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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.
Murphy And 'Kid' Kelly Go Back-To-Back
Not only were the winners the same as last year, but so were the second place finishers, Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton. In a season in which both drivers have suffered from reliability problems, they survived the most demanding race of all. Joining them on the podium were John Bowe and Brad Jones, who seemed headed for a top five finish last year before late race contact.
Murphy and Kelly's win in a Holden extended Holden's winning streak to six at the Mountain, ironically the number of Fords behind him on the lead lap, the only Holden to finish on the lead lap. Other Holden contenders for the win suffered problems of one kind of another, with the next best placed Holden their own teammates Tim Leahey and Steve Owen. Crowd favourite Peter Brock didn't get a chance to drive after his co-driver Jason Plato was involved in a race-ending incident early on, his chance of a tenth Bathurst win gone before it started. With Jason Bright recently signalling his intention to start his own team, there was a vacancy at PWR, which Greg Murphy has taken, ruling out any chance of a threepeat with Rick Kelly, while Murphy's vacancy has been filled by Garth Tander, finally leaving the Garry Rogers team.
The race itself had only a minor effect on the points standings provided you finished, thanks to the slightly different points structure used for Sandown and Bathurst. Despite a day which involved a trip through the sand, a trip into the sand and a spin which involved a tangle with another car which saw him finish two laps down in twelfth, Jason Bright only lost 32 points to Marcos Ambrose who finished fourth. Ambrose remains in the lead on 1667 points, with Bright 55 behind, Rick Kelly 47 behind Bright, Russell Ingall 56 behind Kelly, Steven Richards 10 behind Ingall and Murphy 33 behind Richards, the top six covered by 191 points. With 576 points still up for grabs, these six are the real contenders left, although four other drivers could theoretically win the title.
The next four cars tried but failed to beat Dumbrell's (or Ambrose's) time, and though Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton looked set for a promising time, Lowndes got the car up on two wheels in the chase and lost time as he steered into it to stop the car from rolling, ruining his lap and scattering some gravel on the track for good measure. Now just three cars remained. Steven Richards was first out in the car he was sharing with father Jim, the pair teammates to Dumbrell and Longhurst. A 2:07.9611 saw the Castrol Perkins team sitting 1-2. Jason Bright/Paul Weel were next out, and despite a good effort missed out by 12/10000ths of a second from taking the pole, as he moved into second. Last out was Murphy, looking for back-to-back poles. The end result was somewhat of a letdown, particular for Murphy, setting a 2:08.1177, only fourth fastest and over a second slower than last year. But despite his disappointment, he knew the most important day to be fast was Sunday.
At the start Bright/Weel got a better jump than S Richards/J Richards, but S Richards/J Richards gathered that ground back as they went through Hell Corner, before Bright/Weel edged back in front as they headed up Mountain Straight. Bright was so confident he was in front that he moved across the track but he wasn't clear of S Richards/J Richards, both cars heading towards the grass before they recovered. This allowed the two SBR cars of Ambrose/Ritter and Russell Ingall/Cameron McLean through, and when Dumbrell/Longhurst ran wide at Griffin's just a corner later, it was a SBR 1-2 early on lap one, and a Ford 1-2-3 before the lap was over as the John Bowe/Brad Jones car moved past Dumbrell/Longhurst into third.
Several of the leaders had just pitted before the first safety car came out on lap 20 when one of the backmarkers crashed in the Esses. Most of those yet to pit came in for their first stops. The race returned to green on lap 25, Paul Morris/Alan Gurr leading Dumbrell/Longhurst and Skaife/T Kelly among a small group yet to pit. The dicing between them after the restart allowed Craig Lowndes/Glenn Seton to take the lead from them all on the run up to the Cutting on that very same lap! The race was back to safety car conditions on lap 31 when Jason Plato, who had a flat tyre after clouting the fence at Murray's Corner, limped his way back to the pits.
He had almost made it to the pits when John Cleland/Andrew Jones hit the car from behind as he went to pass another car which had slowed slightly, having seen Plato's limping car, sending the Cleland/A Jones car into the air and sliding on its roof. Later Plato was fined $10 000 despite the Cleland/A Jones car having moved well off the racing line to try to make the pass. Those few cars yet to pit made their stops, the Skaife/T Kelly car losing time as they replaced an alternator belt, while the Bright/Weel car was suffering brake problems, specifically a lack of them.
