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.
Bourdais Confirmed As Champion
The court was meeting to hear the appeal by Coloni Motorsport against the Petrobras team and Arden International at the Italian round of the title, Coloni protesting the technical validity of the cars of Antonio Pizzona, Bjorn Wirdheim and Tomas Enge.
The court upheld the protest against Pizzonia, after he had run a rear wing element upside down, while it dismissed the protest against the two Arden International runners in relation to disconnected anti-roll bars. This meant that Pizzonia lost his second place at the Italian round, with following finishers moving up a place in the results, dropping him from fifth to eighth in the final standings. With Enge deciding not to appeal the decision made against him last week at the World Motor Sport Council, the standings are finally final and Sebastien Bourdais is definitely the 2002 International Formula 3000 champion!.
Final Standings (revised): Sebastien Bourdais 56, Giorgio Pantano 54, Tomas Enge 50, Bjorn Wirdheim 29, Ricardo Sperafico 22, Rodrigo Sperafico 20, Mario Haberfeld and Antonio Pizzonia 18, Enrico Toccacelo and Patrick Friesacher 14, Ricardo Mauricio 9, Nicolas Kiesa 3, Tiago Monteiro and Rob Nguyen 2, Zsolt Baumgartner 1
Champion Gronholm
Marcus Gronholm has regained the World Championship he lost last year to Richard Burns with an emphatic victory in New Zealand. Gronholm won 15 stages, including the last 12 consecutively, in an impressive display on a surface so much like his home event, the former 1000 Lakes.
Gronholm had been placed third early in the event, behind two of his teammates. Richard Burns had held sway early in the rally, winning eight of the first fourteen stages, including the first four consecutively. Burns's exit from the rally was both dramatic and final when the Peugeot slid off the back of a fourth gear corner and barrel rolled into retirement. Gronholm was slowed early after being forced into the road sweeper role. Once onto the second leg, Gronholm reasserted his pace, taking second from Rovanpera on Stage 11. Four stages later he inherited the lead and proceeded to destroy even the thought of any opposition.
Burns's roll was the only downside of the weekend for Peugeot. While Burns's accident secured the drivers title for Gronholm, the crashing retirement of the Ford Focus of Markko Martin handed the manufacturers crown to Peugeot. Harri Rovanpera's drive to second place was icing on a rather sweet cake. Gilles Panizzi, still learning the art of gravel, placed seventh.
"To achieve this double success here is extraordinary. It's a fantastic result for a team and a manufacturer who are really committed to rallying and this championship," said Team Director Corrado Provera.
Early in the rally fourth place behind the three Peugeots was a very tightly fought battle between the Subarus of Tommi Makinen and Petter Solberg, and Jani Paasonen. Who??? Mitsubishi's development driver had a huge rally, giving the WRC Lancer its best ever performance, which included its first remarkable stage victory on SS5. Paasonen ended the first day of the rally fifth, 0.9 seconds behind Makinen and a tenth ahead of Solberg. Not bad for a driver who wasn't even supposed to be there. Paasonen had been drafted in after the injury which plagued Alister McRae at San Remo prevented him from making the trip to the antipodes.
What became third with the retirement of Burns became Tommi Makinen's. The four time world champion had sufferred in comparison to his teammate but held a comfortable fourth place in the closing stages. Petter Solberg had been the star of the non-Peugeots, trying vainly to keep the silver cars in sight. A podium spot looked guaranteed for the Norwegian but on the penultimate stage the engine cried enough and failed. Makinen took third place and kept it over the remaining stage. Subaru claimed another prize. More often than not Lancers win the Group N prize, but it was the hometown hero, the man recently crowned Australian Champion for the seventh time, 'Possum' Bourne who took Group N victory in 13th overall in a Subaru.
Carlos Sainz was next home in the surviving Ford Focus. Gronholm's non-Peugeot title rival Colin McRae ended his chances sliding nose first down a bank on Stage 4 while two seconds ahead of Gronholm in third place. The following day Markko Martin had been closing in on the Subarus when Martin crashed out of the rally, briefly sparking a fire in the wreck. And to add insult to injury the car was then hit by another competitor.
With the retirements going on up the field, the way opened for one of the smaller manufacturers to pop and and grab a bag full of points. Hyundai did not need to be asked twice. Feeling more at home then he has in some time, the WRC's inhouse legend Juha Kankkunen had been in the points since Burns retirement. The points haul was doubled by the retirement of Solberg, and so Kankkunen lead his teammate Freddy Loix into fifth and sixth places. To underline the consistency that Hyundai enjoyed by themselves, Armin Schwarz rounded out the top ten.
Despite the distance from home bases, it is only a short trip to the next event. It's across the Tasman Sea then across the Nullabor Plain to Perth and the absurd ball bearing surfaces of Rally Australia. The fight is now for second place in the championship. Burns leads that battle by a point over McRae with Panizzi two points behind, and another two points to Sainz, with Rovanpera and Solberg not far away either.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 12 of 14, Rally New Zealand:
Standings: Marcus Gronholm 67, Richard Burns 34, Colin McRae 33, Gilles Panizzi 31, Carlos Sainz 29, Harri Rovanpera 24, Petter Solberg 23, Tommi Makinen 19, Sebastien Loeb 18, Markko Martin 12 etc.
Manufacturers: Peugeot 147, Ford 89, Subaru 50, Mitsubishi and Hyundai 9, Skoda 8
Group N: Karamjit Singh 28, Kristian Sohlberg 26, Ramon Ferreyros 20, Alessandro Fiorio 16, Toshihiro Arai and Gustavo Trelles 12, Martin Rowe 11 etc.
Scot Colin McRae has decided to end his partnership with co-driver Nicky Grist to team up with Derek Ringer, his Ford team have said. Ringer partnered McRae to win the world rally championship for Subaru in 1995 and they will drive together again at next month's Rally of Australia.
"Our in-car relationship has been strained for the last 12 months," said McRae. "A change is the best way forward for us. We have enjoyed some great moments and this is an amicable parting, but neither of us want to go into specific details."
McRae will now develop his new partnership in the final two rallies of the year, in Australia and Britain, before moving with Ringer to Citroen next season.
