Updates from the Rest of the Racing World
Atlas F1 Magazine Writers
Advice: The points tables for most series covered by Elsewhere In Racing are available here. Individual series are linked to their corresponding points table after each report.
Rossi Edges Out Biaggi
Valentino Rossi in his first race for Yamaha took pole, just ahead of Sete Gibernau with Max Biaggi filling out the front row, rows now containing only three bikes instead of four. At the start Rossi made a good start, a change from usual, to lead into turn one ahead of Gibernau and Biaggi. Into the fast right hander at the end of the back straight Biaggi took second from Gibernau on lap one, while by the end of lap two these three had begun to break away from the rest of the field as Biaggi closed right on to Rossi's exhaust pipes, Gibernau keeping a watching brief.
Lap four and Biaggi dived through at the same right hander to take the lead, but Rossi stayed close and retook the lead at the hairpin a couple of corners later, running both himself and Biaggi wide. This allowed Gibernau to sneak through to second but Biaggi immediately reclaimed the place at the next corner. A small mistake early on lap five allowed Gibernau back through to second but Biaggi again retook the place at the end of the back straight, with Biaggi making the move once more to retake the lead from Rossi on lap seven, this time holding on to it. One lap later Rossi was back in the lead after passing at the hairpin, this time neat and tidy, both riders losing no time.
After all his good work up to this point, Rossi's pass was a shocker, the move taking both riders towards the edge of the circuit. It was more reminiscent of a last lap desperate than one with three laps to go, but nevertheless it was successful and Rossi retook the lead. Despite Biaggi's best efforts, including the fastest lap of the race on the final tour, he couldn't threaten Rossi for the win, and so Rossi's fairytale debut for Yamaha was complete, winning his first race for his new factory ahead of Biaggi, with Gibernau third, and factory Honda teammates Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden fourth and fifth.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 1 of 16, Phakisa Freeway, South Africa:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 25, Max Biaggi 20, Sete Gibernau 16, Alex Barros 13, Nicky Hayden 11, Loris Capirossi 10, Colin Edwards 9, Makoto Tamada 8, Norick Abe 7, Carlos Checa 6 etc.
Even Rossi Surprised By His Sensational Start
By Nick Mulvenney
Valentino Rossi described his victory at the season-opening Africa's Grand Prix at the weekend as the best of his career and few were disagreeing on Monday.
"A masterpiece," proclaimed the banner headline on the front page of sports paper Gazzetta dello Sport in his native Italy. "It's the achievement of the year, the decade, more."
After three years with dominant Honda cruising to win after win - not to mention three straight world titles - even the Italian expected it to take a few races before he was competing for victories with his new Yamaha team.
"Nobody believed in us and nobody, not even the most optimistic, could have dreamed of such a start to the season," said Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio.
Masao Furusawa, president of Yamaha Racing, agreed. "It would have been impossible to suggest a result such as this after just three months' work," he said. "I thought the podium would have been the best possible result."
Rossi's shock move to Yamaha has been compared to Michael Schumacher leaving Benetton for then-uncompetitive Ferrari after winning the second of his six Formula One titles in 1995.
Apart from their exceptional ability, they also bear comparison for the way they work with their engineers and crews in development. The German took seven races to win with Ferrari, but five years to win the championship, and Rossi conceded he had expected a longer struggle with the Yamaha M1.
"In three months we have turned the situation on its head," said Rossi. "It feels like three years.
"I wanted this victory. Motivation, and in our case also the rider, counts for a lot in sport...
"A race like this does not happen as if by a miracle. We've a lot of hard work behind us and Yamaha, my mechanics, my team have made an exceptional effort.
"Let's say I surprised myself, I did not think I could be so fast so soon."
The 25-year-old moved from Honda partly because he needed a challenge and he was made to work hard for his victory at Welkom on Sunday, fighting a ding-dong duel with Max Biaggi on the Honda RCV bike that won all but one race last season. "I had a really great battle with Max," said Rossi of his compatriot. "I have never had a great relationship with him, we have never been friends. But today we were great rivals and after a race like that the esteem has to be mutual."
It was.
"I have to compliment him for the great race," Biaggi said. "We don't like each other...but its clear that when you fight so closely, you can only express your professional admiration for your opponent."
