Updates from the Rest of the Racing World
Atlas F1 Magazine Writers
Advice: The points tables for most series covered by Elsewhere In Racing are available here. Individual series are linked to their corresponding points table after each report.
Instant Recovery
Solberg started the rally by pulling a ten second gap over the field in SS1, with Sebastien Loeb leading the pursuit. Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin saw that the four major manufacturers were evenly represented in the top four places with Francois Duval leading the battle of the teammates. Solberg won the first four stages to push 21 seconds clear, with Loeb and Gronholm closely battling for second. Martin lost ground after losing confidence in the middle stages as Michael Park found the pace notes inadequate. Martin pushed back past Sainz into fourth by the end of the Leg but had lost over 40 seconds to the Citroen and the Peugeot. Sainz was snapping at his heels after the Spaniard had problems of his own in the morning, puncturing three tyres on SS3.
Solberg was even faster on Leg Two, winning the first five stages, and would take seven of the eleven stages held on Saturday to be almost 70 seconds clear by the end of the Leg. Early in the day, it was Gronholm who forced the pace but the Peugeot's gearbox was not up to the pace and stuck in third gear on SS13. This left Loeb on his own in second, still 40 seconds to the good of Martin who in turn had about 25 seconds on Sainz who found himself in a scrap with the repaired Gronholm, with Duval hovering just behind them.
Mikko Hirvonen should have inherited sixth but gear selection dramas dropped him out of the rally. Or did it? A quirk of the new rules allowing crashed cars to restart the rally, but no longer in contention, allowed Hirvonen to make it to service and get a new gearbox, skipping the final stage, which as a Super Special limited the time damage. Hirvonen was classified seventh, behind the second Peugeot of Harri Rovanpera.
With both Mitsubishi and Skoda missing there was only the eight full WRC cars, allowing privateer Ford runner Antony Warmbold into the final point scoring position. Group N cars rounded out the top ten with former Asia-Pacific champion Toshi Arai leading them in on his home event.
The points race now has Loeb 30 points clear, meaning a victory at the next rally in Italy could secure the championship. The battle for second is as tight as ever. Solberg's win moves him into second by a point over Martin and four ahead of Sainz. Gronholm is three behind Sainz while Duval has dropped away from the chase.
Result of World Rally Championship, Round 11 of 16, Rally Japan:
Standings: Sebastien Loeb 84, Petter Solberg 54, Markko Martin 53, Carlos Sainz 50, Marcus Gronholm 47, Francois Duval 39, Mikko Hirvonen 21, Harri Rovanpera 17, Janne Tuohino 16, Freddy Loix 7 etc.
Rossi Wins Portuguese Grand Prix
By Ian Simpson
Tamada started on pole for the first time and Rossi, whio began in second place, said he wanted to get in front fast. He slipped past Tamada at the start and the Japanese rider then chased him fruitlessly over the 28 lap, 117.096 km race.
"I wanted to be in front at the beginning, I took the lead on the first lap and then I had four or five good laps," the 25 year old Rossi told a news conference. "I had a big lead and then with 10 or 12 laps to go I slowed down a bit. Then I saw Tamada and I tried to speed up again."
Rossi's Yamaha team changed his tyres after Friday's qualifying session. He had failed to improve his qualifying time from the previous day and complained the rear tyre was slipping.
"I felt very good with the bike. We fixed yesterday's problem with the tyres. I did five or six laps and after that the tyre started to slide but not badly," he said.
Hector Barbera of the Aprilia team won the 125cc race ahead of second-place finisher Finn Mika Kallio of KTM with Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo of Derbi finishing third. The win moved the 17-year-old Spaniard up to second place in the 125cc standings. World championship leader Andrea Dovizioso of Honda dropped out on the 10th lap with mechanical problems.
Spain's Toni Elias of Honda outduelled Argentine Sebastian Porto, riding an Aprilia, to win the 250cc race. French rider Randy de Puniet, also of Aprilia, finished third.
Estoril was the 11th of 16 Grand Prix races this season.
