Final Standings: Bjorn Wirdheim 78, Ricardo Sperafico 43, Giorgio Pantano 41, Vitantonio Liuzzi 39, Patrick Friesacher 36, Enrico Toccacelo 30, Nicolas Kiesa and Jaroslav Janis 20, Townsend Bell 17, Raffaele Gianmaria and Tony Schmidt 14, Yannick Schroeder 13, Jeff van Hooydonk 9, Zsolt Baumgartner 6, Rob Nguyen 5, Derek Hill 4, Phil Giebler 1

Teams: Arden International 95, Red Bull Junior 75, Durango Formula 55, Coloni Motorsport 49, Super Nova Racing 35, PSM Racing 33, Den Bla Avis 20, Team Astromega 18, BCN F3000 5

Formula 3000 points distribution

  NASCAR

Johnson Does New Hampshire Double

For the second time this year, Jimmie Johnson took victory at New Hampshire, both times judging the balance between speed and fuel economy. This victory came despite a pit lane incident which dropped him to the back of the lead lap which also involved Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip, Gordon and Waltrip looking on target for good finishes until late race problems destroyed both drivers' days. Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon were another two drivers set for good finishes in the closing laps only to be dealt a bad hand. Needless to say, Matt Kenseth enjoyed another top ten finish, and only lost a few points to Dale Earnhardt Jr who spent the second half of the race wondering if his engine would make it to the end.

Ryan Newman sat on the pole with Terry Labonte alongside, Newman jumping into the lead at the start. Some early dicing just behind eventually resolved with Jamie McMurray ahead of Terry Labonte, followed by Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Not long after this changed, with Waltrip and Gordon moving into third and fourth as Labonte fell back, this duo moving up to second and third soon after as McMurray faded too, Earnhardt Jr moving into fourth on lap 31. Around lap 35 the leaders encountered traffic, bunching up the pack, this closing up allowing Earnhardt Jr to grab two positions on lap 42 into second and close right in on Newman, taking the lead four laps later. After lap after lap behind Waltrip, Gordon finally passed him to move up into third as the race continued, Gordon taking second from Newman as the pit stops closed in.

Lap 80 saw these stops begin, the stops continuing over the next ten laps. After all the stops were completed the order was only slightly changed, with the top three still Earnhardt Jr, Gordon and Newman, while Johnson was now ahead of Waltrip in the battle for fourth. Lap 95 saw Newman move back into second place past Gordon, before Newman fell back several places just a few laps later. Just as Jeff Burton was challenging for the top five his day ended in a trail of smoke, engine problems ending his day just after 105 laps in the 300 lap event. Then it was Gordon's turn to lose a couple of places as Johnson and Waltrip moved up into second and third place.

The long green run finally ended on lap 127 when the first caution of the day came out for debris. In came the field to the pits. Jeff Gordon, in the third pit bay on pit road, dived under Waltrip to get to his pit bay. Unfortunately, Waltrip's bay was the second one, the one Gordon was trying to drive through. This lead to contact, parking Gordon nearly perpendicular to pit wall between Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson's cars, knocking over a couple of Johnson's crewmen along the way. Amazingly, there was virtually no damage to anyone involved, even the crewmen, though Gordon's error cost him a lot of time, dropping him from fourth to 23rd place, Johnson dropping from second to 22nd. Ironically, the crewmen Gordon hit were those of the car he owns, Jimmie Johnson, while the incident occurred on the same weekend that the crewman Dale Jarrett injured at Indianapolis made his return to the series...

After the stops, which saw some drivers take two tyres and others four, the order was Bill Elliott, Newman, Waltrip, Elliott Sadler and Earnhardt Jr. The race restarted on lap 139, Elliott just holding off Newman lap by lap as the top four cars ran as a pack. The Burton family's day got worse when Ward Burton went into the turn one and two wall after Johnson got in too hot and slid up into Burton, saving Johnson but wrecking Burton, bringing out the caution on lap 148. Only a handful of cars pitted, which included Johnson. Meanwhile Earnhardt Jr in fifth was reporting he was beginning to suffer minor engine problems. Back to green on lap 152 but it was back to caution on lap 156 when Robby Gordon spun coming off turn two all by himself, spinning safely to the infield and resuming undamaged. Again a handful of cars pitted, which again included Johnson.

The race resumed on lap 160 but was back to caution just two laps later when Jimmy Spencer got loose in turn four, running up into Dale Jarrett who spun and slammed the wall, coming to rest in the middle of the front straight. This became a little bit worrisome when some of the field raced back to the green, with cars flying past Jarrett's stationary car, though thankfully no further incident occurred. The race finally got back to green on lap 172, Elliott still leading the way, Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick moving past Sadler into fourth and fifth on lap 174 as Elliott and Newman moved away. Hermie Sadler's expired engine brought out the caution on lap 184. In came the field to pit once more, most taking four tyres and fuel. Five cars stayed out, and they were the new top five, with Earnhardt Jr ahead of Ricky Rudd, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin and Dave Blaney, while Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson were first to have stopped in sixth and seventh after just taking fuel.

The caution came back out on lap 196 after Ryan Newman went into turn one too hot, sliding up into Tony Stewart, Stewart spinning hard into the wall as Newman continued. About half the field pitted, only Harvick and Newman of the front runners to pit. The race restarted on lap 200, too far to go without at least a splash of fuel along the way if the race stayed green, Earnhardt Jr leading Rudd, Nemechek, Johnson and McMurray, with Jeff Gordon up to sixth after his earlier pit stop disaster. Harvick began to move back up the order after his pitstop, moving back into the top fifteen just behind Newman.

