Standings: Paul Tracy 204, Bruno Junqueira 191, Michel Jourdain Jr 171, Sebastien Bourdais 142, Patrick Carpentier 136, Oriol Servia 108, Mario Dominguez 101, Adrian Fernandez 99, Alex Tagliani 91, Darren Manning 83 etc.

CART points distribution

Report provided by Reuters

  NASCAR

Waltrip Continues DEI Restrictor Plate Dominance

Dale Earnhardt Jr may have failed in his 'Drive for Five' at Talladega, but it wasn't really a surprise that the race victor was fellow DEI driver Michael Waltrip, making it three from four at the restrictor plate tracks this season, and extending DEI's streak at Talladega to five. Talladega did throw up a surprise however, Matt Kenseth suffering his first DNF for the season, finishing in 33rd and seeing his margin over Kevin Harvick shrink, though it remains fairly comfortable at 354 points.

Elliott Sadler sat on the pole with Jamie McMurray alongside, while Dale Earnhardt Jr and teammate Jason Keller were sent to the rear of the field for being too low in post-qualifying inspection. At the start Sadler took the lead before Sadler and McMurray swapped the lead back and forth between them before McMurray took the lead as they began lap three as the field began to string out. Lap 11 and it was time for the first caution when Jeremy Mayfield suffered a flat left rear tyre and spun, his spin leading to damage for Johnny Benson, Jimmy Spencer, Larry Foyt, David Green and Tony Raines.

The field pitted, most just taking fuel, this leading to one or two small incidents on pit lane which saw, amongst others, Dale Earnhardt Jr suffer minor damage to the nose of his car. The race restarted on lap 18 with McMurray leading again before Buckshot Jones came up to challenge on lap 23, the duo running side-by-side before Jones took the lead on lap 26. Jones continued to lead until Ward Burton took the lead just before quarter distance of the 188 lap race, as Earnhardt Jr's damage saw him trailing the pack. Just before lap 50 the green flag stops began, most drivers taking two tyres and fuel.

After the stops were over Jeff Gordon was the new leader ahead of Sadler, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Rusty Wallace, the pack soon putting the damaged Earnhardt Jr a lap down. The race settled down at this point, Gordon still leading the way when the next green flag stops began around lap 85, drivers again going for two tyres and fuel. Newman was forced to pit twice during this period after pitting and then immediately suffering a puncture on the tyres that weren't changed, Buckshot Jones suffering a similar fate. Debris from Jones's puncture saw the caution come out on lap 91. Several lead lap cars returned to the pits for fuel and/or tyres.

Lap 95 saw the race resume, Gordon leading from Johnson and Sadler. On lap 102 Harvick took the lead, Gordon retaking the lead soon after before Harvick took it back on lap 106, Johnson then moving into first on lap 109 before Sadler took the lead before the lap was complete as the shuffle for the lead ended, Sadler continuing to lead the field as they made green flag stops between lap 125 and 130. After the stops Johnson led from Gordon and Sadler before Gordon got shuffled down the order. Lap 140 saw Michael Waltrip make DEI's first challenge for the lead, Johnson holding on but three laps later Waltrip moved into the lead thanks to some help from his lapped teammate Earnhardt Jr.

As Waltrip was going past Johnson, Earnhardt Jr bump drafted Waltrip. However, the gap between the two of them before the bump had been quite large and consequently the closing speed was quite large, so Earnhardt's bump was more of a hit, the contact causimg Waltrip to veer slightly left as he corrected his car. This pushed Waltrip's car into Johnson, sending him spinning along the apron of the race track before sliding back up onto the racing surface in turn one, Johnson pulling the car up before it hit the wall. Somehow, thankfully, Johnson's car was not hit during this, with Johnson only suffering damage to the valance and a couple of flat tyres. Needless to say this brought out a caution on lap 144.

Out of all this there was a driver who was a big beneficiary of the caution coming out. Who was it? It was the driver whose bump drafting had led to the caution, Dale Earnhardt Jr, as he was the first car a lap down and so received the free pass back onto the lead lap. With drivers just outside the window to make it to end, everyone headed to pit lane just in case cautions fell their way later in the race, most of the field taking two tyres and fuel once more. Despite the changes to pit rules introduced, there was another incident on pit road, this time when Jeff Green was spun by Elliott Sadler as Sadler left his pit bay, sending Green spinning through his pit bay, collecting two of his crew along the way, both escaping uninjured though one of them took a hard hit.

This was not the only incident on pit road, as Waltrip was sent to the tail end of the longest line after one of his crewman broke the rules relating to the catch can. This meant that for the restart, Earnhardt Jr, Waltrip and Johnson, the three drivers that were involved in the incident that brought out the caution, would restart nose-to-tail at the end of the lead lap cars! Could drivers make it without stopping again? Some thought they could, returning to the pits one lap before the restart for a top-up though nine cars stayed out, either confident that they could make it or confident that they would need to stop again.