"I would like to finish my career with Ford in a positive fashion," said McRae. "That means going for out-and-out victory in Australia and Britain. I am looking forward to Derek helping myself and Ford to a successful end of the season."
Grist has not yet thought about his future in the World Rally Championship, but insisted he is keen to continue as a co-driver. "I would like to stress that this decision does not signify my retirement," said Grist. "I will take time to assess my options."
Report provided by Reuters
Da One Dat Mattas
It came perhaps one event earlier than expected, but Cristiano da Matta is the CART series champion for 2002. He drove a smart race, his crew gave him excellent service in the pits and gained the rewards that came with victory. Da Matta has been near unstoppable on the road and street circuit disciplines this year. It was fitting that the streets of Miami would give him the enormous Vanderbilt Cup, and returning the championship to the Newman-Haas team for the first time since Nigel Mansell in 1993.
"I didn't know where Bruno was and I didn't want to ask my team where he was either because I was thinking about it. So I just tried not to think about it and concentrated on driving. After all (the yellows) were clear, it was a good feeling to drive it to the checquer. I think we had a three-race stretch where we didn't win a race so this was an important win. I think there isn't a better way to clinch the championship then with a victory. When you clinch it with a win it shows that you were there all year. I'll just try to go for the record of nine wins because that's all that's left for me this season."
Qualifying gave no indication it would be da Matta's day. The first qualifying session on Friday saw Tony Kanaan plant the Mo Nunn Lola on provisional pole. Pole stuck when it rained on the second session, with fastest in the wet session earning Scott Dixon second grid position. A best ever performance saw Tora Takagi take third while the Chip Ganassi package looked strong with Kenny Brack in fourth.
Kanaan led the field around to the green, waved by former champion Juan Pablo Montoya, and just beat Dixon into turn one. The field was lucky to escape any lap one carnage when Oriol Servia spun in turn two. The yellows flew while Servia was push started. Lap four and the race went green, briefly as Patrick Carpentier spun in the final turn, powering up for the restart. Mario Dominguez too came to a halt, but was able to get going again while a push start was required for Carpentier. The race went green again on lap 7 and this time stayed green as Kanaan led Dixon, Takagi, Alex Tagliani and Brack.
Lap 37 and the race went yellow, this time as Carpentier nosed into the barriers at turn eight. The first round of official stops began as lap 42 approached. Da Matta leads a gaggle of cars down pit lane, leaving Tracy leading from Junqueira until Tracy stops three laps later. This gave Junquiera a four second gap on da Matta. Junqueira immediately pushes the gap and gains a couple of seconds on the series leader.
The field became stagnant at this point, with the only mover Jimmy Vasser, who pushed himself up the order to be sixth by lap 60. A lap later and Junquiera stops leaving da Matta leading from Franchitti and Fittipaldi. Lap 70 saw the end of Shinji Nakano who ground to a halt with mechanical dramas that briefly burst into flame just before the pits. Two laps later and the mounting attrition claims Kenny Brack, sliding off track into retirement. Paul Tracy pushes his luck, kissing the wall then spinning luridly. Despite his dramas Tracy takes up the lead when da Matta pits for his second stop on lap 84. Tracy now has an 18 second lead over da Matta. Tracy though is due in, and pits on lap 88.
Lap 99 and the yellows fly again after a clash between Tracy and Vasser sees the track blocked. Michel Jourdain Jr came around and struck Tracy's car. Jourdain limps to the pits for brief repairs, but Tracy is out. Vasser, relatively unscathed by the earlier clash with Tracy now holds down third from Tagliani and Junqueira. And that's the way they raced it in to the chequer. Da Matta and Fittipaldi bringing home a deserved but unexpected 1-2 result for Newman-Haas. Vasser was half a second away in third with a second and a half to Tagliani. Junqueira was the only other car on the lead lap. Fifth place would not be good enough for the Ganassi pilot, as he was now 69 points behind da Matta. Too many, and so the title hopes for Junqueira were gone, with three races to spare. The ever consistent Michael Jourdain Jr led in the lapped cars in sixth with Adrian Fernandez next.
The series now focuses on the podium championship positons. Junqueira has a fourteen point lead on Franchitti, with another fourteen points back to Carpentier, one point further back to Fittipaldi and a further twelve back to Jourdain. The next stop for the series is Surfers Paradise, Australia for the Honda Indy 300.
Result of FedEx CART World Series, Round 16 of 19, Miami, United States:
Standings: Cristiano da Matta 212, Bruno Junqueira 143, Dario Franchitti 129, Patrick Carpentier 115, Christian Fittipaldi 114, Michel Jourdain Jr 102, Alex Tagliani 95, Michael Andretti and Jimmy Vasser 90, Paul Tracy 87 etc.
Brilliant Barros
What a difference a bike makes. Riding the two-stroke NSR500, Alex Barros was able to push the four-strokes hard but couldn't beat Rossi. Riding the four-stroke RC211V for the first time, Alex Barros showed he could beat the four-strokes and beat Rossi, winning the MotoGP race at Motegi in Japan. With more RC211Vs scheduled to appear next year, it bodes for competitive racing next season after a fairly one-sided championship this year, with other makes such as Kawasaki and Ducati entering the fray as well.
As they completed the lap Kato repeated the earlier moves of Rossi and Barros to make it a RC211V 1-2-3 at the end of lap one. Over the next few laps the fighting leading trio began to break away from the pack, the only rider able to hang with them being Barros's teammate Capirossi on the two-stroke Honda, Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa the only other riders anywhere near the leaders pace in fifth and sixth. There was some exciting dicing on lap four, with Kato passing Barros around the outside of the righthanded first two turns, Barros taking the place back at the lefthanded third turn before Kato snuck back up the inside at the lefthanded fourth turn, before Barros took the place back again at the hairpin around the back of the circuit.