Result of World Motorcycle Championship, Round 11 of 16, Estoril, Portugal:
Standings: Valentino Rossi 209, Sete Gibernau 180, Max Biaggi 158, Colin Edwards 111, Alex Barros 102, Carlos Checa 93, Makoto Tamada 89, Loris Capirossi 84, Nicky Hayden 83, Marco Melandri 64 etc.
Report provided by Reuters
Sadler's Night
Jeff Gordon's blown engine saw his teammate Jimmie Johnson retake the points lead, with this duo, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth assured of making the Chase with next week's round at Richmond the final chance to qualify, Elliott Sadler only needing to start at Richmond to be in, while Kurt Busch is also well placed and almost guaranteed a place. However the next three spots are where it gets interesting. Ryan Newman is 404 points behind leader Johnson, Kasey Kahne 415 points and Mark Martin 424 points, all three currently in the Chase.
Just outside are Jamie McMurray 449 points off, Bobby Labonte 460 points, Dale Jarrett 467 points, Jeremy Mayfield 479 points, Kevin Harvick 480 points away. With only 76 points covering these eight drivers, it is quite conceivable Newman could miss out and Harvick makes the chase, any three of those seven well placed to make the Chase. In fact, with a (relatively) poor result for Jimmie Johnson (and possibly Jeff Gordon) more than ten drivers could end up within the 400 point cut off which just a few weeks ago seemed an impossible scenario.
Most of the field pitted at this time but Kurt Busch didn't, and so he led as the field got back to racing on lap 48. Four laps later Michael Waltrip moved past Busch into the lead before Mark Martin took the lead on lap 62. Another caution wasn't too far away, coming out on lap 73 when Greg Biffle had a right rear tyre let go, Jeff Gordon for the third time this year hitting on-track debris as he hit the remains of Biffle's tyre, sending him to the end of the lead lap runners.
The race was back underway on lap 78, Vickers back in the lead, but it was a brief lead as Martin took over the top spot on lap 80. Debris in the form of plastic wrappers and such brought out the next caution on lap 106, with more pit stops seeing Elliott Sadler emerge the leader. The race returned to green on lap 114 but was back under caution three laps later when Jimmy Spencer spun and collected Shane Hmiel on the way through. Back to green once more on lap 120 of this 250 lap event, Sadler leading but Kasey Kahne moving past him two laps later, Kahne running out front until Martin moved past him on lap 135.
After restarting 22nd at lap 120, Gordon was in the top five as green flag stops were being taken around lap 155 to 160. After these stops were over Kahne was back in the lead. Derrike Cope brought out the next caution on lap 171 when he hit the turn one wall, which sent most of the field back to the pits. Robby Gordon didn't pit and took over the lead ahead of some drivers who took just two tyres, Sadler, Ryan Newman, Edwards and Matt Kenseth completing the top five. The race restarted on lap 177 but it was back to caution two laps later when Kurt Busch spun coming off turn two, an almost identical spin to one he had earlier in the year at California's sister track, Michigan.
The field headed to the pits for the last scheduled time, Vickers beating Martin, Sadler, Kahne and Rusty Wallace off pit road. The race restarted on lap 224, but before the lap was over Sadler and Martin had moved to first and second as Vickers got caught in lapped traffic at the restart who were at the tail of the lead lap and restarted in front of him. Lap 226 saw another caution as Kyle Petty's engine blew. Back to green on lap 230, Sadler leading Martin, Kahne, Vickers and Jamie McMurray, Kahne moving past Martin into second before the lap was over as Sadler held on at the front.
Lap 235 saw another caution as Ken Schrader blew up and Dale Earnhardt Jr spun on his oil, ending both of their nights. Back to green on lap 241, Sadler holding on to take the win ahead of Kahne, Martin, McMurray while a late charge saw Ryan Newman take fifth just ahead of Carl Edwards who impressed again in only his third Nextel Cup race, having recovered from an earlier flat tyre.
Result of NASCAR Nextel Cup, Round 25 of 36, California Speedway, United States:
Standings: Jimmie Johnson 3482, Jeff Gordon 3432, Dale Earnhardt Jr 3366, Tony Stewart 3304, Matt Kenseth 3253, Elliott Sadler 3204, Kurt Busch 3186, Ryan Newman 3078, Kasey Kahne 3067, Mark Martin 3058 etc.
