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.
Rossi Repeats, Kato Crashes
A new season begins, with new riders and new bikes, but Valentino Rossi still sat at the top of the pile after the first MotoGP round at Suzuka. Strong performances by Max Biaggi in his first race on the RC211V, and a fantastic debut by Ducati with their Desmosedici, leading its first lap in anger and scoring a podium finish on debut. This was soured, however, by the horrific crash of Daijiro Kato on lap three, which sees him still in a coma days after the incident occurred.
It didn't take too long for Rossi to move further up the order, taking Biaggi through the long left hander up the hill following the Esses on lap two, Rossi then moving right onto Capirossi's tail. Meanwhile Checa had dropped back to the following pack, with Bayliss moving past Checa into fourth place on lap three. Lap three was mainly remembered for Daijiro Kato's accident however, the cause for which is still unknown, leaving his bike in pieces and Kato lying on the track on the entry to the Casio chicane.
Lap five saw good and bad news for Honda. Up front, Rossi took the lead from Capirossi as they completed the lap, Biaggi following past before turn one, but further back, Tohru Ukawa crashed into the fence after a pass on Bayliss at the hairpin went wrong when he rode off the edge of the track and onto the grass, eventually resuming in last place. From this point onwards, Rossi opened the gap over his pursuers lap by lap, Biaggi initially staying close to Rossi before fading towards the end, Capirossi closing in but not able to make a pass on Biaggi. Lap six saw Bayliss passed by Sete Gibernau, and they stayed that way for the remainder of the race. Further back Alex Barros, Carlos Checa, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden and Shinya Nakano fought hard all race, a battle eventually won by Colin Edwards on his Aprilia ahead of Rossi's new teammate Nicky Hayden.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 1 of 16, Suzuka, Japan:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 25, Max Biaggi 20, Loris Capirossi 16, Sete Gibernau 13, Troy Bayliss 11, Colin Edwards 10, Nicky Hayden 9, Alex Barros 8, Shinya Nakano 7, Carlos Checa 6 etc.
Kato Still Unconscious After Horror Crash
Japanese rider Daijiro Kato had yet to regain consciousness on Tuesday, more than 48 hours after suffering severe injuries to his head, neck and chest in a horrific crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Kato was flown by helicopter to an intensive care unit after medical staff battled for more than 30 minutes to get his heart beating again. The 26-year-old slammed into a wall at just under 200kph on approach to the chicane, completely writing off his Honda.
His condition was described as "life-threatening" by medical director Claudio Macchiagodena, who added that the 48 hours following the accident could prove critical. Kato was reported to have "stabilised" by the Nikkan Sports daily on Tuesday, although track officials insisted that they had heard nothing to suggest any change overnight.
"His heartbeat may have become more stable but we have not had any concrete news from Honda," the Suzuka official said.
Italian Marco Melandri broke his ankle, nose and femur in another serious crash during practice on Friday.
MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi, who completed a hat-trick of Suzuka wins in the season-opening Grand Prix, described the 5.824-km circuit as "too dangerous" and promised to send a formal letter of complaint to race organisers.
Kato, who had two second-place finishes last year after moving up from 250cc, was involved in a battle for fifth place when he crashed on the third of 21 laps.
Kato report provided by Reuters
Green By Name...
"I'm happy to come away knowing I have the pace to win," said van der Merwe. "And I'm looking for better qualifying positions at the next round. Leading the championship from fifth on the grid is an excellent result but I want to make it easier on myself next time."
Green was the form of qualifying, taking both pole positions. Green got the best of the start to bolt away while Antinucci was slow away from his front row spot and was passed by van der Merwe and Michael Keohane (Promatecme F3). Things didn't get better for Antinucci as he came under fire from Rob Austin (Menu F3 Motorsport), losing fourth on lap 8. Austin didn't have the pace to match the three Carlin cars up front and finished fourth, which became third after Green was disqualified. New fourth place was Ronnie Bremer (Carlin Motorsport) who had a big gap over Fauzy Fairuz (Team SYR) and Clivio Piccione (Manor Motorsport). Indian racer Karun Chandok (T-Sport) was a sensational eighth in his 2001 Scholarship class car.
