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.
Busch's Bristol Hat Trick
Ryan Newman led early before teammate Rusty Wallace took over, leading most of the race up until just around the 200 lap mark of the 500 lap race. A caution came out at this time when Scott Wimmer got Ricky Craven sideways after Craven got loose, Tony Stewart then running into the back of Wimmer as Wimmer slowed, with Robby Gordon spinning behind them. While under caution Stewart rubbed alongthe side of Wimmer more than once and then half spun him.
Not an entire surprise was Tony Stewart being held by the officials for a lap. What was more of a surprise was that Scott Wimmer received the same penalty... Sterling Marlin took over the lead when he went for two tyres instead of four under this caution period, Marlin leading for about 70 laps until Wallace then Earnhardt Jr took over the lead. It was during this period of the race that the race stayed under green for a long time, nearly 200 laps in fact, with everyone taking pit stops under green flag conditions for once at Bristol.
Just as they were completed the caution came out, Kurt Busch taking over at the front as he and four other lead lap cars stayed out on the track while several others decided to pit. Another caution followed soon after. Soon after that, with around 80 laps remaining, second place runner Dale Earnhardt Jr began falling back. Ten laps later, as Earnhardt Jr was heading towards being lapped, the caution came out as he spun.
Back to the race, and Busch continued to hold a slim lead over Rusty Wallace as the laps wound down, despite a couple more cautions and more cars on fresher tyres. When Scott Wimmer and Dale Jarrett collided in the final ten laps the race was red flagged. This ended up with the race being decided in a two lap sprint, Busch holding on to beat Wallace and Harvick, Marlin fourth with Matt Kenseth in fifth, Wallace still not quite able to break his winless streak of over one hundred races.
Kenseth took fifth place on the final lap when he gave Jamie McMurray a bump'n'run, though Kenseth's move was more of a shove than the usual nudge as McMurray did a good job saving the car and finishing eighth. McMurray wasn't happy and rubbed panels on the cooldown lap before spinning Kenseth around on the entry to pitlane. McMurray was involved in an incident earlier which ended rookie Kasey Kahne's day, though it wasn't clear who was to blame that time.
Result of NASCAR Nextel Cup, Round 6 of 36, Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee, United States:
Standings: Matt Kenseth 898, Kurt Busch 877, Dale Earnhardt Jr 857, Tony Stewart 804, Ryan Newman 788, Jimmie Johnson 785, Kevin Harvick 773, Jeremy Mayfield 764, Elliott Sadler 757, Sterling Marlin 727 etc.
The Rookie Vs the Teutons
With the winners of the last three European Touring Car Championships driving their two lead cars, Autodelta looked set to take the early points lead in the 2004 championship, but after the first two races it is their rookie teammate Augusto Farfus Jr leading the series ahead of a trio of BMWs. The reigning European Formula 3000 Champion stepped into a new arena last weekend, and distinguished himself, qualifying second alongside reigning champ Gabriele Tarquini before taking a hard won first-up win. Almost as impressive was his drive from eighth to third in the reverse grid second race.
With a horsepower disadvantage, BMW was always going to struggle on the open straights of Monza without giving away the significant home ground bonus to the Alfas, and so qualifying proved, with Tarquini blasting down the front straight to set pole at 1:58.395. Farfus would start alongside, almost eight tenths slower. The Muller 'brothers' of BMW Deutschland filled the second row, Dirk and Jorg just inside and outside a second adrift of Tarquini. Fabrizio Giovanardi in the third Autodelta Alfa was next with BMW GB's Andy Priaulx. The fourth row was somewhat of a surprise with Frank Diefenbacher well up in the lead SEAT Toledo and alongside him was the darling of the crowd, Alex Zanardi. Zanardi was making his full time return to racing after a 2001 CART accident at the Lausitzring saw both his legs amputated. Tom Coronel in the privateer BMW and Zanardi's BMW Italy-Spain teammate Antonio Garcia completed the top ten.
Rear wheel drive told the story at the start as the Mullers leapt past the Alfas at the green, but the safety car was immediately on the track nullifying their advantage. Salvatore Tavano had stalled his '03 spec Alfa and was hit from behind by Carl Rosenblad in a privateer BMW putting both out for the weekend.
As the third lap started the race resumed with Farfus leading the scarlet charge, taking Jorg Muller for second before the Lesmos with Tarquini following through under brakes. The bunched field saw Muller forced wide and further downfield under pressure from Giovanardi and Priaulx.
