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 Notches Up His Half Century
For the first time in three races, Valentino Rossi won. That's not a statement that has been heard very often in recent times, and it could've been another race without a Rossi win at Phillip Island if Barros had've been able to make his last lap pass stick. But he couldn't, and a race-long battle between them ended with Rossi cruising to an easy victory, his 50th in his multi-class MotoGP racing career. There's not much left to play for at the final round at Valencia, except for the fight for second in the championship, Biaggi just one point ahead of Ukawa. Oh, and several of the leading riders in this year's championship don't know where they will be next year...
Up front Barros had almost a second lead over Rossi, and slowly opened this gap up over Rossi in the opening laps. Rossi quickly moved clear in second, as Ukawa came under pressure from vd Goorbergh, taking third from Ukawa into Southern Loop on lap three, with Kato in fifth after passing McCoy at the end of lap two, and quickly closed on the duo just ahead. Onto the pit straight at the end of lap three, vd Goorbergh was third; by the end of it, he was fifth, Ukawa and Kato blasting past on their four-strokes. This game of cat and mouse continued for most of the remainder of the race, vd Goorbergh quick through the corners, the four-strokes quick down the straights. Meanwhile McWilliams's day didn't get any better, as he rode onto the grass at Honda Hairpin after outbraking himself, dropping to last.
As they began lap five Kato pulled out and passed Ukawa, moving in to third place. Leader Barros was still flying, Rossi not quite able to keep up with him, though he was the only one close to Barros's speed, though on lap five this began to level out, Rossi then beginning to reel Barros in, as Kato, Ukawa and vd Goorbergh continued to battle hard for third. Further back last start winner Max Biaggi was having a huge battle with Aoki for eighth, another battle that went on to the finish, the duo regularly swapping places lap-by-lap and sometimes even more often.
Into Siberia on lap eleven vd Goorbergh took fourth place from Kato, having just lost third earlier in the lap to Ukawa. Vd Goorbergh was right on Ukawa's tail as they headed onto the pit straight, but by the end of the straight Ukawa was clear and Kato was back in fourth again. By now Rossi was on Barros's tail, and began to look for a way past, a change from some recent races where Rossi seemed to content to sit behind the leader until near the end of the race. McCoy's race was getting worse and worse, as he was falling further and further back, dropping to eleventh just before pitting for a new rear tyre at the end of lap 14.
As they began lap 23, Rossi had another look at the end of the pit straight into Doohan Corner but couldn't do it, Barros having a little wobble as they entered the next corner, Southern Loop. Coming around to complete the lap, Rossi finally made the move, taking the lead down the pit straight, with Barros having another moment at Southern Loop, as Barros now began to chase down Rossi again. Just over a lap after losing the lead, Barros was back on Rossi's tail, and began planning his move to retake the lead. Into Honda Hairpin on the second last lap Barros went to the inside and retook the lead, momentarily, before running wide and allowing Rossi back through, Barros still right on his tail however.
With one lap remaining it was Rossi just ahead of Barros, Ukawa leading Katoh to the line but Katoh taking third before they entered Doohan Corner. Barros knew he was running out of time and so he had a dive at Honda Hairpin. It was like the lap before, except worse, Barros this time running down the escape road but resuming the race still in second (just). The battle for third went right to the line, with the order Ukawa, vd Goorbergh and Kato back down to fifth as they entered the final straight, the superior power of Kato's four-stroke taking fourth from vd Goorbergh just before the line, while Biaggi headed home Aoki for sixth after their own race-long battle. Polesitter McWilliams recovered from his poor start and early off to finish in tenth.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 15 of 16, Phillip Island, Australia:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 335, Max Biaggi 199, Tohru Ukawa 198, Alex Barros 179, Carlos Checa 141, Norick Abe 123, Loris Capirossi 109, Daijiro Kato 104, Kenny Roberts 99, Olivier Jacque 74 etc.
Melandri Becomes Youngest 250cc Champion
Italian Marco Melandri became the youngest world champion in the 250cc class on Sunday with a thrilling victory in the Australian Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider, aged 20 years and 74 days, beat the previous record, held by compatriot and this year's MotoGP world titleholder, Valentino Rossi.