In the emotion of such a great victory, Rossi's normally exuberant celebrations were replaced by a moment's contemplation, and perhaps a few tears, as he slumped by the tyre wall at the side of the track. Thoughts now turn to the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on May 2 -- the first of what Brivio has described as "15 revenges".
"I don't know if my heart can take it," he said.
Rossi surprised report provided by Reuters
Norwegian In New Zealand
Leg one saw a battle between Petter Solberg and Marcus Gronholm, Solberg taking the lead in SS 2 and holding on for three stages before Gronholm took over on SS 5. Gronholm then rolled late on the next stage to drop to fourth and return the lead to Solberg for SS 6 before Gronholm's teammate Harri Rovanpera took the lead after SS 7, Solberg then grabbing it back for the final two Super Specials.
Leg two saw Solberg lead throughout the day, despite not setting a fastest stage time until the final stage of the day, while Gronholm set four fastest stage times to climb back to second place just ahead of Markko Martin, both drivers in a position to challenge Solberg on the final leg.
Leg three saw the three drivers closely matched over the first two stages, before Solberg spun in SS 20 and dropped to second place, one second behind Gronholm, Rovanpera also spinning in the same stage and dropping a place to fifth as he lost nearly a minute. SS 21 saw another close battle between the top three before the order was shaken up in SS 22 when Gronholm spun after the handbrake came on without warning, dropping him to a tie with Martin for second. A fastest stage time for Gronholm on the final stage wasn't enough to catch Solberg who took the win ahead of Gronholm with Martin in third.
The first event for the new 04 Focus was not as successful as Ford may have hoped, but third for Markko Martin was still a strong result, though Francois Duval's error cost him a wheel and dropped him to eighteenth after being on target for a top eight finish. Citroen's debut of their 04 Xsara was less successful, with both Sebastien Loeb in fourth and Carlos Sainz in sixth never looking like challenging for the win, though all four major manufacturers must be happy with the reliabilty shown by their cars.
Which brings us to Mitsubishi. Kristian Sohlberg and Gilles Panizzi failed to make it to the first stage on Friday, SS 2, after both cars retired with electrical problems. It seems that the alternators didn't charge below 2000 rpm, causing flat batteries on both cars after they negotiated peak hour traffic for over an hour on Thursday evening heading to the first stage.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 4 of 16, Rally New Zealand:
Standings: Markko Martin 26, Sebastien Loeb 25, Marcus Gronholm 24, Petter Solberg 23, Francois Duval 14, Carlos Sainz 13, Mikko Hirvonen 6, Janne Tuohino 5, Harri Rovanpera, Freddy Loix and Gilles Panizzi 4 etc.
Manufacturers: Ford 47, Citroen 38, Peugeot 33, Subaru 31, Mitsubishi 5
Rovanpera Remains With Peugeot For Gravel Events
Finland's Harri Rovanpera, drafted in by the Peugeot world rally team as a replacement for Belgian Freddy Loix, will stay on for the season's eight remaining gravel events.
"Harri has done exactly the job that we asked of him," said team boss Corrado Provera after last weekend's New Zealand Rally, the fourth round of the World Championship.
Rovanpera led briefly in New Zealand on the opening leg and finished fifth, scoring important points in the constructors' championship. The Finn, released by Peugeot last year under new rules limiting teams to two cars, was recalled for the previous round in Mexico as a replacement for the under-performing Loix.
Loix's position with the team remained uncertain but he could be recalled for the rallies on asphalt, the next of which is the Rally of Germany in August. Peugeot said in February that he would continue working with the team in a programme still to be decided.
Burns Progressing Well
Burns was diagnosed as having an astrocytoma - a form of brain tumour - at the end of last year, and was forced to sit out the 2004 season. The Briton has since been undergoing treatment in hospital and has made some progress.
"I know Richard wants to thank his friends and fans for their continued support; he has received so many good wishes - it's really been amazing," said Burns's co-driver Robert Reid.
"At the moment Richard's channelling all his efforts into getting through the treatment, which is obviously proving both physically and mentally challenging. However he remains positive and is in a really good frame of mind."
Rovanpera report provided by Reuters
PT Goes To The Beach
Paul Tracy got his Champ Car World Series title defence off to the best possible start, with a dominant win on the streets of Long Beach, California. Apart from pit stops Tracy was never headed, leading home the Newman/Haas pairing of Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais.