The race restarted on lap 149, Sadler leading Burton, Gordon, Wallace and Kevin Harvick. Lap 153 and Burton moved to the front as Earnhardt Jr had charged through to be inside the top ten. Jimmie Johnson was also back in the top ten but it came to nothing when his engine failed on lap 158, as at the sharp end Rusty Wallace had taken over the lead two laps earlier. Earnhardt Jr was now in the top three, just behind Matt Kenseth who challenged for the lead towards the end of lap 158 only for his engine to blow up just as he did so, Kenseth recording his first DNF for the season.

The laps continued to wind down, with Dale Earnhardt Jr moving into the lead of the event with less than 25 laps remaining. 21 laps remaining and Bobby Labonte moved into the lead but Earnhardt Jr grabbed it back before the lap was complete, as one lap later Jeff Burton joined teammate Kenseth on the sidelines with engine failure, this blow-up bringing out the caution on lap 170, Newman getting back onto the lead lap after his earlier flat tyre. Most of the field came in to the pits for a splash of fuel, but seven cars - Busch, Mark Martin, Waltrip, John Andretti, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte and Dave Blaney - stayed out and filled the top seven positions, with Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Earnhardt Jr filling out the top ten.

Lap 175 and it was back to racing, Busch holding on at the front as Earnhardt Jr quickly joined teammate Waltrip in the top five, Waltrip moving into the lead with twelve laps remaining with help from Earnhardt Jr, though Martin pushed Busch along to prevent Earnhardt Jr from joining Waltrip at the front. A lap later Busch pushed back to the front as the DEI duo of Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr remained near the front. Coming around to eight laps remaining, Waltrip retook the lead. With seven laps remaining, Waltrip ran high off turn two to keep his momentum up along the backstretch. Quickly, Busch moved right to the inside, hoping for some help to push him up the inside of Waltrip. Aggressively, Waltrip moved across and blocked the move going from the outside to the inside before Busch was in a position to make a pass.

This left Waltrip's teammate Earnhardt Jr still on the outside, so Junior came across to join Waltrip. He moved sharply across to the middle of the track before not moving across any further, possibly noticing Sadler close behind him to his inside. Sadler, having got a push up the middle past Busch, saw Earnhardt Jr swerving towards him and moved to the inside to avoid Earnhardt's car swerving towards him. Unfortunately, Kurt Busch was still on Sadler's inside, and the contact between them initially spun Sadler's car sideways before air got under the car and sent Sadler's car into the air, the car rolling one and a half times as he flew along the infield before going into a series of rolls up and then down the banking of turn three, coming to rest right way up on the apron of turn three.

Needless to say it was caution on the speedway, with the race then being red flagged while the crew extracted Sadler from the car and cleaned up the mess on the track. Eventually the cars restarted, the race now down to a four lap shootout when it restarted, Waltrip leading Earnhardt Jr, Ward Burton, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman as the race went back to green. Three to go and Gordon moved to third as Burton got shuffled back, the leaders continuing to run in single file though the pack was closing in. Two to go and the pack was two and three wide, and had caught the leaders.

On the last lap, Waltrip still led but Gordon threw out a challenge to Earnhardt Jr and took second place through turn four with help from Harvick before Waltrip came up to block, then dived back down again as Gordon and Harvick both fought for second, everyone fighting for themselves as Michael Waltrip went on to take the win ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart grabbing third ahead of Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon.

Result of NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 29 of 36, Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama, United States:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Michael Waltrip       Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 2.  Dale Earnhardt Jr     Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 3.  Tony Stewart          Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 4.  Ryan Newman           Dodge Intrepid
 5.  Jeff Gordon           Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 6.  Kurt Busch            Ford Taurus
 7.  Kevin Harvick         Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 8.  Ricky Craven          Pontiac Grand Prix
 9.  Rusty Wallace         Dodge Intrepid
10. Mike Wallace           Dodge Intrepid

Standings: Matt Kenseth 4227, Kevin Harvick 3873, Dale Earnhardt Jr 3843, Jimmie Johnson 3751, Ryan Newman 3738, Jeff Gordon 3707, Bobby Labonte 3528, Kurt Busch 3527, Tony Stewart 3456, Terry Labonte 3396 etc.

NASCAR points distribution

  British F3

Piquet Dominates Finale

Nelson Piquet Junior destroyed the British Formula 3 Championship field at the season's final round at Brands Hatch. Two poles, two wins. Piquet had a slim chance of finishing second in the series, and the Brazilian did the best he could to take that place. It needed Jamie Green to more or less score no points for the weekend. A third in the final race of the season by Green was enough to deprive the Brazilian of the prize and secure a championship 1-2 for Carlin Motorsport.

Will Davison returned to the form he had shown at Croft, qualifying alongside Piquet for race one while Hi-Tech Motorsport plainly had the plan for the long Brands circuit as Eric Salignon and Danny Watts shared the second row, Salignon's best for the season. Jamie Green was fifth fastest ahead of Billy Asaro while champion-elect Alan van der Merwe was merely 17th.