Turn five, lap five saw a new leader as Barros took the lead from Rossi. A lap later at the same corner Rossi made a mistake and Kato slipped through to second. Unfortunately lap seven saw the demise of the Kawasaki's debut after Akira Yanagawa was thrown off the bike under braking. Just when it looked like Kato's poor recent races might be about to end, towards the end of lap seven he slowed dramatically and retired to pit lane, his day over. With the retirement of Kato, Barros now had the slightest of breaks over Rossi, who still had Capirossi close behind. Further back Biaggi had opened a small gap over Ukawa, but over the next few laps the gap closed up again.
Up front Rossi closed the gap down to Barros, right on his tail once again. Still the top three rode in a tight pack, and still they pushed. Lap 15 saw Ukawa finally take fourth from Biaggi, who pitted soon after with mechanical problems with his Yamaha.
Up front, Barros and Rossi were finally edging ever so slightly away from Capirossi, Ukawa a long way back in fourth, Rossi making a few mistakes here and there as he had a minor problem under brakes. With seven laps remaining Rossi looked and pushed here and there, before Rossi went through into the lead, though had Barros let him through?
Barros was now returning the favour, giving Rossi a very hard time, and with five laps to go Barros took the lead back at turn five, Rossi running the same wide at the same time. Rossi was riding hard, but Barros was as quick, if not quicker, as third placed Capirossi began to fade into the distance. With two laps to go Rossi got close, right on Barros's tail, but each time Rossi got close, Rossi's bike bucked or he ran wide, showing how hard the duo were pushing. Rossi pushed hard but he couldn't bridge the gap, Barros riding so fast on the last lap to ensure the win that he set a new fastest lap! Third was Capirossi on the two-stroke, with Tohru Ukawa in fourth the only rider even close to the leading trio.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 13 of 16, Motegi, Japan:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 290, Tohru Ukawa 169, Max Biaggi 164, Alex Barros 143, Carlos Checa 127, Norick Abe 117, Loris Capirossi 102, Kenny Roberts 84, Daijiro Kato 80, Olivier Jacque 66 etc.
DEI And Dale Do It Again
On the weekend we were at Talladega, so that means a DEI car must have won. Such was the case, as Dale Earnhardt Jr won his second race of the year, his first having come at the same track back in April. It also made it the third DEI win in the four restrictor plate races this year, with Ward Burton winning the Daytona 500, and the third consecutive race Earnhardt Jr has won at Talladega, winning the corresponding race last year. After last weekend's great results for the Hendrick drivers, with increased horsepower seeing all four of them in the top twelve, this weekend was the opposite, with the four Hendrick cars and the two Hendrick-powered cars of Benson and Schrader suffering valvetrain problems which ended their days early, the engine failure seeing Jeff Gordon finish 42nd and drop to sixth, 201 points behind.
With qualifying rained out, the starting positions for the race were determined by owner points, Jimmie Johnson taking the 'pole', with Mark Martin alongside. These two drivers were then involved in one of the more bizarre incidents in motor racing, when with one lap to go to the start of the race, while warming up his tyres, Mark Martin's steering locked up, sending him down the track and into the side of Jimmie Johnson's car. Both cars recovered, resuming at the front of the field ready to take the start. However, NASCAR blackflagged Martin and so as the rest of the field took the green flag to start the race, Martin trundled down pit lane despite his protestations on the radio that everything was OK.
He stopped, they checked the car over and he was sent back out again, last and certain to be lapped sooner rather than later. Meanwhile Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were battling for the lead as they ran lap one, before Johnson pulled into the pits as they completed lap one to have his right front fender looked at and then straightened out, as efforts to pit earlier had been stopped by NASCAR, resuming last, even closer than Martin to being lapped. Gordon led for a few laps before Kenseth took over on lap five, as the field ran in the usual restrictor plate pack. Gordon led again before Kenseth took it back, then Dale Earnhardt Jr took the lead as the leaders swapped the lead around, especially as they moved closer to their first stop.
Busch took over the lead before Gordon took it back, before Kevin Harvick took a run at the front. Then Busch took another run at the front, followed not long after by Jeff Burton. Lap 65 saw the second round of stops begin, while lap 74 saw it end as DEI and Rudd pitted. It was clear by now that some teams, like DEI, could make it with just two more stops if it stayed green, while others would need three.
Kurt Busch was leading again, as most of the field remained in the lead draft. On lap 92 Gordon retook the lead. The next round of stops began with the early stoppers on lap 99, as Gordon continued to lead until Mike Skinner, a lap down after running out of fuel at his first stop, decided to move up the track just as Gordon was about to lap him, Busch taking back the race lead. The leaders started to pit on lap 110 as Harvick ran out of fuel, the field wondering if the caution would come out. It didn't, and so the DEI cars and Rudd completed the pit stops on lap 112.
The fourth stops of the day began with almost 60 laps remaining, Robby Gordon continuing to lead for a while before Busch took over at the front, then Waltrip. With 39 laps remaining Stewart and Busch pitted, on the borderline of being able to make it the rest of the way if it stayed green. One lap later the rest of the leaders pitted, Earnhardt Jr leading Rudd, Green, Park and Newman off pit road, as Waltrip lost a lot of time, after his car fell off the jack. Although the field was separated after the stops, within a few laps it was one big bunch again. The questions now were would there be a caution, and if not, who could make it?
Meanwhile with 30 laps remaining Earnhardt Jr continued to lead from Stewart and Rudd.
With 20 laps to go some people took their fifth and final stops of the day as Jimmie Johnson joined his teammate Gordon with a sick engine, and retired a few laps later, as Earnhardt Jr remained in front. 15 to go and it was still Earnhardt, Stewart and Rudd, followed by the Burton brothers. 14 to go and Rusty Wallace and Robby Gordon pitted. 10 to go and the Burtons pitted. The top six ran as a pack, no-one daring to make a move, everyone seeming to be waiting until the last lap to make a move.
Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 30 of 36, Talladega Speedway, Alabama, United States:
Standings: Tony Stewart 3958, Mark Martin 3886, Jimmie Johnson 3876, Ryan Newman 3821, Rusty Wallace 3811, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon 3757, Bill Elliott 3729, Ricky Rudd 3712, Sterling Marlin 3703 etc.
