Final Standings: Robbie Kerr 306, James Courtney 269, Heikki Kovalainen 256, Bruce Jouanny 250, Michael Keohane 169, Fabio Carbone 137, Mark Taylor 122, Alan van der Merwe 98, Rob Austin 94, Richard Antinucci 89, Ronnie Bremer 88, Shinya Hosokawa 51, Matthew Gilmore 47, Ernani Judice 31, Stefan de Groot 29, Derek Hayes 25, Robert Dahlgren 13, Tom Sisley and Mark Mayall 12, James Andanson 9, Stefano Fabi and Stefan Hodgetts 8, Giandomenico Brusatin and John Antoniadis 4, Tor Graves 3

British Formula 3 points distribution

  BTCC

Thompson Triumphant

The British Touring Car Championship did go down to the wire, but James Thompson claimed the championship with a win and a third at the final two races of the year. Holding the points ascendancy over his two Vauxhall rivals, all he had to do was finish in front of them. Thompson first broke through as a rapid young Peugeot privateer in 1994. Thompson had come close several times before, but this year he finally is the British Touring Car Champion.

"Just fantastic! It's like winning your first ever race and more," enthused Thompson. "It will take a few days to sink in, that's for sure. People forget I've only won one other championship before so this is really special. When you've worked so long and so hard it's nice to finally become the Champion."

Matt Neal was first away in the first race, no doubt entertaining thoughts of a come-from-behind title challenge. Thompson, Andy Priaulx and Yvan Muller followed and started a tremendous battle for the lead. The battle was interrupted by the pace car, sent out to help recover the bent Vauxhall Astra of Aaron Slight.

Neal jumped away at the restart but brake problems saw him lose his lead, and his title chances to Thompson. Neal then clashed with Priaulx, the damage putting the lanky Brit back to third. Priaulx then set his sights on Thompson. Thompson drove smoothly and quickly, enough so that there was nothing the Honda could do. Neal limped home in third while fourth was taken by Anthony Reid. Muller faded to fifth with suspension damage, all but extinguishing his title hopes.

In the feature race both Hondas screamed away from the line, Priaulx leading Alan Morrison, who had come through from the third row. Buried in the pack, a desperate Muller pushed his car too far and again sustained suspension damage, this time putting him out of the race. The title now was Thompson's. The new champion set after the EggSport Vauxhalls in front of him, first taking Paul O'Neill, while O'Neill's teammate Neal soon retired with engine dramas.

Up front Morrison had inherited the lead from Priaulx when the Honda pitted. Warren Hughes made the best of the pace car to be second after the pitstops were completed. Priaulx's pitstop didn't go well and an initially misfiring Honda resumed in sixth. Morrison went on to win from Hughes. Thompson was pushed hard in the end by the recovering Priaulx with O'Neill next. David Leslie, Carl Breeze and Anthony Reid completed the top eight.

Thompson took the championship by 20 points over teammate Muller with the similar car of Neal 38 points behind Thompson in third. Andy Priaulx failed in his charge to take fourth, and first non-Vauxhall from Anthony Reid. Dan Eaves took the Independents' Cup from Aaron Slight by a bare three points. Tim Harvey and Gareth Howell tied for third. James Kaye took the Production Car Championship from Norman Simon and Spencer Marsh. Vauxhall had long since clinched the manufacturers title from MG, Honda and Proton.

Result of British Touring Car Championship, Rounds 19 and 20 of 20; Donington Park, Great Britain:

Round Nineteen

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  James Thompson     Vauxhall Astra
 2.  Andy Priaulx       Honda Civic
 3.  Matt Neal          Vauxhall Astra
 4.  Anthony Reid       MG ZS
 5.  Yvan Muller        Vauxhall Astra
 6.  David Leslie       Proton Impian
 7.  Warren Hughes      MG ZS
 8.  Phil Bennett       Proton Impian
 9.  Dan Eaves          Peugeot 406
10.  Alan Morrison      Honda Civic

Round Twenty

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  Alan Morrison      Honda Civic
 2.  Warren Hughes      MG ZS
 3.  James Thompson     Vauxhall Astra
 4.  Andy Priaulx       Honda Civic
 5.  Paul O'Neill       Vauxhall Astra
 6.  David Leslie       Proton Impian
 7.  Carl Breeze        Peugeot 406
 8.  Anthony Reid       MG ZS
 9.  Phil Bennett       Proton Impian
10.  Norman Simon       BMW 320i

Final Standings: James Thompson 183, Yvan Muller 163, Matt Neal 145, Anthony Reid 136, Andy Priaulx 116, Warren Hughes 110, David Leslie 79, Paul O'Neill 77, Alan Morrison 68, Tim Harvey and Dan Eaves 43, Aaron Slight and Gareth Howell 32, Colin Turkington 29, Tom Chilton 14, Phil Bennett 9, Carl Breeze 8

Manufacturers: Vauxhall 471, MG 320, Honda 212, Proton 145

BTCC points distribution

  Superbikes

Battle Royale

Two tough wins for Honda's Colin Edwards at Imola saw him take the 2002 title, ensuring that Ducati's Troy Bayliss was not going to make it back to back titles, despite Bayliss leading the battle between the two riders until the end of the second last round. The battle had been close between them all year, and that was how it finished, with two dramatic and exciting races rounding off a year in which no-one else was going to be champion.

Between them, the riders of the #1 and #2 bikes won 25 of the season's 26 races, eleven for Edwards and fourteen for Bayliss, the duo finishing 1-2 sixteen times. Along the way, Bayliss broke the record for consecutive wins, previously held at five, with two strings of six, only for Colin Edwards to completely destroy it by winning the last nine races. The statistics that probably decided the title for Edwards was that he finished every race, while Bayliss finished all except the second race at Assen, and that Edwards finished every race except the first race of the season on the podium (when he finished fourth), while Bayliss made 'only' 22 out of 26 podiums.

Race one saw polesitter Colin Edwards lead into Tamburello at the start, followed by his title rival Troy Bayliss, with Neil Hodgson, Ruben Xaus and Noriyuki Haga in close company. Into Piratella on lap one Bayliss stole the lead from Edwards, but his tight entry saw Edwards reclaim the lead on the run into Acqua Minerale. As they completed lap one the leading duo were leaving the rest of the field in their wake, as Hodgson, Xaus and Haga battled hard, Xaus eventually passing Hodgson into the right hander before the Rivazzas on lap two. Xaus edged away from Hogdson and Haga who were having a huge fight over fourth place.

Up front Edwards and Bayliss were still fighting hard, though eventually Edwards began to break away from Bayliss, opening up a near two second lead at the end of lap nine before Bayliss then dramatically closed the gap. Tamburello on lap nine saw two riders into the gravel, someone dropping oil in the process. Lap twelve saw Hodgson into the same gravel trap after losing the front end while up front Bayliss was right back on Edwards's tail. As the leaders came around to complete lap 12, the red flag was thrown, presumably for oil at Tamburello. This meant that Hodgson could rejoin the race, as he was still classified at the point the race results went back to.