Piquet got a flying start and led Davison by well over half a second with Green leaping past Hi-Tech to be third ahead of Watts, Salignon, Asaro and Lewis Hamilton. Green's race did not last as Green had a half loose in Hawthorns. Fighting to keep control, Green clashed briefly with Watts and the Carlin car spun out of the race.

Piquet built the lead up to over six seconds before backing off over the final lap. Davison in turn had four seconds over Watts. There was practically no movement amongst the top ten during the race after Asaro took Salignon on lap 2, and Hamilton disappeared from the running. With Green out the best Carlin car was Ronnie Bremer in ninth, while van der Merwe was outside the points in eleventh.

Racing in the Formula 3 Euroseries has plainly been doing Robert Doornbos some good as the Menu driver took the place of his teammate alongside Piquet on the front row for race two. Asaro was third ahead of Green, Salignon, van der Merwe and Davison. Piquet again won the start to lead Doornbos, Green, van der Merwe, Asaro Salignon and Davison only for the race to be red flagged on lap 4. Tor Graves and Lewis Hamilton crashed, causing the 'red'.

At the restart, Doornbos was slow away allowing Green into second behind Piquet, with van der Merwe third then Doornbos, Asaro, Robert Dahlgren, Davison and Salignon. Piquet stormed away to a ten second lead, winning comfortably. The Carlin drivers finished second and third ahead of Doornbos, who had shadowed the championship pair all the way to the line. When the two race segments were combined, Doornbos was reinstated to second over Green and van der Merwe. Asaro was fifth ahead of Dahlgren and Davison.

Van der Merwe took control of the championship very early in the series, after a scare from teammate Green at the opening event, the South African winning nine of the 24 races in the championship. All three championship places look to have an immediate future in the sport, the next step is moving up to another series.

Result of British Formula 3 Championship, Rounds 23 & 24; Brands Hatch, Great Britain:

Round Twenty Three

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Nelson Piquet Jr     Piquet Sports Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 2.  Will Davison         Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
 3.  Danny Watts          Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 4.  Billy Asaro          Alan Docking Racing Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
 5.  Eric Salignon        Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 6.  Robert Dahlgren      Fortec Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 7.  Andrew Thompson      Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 8.  Richard Antinucci    Promatecme F3 Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 9.  Ronnie Bremer        Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
10.  Michael Keohane      Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda

Round Twenty Four

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Nelson Piquet Jr     Piquet Sports Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 2.  Robert Doornbos      Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
 3.  Jamie Green          Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 4.  Alan van der Merwe   Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
 5.  Billy Asaro          Alan Docking Racing Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
 6.  Robert Dahlgren      Fortec Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 7.  Will Davison         Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Opel Spiess
 8.  Eric Salignon        Hi-Tech Motorsport Dallara F303 Sodemo Renault
 9.  Richard Antinucci    Promatecme F3 Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda
10.  Ronnie Bremer        Carlin Motorsport Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda

Final Standings: Alan van der Merwe 308, Jamie Green 237, Nelson Piquet Jr 230, Richard Antinucci 125.5, Danny Watts 125, Ronnie Bremer 121, Rob Austin 110, Will Davison 103, Robert Dahlgren 102, Adam Carroll 90, Clivio Piccione 84, Eric Salignon 43, Michael Keohane 42, Will Power 40, Billy Asaro 34, Fairuz Fauzy 30.5, Robert Doornbos 27, Stefano Fabi and Andrew Thompson 19, Ernani Judice 15, Rizal Ramli 9, Alvaro Parente 7, Scott Speed 3, Tuka Rocha 2, Fabio Carbone 1

British F3 points distribution

  BTCC

Muller Is Crowned

It has taken six years, six frustrating years, for Frenchman Yvan Muller. Frustrations that recently boiled over spectacularly in the paddock, but Muller has finally been crowned British Touring Car Champion. It was an almost perfect day for VX Racing, with James Thompson runner's-up and claiming the Manufacturers and Teams prize. The only dull spot for them was Matt Neal stealing third place in the championship from the team's third driver, Paul O'Neill, in the final race of the year.

Thompson took pole position for the first race and cleared away from the grid pursued by Alan Morrison, Anthony Reid and Matt Neal. Neal's challange faded after his tyre stop when a misfire developed in the Honda's engine. A poor pitstop dropped Reid back through the pack, rejoining in eleventh, which developed into fifth as the pit stops went on. Morrison led for a few laps after Thompson pitted and he rejoined ahead of Muller after his stop. but Muller was content with third. It made him champion.

Warren Hughes climbed into fourth ahead of teammates Reid and Colin Turkington with Gareth Howell next in the first privateer entry. Into the last race of the year, Neal and O'Neill were tied for third in the championship, with Morrison breathing down their necks.