Around lap 210 Johnson passed Nemechek for third. 70 laps to go and Newman and Harvick were in eleventh and twelfth as they continued to move towards the front. Lap 230 and Earnhardt Jr was the first of the leaders to make his final stop, taking four tyres and fuel to run to the end, moving Rudd into the lead ahead of Johnson, Nemechek, Waltrip and McMurray, with Jeff Gordon looking to move back into the top five, Gordon taking the place on lap 236 and moving into fourth past Nemechek a few laps later, Nemechek having already been passed Waltrip. Harvick finally won his battle with Newman on lap 243 and moved into the top ten, though not without a little contact along the way.

Waltrip's run to the front continued, pressuring Johnson before taking second place on lap 255, the duo right on leader Rudd's tail, Waltrip taking the lead a lap later as Rudd relinquished the lead just before pitting for two tyres and fuel, Nemechek pitting at the same time. Now the top five was Waltrip, Johnson, Gordon, McMurray and Rusty Wallace. Lap 269 McMurray pitted for fuel only as the stops began to increase in number but reduce in time. Lap 272 and leader Waltrip pitted, looking like a perfect stop until... he left with the fuel can still attached, earning a stop/go penalty, ending a great run, eventually finishing the race in 26th. Johnson was now the leader from Gordon, while Harvick thanks to his four tyres at his last stop and a few cars having already pitted was up into third place.

Johnson was next of the leaders to pit soon after, teammate Gordon pitting a lap later, handing the lead to Harvick ahead of Kenseth and Sadler. Of those that had pitted, Johnson was ahead of Gordon and Rudd. 15 to go, Harvick finally pitted, just as his crew had said they would stay out to the end... Then, when he went to leave his pit, the engine stalled, his crew pushing his car as it eventually restarted, losing several places along the way however, ending the race in thirteenth. Over the next few laps those who hadn't pitted made their stops, leaving Robby Gordon the last car to pit with seven to go, pitting from the lead of the race. However, just like teammate Harvick, his engine stalled leaving the pits, again losing place after place before it refired, finishing the race in 21st place.

From this point on it seemed like it would be a simple cruise to the flag, the top five having settled down to Johnson, Gordon, Rudd, Nemechek and Earnhardt Jr after everyone had made their pit stops (for better or worse), Elliott taking fifth back with about five laps to go. But there was one more incident to play out. Remember Watkins Glen, when Jeff Gordon ran out of fuel on the last lap? Well, unbelievably, Gordon ran short again, this time with over two laps remaining, dropping him to nineteenth place by the time the chequered flag was unfurled. The rest of the field made it safely to the end, with Johnson holding on after his earlier pit stop incident to win ahead of Rudd, Nemechek, Elliott and Earnhardt Jr, his ailing engine holding on to the end.

Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 27 of 36, New Hampshire International Speedway, United States:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Jimmie Johnson        Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 2.  Ricky Rudd            Ford Taurus
 3.  Joe Nemechek          Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 4.  Bill Elliott          Dodge Intrepid
 5.  Dale Earnhardt Jr     Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 6.  Rusty Wallace         Dodge Intrepid
 7.  Matt Kenseth          Ford Taurus
 8.  Elliott Sadler        Ford Taurus
 9.  Ryan Newman           Dodge Intrepid
10.  Jamie McMurray        Dodge Intrepid

Standings: Matt Kenseth 4015, Dale Earnhardt Jr 3611, Kevin Harvick 3552, Jimmie Johnson 3543, Ryan Newman 3398, Jeff Gordon 3382, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte 3323, Terry Labonte 3191, Michael Waltrip 3169 etc.

NASCAR points distribution

Brian France To Succeed Father At NASCAR Helm

By Lewis Franck

Brian France was named to succeed his father Bill France Jr. as chairman and chief executive of NASCAR on Saturday. Brian France, 41, is the grandson of Bill France Sr. who founded the American stock car based series in the late 1940s.

Bill France Jr., who will stay on with his brother Jim as vice-chairmen, said in a statement: "I am confident the future of NASCAR is in very capable hands.

"NASCAR is my life's work and my father's before me; this decision is probably one of the most important ones I've made at NASCAR -- and I know it is the right decision."

Bill France Jr., 70, who assumed his duties from his father in 1972, has been battling cancer and recovering from heart surgery but still goes to his Daytona Beach offices daily. Under his tenure, NASCAR outgrew its folksy image to become the second most popular sport in the United States and most events are shown on television around the world.

Brian France, who took over NASCAR's marketing division in 1994, has been a key player in obtaining sponsorship for the series which becomes the Nextel Cup next year.

"I've been fortunate to spend my entire life in this sport and have worked with some of the giants who made NASCAR what it is today -- starting with my father and grandfather," Brian France said.

"NASCAR has always stood for quality -- our sport, our employees and our fans. I am proud and honoured to lead this great company into the future and build on that tradition of quality."