The field gridded up based on their positions after 'heat one' of the race, the race result determined by an aggregate of the two races' times. With Edwards leading Bayliss after heat one by about seven tenths of a second, Bayliss needed to not only be first over the line but open a gap over Edwards to take the win. At the start, Bayliss took the lead on the track with Edwards second, followed by Hodgson, Haga and Xaus. Edwards didn't wait long and passed Bayliss through the right hander leading into the Rivazzas on the first lap of heat two.

Under pressure from Haga, Hodgson went too deep into Tamburello on lap two and dropped from third to fifth on the track, Xaus moving up to fourth and later in the lap past Haga into Variante Alta. Still Bayliss pressured Edwards, though this was not going to be enough, though he improved his situation by passing Edwards into Villeneuve on the fourth lap, and slowed down the pace slightly, as Xaus closed in on the leading duo for a lap before the gap levelled out as Bayliss made sure Edwards didn't get past, Edwards looking left and right before repeating his earlier pass through the right hander leading into the Rivazzas on lap six of part two, lap seventeen overall.

With Edwards in the lead, Bayliss was not giving up and fighting hard, but Xaus was now not going to be able to play any part in the fight for the win. Lap seven and Bayliss took the lead once again into Piratella, but again his tight line cost him as Edwards went straight back through on the exit. Bayliss was not done with yet, and as they headed into Variante Bassa to begin the final lap, he lunged down the inside and took the lead once again. All Edwards needed to do now was to stay on Bayliss's back wheel, but like Bayliss, Edwards is a fighter, and he pushed Bayliss hard all the way to the line, Bayliss crossing the line first but Edwards taking the win, Xaus third. With the battle for the win so intense, the battle for fourth between Haga and Hogdson was almost forgotten, finally being resolved in Hodgson's favour after a race-long battle between them.

Race two and Hodgson led Bayliss and Edwards into Tamburello at the start, Haga and Xaus in close company as usual, though Bayliss took over the lead into the second part of Tamburello as Hodgson's second place meant that things were looking good for Bayliss, for the moment at least. The top four were already dropping off Haga as they completed lap one as the top four fought hard with one another. Edwards made his customary move through the right hander leading into the Rivazzas but only got alongside the outside of Hodgson on the exit. Hodgson went in deep under brake, too deep as it happened, and Edwards snuck through to second exiting the first of the Rivazzas, moving immediately onto Bayliss's tail, Xaus moving past Hodgson into Tamburello on lap three.

Edwards looked for a way past and found one, you guessed it, through the right hander leading into the Rivazzas on lap three to take the lead. Finally after lap three the leading trio began to slowly drop Hodgson and Haga off, as Bayliss looked for a way to retake the lead, looking left and right around Edwards, Xaus hanging on in third. Bayliss sat right on Edwards's tail, the battle continuing in this vein for several laps before a small moment exiting Acque Minerale on lap ten for Bayliss dropped him off the back of Edwards for a lap or two, as meanwhile Xaus had been dropped off slightly but could still possibly come into play.

Finally, on lap 14, Bayliss retook the lead into Variante Bassa. Edwards immediately tried to pass him back into Tamburello but Bayliss shut the door. With Edwards now in second, Bayliss needed to find a way to put a bike ahead of Edwards to take some points away from him, so Bayliss began to slowly lower his pace to allow Xaus to catch back up without letting Edwards take the lead back. It was working, Bayliss holding onto the lead while the gap from Edwards to Xaus dropped from almost three seconds to under two, before Edwards retook the lead on lap eighteen at Tamburello with just four laps remaining.

Bayliss was far from done with though, diving back through into the lead two corners later at Tosa as he again tried his slowing routine. With three laps remaining Xaus was within half a second of Edwards, but from that point on the gap between them opened, despite Bayliss's best efforts. With two laps remaining Bayliss ran slightly wide through Tosa, which saw Edwards sneak through the inside and retake the lead. Even if Bayliss could retake the lead, it was almost impossible that Edwards was going to be passed by Xaus. Bayliss hadn't given up despite this, and after pushing Edwards hard, retook the lead at Villeneuve on the final lap. If they finished in this order, Edwards would be champion by a single point.

But Edwards wanted to go out with a win, and made an aggressive block pass into Tosa, the two riders lightly touching before Bayliss showed he wasn't going to give in that easily, retaking the lead into Piratella before Edwards took it back again on the exit. As Bayliss exited Piratella his rear tyre broke traction, giving him a minor wobble that ended his hopes of taking the lead back once more, Edwards taking the win and the world championship from Bayliss, Xaus dropping back over the last two laps with mechanical problems, still making it home in third, well ahead of Haga in fourth and Hodgson in fifth.

Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 13 of 13, Imola, Italy:

Race One

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Colin Edwards         Honda VTR 1000 SP2
 2.  Troy Bayliss          Ducati 998 F 02
 3.  Ruben Xaus            Ducati 998 F 02
 4.  Neil Hodgson          Ducati 998 F 01
 5.  Noriyuki Haga         Aprilia RSV 1000
 6.  James Toseland        Ducati 998 F 01
 7.  Pierfrancesco Chili   Ducati 998 RS
 8.  Gregorio Lavilla      Suzuki GSX-R750 Y
 9.  Broc Parkes           Ducati 998 RS
10.  Ben Bostrom           Ducati 998 F 02

Race Two

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Colin Edwards         Honda VTR 1000 SP2
 2.  Troy Bayliss          Ducati 998 F 02
 3.  Ruben Xaus            Ducati 998 F 02
 4.  Noriyuki Haga         Aprilia RSV 1000
 5.  Neil Hodgson          Ducati 998 F 01
 6.  James Toseland        Ducati 998 F 01
 7.  Gregorio Lavilla      Suzuki GSX-R750 Y
 8.  Broc Parkes           Ducati 998 RS
 9.  Ben Bostrom           Ducati 998 F 02
10.  Hitoyasu Izutsu       Kawasaki ZX-7RR

Final Standings: Colin Edwards 552, Troy Bayliss 541, Neil Hodgson 326, Noriyuki Haga 278, Ben Bostrom 261, Ruben Xaus 249, James Toseland 195, Pierfrancesco Chili 167, Chris Walker 152, Gregorio Lavilla 130, Broc Parkes 77, Juan Bautista Borja 74, Lucio Pedercini 71, Hitoyasu Izutsu 62, Marco Borciani 55, Steve Martin 52, Eric Bostrom 49, Makoto Tamada 45, Mauro Sanchini 41, Alessandro Antonello 38, Shane Byrne 30, Peter Goddard 23, Akira Yanagawa 20, Aaron Yates and Serafino Foti 17, Nicky Hayden and Wataru Yoshikawa 16, Mark Heckles 15, Takeshi Tsujimura 12, Michael Rutter and Ivan Clementi 11, Doug Chandler 10, Mathew Mladin 6, Alexander Hofmann and Alessandro Valia 4, Michele Malatesta and Bertrand Stey 3, Glen Richards and Dean Ellison 2, Jeronimo Vidal and Yuichi Takeda 1

Manufacturers: Ducati 575, Honda 557, Aprilia 278, Kawasaki 208, Suzuki 147, Benelli 23, Yamaha 16

Superbikes points distribution

  NASCAR

Gordon Wins And Closes In

Just when it looked like Jeff Gordon's title hopes were out the window, he won the race at Kansas and moved himself back into contention again. It was a day of change in the title chase, Gordon moving in as the points leader changed again, rookie Jimmie Johnson topping the leaderboard after Mark Martin's up and down day finished on a down in 25th place after engine problems, and Sterling Marlin's day ended in 33rd place after clouting the wall hard.

Polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr led at the start, but this didn't last long, with Ryan Newman taking over the race lead as they began lap 2. The first caution wasn't far away however, with a nine car crash bringing out the first caution on lap seven. The race restarted on lap 15, with Jeff Gordon moving up to fifth place just after the restart, having started the day in tenth place, before the second caution of the day came out on lap 20 when Michael Waltrip hit the wall in turn one when a tyre went down, a few people making pit stops at this time.

At the restart on lap 27, Bill Elliott moved into second past Earnhardt Jr through turn one, while Gordon continued his charge forward by passing Jimmie Johnson later that same lap. But the next caution wasn't far away on lap 30 thanks to a three car collision. Almost the whole field pitted, with some people taking just fuel, others taking fuel and two tyres, while Earnhardt Jr was among the very few who took fuel and four tyres, dropping him from third to 24th. Meanwhile Newman and Gordon stayed out and filled the top two places while the rest of the field had been shuffled around by the pit stops.

Lap 33 and it was green again. Just a few laps later, Dale Jarrett began having engine problems as up front Newman and Gordon left the field in their wake. Lap 41 and Jarrett retired, as did a smoking Ricky Craven. Soon after Dave Blaney was spinning down the front straight, bringing out caution number four on lap 44. The leading duo pitted, as did about half the field. Harvick led the field at the restart on lap 49 and edged away as Todd Bodine and Johnson fought side-by-side for second place, Johnson eventually taking the place on lap 53, Bodine dropping further back as the laps ran on. Meanwhile Gordon and Newman were making their way back up through the field, tenth and eleventh by lap 71. Lap 74 saw Elliott move into second past Johnson, having passed Tony Stewart just a few laps earlier.

The next caution came out on lap 77 when Greg Biffle hit the wall after battling side-by-side with Jimmy Spencer. The field pitted, with more place shuffling after some took two tyres, with others taking four. At the restart on lap 82 Johnny Benson led Matt Kenseth, Harvick and Gordon, Harvick passing Kenseth and then Benson as soon as they restarted, taking the lead, with Gordon following past Kenseth to move up to third. Earnhardt was up to fourth a lap later, having recovered from his slow first pit stop, passed Gordon a few laps later, and Benson for second on lap 88. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson were moving back up through the field after pit stops, up to eighth and ninth by lap 90.

Lap 91 saw Gordon and Rusty Wallace move up to third and fourth as they passed Benson, Benson losing several places after Wallace made contact on the way through. Gordon lost three places on lap 93 after Wallace, Jeff Burton and Elliott proved four tyres were better than two. On lap 95 Dale Earnhardt Jr completed his run to the front when he took the lead from Harvick. Debris brought out the next caution on lap 102. Again the field pitted, again some people taking two or four tyres, with the field once again being shuffled. Newman took just fuel and took the lead again. The race restarted on lap 107 but was back under caution on lap 112 when Steve Park hit the turn four wall.

The race restarted on lap 117, with Newman and Harvick breaking away as Johnson fought then passed Elliott on the next lap. Jeff Gordon was on his way back up through the field, passing Earnhardt Jr for sixth on lap 121, Stewart for fifth a few laps later and Elliott for fourth on lap 141 just before the next caution came out on lap 143 when Stuart Kirby's engine failed. The pits were busy once again, most people taking four tyres as another shuffle took place, Elliott taking over the lead from Gordon, Harvick, Johnson and Newman, while Earnhardt dropped a long way back after a disastrously slow pit stop.

The race restarted on lap 147, with Gordon taking the lead as they completed the first lap under green, just beating the caution once again on lap 149 as Sterling Marlin clouted the backstretch wall hard. During this caution Elliott pitted to fix a problem with a rubbing left front tyre, dropping him down the field and handing the lead to Jeff Gordon for the first time all day. The race restarted once again on lap 153, with Newman taking second place on lap 155 as Jimmie Johnson began to slide back through the field, before pitting on lap 171 with a deflating rear tyre. Up front Gordon was slowly extending his lead over Newman, as Elliott moved back up through the field after his pit stop dropped him to 23rd, up in 11th place with 80 laps remaining.

Lap 205 saw the first green flag pit stops of the day begin to take place, not much changing except third placed Harvick losing out badly when he was forced to pit a second time, losing a lap and dropping out of the top twenty. With all the stops completed within five to ten laps of each other, Jimmie Johnson was now running second and hoping for a caution, with Newman close behind in third before taking second from Johnson on lap 221, Newman continuing his march forward, closing the gap to leader Gordon. With just over 30 laps remaining Johnson could hold on no longer, pitting and dropping to 18th, a lap down. Meanwhile, Gordon was extending his lead over Newman again.

Just when it looked like the race might go green until the chequer, debris brought out the caution flag on lap 250. With less than 20 laps remaining, would drivers pit or stay out? As it turned out, everyone except the top three of Gordon, Newman and Wallace came in and took two or four tyres as was their want. When Mark Martin left his pit bay, the engine stalled, and he needed a push to get him started again. It wasn't much help however, as he returned to the pits the following lap still under caution with a dead engine.

The race restarted on lap 254, with Earnhardt Jr moving past Elliott for fifth the following lap down the front straight before tapping Tony Stewart going through turns one and two, moving Earnhardt Jr up to fourth while Stewart fell to tenth, last on the lead lap. Up front Gordon had opened up a comfortable gap on Newman, Wallace still third as those who stayed out were being rewarded. Everything thing looked set for a clear run to the flag until a multi-car crash exiting turn four brought out a caution, and then the red flag, on lap 263, the red flag allowing the track to be cleaned up for a three lap dash to the flag.

