September 1999 Motorsport News


01.09.99

F1:- Michael Schumacher has announced that he will not be fit to compete in the Italian Grand Prix on September 12 or the September 26 European race. The German said that he was still suffering pain after breaking a leg in the British Grand Prix in July and gave no indication when he would race again. He had returned to the Ferrari cockpit on day one of a three-day test session at Monza. He was given an ovation in the pits by fans after his first lap.

Rubens Barrichello has insisted that he will not be an understudy to Michael Schumacher if he goes to Ferrari. The Brazilian is being tipped to swap places with Eddie Irvine, with the Irishman joining Stewart-Ford, who will race as Jaguar in 2000. It is being suggested that the deal will be confirmed by the Italian team later this month. Barrichello told a Brazilian newspaper: "If I have to allow Schumacher to pass me, then Ferrari does not interest me."

Leading day one times (Wed): mins secs
 1 M Hakkinen    Fin McLaren  1:25.152
 2 R Schumacher  Ger Williams 1:25.222
 3 D Coulthard   GB  McLaren  1:25.315
 4 M Salo        Fin Ferrari  1:25.639
 5 G Fisichella  It  Benetton 1:25.882
 6 O Panis       Fr  Prost    1:26.148
 7 J Trulli      It  Prost    1:26.178
 8 A Zanardi     It  Williams 1:26.188
 9 R Barrichello Brz Stewart  1:26.261
10 P Diniz       Brz Sauber   1:26.342
11 E Irvine      GB  Ferrari  1:26.357
12 J Herbert     GB  Stewart  1:26.373
14 M Schumacher  Ger Ferrari  1:26.946
15 D Hill        GB  Jordan   1:27.215
 

CHAMPION SPARK PLUG WORLD RANKING
Driver ratings (August 31)       Points
 1 M Hakkinen    Fin Formula One   988
 2 J Gordon      US  NASCAR        974
 3 E Irvine      GB  Formula One   862
 4 D Jarrett     US  NASCAR        860
 5 D Coulthard   GB  Formula One   810
 6 JP Montoya    Col Champ Cars    791
 7 N Heidfeld    Ger F3000         761
 8 D Franchitti  GB  Champ Cars    758
 9 HH Frentzen   Ger Formula One   742
10 J Burton      US  NASCAR        724
 
 
 
 

02.09.99

F1 (Monza):-
Leading day two times (Thu): mins secs
 1 J Herbert     GB  Stewart  1:24.180
 2 M Hakkinen    Fin McLaren  1:24.393
 3 M Salo        Fin Ferrari  1:24.535
 4 D Coulthard   GB  McLaren  1:24.593
 5 R Schumacher  Ger Williams 1:24.682
 6 A Zanardi     It  Williams 1:24.897
 7 H-H Frentzen  Ger Jordan   1:25.077
 8 G Fisichella  It  Benetton 1:25.218
 9 J Trulli      It  Prost    1:25.276
10 J Alesi       Fr  Sauber   1:25.536
11 E Irvine      GB  Ferrari  1:25.577
16 D Hill        GB  Jordan   1:26.129
 

FIA GT'S (Donington Park):- Justin Bell has been drafted into the Chrysler Viper team for round seven of the series on Sunday. Bell, the son of Le Mans winner Derek, will share the drive in the 500km race with Jean-Phillipe Belloc, who is out to win the title. However, Team Oreca will be geared towards success. Olivier Beretta and Karl Wendlinger have won four races and have an eight-point advantage. Julian Bailey and Andy Wallace will also want a say in the Lister Storm.
 

CART (Vancouver):- Michael Andretti insists he is not ready to concede defeat in the battle for the drivers' crown. Going into Sunday's Vancouver Molson Indy, one of five events left in the 20-race campaign, Juan Montoya and Dario Franchitti are title favourites. Andretti said: "Realistically, getting back into it, the way those two are going, is not going to be easy. A couple of wins, a couple of weeks with maximum points and who knows! There are still 110 points out there."
 

F.PALMER AUDI (Brands Hatch):- The race for the title is tighter than ever has the series moves on to rounds 12 and 13 on Sunday. Richard Lyons and Richard Tarling are separated by only four points With 24 points available for a win, the top six places are covered by less than a victory. In testing, the entire field were within a second of each other. Tim Mullen topped the times and is still chasing his first win of 1999.
 