Brian France report provided by Reuters

  V8 Supercar

HRT Scrapes Home Despite Dynamik Duo

There seemed to be a jinx on the leader of the Sandown 500. Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall led early, before spinning in to the gravel trap and losing a lap. Then Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly led, before they suffered a bizarre rear wing problem in the pits. Then Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly led the race, before they began to suffer low voltage. Then as the Team Dynamik car of Jason Richards and Simon Wills closed in and snatched the lead under brakes at Dandenong Rd corner, Skaife turned in, sending the Dynamik car off into the gravel, Skaife and Kelly managing to beat the jinx (just) to take victory, despite breaking a safety rule over the closing laps. On top of this there were two heavy rain showers (one including heavy hail turning the track into an ice rink), sunny periods and the occasional bit of biff'n'barge. Oh and there was a motor race too! Despite Ambrose and Ingall's problems, a fifth place for them saw Ambrose retain his lead, now ahead of Murphy, Skaife moving past Ingall while Jason Bright's disastrous day dropped him from second to fifth.

On the Saturday before the race, Triple Eight Racing, who run the very successful Astras in the BTCC announced they were the new owners of Team Betta Electrical, who field two Ford BA Falcons for Paul Radisich and Dean Canto, having bought the team from Briggs Motorsport. Also in the week leading up to the race it became clear that next year's move to race in China meant that one race had to go, and it was to be Phillip Island. This now leaves Victoria and Queensland, home to by far the majority of teams in the series with two championship rounds each, while New South Wales has four rounds including the Bathurst 1000 enduro despite being home to just one team and car.

The race at Sandown sees the first of two endurance rounds for the year, with two drivers sharing the driving duties and a compulsory brake pad change for each car as the 500km enduro returned to its traditional home. The usual suspects were at the front of the grid, Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall on pole ahead of Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly. At the start, which had been delayed by twenty minutes due to repairs to the barriers in a support race, the Ambrose/Ingall car made a great start as the Skaife/T Kelly car bogged down, allowing the cars of Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly, Paul Radisich/Rickard Rydell and Jason Richards/Simon Wills to move past to fall to fifth place. Todd Kelly was quick to resume the chase, taking fourth place from Richards/Wills into turn one on lap four.

Later that same lap we saw the first incident of the race when the Brad Jones/John Bowe had a lockup in the middle of the esses, bunching the cars behind him up and eventually ending with Garth Tander in the car he was sharing with Nathan Pretty spinning the Steven Johnson/Warren Luff car around into Dandenong Rd corner, the Johnson car backing into the Jones/Bowe car as it came to a halt, Johnson's car stranded as the other cars involved continued. In the mayhem behind, the other Shell Helix Racing car of Max Wilson/David Brabham was spun around. Both cars eventually resumed but the Johnson/Luff was forced to pit.

Todd Kelly was continuing to move forward, taking third from Radisich/Rydell on lap seven and second from Murphy/R Kelly on lap nine as light drizzle fell on parts of the circuit. Meanwhile Tander/Pretty had been given a drivethrough penalty for their part in the first incident, dropping them from seventh to 30th. While Ambrose/Ingall had been a couple of seconds clear at the front, Todd Kelly quickly closed the gap as Murphy/R Kelly had the cars of Radisich/Rydell and Jason Richards/Wills just behind him. Lap 19 and the Jones/Bowe car went around again, this time after David Besnard/Owen Kelly gave him a tap, Besnard/Kelly also receiving a drivethrough penalty soon after.

Three laps later another car went around, as Murphy/R Kelly appeared to be spun by the Radisich/Rydell car, dropping Murphy/R Kelly to sixth place. Up front the Ambrose/Ingall were hanging on just ahead of Skaife/T Kelly as the race settled down, the Radisich/Rydell and Jason Richards/Wills duo being joined by the Steve Ellery/Luke Youlden car in the fight for third as light drizzle was still falling at various times as heavier rain seemed to be closing in.

Lap 40 and that heavy rain fell, most of the field including leader Ambrose/Ingall pitting immediately, with most of the rest pitting one lap later. The two to gamble staying out on slicks were Skaife/T Kelly and Jason Bright/Paul Weel, both needing to gain points in the chase for the title. Lap 43 saw these two drivers in pit lane, Skaife/T Kelly spinning at the final turn having been off earlier in the lap but recovering to resume in second place, though nearly half a minute down. Bright was even worse off, bouncing off the fence and holing the radiator, dropping him to last as the crew repaired major damage.

After all the stops the order was Ambrose/Ingall, Skaife/T Kelly, Radisich/Rydell, Murphy/R Kelly and Ellery/Youlden, with the second place car dragging the leader back in steadily lap by lap. A gainer during the stops and soon after was the Jim Richards/Tony Longhurst car, moving up from eighteenth before the stops to twelfth immediately after, into the top ten by lap 51 and eight by lap 55 as the track continued to remain wet, as Radisich/Rydell fell from third on lap 52 to fifth two laps later as the two cars behind him moved past.

Finally the rain eased and the track began to dry out, lap 67 and 68 seeing the majority of the field pit, most also taking the opportunity to make their compulsory brake pad change, though one of those not to do so was Murphy/R Kelly. This put them ahead of Skaife/T Kelly after the stops, which became the lead of the race when Russell Ingall bunkered the race leading Falcon in the turn one gravel trap when he locked his rear brakes just after changing front brake pads, temporarily joined by the Jason Richards/Wills car not long after, though that car managed to extricate itself unaided. That was not going to happen to the Ingall/Ambrose car, and so the safety car made an appearance to remove the car from the gravel, as the leader of the race fell to 22nd place, one lap down.