Ekstrom Edges Closer As Dumbreck Demolishes
The red flag was thrown after Scottish racer Peter Dumbreck crashed heavily on the start/finish straight. The Team Phoenix Opel driver ran wide in the final corner, collecting a tyre barrier which grabbed the car, flipping it into a barrel roll which destroyed the car, but saved Dumbreck from a heavier impact into the barriers behind the tyres. Dumbreck was unharmed after the accident.
Ekstrom led the field away at the start with defending champion Bernd Schneider making his best start of the season to be second ahead of Gary Paffett and Martin Tomczyk with Tom Kristensen soon climbing all over Christian Abt in their battle for fifth place.
The pitstops began on lap 6 of the race with the top three all pitting immediately, leaving Tomczyk temporarily in the lead while the Sportsline team serviced his teammate Ekstrom. By lap 11 the first round of stops were complete with Ekstrom back in front from Schneider, Tomczyk and Kristensen. A poor stop for Paffett had dropped the Brit into sixth position, right into a battle between Abt and Christijan Albers. Paffett was soon past Abt for fifth.
Tomczyk, eager to gain an early advantage started the second pitstop cycle on lap 16, pitting from third. Second placed Schneider pitted the following lap and emerged ahead of Tomczyk, but not far enough ahead and the Audi whizzed past and Schneider was still coming up to speed on his out lap. The same lap a smoking Abt pitted from third, just behind second placed Paffett, and retired.
The race was restarted with ten laps to go with Ekstrom to lead from Tomczyk, Albers ( who picked up three spots at the restart) and Schneider as Pirro was swamped off the line. Ekstrom skipped away while Tomczyk held Albers at bay. Paffett took fourth from Schneider with three laps to go with Kristensen next ahead of Pirro and Manuel Reuter in the first of the Opel Vectras.
Ekstrom now holds an expanded 13 point lead over Albers with Paffett a further three points away. With only two races left, everyone else is too far behind. A win or a second in Brno, even if Albers wins, will seal the title before the series returns to Germany for the series finale at the Hockenheimring. First up though, the Czech Republic and Brno.
Result of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Round 8 of 10, Zandvoort, Netherlands:
Standings: Mattias Ekstrom 61, Christijan Albers 48, Gary Paffett 45, Martin Tomczyk 31, Tom Kristensen 30, Bernd Schneider 26, Jean Alesi 14, Timo Scheider 13, Laurent Aiello 12, Manuel Reuter 9 etc
Green Power
All this took away from the performance of the weekend as Green's French ASM F3 teammate Eric Salignon took both pole positions, winning race one as well as second to Green in race two to win the weekend, his first series points since a second placing in the first race at Magny-Cours.
With the two qualifying bonus points already in his possesion Salignon had the races ahead and would start with Signature Plus racer Nicolas Lapierre alongside for Saturday afternoon's race. Green was sixth fastest while Green's only remianing title rival Nico Rosberg was down in eighth grid position. Salignon blasted away from the grid with Lapierre in pursuit with Giedo van der Garde heading Lewis Hamilton in the battle for third. The safety car was quickly out after a startline collision between Loic Duval and Greg Franchi slowed the field. At the restart Hamilton pounced on van der Garde, taking third but the race was back under safety car conditions after eight laps when Rosberg slammed the barriers at Tarzan.
Rosberg was taken to hospital but only as a precaution. At that moment, Jamie Green became the series champion. The race restarted only for Daniel la Rosa to duplicate Rosberg's accident, bringing the race to a red flag halt. The race was declared with Salignon winning from Lapierre and Hamilton. Van der Garde had been defending an attack from Alexandre Premat when the race stopped. La Rosa was classified in seventh place behind Franck Perera with Robert Kubica picking up the final point. Green was in the pits, black flagged for a yellow flag incident.