After several minutes of clearing up the track and debris, the cars fired up again, Bill Elliott the only driver to take advantage of the opportunity to pit. The race restarted on lap 265, with Kenseth losing fifth place to Joe Nemechek who was having his best race of the season, as up front Newman ran close but not close enough to beat Gordon to the win, taking his third win of the season. Dale Earnhardt and Matt Kenseth both lost two places in the last three laps while Nemechek gained two, while Elliott's fresh tyres saw him move up from ninth at the restart to fifth at the flag.

Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 29 of 36, Kansas Speedway, Kansas, United States:

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  Jeff Gordon        Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 2.  Ryan Newman        Ford Taurus
 3.  Rusty Wallace      Ford Taurus
 4.  Joe Nemechek       Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 5.  Bill Elliott       Dodge Intrepid
 6.  Dale Earnhardt Jr  Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 7.  Matt Kenseth       Ford Taurus
 8.  Tony Stewart       Pontiac Grand Prix
 9.  Jeremy Mayfield    Dodge Intrepid
10.  Jimmie Johnson     Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Standings: Jimmie Johnson 3824, Mark Martin 3813, Tony Stewart 3788, Jeff Gordon 3715, Sterling Marlin 3703, Rusty Wallace 3687, Ryan Newman 3670, Matt Kenseth 3631, Bill Elliott 3623, Ricky Rudd 3542 etc.

NASCAR points distribution

  DTM

Aiello Ascendant

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Master for 2002 is Laurent Aiello. The former French and British Touring Car Champion didn't do it comfortably on the day, but on a day that Bernd Schneider needed victory, the solitary point for sixth position was more than enough. Schneider fought to the last but Aiello's Abt Sportsline teammate Mattias Ekstrom did the job for Aiello, Ekstrom taking his first win in DTM at the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort.

The weekend started grimly for Aiello when the pole position-winning Frenchman was kicked out of the qualifying race after fuel irregularities were discovered in a random fuel inspection.

"During testing at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, we have been using fuel from the fuel station over there. Apparently, little amounts that were left over have now mixed with the race fuel and thus caused the difference from the specification used at Zandvoort", Albert Deuring, Team Abt Sportsline's chief technician explained. The foreign fuel detected was actually of a lower octane than the series regulation fuel.

"Today, all my thanks go to my teammates, who helped me win the title," said Aiello. "It was really hard having to watch during the qualification race. It was all the better to see how Christian and Mattias were fighting for me. I am proud to be a member of the Abt family and to be able to celebrate the championship with this team. I dedicate this title to my late grandfather. He has bought me my first go-kart and without him, I certainly wouldn't be where I am today."

The weekend looked good for Mercedes initially after Marcel Fassler destroyed the field in the qualification race. In Aiello's absence, Fassler bolted from the line with Ekstrom in pursuit. Ekstrom could not hold the position and Christian Abt moved past his Audi teammate to attack the Mercedes. The black Merc was strong enough to keep the Audis at bay. Fourth and fifth went to the ever improving Opels of Alain Menu and Manuel Reuter. Schneider was sixth after battling with Uwe Alzen. Former Formula One star Jean Alesi stalled on the line before being involved in a collision with Stefan Mucke.

Abt got the better of the slow starting Fassler in the feature race to lead, with Ekstrom slipping into second. Behind chaos erupted as Karl Wendlinger, Martin Tomczyk and Michael Bartels collided in the first corner. All three resumed but headed pitwards. Abt led Ekstrom across the stripe from Menu, Schneider, Alzen and Fassler. Aiello meanwhile was flying, picking up nine positions in the first two laps to be twelfth, taking Bernd Maylander for eleventh a lap later. Alesi fell on lap six, bringing the Audi into the top ten. Already the lap record was in Aiello's possession.

Meanwhile Ekstrom was pressuring his teammate and Abt couldn't keep the Abt team's junior driver at bay as the lead changed hands. Abt pitted next time around with Menu, Schneider, Alzen and Thomas Jager all following in. The AMG Mercedes team pulled a blinder and Schneider emerged first of the group. Meanwhile Abt's stop was woeful, over nine seconds. Next lap Ekstrom, Fassler and Reuter pitted. Abt did a faster stop than even AMG and Ekstrom resumed in the lead. Fassler suffered, dropping behind Schneider into fourth.

The two Mercs moved into second and third after Dumbreck's stop, Fassler now leading Schneider, chasing the the fleeing Ekstrom. The speed of Ekstrom was just too much and the 24 year old claimed his debut victory in DTM. Fassler moved over for Schneider for the championship points, but it wasn't enough, as Schneider needed to win. Reuter and Timo Scheider claimed points for Opel while Aiello hit Alzen with three laps to go when Alzen locked up at Tarzan. This promoted Aiello to sixth, taking the final point in the race.

Result of Deutsch Tourenwagen Masters, Round 9 of 10; Zandvoort, The Netherlands:

Qualifying Race

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Marcel Fassler       Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 2.  Christian Abt        Audi TT-R
 3.  Mattias Ekstrom      Audi TT-R
 4.  Alain Menu           Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 5.  Manuel Reuter        Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 6.  Bernd Schneider      Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 7.  Uwe Alzen            Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 8.  Timo Scheider        Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 9.  Karl Wendlinger      Audi TT-R
10.  Michael Bartels      Opel Astra V8 Coupe

Feature Race

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Mattias Ekstrom      Audi TT-R
 2.  Bernd Schneider      Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 3.  Marcel Fassler       Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 4.  Manuel Reuter        Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 5.  Timo Scheider        Opel Astra V8 Coupe
 6.  Laurent Aiello       Audi TT-R
 7.  Christian Abt        Audi TT-R
 8.  Jean Alesi           Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
 9.  Thomas Jager         Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
10.  Joachim Winkelhock   Opel Astra V8 Coupe

Standings: Laurent Aiello 66, Bernd Schnieder 52, Mattias Ekstrom 43, Marcel Fassler 28, Jean Alesi 24, Uwe Alzen 20, Christian Abt 15, Martin Tomczyk, Alain Menu, Timo Scheider and Manuel Reuter 7 etc.

DTM points distribution

  ETCC

Fabulous Fabrizio

How do you beat red Italian cars in Italy? While new Superbike champion Colin Edwards may have some insight there, nobody in Formula One does, nor does anyone in the European Touring Car Championship. Fabrizio Giovanardi inched closer to the title, taking a pair of victories for Alfa Romeo as the series visited the lakeside Sicilian resort circuit of Enna-Pergusa.

"After everyone expected me to win, I really had to win today!" said Giovanardi. "I am really happy as I have not won a race during the last three meetings. In today's first race, I pushed a lot and the car was fantastic. I really enjoyed the fight I had with Jorg Muller in race two; I had to outbrake him in the first chicane and I was lucky I managed to handle my car because I was on the dirty side of the track. I worked a lot to win these two races and now I have a good advantage in the Championship. However, I have to concentrate on the last two meetings as my teammate is always very fast. I need two points to be on the safe side."