Green seemed undisturbed by the events following round one and simply raced away again in round two. Van der Merwe was again quickly past the other front row occupant, this time Nelson Piquet Jr (Piquet Sports), and pursuing his younger teammate. The top three went unchanged the whole race, with none of the three looking likely to challenge each other. There was a huge gap back to fourth with Austin prevailing over Bremer. Adam Carroll (Sweeney Racing) gave the new Lola-Dome chassis some debut success by leading home a tight group with Robert Dahlgren (Fortec Motorsport) and Danny Watts (Hi-Tech). The top Scholarship car was Steven Kane (T-Sport) in 15th.
Van der Merwe leads the series by a big 14 points over Rob Austin, but already the composure of one driver already has the series talking about someone else as the next big thing.
Result of British Formula 3 Championship, Rounds 1 and 2 of 24, Donington Park, Great Britain:
Standings: Alan van der Merwe 36, Rob Austin 22, Jamie Green 21, Ronnie Bremer 18, Michael Keohane 15, Nelson Piquet Jr 12, Fauzy Fairuz 8, Robert Dahlgren 7, Ernani Judice, Clivio Piccione and Adam Carroll 6 etc.
British F3 points distribution
Earnhardt Takes Controversial Last-To-First Talladega
A controversial call by NASCAR ensured that Dale Earnhardt Jr took his fourth victory in a row at the Talladega superspeedway. After starting in the very last position after an engine change, Earnhardt Jr went below the yellow 'boundary' line as he took the lead in the final laps of the race. NASCAR ruled the 'out of bounds' pass legal, to the surprise and annoyance of several competitors, including Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson and their respective teams. The decision, controversial enough in itself, followed an incident earlier in the race where Earnhardt Jr's teammate Steve Park was penalised for such a pass below the yellow line. Penalising Earnhardt Jr wouldn't have been a popular decision with the crowd however... Nevertheless, Earnhardt Jr's win boosts his position in the title race, moving him up into second place behind Matt Kenseth, closing to within 129 points of the points leader.
The race resumed on lap 14 with Kevin Harvick in the lead from Michael Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson as Earnhardt Jr began to work his way to the front. Lap 21 saw a battle for the lead which saw Michael Waltrip take the lead as teammate Earnhardt Jr moved up to third, having started at the back after an engine change and then suffered damage in the crash that required multiple pit stops under yellow to repair. Waltrip continued to lead as the pack behind him shuffled backwards and forwards, including Kenseth running in second at times after similar problems to Earnhardt Jr, before Waltrip's other teammate Steve Park took the lead on lap 30. His lead didn't last long, with Sterling Marlin taking the lead just a lap later, Jimmie Johnson taking the lead soon after.
The next caution came out soon after on lap 37 for debris on the back straight. The field pitted as they were closing in on stops anyway, Johnson holding onto the lead ahead of Kenny Wallace and Kurt Busch, while Earnhardt Jr and Kenseth continued repairs on the front of their cars as some of their earlier repairs had come loose. The race restarted on lap 41 with Johnson in the lead, while Earnhardt Jr sat ten seconds off the pack, riding with teammate Steve Park who was two laps down. Lap 56 saw Mayfield retake the lead after a couple of earlier attempts, Jeff Gordon taking over the lead two laps later, the two then swapping the lead several times in the next few laps before Mayfield took the lead back again. Lap 64 saw a caution for debris in the tri-oval, helping Park and Earnhardt Jr who were about half a lap down.