The Italian won by 0.007 seconds in a time of 39 minutes 44.293 seconds.
Argentina's Yamaha rider Sebastian Porto was almost six seconds behind the leading pair. Italy's Honda rider Roberto Rolfo, who is third in the standings on 199 points, was a distant fourth on Sunday, more than 16 seconds behind Melandri. Melandri has 273 points, ahead of Nieto on 241, with 25 points up for grabs in Spain next month.
"It was an unbelievable race," said Melandri, who did not score a point last week in Malaysia. "Next year I will be racing MotoGP. I have still not signed a contract yet with a team."
The Italian said he was looking forward to a more relaxed season-ending race in Valencia on November 3 now that he had secured the title. "It will be a funny race for me. I don't have any pressure," he said.
Sheene Uses His Faith to Fight Cancer
By Greg Buckle
Britain's former world champion Barry Sheene said on Friday he was counting on alternative therapies, support from fans and a belief in God to win his battle with cancer.
The popular 52-year-old, who has lived in Australia for 16 years, said he had been dumbfounded by the support he had received from Australia fans, including more than 20,000 e-mails.
"You cannot believe the compassion," Sheene told reporters at the track on Friday. "It brings tears to your eyes. People write to me and say 'I'm praying for you'. It's just fantastic.
"My whole life I've spent as an optimist and I'm not going to start being a pessimist now."
Sheene, who won two world 500cc titles, said he did not feel too bad and added that without the weight loss, most people would not realise he was ill. Sheene said he had undergone some alternative therapy in Western Australia.
"I believe in it. I believe in God. When you think of the accidents that I have got over and got away with, then there's got to be someone looking after me. You can't be that lucky all the time," he said.
Sheene recalled going to the local hospital for a routine medical appointment in July. "By half past 10 I was a cancer patient. It's scary. It's stomach and oesophagus cancer," he said. "Apparently that type of cancer is a really difficult cancer. I don't believe in chemotherapy so I'm not getting involved in that.
"I listen to what the medical people tell me but ultimately it's my decision and my life and it's up to me the way I spend it. I'll do it the way I want to do it and if it doesn't work it's my funeral."
Melandri and Sheene reports provided by Reuters
Bouchut Snatches The Title
Of all the options heading into the final event of the series, this perhaps seemed the least likely. David Terrien and defending champion Christophe Bouchut led the series into the final rounds, so Larbre Competition split its two drivers amongst the team's two cars. This effort to maximise their options ended with Terrien scoring two points and Bouchut scoring nil but rivals Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer didn't score at all. For the final round it seemed more likely that Terrien would hold out for Larbre or the Lister pairing would swamp them.
"I had a very good race today since it helped me to get the extra points I needed to be the Champion," said Bouchut. "We had a bad start to the weekend since I had problems with my engine, my times in qualifying were disallowed and both of the Larbre cars had to start the race from the pits. So I had to push a lot in the race."
Just to confuse everyone, rain swept the Portugese circuit before the race started. The rain stopped before the start, leaving the decision of which tyres to run. The front row was all Ferrari as Andrea Piccini for Scuderia Italia beat teammate Jean-Marc Gounon to pole position. The second row was all Lister with Jamie Campbell-Walter ahead of Bobby Verdon-Roe. The first Viper was Fabrizio Gollin (Carsport) ahead of Fabio Babini (Belmondo). Terrien sat on seventh, Bouchut 13th.
On wets, Piccini led the first lap from Gounon, Campbell-Walter, Verdon-Roe, Mike Hezemans and Ni Amorim, but Campbell-Walter was soon up to second, then into the lead on lap six, the intermediate tyres paying almost immediate dividends. By this stage Terrien was already out and Gollin had spun the second Carsport Viper. Gounon was sliding down the order with Mike Hezemans up to third behind Piccini in the other Carsport Viper. Hezemans was flying now, easily the fastest on the track. The Viper took the Lister for the lead on lap 16. Piccini caught Campbell-Walter and the pair raced briefly before the Lister reasserted itself. At the end of the first hour Hezemans had a four second gap on the Lister, with sixteen seconds on Piccini. Bouchut was ninth, last car on the lead lap, and getting close to being lapped.