Dale Coyne Racing only announced his drivers on the first day of offiical practice, but Oriol Servia and Tarso Marques were soon earning their new boss headlines for the wrong reasons as both crashed in practice, leaving Marques some five seconds behind the field in both sessions.
As the field came around to the start, all the politics of the off season fell away and Bourdais jumped away at the line causing a yellow flag, as the rules state the polesitter, in this case Junqueira, must lead the field across the line. At the second attempt Junqueira led the field away with Bourdais quickly under pressure from Tracy and Tagliani, who along with Junqueira had used their power boosters at the start while the young Frenchman had not. Tracy dived up the inside of Junqueira into turn one and locked up trying to scrabble his way around the corner, but Tracy made it, thus ending the battle for the lead.
Behind the field bunched up and slowed to a crawl, trying to file their way through turn one. A.J. Allmendinger was touched from behind by Rodolfo Lavin and the reigning Atlantics champ was spun in front of the field in the middle of the corner. In the resulting confusion six cars came to a halt and blocked the track. Once the dust cleared Jimmy Vasser, Alex Sperafico and Tarso Marques were out on the spot, while Roberto Gonzalez would pit several times to get damaged inspected while the field was behind the safety car. Nelson Phillippe pulled up short and was able to continue unharmed with a bump start.
The race settled at this point with Junqueira hovering around two seconds behind Tracy and Dominguez closing on Tagliani using his compulsory soft tyre set. Junqueira completed his second and final compulsory stop on lap 52, again well ahead of anyone else. With Tracy stopping six laps later, only a mistake would rob Tracy of the win.
Tagliani's stop was marred by a cross-threaded wheel nut on the right rear dropping him out of podium contention and giving Bourdais third place ahead of the squabbling Carpentier and Dominguez. Despite bashing the wall with the left rear wheel at one point, the Canadian hung on to fourth to win that battle. Justin Wilson made a quietly impressive debut in sixth position ahead of Hunter-Reay, the delayed Tagliani, Mario Haberfeld and Lavin completing the top ten.
The series now has a month's break in which to test and consolidate before the next meeting at Fundidora Park, Monterrey in Mexico, the first of two home events for Mario Dominguez, Michel Jourdain Jr and Roberto Gonzalez.
Result of Champ Car World Series, Round 1 of 14, Long Beach, California, United States:
Rusty Wins Again (Finally!)
After starting from his third consecutive Martinsville pole, Jeff Gordon led most of the race until just before the 300 lap point of the 500 lap race, with Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman also leading a few laps along the way as fading tyres and cautions came into play at various times. But just when it seemed just a case of winding down the laps for Gordon, it turned sour for the winner of the last two Martinsville races. Just seconds before Michael Waltrip spun, Gordon hit a lump of concrete that had come loose from the middle of the turn, badly damaging the front right valance of his car.
Closer inspection revealed a hole in the concrete in the middle of the turn, which saw the race red flagged while epoxy was used to fill in and repair the damage to the track. Over an hour passed before the field restarted, Gordon finally able to pit for repairs as he slid from second place to 23rd. The top five as the field restarted on lap 302 was now Earnhardt Jr, front row starter Jamie McMurray, Sterling Marlin, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, Wallace taking third from Marlin on lap 308, while Gordon was up to 15th by lap 312. Marlin repaid the favour later, taking third back from Wallace on lap 335, as Gordon moved into the top ten on lap 343.
Kasey Kahne brought out the next caution on lap 372, with pit stops shuffling the order to become Earnhardt Jr, Johnson, Wallace, Bobby Labonte and McMurray. Back to green on lap 381, Jeff Gordon restarting ninth but up to seventh less than ten laps later, and moving into sixth by lap 406 as the front group stayed in the same order until Johnson took the lead on lap 411 after laps of stalking leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. Just a few laps later on lap 415 the caution came out as Scott Wimmer spun, with more pit stops except for Johnson who stayed on track.
The race resumed on lap 464, with Wallace edging away at the front, from a dicing pack containing Johnson, Newman, Labonte and Earnhardt Jr, while Gordon was up to eighth. Labonte showed he wanted to challenge Wallace for the win, disposing of Newman on lap 469 and then Johnson on the following lap to move into second as he began the chase of Wallace for the win. 26 to go and Gordon was sixth after passing McMurray, while three laps later Earnhardt Jr took fourth from Newman.