Lap 95 and racing resumed again, Johnson leading the way still as Earnhardt Jr quickly
moved towards the front, up to fourth in less than two laps. Lap 99 saw Steve Park, two laps down, receive a black flag for passing lead lap car Joe Nemechek by putting two wheels under the yellow line, mainly as they were side-by-side. Lap 100 saw Johnson shuffled out of the lead, Kenseth eventually taking the lead after some help from behind from Earnhardt Jr, before Harvick took the lead on lap 104, Ward Burton taking the lead soon after as the duo swapped the lead a couple of times before Burton took over. Not long after, Earnhardt Jr did what many had expected him to do, taking the lead of the race. Unlike other cars, Earnhardt Jr was able to open a small buffer of a car length or two up front rather than having everyone on his bumper. Lap 114 saw Jeff Gordon take the lead of the race from Earnhardt Jr, Junior taking it back five laps later, before Gordon took it back three laps after that.
At this time drivers began making green flag pit stops, Earnhardt Jr taking over the lead after them thanks to a great pit stop before Gordon retook the lead on lap 129.
Debris on the track again brought out another caution on lap 133, with most of the top ten staying out while the rest of the field pitted. Back to green on lap 138, Gordon leading Johnson and Ward Burton, Burton taking the lead on lap 143 thanks partly to some Earnhardt Jr help, before Earnhardt Jr took the lead a lap later. 37 to go saw Biffle forced to pit after something broke in the front end, having spent most of the race driving a car with the nose covered in race tape after being involved in both the 'big one' and a collision with Busch and Stewart, Biffle losing several laps while repairs were made to his car.
Six to go and Earnhardt Jr pushed Kenseth and himself up to second and third. As they crossed the line with five to go Kenseth and Junior began to move past Johnson, but Johnson fought back, retaking the lead into turn three. 5 to go and again Earnhardt pushed Kenseth past Johnson at the start of the lap. Off turn two Kenseth led but Johnson had a run on him, the two side-by-side as they got halfway down the backstretch. When Kenseth moved up towards Johnson in an effort to protect his lead, Earnhardt Jr saw an opening. As Kenseth moved Johnson almost into the wall as Johnson got over half a car length in front, Earnhardt stayed low.
As Earnhardt Jr went for the gap, Johnson and Kenseth moved down the track to protect their positions. As Kenseth squeezed lower and lower, Earnhardt Jr moved further alongside. Then, with just over a car width between Kenseth and the yellow line, Kenseth moved away from Earnhardt who was now fully alongside and occupying most of the space between Kenseth and the yellow line. However, despite Kenseth giving Earnhardt room to move, Earnhardt Jr went lower and put two wheels below the yellow line to complete the pass, taking Jimmie Johnson who was still ahead and outside Kenseth as well in the process before getting his left side back above the yellow line. Johnson lost out badly in the move, dropping further and further back over the next two laps before being spun out in turn three with two laps to go. Meanwhile Earnhardt held off all challengers to make it four in a row at Talladega.
Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 8 of 36, Aaron's 499, Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama, United States:
Standings: Matt Kenseth 1233, Dale Earnhardt Jr 1104, Kurt Busch 1046, Jimmie Johnson 1013, Jeff Gordon 1011, Ricky Craven 1000, Michael Waltrip 994, Kevin Harvick 977, Tony Stewart 937, Elliott Sadler 895 etc.
Tarquini Versus The Beemers
"We knew from last month's testing that our car doesn't like this track very much, as it is very hard on the front left tyre," said Tarquini. "We had to work on this problem, and finally we found a set up which oversteered slightly, saving the front tyres a bit. In the first race it wasn't easy to keep Giovanardi behind me, but my car was faster on the straight and this gave me a small advantage."