 

BRITISH GT'S (Croft):- Richard Dean and Kurt Luby set the pace during testing for Sunday's ninth round of the series. Dean lapped the track in one minute, 14.5 seconds to make the Sintura favourite to take a second victory in two races. "It is getting better and better but we did not think that this would be our best circuit," said Dean. In GT2, Ian Astley and Mike Youles headed the times and Thomas Erdos and Andy Purvis were second fastest.

Testing times for round nine (Thu):

GT1                         mins secs
1 Dean/Luby          Sintura  1:14.5
2 Sugden/O'Rourke    McLaren  1:15.4
3 Campbell-W/Bailey  Lister   1:15.9
4 Wallinder/Lister   Porsche  1:15.9

GT2
1 Astley/Youles      Lotus    1:20.0
2 Erdos/Purvis       Marcos   1:21.1
3 Fuller/Fothergill  Porsche  1:23.4
4 Phillips/Day       Porsche  1:23.4
 

EFDA EUROSERIES (Nurburgring):- Tomas Scheckter will be aiming to equal the record for the number of consecutive race wins by a driver in the series on Sunday. The record of three is held by Marco Campos (1994), Bas Leinders (1996), Marcelo Battistuzzi (1997) and Andrew Kirkaldy (1998). Scheckter needs to win both German races to achieve the same feat. "We need to keep working hard for the remaining six races and keep the series lead," said the South African.
 

MGF CUP (Croft):- Three local heroes will be driving in the series this weekend. Warren Hughes is the current leader of the championship but he is joined by two other north-east drivers at the Darlington circuit. Marc Nordon from Darley near Harrogate and Ian Gibbons from Sunderland will also be competing. Nordon has had several top-six finishes this season but it will be a one-off race for Gibbons, who quit the series in July.
 
 
 
 
 

03.09.99

F1:- Ferrari are set to announce on Saturday that Rubens Barrichello will replace Eddie Irvine in 2000, according to reports on Italian radio. The Italian team refused to confirm the story but a spokeswoman said that a statement was expected on Saturday. For weeks there has been speculation that Stewart-Ford's Barrichello would be swapping places with Ferrari's Eddie Irvine next season. Stewart are set to race under the Jaguar name next season.

MONZA
Leading day three times (Fri):mins secs
 1 E Irvine      GB  Ferrari  1:24.06
 2 A Zanardi     It  Williams 1:24.33
 3 M Salo        Fin Ferrari  1:24.58
 4 D Coulthard   GB  McLaren  1:24.64
 5 R Barrichello Brz Stewart  1:24.67
 6 O Panis       Fr  Prost    1:24.88
 7 J Herbert     GB  Stewart  1:25.02
 8 H-H Frentzen  Ger Jordan   1:25.03
 9 P Diniz       Brz Sauber   1:25.46
10 J Trulli      It  Prost    1:25.69
 

WOODPECKER STAGES RALLY:- The penultimate round of the BTRDA Rally Series takes place this weekend, starting in Ludlow on Saturday. Andy Burton has won the rally for the past two years and will be looking for his hat-trick in his hybrid four-wheel drive Peugeot Cosworth. However he is not registered for the BTRDA series this year which is being led by John Thompson. Martin Meadows has a big lead in the Formula Two Gold Star category though Nik Elsmore can still catch him.
 

SCOTTISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP:- Andy Horne heads the entry list for this weekend's Little The Jewellers Speyside Stages Rally but Jon Burn is the Scottish Championship leader. It will be Horne's first rally since his crash in March but he now has a new Metro 6R4. Burns' 21-point lead with two rounds to go is far from secure with season-long rivals Neil Buckley and Dave Weston handily placed for a historic result. A late season surge from Chris Wagner has put him in contention.
 
 
 
 

25.09.99

F1: THE EUROPEAN GP
Heinz-Harald Frentzen secured pole position for Sunday's race in a qualifying session where the top grid spot changed numerous times. A number of drivers waited for the track to dry out but Frentzen timed his bid perfectly to take the honours ` to the delight of the German fans. David Coulthard was second fastest and Mika Hakkinen third but the Finn's title rival Eddie Irvine was ninth. Damon Hill was seventh and Johnny Herbert 14th.

Jordan star Heinz-Harald Frentzen was delighted after claiming his first pole position since Monaco in 1997 when he was driving for Williams. He admitted: "I cannot really believe it as we have been struggling to get a rhythm all weekend and had to change an engine this morning. There was a lot of friction in the team because there was a debate about when I should go out. We were not sure if it would rain but we can laugh about it now."