The race restarted on lap 72, Murphy/R Kelly leading Skaife/T Kelly, Ellery/Youlden, Jason Richards/Wills and Radisich/Rydell. With all the mayhem and rain only eight cars remained on the lead lap as the leaders remained spread out, Murphy/R Kelly with a lead over Skaife/T Kelly but still needed to make its brake pad change, as the Jim Richards/Longhurst car continued to charge, moving up to fifth place on lap 82. Again the race settled down, the gaps between most of the leaders slowly expanding apart from Skaife/T Kelly ever so slowly closing the gap to the race leader.

Lap 94 saw the Jim Richards/Longhurst drop down to seventh place after it appeared to be spun by the Morris/Faulkner car which was a lap behind Jim Richards/Longhurst, the Morris/Faulkner car having been involved in a similar incident a few laps earlier which saw the Wilson/Brabham car in the wall and forced to pit, Mark Larkham/Jason Bargwanna moving into the top five as the result of the incident. Meanwhile the Ambrose/Ingall car had been making steady progress and were now twelfth, two places behind the sister car of Mark Winterbottom/Mark Noske. Just after lap 100 the rain began to fall again, at first fairly gently as Skaife/T Kelly closed right in on Murphy/R Kelly, before it began to fall hard again at the end of lap 109, the whole field diving for the pits immediately to switch back to wets.

Just as leader Murphy began to turn into his pit bay he screeched to a halt, as he was forced to wait for the car from the bay behind him to exit the pits. Then when he moved forward he wasn't correctly positioned in his own bay, so he had to drive further forward then get pushed back into position. Somehow during this (or possibly even beforehand) one of the screws holding the rear wing mounting onto the boot had fallen out and had to be replaced, so a narrow lead (which he was likely to lose anyway thanks to the pad change) turned into ninth place, a lap down. Meanwhile the car of Jim Richards/Longhurst also had a long stop as they fixed a problem with the wiper, dropping them only one place thanks to Murphy's problem.

Meanwhile back on the track, new second place runner Luke Youlden had a big moment at turn one, starting to spin before bouncing off a backmarker which corrected the slide, then losing second place to Jason Richards/Wills soon after, fourth and fifth held by Larkham/Bargwanna and Radisich/Rydell as the Skaife/T Kelly car now had a lead of over half a minuted. During these few laps after stops the Morris/Faulkner took two drivethrough penalties for the incidents twenty to thirty laps earlier.

If anyone had thought the rain earlier in the rain was tricky, they were about to get a nasty surprise. The safety car made a return to the track on lap 117 after the rain which had been falling since lap 109 started coming in sideways and was accompanied by hail for good measure, visibilty reduced to almost nil. Conditions were so bad that even with the safety car signs out around the track, cars were still sliding around, a few even spinning off, including two of the Ford Performance Racing cars while the Paul Dumbrell/Tomas Mezera car went off at fairly high speed into the tyre barrier early in the esses at the end of the back straight. The whole field circulated for several laps as they splashed through the rain and slush around the track which looked like an ice rink for several laps, waiting for the weather to ease rather than red flag the event as they did at Phillip Island earlier in the season.

Lap 127 and the race restarted, Skaife leading the way in the car he was sharing with Todd Kelly, as he was separated from Jason Richards in the car he was sharing with Simon Wills by several lapped cars, with Ellery/Youlden in third the only other car on the lead lap, Ambrose/Ingall up to eighth place. Soon after the restart Murphy/R Kelly moved up into fourth place ahead of the Jones/Bowe car. Up front the gap between Skaife in first and Jason Richards in second was closing, as the leading Commodore was battling low voltage problems, leaving its headlights off and using the wiper sparingly, though running at the front allowed it to do so without much penalty as the race finish closed in, the race looking like finishing somewhere around lap 140 instead of the scheduled 161 laps as the race had to be concluded by a specified time. Lap 131 and the rain which had eased began to fall again, though not as hard as it had once or twice earlier in the event, the track still quite drivable.

Lap 134 saw Ambrose/Ingall gain another place, moving into sixth as they passed the Steven Richards/Larry Perkins machine, while up front Jason Richards was continuing to close in on Skaife, the gap down to just a few seconds as the race appeared headed for a lap 141 finish. The rain forced Skaife to use the wiper more, but at the same time, sometime during the last five to ten laps, the rain light on the rear of the car was switched off to save power, despite the rules requiring it to be on at all times when the car is on wet-weather tyres. Richards was now taking chunks out of Skaife's lead, and as they headed down the back straight on lap 139 he was right on Skaife's rear, Skaife running the defensive line down the straight to prevent a dive down the inside by Richards into the esses, also taking the inside line into Dandenong Rd corner, Skaife repeating his protective inside line into the final two corners, Richards looking on the outside but unable to make the pass stick.

Down the front straight to begin lap 140 Skaife ran his usual wide line before switching back to the inside halfway along to protect, Richards again looking around the outside, the two cars almost touching as they turned into turn one, before Skaife took the inside line into the following turns as they headed onto the back straight, the wiper also off at this point as Jason Richards in the car behind attacked with headlights, wiper and rain light all switched on. This time Skaife was further clear of Richards down the straight and so used the normal racing line down the back straight, though Richards closed right back in through the esses as they headed into Dandenong Rd corner.

