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.
Tar Baby Martin
Ford picked up where they left off in Corsica with both Martin and Francois Duval right on the pace. The lead swung between Duval and Loeb, with Loeb pushing hard on the penultimate stage of the day. Trying to respond on Stage 6 was the undoing of Duval as the Frenchman hit a rock damaging his Focus front left corner sufficiently that he could not make it back to service.
The only other competitor close to the leaders' times was, remarkably, Gilles Panizzi. Mitsubishi made a return to the WRC for Spain and made real gains with tarmac specialist Panizzi flying over the course. A bad tyre choice, guessing for wets in the afternoon, dumped the Lancer driver outside the top ten.
This left Loeb just two seconds in front of Martin heading into Leg 2. Rain was again affecting a tarmac rally, but not so much that tyre brand was dictating fortunes as happened last year. Loeb added 1.4s to his lead only to retire the following stage. A rock got under the sump guard and cracked the sump, draing the Xsara of its lifeblood. This left Martin with a 43 second lead over Marcus Gronholm in the Peugeot. From there it was Martin's rally to lose.
Hard on Gronholm's hammer was local hero Carlos Sainz in his final appearance on his home event. It was not to last though as Gronholm drove away from a brakeless Sainz. During the time gained by the cancellation, the wily veteran drained his own brakes and was back pursuing the Peugeot, but the time was not recovered.
Fifth was taken by Solberg, with Hirvonen in eighth, Subaru taking the opportunity to test settings over the final Leg. In bewteen the Subarus were Mitsubishi. After losing that time on Leg One, Panizzi backed off and concentrated on testing while Dani Sola and Gigi Galli each scored points, finishing sixth and seventh.
Skoda's rally, their last for 2004, was not as encouraging. Having entered three cars, Toni Gardeimeister finished ninth with Armin Schwarz eleventh, just ahead of Panizzi. The third Fabia of Jan Kopecky crahsed out of the even on Leg One.
Sainz is now all but out of the race for second. Three points seperate Solberg and Martin with only Rally Australia to come. Sainz is nine points from Solberg, but only six from Martin. Gronholm is too far behind. The championship has been decided, but there is still pride to fight for.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 15 of 16, Rally Catalunya, Spain:
Standings: Sebastien Loeb 108, Petter Solberg 82, Markko Martin 79, Carlos Sainz 73, Marcus Gronholm 62, Francois Duval 47, Mikko Hirvonen 24, Harri Rovanpera 20, Janne Tuohino 16, Freddy Loix 9 etc
McRae Could Make Part-Time Comeback Next Season
Former champion Colin McRae could make a partial return to the World Rally Championship next season after sitting out 2004, his agent said last Wednesday.
"We have a few meetings in Catalunya regarding a partial programme in the WRC next year. He's not ruled anything out but his preferred option is a partial return," Campbell Roy told the BBC.
Even a partial comeback by McRae, one of the best known names in rallying, would be a boost for the sport in Britain after a year without home drivers in the championship.
McRae tried out a Skoda before last week's Rally of Catalunya. The Volkswagen-owned carmaker has a vacancy and is returning full-time next year.
"If Colin could be of assistance and help them that would be good, if a deal can be done," said Roy. "He did have a test with Skoda but that was because it was one of the few cars that he hadn't actually sat in and driven.
"It was to get an assessment of the car really."
McRae has backed compatriot Kris Meeke for the past three years and Roy said the former champion wanted to help his protege move up the ladder.
"Colin is looking to do something that would involve both him and Kris in a drive for next year," he said.
McRae report provided by Reuters
Rossi Finishes Season In Winning Style
Valentino Rossi celebrated his fourth consecutive world title in style by notching his ninth win of the year at the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday.
Australia's Troy Bayliss grabbed third spot ahead of championship runner-up Gibernau, claiming his best result of the season in his final race for the Ducati works team. Japan's Makoto Tamada, who started on pole for the third time this season, finished in fifth and Brazilian rider Alex Barros, who won here in 2002 and was second in 2001, was sixth.
Rossi, who also won in Valencia last year, made a poor start, but picked his way through the field on lap two before taking advantage of a double mistake by Biaggi and Gibernau to nip into second place behind Tamada.
The Italian clocked a series of blistering times on the tight and twisty circuit as he chased down the Honda rider, snatching the lead on lap six as he feigned to go wide and then dived through on the inside.
Tamada went ahead again a lap later, but Rossi waited for a few laps before hitting the front once more at the halfway stage and was never headed after that.
Rossi's achievement was echoed by 250cc world champion Dani Pedrosa, who capped a triumphant season with a dominant victory in front of his home crowd ahead of fellow Spaniard Toni Elias.