At the front Labonte slowly closed on Wallace while Gordon quickly moved into a challenging position for fifth on Newman, the duo dicing out the remainder of the race, running side by side at times. 15 to go saw Earnhardt take third from Johnson, but while Labonte closed on Wallace, he couldn't quite catch him and so Rusty Wallace took the win ahead of Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson, with Ryan Newman winning the sprint out of the final turn to beat Jeff Gordon to fifth place.
Result of NASCAR Nextel Cup, Round 8 of 36, Martinsville Speedway, Virginia, United States:
Standings: Dale Earnhardt Jr 1167, Kurt Busch 1162, Matt Kenseth 1155, Jimmie Johnson 1088, Elliott Sadler 1069, Tony Stewart 1067, Jeff Gordon 1051, Rusty Wallace 1010, Kasey Kahne 1007, Kevin Harvick 1003 etc.
Paffett's First
Qualifying was all about Jean. Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi was the fastest in qualifying, earning him the final run in Superpole. Into Superpole, third car Martin Tomczyk scorched around the Hockenheim in a time that was not beaten until Alesi appeared and took almost two tenths from Tomczyk's time. Paffett and Tom Kristensen completed the second row ahead of reigning champion Bernd Schneider, Ekstrom and Timo Scheider in the first Opel.
Alesi led off the line followed by Tomczyk and Kristensen, while Scheider spun down field as the lap progressed. Paffett got over his poor start quickly, working his way back up to second by lap three with Schneider emerging from the pack to attack Kristensen. Schneider claimed fourth on lap six, just as Alesi led a large pack pitwards for the first compulsory stops. Paffett held the lead for two laps, while downfield Frank Biela was the first to complete both his stops.
Alesi made his second stop on lap 16, handing the lead to Paffett with Schneider closing rapidly. Paffett pitted on lap 20 with Schneider following a lap later, Schneider got better service and rejoined just behind Paffett, taking the lead a lap later and so Mercedes was heading for a remarkable 1-2-3-4 finish. But Alesi was slowing, dropping back to fourth behind Albers. By lap 26 Alesi had stopped in the pits, abandoning his race after the undertray at the front of his car broke. Schneider was slowing too with front suspension damage after earlier clashes, and was unable to stop Paffett regaining the lead, commencing a tumble down the order which ended with a last lap DNF for Bernd.
Paffett took the win from his surviving Mercedes teammate Albers, with Abt Sportsline Audis filling the next three places with Ekstrom, Kristensen and Tomczyk. As with last year Peter Dumbreck resumed his role of best Opel in sixth place ahead of Emanuele Pirro on his DTM return.
Result of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 1 of 10, Hockenheim, Germany:
Standings: Gary Paffett 10, Christijan Albers 8, Mattias Ekstrom 6, Tom Kristensen 5, Martin Tomczyk 4, Peter Dumbreck 3, Emanuele Pirro 2, Timo Scheider 1
Paint Valencia Red
Instead, Autodelta put on a show of complete superiority. Augusto Farfus took pole position ahead of his two teammates, and Gabriele Tarquini and Fabrizio Giovanardi shared the wins and seconds with Farfus taking both thirds keeping BMW corporate white from appearing on any podium all weekend.
Alfas dominated qualifying, with Andy Priaulx's BMW 1.2 seconds from pole in fourth ahead of Frank Diefenbacher, continuing SEAT's improved form in the Toledo. Luca Rangoni completed the third row in a 2003 model Alfa for the Oregon Team ahead of the factory BMWs of Dirk Muller and Antonio Garcia. Jorg Muller was a miserable twelfth on the grid.
Farfus won the start from Giovanardi, Tarquini and Priaulx, while Diefenbacher stalled. It would not be SEAT's race as Rickard Rydell and Jordi Gene were eliminated in an accident with Tom Coronel. Farfus held the lead for the first three laps before his more senior teammates got by with Tarquini taking up the lead. The race settled at that point with the Alfas putting on a 1-2-3 demonstration. The Muller 'brothers' followed Priaulx home, with Jorg picking up six positions during the race. Antonio Garcia was next with Salvatore Tavano taking the final point and top privateer.