David Coulthard revealed that his engineer helped him earn a place on the front row of the grid. After finishing second in qualifying, the Scot said: "I was convinced it was going to rain again and wanted to change the car to damp settings. "I am delighted that my engineer did not listen to me." His McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen was third fastest and added: "I have seen where Eddie Irvine is and cannot feel too sorry about the situation."

Saturday's qualifying times: mins secs
 1 H-H Frentzen  Ger Jordan   1:19.910
 2 D Coulthard   GB  McLaren  1:20.176
 3 M Hakkinen    Fin McLaren  1:20.376
 4 R Schumacher  Ger Williams 1:20.444
 5 O Panis       Fr  Prost    1:20.638
 6 G Fisichella  It  Benetton 1:20.781
 7 D Hill        GB  Jordan   1:20.818
 8 J Villeneuve  Can BAR      1:20.825
 9 E Irvine      GB  Ferrari  1:20.842
10 J Trulli      It  Prost    1:20.965
11 A Wurz        Aut Benetton 1:21.144
12 M Salo        Fin Ferrari  1:21.314
13 P Diniz       Brz Sauber   1:21.345
14 J Herbert     GB  Stewart  1:21.379
15 R Barrichello Brz Stewart  1:21.490
16 J Alesi       Fr  Sauber   1:21.634
17 R Zonta       Brz BAR      1:22.267
18 A Zanardi     It  Williams 1:22.284
19 L Badoer      It  Minardi  1:22.284
20 M Gene        Sp  Minardi  1:22.760
21 T Takagi      Jpn Arrows   1:23.401
22 P de la Rosa  Sp  Arrows   1:23.698

Mika Hakkinen will have to keep his composure if he is to be crowned drivers champion next month. An error caused Hakkinen to spin out at Monza and he reacted by hurling his gloves to the ground before bursting into tears. The remaining three circuits may suit Ferrari more than McLaren, giving title rival Eddie Irvine an advantage. However the Finn has been in sparkling form and is bidding to claim a record number of pole positions for a season.

David Coulthard has said he expects to get the chance to pursue his title dream in Germany and not follow team orders to boost Mika Hakkinen's bid. McLaren had been expected to change their policy to help Hakkinen shake off title rival Eddie Irvine this Sunday. But Coulthard said: "I am definitely in with a shout of the championship although it's an outside chance. If Mika finishes in front of me at the Nurburgring, then I would expect some team orders to be introduced."

Eddie Irvine is confident that he can carry on his good form to win the drivers title for the first time. Irvine currently shares the lead in the standings with Mika Hakkinen with two races remaining after Sunday. "I have to win the title because I owe it to so many people," he said. "It's not going to be easy but I think we have a good chance of managing it." He added: "I can win at the Nurburgring as a lot of progress was made with the car during testing last week."

The Jordan team are hoping to sign off the European season with a winning double in Germany on Sunday. Team chief executive Eddie Jordan said: "Monza was magical. It might have been our third victory but winning still tastes just as sweet. Had we said at the start of the season we'd be fighting for the title we would have been laughed at so just to be where we are is fantastic. Nurburgring will be more difficult and a good measure of our progress."

Stewart-Ford's Johnny Herbert has been working hard ahead of Sunday's race. "The test at Magny Cours last week was very fruitful," he said. "We were on the pace of the front-runners which was encouraging. We have also identified where I lost time in Monza. Basically we suffered a drop-off in downforce from Saturday morning to qualifying. We worked on modifications to rectify it in testing and I am confident of being in much better shape here."

Ralf Schumacher is determined to make it third time lucky in Sunday's race. His legions of home fans were left disappointed on his two previous Grand Prix appearances on the circuit when he was forced to retire on each occasion. "The Nurburgring is one of my favourite tracks and has been since I began racing," he said. "It is a challenge for both the driver and the car. You can overdrive the car in some corners and lose a lot of time and a good engine performance is important."

Jacques Villeneuve says he would much prefer to be racing on the original Nurburgring than the new one. "I have great memories of the circuit," said the BAR driver. "It was there that I had my first victory in Formula One in April 1996. "This place has a great past because of the old track but unfortunately we're not running on it, which is sad. It's hard to get a good feel for the current circuit and basicially it is not one of my favourites."