Giovanardi set the tone, taking pole position ahead of his Nordauto teammate Nicola Larini. Roberto Colciago in the third factory Alfa looked set for a trifecta until Dirk Muller smashed his own time on the very last lap of the session to take third. BMWs swamped the next positions with the Volvos nowhere to be found as Rickard Rydell crashed heavily on his first flying lap. Last start poleman, BMW's Tom Coronel, was missing after an accident when the driving instructor was struck by an errant car at his 'day job'.

Muller made the best of the first start, diving under the Alfas ahead to take the lead at turn one, with Giovanardi leading Larini, Jorg Muller and Colciago in pursuit. Giovanardi retook the lead over the back of the circuit, while Colciago was limping. Attempting a passing move of his own on Jorg Muller, the two had clashed, and Colciago needed a new tyre. Rydell fought his way into the top ten in the rebuilt Volvo, passing teammate James Hanson. Lap five saw the exit of Robert Collard, crashing the Nissan Primera into the barriers. A lap later and another crasher, this time Hanson's Volvo. Another lap, another crash, as Tommy Rustad walled the other Nissan.

Up front the leading trio were still tightly bunched, Larini finally moving inside Muller at the last chicane. The Italian made the move stick, creating an all-Italian 1-2. Next time around and Muller bounced across the chicane in a desperate attempt to take second in the dash to the flag, but Larini held the spot to follow Giovanardi over the line. Jorg Muller was fourth ahead of Frederik Ekblom and Fabrizio de Simone while Salvatore Tavano took Jordi Gene for seventh on the final tour.

For the reverse grid of race two Ekblom led the field away from de Simone, Jorg Muller, Dirk Muller and Giovanardi while Larini was swamped by Tavano and Sandro Sardelli in the Honda Civics. De Simone quickly lost positions and was fourth across the line and fifth shortly afterwards while Larini makes up a spot on Sardelli. Larini then moved up to attack de Simone as the Hondas slid from contention.

Further up front Giovanardi was pressuring Jorg Muller. The two skipped over a chicane receiving warning flags before Muller lost control of the BMW, sliding into leader Ekblom. Muller was through to the lead as he was first to recover. Ekblom succumbed to Giovanardi less than a lap later. As Eric Cayrolle pushed Sardelli into the wall the top seven cars flashed across the line almost together; Muller, Giovanardi, Ekblom, Muller, de Simone, Larini, Colciago.

It had to end in tears. De Simone, Larini and Colciago clashed, with the BMW off into a tyre barrier hard enough to stop the car for the day. Elsewhere on the same lap Dirk Muller spun but everyone missed him, and he resumed just ahead of Jordi Gene. Tavano drove steadily and the Honda climbs into the points for the first time with the damaged Larini now in his sights.

Muller tried hard but couldn't keep Giovanardi out, the Italian outbraking the German and got the power down first. Muller is forced wide trying to regain the lead, and Ekblom pounces, taking second. It only lasts a lap as Muller moves up to challenge Giovanardi again. Muller clips a wall and suddenly is pounced on... by Colciago. Having disposed of Larini, the third Alfa quickly took Ekblom and found himself in the right position when Muller slipped. Giovanardi took a desperate win in a fiercly contested race. Colciago held second from Muller and Larini after Ekblom clipped the walls on the last lap. The dream point for Tavano is not to be. Having spent half the race keeping Gianluca de Lorenzi and Cayrolle at bay, the recovering Dirk Muller flew past the whole group.

With only 40 points left in the championship only Larini and Jorg Muller can take the title from Giovanardi. Larini is 21 points behind his teammate, with Muller 38 adrift. If Giovanardi finishes the next two races ahead of both of them then the title will have been succesfully defended. Next is Britain and Donington Park.

Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 15 and 16 of 20, Enna-Pergusa, Italy:

Round Fifteen

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 2.  Nicola Larini        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 3.  Dirk Muller          BMW 320i
 4.  Jorg Muller          BMW 320i
 5.  Fredrik Ekblom       BMW 320i
 6.  Fabrizio de Simone   BMW 320i
 7.  Salvatore Tavano     Honda Civic Type-R
 8.  Jordi Gene           BMW 320i
 9.  Sandro Sardelli      Honda Civic Type-R
10.  Rickard Rydell       Volvo S60

Round Sixteen

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 2.  Roberto Colciago     Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 3.  Jorg Muller          BMW 320i
 4.  Nicola Larini        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 5.  Fredrik Ekblom       BMW 320i
 6.  Dirk Muller          BMW 320i
 7.  Salvatore Tavano     Honda Civic Type-R
 8.  Gianluca de Lorenzi  BMW 320i
 9.  Eric Cayrolle        Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10.  Jordi Gene           BMW 320i

Standings: Fabrizio Giovanardi 106, Nicola Larini 85, Jorg Muller 68, Dirk Muller 58, Rickard Rydell 41, Fredrik Ekblom 17, Jordi Gene 8, Paolo Ruberti 7, James Hanson and Roberto Colciago 6 etc.

ETCC points distribution

  ALMS

Laguna Audi

Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro got revenge over their fortunes at Mosport, taking the Monterey Sports Car Championships in an Audi 1-2, the Champion team of Johnny Herbert and Stefan Johansson taking second. Cadillac made another welcome addition to the field and the potential of the Northstar LMP02 was demonstrated with Max Angelelli and JJ Lehto claiming third place. A potential that now won't be realised, with General Motors pulling Cadillac out of the sport at the end of the season.

"It was a perfect race for me," said Pirro. "Like I said yesterday, you could have a good setup in the morning and by the afternoon it has changed. I thank God that the setup did not go away so I was confident that I was in control of the situation and I was not worried because Frank has never betrayed my faith."

Pirro led the field around for the start, making the most of pole position to lead early. Tom Kristensen followed his team leader with the lead Cadillac of Angelelli taking up third. The race settled quickly at the top order with the first real drama not happening until Jan Magnussen in the lead Panoz clashed with Leo Hindery's Porsche. The Porsche carried damaged bodywork for half a lap before spinning. Magnussen received a stop-go penalty for his troubles. The concept became contagious with Kristensen clashing with Michael Schrom's Porsche.

Magnussen pitted first amongst the leaders, putting David Brabham in the car and resuming. Panoz pitted the second car shortly afterwards, exchanging Bill Auberlen for Bryan Herta. Emmanuel Collard next pitted the second Cadillac for Eric Bernard, just as the other Caddy struck trouble. Class car bashing disease had struck again with Angelelli putting Ron Fellows in the factory Corvette off the track and bogged in the sand trap at Turn 4. Angelelli, along with Kristensen, pitted immedaitely for JJ Lehto as the yellows flew to recover the 'Vette.

Pirro pitted, handing the lead to Johansson. Johansson pitted the next lap for Herbert. Biela now led from Capello and Herbert. Fellows rejoined the race, now well down on the GTS battle. The race settled again until Capello struck trouble with a broken control arm, promoting the Champion Audi to second while the damage was repaired.