Back to green on lap 55, Lowndes/Seton leading Steven Johnson/Warren Luff and Murphy/R Kelly, though Murphy/R Kelly moved up to second just before the lap was over. Murphy/R Kelly took over the lead on lap 63 when Lowndes/Seton pitted. Meanwhile Ambrose/Ritter were on the charge, moving up from eleventh at the restart to second place by lap 68 before pitting on lap 73, while the Seton/Lowndes car made an unscheduled stop a few laps later. Everyone made stops before lap 90, with Murphy/R Kelly comfortably leading Bowe/B Jones and Ambrose/Ritter when the stops were over, with Ambrose/Ritter taking second on lap 93.
The Bright/Weel car brought out the next safety car on lap 95 when they bunkered themselves at Hell Corner after more brake problems. Some of the front runners pitted, including Lowndes/Seton, Bowe/B Jones, Johnson/Luff and Dumbrell/Longhurst. Racing resumed on lap 99 of 161, Murphy/R Kelly leading Ambrose/Ritter and S Richards/J Richards, who had recovered brilliantly from their earlier trouble, but the safety car was back out on lap 103 after Muller/Canto ended up in the sand at Murray's Corner. More of the leaders pitted, including Ambrose/Ritter, Bowe/B Jones, S Richards/J Richards and Ingall/McLean. Meanwhile some cars, including leader Murphy/R Kelly, chose not to use either of these two periods to pit.
This came as a result of the retirement at Skyline of the Paul Radisich/Max Wilson car, which had been running in third place when it suffered a repeat of the right front hub failure they had encountered earlier in the week. Murphy/R Kelly, Tander/McConville and Lowndes/Seton were the leaders to pit this time, this handing the lead to Johnson/Luff ahead of Ambrose/Ritter and Bowe/B Jones as the race got back underway on lap 122, Murphy/R Kelly restarting in fifth place, Ambrose/Ritter taking the lead into Hell Corner. From this point in the race, every car would need to stop again at least once unless an extremely long safety car period came along. However, those who had just stopped were now in the box seat, as they would be able to make their stops later, and those stops would be shorter.
Lap 123 saw a change for second, as Bowe/B Jones moved past Johnson/Luff again at Hell Corner. Just a few laps later, on lap 129, Ambrose/Ritter and Johnson/Luff pitted, Ambrose/Ritter conceding five seconds and four places on the in lap as well as five seconds over the previous two laps as he suffered a vibration, as they became another team to suffer damage to a right front tyre. Now Bowe/B Jones, Ingall/McLean and Murphy/R Kelly were almost nose to tail as they led the way, with Tander/McConville and Bargwanna/Winterbottom not far behind. This didn't last much longer, as on lap 134 at the top of Mountain Straight they were fighting for position.
The race returned to green on lap 138, Murphy/R Kelly edging away from the gaggle of Fords. This soon became Murphy/R Kelly, a second or two ahead of Bowe/B Jones and Lowndes/Seton, with Ingall/McLean, Ambrose/Ritter and Johnson/Luff fighting for fourth, the two SBR cars not showing their earlier pace, possibly worried about fuel or more tyre problems. Johnson/Luff then fell back into the clutches of Bargwanna/Winterbottom. Lap 148 saw teammates Ambrose/Ritter and Ingall/McLean swap positions as Ingall/McLean began to lose pace, while lap 153 saw Bargwanna/Winterbottom take sixth from Johnson/Luff.
Up at the front Murphy/R Kelly remained a couple of seconds ahead of Bowe/B Jones and Lowndes/Seton. Lap 156 saw a change for second as Lowndes/Seton moved ahead after Bowe/B Jones let them through, following a vibration developing in the car, while lap 159 saw Ingall/McLean lose fifth to Bargwanna/Winterbottom. Up at the front Murphy/R Kelly was having no problems, taking the chequered flag ahead of Seton/Lowndes, Bowe/B Jones, Ambrose/Ritter with Bargwanna/Mark Winterbottom rounding out the top five despite their involvement in the incident which brought out the safety car.
Result of V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 10 of 13, Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, Australia:
Standings: Marcos Ambrose 1667, Jason Bright 1612, Rick Kelly 1565, Russell Ingall 1519, Steven Richards 1509, Greg Murphy 1476, Todd Kelly 1303, John Bowe 1188, Garth Tander 1155, Jason Bargwanna 1138 etc.