Unlike the previous lap, Skaife took the normal racing line. Richards saw this and dived up the inside. Either oblivious to this move or in an attempt to bump him out of the way, Skaife turned in at his usual point, the two cars clashing wheels, Skaife running just through the edge of the gravel trap while Richards had an oversteer moment just after the bump, before ploughing into the gravel trap, coming to rest with damaged steering just short of the tyre wall.

From this point on the race was all over, Mark Skaife with co-driver Todd Kelly cruising to the finish just over a lap later with a very comfortable margin over Steven Ellery and Luke Youlden, with Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly taking third ahead of Brad Jones and John Bowe in fourth, Skaife's slow pace over the last few laps allowing this duo back onto the lead lap. After their car was bunkered at turn one, Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall finished the day the first car a lap down in fifth place, a better result than they probably expected when they went flying off the track.

Meanwhile, Jason Richards and Simon Wills spectacular charge (and exit) proved to be almost worthless. Actually, last year it would have been worthless, as they would have failed to score a point despite exiting the race just over a lap before its conclusion. Instead, they were classified in 32nd place, behind all the other cars who had crossed the line and completed at least 75 percent of the winner's total. This meant that they were classified behind the car of Jason Bright and Paul Weel, who had completed 22 laps less than them! On the other hand, had one more car made it to the finish, they wouldn't have even scored a point! By comparison, had they been classified solely on laps completed and time taken to complete them, as is the case in most other forms of motorsport, they would've finished in thirteenth place.

After the race, some penalties were issued to various teams. Among there were some that were hard to understand. The Holden Racing Team fire attendant was not present for the entire duration of refuelling pit stops during the race, and so the team was fined $7000. This was the same fine that Steven Ellery received following the previous round, despite the Oran Park incident involving one car and one fuel stop, while the Sandown incident involved two cars, each making two or three stops for fuel... However, neither of these was as large as the $10000 fine handed to Paul Morris, as his fire attendant was not in attendance during the warm up session.

Oh, there was one other penalty of note handed out. Remember that rain light that was switched off, breaking rule D3.6 which says "the car's rain light must be illuminated at all times when it is running on wet-weather tyres"? For running the last five to ten laps on a track which was wet and during which rain was falling, Holden Racing Team were fined $7500 after admitting the breach. A rule which could have seen them given a stop-go or time penalty, and/or a $15000 fine, and/or up to 85 points deduction and/or exclusion from the results. Considering the length of time it was switched off, it seems unclear why they were either not penalised during the race, or warned to switch the light back on or they would be penalised...

Result of V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 9 of 13, Sandown International Raceway, Australia:

Pos  Drivers                          Car
 1.  Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly          Holden Commodore VY
 2.  Steve Ellery/Luke Youlden       Ford Falcon BA
 3.  Rick Kelly/Greg Murphy          Holden Commodore VY
 4.  Brad Jones/John Bowe            Ford Falcon BA
 5.  Marcos Ambrose/Russell Ingall   Ford Falcon BA
 6.  Steven Richards/Larry Perkins   Holden Commodore VY
 7.  Paul Radisich/Rickard Rydell    Ford Falcon BA
 8.  David Besnard/Owen Kelly        Ford Falcon BA
 9.  Mark Larkham/Jason Bargwanna    Ford Falcon BA
10.  Jim Richards/Tony Longhurst     Holden Commodore VY

Standings: Marcos Ambrose 1519, Greg Murphy 1413, Mark Skaife 1337, Russell Ingall 1331, Jason Bright 1291, Steven Richards 1214, Craig Lowndes 1196, Rick Kelly 1132, Paul Weel 1121, Todd Kelly 1106 etc. etc.

V8 Supercar points distribution

  Rally

Hyundai To Quit At End Of 2003, Return In 2006

Hyundai will quit the World Rally Championship at the end of the season to return with a new programme in 2006, the Korean carmaker said in a statement on Wednesday. They will develop a new car for a comeback in the second half of 2006 and a full season in 2007.

"Withdrawing is a painful decision but also a realistic admission that a break is absolutely mandatory for us to reorganise and rethink our entire approach to motorsport," said director of overseas marketing and promotion B.H.Lee.

"But we'll be back in 2006 in fighting form with a completely new engine and car to mount a more credible challenge for the WRC crown."

Hyundai will set up a new rally headquarters at Russelsheim in Germany as part of a reorganization.

Their drivers this year are Belgian Freddy Loix and Germany's Armin Schwarz. The team are last in the championship with 12 points, well behind joint leaders Citroen and Peugeot on 110. Former champions Mitsubishi quit rallying at the end of 2002 to restructure their team and are due to return next year.

Citroen Forced To Dump McRae

Colin McRae has lost his drive for next season after French rally team Citroen announced on Friday they were parting company with the British former World Champion because of rule changes.

Under new International Automobile Federation (FIA) rules teams are only allowed two drivers next season and Citroen said in a statement they had renewed the contracts of promising Frenchman Sebastien Loeb and veteran Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

"Modifications made by the FIA to rallying regulations led Citroen to make a choice between Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz," Citroen said. Team chief Guy Frequelin said it was one of the hardest decisions of his career.

"Colin and Carlos are real rallying stars and undeniably excellent drivers with impressive records," he said. "In an ideal world, we would have liked to keep them both in the team with Seb (Loeb) but we had to make a choice," he added.

McRae, 35, won the World Championship in 1995 and joined Citroen at the end of last year.