With the title decided, the race for the minors promises to be intense with four drivers covered by just two points. Lapierre and Premat both sit on 65 points, one ahead of Rosberg who collected nothing from the Dutch weekend and is only one further point ahead of Salignon. Hamilton is next but giving away 15 points, and while he may recover the ground with four drivers ahead of him, a podium finish is unlikely. The series makes it next stop at the historic French circuit of Le Mans, sure to be a triumphant homecoming for the ASM team.
Result of Formula 3 Euroseries, Round 7 of 9, Zandvoort, Netherlands:
Standings: Jamie Green 111, Nicolas Lapierre and Alexandre Premat 65, Nico Rosberg 64, Eric Salignon 63, Lewis Hamilton 50, Robert Kubica 45, Frank Perera 35, Giedo van der Garde 27, Bruno Spengler 23 etc.
Bash And Crash
Treluyer took pole, and won the start, only losing the lead after stopping for tyres. Juichi Wakisaka had made a superb satrt from fifth to be second by the first turn. Until his stop Wakisaka was fighting with Lyons. With both leaders stopping, Lyons stayed out only to be caught by Treluyer with five laps to go. After stalling for two laps Treluyer dived inside and muscled his way through, hitting Lyons hard enough to lift his Dandelion Lola into the air.
With Treluyer penalised a lap and two points, Wakisaka took the win. The Japanese Team Le Mans driver jumped back into championship speculation and sits just three points behind Lyons. Toshihiro Kaneishi took second, after emulating Lyons by not stopping for tyres, with Wakisaka's teammate Tatsuya Kataoka finishing third. Treluyer's Team Impul have appealed the decision leaving the results of round six provisional until a hearing is held.
Result of All-Japan Formula Nippon Championship, Round 6 of 9, Mine, Japan:
Standings: Richard Lyons 23, Juichi Wakisaka 20, Satoshi Motoyama and Andre Lotterer 19, Yuji Ide 17, Takashi Kogure 16, Benoit Treluyer and Tatsuya Kataoka 8, Toshihiro Kaneishi and Ryo Michigami 7 etc.
Gaby, Baby!
The three factory Alfas sat 1-2-3 on the grid, Fabrizio Giovanardi on the pole alongside Tarquini with the team's junior driver Augusto Farfus Jr in third, Jordi Gene's SEAT next ahead of the privately entered Alfa Romeos of Salvatore Tavano and Luca Rangoni. Rickard Rydell in the second SEAT and the JAS developed Honda of Alessandro Balzen all outqualified the best of the BMWs, Andy Priaulx in ninth. Jorg Muller was eleventh while series leader Dirk Muller was buried in nineteenth, four seconds from pole with gearbox problems in the Schnizter BMW.
Once the race was underway the BMWs started moving forward but the Alfa Romeos were away smartly with Gene sticking to Farfus's tail as the Alfas proceeded to put time on the German rivals. The mid-field pack battle grew intense as the BMWs started to struggle to progress with Andy Priaulx the first to break free. Next Jorg Muller pushed through into seventh position, one ahead of the jumble of cars strung together. Priaulx took fifth back from Tavano but ran out of laps to progress further as Tarquini, Giovanardi and Farfus took a scarlet trifecta with Gene in the SEAT just missing a podium result for the bright yellow Spaniard. Dirk Muller got as far as eighth to take the final point.
The Safety Car attended the field while the wrecks were cleared. By this time Tarquini had pushed forward to second and at the restart took the lead and the victory. Behind Giovanardi was Farfus but he was docked 30 seconds by stewards for holding back at the restart allowing his teammates to escape. Dirk Muller was next, completing the podium, ahead of Gene, Rydell and Alessandro Balzan in the Honda Accord.
With four races to run, Dirk Muller holds a seven point lead over Tarquini with Jorg Muller and Andy Priaulx just one point further back. Giovanardi has moved into fifth place but is 23 points shy of the back of the championship battle.
Result of European Touring Car Championship, Rounds 15 & 16 of 20, Imola, Italy:
Standings: Dirk Muller 93, Gabriele Tarquini 86, Andy Priaulx and Jorg Muller 85, Fabrizio Giovanardi 62, Antonio Garcia 43, Augusto Farfus 35, Jordi Gene 33, Frank Diefenbacher 20, Tom Coronel 19 etc.