Consistency Rewarded
This time there was no desperate rearguard action from Petter Solberg, the Subaru driver buried in fifth position. So this second position, his fourth in a row, was enough and the disappointment of 2003 was swept aside as Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena became Rally Champions of the World. At last, here was the payback for sacrificing his own ambitions on the hills and dales of Wales last year.
"In the last stage, around five kilometres from the end of stage, it became more and more difficult to stay concentrated," explained Loeb. "At this time, you begin to hear a lot of problems with the car, you begin to think what will happen after the race, if you will be Champion, so it was a lot more difficult to stay concentrated. I was driving very carefully. It is very nice for me and all the team to win the two titles here, in Corsica, in France. This was the nicest thing we could hope for this year."
Over the course of the opening two Legs it was Citroen who gave chase with Carlos Sainz trailing the championship points leader Loeb. The pair had Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg under control, and with the Subaru driver behind Loeb, a door was closed on the championship. Solberg was dependent on Loeb retiring on Leg Three for any hopes to become champion.
On the first Stage of the final day one of the leaders did retire but it was Duval who found his car operating on three cylinders. Denial allowed the Belgian to continue into the Stage but when the car briefly caught fire with temperatures redlining Duval reluctantly gave up. Loeb was now into second position. While Martin fled at the front of the field, locking in his first tarmac victory, Loeb with a rear gunner in Sainz to protect him, cruised to take the World Rally Championship.
This saw the Subarus of Solberg and private entrant Stephane Sarrazin climb the order. The former Formula One driver excelled on the tarmac stages and conceded just three minutes to the world champion. Mikko Hirvonen, still inexperienced on tar came home in tenth position, behind the two Skodas. Both Skoda Fabias ran completely without drama, with tyres providing the only drama of any note. The variable weather conditions saw Armin Schwarz claim the final championship for eighth position, just thirty seconds ahead of Toni Gardemeister.
Despite the championship having been decided, Solberg's fight is not over. Martin's win puts him within nine points of the outgoing champ with two rallies to run with Sainz only two points further back. It will be important for all three drivers to finish both remaining rallies.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 14 of 16, Tour de Corse, Corsica, France:
Standings: Sebastien Loeb 108, Petter Solberg 78, Markko Martin 69, Carlos Sainz 67, Marcus Gronholm 54, Francois Duval 47, Mikko Hirvonen 23, Harri Rovanpera 20, Janne Tuohino 16, Freddy Loix 9 etc.
Manufacturers: Citroen 178, Ford 127, Subaru 108, Peugeot 85, Mitsubishi 17
FIA Fines Hyundai $1 Million For Missed Rallies
South Korean carmaker Hyundai has been fined $1 million by motor sport's world governing body after missing four rounds of last year's World Rally Championship.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that Hyundai Motor Company had appeared at a meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris to explain their absence and failure to pay financial penalties for each event missed.
Contracted manufacturers are obliged to contest all rounds of the world championship but Hyundai quit last year, saying they intended to develop a new car for a comeback in the second half of 2006 and a full season in 2007. The fine could spell trouble for Japan's Mitsubishi, who have missed the last few rallies of this season to concentrate on building a new car for 2005.
The fine was one of the heaviest levied in world motorsport but not the toughest sanction. In 1995 Toyota were stripped of points and banned from the championship for one year for using illegal turbo restrictors.
In Formula One, champions Ferrari along with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello were jointly fined $1 million -- with half the fine suspended for a year -- after the contrived finish at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix sparked outrage in the sports world.
FIA report provided by Reuters
Rossi Wins Fourth Title In A Row
By Greg Buckle
Italy's Valentino Rossi won his fourth successive world championship with a narrow victory in Sunday's Australian MotoGP Grand Prix over main rival Sete Gibernau.
"Every world championship has another feeling, another story," Rossi said.
Rossi held a 30 point lead over Spain's Gibernau with two races remaining in the season and needed a top two placing to clinch the title. Rossi staged a two-man duel with Gibernau from the start the 27 lap race and the two men exchanged the lead several times in the final stages.
Rossi's winning margin was 0.097 seconds over the Honda rider with Italy's Loris Capirossi third. Ducati's Capirossi was more than 10 seconds behind Rossi. Gibernau sat stony-faced and with his arms crossed beside Rossi during the news conference, unable to conceal his disappointment.
"I tried my best, even though I had this problem with the bike. Valentino did a great race," the Spaniard said. "Congratulations to him and Yamaha. We are still with a satellite team and a satellite bike. We are doing a great job."