Lister stretched Campbell-Walter's stint as long as they could, but eventually came the Lister's vulnerable middle stint. All year Nicolaus Springer hadn't been able to match the time of the top cars. The situation brought out the best in Springer, but he couldn't hold back Piccini once he resumed in the car after Jean-Denis Deletraz's stint. Springer held out to lap 75 before the Ferrari was through. On Springer's last lap in the car Hezemans was through as well. While the Lister was stationary receiving fuel, tyres and Campbell-Walter, Bouchut drove past the pits.
Campbell-Walter ducked immediately into the 1:40 lap times, while the leaders were doing 41s and 42s. The gap though was too great. The Lister climbed past Bouchut with three laps to go, but Bouchut knew fourth was enough. Piccini and Deletraz won their fourth race for Scuderia Italia for the year, climbing to fifth in the final standings. Hezemans and Kumpen took second for the Dutch Carsport team. Fourth place gave the title to Bouchut by one point over teammate Terrien. Campbell-Walter and Springer were a further one and a half points back in third.
It was once more with feeling in the N-GT class as Freisinger Motorsport and Stephane Ortelli, this time with the assistance of Sascha Maassen, the man who won this class in the ALMS series, won their seventh consecutive race. Ortelli had wrapped up the championship at the previous round, but why not win again. Ortelli and Maassen finished 34 seconds ahead of the Cirtek Porsche of Adam Jones and Roman Dumas. Two laps down was the Veloqx Motorsport/Prancing Horse Racing Ferraro 360 Michelotto of Tim Sugden and Andrew Kirkaldy. JMB Ferrari racer Christian Pescatori finished second in class for the championship, over 30 points behind. Teammate Andrea Montermini was third in the series.
Result of FIA GT Championship, Round 10 of 10, Estoril, Portugal:
Final Standings: Christophe Bouchut 49, David Terrien 48, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer 46.5, Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz 41, Vincent Vosse 39, Anthony Kumpen and Mike Hezemans 36, Fabio Babini 33 etc.
N-GT: Stephane Ortelli 80, Christian Pescatori 55.5, Andrea Montermini 49.5, Andrea Bertolini 41.5, Roman Dumas 36, Andrea Garbagnati and Toto Wolff 31.5, Emmanuel Collard 30, Marc Lieb 29, Phillip Peter 21.5 etc.
Busch Spins, And Wins
One-third through the race at Martinsville, Kurt Busch would not have been happy, having just been tapped into a spin. However, at the end of the day this was probably forgotten, having driven to the front and taken his second win of the season and Winston Cup career. Ricky Rudd had an even more spectacular comeback, dropping two laps in the early running to finish the day in third place. Series leader Tony Stewart had an up and down day, finishing eleventh after a late race clash following another car's spin, losing a few points in the title chase to rookie Jimmie Johnson and series veteran Rusty Wallace. Another bad day for Jeff Gordon ruled out the slimmest of slim hopes he still had to take the 2002 title.
The race resumed on lap 23, though not much was happening. After several unsuccessful attempts, Ward Burton, who had been second for most of the race, finally made it past Newman to take the lead on lap 34. The next caution wasn't far away, coming out on lap 43 when Hermie Sadler spun. Most of the field pitted, but seven cars stayed out and moved to the front of the pack, Dave Blaney the new leader from Terry Labonte and Jeff Burton as the race restarted on lap 48, while those who pitted began with Kevin Harvick, Walllace and Newman from eighth place back.
The new tyres were a great help, with Wallace up to fourth by lap 54, and second past Jeff Burton by lap 60, taking the lead from Blaney two laps later, Jeff Burton passing Blaney soon after. Ryan Newman was also flying through the field, and was soon in second ahead of teammate Burton, who had his brother Ward behind him in fourth, followed by the two Gordons, Robby and Jeff, while points leader Tony Stewart was up to tenth as they approached the 100 lap mark after starting way down in 31st. Lap 102 and the caution flags were flying again as Geoff Bodine was tapped into a spin by Casey Atwood. The field headed for pit lane, Ward Burton leading Newman and brother Jeff Burton off pit lane, as Wallace dropped from first to sixth, while Jeff Gordon dropped to 36th after having to make a second stop to tighten a loose lug nut.