McRae's Chances Of 2004 Drive Looking Slim

Former World Rally Champion Colin McRae of Britain says his chances of finding a competitive drive next year are looking increasingly slim after losing his place at Citroen. The French manufacturer has not renewed the Scot's contract as a result of new FIA rules limiting teams to two cars next year.

World Rally supremo David Richards said at the weekend that he was doing everything he could to secure McRae a drive, with a privately-run team one of the options. But McRae told the official WRC website on Tuesday that time was against him.

"The type of budget you are talking about, you need to do that a year, or even two years, in advance," he said. "It's looking basically pretty impossible at the moment to do anything for next year."

McRae, 35, said he hoped to win more rallies this season to ensure that, if he has to leave the sport, he does so with a record number of victories. The Scot, 1995 world champion with Subaru, jointly holds the record of 25 wins with Spain's Carlos Sainz.

"If I can do that, and if I am out next year, at least I am out as the most successful driver, in terms of wins," he said.

"So it would be nice to go out with some kind of record like that."

Championship Needs McRae, Says Rally Supremo Richards

By Alan Baldwin

Britain's Colin McRae could yet compete in next year's World Rally Championship despite failing to find a drive so far, according to rally supremo David Richards.

"I want Colin in the championship and I am doing everything I can at the moment to try and secure him a drive," said Richards, a World Champion co-driver and principal of the BAR Formula One team. "My objective is to make sure he's in the championship for sure because he is one of the icons of the sport and we need to keep him in there.

"It's not certain that he won't find a drive yet," Richards said at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix. "He hasn't got a drive at the moment but I for one am working with his father to see if we can find a solution."

Richards, who controls the commercial rights to the championship, said the possibility of McRae's father running him in a private team was one option being looked at.

"We're looking at a whole raft of ideas and I don't want to pre-judge what will be the outcome," he said. He added however, that he rated McRae's chances of driving in 2004 as "50-50".

McRae became the first Briton to win the title in 1995, with the Subaru team run by Richards' Prodrive company, and holds with Spain's Carlos Sainz the record of 25 rally wins.

But he was told by Citroen last week that they were not renewing his contract after one season. Under new International Automobile Federation (FIA) rules, teams are only allowed two drivers in 2004 and Citroen kept promising Frenchman Sebastien Loeb and former champion Sainz.

The World Rally Championship Commission, grouping the FIA, teams, promoters and Richards, is to meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss the changes in what could be a lively session.

"We are looking forward to a constructive dialogue," said an FIA spokesman.

The measures have been approved by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council along with a calendar that expands from 14 rounds to 16 and includes Mexico and Japan for the first time.

FIA Rallies Commission president Shekhar Mehta told Autosport magazine recently that the choice was between 14 rallies with three car teams or 16 with two cars each. Richards felt that some of the decisions were strange and said teams had voted to run three cars each.

"They certainly do raise question marks over a lot of the commercial viability of the championship," he said of the measures, designed to cut costs and promote rallying as a more global championship.

"The manufacturers have certainly got views, as have many of the organisers...the real issue is getting the views of the stakeholders, the teams and the organisers, heard within the FIA.

"We have to work within the system and make the system respond to the proper needs of the championship."

Former Co-driver Moya Joins Subaru As Sporting Director

Spain's Luis Moya, the fiery co-driver who helped Carlos Sainz to two World Rally titles, has joined Subaru as sporting director responsible for driver management. Moya, 42, won the World Championship with Spain's Carlos Sainz in 1990 and 1992 and remains the most successful co-driver in modern rally history with 24 wins.

His partnership with Sainz lasted 15 years and made headlines in 1998 when he hurled his helmet through the rear window of Sainz's smoking Toyota after it broke down within sight of the British Rally finish. The mechanical failure handed the title to Finland's Tommi Makinen, who had already crashed out, and cost the Spaniards their third championship.

Subaru said Moya would be in place before the October 3 San Remo rally and his main area of responsibility would be driver management, event strategy and managing the team's relationship with the FIA.

Reports provided by Reuters

  British F3

The Star of Africa

Rob Austin came through for his first victory in Formula 3 on a weekend where he was by far the best driver available. Austin's victory paled a little as Alan van der Merwe clinched the British Formula 3 Championship in the first race. He had not needed much to win, and Jamie Green's disappointing first race result was enough for the South African.

Jamie Green needed two race victories. For that, a high qualifying position was needed. Third was good for the first race, but with van der Merwe in second, it wasn't good enough. Rob Austin was in rare form. He sat on pole position ahead of the two Carlin cars. Fairuz Fauzy surprised all to be fourth ahead of Danny Watts in the Hi-Tech Dallara and Billy Asaro in the ADR car. As the grid formed the track was wet, but there was no new rain falling. Tyre choice was going to make this race.

Austin charged away from the field, which was held up behind Fauzy. Michael Keohane led the chase group behind Fauzy ahead of Danny Watts, Jamie Green, Robert Dahlgren and Clivio Piccione. Van der Merwe, having gambled on slicks, was slow away and falling further, joining Nelson Piquet Jr near the tail of the field. The safety car appeared a few times during the early running as cars speared off in the wet conditions. This kept Austin from getting away and kept the slick shod cars in touch. After lap 15 the slick cars were the fastest cars on the track, as the two championship front runners started their charge.