Michael Schumacher will again have to watch from the sidelines as another race takes place in his home country. Schumacher is still recovering from breaking his leg at the British Grand Prix in July and hopes to return for the Malaysian Grand Prix. He will have a test drive at Ferrari's Fiorano track on October 7 before deciding whether to race 10 days later. The two-times world champion had hoped to make his comeback at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza a fortnight ago.

The Prost-Peugeot AP02 cars will be using a brand new A18 engine, Evolution 7, for the first time this weekend. The engine, which will be used again in the qualifying in Malaysia and Japan, benefits from the lessons learnt from research and development. Olivier Panis and Jarno Trulli will be able to use cars equipped with the new engines in the qualifying sessions. A maximum power gain of around 4% has been achieved between the start-of-season engine and the latest version.
 

TRACKROD RALLY
Leading positions after 6 stages:Penalty
 1 M Dodd/J Bennie    Ford Es  0:58.00
 2 W Ph'skirk/E Evans MG Metro 0:59.49
 3 J Milner/G Haynes  Toyota   0:59.51
 4 G Jones/H Lewis    Subaru   1:00.53
 5 D S'fth/J Dunning  Proton   1:03.07
 6 M Watson/P Pulleyn Ford     1:03.12
 7 D Wood/L Waterfall Subaru   1:03.13
 8 D Henderson/C T'ly Mit'shi  1:03.24
 9 V Wetton/J Haigh   Mit'shi  1:03.24
10 G Kellam/G Morpeth Mit'shi  1:03.45
 
 

CART (Houston):- Rookie Juan Montoya found his form to take provisional pole for Sunday's Texaco Grand Prix of Houston. The Colombian had his poorest qualifying effort of the season when setting the 16th fastest lap time last time out in Monterey. However, he could wrap up the title this weekend. He leads Britain's Dario Franchitti by 28 points. Franchitti was sixth in the qualifying session, despite almost hitting a concrete barrier.

Provisional qualifying times (Fri):
                             mins secs
 1 J Montoya    Col Honda     0:59.884
 2 C Fittipaldi Brz Ford      0:59.965
 3 B Herta      US  Ford      1:00.297
 4 P Carpentier Can Mercedes  1:00.297
 5 N Hattori    Jpn Honda     1:00.342
 6 D Franchitti GB  Honda     1:00.369
 7 R Hearn      US  Toyota    1:00.464
 8 T Kanaan     Brz Honda     1:00.570
 9 P Tracy      Can Honda     1:00.597
10 G de Ferran  Brz Honda     1:00.632
16 M Blundell   GB  Mercedes  1:01.261

Sweden's Kenny Brack, in the hunt to defend his Indy Racing League crown, appears set to jump to the rival Championship Auto Racing Teams circuit. Brack's contract ends in October after two more races, Sunday's Vegas 500 and the Longthorn 500 in Texas. If he makes the move, he will be unable to defend his Indy 500 title next May. The Swede is currently third in the battle for the IRL title, 47 points behind Greg Ray with Canada's Scott Goodyear in second place.
 

BRITISH F3 (Spa-Francorchamps):-
Provisional qualifying times (Sat):
                           mins secs
 1 J Button      Renault    2:16.173
 2 L Burti       Mercedes   2:16.266
 3 M Hynes       Mercedes   2:16.278
 4 C Albers      Opel       2:16.615
 5 K Kolby       Nissan     2:16.986
 6 Y Olivier     Opel       2:16.993
 7 J Beltoise    Renault    2:17.012
 8 A Coelho      Renault    2:17.252
 9 T Scheckter   Mercedes   2:17.567
10 P Sundberg    Opel       2:17.614
 

F.PALMER AUDI (Oulton Park):- This weekend sees the penultimate round of the Championship at Oulton Park. Six different drivers have won the last six rounds and Richard Tarling leads the standings by three points from Richard Lyons.

Testing times:        mins:secs
1 D Faulkner Ire       1:35.625
2 R Tarling  GB        1:35.713
3 D Hill     US        1:35.996
4 A Booth    NZ        1:36.021
5 D Hayes    GB        1:36.044
6 T Mullen   GB        1:36.104
 

F3000 (Nurburgring):- Britain's Jamie Davis secured sixth place and the point that ensured European Formula Racing's participation in next year's championship. His colleague and compatriot Oliver Gavin finished eighth after starting back in 13th on the grid. Davies enthused: "I had a flying start, was quick on the lights and had good traction. I didn't want any incidents that would throw away the vital point." Team boss Paul Stoddart added: "It's a huge relief, he drove a sensible race."