Title Fight Remains Tight
A win each for James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen has seen the battle for the World Superbike Championship remain a close battle. A win and a second has seen James Toseland retake the championship lead, three points ahead of Chris Vermeulen, with Regis Laconi seven points further back and Noriyuki Haga another four points behind. Only fourteen points separate the top four riders with two rounds, four races and 100 points up for grabs. Even Pierfrancesco Chili, 42 points behind Toseland, has a realistic if optimistic outside shot at the title.
Race one saw James Toseland lead at the line every lap, though he was occasionally headed elsewhere around the circuit. It was a close battle at the front until the closing laps, when Toseland eased out the margin. Meanwhile Noriyuki Haga, second with four laps remaining, fell to fourth after being passed by Pierfrancesco Chili and Regis Laconi, Chili taking second from Laconi on the last lap. Meanwhile Chris Vermeulen ran with the leaders until the closing laps when he faded away but still held onto fifth place.
Race two saw Noriyuki Haga, Regis Laconi, Pierfrancesco Chili, James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen breakaway at the front, Toseland leading laps one and two, Haga lap three, Chili laps four and five before Toseland took back the lead. Though they were less than a second clear of Chili and Haga, the race now settled down into a duel between Toseland and Vermeulen, as Laconi began to drift away in fifth. Vermeulen led laps nine and ten before Toseland retook the lead to lead laps eleven and twelve, Vermeulen then taking the lead on laps thirteen and fourteen before Toseland led again with one lap remaining. Halfway around the final lap Vermeulen took the lead and he held on by 0.037 of a second ahead of Toseland, with Haga only 0.080 of a second further back, Chili taking fourth with Laconi in fifth.
Result of World Superbike Championship, Round 9 of 11, Assen, The Netherlands:
Standings: James Toseland 255, Chris Vermeulen 252, Regis Laconi 245, Noriyuki Haga 241, Pierfrancesco Chili 213, Garry McCoy 163, Steve Martin 144, Leon Haslam 140, Troy Corser 127, Marco Borciani 114 etc.
The second race saw VX Racing's third driver Luke Hines take a lights-to-flag victory after picking up the pole for the reverse grid race. Anthony Reid survived a collision with Muller to take second with Jason Plato recovering from a poor first race to take third in the SEAT. Muller was fourth, gaining some points back on Thompson who finished seventh behind Turkington and James Kaye. The final race of the weekend saw the battle joined between Thompson and Muller but they had to give best to SEAT's Robert Huff who charged through the field to win. Muller was second with Thompson third ahead of Neal, Reid and Dan Eaves.
Standings: James Thompson 244, Yvan Muller 240, Anthony Reid 196, Jason Plato 189, Matthew Neal 181, Colin Turkington 154 etc
Di Grassi took the lead in the first race after a fluffed start by polesitter James Rossiter dropped him to third place behind Adam Carroll. Rossiter recovered to retake second but could not find sufficient fault in di Grassi's drive to take the lead. Clivio Piccione and Mark Asmer chased Carroll to the flag in the battle for third with the Lola of Danny Watts sixth.
Race two followed the same plan with di Grassi winning the start, from pole this time, and held off Piquet for the duration of the race. Rob Austin finished in a lonely third position ahead of Rossiter, Alvaro Parente and Piccione. In the Scholarship Class, Ryan Lewis clinched the title after his thirteenth class win of the year in race one.
Standings: Nelson Piquet Jr 210, James Rossiter 197, Adam Carroll 165, Clivio Piccione 128, Alvaro Parente 115, Will Power 108 etc
It is alleged that the breaches were not inadvertent but rather intentional, to gain a competitive advantage, and that the transporter and car used for testing were disguised to make identification more difficult. The penalties if found guilty include fines up to $250,000, loss of all points won, and exclusion from the championship. The hearing is scheduled for this Thursday at Sandown Raceway.
Rally
Sprinting across the armoured vehicle ranges, Petter Solberg discovered just how effective anti-tank barriers can be. Solberg's vehicle of choice was not an 80 tonne M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, but his Subaru Impreza WRC 2004. And yet Solberg came out of the year's biggest accident encouraged. The Norwegian World Champion now had graphic evidence of how strong the Impreza was. With increased confidence in his steed, Solberg won the first stage of the rally, and was never headed, taking a 73 second victory.