By this stage Dahlgren had climbed to be third ahead of Watts, Green and Will Davison, the Menu driver making the most of the drying track. On lap 17 van der Merwe was tenth with Piquet just behind. On lap 18 he passed Piccione, Andrew Thompson and Steven Kane. On an amazing lap 19 he passed Green, Watts, Davison and Dahlgren to be third. Another lap and he got Fauzy as well. Another two laps and Austin's ten second lead was naught and van der Merwe was all over the Menu F3 driver with Piquet not far behind and Richard Antinucci closing as well. On the last lap the South African went for Austin, but spun it away into a sand trap, so far slower was Austin, the spin was more accident avoidance than enthusiasm.

Piquet made no such mistakes and into McLeans had the lead. Second was not to be either as in the dash to the line Antinucci bested Austin as well. The fourth car on slicks also faired well, with the lowly rated Rizal Ramli just failing to catch Will Davison who had climbed to fourth, second of those on wets. Dahlgren took sixth ahead of Green, for who seventh was not enough to keep the championship alive. So while buried in a wet, lonely sandtrap, Alan van der Merwe became the British Formula 3 Champion.

Race two was held in dry conditions, and Rob Austin was able to make up for the first race by leading away at the start from van der Merwe, Watts, Green, Keohane, Ronnie Bremer and Piquet. Green was faster than Watts and a battle developed as the Carlin driver looked for a way past, while the two leaders got away.

Despite pressure from the new champ, Austin drove a perfect race to take his first Formula 3 victory. Watts held out Green for third in similar circumstances, while Bremer, missing from the action the day before, had to hold back a gaggle of cars, which he did so with Piquet leading Davison and Antinucci.

With the top three places virtually decided with big gaps between them, the final two rounds' interest will focus on the Scholarship class, where Ernesto Viso leads Steven Kane by one and a half points, and the battle for fourth in the main game where Antinucci, Bremer, Watts and Austin are all closely matched.

Result of British Formula 3 Championship, Rounds 21 and 22 of 24, Donington Park, United Kingdom:

Round Twenty One

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Nelson Piquet Jr     Piquet Sports Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 2.  Richard Antinucci    Promatecme F3 Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 3.  Rob Austin           Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 4.  Will Davison         Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 5.  Rizal Ramli          Team SYR Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 6.  Robert Dahlgren      Fortec Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 7.  Jamie Green          Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 8.  Steven Kane          T-Sport Dallara F301 Mugen-Honda
 9.  Clivio Piccione      Manor Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
10.  Andrew Thompson      Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault

Round Twenty Two

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Rob Austin           Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 2.  Alan van der Merwe   Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 3.  Danny Watts          Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 4.  Jamie Green          Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 5.  Ronnie Bremer        Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 6.  Nelson Piquet Jr     Piquet Sports Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 7.  Will Davison         Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Spiess Opel
 8.  Richard Antinucci    Promatecme F3 Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 9.  Ernesto Viso         P1 Motorsport Dallara F301 Mugen-Honda
10.  Andrew Thompson      Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault

Standings: Alan van der Merwe 298, Jamie Green 225, Nelson Piquet Jr 190, Richard Antinucci 120.5, Ronnie Bremer 118, Danny Watts 113, Rob Austin 110, Adam Carroll and Robert Dahlgren 90, Clivio Piccione and Will Davison 84 etc.

British F3 points distribution

  ETCC

Alfa Swede

The ETCC set arrived for their Scandinavian stopover to witness Alfa Romeo take away two victories. Victories that did little for the shape of the championship, but it was a pair of wins nonetheless for Robert Colciago and Nicola Larini in the Autodelta Alfa 156s.

Qualifying had suggested Autodelta would dominate, with the former Ferrari test driver taking pole position with a 1:39.064, just under a tenth ahead of teammate Gabriele Tarquini. Colciago was third fastest ahead of the German Bimmer of Jorg Muller. Antonio Garcia shared the third row with the S60 Volvo of Rickard Rydell ahead of Duncan Huisman and defending champion Fabrizio Giovanardi. In ninth Dirk Muller was still within a second of Larini's pole time. It was going to be close.

Tarquini got the jump on his teammate to lead the rush down to the first corner where both drivers missed their braking markers, Tarquini spearing off into the gravel dropping to the tail of the field, while Larini ran wide. Colciago needed no further invitation and led the field out of turn one ahead of Jorg Muller, Garcia, Rydell and Huisman. Colciago started to build a lead while Garcia pressured Muller over top BMW position, with the Spaniard moving into second on lap 3.

Colciago raced on to win, while behind Garcia, a queue of five formed, comprising Jorg Muller, Rydell, Dirk Muller, Huisman and Larini. Garcia would hold onto second while the two Mullers swapped places in a battle that saw paint exchanged despite them being teammates. Rydell faded to seventh at the end as Husiamn and Larini pressed onwards with Andy Priaulx taking the final point, and the pole position for the reverse grid race two.

Rydell followed Priaulx into turn one with as-fast starting Jorg Muller next, fighting hard with Huisman and Larini. Larini was soon passed the two Beemers with Giovanardi next to catch the pair. The battle got bloody, Muller skipped away while Huisman and Giovanardi traded places. Colciago attempted to pass both three wide, but the two BMWs forced the Alfa wide; too wide, as Colciago ended up buried in sand.

Larini continued to move forward, taking second from Rydell, while further back Dirk Muller ran wide and gifted three cars his position, resuiming at the bottom of the points. The continuing Giovanardi vs Huisman fight began to absorb other cars with Paolo Ruberti forced off track and sandwards. A puncture-induced off to Dirk Muller saw the BMW head pitward, from which it did not re-emerge.