Qualifying didn't indicate what BMW had in store as Alfa Romeo, now operating under the legendary Autodelta banner, took the first three spots on the grid for Tarquini and his teammates Roberto Colciago and Nicola Larini. Reigning champ Fabrizio Giovanardi was the fastest BMW in his first race for the German marque. Behind him were the Beemers of Antonio Garcia, Jorg Muller and Andy Priaulx. Eighth on the grid was the first of the new cars, Frank Diefenbacher's SEAT Toledo. Rickard Rydell was the top Volvo in 13th, while the Hondas lined up at the tail of the field. Of Skoda there was no sign, the team not ready to race the Superbs just yet.
Colciago and Larini fluffed the start and were swamped by Giovanardi, Garcia and Jorg Muller. But Tarquini held the lead and led the field around the first time. Larini recovered his composure and was quickly on to the back of Muller as the top three pulled steadily clear. A train of cars quickly formed battling for sixth position with Colciago leading Dirk Muller, Priaulx, Tom Coronel (BMW 320i), Diefenbacher and Rydell. Diefenbacher would throw away a potential debut points finish with a spin while Duncan Huisman caught and clashed with Rydell, Huisman ending up in the wall and Rydell pitting.
Up front Tarquini just held out the flying Giovanardi and Garcia for yet another Alfa Romeo ETCC win. Jorg Muller was fourth while Larini faded into the big chain of cars and would finish seventh behind Dirk Muller and Priaulx.
Using the front position Dirk Muller was able to win the drag race to the line with Jorg Muller and Priaulx clustered around him. Giovanardi reclaimed fifth on the last lap. Coronel was again in the points in his privateer BMW just behind Garcia who had made an impressive touring car debut for BMW Spain.
Tarquini takes a one-point lead over Dirk Muller into the second round at Magny-Cours in three weeks' time with Jorg Muller and Giovanardi a further point each adrift.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 1 and 2 of 20, Catalunya, Spain:
Standings: Gabriele Tarquini 15, Dirk Muller 14, Jorg Muller 13, Fabrizio Giovanardi 12, Andy Priaulx 9, Antonio Garcia 8, Nicola Larini 5, Tom Coronel 2 etc.
Maranello Magic
"I am very happy with this result," Thomas Biagi said after his win. "The race was very long, but the drivers are all professionals and it went well. I am very glad that the team believed in me despite not knowing me." His young teammate Matteo Bobbi was equally delighted. "I am looking forward to the next races."
Race day hadn't begun that way with the dark angular figure of Lister squatting on pole position. Jamie Campbell-Walter made the best of the start and raced away, pursued by Fabrizio Gollin (Ferrari Maranello) and Biagi. The second Lister Storm of Andrea Piccini did not last long in fourth, clashing with the Saleen of Franz Konrad. Piccini was pitbound.
The top three had settled into their places until lap 27 when Gollin found a weakness and jumped into the lead. Barely minutes later the Lister challenge had ended. The Chrysler Viper of Phillipe Alliot had shed a front airdam, which was struck by Gollin, flicking the splitter skywards and into the roofline of the Lister, damaging the windscreen and roof of the British car. Campbell-Walter tried to continue but the damage was too great.
Jean-Denis Deletraz and Andrea Piccini recovered from their first lap incident to finish in fourth place in the Lister, a lap down on Biagi and Bobbi. Fifth was the privateer Lister Storm from Creation Asportif of Bobby Verdon-Roe and Peter Snowdon. Henrik Roos and Magnus Wallinder were the best Viper home in sixth.
GT veteran Andrea Betrolini broke through for his debut class victory by finishing eighth with Fabrizio de Simone on top of the N-GT class in the JMB Ferrari Modena. Team Maranello enjoyed second and third place in N-GT with their Ferrari Modenas.
Result of FIA GT Championship, Round 1 of 10, Catalunya, Spain:
Standings: Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi 10, Luca Cappellari and Fabrizio Gollin 8, Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari and Stefano Livio 6, Jean-Denis Deletraz and Andrea Piccini 5, Bobby Verdon-Roe and Peter Snowdon 4 etc
80th 24
The Club ACO has released the finalised entry list for the 80th anniversary Le Mans 24 Hours. In the entry are three Audi R8s but none of them are representing reigning champion entrant, Audi Sport, or its team Joest Racing. The entry list thus has left numbers #1, #2 and #3 vacant.