Lap 107 and they were racing again, Ward Burton and Ryan Newman battling side-by-side for several laps for the lead, before Ward held on and Jeff in third passed Newman making it a Burton 1-2, Newman dropping more places soon after. Lap 123 saw Stewart pass Elliott for fifth, Wallace just ahead in fourth place. Bobby Labonte brought out the next caution on lap 134 after being tapped into a spin by Jeff Gordon. Ward Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon stayed on the track while the rest of the field made stops. Soon after the restart on lap 139, Jeff Gordon began to slide back throught the field, while his namesake Robby Gordon was on the rise and took second place from Earnhardt Jr on lap 158, Stewart moving into third two laps later. Stewart's day got even better when he moved to second on lap 171.
Ward Burton stayed out and led the field at the restart on lap 211 from Jeff Burton and Johnny Benson who also had stayed out. Those who had pitted slowly moved back up through the field, Tony Stewart passing Rusty Wallace for eighth place on lap 231. The next caution wasn't far away on lap 239 when Joe Nemechek was tapped into a spin by Brett Bodine. Most of the field pitted except Brett's older brother Geoff, Bodine leading Earnhardt Jr, Ricky Craven, Benson and Jeff Gordon as the race restarted on lap 245.
Craven went through to the lead through turns three and four as he went three wide with Bodine and Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon sneaking through to second as the same thing happened at turns one and two on the next lap, Gordon and Bodine running side-by-side before Gordon claimed the place. As soon as he did, Earnhardt Jr rushed up the inside to steal second, allowing Bodine to follow past Gordon as well. With Gordon stuck up high, cars continued to pass him, including Jeff Burton, who as he passed Gordon got sideways, slamming Gordon into the wall and forcing Gordon to pit, losing three laps in the process. Just as Gordon exited the pits, the next caution flew on lap 257 as Geoff Bodine spun after a slight touch from Jimmy Spencer.
Lap 349 and it was back to racing, Craven leading Benson, Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Ward Burton. After racing side-by-side for a couple of laps, Benson took the lead from Craven on lap 374, Busch passing Craven for second three laps later, having recovered from his earlier spin. Lap 389 saw Busch take the lead as Benson got stuck in traffic. Jimmie Johnson moved up to third ahead of Craven on lap 406. Three laps later it was caution time again as Hideo Fukuyama had the only major incident of the day so far, spinning hard into the turn three and four wall. The field pitted again, Busch leading Craven, Benson, Newman and Johnson out of the pits, Newman jumping up eleven places after taking two tyres, while Stewart dropped from tenth to fifteenth.
In another bizarre happening for Jimmie Johnson this year, Steve Grissom, substituting for Jerry Nadeau who injured himself while karting earlier in the week, ran into the back of Johnson's car while trying to move up through the line of cars a lap or more down to get ahead of Nemechek who was more laps down as the field got ready to take the green, throwing Grissom's car into the air before hitting the inside wall, and damaging Johnson's rear fender, though luckily not badly enough to force him to pit. After all this excitement the race restarted on lap 418, Busch still leading. Four laps later Ward Burton passed Johnson for fifth place, Newman past Johnson a lap later. It was yellow again soon after on lap 426 when Bill Elliott spun coming off of turn four when he ran wide into Nemechek, bouncing off him to spin hard into the inside wall.
After earlier losing fourth place to Earnhardt Jr, Ward Burton took it back when he passed Craven on lap 473. Meanwhile at the front of the field, with 20 laps remaining, Benson was slowly moving in. 16 laps to go and Rudd, fastest car on the track, passed Ward Burton for fourth. Twelve laps remaining and Benson was right on Busch's tail, hoping for a mistake. Busch and Benson weaved in and out of the traffic, neither driver able to make an advantage on the other. Then with two laps remaining, as Craven looked to the inside of Newman to lap him, Newman shut the door, forcing Craven to back off a little, Benson lightly tapping Busch. The accidental bump wasn't enough for him to sneak through, Busch holding on to the finish to take his second career victory just ahead of Benson, still yet to score a win, while Rudd continued his way through the field to take third place having run last, two laps down, in the early laps of the race.
Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 32 of 36, Martinsville Speedway, Virginia, United States:
Standings: Tony Stewart 4263, Jimmie Johnson 4181, Mark Martin 4140, Rusty Wallace 4089, Ryan Newman 4086, Jeff Gordon 3972, Kurt Busch 3946, Matt Kenseth 3929, Ricky Rudd 3923, Dale Jarrett 3862 etc.
Jorg Muller Ends The Season
Fabrizio Giovanardi had long since secured the championship, but there was still the runner's up position to fight for. After Nicola Larini failed to score at Donington, Jorg Muller had the momentum to steal away Nordauto's 1-2 championship result. A first lap pile-up spoiled proceedings. Into the final race Larini held a two point lead into the second race, but had to start from the back of the field. Muller's fourth win for the year gave him the result he'd hoped for, taking second place in the championship. The controversy over Muller's role in the pile-up soured the taste of it for many though.
Giovanardi led the remnants of the field over the line with Coronel leading the chase ahead of Jorg Muller, Rydell, Dirk Muller, Tommy Rustad and Eric Cayrolle. Coronel wasn't to feature for long with first Jorg Muller, then Rydell moving past and setting off after the fleeing champion elect. We weren't done with collisions yet, as Fabrizio de Simone and Marco Antonelli got together ending with de Simone's retirement. By lap six Muller had closed down the gap to Giovanardi. As the two battled Rydell closed to make it a three way.
Despite the opening lap shenanigans, Muller was getting physical again, giving Giovanardi a tap or two, enough to warrant a bad sportsmanship warning flag. The three battled close and hard but the positions didn't change as the trio flashed across the line together. Muller though had a reward coming for his involvement in the opening lap, a 30 second penalty dropping him to fourth place behind Rydell and Tom Coronel. In Nissan's best result of the year, Rustad won the battle for fifth with James Hanson. There were only ten finishers with Dirk Muller the last retirement with engine dramas.
Now without a challenger, Muller raced away to win. Rydell faded as the race went on, losing places first to Coronel, then to Ekblom. Duncan Husiman got the better of a huge battle for fifth place he had with three Alfa Romeos, Larini taking the final point ahead of Ferrier and Cayrolle.
It had been a fantastic year of close racing for the new ETCC category. While the Alfas got away early in the year, the mid-season adjustments evened the field nicely. Fabrizio Giovanardi was a desrved champion, taking nine victories on his way to the title. Jorg Muller was almost 30 points behind, but he did claim second in the championship, finishing seven points ahead of Nicola Larini.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 19 and 20 of 20, Estoril, Portugal:
Final Standings: Fabrizio Giovanardi 122, Jorg Muller 93, Nicola Larini 86, Dirk Muller 70, Rickard Rydell 56, Fredrik Ekblom 21, Tom Coronel 16, Jordi Gene 12, Duncan Huisman 9, Paolo Ruberti and James Hanson 7, Roberto Calciago 6, Fabrizio de Simone 5, Gabriele Tarquini 4, Tommy Rustad 2, Luis Villamil, Peter Kox, Tom Ferrier and Pierre-Yves Corthals 1.
Zonta's Revenge
Earlier in his career, Ricardo Zonta made a habit of collecting international championships. Formula 3000, Sportscars and Formula 3 all fell his way. After three disappointing years in Formula One, Zonta entered the Telefonica series looking to revitalise his reputation. Zonta is now an international series champion again, with two rounds still to come. Zonta can now lead the series to his home country of Brazil as its champion.
In race two Wilson got the jump at the start to lead the way into the first corner. Zonta pressured hard but Wilson held firm as Cochet slipped into third ahead of Jean Christophe Ravier and Leinders. Montagny was next but was in no mood to give up his championship hopes, passing Leinders and Ravier in quick succession. Leinders was an early pits visitor next lap around. While the top three stayed out on the track, the upper midfield made early stops, bringing Rafael Sarandeses up into fourth for several laps. Leinders coasted in to retire on lap 12.