The second cycle of pitstops started not long afterwards as the race charged into its third hour. Biela didn't lose the lead in the pits and led Herbert and Lehto with half an hour to go. Biela wound the laps down, and took another relatively untroubled victory for Audi. Herbert took second with Lehto in third in the Caddy. Capello rejoined to recover fourth from the Panoz duo.

For once reliability didn't plague the MGs, and all three finished. The KnightHawk car of Steve Knight, Chad Black and Claudia Huertgen finished just a lap behind the two Panozes to take class victory. The Dyson MG of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger was eighth outright and a further lap down, with third in LMP675 being taken by the Intersport MG of Jon Field and Rick Sutherland. Behind the LMP900 Intersport Lola-Judd was the Lola-Ford of Ben Devlin and Andy Lally.

In GTS, the championship leading Corvette spent time off the circuit in the sand. O'Connell resumed but the damaged bodywork caused a fire and the car retired. A dramatic finish was waiting for the class though, with the Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello of Tomas Enge and Peter Kox remorselessly hunting down the Corvette of Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim. With only a few laps left, Enge took Collins. As the white flag for the last lap was hung out Collins ground to a halt, the team having gambled one lap too far on fuel. The 550 Marannello went on to claim the class, finishing 13th outright. Not far behind and second in class was the Konrad Saleen of Franz Konrad and Terry Borcheller. The fuel-starved Corvette was classified in third place.

In GT there were no such surprises with the Alex Job Porsche of Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr won for the fifth time this year, taking 16th outright. Second in class though wasn't taken by the ubiquitous Porsche with Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro coming home 19th in the Risi Competizione Ferrari 360 Modena. The Racers Group finished 20th with Kevin Buckler and Brian Cunningham claiming the final podium spot.

Next up is the signature event of the series, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. All four classes see drivers competing for class championships. This series is far from over.

Result of American Le Mans Series, Round 9 of 11, Laguna Seca, United States:

Pos  Drivers                                   Car
 1.  Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro                Audi R8
 2.  Johnny Herbert/Stefan Johansson           Audi R8
 3.  Max Angelelli/JJ Lehto                    Cadillac Northstar LMP 02
 4.  Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen            Audi R8
 5.  Jan Magnussen/David Brabham               Panoz LMP01 Elan
 6.  Bryan Herta/Bill Auberlen                 Panoz LMP01 Elan
 7.  Steve Knight/Chad Block/Claudia Huertgen  Lola EX257 MG (LMP675)
 8.  James Weaver/Butch Leitzinger             Lola EX257 MG (LMP675)
 9.  Jon Field/Rick Sutherland                 Lola EX257 MG (LMP675)
10.  Clint Field/Mark Neuhaus                  Lola B2K/10 Judd

Standings, LMP 900: Tom Kristensen 183, Rinaldo Capello 179, Johnny Herbert 163, Frank Biela 161, Emanuele Pirro 160, David Brabham 140, Jan Magnussen 135, Stefan Johansson 133, Bill Auberlen 129, Bryan Herta 118 etc.

Standings, LMP675: Jon Field 168, Ben Devlin 153, Jeff Bucknum 132, Chris McMurry 129, Bryan William 128 etc.

Standings, LMGTS: Ron Fellows 183, Andy Pilgrim 179, Kelly Collins 178, Johnny O'Connell 174, Terry Borcheller 140 etc.

Standings, LMGT: Sascha Maassen 188, Lucas Luhr 187, Timo Bernhard and Kevin Buckler 153, Jorg Bergmeister 151 etc.

ALMS points distribution

  Sportscars

Courage In The Wet

Jean-Christophe Boullion and Sebastien Bourdais won the final round of the FIA Sportscar championship with a dominant display aboard Pescarolo Sport-prepared Courage-Peugeot turbo. They led the entire race, apart from during pit stops as the unpredictable Belgian weather did its best to confuse the situation. A thunderstorm rolled over the circuit with 20 minutes of the race left. The conditions became diabolical and the race was abandoned.

"I have only experienced conditions like those at Le Mans last year," said Boullion. "It was just a wall of water and impossible to use the throttle at all. It was absolutely correct to stop the race at that stage. But today it was all about Sebastien, because he did all the hard work at the start of the race and got the advanatge that we needed."

With changes to the calendar ,the Spa event became the last event of the series and Racing For Hollard went into the last event with enough points to secure the championship. Just to emphasize, Jan Lammers and Val Hillebrand finished second in their Dome-Judd. Lammers was slow in the first part of the race, struggling with slicks in conditions which, while not raining, perhaps demanded different tyres than he started on. With the correct tyres on, the Dome charged back up the order to second, but catching the Courage was not a realistic prospect.

Mauro Baldi and Vincenzo Sospiri were stoked to be third. Early in the race the R & M-Judd had battled for second with the Durango-Judd as Baldi struggled to find a way past Gianmaria Bruni. The Durango had a slow pitstop though, which put them down the order. Jason Plato drove an excellent race to drag the Berridge Lola-Judd past the Durango during the middle stint. The Durango team were saved the embarrassment of retiring when the red flags flew on the lap the car succumbed to gearbox failure out on the circuit.

Had the race not been red flagged, the SR2 class would have been decided by the weather. Fabio Mancini and Thed Bjork crashed during the red flag lap as the weather did its worst. Mancini and Gianni Collini were awarded the class win and sixth outright, but it was teammates Piergiuseppe Peroni and Mirko Savoldi who claimed the class championship in the older of the Lucchini-Alfas, finishing second in class. Third would be Bjork and Niklas Loven in the Lola-Judd ahead of the Bich/Bossy Debora-BMW. Title rivals John Stack and Sam Hignett had a suspension collapse in the Pilbeam-Nissan and dropped to third in the standings behind the second of the Lucchinis.

The PiR Competition team caused earlier drama with both their cars crashing in the drying conditions before the rain. Paul Daniels hit the wall at La Source in the Pilbeam-Peugeot while Christophe Geoffroy put the team's Debora-Nissan into the armco at Rivage.

Lammers and Hillebrand claimed the title before the start of the race and finished 22 points clear of Boullion. Bourdais was another 22 points further back ahead of Baldi. The absent Courage team of Boris Derichebourg and Didier Cottaz shared sixth place in the championship.

