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



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.


  MotoGP

Rossi Wins In Brazil To Extend Lead

By Brian Homewood

Second place finisher Sete Gibernau, winner Valentino Rossi and third place finisher Makoto Tamada stand on the podium in BrazilItaly's Valentino Rossi cruised to his fourth consecutive Brazilian Grand Prix win on Saturday to extend his lead in the MotoGP World Championship. The race was effectively settled after the 24-year-old, who could clinch his third successive World Championship at Motegi in Japan on October 5, overtook Spain's Sete Gibernau on the ninth lap.

Gibernau finished second while Japan's Makoto Tamada was third to claim the first podium of his career and complete a clean sweep for Honda. Rossi, who also won the last two races in Brno and Estoril, has 262 points in the world championship, 51 ahead of Gibernau with four races left. Rossi can wrap up the title if he wins in Japan and Gibernau fails to score a point.

Rossi has never been beaten at the Nelson Piquet circuit in any category. He won the 125cc race in 1997, the 250cc race in 1999 and the top category -- 500 cc in 2000 and 2001 and MotoGP in 2002 and 2003 -- ever year since.

"I like this track, it's very good for me and today we set the bike very well, today the bike was perfect," said Rossi, who had a winning time of 44 minutes 36.633 seconds. "My target is to keep this standard until the end of the season."

Valentino Rossi crosses the finish line to take the winGibernau, who has four victories this season to Rossi's six, was happy with his performance after crashing at the end of Friday's final qualifying session.

"I'm pretty happy because yesterday I had problems with the bike and after the crash I was feeling very bad," he said. "I want to thank the team because they helped me to do the race."

"It wasn't much of a battle," he added. "Once he went past, I couldn't follow him.

"Valentino did a great job, we all know what he's capable of doing. He won fair and square."

Rossi begin in pole position but Gibernau came out of the first curve in front. Despite constant pressure from the chasing Italian, Gibernau managed to keep the lead for the first nine laps before Rossi sneaked inside him on a curve to snatch first place.

After that, Rossi sped away from the field to win by more than three seconds, having at one stage been nearly four-and-a-half seconds ahead and surviving a minor scare when he skidded on the last lap.

Tamada began on the third row but worked his way steadily through the field before overtaking Italian Max Biaggi on the 12th lap and keeping his place for the second half of the race.

Sete Gibernau leads Valentino Rossi early in the raceEarlier, sixteen-year-old Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo became the second youngest rider to win a grand prix race when he was first in the 125cc category. Lorenzo overtook Australia's Casey Stoner and San Marino's Alex de Angelis near the end of the final lap to secure the win in 41 minutes 51.624 seconds.

World championship leader Manuel Poggiali dramatically won the 250cc race after fellow title contender Toni Elias crashed when leading on the last lap. After two attempts to pass, Elias finally managed to overtake but then lost control of the bike and skidded off the track. Poggiali extended his lead to 22 points after Roberto Rolfo of Italy moved into second spot and Elias dropped to fourth.

Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 12 of 16, Jacarepagua, Brazil:

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Valentino Rossi       Honda RC211V
 2.  Sete Gibernau         Honda RC211V
 3.  Makoto Tamada         Honda RC211V
 4.  Max Biaggi            Honda RC211V
 5.  Nicky Hayden          Honda RC211V
 6.  Loris Capirossi       Ducati Desmosedici
 7.  Tohru Ukawa           Honda RC211V
 8.  Shinya Nakano         Yamaha YZR-M1
 9.  Carlos Checa          Yamaha YZR-M1
10.  Troy Bayliss          Ducati Desmosedici

Standings: Valentino Rossi 262, Sete Gibernau 211, Max Biaggi 174, Loris Capirossi 123, Troy Bayliss 112, Tohru Ukawa 94, Carlos Checa 93, Nicky Hayden 85, Alex Barros 80, Shinya Nakano 77 etc.

MotoGP points distribution


Suzuka Dropped For 2004 Due To Safety Concerns

The season-opening Japanese motorcycling Grand Prix at Suzuka has been dropped from next year's calendar because safety demands cannot be met, the sport's governing body the FIM said on Friday.

The Suzuka track, which also hosts a Formula One race, came under scrutiny over safety after Japanese rider Daijiro Kato died from internal injuries following an accident during this year's motorcycling Grand Prix on April 6.