Again rear drive won the start in race two, with Coronel blasting away from Diefenbacher on the top eight reverse grid. Dirk Muller jumped from the third row into third, quickly displaicng the SEAT for second at Lesmo. Into the Ascari chicane Tarquini hit Giovanardi, sending the reigning champ into the barriers and the '02 champ into the gravel while Zanardi spun avoiding the mess. Across the line Coronel led Jorg Muller who charged out of the Parabolica in second ahead of Dirk Muller, Diefenbacher and Priaulx. The factory cars soon slipped by the Carly Motors Beemer with Priaulx pushing hardest into second, chasing Muller senior.
Jorg Muller built a gap as Priaulx and Dirk Muller battled. The flying Farfus scythed through the field to join this battle in the closing stages and split the BMWs at the chequer. Coronel hung on to fourth, while fifth was a promising result for Diefenbacher and SEAT on a horsepower circuit. Garcia and Gene completed with points.
Farfus leads the points chase by two over Jorg Muller with Priaulx five points back in third, one ahead of Dirk Muller before Farfus can see another Alfa in Tarquini on half his pointscore.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Round 1 of 11, Monza, Italy:
Standings: Augusto Farfus 16, Jorg Muller 14, Andy Priaulx 11, Dirk Muller 10, Gabriele Tarquini 8, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Coronel 6, Frank Diefenbacher 4, Antonio Garcia 2, Jordi Gene 1
Island Interesting
On paper, you would have expected the two factory Ducatis to finish 1-2 in both races. But that's not even close to what we saw, with neither factory bike finishing race two! Instead, there were close battles in both races, with Garry McCoy scoring his maiden Superbike win in race two only after his fellow Aussie Steve Martin was cruelly robbed of it. What all this means is that the championship fight is now a close one, James Toseland leading Pierfrancesco Chili by five points, with Garry McCoy and Chris Vermeulen just one point further back.
Race one saw Regis Laconi end his run of bad luck, taking the win after fighting off an early challenge from teammate James Toseland. Toseland then spent most of the race dicing, first with Steve Martin before Chris Vermeulen joined the party. Steve Martin looked set to finish second, leading Toseland and Vermeulen into the final lap. But they both snuck through at Honda Hairpin, and despite Martin's best efforts, he couldn't regain the places, Laconi winning from Vermeulen, Toseland, Martin with Garry McCoy just behind Martin in fifth.
Race two saw a surprising turn of events. Laconi again took the lead early in the race ahead of McCoy, but teammate Toseland didn't last long, crashing on the exit of Siberia on lap four. Martin moved past Vermeulen into third soon after as he slowly reeled in McCoy, McCoy and Martin then swapping second place. This became a dice for the lead when Laconi joined his teammate out of the race when he crashed on the exit of MG hairpin on lap 15.
The three podium placings were now held by three Australians, a home podium looking on the cards. With three laps to go, Martin had taken the ascendency at the front and was beginning to move clear of McCoy. At least that was until his race went up in smoke, his engine blowing up on the run into Honda Hairpin. This moved McCoy into the lead where he stayed, taking his first win in only his fourth race in the series, leading home fellow Aussie Vermeulen, with Pierfrancesco Chili, back on his 998 after riding race one on the 999, Marco Borciani and Troy Corser on the Foggy Petronas filling out the top five.
Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 2 of 11, Phillip Island, Australia:
Standings: James Toseland 61, Pierfrancesco Chili 56, Garry McCoy and Chris Vermuelen 55, Noriyuki Haga and Marco Borciani 43, Chris Walker 39, Steve Martin 29, Mauro Sanchini 27, Regis Laconi 25 etc.
McRae Sets His Sights On Le Mans
The Scot lost his World Rally Championship drive with Citroen at the end of last season and is looking for new challenges in motorsport. He made his Dakar Rally debut in January.
"Le Mans is a race everybody is interested in," Tuesday's Guardian newspaper quoted McRae as saying after a test at the Snetterton circuit. "My situation this year means I'm in a position to do such events."
McRae's car will be prepared by the Prodrive organisation that also runs the Subaru rally team and is owned by World Rally supremo and BAR Formula One boss David Richards.
He will be partnered in the June event by McLaren Formula One tester Darren Turner and touring car driver Rickard Rydell.