Zonta pitted on lap 14, hoping to get clear track from Wilson. Sarandeses retired on lap 17, bringing Ravier into fourth ahead of Leinders. Cochet pitted from second a lap later, dropping to fourth. Wilson, last to pit, rejoined ahead of Zonta, and held the lead as he came up to speed again. Wilson won by seven tenths. Ravier was a lonely third, comfortably ahead of Cochet. Fifth for Montagny was enough to concede the title to Zonta, while Vilarino recovered some of his qualifying form to take sixth just behind Montagny.
Result of Telefonica World Series by Nissan, Round 7 of 9, Valencia, Spain:
Standings: Ricardo Zonta 244, Franck Montagny 167, Bas Leinders 158, Justin Wilson 116, Jean Christophe Ravier 75, Andre Couto 50, Antonio Garcia 47, Ander Vilarino 43, Tuka Rocha 35, Nicolas Filiberti 32 etc.
The team said in a statement that the Scot, who had travelled to western Australia, had seen specialists and the team surgeon and decided not to race in the rally starting in Perth on October 31.
"A further scan...showed that his bruised liver is recovering well. However, the recovery is not sufficient enough for him to compete in Australia," the team said.
Finland's Jani Paasonen, who replaced McRae in New Zealand, will drive for the team in Australia along with France's Francois Delecour. Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm of Finland has already won the championship. Australia is the penultimate round of the season before Britain, McRae's home rally.
Report provided by Reuters
MotoGP
Qualifying saw a different grid, with a front row full of two-strokes, Jeremy McWilliams scoring Proton and Bridgestone's first pole position in the top class, ahead of Garry McCoy, Nobuatsu Aoki and Jurgen vd Goorbergh. At the start it was a different story, as the four-strokes flew past the two-strokes, Alex Barros leading through Southern Loop from Valentino Rossi, Tohru Ukawa, Garry McCoy on the leading two-stroke and Daijiro Kato in fifth, Kato soon making that fourth. Into Honda Hairpin on lap one and Jurgen vd Goorbergh moved past Kato and McCoy to take fourth, McCoy following past Kato on the exit. Meanwhile, polesitter McWilliams was down in fourteenth place!
Several times Rossi looked for a way past down the main straight, but he was never in position to make a move, Barros's bike very fast in a straight line, while a couple of looks into the two hairpins were also shut down, including a move on lap sixteen into Honda Hairpin that nearly saw both riders on the ground. A little further behind the yo-yoing of places between vd Goorbergh and Kato finally ended on lap 20 when Kato passed vd Goorbergh at the start of the pit straight and made it stick, claiming fourth, and began giving Ukawa a hard time once again.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Honda RC211V
2. Alex Barros Honda RC211V
3. Tohru Ukawa Honda RC211V
4. Daijiro Kato Honda RC211V
9. Jurgen vd Goorbergh Honda NSR500
6. Max Biaggi Yamaha YZR M1
7. Nobuatsu Aoki Proton KR3
8. Olivier Jacque Yamaha YZR M1
9. Kenny Roberts Suzuki GSVR
10. Jeremy McWilliams Proton KR3
Rossi won the 250cc world title in 1999 aged 20 years and 250 days. It was Melandri's eighth win of the season and his 16th career GP victory. Melandri staged a two-man duel with his nearest championship rival, Spain's Fonsi Nieto, as they swapped the lead several times in the final lap of the 25-lap race at the Phillip Island circuit, near Melbourne.
Sheene, who has lost five kgs since he was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach and oesophagus in July, flew a helicopter from his Queensland home to the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island near Melbourne this week, to continue his television commentary duties.
FIA GT
The early retirement of Terrien with a broken throttle cable changed things. A second place finish would put the Lister ahead of Terrien in the #2 Larbre Viper. But where was Bouchut in the #1 car? By race's end the Lister was only in third, thus 1.5 points from Terrien, but Bouchut was fourth and the Frenchman won the title by a single solitary point over his teammate.
Realising how close the championship was, Campbell-Walter pushed back into the lead and was closing on the French Viper to put that vital lap on the #1 car. The Safety Car saved Bouchut after Claude-Yves Gosselin spun his Belmondo Viper.