The final race of the season is in Valencia on October 31. Gibernau has 244 points with Rossi on 279.
Rossi's fourth successive Australian GP victory in the premier class has sealed his place among the greatest riders, after adding the 2004 MotoGP world title to his 2003 and 2002 championships and his 500cc title in 2001. The MotoGP class began at the start of 2002.
Rossi has also become the seventh rider to claim four or more premier-class world championships. Italy's Giacomo Agostini won eight, three ahead of Australia's Mick Doohan.
Fans including some from Italy crowded on to the track at Phillip Island, 130km south-east of Melbourne, as Rossi kissed his helmet and threw it into the crowd of more than 40,000.
Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa, 19, became the youngest 250cc world champion on Sunday with a fourth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix won by Argentina's Sebastian Porto. Porto won the race in 39 minutes 24.604 seconds on an Aprilia to secure second place in the championship on 256 points with Honda rider Pedrosa on 292. San Marino's Alex De Angelis finished second on an Aprilia, 5.941 seconds behind Porto, with compatriot Manuel Poggiali in third on another Aprilia.
Italy's 125cc world champion Andrea Dovizioso continued his dominant season with victory in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix by a margin of 0.123 seconds. The 18-year-old Dovizioso scored his fifth win of the campaign, holding off strong challenges in the closing three laps from Spain's Jorge Lorenzo and Australia's Casey Stoner.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 15 of 16, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 279, Sete Gibernau 244, Max Biaggi 197, Alex Barros 155, Colin Edwards 149, Makoto Tamada 139, Nicky Hayden 117, Carlos Checa 115, Loris Capirossi 110, Ruben Xaus 77 etc.
Switch From Honda To Yamaha Succeeds For Rossi
By Greg Buckle
Italian Valentino Rossi confessed on Sunday he had not expected to win a fourth successive world MotoGP title after his switch from Honda to Yamaha this year. Rossi clinched the title with one race remaining this season after a thrilling last-lap duel with Spain's Sete Gibernau.
Asked if he expected to win a world championship in his first year at Yamaha, Rossi grinned and said: "Not this year.
"But when we tested the bike the first time, it was a good feeling but it needed more time.
"It was a great battle with Gibernau. It is a great championship for us, especially.
"For sure the first one, the emotion is incredible. But this one for me is the best."
Two weeks ago Rossi's world championship defence was in doubt in Qatar when he crashed after starting from the back of the grid. Honda complained that the rider nicknamed "The Doctor" had doctored the track to clean up his starting position. But consecutive wins at Malaysia and Australia then put Rossi in an unbeatable position of 279 points from Gibernau on 244 with one race left.
Even in the Australian GP Rossi gambled, going out on the gravel during the first lap and duelling for the lead with Gibernau in the last lap when a top two finish would have been enough to secure the world championship.
"I almost took an exit from the first corner. I risked a lot in the first lap," Rossi said. "Today I was very fast. I rode very well. I waited and stayed behind Gibernau, but with less fuel the bike started to feel good.
"I tried one time but he came back. In the last lap, it was incredible, a lot of fun for everyone. Sete overtook me another two or three times, I don't remember.
"It was unbelievable for me to win the race."
Edwards To Join Rossi At Yamaha Next Season
By Greg Buckle
American MotoGP rider and former World Superbike champion Colin Edwards is leaving Honda to join World Championship Valentino Rossi at Yamaha next season, the team announced on Saturday.
"The move is a return for Edwards to the manufacturer with whom he raced in the World Superbike Championship from 1995 to 1997," Yamaha said in a statement released during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.
Edwards, 30, was 13th in his debut season with Aprilia last year before switching to Honda and is fifth in this year's standings on 149 points, 130 behind Rossi. Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis said Edwards would be a huge asset in next year's racing.
"We are expecting great things from him on the YZR-M1," Jarvis said. "The arrival of Colin also marks the end of our working relationship with Carlos (Checa).
"Having worked closely together for six years since the start of the Yamaha Factory GP team, it was felt by Carlos and Yamaha that the time had come for both of us to make a change and seek new challenges."
Spain's Checa is eighth in this year's standings with one race remaining.