Next year's race was due to take place on April 4, keeping its traditional season-opening date, but the FIM said it would be omitted from the calendar because safety modifications "cannot be carried out before the Grand Prix".

A second Japanese race at Motegi, known as the Pacific Grand Prix, will now assume the title of Japanese Grand Prix and will take place on September 19. The FIM said talks will be held over the safety of the Suzuka circuit for 2005.

Reports provided by Reuters


  IRL

Hornish Scorches To Victory In California

By Lewis Franck

Aiming for a third straight Indy Racing League championship, Sam Hornish scorched to victory in the California 400 at a speed of 207.151 mph on Sunday, the fastest closed course race in American history. Driving a Dallara-Chevrolet, Hornish was a repeat winner here finishing 0.353 seconds ahead of the GForce-Toyota of New Zealands's Scott Dixon. Tony Kanaan of Brazil finished third in a Dallara-Honda.

Sam Hornish celebrates with his crew after his second successive victoryHornish took the lead on lap 186 of the 200 lap race and used traffic to hold off the Kiwi for his third win of the year, and third of the last four races.

"I could run wherever I wanted to, and the that was the bid big key today," said Hornish. "We definitely didn't have the fastest car, but we had the car that could run wherever," he added.

Dixon admitted that he had could not catch his rival. "Sam definitely had a quick car," he said. "I couldn't use my car on the high side."

Although air temperatures reached a high of 101 degrees Fahrenheit it was a very clean race, with no cars crashing and only one caution for six laps to clean up debris on the two mile oval. Coincidentally, the previously fastest race was a CART 500 mile race at the same circuit, won by Jimmy Vasser at a speed of 197.955mph.

With one race remaining in the all-oval IRL series, Dixon is tied with Helio Castroneves, of Brazil with 467 points, Kanaan is second seven points back while Hornish moved to within 19 points of the lead. Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran - who finished 15th - is the fifth and last driver with a mathematical chance, 30 points behind.

To win the championship, Hornish would have to lead the most laps, win the race, and have rivals Castroneves and Dixon finish lower than third. Last year, in the last race of the season at Texas, Hornish took the lead for good on the last lap to clinch the title.

Castroneves, a two-time Indy 500 winner, but never champion in an Indy Car, said "it's good to be a good finish for the championship, I just want to have a different end result this year."

Result of Indy Racing League, Round 15 of 16, California Speedway, California, United States:

Pos  Driver              Team
 1.  Sam Hornish Jr      Panther Racing Dallara-Chevrolet
 2.  Scott Dixon         Chip Ganassi Racing GForce-Toyota
 3.  Tony Kanaan         Andretti Green Racing Dallara-Honda
 4.  Dan Wheldon         Andretti Green Racing Dallara-Honda
 5.  Tomas Scheckter     Chip Ganassi Racing GForce-Toyota
 6.  Helio Castroneves   Team Penske Dallara-Toyota
 7.  Roger Yasukawa      Super Aguri Fernandez Racing Dallara-Honda
 8.  Scott Sharp         Kelley Racing Dallara-Toyota
 9.  Al Unser Jr         Kelley Racing Dallara-Toyota    
10.  Alex Barron         Cheever Racing Dallara-Chevrolet

Standings: Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves 467, Tony Kanaan 460, Sam Hornish Jr 448, Gil de Ferran 437, Al Unser Jr 352, Tomas Scheckter 341, Kenny Brack 328, Scott Sharp 323, Tora Takagi 291 etc.

IRL points distribution

Report provided by Reuters


  NASCAR

New Rules, Same Newman

Ryan Newman celebrates his seventh win of the 2003 seasonBack in June, Ryan Newman won at Dover. Three months later, it was the same circuit and the same winner, though Newman certainly didn't have it easy on his way to the Dover double. After leading early, Newman suffered a flat tyre and fell almost two laps down as he was forced to pit under green. After finally getting back on the lead lap with just over 100 laps remaining, he made an economy run to the end to take victory after a tough battle with Jeremy Mayfield over the closing laps. Meanwhile Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon scored their first top five finishes in over a month as they came home third and fifth after strong runs. Matt Kenseth, racing at a track he likes very much, had trouble with the handling of his car all night but salvaged things with a ninth place finish to expand his points lead once more, helped by a late race incident which saw Earnhardt Jr take a short stay in hospital after a brief moment of unconsciousness after a collision with the wall, and in some doubt for this week's race at Talladega.