Pos Drivers Car
1. Jean-Denis Deletraz/Andrea Piccini Ferrari 550 Maranello
2. Mike Hezemans/Anthony Kumpen Chrysler Viper GTS-R
3. Jamie Campbell-Walter/Nicolaus Springer Lister Storm
4. Christophe Bouchut/Vincent Vosse Chrysler Viper GTS-R
5. Enzo Calderari/Lilian Bryner/ Ferrari 550 Maranello
Jean-Marc Gounon
6. Ni Amorim/Fabio Babini Chrysler Viper GTS-R
7. Stephane Ortelli/Sascha Maassen Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
8. Adam Jones/Roman Dumas Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
9. Francois Lafon/Jean-Pierre Jarier Chrysler Viper GTS-R
10. Tim Sugden/Andrew Kirkaldy Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)
NASCAR
Polesitter Ryan Newman led at the start, Bill Elliott claiming second almost immediately from Jeff Gordon, Ward Burton and Rusty Wallace also moving past Gordon by the end of lap five. Lap six was bad for Ricky Rudd, limping back to the pits with a flat left front tyre, dropping two laps behind. Meanwhile lap seven saw Ward Burton pass Elliott for second, Rusty Wallace moving Elliott down another spot three laps later. The first caution came out on lap 18 after John Andretti was tapped into a spin by Brett Bodine, the back half of the field making stops.
The next caution wasn't far away, coming out on lap 180 as Jeff Gordon made it two from two and tapped Kurt Busch into a spin. The field pitted but the order remained basically unchanged. Lap 185 and it was green again, Ward Burton leading Stewart and Robby Gordon. Lap 195 saw Ricky Rudd move up to fourth, having moved back on to the lead lap through earlier cautions, and then driving up through the field. Caution six of the day wasn't far away on lap 206 when Steve Grisson spun. Some of the field pitted, including Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Rusty Wallace, dropping to 12th, 20th and 11th respectively.
Lap 263 and it was green again, but almost as soon as it was green it was yellow again, as debris from Bodine's car brought out the yellow on lap 266. Jeff Burton was forced to pit at this time after being black flagged for some flailing bodywork. Green again on lap 271 as Craven continued to lead. Six laps later Rudd was up to fourth place after passing Wallace. Benson's good day continued, taking second place just before lap 300 of the 500 lap race. Two laps later Stewart passed Wallace for fifth. Lap 326 saw Rudd finally move ahead of Earnhardt Jr to move into third place. The tenth caution of the day followed soon after on lap 344 when Jeremy Mayfield spun. While the spin itself was harmless, Tony Stewart was squashed between the two Dales of Earnhardt Jr and Jarrett, damaging the front end of his car. The field pitted, taking advantage of this opportunity to make possibly their last stop of the day.
Lap 431 and racing resumed, with Johnson passing Newman for fifth two laps later. Four laps after that, Earnhardt Jr drove around the outside of Johnson to take fifth place for himself. As Johnny Benson completed lap 444, he drove around the outside of Craven to take second place, and began his chase of leader Kurt Busch. With 42 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr continued to push forward, taking fourth from early leader Ward Burton. Ricky Rudd's up and down day was on the up again as he passed Johnson for sixth place on lap 464, while two laps later Earnhardt Jr made another move as he passed Craven for third place.
Pos Driver Car
1. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
2. Johnny Benson Pontiac Grand Prix
3. Ricky Rudd Ford Taurus
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5. Ward Burton Dodge Intrepid
6. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Ricky Craven Ford Taurus
8. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
9. Rusty Wallace Ford Taurus
10. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
ETCC
Qualifying for the Portuguese event brought an upset, with Rickard Rydell in the Volvo taking pole position, three tenths clear of Giovanardi with Tom Coronel (BMW) and Larini only hundredths away. Jorg Muller would start fifth alongside Duncan Huisman. Giovanardi got the jump but Rydell held station and the two went side by side down the straight towards the first corner. Larini made a better start than either and was looking up the inside of the Volvo into turn one only for Muller to hit Larini, punching the Alfa into a spin and a wall. With the red car broadside to the field into a bunched turn one cars cannoned off each other and anything else solid available. Out on the spot were Larini, Huisman, Fredrik Ekblom, Tom Ferrier, Luis Villamil, Jordi Gene and Salvatore Tavano.