Result of FIA Sportscar Championship, Round 6 of 6, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium:

Pos  Drivers                                      Car
 1.  Jean-Christophe Boullion/Sebastien Bourdais  Courage C60 Peugeot
 2.  Jan Lammers/Val Hillebrand                   Dome S101 Judd
 3.  Mauro Baldi/Vincenzo Sospiri                 R & M Judd
 4.  Bob Berridge/Jason Plato                     Lola B2K/10 Judd
 5.  Gianmaria Bruni/Alessandro Battaglin         GMS Durango Judd
 6.  Gianni Collini/Fabio Mancini                 Lucchini 2001 Alfa Romeo (SR2)
 7.  Piergiuseppe Peroni/Mirko Savoldi            Lucchini Alfa Romeo (SR2)
 8.  Niklas Loven/Thed Bjork                      Lola B2K/40 Nissan (SR2)
 9.  Xavier Bich/Roland Bossy                     Debora BMW (SR2)
10.  Ranieri Randaccio/Leonardo Maddalena         Lucchini Alfa Romeo (SR2)

Final Standings: Jan Lammers and Val Hillebrand 99, Jean-Christophe Boullion 77, Sebastien Bourdais 55, Mauro Baldi 44, Didier Cottaz and Boris Derichebourg 40, Vincenzo Sospiri 36, Olivier Beretta 35, Franck Lagorce 22, Felipe Ortiz and Beppe Gabbiani 21, Nicolas Minassian 20, Alessandro Battaglin and Mirko Venturi 16, Franck Montagny 15, Ralph Moog, Christian Vann, Bob Berridge and Jason Plato 10, Alex Caffi 8, Robin Smith, Richard Jones and Bernard de Dryver 4.

SR2: Piergiuseppe Peroni and Mirko Savoldi 75, Gianni Collini and Fabio Mancini 70, John Stack and Sam Hignett 60, Niklas Loven 48, Leonardo Maddalena and Ranieri Randaccio 45, Mattias Andersson 36, Marc Rostan and Pierre Bruneau 24, Luca Riccitelli, Massimo Saccomanno and Ernesto Saccomanno 20, Mike Millard 18, Thed Bjork 12, Phil Armour, Xavier Bich and Roland Bossy 10 etc

FIA Sportscar points distribution

  FIA GT

Storm Front

Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer won their third event of season at the Sicilian circuit of Enna-Pergusa and closed the gap to series leaders, the Larbre Competition duo of Christophe Bouchut and David Terrien down to three and a half points, in a dramatic encounter which saw the series leaders place only fifth. Second was taken by the Carsport Holland team of Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari, with the two Paul Belmondo Vipers in third and fourth.

"We had a good race," explained Campbell-Walter. "We were struggling a bit around here and were really surprised by Gollin's pace in qualifying. During the race, we decided not to change tyres after Nicolaus' stint, which gave us a 20 second advantage. At one stage, I was behind Mike Hezemans' car which had a loose rear windscreen. It was quite scary as I thought it would hit my car! But then it didn't! After Spa's disappointment, it is good to win a race again and the perspective for the Championship title is good."

It was the Carsport Holland team though which dominated qualifying, both its Chrysler Vipers filling the front row of the grid after Superpole, Fabrizio Gollin scorching around the five kilometre circuit in one minute and 35.6 seconds. Mike Hezemans was unable to break into the 35s. Third fastest was Jean-Marc Gounon in the Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello.

Gollin took the lead early in the race from Hezemans, Campbell-Walter in the Lister and Bryner in the first of the Maranellos. Gollin drove away from the field to build up a small lead from the Lister as Hezemans dropped to fourth on the opening lap. The gap climbed only to 1.4 seconds by the end of the first hour as the first stops were beginning. Hezemans stopped from second position just prior to the hour dropping down the field, promoting the Lister to second. Fabio Babini moved into third ahead of the Belmondo team's new driver, the former factory Courage pilot Boris Derichebourg. Andrea Piccini was holding down fifth in the first Ferrari.

When Gollin stopped Campbell-Walter moved into the lead, but dropped to second when he stopped. Marc Duez moved into the lead from Springer and Derichebourg into the second hour. The field was keeping close together though, nine cars still on the lead lap at the end of the second hour. At this point Duez led from Springer, Anthony Kumpen, Paul Belmondo and Jean-Denis Deletraz. After the second round of stops though it was Kumpen, with Hezemans back in the car, who took the lead. The early stop was paying dividends now, but would the Viper need a splash'n'dash later in the race, and would they lose the lead doing it?

A large part of the opposition was removed on lap 81 when the closely battling Viper of Fabio Babini and Ferrari of Andrea Piccini came together. Piccini had been closing on the Viper for some laps and Babini was struggling to keep the Ferrari behind. The two collided with Piccini hurled off line and into a tyre barrier. The Ferrari returned to the pits, but they lost three laps and disappeared from the top order. Babini survived relatively unharmed but received a stop/go penalty which he took on lap 90, dropping to fourth in the process.

There were only four cars on the lead lap late in the race, with Hezemans leading Campbell-Walter, Gollin and Babini. Lap 94 saw the fuel question answered as Hezemans ducked pitward for fuel. The stop wasn't great and two laps were lost, along with the race. From here, the Lister, which had been thereabouts all day, finally led the final ten laps to take a 39 second victory over the Larbre Viper of Gollin and Cappellari. Babini recovered third place but was under severe threat towards the end of the race as Derichebourg sizzled around the circuit in the closing laps. It wouldn't be enough with the #11 car finishing within sight of its teammate.

In N-GT, Stephane Ortelli and Marc Lieb blitzed the class in the Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3-R, confirming Ortelli's championship lead. It was a good day for Freisinger Motorsport with Stephen Daoudi and Cyrille Sauvage finishing second ahead of the JMS Ferrari Modena of Andrea Montermini and Iradj Alexander third in class.

The series next moves to Donington in Britain, home ground for Lister, a circuit where their record is slightly more than merely strong. A win for Campbell-Walter and Springer will take the battle down to the wire at Estoril.

Result of FIA GT Championship, Round 8 of 10; Enna-Pergusa, Italy:

Pos  Drivers                                      Car
 1.  Jamie Campbell-Walter/Nicolaus Springer      Lister Storm
 2.  Fabrizio Gollin/Luca Cappellari              Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 3.  Fabio Babini/Marc Duez                       Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 4.  Boris Derichebourg/Paul Belmondo             Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 5.  Christophe Bouchut/David Terrien             Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 6.  Mike Hezemans/Anthony Kumpen                 Chrysler Viper GTS-R
 7.  Bobby Verdon-Roe/Miguel de Castro            Lister Storm
 8.  Stephane Ortelli/Marc Lieb                   Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
 9.  Stephane Daoudi/Cyrille Sauvage              Porsche 996 GT3-RS (N-GT)
10.  Andrea Montermini/Iradj Alexander            Ferrari 360 Modena (N-GT)

Standings: Christophe Bouchut and David Terrien 46, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer 42.5, Vincent Vosse 36, Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz 31, Fabio Babini and Marc Duez 28, Sebastien Bourdais, Anthony Kumpen, Mike Hezemans, Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari 20 etc.

N-GT: Stephane Ortelli 60, Andrea Montermini 49.5, Christian Pescatori 48.5, Andrea Bertolini 34.5, Andrea Garbagnati 31.5 etc.