Thompson again started from the pole and cleared away, pursued this time by Muller, Reid Turkington, Hughes and Neal while O'Neill was 14th and Morrison's car failed on the opening lap. Thompson led for the first eleven laps, before he too joined Morrison in the mechanical ranks with a blown engine.

This left Muller leading from a closely following Neal ahead of Turkington and Reid. Neal was faster but Muller was wider, and Neal pitted hoping for clear territory once out of the pits. Neal rejoined in sixth but climbed as cars ahead pitted. When Muller led Turkington, Gareth Howell and Robert Collard into the pits the following lap, Reid overtook Hughes to take the lead.

From there Reid ran away to win from Muller. Turkington won the battle with Reid for third with O'Neill scything through the field to fifth in a desperate but doomed bid for championship third. Sixth place for Howell was icing on the cake for the Independents winner, after being pushed all weekend by Collard.

For Muller its been a long time coming after having to give best to teammates Jason Plato and James Thompson in the previous two seasons.

Result of British Touring Car Championship, Rounds 19 & 20 of 20, Brands Hatch, Great Britain:

Round Nineteen

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  James Thompson     Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 2.  Alan Morrison      Honda Civic Type-R
 3.  Yvan Muller        Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 4.  Warren Hughes      MG ZS
 5.  Anthony Reid       MG ZS
 6.  Colin Turkington   MG ZS
 7.  Gareth Howell      Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 8.  Robert Collard     Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 9.  Phil Bennett       Proton Impian
10.  James Kaye         Honda Civic Type-R

Round Twenty

Pos  Driver             Car
 1.  Matt Neal          Honda Civic Type-R
 2.  Yvan Muller        Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 3.  Colin Turkington   MG ZS
 4.  Anthony Reid       MG ZS
 5.  Paul O'Neill       Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 6.  Gareth Howell      Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 7.  Robert Collard     Vauxhall Astra Coupe
 8.  Warren Hughes      MG ZS
 9.  Dan Eaves          Peugeot 307
10.  Phil Bennett       Proton Impian

Final Standings: Yvan Muller 233, James Thompson 199, Matt Neal 148, Paul O'Neill 138, Alan Morrison 125, Anthony Reid 121, Warren Hughes 98, Colin Turkington 97, Tom Chilton 70, Robert Collard 42, David Leslie 28, Gavin Pyper 24, Carl Breeze 22, James Kaye 16, Dan Eaves 15, Phil Bennett and Gareth Howell 14, Danny Buxton 1

Independents: Robert Collard 160, James Kaye 151, Carl Breeze 141, Dan Eaves 126, Gavin Pyper and Gareth Howell 80, Danny Buxton 38, Paul Wallace 37

Manufacturers: Vauxhall 528, Honda 318, MG 243, Proton 75

Teams: VX Racing 438, Honda Racing 299, MG Sport & Racing 216, Team Petronas Proton 70, Collard Racing 45, Team Halfords 26, GA Motorsports 18, Synchro Motorsport 10, Team Dynamics 9

BTCC points distribution

  ETCC

BMWs Win in Germany

Jorg Muller and Andy Piraulx shared the victories on offer at the eighth stopover for the ETCC at Oschersleben. This has allowed Priaulx to join Muller at the top of the points standings, with Muller now starting to look like building a championship.

Gabriele Tarquini had pole in the Alfa Romeo but the front wheel drive car scrabbled away from the line and was rushed by Muller, Priaulx, Antonio Garcia and Fabrizio Giovanardi. Further back Paolo Ruberti had a few nervous moments as his car failed to move at all. Everybody missed the Alfa however. Tarquini pushed hard to recover lost ground and was quickly back into third. Having been demoted by the Italian, Giovanardi and Garcia came under pressure from Dirk Muller with Roberto Colciago and Nicola Larini right behind.

Tarquini caught and passed Priaulx, who had been focussed on Muller. With Garcia though Giovanardi and now attacking Priaulx this gave Muller the opportunity to drive away from the battle for second. That battled screamed across the line without further changing position. Colciago worked his way into fifth, while a couple of late retirements and a few offs for Dirk Muller saw Frank Diefenbacher climb into the points in the SEAT Toledo. One of Diefenbacher's victims, Tom Coronel, was next while Giovanardi faded as the race went on and just held on to the last point.

The new pole sitter for the reverse grid race, Coronel, was unable to take up position, pulling over to the side after the warm-up lap with a broken driveshaft. With the BMW sitting just offline in front of the entire field the race director aborted the start and the Carly Motors team frantically changed the driveshaft in time to make a start from the pits.

Now on his own, Giovanardi roared away from the front row to lead from Priaulx, who had made a holeshot start ahead of Garcia, Colciago, Diefenbacher and the Muller 'brothers'. Dirk Muller slipped from the front after a collision with Tarquini. Diefenbacher pushed through Colciago into the best position a SEAT had held in ETCC history. Giovanardi was slow onto the straight on lap four, allowing Priaulx and Garcia to breeze past and Diefenbacher closed on a podium position, and half a lap later, claimed it. The SEAT tried to chase the BMWs but had to watch as they drove away to the chequer. Diefenbacher did claim SEATs first ETCC podium in front of an ecstatic crew.