First and secoind were now decided, but could the BMWs holdback Farfus as well? Ultimately, no. Farfus and Jorg Muller clashed briefly, sending Muller into Garcia and causing the BMW Italy-Spain driver to spin out of contention. In the confusion Farfus slipped by Muller into what was now third and the trifecta was complete. Fourth was claimed by Dirk Muller with the recovering Jorg Muller passing Priaulx as the race wound down. Tavano was again the best privateer and inherited seventh after Garcia spun a second time. His Oregon teammate Rangoni claimed the final point for the weekend.
Tarquini now leads the championship by two points over Giovanardi after Augusto Farfus received a retrospective ten minute penalty for each of the races at Monza for a non-conforming suspension part due to a fabrication error, dropping Farfus well out of the points in both races. Jorg Muller is the first BMW, six points from Tarquini and one ahead of his teammate namesake Dirk, with Priaulx a further point back.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Round 2 of 11, Communitat Valencia, Spain:
Standings: Gabriele Tarquini 28, Fabrizio Giovanardi 26, Jorg Muller 22, Dirk Muller 21, Andy Priaulx 20, Augusto Farfus 12, Tom Coronel 8, Frank Diefenbacher 6, Antonio García 5, Salvatore Tavano 3 etc.
Chili Runs Hot
If you had told someone before the season that neither of the factory Ducatis would be leading the standings after round three they would have suggested you were dreaming. If you told them that Pierfrancesco Chili would be leading the points they probably would have called you crazy. After taking a third place and then a win at Misano, top of the points, twenty points clear is where Chili sits after previous points leader James Toseland had a shocker, qualifying 20th over 2.5 seconds off the pace and only managing tenth and sixth in the two races. Toseland's teammate Regis Laconi was the other star performer with Chili, taking pole, a win in race one and nearly again in race two before Chili pipped him to the post, Laconi taking a safe second.
Race one begun on a damp but drying track, with Troy Corser starring on the Foggy Petronas, taking the lead during lap one and showing the way ahead of Pierfrancesco Chili and Mauro Sanchini who diced for second before polesitter Regis Laconi, who was fifth after lap one, recovered to move up into second place by lap ten, just over three seconds behind Corser. By lap fourteen Laconi had caught Corser, taking the lead from him early on lap 15. As Laconi edged away from Corser, the rain which had dampened the track before the race began to return, the increasing rain eventually causing the race to be red flagged and results declared a couple of laps later, Laconi the winner ahead of Corser, with Chili third, Noriyuki Haga fourth and Chris Vermeulen fifth.
The rain after race one meant that it was a wet track at the start of race two, with Mauro Sanchini again showing form at the start of the race, leading all of the first five laps except lap two, but eventually lap two leader Laconi took over at the front ahead of Steve Martin. Once in the lead Laconi streaked away, pulling away from second place at an average of a second a lap for the next ten laps, out to an eleven second lead after sixteen laps. It was on lap sixteen that second place changed hands, as Pierfrancesco Chili's charge to the front continued, having been as low as fifteenth after lap two!
Now Chili had to pull Laconi back in at over a second a lap for nine laps, the same rider who had just opened a similar gap on everyone else! But the track was drying which suited Chili's intermediates and frustrated Laconi on wets, Laconi's tyres smoking at times as they slid across the drying track. It was touch and go whether Chili would make it, but if Chili could get there Laconi would be helpless to stop him. On the back straight on the final lap Chili took the lead from Laconi to clinch a remarkable win, the duo in a class of their own, with third place finisher Steve Martin over half a minute behind Laconi! Haga and teammate Leon Haslam completed the top five.
Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 3 of 11, Misano, Italy:
Standings: Pierfrancesco Chili 97, James Toseland 77, Regis Laconi and Chris Vermeulen 70, Noriyuki Haga 69, Garry McCoy 55, Steve Martin 54, Chris Walker 52, Marco Borciani 49, Troy Corser 48 etc.
MotoGP
It didn't take long for Valentino Rossi to take his first pole position and first win for Yamaha. In his first race for his new manufacturer, Rossi took the pole and then the win, though both achievements were hard fought, Rossi having to deal with Max Biaggi from the moment the lights went out until the chequered flag waved. Biaggi led several times but Rossi's late race pass meant that he took the win and consequently leads the points ahead of Biaggi, with Honda rider and last year's runner-up Sete Gibernau completing the top three.