LMP675 has only one of the pace setting MG-Lolas, for Intersport Racing who will race against a variety of WR, Pilbeam, Reynard, DBA and Courage vehicles with seven cars to fight for the class.
Only ten cars have been accepted for GTS with the unstoppable factory Chevy Corvettes to race against a pair of Prodrive-fettled Ferrari 550 Maranellos, a similar Luc Alphand Ferrari, a pair of Saleens for Graham Nash and Franz Konrad, and a Chrysler Viper each for FIA GT champs Larbre Competicion and Scorp Motorsport Communications. Balancing the class is the Merecedes-powered Pagani Zonda from Carpsort America.
In GT, eight Porsche 996s face off against four Ferrari 360 Modenas and a pair of TVRs with the traditional oddball entry this time being the BMW-powered Spyker from Holland. Traditional underdog heroes Morgan had their entry refused.
The 24 Hours unleashes itself on the afternoon of the 14th of June circumnavigating the 12 hour clock twice before finishing on the following afternoon. The pre-race test session is set down for the 4th of May.
Imola Approaches
The FIA have released a final entry list for the forthcoming International Formula 3000 Championship. There are just 20 names on the list this year, the same as the series it is acting as main support for, Formula One. Some teams from last year, most notably Nordic Racing, are gone, some have been transformed, while some new teams have arrived, like Brand Motorsports.
The only blank spots on the list are for the former Formula Nissan outfit, BCN Competicion, although one driver is likely to be former Formula One driver Gaston Mazzacane. Red Bull Junior is not the same team as last year. Last year's Red Bull team has been bought by Brand Motorsports, while this year's Red Bull squad is the former European Minardi team now being run by Coloni Motorsports, albeit seperately to their own F3000 team. Leading the entry are defending champions Arden International, and again they appear to have the strongest line-up with Bjorn Wirdheim being joined by former CART racer Townsend Bell.
Entry list for FIA International Formula 3000:
German Rally Under Threat, Warns FIA
"Following an unsatisfactory report from the FIA nominated observers, the event will be given a second and final inspection at the beginning of May," the FIA said in a statement following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council. "Should the safety inspection prove unsatisfactory the Rally of Germany will be removed from the FIA WRC calendar."
Richard Burns, the 2001 World Champion, called for improved safety measures after the inaugural Rally of Germany last August. An excessive number of spectators lining the roads caused the cancellation of the penultimate stage.
The FIA has also confirmed that the Perth-based Australian Rally will go ahead in September. The event had been in doubt until last month when the FIA reached an agreement with local organisers, who had been in dispute with the commercial rights owners to the event, the Western Australian Tourism Commission, over its organisation.
Report provided by Reuters
Franchitti To Miss Race After Motorcycle Crash
Dario Franchitti was injured in a motorcycle accident and will not race in the Honda Indy 300 this weekend in Japan, his Indy Racing League team announced on Tuesday.
Franchitti, 29, will stay in Scotland until the end of the week and is expected to be out of action for two to three weeks but should be fit to race in next month's showpiece Indianapolis 500. England's Dan Wheldon will take Franchitti's seat for Sunday's race, the first IRL event ever held outside the United States.
"The motorcycle had a mechanical problem," explained Franchitti, who is married to American actress Ashley Judd. "I tried to slow down, but, of course, that was a bit difficult under the circumstances and I wound up crashing through a hedge and landing on my back.
"This is the first time in 19 years of racing that I've missed an event due to injury and I'm terribly disappointed to miss the Twin Ring Motegi race. I've always enjoyed racing at Twin Ring Motegi."
Franchitti is currently 10th in the drivers' standings.