The Guernsey Islander couldn't hold out forever and the Alfa moved past into the lead under brakes at the end of the back straight. The Italian then sprinted away for his first win this season. Rydell resisted the pressure from Jorg Muller to get onto the podium ahead of Garcia, while Giovanardi won his battle with Huisman. Alex Balzan claimed the final point in his Alfa.

Larini's race two win was evened over by Jorg Muller's two fourths. The German leads the Italian by only two points, with Priaulx a further four points away with Dirk Muller and Tarquini only eight points from Muller. A five car battle to the end? Rydell finally moved into the top ten here and has settled.

Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 13 & 14 of 20, Anderstorp, Sweden:

Round Thirteen

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Roberto Colciago      Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 2.  Antonio Garcia        BMW 320i
 3.  Dirk Muller           BMW 320i
 4.  Jorg Muller           BMW 320i
 5.  Duncan Huisman        BMW 320i
 6.  Nicola Larini         Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 7.  Rickard Rydell        Volvo S60
 8.  Andy Priaulx          BMW 320i
 9.  Paolo Ruberti         Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10.  Fabrizio Giovanardi   BMW 320i

Round Fourteen

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Nicola Larini         Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 2.  Andy Priaulx          BMW 320i
 3.  Rickard Rydell        Volvo S60
 4.  Jorg Muller           BMW 320i
 5.  Antonio Garcia        BMW 320i
 6.  Fabrizio Giovanardi   BMW 320i
 7.  Duncan Huisman        BMW 320i
 8.  Alessandro Balzon     Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 9.  Tomas Engstrom        Honda Civic
10.  Tom Coronel           BMW 320i

Standings: Jorg Muller 72, Nicola Larini 70, Andy Priaulx 66, Dirk Muller and Gabriele Tarquini 64, Roberto Colciago 47, Fabrizio Giovanardi 35, Duncan Huisman 34, Antonio Garcia 33, Rickard Rydell 18 etc.

ETCC points distribution

  CART

CART Agrees To Buyout Offer

By Lewis Franck

The embattled U.S.-based CART series said last Wednesday it had agreed to a buyout offer from a group of investors that include several team bosses. In a joint a statement, Championship Auto Racing Inc, which sanctions the CART series, said that they had accepted a 56 cents a share offer from Open Wheel Racing Series.

Those involved in Open Wheel Racing include existing CART team owners Jerry Forsythe (Players Forsythe Racing), Kevin Kalkhoven -- Craig Pollock's partner in PK Racing -- and Paul Gentilozzi (Rocketsports). The agreement is subject to the approval of shareholders.

CART'S president and chief executive officer Christopher Pook said the deal should secure the future of the once-thriving series.

"As we have previously disclosed, this past year has been incredibly difficult for Championship," he said. "We believe this transaction provides the best value available to stockholders while at the same time making it possible for our series to continue in the future."

The CART series was founded in 1979 by a number of owners of Indy Car teams and went public as Championship Auto Racing Inc in 1998. But recent developments in motor racing in the United States have adversely affected the profitability of the single seater racing series.

Famous CART teams like Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing defected to the rival Indy Racing League, followed by former CART stalwart manufacturers Honda and Toyota. At the same time the Winston Cup NASCAR series has surged in popularity with booming attendances and television ratings.

Report provided by Reuters

  Upcoming Events Calendar

• September 20 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 12 of 16; Jacarepagua, Brazil
• September 21 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 28 of 36; Dover Downs International Speedway, Delaware, United States
• September 21 - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 9 of 10; Zandvoort, The Netherlands
• September 21 - European Formula 3 Championship, Rounds 8 of 10; Zandvoort, The Netherlands
• September 21 - European Touring Car Championship, Round 7 of 9; Oschersleben, Germany
• September 21 - FIA-GT Championship, Round 7 of 9; Oschersleben, Germany
• September 21 - British Touring Car Championship, Round 10 of 10; Oulton Park, United Kingdom
• September 21 - European Formula 3000 Championship, Round 8 of 10; Brno, Czech Republic
• September 21 - All-Japan Formula Nippon Championship, Round 8 of 10; Mine, Japan
• September 21 - Formula Nissan World Series, Round 6 of 9; A-1 Ring, Austria
• September 27 - American Le Mans Series, Round 7 of 9; Bayfront Park, Florida, United States
• September 28 - Champ Car World Series, Round 16 of 19; Bayfront Park, Florida, United States
• September 28 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 29 of 36; Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama, United States
• September 28 - British Formula 3 Championship, Rounds 23 & 24 of 24; Brands Hatch, United Kingdom
• September 28 - World Superbike Championship, Round 11 of 12; Imola, Italy
• October 1 - World Rally Championship, Round 11 of 14; Rally San Remo, Italy
• October 5 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 13 of 16; Motegi, Japan
• October 5 - European Formula 3 Championship, Round 9 of 10; Hockenheim, Germany
• October 5 - Formula Nissan World Series, Round 7 of 9; Barcelona, Spain
• October 5 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 30 of 36; Kansas Speedway, Kansas, United States
• October 5 - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 10 of 10; Hockenheim, Germany
• October 5 - European Touring Car Championship, Round 8 of 9; Estroil, Portugal
• October 5 - FIA-GT Championship, Round 8 of 9; Estoril, Portugal