Lap after lap Rossi and Biaggi rode nose to tail, separated by just a few tenths of a second, yet their margin over Gibernau continued to grow and the rest of the field were even further behind. Finally after laps of sitting just behind him, Biaggi made his move on lap 23 to retake the lead down the back straight. As it had been all race long, neither Biaggi nor Rossi could make a break on the other. Three to go and Rossi nearly ran into the back of Biaggi as they entered the back straight, followed him closely through the next two right handers before diving up the inside at the hairpin.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha M1
2. Max Biaggi Honda RC211V
3. Sete Gibernau Honda RC211V
4. Alex Barros Honda RC211V
5. Nicky Hayden Honda RC211V
6. Loris Capirossi Ducati Desmosedici
7. Colin Edwards Honda RC211V
8. Makoto Tamada Honda RC211V
9. Norick Abe Yamaha M1
10. Carlos Checa Yamaha M1
But after just three months on what had previously been an uncompetitive bike, there was Rossi back on top of the podium - the first man in the history of the championship to win consecutive races on different makes of bikes.
Rally
It was a tough battle, but Norway's Petter Solberg took the win in New Zealand after a rally-long battle with fellow World Champion, Finn Marcus Gronholm. The two swapped the lead of the event several times as both encountered problems but in the end it was Solberg who took the win. The results in New Zealand have bunched up the leaders in the standings, with Markko Martin on 26 points, Sebastien Loeb on 25, Marcus Gronholm on 24 and Petter Solberg on 23. How long they will remain so close is yet to be seen.
Subaru showed the pace of the WRC2004 in Mexico was no fluke, with Petter Solberg taking the win despite some hiccups along the way and Mikko Hirvonen in seventh as he continues to learn events and the Impreza. Peugeot must also be happy with their performance, taking second with Marcus Gronholm despite hiccups similar to Solberg along the way, and Harri Rovanpera taking fifth as an able back-up to Gronholm after Loix's disappointments earlier in the year.
Pos Driver/Co-driver Car
1. Petter Solberg/Phillip Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
2. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
3. Markko Martin/Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 04
4. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroen Xsara WRC
5. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen Peugeot 307 WRC
6. Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti Citroen Xsara WRC
7. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
8. Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson Peugeot 206 WRC
9. Dean Herridge/Glenn MacNeall Subaru Impreza WRX STi
(Gp N)
10. Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
(Gp N)
"Harri will be staying with us for all the gravel rounds of this year's championship."
2001 World Rally Champion Richard Burns is progressing well from the brain tumour that sidelined him from this year's championship.
Champ Car
Friday qualifying left Junqueira at the top of the heap ahead of Tracy, Rocketsports team leader Alex Tagliani and the Herdez pair of Mario Dominguez and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Saturday qualifying was held on a drying track so while times would not be relevant, the fastest car would step up to grid position two, and that battle was won by Sebastien Bourdais.
Tracy stormed away at the green with Junqueira hanging on as best he could. Bourdais sat between Tagliani and Hunter-Reay, while Seriva was first to pit, but didn't resume. Junquiera pitted on lap 25, well short of an effective three stop window on lap 27. Bourdais pitted on lap 29, a lap after Hunter-Reay with Tracy leading a gaggle of cars down pitlane, including Tagliani, on lap 30, leaving the head of the field briefly to Carpentier. Dominguez resumed in fourth place after an excellent stop to put the Mexican ahead of Bourdais.
Pos Driver Car
1. Paul Tracy Forsythe Championship Racing Lola-Ford
2. Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing Lola-Ford
3. Sebastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola-Ford
4. Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Championship Racing Lola-Ford
5. Mario Dominguez Herdez Competition Lola-Ford
6. Justin Wilson Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Lola-Ford
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Herdez Competition Lola-Ford
8. Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Racing Lola-Ford
9. Mario Haberfeld Walker Racing Reynard-Ford
10. Rodolfo Lavin Forsythe Championship Racing Lola-Ford
NASCAR
It has been a long wait for Rusty Wallace. Over 100 races and three years passed since his last win before he finally broke the streak by winning at Martinsville at the weekend. A front-running performance all day turned into a win as he charged to the front late in the race and held on for the win. His job was made a little easier when the track took the dominant Jeff Gordon out of contention for the win when it damaged the front of Gordon's car as it crumbled under the weight of the NASCAR behemoths.
The weekend's results tightened up the top of the standings, with Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth separated by less then twenty points.