Report provided by Reuters
Standings: Satoshi Motoyama 20, Andre Lotterer 9, Benoit Treluyer 6, Ryo Michigami and Toshihiro Kaneishi 4, Yuji Ide 3 etc
MotoGP
Polesitter Valentino Rossi got jumped at the start, Yamaha's Carlos Checa leading from Ducati's Loris Capirossi with Max Biaggi on his Honda close behind, taking Capirossi through the second turn on lap one, with Rossi just behind them in fourth. Immediately this pack of four opened a gap on the rest of the field, led by Suzuki's Kenny Roberts with Ducati's Troy Bayliss right behind. Into Spoon on lap one, Biaggi took the lead from Checa, Capirossi powering past down the straight before 130R, before Capirossi took the lead into the revised Casio Chicane, leading Ducati's first lap in MotoGP! Meanwhile Rossi had duplicated Capirossi's move to take third place from Checa.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Honda RC211V
2. Max Biaggi Honda RC211V
3. Loris Capirossi Ducati Desmosedici
4. Sete Gibernau Honda RC211V
5. Troy Bayliss Ducati Desmosedici
6. Colin Edwards Aprilia Cube
7. Nicky Hayden Honda RC211V
8. Alex Barros Yamaha YZR-M1
9. Shinya Nakano Yamaha YZR-M1
10. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR-M1
"Honda team officials have told us he is still in a coma. His condition is still critical and has not changed since the day before yesterday," a Suzuka spokesman told Reuters.
Formula 3
Carlin Motorsport dominated the opening rounds of the 2003 British Formula 3 Championship with their new young charge Jamie Green winning both events ahead of teammate Alan van der Merwe. Green started race one on tyres allocated to teammate Richard Antinucci though, and was disqualified under the series' tyre regulations, handing the championship lead to van der Merwe.
Round One
Pos Driver Car
1. Alan van der Merwe Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
2. Michael Keohane Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
3. Rob Austin Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
4. Ronnie Bremer Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
5. Fauzy Fairuz Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
6. Clivio Piccione Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
7. Ernani Judice Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
8. Karun Chandhok Dallara F301 Mugen-Honda
9. Robert Dahlgren Dallara F303 Renault Sodemo
10. Will Davison Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
Round Two
Pos Driver Car
1. Jamie Green Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
2. Alan van der Merwe Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
3. Nelson Piquet Jr Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
4. Rob Austin Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
5. Ronnie Bremer Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
6. Adam Carroll Lola Dome F106 Opel Spiess
7. Robert Dahlgren Dallara F303 Renault Sodemo
8. Danny Watts Dallara F303 Renault Sodemo
9. Ernani Judice Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
10. Fabio Carbone Dallara F303 Renault Sodemo
NASCAR
Polesitter Jeremy Mayfield held onto the lead as the inside lane moved ahead soon after the start of the 188 lap race. The pack ran three wide in parts as a tyre failing on Ryan Newman's car in the top ten caused the 'big one' on lap four, cars spinning and crashing everywhere, Newman's car almost rolling as it contacted the outside wall, bringing out the first caution of the day. In total, 27 cars were involved, with varying levels of damage, leading contenders Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth suffering relatively light damage that the crews patched up during the caution, while five cars never completed another lap. Meanwhile several others returned to the track in the ensuing laps in less than optimal shape. Leader Mayfield was one of the drivers who escaped the crash who also pitted at this time.
Again most of the field pitted, Johnson leading Waltrip and Jeff Gordon out of the pits. Lap 68 and the race went back to green. Lap 81 saw Kenseth take over the lead, but the caution was out three laps later after Michael Waltrip spun in turn three after bouncing off Mike Wallace, collecting Mayfield in his ensuing spin. More pit stops, Johnson leading Joe Nemechek and Ward Burton off pit road. Lap 90 and it was back to racing but not for long, for as they came off turn four on lap 90, Kurt Busch tried to squeeze between Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart, pulling Biffle and Busch towards Tony Stewart, Busch being squeezed between Biffle and Stewart, while Stewart got squeezed into the wall by Busch, bringing the caution straight back A few cars made stops, though most of the leaders stayed out, having pitted a handful of laps earlier.