Result after 45 laps:         mins secs
 1 J Watt      Den  Super Nova 1:32.148
 2 N Heidfeld  Ger  WEST Comp   @ 0.502
 3 M Wilson    Brz  Petrobras   @13.964
 4 S Ayari     Fr   Cica Team   @16.179
 5 D Saelens   Bel  Super Nova  @48.370
 6 J Davies    GB   Euro FR     @49.608
 7 K McGarrity GB   Nordic      @54.033
 8 O Gavin     GB   Euro FR     @54.524
 9 F Montagny  Fr   DAMS        @54.875
10 N Fontana   Arg  Fortec      @61.733
 

BRITISH GT'S (Spa-Francorchamps):- The top four cars were tightly packed in the first qualifying session for the 10th round of the series. Sweden's Magnus Wallinder fired the Porsche team into provisional pole, but the next three GT1 cars all lapped within a second of his time. In GT2, the Chrysler Viper of Neil Cunningham and John Nielsen set a fine pace, but were almost matched by the Marcos of Thomas Erdos and Andy Purvis. The second qualifying session will be held late on Saturday afternoon.

Leading first session times: (Sat)
GT1                           mins secs
1 G Lister/M Wallinder Porsche 2:15.246
2 T Sugden/S O'Rourke  McLaren 2:15.696
3 K Luby/R Dean        Sintura 2:15.968
4 J Bailey/J Campbell  Lister  2:16.138

GT2
1 N Cunningham/J N'sen Chr'ler 2:24.067
2 T Erdos/A Purvis     Marcos  2:24.274
3 I Astley/C Ellis     Lotus   2:26.605
4 P Hardman/N Springer Lister  2:27.283
 

NATIONAL SALOON CUP (Spa-Francorchamps):- Championship leader Simon Harrison set the early pace as the teams prepared for the 13th round in Belgium. For most of the session Toni Ruokonen was the quickest, but Harrison pipped him in the closing moments.

Testing times (Fri):        mins secs
1 Simon Harrison   Honda     2:46.246
2 James Kaye       Honda     2:47.350
3 Toni Ruokonen    Peugeot   2:47.831
4 Don Eaves        Peugeot   2:49:079
5 Didier de R'es   Honda     2:50:825
6 Roger Moen       Honda     2:53:304
 

MGF CUP (Brands Hatch):- The MGF Cup returns after a three-week break with Warren Hughes still the subject of post-race inquiries into the rounds at Castle Combe and Croft. Ex-Formula Three star Hughes is champion elect but the championship co-ordinator is still reviewing race footage. Sunday's race will be fought over 20 laps of the fast Indy track, with Jamie HUnter and Nick Barr still fighting for second place in the championship. Alsitair Lyall will be bidding for a fifth consecutive pole position.
 
 
 
 

26.09.99

F1: THE EUROPEAN GP
Briton Johnny Herbert recorded a famous Stewart win in a truly amazing race. After a restart, Heinz Harald Frentzen jumping the lights, Mika Hakkinen took second, but lost ground changing to wet tyres when conditions promptly dried. Frentzen and David Coulthard came into the pits together, but both retired in quick succession, while Eddie Irvine's chances faded after a 37-second stop. Ralf Schumacher led before a puncture, Herbert came through from 14th, and Hakkinen recovered to take two points.

Popular Johnny Herbert was in an even sunnier mood than usual after cashing in on the errors of others to win. "This is pay-back for all the bad luck I have had," said Herbert. "I took the lead when Ralf Schumacher had a problem with his wheel. "I had enough of a gap over Jarno so I was able to hang on. There were a lot of people falling off because the conditions were very tricky. I was fortunate as I had the wets on. It was risky but it paid off big-time."

Jubilant Stewart boss Jackie Stewart could not contain his delight after watching his team's first victory. "It's difficult to describe how I feel, it's just tremendous for the team," he said. "This is undoubtedly the most important moment in my racing career. "I have won Grands Prix and World Championships, but to win as a Constructor is the highest emotion. Our strategy was absolutely right, it was a complete team effort and every member of the team deserves praise."

David Coulthard was quick to blame himself for the mistake that saw the end of his race, and in all probability his World Championship chances. Coulthard had taken over the lead from Heinz Harald Frentzen when he skidded out unexpectedly on lap 37. "It was very wet conditions, I locked up the front wheel and failed to regain control," he commented. "I'm very disappointed for my team, it was my mistake. I'm very disappointed with myself."