The lead stayed steady over the final leg, Loeb content with his unthreatened second position, while Solberg took his third victory of the year. While probably not as happy as those ahead, Martin was similarly untroubled with third position. Fourth though went down to the wire with Gronholm recovering fourth place on SS23 and sealing the spot by winning SS25 & SS26 leaving Sainz in fifth spot. The three car battle became two when Duval slid off an embankment into an unrecoverable position.
Pos Driver/Co-driver Car
1. Petter Solberg/Philip Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
2. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroen Xsara WRC
3. Markko Martin/Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 04
4. Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
5. Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti Citroen Xsara WRC
6. Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen Peugeot 307 WRC
7. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
8. Antony Warmbold/Gemma Price Ford Focus RS WRC 02
9. Toshihiro Arai/Tony Sircombe Subaru Impreza WRX STi (Gp N)
10. Kamada Takuma/Kase Naoki Subaru Impreza WRX STi (Gp N)
MotoGP
Italy's Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday for the fourth year in a row after snatching the lead on the first lap. The Yamaha rider outduelled second place finisher Makoto Tamada of Honda to extend his lead on top of the championship standings. Brazilian Alex Barros, also on a Honda, was third.
Rossi won in 46:34.911, 5.111 seconds ahead of Tamada. The victory extends his lead at the top of the standings to 29 points over Spaniard Sete Gibernau of Honda who finished fourth. Another Honda rider, Max Biaggi of Italy, third in the overall standings, crashed on the first lap but was unhurt.
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha M1
2. Makoto Tamada Honda RC211V
3. Alex Barros Honda RC211V
4. Sete Gibernau Honda RC211V
5. Carlos Checa Yamaha M1
6. John Hopkins Suzuki GSV-R
7. Loris Capirossi Ducati Desmosedici
8. Troy Bayliss Ducati Desmosedici
9. Colin Edwards Honda RC211V
10. Norick Abe Yamaha M1
NASCAR
It may have been the first race under lights for NASCAR Nextel Cup at California but it was no barrier for Elliott Sadler, taking the lead late in the race and not looking back, despite the best efforts of Kasey Kahne, who racked up his fifth second place of the season to move him into the Chase for the Championship at the moment, and Mark Martin in third, whose finish also moved him into the top ten and the Chase.
Brian Vickers and Jeremy Mayfield sat on the front row, Vickers taking the lead at the start, Mayfield taking the lead from him on lap 10 before Vickers took it back on lap 19. Debris brought the first caution out on lap 27, sending the field to the pits for stops. Vickers led the field as the race restarted on lap 31 but rookie JJ Yeley brought out the caution when he spun and Brendan Gaughan collected him. The race was back to green on lap 39 but under caution again on lap 45 when Carl Edwards suffered a front left flat tyre.
Back to green again on lap 182, Sadler having taken over the lead during the previous short green but Robby Gordon wasn't done with and took it back on lap 185, Sadler taking the lead back on lap 190 before Kahne took over from him on lap 194 as Martin moved up to third soon after. Jeff Gordon made an unscheduled pit stop with around 40 laps remaining, the reason for this stop becoming clear when his engine blew two laps later, having suffered a similar fate earlier in the year at Michigan. Martin's charge to the front continued, taking the lead on lap 217 just before the caution flew on lap 220 when Dale Earnhardt Jr spun.
Pos Driver Car
1. Elliott Sadler Ford Taurus
2. Kasey Kahne Dodge Intrepid
3. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
4. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
5. Ryan Newman Dodge Intrepid
6. Carl Edwards Ford Taurus
7. Scott Riggs Chevrolet Monte Carlo
8. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
9. Robby Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
10. Rusty Wallace Dodge Intrepid
DTM
Mattias Ekstrom has one hand on the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters crown after taking victory in a crash-marred Zandvoort round of the German-based series. Ekstrom took victory in a ten lap dash to the finish held after a red flag called an early halt to the race.