Johnson now led from Ryan Newman, who took two tyres, ahead of Earnhardt Jr, Wallace and Labonte. Racing restarted on lap 423, but was back to caution on lap 430 when Matt Kenseth ran into the back of Kevin Harvick and spun him, though Earnhardt Jr had lost a place to both Wallace and Labonte on laps 426 and 427 respectively beforehand. The green flag waved once more on lap 440, as Wallace attacked his teammate Newman and eventually took second from him on lap 446, Wallace continuing his charge as he took the lead from Johnson on lap 456 just before a multi-car incident brought out the caution on lap 457.
Pos Driver Car
1. Rusty Wallace Dodge Intrepid
2. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5. Ryan Newman Dodge Intrepid
6. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
8. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
9. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
10. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
DTM
Last year Gary Paffett made his touring car debut, driving a year-old Team Rosberg CLK-DTM, claiming a championship point by season's end. On the weekend, the 2002 German Formula 3 champion won his first DTM race, leading home last year's Mercedes rookie sensation Christijan Albers with Mattias Ekstrom the first non-Mercedes driver home in third.
Alesi led Paffett and Schneider after the first round of stops while Marcel Fassler soon struck trouble when the bonnet came loose on his Opel. Fassler pitted for repairs but crashed out of the race two laps later.
Pos Driver Car
1. Gary Paffett AMG Mercedes-Benz C Class
2. Christijan Albers AMG Mercedes-Benz C Class
3. Mattias Ekstrom Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM
4. Tom Kristensen Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM
5. Martin Tomczyk Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM
6. Peter Dumbreck Team Phoenix Opel Vectra GTS V8
7. Emanuele Pirro Team Joest Audi A4 DTM
8. Timo Scheider Team Holzer Opel Vectra GTS V8
9. Laurent Aiello Team Phoenix Opel Vectra GTS V8
10. Manuel Reuter Team Holzer Opel Vectra GTS V8
ETCC
At Monza, a track best suited to Alfa Romeo, Autodelta were strong but their dominance was not reflected on the timesheets as a couple of DNFs snuck onto the list. It was expected BMW would strike back at the tighter Valencia circuit.
In race two Tavano squandered his pole position and was swamped by BMWs off the line, with Garcia taking up the lead from the Mullers, Jorg ahead of Dirk ahead of Giovanardi making the best of a fantastic start to be fourth across the line. Just behind Priaulx was under pressure from Tarquini, who would only hold the Alfa back for a lap. The Autodelta pair disposed of Mullers one at a time before attacking Garcia and passing on lap 4.
Race One
Pos Driver Car
1. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
3. Augusto Farfus AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
4. Andy Priaulx BMW Team Great Britain BMW 320i
5. Dirk Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
6. Jorg Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
7. Antonio Garcia BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
8. Salvatore Tavano Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
9. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
10. Tom Coronel Carly Motors BMW 320i
Race Two
Pos Driver Car
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
3. Augusto Farfus 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. Salvatore Tavano Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
8. Luca Rangoni Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
9. Tom Coronel Carly Motors BMW 320i
10. Alex Zanardi BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
Superbikes
Race One
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Regis Laconi Ducati 999F04
2. Troy Corser Foggy Petronas FP1
3. Piefrancesco Chili Ducati 998RS
4. Noriyuki Haga Ducati 999RS
5. Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR
6. Chris Walker Foggy Petronas FP1
7. Steve Martin Ducati 999RS
8. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati 998RS
9. Piergiorgio Bontempi Suzuki GSX 1000R
10. James Toseland Ducati 999F04
Race Two
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Piefrancesco Chili Ducati 998RS
2. Regis Laconi Ducati 999F04
3. Steve Martin Ducati 999RS
4. Noriyuki Haga Ducati 999RS
5. Leon Haslam Ducati 999RS
6. James Toseland Ducati 999F04
7. Troy Corser Foggy Petronas FP1
8. Lucio Pedercini Ducati 998RS
9. Luca Pini Suzuki GSX 1000R
10. Marco Borciani Ducati 999RS
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 16
Atlas F1 Exclusive
Interview with Bob Bell
Interview with Gianmaria Bruni
Articles
Every Other Sunday
The Paint Job: Part V
2004 San Marino GP Preview
2004 San Marino GP Preview
San Marino GP Facts & Stats
Columns
The F1 Trivia Quiz
Rear View Mirror
Bookworm Critique
On the Road
Elsewhere in Racing
The Weekly Grapevine
> Homepage |