Sterling Marlin Out For Season
"Sterling has dominated the championship points race and we were looking forward to helping him win his first NASCAR Winston Cup title," said team owner Chip Ganassi. Doctors expect Marlin to make a full recovery in time for the 2003 season, Ganassi said.
Marlin took over the series points lead after the second race of the year and held it until three weeks ago. After the Kansas race he was in fifth place, 121 points behind then leader Jimmie Johnson. He has now dropped to tenth, 255 points behind new leader Tony Stewart.
Jamie McMurray, who was hired to drive a third car for the Ganassi team next season, will take over Marlin's No. 40 Dodge for the rest of the season.
Report provided by Reuters
Audi In Miami
Audi continued their domination of the American Le Mans series with another win for
Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro, on the streets of Miami. Requiring only one stop for fuel, and driving the whole race on one set of tyres, the duo started from pole and
went on to win, with only a late stop and go penalty against the sister car of Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen preventing a 1-2 finish.
After winning their class at the recent round at Laguna Seca, Claudia Huertgen and Chad Block made it two from two by taking a seven lap victory in the LMP 675 class, finishing eighth overall. Other class winners were Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell in their Chevrolet Corvette in the GTS class, leading their teammates Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins home for a 1-2 finish, while Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr took another GT class win in the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Result of American Le Mans Series, Round 10 of 11, Miami, United States:
Standings, LMP 900: Tom Kristensen 202, Rinaldo Capello 199, Frank Biela 188, Emanuele Pirro 187, Johnny Herbert 179, David Brabham 159, Jan Magnussen 152, Stefan Johansson 149, Bill Auberlen 141, Bryan Herta 132 etc.
Standings, LMP675: Jon Field 183, Ben Devlin 172, Jeff Bucknum 147, Chris McMurry 144, Bryan Willman 142 etc.
Standings, LMGTS: Ron Fellows 224, Kelly Collins 201, Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O'Connell 200, Terry Borcheller 154, Marc Bunting 153 etc.
Standings, LMGT: Lucas Luhr 215, Sascha Maassen 214, Timo Bernhard 174, Kevin Buckler and Jorg Bergmeister 173 etc.
Carsport's Donington
It was expected to be Lister's moment of triumph. A magnificent home victory in front of a big crowd at Donington. Victory though would, at long last, be claimed by the Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper of Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen.
Qualifying saw the first chink in Lister's armour at home when Jean-Marc Gounon took pole position in the Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello. Jamie Campbell-Walter was second fastest, almost half a second slower in the Superpole runoff. Third was the second Scuderia Italia Ferrari, Jean-Denis Deletraz steering. The two Carsport Vipers were next, Fabrizio Gollin ahead of Mike Hezemans with Bobby Verdon-Roe in sixth in the luckless second Lister.
Gounon got the jump at the start to hold a half second lead over Campbell-Walter at the end of lap one ahead of Deletraz, Hezemans and Verdon-Roe. Deletraz dropped down the order on lap four after an off. Hezemans was pushing hard, climbing to second by lap six. Campbell-Walter though was sliding down the order. A clash with Piccini would seal their fate. The two were battling hard, Piccini having just overtaken the Lister when the Lister struck the rear of the Ferrari, spinning the Italian car. The Lister pitted immediately to inspect the damage, and would lose over 20 laps in the pits. The Ferrari would continue on, but failed on lap 45.
Gounon and Bryner continued to make the running in their Ferrari, leading up until the first pitstops, handing the lead initially to the team's second car until it stopped, handing the lead to its now fated sibling. Verdon-Roe led for a lap right on the tick of the hour, before Piccini took back the running again. With Piccini out, Kumpen took up the lead over Bryner and Phillip Alliot in the Force One Viper. Alliot's good run would come to nought though when the big V10 stopped on lap 68.
By this time Kumpen's lead was out to over a minute over the Ferrari. The Ferrari stopped just before the hour, handing second position to the second Carsport Holland car. With the lead Lister out, attention focussed on the two series leaders. Christophe Bouchut and David Terrien had been teammates all year, but now the pair were split between Larbre Competicion's two Vipers. Terrien was in fourth place and on the lead lap. Bouchut though had lost ten laps by the two hour mark as the gearbox gradually failed.
Stephane Ortelli and Roman Dumas finished sixth in the Freisinger Porsche. It was Ortelli's sixth victory for the season and wrapped up the N-GT Championship for him. The RWS Motorsport Porsche of Antonio Garcia and Horst Felbermayr took second in class and seventh outright, while third would be taken by Christian Pescatori and Andrea Bertolini in the senior of the JMB Ferrari 360 Modenas.
Terrien's fifth place gives him a two point buffer over his Larbre teammate Bouchut. The Lister duo of Campbell-Walter and Springer sit 6.5 points from Terrien and need to win the final race of the year at Estoril to stand a chance.
Result of FIA GT Championship, Round 9 of 10, Donington Park, Great Britain:
Standings: David Terrien 48, Christophe Bouchut 46, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer 42.5, Vincent Vosse 36, Fabio Babini 32, Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz 31, Anthony Kumpen and Mike Hezemans 30 etc
N-GT: Stephane Ortelli 70, Christian Pescatori 52.5, Andrea Montermini 49.5, Andrea Bertolini 38.5, Andrea Garbagnati & Toto Wolff 31.5 etc
Schneider's Consolation
Bernd Schneider took out the last DTM event of the season on the series return to Hockenheim. The weather made its presence felt but Schneider overcame the obstacles and the opposition to take his second victory of the year ahead of Mattias Ekstrom and Uwe Alzen.
Aiello got the jump on Schneider and Wendlinger to lead into turn one. The start wasn't smooth though as cars were forced to dodge around Uwe Alzen who was left on the grid. Jean Alesi and Marcel Fassler jostled each other with more than just a tap. Both were headed pitward for damage inspections. Ekstrom closed in on Wendlinger, passing for third. Wendlinger was having none of it and quickly regained third. Ekstrom had another go two laps later and this time made it stick. Aiello ran the laps down to win from Schneider, Ekstrom, Wendlinger and Abt.