Giovanardi did not hold on to fourth. The defending champion had only just been passed by the squabbling pair of Jorg Muller and Tarquini when a tyre damaged in the battle explosively delaminated, retiring the BMW. After much panel rubbing, Muller claimed fourth. Colciago took sixth after battling with Dirk Muller, Coronel and Marc Gene in the second SEAT. Muller broke his splitter, sending him and a surprised closely following Gene off track. With Coronel also in difficulties, the privately entered Duncan Huisman claimed a pair of points ahead of Nicola Larini.

Jorg Muller now sits five points clear of Priaulx in the BMW GB car, and more importantly, eleven ahead of the first Alfa Romeo, that of Autodelta's Tarquini. A poor weekend for Larini has seen him fade from the chase along with Dirk Muller.

Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 15 & 16 of 20, Oschersleben, Germany:

Round Fifteen

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Jorg Muller           BMW 320i
 2.  Gabriele Tarquini     Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 3.  Andy Priaulx          BMW 320i
 4.  Antonio Garcia        BMW 320i
 5.  Roberto Colciago      Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 6.  Frank Diefenbacher    SEAT Toledo Cupra
 7.  Tom Coronel           BMW 320i
 8.  Fabrizio Giovanardi   BMW 320i
 9.  Dirk Muller           BMW 320i
10.  Jordi Gene            SEAT Toledo Cupra

Round Sixteen

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Andy Priaulx          BMW 320i
 2.  Antonio Garcia        BMW 320i
 3.  Frank Diefenbacher    SEAT Toledo Cupra
 4.  Jorg Muller           BMW 320i
 5.  Gabriele Tarquini     Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 6.  Roberto Colciago      Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 7.  Duncan Huisman        BMW 320i
 8.  Nicola Larini         Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
 9.  Fabio Francia         Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
10.  Alessandro Balzon     Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

Standings: Jorg Muller 87, Andy Priaulx 82, Gabriele Tarquini 76, Nicola Larini 71, Dirk Muller 64, Roberto Colciago 54, Antonio Garcia 46, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Duncan Huisman 36, Rickard Rydell 18 etc.

ETCC points distribution

  Formula Nissan

Champion Montagny

Franck Montagny is the Formula Nissan World Series champion. We have known this for some time as the '02 season bridesmaid has slaughtered his opposition this year. But now the mathematics have caught up to expectation. Bas Lienders pushed Montagny all weekend in his Racing Engineering Dallara, taking a win and a second, winning the weekend, but that gave a false impression as two wins for Montagny was only prevented when the new champion jumped the start in the first race.

Leinders was showing a level of confidence not seen since Zolder and took pole position for the first race, less than a hundredth clear of Montagny. Just tenths away behind them were Stephane Sarrazin, Bruce Jouanny, Ander Vilarino and Enrique Bernoldi, all within half a second.

At the start Leinders leapt well but Montagny was well down the road, too far as the starters determined. Sarrazin lined up in third on the road ahead of Vilarino and Jouanny. Once Montagny pitted for his penalty the Racing Engineering team settled down into 1-2 formation and moved gradually away from Vilarino and the field behind.

Bernoldi took up fourth after Jouanny spun out of the race. Bruno Besson pressured the former Formula One driver but was unable to make an impression. Seidler finished sixth, just, as the flying Montagny bolted through the field. Montagny caught Siedler but was unable to find a way past so the champion elect had to settle for seventh.

In the second race Montagny again out-jumped the polesitter, this time Jouanny, but this time it was legal and the Gabord Competitcion driver built up a lead, which he resumed after the pitstops, rejoining in front of Leinders who had stopped early to try and overcome a relatively poor fifth on the grid. Karthikeyan held second in the early running until he spun, letting Jouanny back into second.

After the pits, Kartikeyan rejoined behind his teammate and held fourth to the flag. Besson improved through the afternoon to claim fifth ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and Sarrazin.

The battle for second in the championship is intense with two points covering three drivers, and six points adding another. However, as with last year's series, the champion was decided long before the series finished.