Ekstrom finally stopped on lap 20 and with the stops complete he was leading the field again from Tomczyk, Emanuele Pirro who had climbed rapidly through the field after being near the last to pit both times, Schnedier and the battling pair of Kristensen and Paffett. The Audi spun and a drive-through penalty was leveled against the Mercedes driver. Paffett dived pitward at the end of the 23rd lap but would receive a get out of jail free card. On the other side of the fence Dumbreck ploughed into the fence at over 200 km/h bring a halt to the race.
Pos Driver Team
1. Mattias Ekstrom Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM
2. Martin Tomczyk Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM
3. Christijan Albers AMG Mercedes-Benz C Class
4. Gary Paffett AMG Mercedes-Benz C Class
5. Bernd Schneider AMG Mercedes-Benz C Class
6. Tom Kristensen Abt Sportsline Audi A4 DTM
7. Emanuele Pirro Team Joest Audi A4 DTM
8. Manuel Reuter Team Holzer Opel Vectra GTS V8
9. Frank Biela Team Joest Audi A4 DTM
10. Marcel Fassler Team Phoenix Opel Vectra GTS V8
Formula Three
Jamie Green wrapped up the Formula 3 Euroseries after a dominant season, winning the second of two races at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands. The British driver, following in the footsteps of dominant 2003 champ Ryan Briscoe, has stood above the series from almost the beginning, and with two rounds and four races still to come, the title is decided.
For the Sunday race, Green had the advantage of a front row spot alongside Salignon, while Rosberg was missing, still in hospital under observation. Green holeshot the start to lead Salignon into the first corner. The pair stayed like that for the whole race with Salignon watching for a mistake that was never made. For the ASM F3 team their cup truly runneth over as third driver Alexandre Premat completed a trifecta for the team. Lapierre was fourth ahead of Kubica with the field well spread out behind them.
Race One
Pos Driver Team
1. Eric Salignon ASM F3 Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
2. Nicolas Lapierre Team Signature Plus Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
3. Lewis Hamilton Manor Motorsport Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
4. Giedo van der Garde Team Signature Plus Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
5. Alexandre Premat ASM F3 Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
6. Frank Perera Prema Powerteam Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
7. Daniel la Rosa HBR Motorsport Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
8. Robert Kubica Mucke Motorsport Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
9. Maximilian Gotz TME Dallara F304 Tom's Toyota
10. Katsuyuki Hiranaka Prema Powerteam Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
Race Two
Pos Driver Team
1. Jamie Green ASM F3 Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
2. Eric Salignon ASM F3 Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
3. Alexandre Premat ASM F3 Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
4. Nicolas Lapierre Team Signature Plus Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
5. Robert Kubica Mucke Motorsport Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
6. Lewis Hamilton Manor Motorsport Dallara F304 AMG Mercedes
7. Daniel la Rosa HBR Motorsport Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
8. Giedo van der Garde Team Signature Plus Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
9. Frank Perera Prema Powerteam Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
10. Alexandros Margaritis Team KMS Dallara F304 Spiess Opel
Formula Nippon
A controversial incident was the spectacle at the Mine round of the Formula Nippon series where, in a post-race protest, the win was taken away from Benoit Treluyer. The appeal was by Dandelion Racing on behalf of its driver, series leader Richard Lyons, who had been leading with three laps to go when a collision between the two saw Lyons crash out of the race.
Pos Driver Team
1. Juichi Wakisaka Team Le Mans Lola-Mugen
2. Toshihiro Kaneishi Team 5zigen Lola-Mugen
3. Tatsuya Kataoka Team Le Mans Lola-Mugen
4. Takeshi Matsuda Team Cerumo Lola-Mugen
5. Satoshi Motoyama Team 5zigen Lola-Mugen
6. Yuji Ide Team Impul Lola-Mugen
7. Benoit Treluyer Team Impul Lola-Mugen
8. Richard Lyons DoCoMo Dandelion Lola-Mugen
9. Yuji Tachikawa Team Kondo Lola-Mugen
10. Naoki Hattori DoCoMo Dandelion Lola-Mugen
ETCC
Italian veteran Gabriele Tarquini swung the pendulum firmly back in Alfa Romeo's favour at the eighth round of the European Touring Car Championship, taking a pair of victories on home ground for Alfa at the Italian circuit of Imola. The wins have tightened the championship battle considerably, as four drivers, Tarquini and three BMW racers, will take the fight to the end.