Another staller, this time in Peter Dumbreck, again marred the start as Aiello again got the jump on Schneider. Alesi and Fassler got together again, this time with Alesi leaving the circuit at high speed before hitting the barrier. His Mercedes was heavily damaged and the safety car was called for. At the restart Christijan Albers had his second spin and a couple of laps later the safety car was back to clear up the damage from a collision between Martin Tomczyk and Bernd Maylander. With the safety car out, the entire field took advantage and made their compulsory fuel stop. At the restart the bashing continued as Alain Menu and Michael Bartels clashed with Manuel Reuter.
When the chequer fell Schneider had pulled out a ten second lead for a dominant victory. The thirteen finishers were all well spread out at the finish as Alzen claiemd third from Scheider, Fassler and Aiello. Schneider confirmed his second place in the championship, behind Aiello with Mattias Ekstrom, Team Abt junior driver, the find of the season taking third in the championship, including victory at Zandvoort.
Result of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 10 of 10, Hockenheim, Germany:
Final Standings: Laurent Aiello 70, Bernd Schnieder 64, Mattias Ekstrom 50, Marcel Fassler 30, Jean Alesi and Uwe Alzen 24, Christian Abt 15, Timo Scheider 10, Martin Tomczyk, Alain Menu and Manuel Reuter 7, Christijan Albers 5, Karl Wendlinger and Joachim Winkelhock 3, Michael Bartels 1
Back To Back
BMW's unrelated 'brothers', Dirk and Jorg Muller, each took a win at Donington Park in the penultimate round of the European Touring Car Championship, but it was all too late. A pair of fourths were good enough for Fabrizio Giovanardi to retain his championship and reserve the number 1 plate for Alfa Romeo in 2003.
Dirk Muller took pole position in the Schnitzer BMW, three tenths ahead of Roberto Colciago in the third of the factory Alfas. At a track intimately familiar, Rickard Rydell was third quickest in the Volvo with Giovanardi alongside. On the third row was Jorg Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, making his ETCC return in a fourth factory Alfa Romeo. Colciago and Muller dived for the first corner together and clashed, with the Alfa sent wide. Colciago regains the blacktop only to find Nicola Larini in the same spot. The teammates collided and both cars limped around to the pits. Larini is out for the day, effectively handing the title to Giovanardi regardless of his race position.
Jorg Muller closes up on Dirk in the battle for the lead, bringing Rydell with him. Rydell takes second as Jorg is forced to jump across the grass and loses a little momentum. Next time around Jorg has closed back in on Rydell as the Alfas of Giovanardi and Tarquini close as well. Jorg Muller trying too hard loses time under brakes and the pair of red Alfas nip through.
The reverse grid race saw Huisman on the pole with Jorg Muller alongside. Huisman bolted off the line to lead from Jorg and the fast starting Dirk Muller. Rydell got tangled up with Coronel, deranging the Volvo's front suspension, ending the Swede's day. Huisman missed the chicane as the Beemer brothers scream through to the lead. Tarquini is in an aggressive mood and is through Huisman on the second lap and threatening the Mullers. Tarquini touches the back of Dirk Muller's car and the BMW is sent spinning down field.
Giovanardi is also off track avoiding Muller. Just behind, Coronel regains lost ground and forces past Jordi Gene for what has become fourth. Lap four has the recovering Giovanardi back into the points, displacing James Hanson. A lap later Dirk Muller closes on Hanson with Salvatore Tavano in close company. Muller makes the pass on the Volvo, but Tavano is less lucky and contact is made with the Volvo coming off worse.
There is now just one chance left to snatch any last piece of glory, at Estoril in Portugal for the series finale. Second and third in the title are still open to debate with Jorg Muller now having closed to within five points of Nicola Larini. Dirk Muller is another ten points further back but is unlikely to take a podium place without some good fortune falling his way.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 17 and 18 of 20, Donington Park, Great Britain:
Standings: Fabrizio Giovanardi 112, Nicola Larini 85, Jorg Muller 80, Dirk Muller 70, Rickard Rydell 47, Fredrik Ekblom 17, Jordi Gene 12, Paolo Ruberti and Duncan Huisman 7, James Hanson, Roberto Colciago and Tom Coronel 6 etc.
Bathurst Beckons
The 'Great Australian Race', the Bathurst 1000 begins practice on Thursday, with a big field of cars entered for the October classic. The entry is headed by the reigning champion driver and team in Commodore #1, Holden Racing Team's Mark Skaife. Skaife has been reunited with his old teammate Jim Richards. Richards and Skaife won Bathurst twice in the early '90s when leading the dominant factory Nissan team of Skyline GT-Rs. Regular teammate Jason Bright will be joined by 1988 Bathurst winner Tomas Mezera.
Public interest will be on the return of legendary nine-time winner Peter Brock to the race with his own team. Brock will codrive with regular Team Brock driver Craig Baird in his first circuit race in five years. In case anyone doubts his ability, Brock managed a sixth place finish in this year's Targa Tasmania driving a Holden Monaro. In addition to Brock, three other multiple Bathurst winners may be driving in their last Bathursts, they being six time winners Jim Richards and Larry Perkins, and dual victor Allan Grice, who like Brock is making a comeback after five years away. And specualtion continues that this will also be the last race of 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones.
In their places are Corsica and Catalunya, now much later in the season. Cyprus is not on along with a new event, the Anatolian Rally in Turkey, but both will be in the final calendar when the events have found dates. Kenya's Safari Rally is however gone, 'because the neccessary guarantees for the event had not been given and the ASN had failed to meet its obligations to the FIA.'
Formula 3000
Following last week's World Motor Sport Council meeting, the Formula 3000 title was no longer Tomas Enge's. However, while Sebastien Bourdais took over at the top of the standings, and was provisionally the new champion, there was still possibly one more twist in the tail, and a third champion, as the International Court of Appeal of the FIA held a meeting to determine the result of an appeal.
Rally
"Of course I'm really happy about the rally and the championship," said Gronholm. "It seems strange to have things tied up so early in the season, but we've had a good finishing record this year. Apart from when I was excluded in Argentina, we've only retired from one rally - the Safari - and we've been able to score points on most events. Today, I spent some time checking my pacenotes today, so that I'm even better prepared if the same stages are used next year!"