Result of World Series by Nissan, Round 7 of 10, A-1 Ring, Austria:

Race One

Pos  Driver               Team
 1.  Bas Lienders         Racing Engineering
 2.  Stephane Sarrazin    Racing Engineering
 3.  Ander Vilarino       Epsilon Euskadi
 4.  Enrique Bernoldi     GD Racing
 5.  Bruno Besson         Saulnier Racing
 6.  Norbert Siedler      Zele Racing
 7.  Franck Montagny      Gabord Competicion
 8.  Heikki Kovalainen    Gabord Competicion
 9.  Polo Villaamil       RC Motorsport
10.  Didier Andre         Saulnier Racing

Race Two

Pos  Driver               Team
 1.  Franck Montagny      Gabord Competicion
 2.  Bas Lienders         Racing Engineering
 3.  Bruce Jouanny        Carlin Motorsport
 4.  Narain Karthikeyan   Carlin Motorsport
 5.  Bruno Besson         Saulnier Racing
 6.  Heikki Kovalainen    Gabord Competicion
 7.  Stephane Sarrazin    Racing Engineering
 8.  Enrique Bernoldi     GD Racing
 9.  Vitantonio Liuzzi    RC Motorsport
10.  Norbert Siedler      Zele Racing

Standings: Franck Montagny 197, Narain Karthikeyan 90, Stephane Sarrazin 89, Bas Leinders 88, Heikki Kovalainen 84, Bruno Besson 75, Bruce Jouanny 59, Marc Gene 54, Jean-Christophe Ravier 51, Ander Vilarino 47 etc

  Formula Nippon

Team Orders?

Benoit Treluyer took his second, and Team Impul's sixth victory in Formula Nippon this season. A clash between the two drivers left the championship still open when Satoshi Motoyama could have wrapped it up with a win.

The start bode ill for the series leader, as he wheelspun away from pole and was jumped by Treluyer and Juichi Wakisaka while Yuji Ide and Takashi Kogure battled for fourth, while further back some bumping saw Richard Lyons forced off track into retirement. As the second lap started, no less than five cars were called into the pits with Wakisaka, Takeshi Tsuchiya, Andre Lotterer and Hiroki Kato all having been assessed as having jumped the start, and Kogure was called pitward with the 'meatball' to have accident damage inspected.

All this benefitted the dominant All-Japan Formula 3 Champion James Courtney who started at the back of the grid, but passed seven cars as well as those pitting to be sixth behind Toshihiro Kaneishi and Tsugio Matsuda. Motoyama pitted first and had a beter stop, so when Treluyer resumed the two were neck and neck. More than that, the championship rivals collided, sending Treluyer off track. Motoyama's lead would be brief as he was 'meatballed' for a damaged and dragging front wing, then later was judged to have caused the incident and received a stop-go penalty.

Ide took up the lead with Kaneishi in pursuit. As the race wore on it became clear that these two were pushing to the finish without stopping. With others looking to do this as well Treluyer had his work cut out for him. Rejoining in seventh he picked off cars one by one, reeling in the huge lead with his fresh tyres. He claimed the lead from Kaneishi with just two laps to go after a breathtaking charge. Ide slid his way to third on destroyed tyres ahead of Hattori and Matsuda with Wakisaka stealing the final point from Courtney.

Motoyama now leads the series by eleven points over teammate Treluyer. Wakaisaka is 25 points adrift in third and out of the title chase. With two races left, Treluyer will need to win both to reel in that points lead.

Result of All-Japan Formula Nippon Championship, Round 8 of 10, Mine, Japan:

Pos  Driver               Team
 1.  Benoit Treluyer      Team Impul
 2.  Toshihiro Kaneishi   Team Le Mans
 3.  Yuji Ide             Team Cerumo
 4.  Naoki Hattori        DoCoMo Dandelion
 5.  Tsugio Matsuda       Team Cerumo
 6.  Juichi Wakisaka      Team 22
 7.  James Courtney       Team 5Zigen
 8.  Dominik Schwager     Olympic Kondo
 9.  Andre Lotterer       PIAA Nakajima Racing
10.  Hideki Noda          Team Mohn

Standings: Satoshi Motoyama 46, Benoit Treluyer 35, Juichi Wakisaka 21, Andre Lotterer 20, Yuji Ide 17, Richard Lyons 16, Toshihiro Kaneishi, Ryo Michigami and Takeshi Tsuchiya 12, Tsugio Matsuda 7 etc.

Formula Nippon points distribution

  Superbikes

Xaus Does The Double

Ruben Xaus did the best thing he could do to make sure he has a ride next season by winning both races at Imola. Xaus's double has now secured the runner-up position in the title for him, behind teammate Neil Hodgson who rode fast but made a couple of crucial errors that cost him in both races, finishing second and fourth. Mind you, both races were really only about the battle between these two riders, with the duo in a class of their own in both events. Though Xaus has wrapped up second place, the fight for third is still up for grabs, with Regis Laconi leasding James Toseland by 17 points and Gregorio Lavilla by 27 points with 50 points still up for grabs at the final round of the season at Magny-Cours.

Race one began with Ruben Xaus jumping into the lead ahead of Neil Hodgson, ahead of Regis Laconi, James Toseland, Chris Walker and Troy Corser. Unfortunately for Pierfrancesco Chili, he was dead last after his engine stalled on the grid and was forced to start from pit lane, losing ten to fifteen seconds as he got his bike started again. It was even worse news for James Toseland however, as coming through into Rivazza his bike slowed, Toseland costing back to the pits to retire. It soon became clear it was going to be a two bike race between the two factory Ducatis of Ruben Xaus and Neil Hodgson, Regis Laconi the only rider able to stay within five seconds of them.