Dirk Muller, de Simone and Villamil were all missing for the start of race two while Larini, Tavano and Antonelli lined up in the pits taking to the last second to repair cars. The front row Hanson and Rustad were slow away and were rapidly swamped by Muller and Coronel. Giovanardi tried to follow suit but clashed with Rustad, sending the Nissan off track. Hanson had to take to the grass in avoidance. Giovanardi was quickly through Coronel and looking for the lead. Coronel soon lost another spot to Rydell while up front the Alfa was through to the lead. It wasn't to last. A broken gearbox robbed what could have been Giovanardi's tenth win of the season.
Round Nineteen
Pos Driver Car
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
2. Rickard Rydell Volvo S60
3. Tom Coronel BMW 320i
4. Jorg Muller BMW 320i
5. Tommy Rustad Nissan Primera
6. James Hanson Volvo S60
7. Marco Antonelli Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
8. Eric Cayrolle Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
9. Romana Bernardoni Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10. Robert Collard Nissan Primera
Round Twenty
Pos Driver Car
1. Jorg Muller BMW 320i
2. Tom Coronel BMW 320i
3. Fredrik Ekblom BMW 320i
4. Rickard Rydell Volvo S60
5. Duncan Huisman BMW 320i
6. Nicola Larini Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
7. Tom Ferrier Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
8. Eric Cayrolle Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
9. Salvatore Tavano Honda Civic Type-R
10. Tommy Rustad Nissan Primera
Formula Nissan
Andre Couto stalled at the start of race one, meaning a second attempt was needed. Zonta led away from pole position with Ander Vilarino, Justin Wilson and Antonio Garcia following. Couto had spun, sending Polo Villaamil into retirement from a subsequent contact, and slowing Zonta's main title rival Franck Montagny. The other title contender, Bas Leinders, retired on lap 3 after a clash with Couto. This time Couto succumbed. The order quickly settled with Zonta moving clear. Garcia's retirement because of illness brought Jonathan Cochet into the top four. Narain Karthikeyan was close to Cochet, but was unable to effect a passing move leaving the top six, along with Rodrigo Sperafico, unchanged since Garcia stopped.
Race One
Pos Driver Team
1. Ricardo Zonta Gabord Competicion
2. Ander Vilarino Epsilon by Graff
3. Justin Wilson Racing Engineering
4. Jonathan Cochet GD Racing
5. Narain Karthikeyan RC Motorsport
6. Rodrigo Sperafico Repsol Meycom
7. Franck Montagny Racing Engineering
8. Felix Porteiro Vergani Racing
9. Tuka Rocha Gabord Competicion
10. Rafael Sarandeses Zele Motorsport
Race Two
Pos Driver Team
1. Justin Wilson Racing Engineering
2. Ricardo Zonta Gabord Competicion
3. Jean Christophe Ravier Epsilon by Graff
4. Jonathan Cochet GD Racing
5. Franck Montagny Racing Engineering
6. Ander Vilarino Epsilon by Graff
7. Polo Villaamil Adrian Campos Motorsport
8. Roberto Gonzalez GD Racing
9. Damien Faulkner Zele Motorsport
10. Peter Sundberg RC Motorsport
Briefs
McRae, younger brother of Ford's former world champion Colin, missed the New Zealand Rally and the previous San Remo round after falling off his bike and suffering severe bruising last month.
Upcoming Events Calendar
Please Contact Us for permission to republish this or any other material from Atlas F1.
 Email to Friend
Volume 8, Issue 43
Atlas F1 Exclusive
Max Mosley on the F1 Crisis
Is the Sky Falling?
Jo Ramirez: a Racing Man
2002 Season Review
The 2002 Race-by-Race Review
The 2002 Drivers Review
The 2002 Teams Review
The 2002 Technical Review
The Atlas F1 Top Ten
The 2002 Trivia Quiz
Columns
Bookworm Critique
Elsewhere in Racing
The Grapevine
> Homepage |