This trio would continue their extraordinary battle until Stage 11. After Stage 10 Solberg held a three second lead over Paasonen with Makinen over a second behind. In Stage 11 Paasonen slid sideways off a bank and rolled. Paasonen wanted to get back into the rally, but the radiator was broken. Francois Delecour had a miserable time of it in the lead car, eventually climbing into the top ten on Stage 17. They would climb one more spot before the finish, as the French veteran tried Paasonen's settings and technique.
Skoda claimed an eighth position for Toni Gardemeister on a rally not suited to the Octavias. Kenneth Eriksson had an early shower when on the first stage of the event he slid his Octavia off down a slip into an irretrievable position. The Swede had little choice but to retire, despite the lack of real damage.
Pos Driver Car
1. Marcus Gronholm Peugeot 206
2. Harri Rovanpera Peugeot 206
3. Tommi Makinen Subaru Impreza
4. Carlos Sainz Ford Focus
5. Juha Kankkunen Hyundai Accent
6. Freddy Loix Hyundai Accent
7. Gilles Panizzi Peugeot 206
8. Toni Gardemeister Skoda Octavia
9. Francois Delecour Mitsubishi Lancer
10. Armin Schwarz Hyundai Accent
McRae Splits With Grist
McRae has won 17 rallies for the Subaru and Ford teams during a six-year partnership with Grist, which began in 1997 when Ringer was sacked by Subaru. But their relationship has been strained over the last year and, after losing their slim hopes of winning this year's title at the Rally of New Zealand last weekend, they have decided to go their separate ways.
CART
"Of course it feels great to win the championship," said da Matta. "It's impossible to explain though. When I saw Dixon crashing and Tony got sent to the back of the line, it was the opportunity I was looking for after starting seventh. My car wasn't that great and Dario was all over me while Christian was all over him. I knew Bruno had to make a few more stops because of strategy, and that it all could work out for us. After that it was of course a tough race.
In the early laps the front two started to pull a gap on the field, but it looked like Dixon was getting impatient to pass Kanaan. On lap 20 Dixon saw his opportunity and darted up the inside of turn one. Dixon was well alongside when Kanaan moved over, as the result saw Dixon bounce off Kanaan and the wall before the Lola came to a halt in the runoff area with a broken nose and deranged front suspension. Kanaan seemingly got away with the move, if not for the lost track position. CART officials would make it sting, sending Kanaan to the back of the field. Over half the field pitted during this yellow. Da Matta now led from Dario Franchitti, Christian Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy and Michel Jourdain Jr.
Franchitti has an off at turn three, and requires a push start. The yellows emerge and da Matta's lead shrinks with it. Junqueira stops, along with the damaged Franchitti. Greens again at lap 94, but almost immediately Junqueira and Kanaan are off track at turn one after Junqueira's overtaking move didn't quite come off. Yellows again. Christian Fittipaldi has climbed to second now, giving the Newman-Haas team a 1-2 position, and a buffer for da Matta not easily bridged.
Pos Driver Car
1. Cristiano da Matta Lola-Toyota
2. Christian Fittipaldi Lola-Toyota
3. Jimmy Vasser Lola-Ford
4. Alex Tagliani Reynard-Ford
5. Bruno Junqueira Lola-Toyota
6. Michel Jourdain Jr Lola-Ford
7. Adrian Fernandez Lola-Honda
8. Michael Andretti Lola-Honda
9. Tony Kanaan Lola-Honda
10. Dario Franchitti Lola-Honda
MotoGP
Motegi saw the debut of Kawasaki's MotoGP bike in preparation for a full season in 2003, as well as Alex Barros having his first race on the four-stroke Honda RC211V. Despite everyone else on the front row being on four-strokes, Loris Capirossi took the lead at the start, ahead of Daijiro Kato, Max Biaggi, Valentino Rossi, Alex Barros and Kenny Roberts, Max Biaggi quickly falling back to sixth. Through the sweeping left around the back of the track on lap one Rossi moved past Kato into second place, as two corners later Barros moved past Kato to take third. A corner after that Rossi took the lead from Capirossi after blasting alongside down the straight, Barros doing the same thing to his teammate on the next straight.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Alex Barros Honda RC211V
2. Valentino Rossi Honda RC211V
3. Loris Capirossi Honda NSR500
4. Tohru Ukawa Honda RC211V
5. Carlos Checa Yamaha YZR M1
6. Kenny Roberts Suzuki GSVR
7. Olivier Jacque Yamaha YZR500
8. Norick Abe Yamaha YZR500
9. Nobuatsu Aoki Proton KR3
10. Jeremy McWilliams Proton KR3
NASCAR
This was the second problem of the day for Jimmie Johnson, who eventually finished 37th and dropped to third in the points, having been involved in a bizarre pre-start incident with fellow frontrunner Mark Martin, costing them both severely, Martin ending the day 30th and dropping to 72 points behind the new championship leader. That championship leader is Tony Stewart, his second place in the race netting him a points bonus over the other contenders and putting him in a great position with just six races remaining. Surprisingly, this is the first time Stewart has led the Winston Cup points chase in his career.
For this race, the fuel cells were reduced to just over half their usual size, which meant that fuel consumption was likely to be an issue. This was bad news for the Dodges, stopping on lap 32, as they were first to pit as well as being relatively slow. Lap 35 saw most of the field pit, while lap 36 saw the three DEI cars pit, along with Ricky Rudd, which was bad news for everyone else considering DEI's dominance on restrictor plate tracks in recent years. Gordon led after the stops, having led just before the stops. The purpose of the reduced fuel cell was to try to break up the field with more pit stops. Immediately after these first stops, it worked. A few laps later, it was one big pack again...
Finally, the pack had been split and Michael Waltrip and Earnhardt ran in the lead. This didn't last long as Gordon and then Ryan Newman shuffled the lead, while meanwhile the rest of the pack had caught back up and it was one big bunch again, as we saw Robby Gordon take the lead. Lap 125 and the third of the runners at the top of the championship had problems, as Jeff Gordon pulled into the pits and out of the race with engine failure.