Meanwhile Chili was making his way up the field, up to fifteenth by lap five, eleventh by lap ten. Xaus and Hodgson continued to ride almost as one at the front, Hodgson getting out of his seat twice on lap nine, firstly on the exit of Variante Alta and then on the exit of Variante Bassa. Just when it looked like Xaus was about to ease away from Hodgson, he overcooked his entry into Tamburello on lap twelve and ran wide, allowing Hodgson to sneak through into the lead. Xaus managed to stay on the tarmac and was back on Hodgson's tail less than three laps later. Meanwhile Chris Walker was out of the race after crashing at Variante Alta on lap twelve, moving Gregorio Lavilla and Steve Martin into fourth and fifth, while Chili was now up to eighth place.

On lap sixteen Xaus got a better run out of Tamburello and snuck through on the inside into Villeneuve. Hodgson immediately struck back at Tosa, though rather clumsily, Hodgson's outbraking manouevre nearly sending both riders off into the gravel as he retook the lead. Thus it was not a big surprise when Xaus's move to retake the lead later that lap was not the most polite as he stuffed it up the inside into Variante Alta. Still Hodgson remained in touch however, and with just over a lap remaining, retook the lead into Rivazza, but Xaus retook the lead into Villeneuve on the final lap. Hodgson remained right on Xaus's tail as they approached Rivazza, Hodgson thinking about passing before outbraking himself again into the first part of Rivazza, then having a moment in the middle of the second part sending him just off the edge of the track, Xaus going on to win from Hodgson, Laconi, Lavilla and Chili who recovered from his pitlane start to finish fifth!

Race two began with Neil Hodgson leading Ruben Xaus ahead of Laconi, Walker and Toseland, as the factory Ducatis quickly repeated their disappearing act from race one, while lap four saw Toseland take fourth from teammate Walker into Piratella, Toseland moving straight onto Laconi's rear wheel. The duo at the front continued to run nose to tail, while after lap after lap of running in his wheeltracks, Toseland finally snuck past Laconi into third as they completed lap ten and began lap eleven, despite Laconi's best efforts to shut the door on him.

Xaus was also racy at the front, taking the lead from Hodgson into Piratella on lap eleven only for Hodgson to take it back from him into Variante Alta later that same lap. Xaus did look the faster of the two however, remaining glued to the back of Hodgson's bike lap after lap. Chili exited the race soon after, his bike crying enough. Lap fifteen saw Xaus take the lead through Villeneuve, but Hodgson took it straight back at Tosa, a little more elegantly than he managed in race one. Lap sixteen saw the next major incident of the race when Toseland crashed out of third place on the exit of Tamburello, moving Laconi back to third place, with Lavilla and Walker moving into fourth and fifth.

Finally all Xaus's hard work paid off, retaking the lead into Tamburello on lap nineteen as the finish closed in. Xaus was just beginning to edge away when Hodgson locked up into Tosa, getting his bike very sideways before straightening things up and heading through the gravel. Schumacher-like, Hodgson guided his bike through the gravel to the escape road, eventually manhandling it back the right way again and resuming the race, now over twenty five seconds behind Xaus in fifth place, just behind Walker with less than two laps remaining. Xaus went on to take his second win of the day, with Laconi second ahead of Lavilla, while Hodgson passed Walker on the last lap to take fourth place ahead of Walker in fifth.

Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 11 of 12, Imola, Italy:

Race One

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Ruben Xaus            Ducati 999F03
 2.  Neil Hodgson          Ducati 999F03
 3.  Regis Laconi          Ducati 998RS
 4.  Gregorio Lavilla      Suzuki GSX-R 1000
 5.  Pierfrancesco Chili   Ducati 998RS
 6.  Steve Martin          Ducati 998RS
 7.  Troy Corser           Foggy FP1
 8.  Mauro Sanchini        Kawasaki ZX7RR
 9.  Ivan Clementi         Kawasaki ZX7RR
10.  Marco Borciani        Ducati 998RS

Race Two

Pos  Rider                 Motorcycle
 1.  Ruben Xaus            Ducati 999F03
 2.  Regis Laconi          Ducati 998RS
 3.  Gregorio Lavilla      Suzuki GSX-R 1000
 4.  Neil Hodgson          Ducati 999F03
 5.  Chris Walker          Ducati 998F02
 6.  Lucio Pedercini       Ducati 998RS
 7.  Troy Corser           Foggy FP1
 8.  Mauro Sanchini        Kawasaki ZX7RR
 9.  Juan Borja            Ducati 998RS
10.  David Garcia          Ducati 998RS

Standings: Neil Hodgson 464, Ruben Xaus 341, Regis Laconi 257, James Toseland 240, Gregorio Lavilla 230, Chris Walker 202, Pierfrancesco Chili 197, Steve Martin 119, Marco Borciani 109, Lucio Pedercini 107 etc.