Up front Earnhardt was getting pushed along by Johnson and Jeff Gordon. 30 to go and the leaders began making their final stops. After the stops Elliott Sadler led but was soon gobbled up by the pack, Johnson taking over the lead, with Hendrick teammates Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon in his slipstream, with another Hendrick car Joe Nemechek joining them soon after, as Earnhardt Jr lurked close by with 20 to go. 17 to go and Johnson failed in his attempt to block a move by Earnhardt Jr, allowing Junior back into the lead while Johnson suffered some minor rear end damage. 15 to go, and Earnhardt Jr continued to lead. 13 to go and Johnson took the lead back from Earnhardt Jr off turn two. 10 to go, Ward Burton took the lead from Johnson through turns three and four. A lap later Johnson retook the lead, Burton sitting on his bumper, pushing him along.
Pos Driver Car
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3. Elliott Sadler Ford Taurus
4. Ricky Craven Pontiac Grand Prix
5. Terry Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
6. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
7. Ward Burton Dodge Intrepid
8. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
9. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
10. Robby Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
ETCC
BMW appears to hold the upper hand after the first round of the European Touring Car Championship. BMWs covered the timesheets and the classifications. But at the end of the day, touring car veteran Gabriele Tarquini played almost a sole hand for Alfa Romeo as Tarquini leads the series by a point from Dirk Muller.
A slightly chaotic opening lap saw the second race begin with Jan Nilsson rolling gently after the side of the Volvo dug into a gravel trap. The Muller 'brothers' led up front with Priaulx, Coronel and Giovanardi chasing. First Alfa was Larini, while Tarquini made the best he could of the inverted grid to be eighth. Larini reclaimed some lost honour for Alfa, taking Giovanardi's fourth position with Tarquini closing while Coronel faded down field. The former BTCC champ was on fire and quickly through the pair and set off after the top three, but they had pace of their own and would not be caught.
Round One
Pos Driver Car
1. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi BMW 320i
3. Antonio Garcia BMW 320i
4. Jorg Muller BMW 320i
5. Dirk Muller BMW 320i
6. Andy Priaulx BMW 320i
7. Nicola Larini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
8. Tom Coronel BMW 320i
9. Roberto Colciago Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10. Alessandro Balzan Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
Round Two
Pos Driver Car
1. Dirk Muller BMW 320i
2. Jorg Muller BMW 320i
3. Andy Priaulx BMW 320i
4. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
5. Fabrizio Giovanardi BMW 320i
6. Nicola Larini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
7. Antonio Garcia BMW 320i
8. Tom Coronel BMW 320i
9. Fabio Francia Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10. Rickard Rydell Volvo S60
FIA GT
Luck may have deserted the Scuderia in Formula One, but in Gran Turismo things couldn't be better with Ferrari 550 Maranellos taking all three podium positions at the FIA GT Championship opener at Catalunya. Scuderia Italia's Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi greeting the chequered flag for their debut GT win ahead of teammates Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari. Ferrari 360 Modenas took the top three spots in N-GT as well, leaving a very Italian flavour at Barcelona for the Formula One team to pick up on in a month's time.