There was further delight for the 122,000 crowd when locally-born Hector Barbera clinched the runners-up spot in the world championship behind Andrea Dovizioso by beating the Italian in the 125cc race.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 16 of 16, Communitat Valencia, Spain:
Final Standings: Valentino Rossi 304, Sete Gibernau 257, Max Biaggi 217, Alex Barros 165, Colin Edwards 157, Makoto Tamada 150, Carlos Checa, Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi 117, Shinya Nakano 83, Ruben Xaus 77, Marco Melandri 75, Norick Abe 74, Troy Bayliss 71, Alex Hofmann 51, John Hopkins 45, Neil Hodgson 38, Kenny Roberts 37, Jeremy McWilliams 26, Shane Byrne 18, Nobuatsu Aoki 10, Michel Fabrizio 8, Yukio Kagayama 7,
Olivier Jacque 5, James Haydon 4, James Ellison 3, Andrew Pitt 2, Youichi Ui and Kurtis Roberts 1
Constructor Standings: Honda 355, Yamaha 328, Ducati 169, Kawasaki 95, Suzuki 73, Aprilia 39, Proton KR 15, Harris WCM 12, Moriwaki 7
Team Standings: Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 421, Telefonica MoviStar Honda 414, Camel Honda 367, Repsol Honda Team 282, Ducati Marlboro Team 188, Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 149, Kawasaki Racing Team 134, D'Antin MotoGP 115, Team Suzuki MotoGP 89, MS Aprilia Racing 44, Proton Team KR 15, WCM 12
Report provided by Reuters
Threepeat For Johnson As Chase Compresses
A late-race crash while running in the top five saw Dale Earnhardt Jr finish 33rd, one place ahead of Jeff Gordon who saw a rear-end gear cost him laps in repairs. A 36th place finish for Elliott Sadler came after repairs to transmission and the steering on his car, while a pair of blown engine saw Roush teammates Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch finish 41st and 42nd respectively. What this all means is Kurt Busch still leads (despite his early retirement), but by only 59 points from Jimmie Johnson, who leads teammate Jeff Gordon by thirteen points, Mark Martin another nine points back while Dale Earnhardt Jr sits seventeen behind Martin. Before Atlanta, 96 points separated first and second. After Atlanta, 98 points cover the top five. The chase is now alive.
Ryan Newman and Joe Nemechek filled the front row, with Nemechek leading lap one only to be overtaken by Newman a lap later, a lead he held until Carl Edwards took the lead on lap 51. Lap 54 saw the first caution of the day, and it was a significant one, with points leader Kurt Busch out with a blown engine. The rest of the field pitted, with Newman leading Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Mark Martin and Robby Gordon as the race restarted on lap 62. Newman didn't lead for long however, pitting on lap 64 to replace a loose wheel, dropping him a lap down.
Martin led Edwards, Robby Gordon, Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson as the race restarted on lap 142, as Martin did his disappearing act again. The next caution followed on lap 178 of 325, when Matt Kenseth, another 'Chaser', joined his teammate Busch out of the race with a blown engine. Again the field pitted, with Martin leading Johnson, Earnhardt Jr, Robby Gordon and Edwards as the race restarted on lap 182. These pit stops were bad news for yet another 'Chaser', as Jeff Gordon, already a lap down, broke a rear end gear as he exited the pits.
Green flag stops punctuated the action around lap 235 to 245 but it couldn't stop Mark Martin running away. The next caution came out on lap 287 as final pit stops were beginning to approach, when Martin Truex Jr spun, possibly on his own oil. Once again, the field visited pit road, possibly making their last stops of the day, with Martin leading Kasey Kahne, Johnson, Nemechek and Edwards.
Racing resumed on lap 294, Martin leading the way while Kahne slipped from second into turn one to ninth before the end of lap 294 as his car suffered a fuel-related problem. Lap 296 saw Edwards and Earnhardt Jr slip into third and fourth past Nemechek. The next caution came out on lap 301 when Kevin Harvick's wounded car couldn't make it back to his pits or the garage, stranded near the start of pit road. All the lead lap runners pitted except Martin, some taking two tyres, others four.
More pit stops, again some taking two tyres while others took four. Kasey Kahne and Jeff Burton stayed out and ran 1-2 ahead of Nemechek, Johnson and Edwards, with Martin down to sixth. Back to racing on lap 316, ten to go, Kahne again suffering as he fell from first to seventh. Meanwhile Burton, Johnson and Edwards were fighting for the lead, Johnson eventually winning the battle as Edwards also followed past Burton.
Lap 316 saw Martin back up to third as Burton's gamble began to backfire, Martin taking teammate Edwards for second on lap 320. Martin closed in on Johnson but he couldn't get close enough to make a pass on him, Jimmie Johnson taking the win ahead of Mark Martin, with Carl Edwards a superb third, Joe Nemechek fourth and Kasey Kahne recovering to fifth.