Report provided by Reuters
NASCAR
Another Bristol, another Kurt Busch win. That was how it was the two times NASCAR visited the track last season and Busch made it three in a row after winning there on the weekend. It seems that fans at Bristol don't have short memories, as he again received boos from the crowd as he did late last year just after his incident with Jimmy Spencer. Busch's win moves him into second place in the points, just 21 behind leader and teammate Matt Kenseth, with Dale Earnhardt Jr twenty points behind Busch in third.
Instead of losing two laps by pitting under green, he stayed on the lead lap and pitted for fresh tyres to fix the problem, as did about half the lead lap cars. Earnhardt Jr admitted the move was deliberate on the radio at the time as well as when questioned post-race, which has some people confused as drivers have been penalised for deliberately bringing out a caution.
Pos Driver Car
1. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
2. Rusty Wallace Dodge Intrepid
3. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
5. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
6. Ken Schrader Dodge Intrepid
7. Ryan Newman Dodge Intrepid
8. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
9. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
10. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Monte Carlo
ETCC
"At the beginning, I was a bit afraid, because touring cars are completely different from single-seaters," admitted the Brazilian. "But it was a very good weekend for me. I had a good fight and even though I had a couple of problems during the first race. I did my best to keep the lead, and I managed to do that. The second race was great fun as well, and I could overtake some cars by slipstreaming. But of course the championship is going to be very long, and this is only just the start. I hope I'll score some more wins during the course of the season."
Down the long blast to complete lap four Farfus swung around Dirk Muller to take the lead into the braking zone at the Rettifilo. Tarquini moved into second at Lesmo with Giovanardi also taking Muller at the Parabolica, and from there the Alfas raced away. Giovanardi raced hard with Tarquini over second leaving their young teammate by himself to take his first victory in a roofed race car. Tarquini settled the dispute for second. Dirk Muller headed in a lonely fourth ahead of his teammate who had been battling with Priaulx. Coronel led home Diefenbacher and Zanardi with the second factory SEAT of Jordi Gene completing the top ten.
Race One
Pos Drivers Car
1. Augusto Farfus AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
3. Fabrizio Giovanardi AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
4. Dirk Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
5. Jorg Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
6. Andy Priaulx BMW Team Great Britain BMW 320i
7. Tom Coronel Carly Motors BMW 320i
8. Frank Diefenbacher SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
9. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
10. Jordi Gene SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
Race Two
Pos Drivers Car
1. Jorg Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
2. Andy Priaulx BMW Team Great Britain BMW 320i
3. Augusto Farfus AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
4. Dirk Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
5. Tom Coronel Carly Motors BMW 320i
6. Frank Diefenbacher SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
7. Antonio Garcia BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
8. Jordi Gene SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
9. Stefano D'Aste Proteam Motorsport BMW 320i
10. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
Superbikes
Race One
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Regis Laconi Ducati 999F04
2. Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR
3. James Toseland Ducati 999F04
4. Steve Martin Ducati 999RS
5. Garry McCoy Ducati 999RS
6. Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki ZX10
7. Marco Borciani Ducati 999RS
8. Noriyuki Haga Ducati 999RS
9. Piefrancesco Chili Ducati 999RS
10. Chris Walker Foggy Petronas FP1
Race Two
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Garry McCoy Ducati 999RS
2. Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR
3. Piefrancesco Chili Ducati 998RS
4. Marco Borciani Ducati 999RS
5. Troy Corser Foggy Petronas FP1
6. Noriyuki Haga Ducati 999RS
7. Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki ZX10
8. Chris Walker Foggy Petronas FP1
9. Ivan Clementi Kawasaki ZX10
10. Leon Haslam Ducati 999RS
Le Mans
Former World Rally Champion Colin McRae will drive a Ferrari in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race.
Upcoming Events Calendar
 |
Contact the Author Contact the Editor |
Please Contact Us for permission to republish this or any other material from Atlas F1.
 Email to Friend
Volume 10, Issue 13
Atlas F1 Exclusive
Interview with David Richards
Interview with Geoff Willis
Interview with Jenson Button
Interview with Takuma Sato
Articles
Every Other Sunday
The Paint Job: Part IV
Telling Teammates Apart
2004 Bahrain GP Preview
2004 Bahrain GP Preview
Bahrain GP Facts & Stats
Columns
The F1 Trivia Quiz
Bookworm Critique
On the Road
Elsewhere in Racing
The Weekly Grapevine
> Homepage |