This week saw several changes to the rules after recent incidents had many people involved in near misses on the track and on pit road. After years of debate, and strong calls during this season, racing back to the caution has finally been banished, with drivers to slow down and hold position when the caution comes out. To offset this lack of opportunity for drivers to race back to get back on the lead lap at the caution, the first car a lap down will get back on the lead lap at each caution period. As well as this, cars will come into the pits single file and can only pass on the right in pit lane, eliminating the situation which saw Gordon end up knocking over Jimmie Johnson's pit crew last weekend.

With qualifying cancelled thanks to Hurricane Isabel, the field was set by owner points, with Matt Kenseth on the pole ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. At the start it was Kevin Harvick on the move, taking second from Earnhardt Jr before moving into the lead through turn four to lead lap one. Ryan Newman was also on the move, taking second from Kenseth on lap two. The first caution came out very soon after on lap four after Mike Skinner was squeezed down onto the apron of turn one and spun, avoiding the walls and coming to rest on the inside of the circuit. Behind him Ken Schrader was spun, bouncing off the wall. Just as Skinner got rolling again, Schrader's car slid down in front of him, Skinner suffering damage after escaping the spin unscathed.

Dover winner Ryan NewmanLap eight and it was back to green, with Kenseth continuing to lose places after the restart. Lap twelve and we had a new leader, Newman taking the lead from Harvick and pulling away as Earnhardt Jr moved in on Harvick, while Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon filled the rest of the top five before lap 20, Gordon moving past Johnson soon after while Tony Stewart moved into fifth. Just before lap 50 leader Newman was forced to pit with a deflating right rear tyre, dropping him from first to 41st, nearly two laps down. Up front, new leader Harvick was negotiating traffic, allowing Earnhardt Jr, Gordon and Stewart to close in. Just as the field were closing in on their first pit stops, the second caution of the day came out after Joe Nemechek slammed the turn one wall extremely hard after a front right tyre went down. In fact, he hit the wall so hard they needed to repair it, extending the caution period while they did so.

The field pitted at this time, Harvick leading Gordon, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Stewart off pit lane. The race eventually restarted on lap 106, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr moving past Elliott into third and four place soon after the restart as the leaders settled down, while Kenseth continued to struggle, sitting near the bottom of the top twenty as Newman continued to fight back, hoping for the free pass back to the lead lap. Lap 134 and Elliott took fourth back from Earnhardt Jr as the top three bunched up again due to traffic again. Lap 148 and this lapped traffic allowed Stewart to take second place from Gordon as the top three remained closely bunched. Bobby Labonte brought out the next caution on lap 165 when he glanced the wall in turn four. The field headed to the pits for the second time, with Gordon leading Elliott, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr and Stewart off pit road.

The race restarted on lap 171, Earnhardt Jr taking third later that lap and Stewart fourth soon after from Harvick as Michael Waltrip's car coasted to the pits, his day over. Earnhardt Jr was soon past Elliott into second place and on leader Gordon's tail, the top four all close together as they left the rest of the field in their wake, with Stewart moving into third on lap 180 while Earnhardt took the lead one lap later but Gordon wasn't giving up, sitting right on Junior's tail until Stewart moved right up on Gordon's tail, Stewart taking second on lap 185 after another close battle. Lap 195 saw Harvick take fourth from Elliott, Elliott having dropped back from the leaders while Harvick had recovered from his form after the restart as Stewart challenged Earnhardt Jr for the lead, taking the lead on lap 199 but Earnhardt Jr was soon challenging to retake the lead, the duo battling side by side once more, Earnhardt Jr retaking the lead on lap 213 as Gordon kept a watching brief while Jamie McMurray was now fourth ahead of Harvick.

Matt Kenseth leads Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr into turn one at the start, Harvick sweeping past into the lead before the lap is overDebris brought out the next caution on lap 236, and once more the field headed for the pits, Earnhardt Jr leading Gordon, Stewart, Harvick and Johnson off pit lane. Back to green on lap 242, Gordon pressuring for the lead before Earnhardt Jr got loose off turn two on lap 244 allowing Gordon and Stewart through, with Stewart taking the lead from Gordon through turn three and four a lap later. With Harvick in tow the top four again were closely matched before leader Stewart began to edge away, Earnhardt Jr taking second back on lap 252. Jeremy Mayfield was having a good day and had risen up through the top ten, moving into fifth soon after the restart before taking fourth place from Harvick on lap 254, third from Gordon a lap later and second from Earnhardt Jr a lap after Gordon.