Reports provided by Reuters
Jimmie Beats Comeback Jeff
But from this point on things improved. A steady charge back up the order saw him get back on to the lead lap as the race restarted on lap 215. A hundred laps later he was fighting for the win! Gordon's comeback kept him well placed in the title, 74 points behind points leader Kurt Busch, with Dale Earnhardt Jr in between them, 24 behind Busch, these three likely to fight it out for the title. Despite his win Jimmie Johnson only moved 20 points closer to Busch, while another disaster for Jeremy Mayfield has him needing a miracle to win the title with only five races remaining.
Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne lined up on the front row, but for the second race in a row a car suffered transmission problems at the start, this time Scott Riggs, which bunched the field up behind him, eventually leading to cars spinning and crashing in turn two, bringing out the caution. Greg Biffle suffered major damage, while title contenders Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon suffered minor but repairable damage, dropping to near the tail of the field. Back to racing on lap 8 but back to caution a lap later after Jeff Fuller scraped the wall in turn two.
Back to green on lap 31, Sadler holding on as Mayfield faded, but Kahne was charging, taking the lead from Sadler on lap 42 and pulling away. Jeff Gordon was going the other way, just over a lap down when he spun off turn four and was unfortunately collected by Rusty Wallace, ending Wallace's night and not helping Gordon's, the incident bringing out the caution on lap 77 of 334. More pit stops, with Kahne leading Newman, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Sadler as the race restarted on lap 81.
Kahne was showing the way when the next caution came out on lap 121 for debris after Carl Edwards suffered a flat tyre. Pit stops saw Kahne hold onto his lead ahead of Earnhardt Jr, Kenseth, Mayfield and Newman. Back to racing on lap 125, Earnhardt Jr taking the lead from Kahne later that lap before Kahne rounded him up five laps later and drew away from the field. A right front flat put Kenseth in the wall to bring out the next caution on lap 173 just as Mayfield pitted, costing Mayfield dearly. Kahne won the race on pit road ahead of Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Sadler.
The race resumed on lap 177, Kahne again losing the lead to Earnhardt Jr later that lap, Jimmie Johnson taking a run at the front on lap 180 before Kahne did his usual trick on lap 188 and began to run away again. Debris brought out the next caution on lap 211, with Jeff Gordon being the 'lucky dog' to return to the lead lap after moving up to be the first car a lap down. More stops saw Kahne lead Newman, Martin, Earnhardt Jr and Johnson off pit road. Racing resumed on lap 215, Martin taking the lead from Kahne a lap later but retook the lead on lap 220, just before the caution came out on lap 224 when Kevin Harvick blew up, Carl Edwards spinning off in the background.
Back to green on lap 273, with Johnson flying soon afterwards, up to second place by lap 291 as his teammate Jeff Gordon moved into the top five despite missing some panels at the rear. Johnson took the lead on lap 301 before a caution came out on lap 313 after Jimmy Spencer and Brendan Gaughan collided and collected top ten runners in the race and title, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman. The field pitted again, Nemechek taking two tyres and beating Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the field off pit road.
Back to green on lap 318, Nemechek leading Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr and Newman. Before the lap was over Johnson was in front, Gordon following past Nemechek as they began lap 319. But the caution was out again on lap 320 after Waltrip bounced off the turn two wall. The race restarted on lap 323, Johnson leading Gordon, Nemechek, Earnhardt Jr and Newman. Nemechek lost third to Earnhardt Jr on lap 324, and then fourth on lap 333 to Busch but at the front Johnson edged away from Gordon to take the win ahead of Earnhardt Jr, Busch and Nemechek.
Result of NASCAR Nextel Cup, Round 31 of 36, Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Carolina, United States:
Standings: Kurt Busch 5850, Dale Earnhardt Jr 5826, Jeff Gordon 5776, Elliott Sadler 5693, Mark Martin 5664, Tony Stewart 5646, Matt Kenseth 5635, Jimmie Johnson 5623, Ryan Newman 5579, Jeremy Mayfield 5501 etc.
To The Very Last Point (And Beyond)
Muller held a twelve point buffer over fellow BMW driver Andy Priaulx. Just eight points over the weekend would have put the title beyond doubt but it never happened the way the Schnitzer Team might have hoped, and a pair of second places to Priaulx meant that at full time, the scores were tied, both Muller and Priaulx had 111 points. There was no extra time, no golden goal.
So who was champion?
A countback of wins read: Priaulx 5, Muller 3. To the disgust of Muller and the ecstatic joy of Priaulx, the Guernsey Islander was proclaimed the European Touring Car Champion.