With the point scoring positions reversed for race two, BMWs moved into trifecta position at the start only for Jorg Muller and Antonio Garcia to crash and retire before the lap was completed. This left Dirk Muller leading from Priaulx with Giovanardi quickly moving into third position ahead of Tavano and Gene. The blighted Beemers had no defence and by the end of the second lap had fallen to Giovanardi's attack. Priaulx faded rapidly through the field before he too crashed into another, Tavano, and retired. Tavano continued, only to be struck by a spinning Alex Zanardi who had clipped Tom Coronel as well. Tavano was then hit heavily by Stefano d'Aste.
Round Fifteen
Pos Driver Car
1. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
3. Augusto Farfus AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
4. Jordi Gene SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
5. Andy Priaulx BMW Team Great Britain BMW 320i
6. Salvatore Tavano Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
7. Jorg Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
8. Dirk Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
9. Antonio Garcia BMW Team Italy-Spain BMW 320i
10. Alessandro Balzan JAS Motorsport Honda Accord
Round Sixteen
Pos Driver Car
1. Gabriele Tarquini AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi AutoDelta Alfa Romeo 156 S2000
3. Dirk Muller BMW Team Deutschland BMW 320i
4. Jordi Gene SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
5. Rickard Rydell SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
6. Alessandro Balzan JAS Motorsport Honda Accord
7. Michele Bartyan Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
8. Frank Diefenbacher SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo Cupra
9. Luca Rangoni Oregon Team Alfa Romeo 156 Gta
10. Carl Rosenblad Crawford Racing BMW 320i
Superbikes
Race One
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. James Toseland Ducati 999F04
2. Pierfrancesco Chili Ducati 998RS
3. Regis Laconi Ducati 999F04
4. Noriyuki Haga Ducati 999RS
5. Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR
6. Leon Haslam Ducati 999RS
7. Steve Martin Ducati 999RS
8. Garry McCoy Ducati 999RS
9. Marco Borciani Ducati 999RS
10. Troy Corser Foggy Petronas FP1
Race Two
Pos Rider Motorcycle
1. Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR
2. James Toseland Ducati 999F04
3. Noriyuki Haga Ducati 999RS
4. Pierfrancesco Chili Ducati 998RS
5. Regis Laconi Ducati 999F04
6. Leon Haslam Ducati 999RS
7. Troy Corser Foggy Petronas FP1
8. Marco Borciani Ducati 999RS
9. Ivan Clementi Kawasaki ZX10
10. Chris Walker Foggy Petronas FP1
Briefs
With just one round and three races left, James Thompson holds a slender four point advantage over VX Racing teammate and season-long rival Yvan Muller after the BTCC's annual visit to Snetterton. Two will fight out the title at the series final at Donington with only Anthony Reid still in mathematical contention. Thompson gave himself the best chance after taking victory in the first race while Muller slid to fifth after starting alongside Thompson on the front row. Matt Neal in the privateer Honda took second place ahead of Tom Chilton in the factory example with the MG of Colin Turkington next.
Lucas di Grassi upset the regular front runners in the British Formula 3 Championship, taking a pair of victories away from the Thruxton round. With just two rounds to go, Nelson Piquet Jr has edged closer to the title and can wrap the series up with good results from the Formula 3 European Cup at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.
V8 Supercar team Team Dynamik appear to be in hot water after allegedly being caught testing recently at a remote airstrip. The team has been charged with numerous breaches, including illegal testing, breaches of tyre regulations and using more than the specified numbers and types of sensors permitted.
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Volume 10, Issue 36
Articles
Exclusive Interview with Eddie Jordan
The Tifosi and the Samurai at Monza
Technical Analysis: 2005 Proposals
2004 Italian GP Preview
2004 Italian GP Preview
Italian GP Facts & Stats
Columns
The F1 Trivia Quiz
Rear View Mirror
Bookworm Critique
On the Road
Elsewhere in Racing
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