Now Gordon was looking to retake third from Earnhardt Jr as he still held off Harvick, eventually retaking third on lap 264 as Mayfield closed in on leader Stewart. Lap 288 and debris from Schrader's car brought out the caution, with this caution seeing Ryan Newman receive the free pass back onto the lead lap giving him a (long) shot at the win, having shown good pace all day during his recovery. In came the field once more, Stewart leading Earnhardt Jr, Harvick, Gordon and Mayfield off pit road. With around 110 laps remaining when the field pitted, it was (probably) outside the pit window to make it to the end without stopping again, though Ryan Newman came back in twice to top off before the restart.

The race restarted on lap 297, Stewart and Earnhardt Jr pulling away at the front of the field initially before Earnhardt Jr fell back into the clutches of Harvick, with Gordon and Mayfield close behind, Mayfield finally taking fourth from Gordon on lap 319. Lap 326 and the caution was back out after Kenny Wallace almost or lightly scraped the turn four wall. All of the lead lap runners pitted... except Newman. Earnhardt Jr took two tyres and jumped up to second, while Stewart led the rest of the field off pit road, restarting third, ahead of Harvick, Elliott Sadler and Mayfield, while Jeff Gordon dropped to tenth. Could Newman stretch the fuel, or would he have to make a late race splash and dash?

Back to green on lap 331, Earnhardt Jr challenging Newman through turns one and two before Stewart dived throught and claimed second from Junior off turn four. As Newman led, Earnhardt Jr's decision to take two tyres looked like a bad decision, down to sixth by lap 335, with Mayfield moving to fourth past Sadler on the same lap. Further back in the top ten Gordon was making his way back up the order, Gordon taking seventh on lap 339 as he passed Earnhardt Jr who continued to head the other way as he struggled badly with the car's handling. Closer to the front Mayfield was giving Harvick a hard time before driving around the outside of him to take third on lap 342 as Newman continued to hold a small lead over Stewart at the front of the field with Mayfield closing in on both of them, right on Stewart's tail by lap 350, Mayfield taking second a lap later after Stewart got loose through turns three and four.

Joe Nemechek's wrecked car slides along the fence after literally knocking a hole in the wallLap 359 saw Jeff Gordon move back into the top five as he passed Sadler. Meanwhile Earnhardt Jr, who had challenged for the lead at the restart about 30 laps earlier, was now in 19th place and on the verge of being lapped as his car's handling deteriorated. As Ryan Newman lapped him, Earnhardt Jr got up into the marbles and had a lazy spin through turn two, hitting the wall driver's side first, knocking him temporarily unconscious and bringing out the caution on lap 365. When the pits opened, most of the leaders stayed out, however Stewart pitted from third and Johnson from seventh came in, as did several other cars further back on the lead lap, Stewart resuming in twelfth and Johnson thirteenth as nine cars stayed out and led the field, Newman ahead of Mayfield, Harvick, Gordon and Sadler the top five. Everyone was now sure to make it to the end on fuel... except Newman. Could he make it?

Lap 373 and Newman got a great restart to break clear at the front, but just one lap later Mayfield was right on his rear bumper, looking for the lead as Newman ran the low line and Mayfield even lower, the duo getting side by side a couple of times as they battled lap after lap. A little further back Stewart was absolutely flying on fresh tyres, up to fifth with just under twenty laps in the 400 lap event remaining. Up at the front the leading duo were opening the gap over Harvick in third as they continued to battle, making light contact on lap 384 as they got a little too close but Newman still held on. Finally, with 15 laps remaining, Newman finally began to edge ever so slightly away from Mayfield. Stewart meanwhile was right with Gordon for fourth place, taking the position on lap 389.

Stewart quickly closed in on Harvick, taking third place from him on lap 398. Up at the front Newman continued to hold on, going on to take the victory just ahead of Mayfield, Newman's fuel holding out long enough to do a cooldown lap, a burnout and then make it to victory lane. Stewart made it back up to third place, the same place he was before he made his final stop to beat Harvick and Gordon to fourth and fifth who were rewarded for remaining in the top ten all day.

Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 28 of 36, Dover Downs International Speedway, Delaware, United States:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Ryan Newman           Dodge Intrepid
 2.  Jeremy Mayfield       Dodge Intrepid
 3.  Tony Stewart          Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 4.  Kevin Harvick         Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 5.  Jeff Gordon           Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 6.  Jamie McMurray        Dodge Intrepid
 7.  Greg Biffle           Ford Taurus
 8.  Jimmie Johnson        Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 9.  Matt Kenseth          Ford Taurus
10.  Rusty Wallace         Dodge Intrepid

Standings: Matt Kenseth 4158, Kevin Harvick 3722, Jimmie Johnson 3685, Dale Earnhardt Jr 3668, Ryan Newman 3578, Jeff Gordon 3542, Bobby Labonte 3393, Kurt Busch 3372, Terry Labonte 3294, Tony Stewart 3291 etc.

NASCAR points distribution


  DTM

The Zand Man

In front of over 60,000 of his countrymen, Christijan Albers made a triumphant return to Zandvoort, taking his fourth victory of the year. In doing so, Albers has set up a battle for the ages at the Hockenheim Grand Final with fellow Mercedes driver Bernd Schneider. The young Dutch driver trails the veteran German by a single point. Literally, it will be winner take all.

While the season-long dominance of Mercedes had been broken two rounds ago by Laurent Aiello, it looked as though this weekend might see someone from Opel take the spoils. Fifth fastest in qualifying, Timo Scheider took the times in the Superpole session and applied the squeeze. Albers had just recorded a 1:35.345, then fastest by half a second when Scheider under cut it, recording a 1:35.336. The final four cars saw Manuel Reuter four tenths away, Mattias Ekstrom just outside Albers with a 35.354 before Martin Tomcyzk hurried through for a 35.341, just shading Albers for the second front row position. Alain Menu ended up a tenth away in fifth. Of Albers' championship rivals, Marcel Fassler was seventh and Bernd Schneider missed the cut in thirteenth, joining reigning champ Laurent Aiello as spectators of the superpole session.

When the flag dropped, the worst thing happened, as a front row car stalled. Tomczyk's Audi failed to move as Scheider led Albers, Reuter, Menu and a fast starting Jeroen Bleekemolen. Bleekemolen briefly took fourth from Menu as the Opel drivers fought over fourth. Fassler was closing on the pair though and Bleekemolen dropped Menu in order to defend fifth. He would fail in that task, while Menu took the opportunity to attack Reuter.

The pits began servicing cars on lap six as Scheider led Menu and Fassler into the pits. Schneider also pitted, already well into the top ten, and a demon outlap could surely net him a spot or two. Albers pitted from the lead a lap later along with Reuter, Peter Dumbreck and a chastened Martin Tomcyzk. Albers resumed behind Scheider with Bleekemolen now leading, if only for a lap. Bleekemolen collided with Christian Abt on his outlap, ending his chances of a top five finish down the way. He wouldn't give up though.

With the first stop completed Albers was climbing all over Scheider with the yet to stop Peter Terting third ahead of Menu and... Bernd Schneider, as sure enough the '01 Champion had leapt up the pack during the stops. Reuter was fifth ahead of Jean Alesi and Ekstrom. Menu's charge ended a lap later as he clashed with Terting, sending the Opel hard towards the wall and out of the race. Terting would have another collision with Bernd Maylander four laps later.

Alain Menu heads into the fence after contact with Peter TertingThe same lap the delayed Bleekemolen made his second stop early in an attempt to regain some lost ground. The move was instantly successful as Fassler rejoined from his stop behind the Opel. Albers pitted on lap 20 along with Reuter, while lap 21 Scheider led Schneider and Alesi. As the Phoenix team serviced Scheider, Albers was screaming around the lap. But the tenterhooks the crowd focussed on pit lane exit dimmed when Timo Scheider's right front wheel won the race ahead of both cars. Scheider's race was gutted.

When the stops were completed, Albers had over ten seconds on Bernd Schneider. With the help of an inspired Vodafone-AMG crew, Schneider had raced through the field to be second as the laps ran down. Despite his much faster race pace Schneider's rival was too far up the road and the points lead was now all but gone.