FIA GT points distribution

  Formula Nissan

Zonta Takes Two

Ricardo Zonta firmed his chances of taking the newly expanded Formula Nissan series with two victories from two starts when the Telefonica World Series visited Catalunya. With both Bas Leinders and Franck Montagny unable to put two good races together, Zonta skipped away to a 47 point lead.

"I am very happy," said Zonta. "It has been a perfect weekend for me and for my team. I have to confess that I won the second race thanks of the pit stop."

In race one, it wasn't Zonta who set the pace as Andre Couto built up a lead with Justin Wilson second. Zonta sat in third ahead of Jean Christophe Ravier, Franck Montagny and Antonio Garcia. The race settled quickly, with the first nine cars on the road not changing positions. With laps running out, Zonta hauled in the two leaders. Wilson was overtaken on the run down the long front straight with four laps to go. Couto held onto the lead until halfway around the final lap, when the young Portuguese driver was forced to give way to his more illustrious pursuer. Wilson continued in third whilst the rest of the top ten barely even troubled the lap scorers, with Ravier leading in Montagny and Garcia. Bas Leinders was a disappointing seventh ahead of new Repsol Meycom signing, Formula 3000 driver Rodrigo Sperafico.

Race two was different. Zonta got a better start to lead early from Leinders, Montagny, Ravier, Wilson and Garcia. Leinders though had ground to make up in the championship and pushed hard, taking the lead on the third lap. Ravier and Wilson both decided to make their compulsory stops early. Ravier's Epsilon team serviced him quickly, as did the Gabord team when Zonta stopped on lap 13. Leinders stayed out, building up a four second lead before stopping at the end of lap 15, handing the lead to Nicolas Filiberti. Leinders's stop was slow, very slow, and the Belgian emerged behind Zonta into third, which became second once Filiberti stopped. Zonta held the lead to the flag from Leinders and Ravier, who had leapfrogged Montagny in the pits. Wilson was fifth ahead of Garcia and Tuka Rocha.

The series returns to Valencia in a month's time for the last European leg before the series moves to South America.

Result of Telefonica World Series by Nissan, Round 6 of 9; Catalunya, Spain:

Race One

Pos  Driver                   Team
 1.  Ricardo Zonta            Gabord Competicion
 2.  Andre Couto              Vergani Racing
 3.  Justin Wilson            Racing Engineering
 4.  Jean Christophe Ravier   Epsilon by Graff
 5.  Franck Montagny          Racing Engineering
 6.  Antonio Garcia           Adrian Campos Motorsport
 7.  Bas Leinders             Keerbergs Transport Racing
 8.  Rodrigo Sperafico        Repsol Meycom
 9.  Jonathan Cochet          GD Racing
10.  Luciano Gomide           Keerbergs Transport Racing

Race Two

Pos  Driver                   Team
 1.  Ricardo Zonta            Gabord Competicion
 2.  Bas Leinders             Keerbergs Transport Racing
 3.  Jean Christophe Ravier   Epsilon by Graff
 4.  Franck Montagny          Racing Engineering
 5.  Justin Wilson            Racing Engineering
 6.  Antonio Garcia           Adrian Campos Motorsport
 7.  Tuka Rocha               Gabord Competicion
 8.  Luciano Gomide           Keerbergs Transport Racing
 9.  Jonathan Cochet          GD Racing
10.  Rodrigo Sperafico        Repsol Meycom

Standings: Ricardo Zonta 205, Bas Leinders 158, Franck Montagny 155, Justin Wilson 84, Jean Christophe Ravier 63, Andre Couto 50, Antonio Garcia 47, Tuka Rocha 33, Nicolas Filiberti 32, Peter Sundberg 27 etc

  Rally

McRae Joins Citroen For 2003

By Kate Holton

Former world rally champion Colin McRae, currently with Ford, is joining the Citroen team for the 2003 season, Citroen have said.

"Guy Frequelin (Citroen's team principal) has asked Colin McRae to join the Citroen team for the 14 rallies of the 2003 world championship," said a statement released at the Paris Motor Show. "With 25 victories in the WRC, as well as a world rally champion title, Colin will bring to the Citroen team his valued experience in the field of rallying."

Ford said earlier on Thursday they would not renew McRae's contract when it expires at the end of this season as they aim to cut back their wage bill. The Scot is one of the highest paid drivers in the championship.

Citroen will be embarking on their first full year in the world championship next season and wanted a big-name driver to lead their assault alongside rising young Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, who won the Rally of Germany last month.

Ford, following a disappointing season in which Peugeot have dominated, have decided to focus on developing a new car which will be introduced in 2005. Team principal Malcolm Wilson said last month that either McRae or Spaniard Carlos Sainz could be sacrificed in favour of younger drivers to allow maximum finances to be channelled into the car.

A Ford statement on Thursday said: "Colin will continue for the remaining three rounds of this year's championship with Ford...and we look forward to a strong finish to the year."

McRae is third in the drivers' championship on 33 points behind Finland's leader Marcus Gronholm of Peugeot on 57 and Britain's Richard Burns, also of Peugeot, on 34. McRae, world champion in 1995 with Subaru, said earlier this month he had talked to Subaru and had been tempted by an offer from Citroen.

The 34-year-old visited Citroen's factory in Versailles two weeks ago and sat down for further talks with the French team on Tuesday. He has signed a one-year deal. "The priority is to get a team that can win the championship," McRae said before last week's Rally of San Remo where he finished a distant eighth.

Funding ruled Subaru out of contention for McRae's signature with four-time champion Finn Tommi Makinen and Norwegian Petter Solberg already confirmed for 2003.

Report provided by Reuters

  Upcoming Events Calendar

• October 3 - World Rally Championship, Round 12; Rally New Zealand, New Zealand
• October 6 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 13; Motegi, Japan
• October 6 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 30; Talladega Speedway, Alabama, United States
• October 6 - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 10; Hockenheim, Germany
• October 6 - European Touring Car Championship, Round 9; Donington Park, Great Britain
• October 6 - FIA GT Championship, Round 9; Donington Park, Great Britain
• October 6 - European Formula 3000 Championship, Round 9; Cagliari, Italy
• October 12 - American Le Mans Series, Round 10; Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, United States
• October 13 - V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 10; Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, Australia
• October 13 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 14; Sepang, Malaysia
• October 13 - FedEx CART World Series, Round 15; Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico
• October 13 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 31; Lowe's Motor Speedway, Charlotte, United States
• October 13 - European Formula 3000, Round 10; Jerez, Spain
• October 20 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 15; Phillip Island, Australia
• October 20 - NASCAR Winston Cup; Round 32, Martinsville Speedway, Virginia, United States
• October 20 - European Touring Car Championship, Round 10; Estoril, Portugal
• October 20 - FIA-GT Championship, Round 10; Estoril, Portugal
• October 20 - Telefonica World Series, Round 7; Communitat Valencia, Spain