Priaulx had the job ahead of him if he was to catch Muller, and he started the right way by taking pole position and winning the first start, pursued by Gabriele Tarquini, Luca Rangoni in the Oregon Alfa, James Thompson, who soon moved up to third, then the Mullers, while further back Salvatore Tavano lost control mid-pack and was struck by Jordi Gene, also wounding the cars of Fabrizio Giovanardi, Augusto Farfus and Antonia Garcia.
Priaulx lost the lead to Tarquini while further back in the pack chaos erupted. Dirk Muller charged past Diefenbacher and Farfus only to rub body work with Rangoni, a tyre went down and Muller was on his way to the pits. Giovanardi and Balzan crashed each other out of the race.
Race two was suddenly desperate. Dirk Muller was off the back of the grid and had only a four point advantage. It was Zanardi who led the field away for race two from Rangoni with Jorg Muller and Priualx pressing. Priaulx soon led as the three in front of him spun. Further back Garcia spun and Rickard Rydell got tangled with Jan Magnussen bringing out a red flag.
At the second attempt to start the race, Zanardi again beat Rangoni out of the blocks while Dirk Muller climbed into eighth by the end of the first lap. Priaulx cleared Zanardi to run away from the pack but Tarquini muscled his way through and caught and passed the Brit. Further back was the decisive move as Frank Diefenbacher overcame a poor start to fight his way past Dirk Muller. In letting just one car through, it made all the difference.
Tarquini won from Priaulx, Thompson and the flying Diefenbacher. Dirk Muller was fifth having fought his way past exactly enough cars only to have one of them pass him back.
It was not a happy weekend for the veteran German outfit Schnitzer. In addition to Dirk Muller losing the crown by the most heart breaking of margins, Jorg Muller was set to back up his unrelated 'brother' to take third in the championship or possibly sneak into second if Priaulx had a bad day. With the fortunes reversed on Jorg and two brilliant victories to Tarquini, the Italian took third away from the former Formula 3000 Champion.
The new WTCC is considerably less ambitious than the 1987 epic, but will provide a four cornered fight, unlike '87 when BMW and Ford beat Alfa Romeo into mid-year submission, then slugged each other out in court with Holden, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo no more than spectators. SEAT will join Alfa Romeo and BMW in front running pace and will play host to a first in touring car racing, with Chevrolet's first ever factory supported attack on any touring car series (NASCAR/Trans Am aside), spearheaded through the former Daewoo Nubira model, as General Motors attempts to launch its biggest brand in Europe.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 19 & 20 of 20, Dubai:
Final Standings: Andy Priaulx 111, Dirk Muller 111, Gabriele Tarquini 106, Jorg Muller 93, Fabrizio Giovanardi 63, Augusto Farfus Jr 54, Antonio Garcia 43, Jordi Gene 39, James Thompson 37, Rickard Rydell and Frank Diefenbacher 29, Tom Coronel 25, Kurt Mollekens 9, Alex Zanardi and Salvatore Tavano 8, Luca Rangoni 6, Alessandro Balzan and Michele Bartyan 3, Carl Rosenblad 2, Stefano d'Aste 1
V8 Supercar
Just like last year, Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly were at or near the top of the times in all the practice and qualifying sessions. In fact, apart from a 9th fastest in Saturday practice their worst performance was in the Top Ten shootout, where they qualified a 'miserable' fourth! And just like last year, they were too good for everyone else, as smart strategy and a fast car saw them take back-to-back wins, the first time two drivers have done so at Bathurst since the V8 Supercar category was introduced.
Qualifying saw an unusual sight, with neither HRT car making the shootout after dramas during qualifying, as remarkably being 0.7884 of a second off the pace saw Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly in eighteenth, the top twenty covered by less than 0.86 of a second on a two minute eight second lap! Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly were fastest in qualifying, as Marcos Ambrose/Greg Ritter snuck into the top ten in tenth after dramas earlier in the weekend including Ambrose clipping the wall on his first lap in practice and an engine change later that same day. Out first in the shootout, Ambrose set a 2:08.4490, a time which was only beaten by four other runners. Next out was Paul Dumbrell in the car he was sharing with Tony Longhurst, and despite a small mistake towards the end of the lap he set a 2:08.0360, a surprisingly quick effort.
Lap three saw Bowe/B Jones up to second, S Richards/J Richards following past Ingall/McLean at the start of lap four as Ambrose/Ritter edged away. On lap nine S Richards/J Richards dived down the inside of Bowe/B Jones at the Chase but never made it further than halfway alongside, in a move reminiscent of a move involving the same two cars late in the 2003 race. As in 2003, the S Richards/J Richards car gained a place while Bowe/B Jones spun, losing three places. And as in 2003, the incident was deemed a racing incident.