The battle for third was on in earnest as the leading Audi hunted down the leading Opel. Ekstrom caught Reuter with six laps to go, forcing his way past. Alesi would take fifth, while Fasslers seventeen-lap battle with Bleekemolen saw the Opel succumb on the final lap. Fassler is now secure in third place in the championship, both too far ahead and too far behind to be affected by the final race of the season. Former Formula One driver, Karl Wendlinger, claimed the final point of Zandvoort and his first for the season.

The two minor championship have long since been decided with the Vodafone/Express Service team of Schneider and Albers over 40 points clear of the 'sister' AMG squad and MB has thrashed its rivals in the manufacturers cup. The equation for the grand final at Hockenheim couldn't be simpler. If Albers finishes in front of Schneider, and in the points, he becomes champion. If Schneider beats Albers, Schneider wins. In the event of a tie, a countback favours Albers, so the equation stands. Beat the other guy.

Result of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 9 of 10; Zandvoort, The Netherlands:

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Christijan Albers    Mercedes CLK-DTM
 2.  Bernd Schneider      Mercedes CLK-DTM
 3.  Mattias Ekstrom      Audi TT-R
 4.  Manuel Reuter        Opel Astra Coupe
 5.  Jean Alesi           Mercedes CLK-DTM
 6.  Marcel Fassler       Mercedes CLK-DTM
 7.  Jeroen Bleekemolen   Opel Astra Coupe
 8.  Karl Wendlinger      Opel Astra Coupe
 9.  Laurent Aiello       Audi TT-R
10.  Peter Dumbreck       Opel Astra Coupe

Standings: Bernd Schneider 65, Christijan Albers 64, Marcel Fassler 51, Mattias Ekstrom 38, Laurent Aiello 37, Jean Alesi 32, Peter Dumbreck 26, Timo Scheider 10, Alain Menu 9, Manuel Reuter 5 etc.

Manufacturers: Mercedes-Benz 218, Audi 80, Opel 53

DTM points distribution


  Euro F3

Klein Closing

Race one winner Christian KlienChristian Klien knows his brief if he is to catch Ryan Briscoe. But it will be a huge task. The reigning Zandvoort Formula 3 Master won the first race, but had to give best to his target in race two.

Klien's carryover form from the Masters was readily apparent, taking both pole positions in practice on Friday and Saturday in the Mucke Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes. On Friday Klien led a Mercedes-powered domination of the grid, with five of the top six qualifiers wearing the three-pointed star. Only Briscoe broke the formation, sharing the front row with Klien. The two rows following saw Olivier Pla alongside Markus Winkelhock, and Alexandre Premat with Bruno Spengler. Qualifying for race one saw an all Mercedes front row with Premat joining Klien. Briscoe was third with Spengler, Pla and Winkelhock following as the same top six shuffled.

The first race saw Briscoe jump well to launch past Premat into second, only for Premat to ram the Australian off the circuit in turn one in the first corner crush. The safety car was despatched as three other cars joined Briscoe. Briscoe rejoining well down the field. Premat did not rejoin. Nor did Bernhard Auinger, Jamie Green or Patrice Manopoulos. The race restarted on lap five and only lasted four laps before another safety car period was brought out when Sakon Yamamoto left the circuit.

When racing resumed, there would only be three racing laps for Briscoe to recover any lost ground. He climbed to 17th by flagfall. Out front Klien was unchallenged as he raced to win from Spengler, Pla and Winkelhock. Robert Doornbos was the first non Mercedes-powered Dallara ahead of Simon Abadie and Briscoe's teammate Robert Kubica.

Ryan Briscoe, spun, centre, sits stranded at the start of race one as cars dive left and right to avoid him, before going on to win race twoAt the srart of race two Briscoe was in no mood to delay on a circuit where passing opportunities are at a premium, and launched straight past Klien. Behind them, the grid erupted in chaos again. Auinger collided with Abadie, launching the LD Autosport Dallara into a barrel roll. There followed a long safety car period, after which Briscoe launched away again. Klien was immediately under fire from Pla while Premat attacked Winkelhock for fourth. No positions were swapped however. Carbone took sixth from Doornbos and Rosberg, while up front Briscoe had a six second lead at the end of the race.

Briscoe's lead over Klien has dropped to 22 points, which means Klien needs to make up six points in each of the remaining races. Klien will need another first corner incident to take the crown from Toyota's Formula One test driver.