Superbikes points distribution

  Rally

Leader Burns Hopes To Hang On In Sanremo

By Alan Baldwin

Overall leader Richard Burns believes survival in Sanremo will be the name of the game this weekend as the stakes are raised in the World Rally Championship. With four rounds remaining, the Briton leads Subaru's Norwegian Petter Solberg by seven points.

"The championship is basically sudden death now," the Peugeot driver told the wrc.com website. "Anybody who goes out, or has a very bad result, will seriously damage their chances. That's what it hinges on now."

For once, Burns will not mind being beaten by a teammate on the asphalt roads in the southern Alps behind the Italian Riviera town. France's Gilles Panizzi, an asphalt specialist who has competed in a limited number of rallies for Peugeot this year, is favourite for a fourth successive Sanremo win on Sunday.

But Panizzi, who is joining Mitsubishi next season, is not a title contender. If he can take points off Solberg and compatriot Sebastien Loeb, who is gunning for victory in the only asphalt rally that newcomers Citroen have yet to win, then Burns will have cause for celebration.

Loeb, winner in Monte Carlo, poses a real threat. The youngster is 10 points behind the Briton, who does not particularly enjoy the rally.

"It's never been my favourite event," said Burns. "In fact, of the three asphalt rallies coming up, I'd say Sanremo is the one I'm looking forward to least."

Burns has been third in his last three rallies but has finished Sanremo just once in the last four years, taking fourth place in 2002. Without a win since he joined Peugeot at the end of 2001, when he was champion with Subaru, Burns has still racked up the points rally after rally.

Apart from his own teammates, with Finland's world champion Marcus Gronholm now 17 points adrift of Burns and in desperate need of a win, Citroen will be the Englishman's main concern. Spain's Carlos Sainz is level with Solberg on 48 points, three ahead of teammate Loeb.

Briton Colin McRae is looking for his first win with Citroen after being dropped for next season under new rules limiting teams to two drivers.

"Of course I will be out to win," said the Scot in a team preview. "We know Citroen are very strong on asphalt, so I think we can get some good results over the next few rounds.

"The Sanremo is effectively very compact and that's something I appreciate. Its stages are quite difficult though, they are fairly dangerous with the drops and cliffs on your way up and down the mountain passes."

The rally starts with six stages on Friday.

Eleven Injured In Bulgarian Rally Accident

Eleven people were injured on Sunday when a rally car crashed into a crowd of spectators during the Rally of Bulgaria. None of the 11, who included a child aged eight with concussion, had life-threatening injuries, local news agency BTA said.

The report said nine had minor injuries and had already been discharged from hospital in the southern city of Stara Zagora, where the rally was taking place. Yordan Todorov's Lada hit a Honda which had broke down 100 metres after the start. The Lada spun and crashed into the VIP stands, the report said.

The rally, which is not part of the world championship, was given the go-ahead to continue after the accident.

Paris-Dakar Rally Chief Moves On

Hubert Auriol has resigned from his post as director of the Paris-Dakar rally, organisers said on Tuesday.

Auriol, 51, is the only man to have won the gruelling rally, which crosses Saharan Africa, in both the car and motorcycle sections. He had been in charge of the race since 1995.

Race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) said in a statement Auriol wished to "give his career a new direction". His successor has not yet been announced.

Reports provided by Reuters

  Upcoming Events Calendar

• 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
• October 9 - African Rally Championship, Round 6; Coast Equator Rally, Kenya
• October 10 - European Rally Champinship, Co-efficient 20 event; The Rally Antibes, France
• October 11 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 31 of 36; Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Carolina, United States
• October 11 - Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Round 6; China Rally of Shaoguan
• October 12 - Champ Car World Series, Round 17 of 19; Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico
• October 12 - Indy Racing League, Round 16 of 16; Texas Motor Speedway, United States
• October 12 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 14 of 16; Sepang, Malaysia
• October 12 - V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round 10 of 13; Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, Australia
• October 12 - European Formula 3000 Championship, Round 8 of 9; Jerez, Spain
• October 18 - American Le Mans Series, Round 8 of 9; Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Georgia, United States
• October 19 - World Motorcycle Championship, Round 15 of 16; Phillip Island, Australia
• October 19 - World Superbike Championship, Round 12 of 12; Magny-Cours, France
• October 19 - NASCAR Winston Cup, Round 32 of 36; Martinsville Speedway, Virginia, United States
• October 19 - European Touring Car Championship, Round 9 of 9; Monza, Italy
• October 19 - FIA-GT Championship, Round 9 of 9; Monza, Italy
• October 19 - Superfund World Series by Nissan, Round 8 of 9; Communitant Valencia, Spain
• October 19 - All-Japan Formula Nippon Championship, Round 9 of 10; Motegi, Japan