Four to go and Steve Park and Ryan Newman battled with each other, dropping them off the front four of Earnhardt Jr, Stewart, Rudd and Busch and allowing the pack behind to catch them. Two to go and Jarrett pitted from eighth for fuel. Such was the leading pack's margin over the rest of the field, he only lost one place! By now the top seven were in the lead pack, but the top five never made a significant move on the last lap, Dale Earnhardt Jr taking the win.
Pos Driver Car
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2. Tony Stewart Pontiac Grand Prix
3. Ricky Rudd Ford Taurus
4. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
5. Jeff Green Chevrolet Monte Carlo
6. Steve Park Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Ryan Newman Ford Taurus
8. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Monte Carlo
9. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
10. Ward Burton Dodge Intrepid
NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin will miss the rest of the season with a broken vertebra in his neck, his racing team has said. Marlin suffered the fracture during an accident at Kansas Speedway last Sunday week.
ALMS
In an incident-packed race that saw five caution periods Cadillac secured their best ever finish for them and their LMP02, taking second place with JJ Lehto and Max Angelelli, just beating Capello and Kristensen, with the Panoz of Jan Magnussen and David Brabham in fourth after passing the Champion Racing Audi of Johnny Herbert and Stefan Johansson.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro Audi R8
2. JJ Lehto/Max Angelelli Cadillac LMP02 Northstar
3. Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen Audi R8
4. Jan Magnussen/David Brabham Panoz LMP01 Elan
5. Johnny Herbert/Stefan Johansson Audi R8
6. Marc Goossens/Tony Ave Riley & Scott MkIIIC Elan
7. Eric Barnard/Emmanuel Collard Cadillac LMP02 Northstar
8. Claudia Huertgen/Chad Block MG Lola EX257 (LMP675)
9. Ron Fellows/Johnny O'Connell Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS)
10. Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (GTS)
FIA GT
"We were not the fastest on the track, the Ferrari and Lister were faster than us, but we won. We've had a lot of bad luck, so it was our turn to have some good luck for a change. It's very nice to have won a race at last – I can hardly believe it," said a relieved Anthony Kumpen.
The gap to Hezemans would not be bridged though and the #3 Viper drove on to win by almost 40 seconds. Second was the first decent result for Calderari and Bryner all season, but it was Piccini and Deletraz competing for the title at Scuderia Italia. A Ferrari can't win the title now. Gollin and Cappellari would drop a lap late in the race and drop to fourth place behind the Paul Belmondo Viper of Fabio Babini and Ni Amorim. The surviving Larbre Viper would be the last of the GT cars to go close to the distance as the N-GT cars swamped up the order.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Mike Hezemans/Anthony Kumpen Chrysler Viper GTS-R
2. Enzo Calderari/Lilian Bryner/ Ferrari 550 Maranello
Jean-Marc Gounon
3. Ni Amorim/Fabio Babini Chrysler Viper GTS-R
4. Fabrizio Gollin/Luca Cappellari Chrysler Viper GTS-R
5. David Terrien/Carl Rosenblad Chrysler Viper GTS-R
6. Stephane Ortelli/Roman Dumas Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
7. Antonio Garcia/Horst Felbermayr Jr Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
8. Christian Pescatori/Andrea Bertolini Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)
9. Johnny Mowlem/Ian Khan Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
10. Phillipp Peter/Toto Wolff Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
DTM
Schneider was the only non-Audi to be seen anywhere on the first two rows after qualifying, but it was the good spot, pole position. Schneider's series-long rival, and new champion, Laurent Aiello was second fastest ahead of the two Red Bull Audis of Karl Wendlinger and Mattias Ekstrom. Next were the two black Mercedes of Uwe Alzen and Marcel Fassler. The best of the Opels was Alain Menu in tenth.
On lap 13 the rain started falling. Dumbreck pitted immediately for wets. The rest of the field pitted over the next three laps. After all that, Ekstrom emerged as the leader, but Schneider was travelling faster in the conditions. Ekstrom could do little against Schneider's experience and the Mercedes led with five laps to go. Alzen was third ahead of Aiello, Timo Scheider and Fassler. Aiello wasn't travelling as quickly as Scheider, the Opel forced the issue and snatched fourth place. Aiello ran wide recovering from the overtake, allowing Fassler through as well.
Qualifying Race
Pos Driver Car
1. Laurent Aiello Audi TT-R
2. Bernd Schneider Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
3. Mattias Ekstrom Audi TT-R
4. Karl Wendlinger Audi TT-R
5. Christian Abt Audi TT-R
6. Manuel Reuter Opel Astra V8 Coupe
7. Timo Scheider Opel Astra V8 Coupe
8. Uwe Alzen Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
9. Joachim Winkelhock Opel Astra V8 Coupe
10. Stefan Mucke Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
Feature Race
Pos Driver Car
1. Bernd Schneider Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
2. Mattias Ekstrom Audi TT-R
3. Uwe Alzen Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
4. Timo Scheider Opel Astra V8 Coupe
5. Marcel Fassler Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
6. Laurent Aiello Audi TT-R
7. Joachim Winkelhock Opel Astra V8 Coupe
8. Stefan Mucke Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
9. Christijan Albers Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
10. Johnny Cecotto Opel Astra V8 Coupe
ETCC
"It was the best weekend of the season for me!" said Giovanardi. "However the races were difficult. The handicap weight kept me off the podium. On Saturday I had problems with the set up as we used the same one we had in Pergusa. The car was not easy to drive in that conditions and I also did a couple of mistakes. But in the end I achieved my goal, which was to clinch the championship at the end of the first race."
All the while Dirk Muller has escaped. The fierce squabbling over second allowed the BMW to knuckle down and pull a gap that Rydell was unable to bridge. It was Muller's third win for the season, and Rydell's third second. Tarquini gets the better of Giovanardi for third while Jorg Muller threw everything he had at the champion elect. Duncan Huisman climbed thorugh the order to take the final point ahead of the two Toms, Coronel and Ferrier.
Tarquini catches Huisman and is using everything to try to pass the BMW but holds on while Jorg Muller takes his third win for the year. Jordi Gene grabs fourth position ahead of the new champion. Dirk Muller finished sixth ahead of Coronel and Tavano. After the race a 25 second penalty is given to Tarquini for his part of the incident with Dirk Muller. As a result Tarquini drops below Coronel into seventh position.