Result of NASCAR Nextel Cup, Round 33 of 36, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta, United States:
Standings: Kurt Busch 6052, Jimmie Johnson 5993, Jeff Gordon 5980, Mark Martin 5971, Dale Earnhardt Jr 5954, Tony Stewart 5907, Ryan Newman 5866, Elliott Sadler 5815, Matt Kenseth 5795, Jeremy Mayfield 5736 etc.
War Of Words
Race one began in dramatic fashion when Ambrose outleapt polesitter Mark Skaife, but Skaife, determined not to give up the lead, slid across Energex Chicane, barely in control of his car, fully locked up. Ambrose was trapped on Skaife's outside and could make no attempt at making the chicane and so the pair drove straight through it.
Just behind the second row had the same dilemma, where Russell Ingall was well up on Rick Kelly, but Kelly refused to give up the corner and tagged Ingall into a spin. Kelly was given a stop-go penalty, his championship hopes dealt a blow, but it wasn't yet serious. However he was on his way pitward with a cut tyre and that was a debacle. Two stops on consecutive laps, there would be few points for Kelly today. Ingall would later clout the ever-present walls during an inspired drive through the field.
Up front Ambrose settled in behind Skaife waiting and hoping for a mistake, which Skaife then provided by hitting the wall at Falken Tyres and he pitted. Ambrose raced on to win from Greg Murphy, Todd Kelly, Craig Lowndes and Jason Bargwanna. Steven Richards was out with a broken gear lever, while Jason Bright finished a solid but boring seventh.
For race two Ambrose muffed a gear change at the start and went rapidly backwards, swamped by the first two rows. Murphy led from Lowndes and Todd Kelly. The race settled in until mid-distance when Brad Jones crashed after losing his brakes, bringing out the Safety Car.
Around the same time Jason Bright spun and Steven Richards brushed the wall, putting him out again. Lowndes too was heading for the pits after a concrete rub. Bright's recovery through the field had descended into the flight path of Rick Kelly. Bright had an untidy exit from Bartercard so Rick pounced drawing almost alongside into the chicane at Fosters. Then Rick turned in on Bright, tagging him near the rear bumper, sending him hard into the wall, destroying Bright's car.
Suddenly one of Holden's two championship hopes, had crashed himself, and the other out of the championship. For the second round in a row, Bright's PWR team would have an extensively damaged car to fix in a short space of time. Murphy won from Ambrose, who blew by a fuel hiccoughing Todd Kelly as the laps wound down. Bargwanna was next, one up from race one ahead of Simon Wills and Max Wilson.
With just under 400 points and two rounds left, Ambrose now holds a 166 point lead over Bright and 191 ahead of new third position holder Murphy. The title is now Ambrose' to lose.
Result of V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 11 of 13, Gilette V8 Supercar Challenge, Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Queensalnd, Australia:
Standings: Marcos Ambrose 1856, Jason Bright 1690, Greg Murphy 1665, Rick Kelly 1622, Russell Ingall 1609, Steven Richards 1509, Todd Kelly 1483, Jason Bargwanna 1309, John Bowe 1293, Garth Tander 1251 etc.
Rally
Two rallies ago, Ford ace Markko Martin was fifteen points from second position and even a podium finish to the season was perhaps optimistic. However the 2004 model Focus has become an absolute bullet on bitumen and after dominanting Corsica two weeks ago, Martin drove into the lead in Leg Two after the retirement of Sebastien Loeb and never looked like being caught. The back-to-back wins have brought Martin right back into contention for the runner's up prize for the season.
A Subaru came home fourth, but it wasn't Petter Solberg. It wasn't Mikko Hirvonen. Tarmac rallies in the past have always been good grounds for a good tarmac racer or for someone attuned to tarmac rallies to step in and upset the applecart. Sixth at Corsica wasn't enough for former Formula One racer Stephane Sarrazin. Sarrazin outraced the reigning World Champion in similar equipment to take fourth place.
Pos Driver/Co-driver Car
1. Markko Martin/Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 04
2. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
3. Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti Citroen Xsara WRC
4. Stephane Sarrazin/Patrick Pivato Subaru Impreza First03
5. Petter Solberg/Philip Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
6. Daniel Sola/Xavier Amigo Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04
7. Gianluigi Galli/Guido D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04
8. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
9. Toni Gardemeister/Paavo Lukander Skoda Fabia WRC
10. Nicolas Vouilloz/Denis Giraudet Peugeot 206 WRC
The 36 year old Scot, champion in 1995 with Subaru, lost his drive at Citroen last year when rule changes forced teams to cut back from three cars to two. Since then he has taken part in the Dakar Rally, and is committed to doing it again for Nissan in January, and the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar classic.
MotoGP
The 25 year old Italian, who clinched the championship with a dramatic win over Sete Gibernau in Australia earlier this month, held off a late charge from arch-rival Max Biaggi to claim his third race victory in a row. The win also guaranteed Rossi's factory Yamaha outfit the team title.