The race resumed on lap 35, Murphy/R Kelly leading from Garth Tander/Cameron McConville and Ambrose/Ritter. Yvan Muller/Dean Canto were flying in fourth, taking third on lap 40, second on lap 46 before pitting on lap 48. Unfortunately when they pitted they entered pit lane illegally, and were forced to take a drivethrough penalty the next lap, dropping them outside the top twenty. Both SBR cars pitted around this time, as well at the S Richards/J Richards car after it hit the tyres at Griffin's when the throttle stuck open. The next safety car came out soon after on lap 51 when the Morris/Gurr car whacked the fence over the top of the mountain. This set off another round of pit stops.
Racing restarted on lap 105, Murphy/R Kelly leading Tander/McConville and Jason Bargwanna/Mark Winterbottom, who had spent most of the day hanging around the top ten, the Bargwanna/Winterbottom pitting on lap 112. A lap earlier the S Richards/J Richards got much worse, when they hit a kangaroo which jumped across the track in front of them approaching the cutting. Though they suffered substantial damage, putting them out of contention, the damage could have been much worse. Meanwhile the Ambrose/Ritter and Lowndes/Seton cars were charging, moving from eighth and ninth at the restart to fourth and sixth when the next safety car arrived on lap 118.
Under braking, Bargwanna/Winterbottom put a wheel in the grass, which got them sideways, clipping the back of Tander/McConville. This sent Tander/McConville hard into the tyres, ending their day, while Bargwanna/Winterbottom spun but got going again. Needless to say the safety car was brought out, which was the perfect opportunity for those yet to make their final stops to pit. Bowe/B Jones, Ingall/McLean and Murphy/R Kelly came in nose-to-tail, with Murphy/R Kelly emerging clearly first thanks to their stop at the previous safety car period, ahead of Bowe/B Jones, with Lowndes/Seton sneaking out ahead of Ingall/McLean. Ambrose/Ritter did not pit but remained behind those four, in fifth place.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Rick Kelly/Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VY
2. Glenn Seton/Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon BA
3. John Bowe/Brad Jones Ford Falcon BA
4. Marcos Ambrose/Greg Ritter Ford Falcon BA
5. Jason Bargwanna/Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon BA
6. Russell Ingall/Cameron McLean Ford Falcon BA
7. Steven Johnson/Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA
8. Tim Leahey/Steve Owen Holden Commodore VY
9. Jamie Whincup/Alex Davison Holden Commodore VX
10. Nathan Pretty/Allan Simonsen Holden Commodore VY
Rally
Markko Martin flew around the at-times wet bitumen stages of the French island of Corsica to take a belated event win for the British-based Ford outfit, but their achievements were swept aside by the car following.
From the start of the rally, it was the two Focuses of Martin and Francois Duval who held the upper hand, racing away at the front of the field. Duval held a fifteen second advantage over his team leader at the end of the first leg, the duo having shared the first day's stage wins between them. Come Saturday morning and Leg Two and the Ford pendulum swung the other direction. Martin hit the front on the first stage of the day to be five seconds up going into Stage 6 as Duval spun twice. The gap was out to twenty seconds at the end of Leg Two.
Corsica split the rally into teams with Cedric Robert shadowing Gronholm. Robert's rally came to an early end when the Frenchman crashed off a Stage in Leg Two in the wet. Gronholm was consistently quicker than Solberg and raced home to fourth position, while the team's third car driven by Freddy Loix slipped into the points as the retirements mounted and claimed seventh at the end.
Pos Driver/Co-driver Car
1. Markko Martin/Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 04
2. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroen Xsara WRC
3. Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti Citroen Xsara WRC
4. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
5. Petter Solberg/Philip Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
6. Stephane Sarrazin/Patrick Pivato Subaru Impreza First03
7. Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets Peugeot 307 WRC
8. Armin Schwarz/Manfred Hiemer Skoda Fabia WRC
9. Toni Gardemeister/Paavo Lukander Skoda Fabia WRC
10. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
"Further to the presentation, the World Council unanimously confirmed the imposition of a $1 million penalty...with a deadline for payment of December 1, 2004," the FIA said.
MotoGP
"For sure the first one was incredible. The emotion is incredible. But this one for me is the best," added the 25 year old, who switched from top team Honda to Yamaha this year.
