on lap 14 to move up into second. Unfortunately, the rain which had affected qualifying made another appearance, the caution coming out again on lap 18. The whole field pitted except Kyle Petty, who took over the lead, with Stewart leading Joe Nemechek, Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon off pit road to complete the top five.
As they completed lap 49 Busch briefly took the lead, before Gordon went back to the front as Nemechek and Busch battled side-by-side for second, Nemechek winning the battle as the top four ran clear of the rest of the pack. Lap 60 and Stewart was still flying, up to 13th, and 11th at the end of lap 65, and 10th by lap 80. The pit stops under green began soon after, from lap 85 onwards. Once all the cars had made their stops the order had shuffled a little, Busch leading from Gordon and Nemechek, with Stewart moving up to sixth by lap 111.
After battling lap after lap with Gordon, Busch took third on lap 185, while Earnhardt Jr took fifth from McMurray one lap later. Lap 189 and Stewart took the lead from Nemechek after sitting just behind him for quite a number of laps, Earnhardt Jr taking fourth from Gordon on the same lap, and third from Busch three laps later. Just after passing the 200 lap mark Earnhardt Jr took second place from Nemechek, just as green flag pit stops began.
Pos Driver Car
1. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
2. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
4. Tony Stewart Pontiac Grand Prix
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
6. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
8. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
9. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
10. Ryan Newman Ford Taurus
V8 Supercar
"Bathurst was a low point of my life. To come back stronger again here, it gives you a lot of confidence," said Bargwanna, briefly serious before recommencing the serious business of celebration. "It is a bit of a relief in a sense, we've had such a tough year. But I've always believed in what I can do. I was out to win the race - I love driving around like that, I love driving in the wet."
Brad Jones clashed with Steven Richards when he pitted on the following lap. By lap five Murphy, Lowdnes, Skaife and Ambrose were still out on the track. Skaife pitted that lap leaving three leaders out on the track risking the dangers of a safety car. Murphy pitted for his compulsory pit stop on lap 6, leaving Lowndes in command over Steven Ellery, Craig Baird and Glenn Seton. Ambrose was serviced in a blinder, leaping past Mark Skaife. Lowndes finally pitted after problems had emerged during the team's stop for Rodney Forbes. Seton now led from Anthony Tratt then Murphy in the first of the pitted cars. Lowndes was next ahead of Ambrose, Skaife, Bowe and Jones.
A storm swept the circuit during the CART warm-up leaving the circuit cold and damp for the V8 start. Lowndes bolted from the second row, sprinting around the outside of Ambrose to lead into turn one ahead of Ambrose, Murphy and Richards. Murphy took Ambrose down the back straight before Richards dived under Ambrose at the top corner. Lowndes slid wide at the hairpin leaving Murphy and Lowndes side-by-side down the start/finish straight. Lowndes led over the line but it was Murphy who had the inside line for the Honda Chicane. Third was Richards ahead of Ambrose, Bargwanna, Kelly, Wilson, Bright, Cameron McConville and Johnson.
Skaife pitted again, with Murphy just behind. HRT looked under the bonnet of Skaife's car, and Skaife was now a spectator. Murphy and Wilson both bolted on slick tyres and resumed. Ritter was travelling slowly after touching the wall, dragging tyre smoke back to the pits. Wilson was in the wall at the top hairpin. Cars flooded the pits anticipating a safety car. Brad Jones was also stopped between Honda and Energex Chicanes. Bargwanna and Lowndes stopped together with Lowndes getting a better stop. But Lowndes hit a problem and Bargwanna pounced, moving past into third. Radisich was leading from McConville.
An ecstatic Bargwanna built and held his lead to take his first victory since Bathurst 2000. Lowndes was second from Murphy with Tander holding fourth under pressure from Longhurst. Radisich was next while Steven won the battle of the unrelated Richards for seventh. Eighth though was a sensational result for Jason Richards in the Team Kiwi Commodore. Besnard and Johnson rounded the top ten.
Race One
Pos Driver Car
1. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore
2. Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon
3. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon
4. Steven Richards Holden Commodore
5. Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore
6. Jason Bright Holden Commodore
7. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
8. Max Wilson Ford Falcon
9. Paul Weel Ford Falcon
10. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon
Race Two
Pos Driver Car
1. Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore
2. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon
3. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
4. Garth Tander Holden Commodore
5. Tony Longhurst Ford Falcon
6. Paul Radisich Ford Falcon
7. Steven Richards Holden Commodore
8. Jason Richards Holden Commodore
9. David Besnard Ford Falcon
10. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon
Briefs
"It's a fantastic opportunity for me to be able to drive in a World Rally Championship round because rallying is my second passion after motorbikes," said Rossi. "The kilometres I have been able to do today have allowed me to familiarise myself with my car and above all accustom myself to listening to the pace notes read out by my co-driver Carlo.
"Gilles Panizzi will not take part in the Rally of Australia," the statement said. "Unfortunately Richard Burns destroyed the car and Gilles will not have a car available." Panizzi will remain in Australia and perform the pre-event reconnaissance before returning to Europe. He will return to action in next month's Rally of Britain, the last race of the season.
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Volume 8, Issue 44
Atlas F1 Special
High Noon at Heathrow
Don't You Know it's Gonna be Alright
New Points System: A Retrospective Look
2002 Season Review
Soft Tyres and Hard Runoffs
Losing the Plot
Ann Bradshaw: View from the Paddock
The 2002 Season in Quotes
How Would F1 Score in Other Series
2002 Facts, Stats and Memoirs
The Exclusive 2002 Atlas F1 Wallpaper
Columns
Season Strokes
Elsewhere in Racing
The Grapevine
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