Round Seventeen
Pos Driver Car
1. Dirk Muller BMW 320i
2. Rickard Rydell Volvo S60
3. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
4. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
5. Jorg Muller BMW 320i
6. Duncan Huisman BMW 320i
7. Tom Coronel BMW 320i
8. Tom Ferrier Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
9. James Hanson Volvo S60
10. Salvatore Tavano Honda Civic Type-R
Round Eighteen
Pos Driver Car
1. Jorg Muller BMW 320i
2. Duncan Huisman BMW 320i
3. Jordi Gene BMW 320i
4. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
5. Dirk Muller BMW 320i
6. Tom Coronel BMW 320i
7. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
8. Salvatore Tavano Honda Civic Type-R
9. Roberto Colciago Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10. Sandro Sardelli Honda Civic Type-R
V8 Supercar
The only other car to win a V8Supercar event this year, the #9 Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon of David Besnard will be joined by 1987 World 500cc Motorcycle Champion Wayne Gardner. Besnard's co-driver from the Queensland 500 victory, Simon Wills, will be joining Jason Richards at the Holden New Zealand-backed Team Kiwi Racing. British Touring Car Championship front runners Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx will share a Holden Commodore in HRT's satellite team, KMart Racing team.
No Drivers Car
1 Mark Skaife/ Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore
Jim Richards
2 Jason Bright/ Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore
Tomas Mezera
3 Cameron McConville/ Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore
Warren Luff
4 Marcos Ambrose/ Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon
Paul Weel
5 Glenn Seton/ Ford Credit Racing Ford Falcon
Owen Kelly
7 Rodney Forbes/ 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon
Neal Bates
9 David Besnard/ Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon
Wayne Gardner
10 Mark Larkham/ Larkham Motor Sport Ford Falcon
Will Power
11 Larry Perkins/ Castrol Perkins Racing Holden Commodore
Paul Dumbrell
13 Christian D'Agostin/ Imrie Motor Sport Holden Commodore
David Krause
14 Daryl Beattie/ Imrie Motor Sport Holden Commodore
Tyler Mecklem
15 Andy Priaulx/ K-Mart Racing Team Holden Commodore
Yvan Muller
16 Steven Richards/ Castrol Perkins Racing Holden Commodore
Russell Ingall
17 Paul Radisich/ Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon
Steven Johnson
18 Greg Ritter/ Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon
Alan Jones
20 Matthew Coleman/ Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon
Andrew Jones
21 Brad Jones/ Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon
John Bowe
22 Dugal McDougall/ Dugal McDougall Racing Holden Commodore
Alan Gurr
24 Peter Doulman/ Romano Racing Holden Commodore
Bob McDonald
29 Paul Morris/ Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore
Wayne Wakefield
31 Steven Ellery/ Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon
Luke Youlden
34 Garth Tander/ Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore
Jason Bargwanna
35 Jamie Whincup/ Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore
Mark Noske
40 Cameron McLean/ Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon
Tony Scott
43 Geoff Full/ Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon
Mark Porter
46 John Faulkner/ John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore
Rick Bates
51 Greg Murphy/ K-Mart Racing Team Holden Commodore
Todd Kelly
56 Kevin Mundy/ Kevin Mundy Racing Ford Falcon
Michael Simpson
59 Ron Searle/ Transtar Express Holden Commodore
Jamie Miller
65 Max Wilson/ John Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon
Dean Canto
66 Tony Longhurst/ John Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon
Matthew White
75 Anthony Tratt/ Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon
Paul Stokell
87 Ross Halliday/ Halliday Motor Sport Ford Falcon
Allan Grice
00 Craig Lowndes/ 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon
Neil Crompton
02 Rick Kelly/ Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore
Nathan Pretty
05 Peter Brock/ Team Brock Holden Commodore
Craig Baird
161 Greg Crick/ Halliday Motor Sport Ford Falcon
Phillip Scifleet
600 Steve Owen/ John Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon
Dale Brede
888 John Cleland/ Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon
Tim Leahey
021 Jason Richards/ Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore
Simon Wills
Briefs
Date Circuit
January 22-26 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
February 5-9 Uddeholm Swedish Rally
April 9-13 Rally New Zealand
May 7-11 Rally Argentina
June 4-8 Acropolis Rally
July 23-27 ADAC Rallye Deutschland
August 6-10 Neste Rally Finland
September 3-7 Telstra Rally Australia
October 1-5 Rallye San Remo
October 15-19 Tour de Corse
October 22-26 Rallye Catalunya Costa Brava
November 5-9 Network Q Rally of Great Britain
Date Circuit
April 19 Imola, Italy
May 3 Barcelona, Spain
May 17 A1-Ring, Austria
May 31 Monaco
June 28 Nurburgring, Germany
July 5 Magny-Cours, France
July 19 Silverstone, Great Britain
August 2 Hockenheim, Germany
August 23 Hungaroring, Hungary
August 30 Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 13 Monza, Italy
Date Circuit
March 23 Barcelona, Spain
April 27 Magny-Cours, France
May 11 Zandvoort, The Netherlands
May 25 Brno, Czech Republic
June 29 Donington Park, Great Britain
July 27 Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 7 Anderstorp, Sweden
September 21 Oschersleben, Germany
October 5 TBA, Italy
October 19 Estoril, Portugal
Date Circuit
March 30 Estoril, Portugal
May 18 Magny-Cours, France
June 30 Monza, Italy
July 13 A1-Ring, Austria
August 10 Donington Park, Great Britain
September 7 Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
September 21 Nurburgring, Germany
Upcoming Events Calendar
Please Contact Us for permission to republish this or any other material from Atlas F1.
 Email to Friend
Volume 8, Issue 41
Atlas F1 Exclusive
Niki Lauda: No Boundaries
Renault's Off Season
Jo Ramirez: a Racing Man
Japanese GP Preview
Japanese GP Preview
Local History: Japanese GP
Japan Facts & Stats
Columns
The Japanese GP Quiz
Bookworm Critique
Rear View Mirror
Elsewhere in Racing
The Grapevine
> Homepage |