Gollin's co-driver Luca Cappellari resumed in the lead after the first round of pitstops, despite the damage to the car. Bobbi took the lead on lap 42, the two BMS cars now well ahead of third place car, the Care Racing Ferrari Maranello of Enzo Calderari which is prepared by Scuderia Italia. Just behind was the Larbre Viper of reigning champion Christophe Bouchut. The big Chrysler would not last though, stopping on the track 15 laps later. By this stage only the three Ferraris were on the lead lap and there were able to control the remainder of the race and finish in 1-2-3 order.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Thomas Biagi/Matteo Bobbi Ferrari 550 Maranello
2. Luca Cappellari/Fabrizio Gollin Ferrari 550 Maranello
3. Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/ Ferrari 550 Maranello
Stefano Livio
4. Jean-Denis Deletraz/Andrea Piccini Lister Storm
5. Bobby Verdon-Roe/Peter Snowdon Lister Storm
6. Henrik Roos/Magnus Wallinder Chrysler Viper GTS-R
7. Arjan van der Zwaan/Rob van der Zwaan/ Chrysler Viper GTS-R
Klaus Abbelen
8. Andrea Betrolini/Fabrizio de Simone Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)
9. Jamie Davies/Tim Mullen Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)
10. Kelvin Burt/Darren Turner Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)
Sportscars
The LMP900/GTP class has a strong field of 18 cars led by the factory Bentleys of Johnny Herbert, David Brabham and Mark Blundell, and Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello and Guy Smith. The three Audis have been entered by Team Goh under the banner of Audi Sport Japan, ALMS privateer Champion Racing, and Arena International who won the 2001 ELMS series for Johansson Motorsport. Two Panoz LMP01s have been entered for JML Team Panoz with other two car teams for Racing For Hollard (Dome-Judds) and Pescarolo Sport (Courage-Peugeots). Single car entries have been accepted from F3000 team Durango using their own Judd powered machine, Lister Racing, Courage Competicion (Courage-Judd), Kondo Racing (Dome-Mugen Honda), Riley & Scott, Edouard Sezionale's Norma-Ford and Team Nasamax with a bioethanol fuelled Reynard-Cosworth.
Formula 3000
No. Driver Team
1 Bjorn Wirdheim Arden International
2 Townsend Bell Arden International
3 Ricardo Sperafico Coloni Motorsport
4 Zsolt Baumgartner Coloni Motorsport
5 Derek Hill Super Nova Racing
6 Enrico Toccacelo Super Nova Racing
7 Nicolas Kiesa Den Bla Avis
8 Robbie Kerr Den Bla Avis
9 Giorgio Pantano Durango
10 Raffaele Gianmaria Durango
11 Tony Schmidt Team Astromega
12 Jeff van Hooydonk Team Astromega
14 Jaroslav Janis Superfund-ISR-Charouz
15 Yannick Schroeder Superfund-ISR-Charouz
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi Red Bull Junior Team F3000
17 Patrick Friesacher Red Bull Junior Team F3000
18 TBA BCN F3000
19 TBA BCN F3000
20 Nicolas Minassian Brand Motorsports
21 Gary Paffett Brand Motorsports
Rally
The Rally of Germany could be struck off the world championship calendar following an unsatisfactory report from last year's event, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) warned last Wednesday.
IRL
The Scot, in his first season in the IRL driving for Michael Andretti, sustained a slight fracture of a vertebra when he crashed through a hedge while out for a ride near his family home in Edinburgh on Friday. Taken to St. John's Hospital in Edinburgh, the former CART driver remained in the hospital overnight after undergoing X-rays and receiving treatment.
Briefs
Satoshi Motoyama has won his second Formula Nippon event of the year, this time at old Mount Fuji circuit. Torrential rain affected the race with Saturday's racing being completely washed out. With the program compacted into a single day, the race was stopped three times. Teammate Frenchman Benoit Treluyer claimed second position, a second and a half behind Motoyama. Ryo Michigami claimed third place for Team 5Zigen with the first round runner-up placegetter Andre Lotterer (PIAA Nakajima) in fourth. Locals Juichi Wakisaka (Team 22) and Takashi Kogure (PIAA Nakajima) took the remaining points finishes.
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Volume 9, Issue 15
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Interview with John Hogan
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2003 Brazilian GP Review
2003 Brazilian GP Review
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