Result of European Formula 3 Championship, Round 8; Zandvoort, The Netherlands:

Race One

Pos  Driver               Team
 1.  Christian Klien      Mucke Motorsport Dallara F303 Mercedes
 2.  Bruno Spengler       ASM F3 Dallara F303 Mercedes
 3.  Olivier Pla          ASM F3 Dallara F303 Mercedes
 4.  Markus Winkelhock    Mucke Motorsport Dallara F303 Mercedes
 5.  Robert Doornbos      Team Ghinzani Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 6.  Simon Abadie         LD Autosport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 7.  Robert Kubica        Prema Powerteam Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 8.  Alvaro Parente       Team Ghinzani Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 9.  Nicholas Lapierre    Signature Plus Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
10.  Katsuyuki Hiranaka   Prema Powerteam Dallara F303 Spiess Opel

Race Two

Pos  Driver               Team
 1.  Ryan Briscoe         Prema Powerteam Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 2.  Christian Klien      Mucke Motorsport Dallara F303 Mercedes
 3.  Olivier Pla          ASM F3 Dallara F303 Mercedes
 4.  Markus Winkelhock    Mucke Motorsport Dallara F303 Mercedes
 5.  Alexandre Premat     ASM F3 Dallara F303 Mercedes
 6.  Fabio Carbone        Signature Plus Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 7.  Robert Doornbos      Team Ghinzani Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 8.  Nico Rosberg         Team Rosberg Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 9.  Nicholas Lapierre    Signature Plus Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
10.  Katsuyuki Hiranaka   Prema Powerteam Dallara F303 Spiess Opel

Standings: Ryan Briscoe 99, Christian Klien 77, Olivier Pla 61, Markus Winkelhock 52, Alexandre Premat 46, Fabio Carbone 44, Nico Rosberg 40, Timo Glock 35, Robert Doornbos 32, Bruno Spengler 27 etc

F3 Euro Series points distribution


  Upcoming Events Calendar

  • September 27 - American Le Mans Series, Round 7 of 9; Bayfront Park, Florida, United States
  • September 28 - Champ Car World Series, Round 16 of 19; Bayfront Park, Florida, United States
  • September 28 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 29 of 36; Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama, United States
  • September 28 - British Formula 3 Championship, Rounds 23 & 24 of 24; Brands Hatch, United Kingdom
  • September 28 - World Superbike Championship, Round 11 of 12; Imola, Italy
  • October 1 - World Rally Championship, Round 11 of 14; Rally San Remo, Italy
  • October 5 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 13 of 16; Motegi, Japan
  • October 5 - European Formula 3 Championship, Round 9 of 10; Hockenheim, Germany
  • October 5 - Formula Nissan World Series, Round 7 of 9; Barcelona, Spain
  • October 5 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 30 of 36; Kansas Speedway, Kansas, United States
  • October 5 - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 10 of 10; Hockenheim, Germany
  • October 5 - European Touring Car Championship, Round 8 of 9; Estroil, Portugal
  • October 5 - FIA-GT Championship, Round 8 of 9; Estoril, Portugal
  • October 9 - African Rally Championship, Round 6; Coast Equator Rally, Kenya
  • October 10 - European Rally Champinship, Co-efficient 20 event; The Rally Antibes, France
  • October 11 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 31 of 36; Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Carolina, United States
  • October 11 - Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Round 6; China Rally of Shaoguan
  • October 12 - Champ Car World Series, Round 17 of 19; Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico
  • October 12 - Indy Racing League, Round 16 of 16; Texas Motor Speedway, United States
  • October 12 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 14 of 16; Sepang, Malaysia
  • October 12 - V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 10 of 13; Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, Australia
  • October 12 - European Formula 3000 Championship, Round 8 of 9; Jerez, Spain


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Volume 9, Issue 39
September 24th 2003

Atlas F1 Exclusive

Giancarlo Fisichella: Through the Visor
by Giancarlo Fisichella

Articles

The Enemy Within
by Will Gray

Season in the Sun
by David Cameron

2003 US GP Preview

2003 US GP Preview
by Craig Scarborough

US Facts & Stats
by Marcel Schot

Columns

The Fuel Stop
by Reginald Kincaid

Rear View Mirror
by Don Capps

The F1 Trivia Quiz
by Marcel Borsboom

Bookworm Critique
by Mark Glendenning

On the Road
by Garry Martin

Elsewhere in Racing
by David Wright & Mark Alan Jones

The Weekly Grapevine
by Tom Keeble



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