The popular Rossi's world championship victory is the first for Yamaha since American Wayne Rainey claimed his third title in 1992. It is also the first time a Yamaha rider has scored more than seven victories in a season in the premier class. Rossi has become only the sixth rider to reach the milestone of 100 podium finishes.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha M1
2. Sete Gibernau Honda RC211V
3. Loris Capirossi Ducati Desmosedici
4. Colin Edwards Honda RC211V
5. Alex Barros Honda RC211V
6. Nicky Hayden Honda RC211V
7. Max Biaggi Honda RC211V
8. Makoto Tamada Honda RC211V
9. Troy Bayliss Ducati Desmosedici
10. Carlos Checa Yamaha M1
"The team has worked very well. I think this is the best year for me, the way I have ridden and everything.
Italy's Rossi, who has won the past three premier class world championships, left the strong Honda MotoGP team for Yamaha this year and leads the standings by 35 points. The 25-year-old needed a top two finish in Sunday's race to complete a successful world championship defence.
NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson continued his good run at Charlotte, doing the double for 2004. For much of the race however, it appeared Kasey Kahne would finally break his duck and score his maiden win, but once again something popped up and took him out of the race when it all seemed settled. Meanwhile Jeff Gordon was doing the opposite. Involved in an incident on lap one which saw him received minor damage and restart near the rear of the field, he was then a lap down when he spun and was collected by Rusty Wallace to receive even more damage.
Racing resumed on lap 13, Newman showing the way ahead of Casey Mears, Elliott Sadler, Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick. Kasey Kahne was right on Newman's rear bumper when the caution came out on lap 24 for Brian Vickers, who lost control exiting turn four and ending up hitting the wall hard. The race was red flagged for a short while while they cleaned up the mess, before the field pitted. Elliott Sadler took two tyres and fuel and Jeremy Mayfield took fuel were first out, while the rest of the field took four and fuel, led by Newman, Kahne and Joe Nemechek.
Five cars stayed out but the rest of the field pitted, those five being Kahne, Martin, Newman, Busch and Michael Waltrip. The race returned to green on lap 232, Kahne performing his disappearing act again at the front until the next caution came out on lap 269 when he hit the wall hard after a problem with the right front of the car, either a tyre or suspension failure, ending his night after dominantly leading over three-quarters of the race up to that point. The field pits again, Martin leading Busch, Waltrip, Newman and Earnhardt Jr.
Pos Driver Car
1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
5. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Monte Carlo
8. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
4. Elliott Sadler Ford Taurus
7. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
9. Jeff Burton Chevrolet Monte Carlo
10. Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo
ETCC
How close can a championship battle possibly get? Dirk Muller found out in the hardest way possible when the European Touring Car Championship went down to the wire in sensational circumstances in the Emirate of Dubai, the first time the series has left Europe, in preparation for the series transition to becoming the World Touring Car Championship in 2005, the second time there has been such a title.
Tarquini raced away to win from Priaulx who was being hounded by Thompson. Farfus took fourth ahead of Diefenbacher and Jorg Muller. Alex Zanardi benefitted from attrition to climb into the points while Rangoni hung on for the last point.
All talk now is of 2005, the new look World Touring Car Championship, a name not uttered since the days of Group A, when in 1987 a highly succesful competitive series crossed Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, delivering great racing, but ultimately resulting in a championship fought in the court room with the series spending as much time in the judiciary as on the circuit. A sweeping change of mechanical regulations pushed by Bernie Ecclestone saw manufacturer support die, taking the series with it. Four Super Touring World Cups in the 90s helped things along in an end-of-year party style of race.
Round Nineteen
Pos Driver Car
1. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Andy Priaulx BMW Team Great Britain BMW 320i
3. James Thompson AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
4. Augusto Farfus Jr AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
5. Frank Diefenbacher SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
6. Jorg Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
7. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
8. Luca Rangoni Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
9. Antonio Garcia BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
10. Simon Harrison GR Asia Honda Civic Type-R
Round Twenty
Pos Driver Car
1. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Andy Priaulx BMW Team Great Britain BMW 320i
3. James Thompson AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
4. Frank Diefenbacher SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
5. Dirk Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
6. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
7. Salvatore Tavano Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
8. Michele Bartyan Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
9. Carl Rosenblad Crawford Racing BMW 320i
10. Luca Rangoni Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
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Volume 10, Issue 42
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