Biaggi, Tamada and Nicky Hayden battled for second, with Bayliss in hot pursuit in fifth. The American crashed out in the closing stages a couple of laps after almost running into the back of Biaggi, while Bayliss won the duel for third spot.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha M1
2. Max Biaggi Honda RC211V
3. Troy Bayliss Ducati Desmosedici
4. Sete Gibernau Honda RC211V
5. Makoto Tamada Honda RC211V
6. Alex Barros Honda RC211V
7. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki ZX-RR
8. Colin Edwards Honda RC211V
9. Loris Capirossi Ducati Desmosedici
10. Norick Abe Yamaha M1
NASCAR
A week after the tragedy in Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson become the first driver in six years to win three straight races in Nextel Cup by taking the win at Atlanta, rounding off a tough week for the Hendrick organisation. The race itself was not so good for most of those in the Chase for the Championship, apart from Jimmie Johnson and runner-up Mark Martin, who led and dominated most of the race. Tony Stewart finished a lap down, but in the scheme of things ninth wasn't too bad, as Ryan Newman finished seventeenth after leading early, then pitting while leading with a loose wheel and never looking the same again. Jeremy Mayfield was 26th after an early flat tyre saw him behind the eight ball from the start.
This moved Edwards back into the lead, before he was overtaken on lap 78 by his teammate Mark Martin, and once in front Martin edged away. Green flag stops took place around laps 110 to 120 with Martin retaining the lead, in fact moving further away from everyone, with less than half the field remaining on the lead lap. One driver to suffer in these stops was 'Chaser' Elliott Sadler, who broke his steering which compounded the severe transmission problems he also had. A spin for Bobby Labonte brought out a caution on lap 138, which brought the field into the pits.
At the restart on lap 306 Martin led Edwards, Kahne, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. Again Kahne's car faltered, this time dropping to eighth. Lap 309 saw Johnson take second from Edwards as the lapped Biffle, teammate of Martin and Edwards, got in the middle of the lead fight as he tried to unlap himself, with Johnson taking the lead on lap 310 from Martin. This had allowed Earnhardt Jr to close in, and he was had just taken third on lap 311 when he moved in front of Edwards before he was clear. Earnhardt Jr came off the worse, spinning hard into the inside wall as the caution came out on lap 312, as another 'Chaser' had a bad day.
Pos Driver Car
1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
3. Carl Edwards Ford Taurus
4. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5. Kasey Kahne Dodge Intrepid
6. Jeff Burton Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Brian Vickers Chevrolet Monte Carlo
8. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
9. Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo
10. Greg Biffle Ford Taurus
V8 Supercar
While Greg Murphy and Marcos Ambrose shared the spoils of victory, it was an ugly press room verbal brawl to stole all the headlines after round eleven of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It should have been a good weekend for Ambrose, second for the round, only losing first on a countback, and his two major rivals for the championship both having poor weekends, but instead things did not go his way at all.
Controversy though was with Ambrose, who had Rick Kelly just behind him crossing the finish line. The reigning Bathurst champion was a lap down and making Ambrose very nervous, to the point that the Ford driver slowed considerably trying to encourage Kelly to unlap himself, but Kelly did not budge. After the chequer Ambrose slowed more suddenly than Kelly or the closely following Murphy. Allegations that Ambrose brake tested Kelly were then flung around and the pair exchanged words in the pits after the race.
After the race the press conference errupted into a slanging match between Ambrose and Murphy with a defensive Ambrose launching a diatribe against Rick Kelly, Murphy and even Mark Skaife, while Murphy now famously commented 'we're not going to pull over and let you win the championship.' Based on the performance of Holden against Ford's lone star, you might have been forgiven for disagreeing with Murphy's assertion.
Race One
Pos Driver Car
1. Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon BA
2. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VY
3. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VY
4. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon BA
5. Jason Bargwanna Ford Falcon BA
6. Simon Wills Holden Commodore VY
7. Jason Bright Holden Commodore VY
8. Max Wilson Ford Falcon BA
9. Jason Richards Holden Commodore VY
10. Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VY
Race Two
Pos Driver Car
1. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VY
2. Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon BA
3. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VY
4. Jason Bargwanna Ford Falcon BA
5. Simon Wills Holden Commodore VY
6. Max Wilson Ford Falcon BA
7. Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VY
8. Paul Radisich Ford Falcon BA
9. Jason Richards Holden Commodore VY
10. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon BA
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Volume 10, Issue 44
2004 Season Review
The Atlas F1 Top Ten
2004 Race-by-Race Review
2004 Drivers Review
2004 Teams Review
2004 Technical Review
Bjorn Wirdheim: Going Places
2004 Qualifying Differentials
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