The McLaren team were in a confident frame of mind after Mika Hakkinen recovered to take two points and retain his lead in the driver's standings. Hakkinen, who made two stops, one to correct a decision to come in for wet tyres, said: "They were hard earned points, we will now build on this." Manager Ron Dennis said: "I never knew I could be so pleased with fifth. The team has to take responsibility for the pit-stops. We still lead both titles and are looking forward now."

Brazilian driver Pedro Diniz was not seriously injured in the crash that ended his participation in the European Grand Prix on the first lap. His car turned upside down after a bad collision before coming to a rest just off the track still upside down. It took marshalls several minutes to remove the Brazilian from his car and he was evacuated to hospital. His team said the driver was suffering heavy bruising to the shoulder and right knee.

Jacques Villeneuve was in the points for the latter part of the race but eventually was forced to retire. "It was extremely disappointing to stop with four laps to go," he admitted. "I'd been expecting it because I had problems changing gear for 10 laps. Our one-stop strategy was good because we had to take risks. Maybe we should have gone to wets because I spun and had to take it easy for a while. The car is good and points should be our aim not just finishing."

Result after 66 laps         hr min sec
 1 J Herbert     GB  Stewart  1:41:54
 2 J Trulli      It  Prost    1:42:16
 3 R Barrichello Brz Stewart  1:42:17
 4 R Schumacher  Ger Williams 1:42:33
 5 M Hakkinen    Fin McLaren  1:42:57
 6 M Gene        Sp  Minardi  1:42:59
 7 E Irvine      GB  Ferrari  1:43:00
 8 R Zonta       Brz BAR      65 laps
 9 O Panis       Fr  Prost    65 laps
10 J Villeneuve  Can BAR        DNF
11 L Badoer      Fr  Minardi    DNF
12 P de la Rosa  Sp  Arrows     DNF
13 G Fisichella  It  Benetton   DNF
14 M Salo        Fin Ferrari    DNF
15 T Takagi      Jpn Arrows     DNF
16 D Coulthard   GB  McLaren    DNF
17 J Alesi       Fr  Sauber     DNF
18 H-H Frentzen  Ger Jordan     DNF
19 A Zanardi     It  Williams   DNF
20 D Hill        GB  Jordan     DNF
21 A Wurz        Aut Benetton   DNF
22 P Diniz       Brz Sauber     DNF

DRIVER STANDINGS
 1 M Hakkinen    Fin  McLaren   62 pts
 2 E Irvine      GB   Ferrari   60
 3 H-H Frentzen  Ger  Jordan    50
 4 D Coulthard   GB   McLaren   48
 5 R Schumacher  Ger  Williams  33
 6 M Schumacher  Ger  Ferrari   32
 7 R Barrichello Brz  Stewart   19
 8 G Fisichella  Ita  Benetton  13
 9 J Herbert     GB   Stewart   12
10 M Salo        Fin  Ferrari   10
11 D Hill        GB   Jordan     7
 = J Trulli      It   Prost      7
13 P Diniz       Brz  Sauber     3
 = A Wurz        Aut  Benetton   3
15 O Panis       Fr   Prost      2
16 P de la Rosa  Sp   Arrows     1
 = J Alesi       Fr   Sauber     1
 = M Gene        Sp   Minardi    1

CONSTRUCTORS' STANDINGS
1 McLaren      110 pts
2 Ferrari      102
3 Jordan        57
4 Williams      33
5 Stewart       31
6 Benetton      16
7 Prost          9
8 Sauber         4
9 Arrows         1
= Minardi        1
 

TRACKROD RALLY:- Marcus Dodd survived a last minute scare to claim a second successive win. The Dorset driver emerged from the eighth and final stage on the North York moors over two minutes ahead of York's Warren Philliskirk. Dodd's Ford Escort World Rally car was rapidly breaking up but he managed to nurse the car around with the aid of co-driver John Bennie. Richmond's Barry Pittaway celebrated winning an associated 70-car clubman's event in an ex-works Nissan Sunny.

Final Top Ten (after 8 stages) Penalty
 1 M Dodd/J Bennie    Ford Es  1:14.23
 2 W Ph'skirk/E Evans MG Metro 1:16.28
 3 G Jones/H Lewis    Subaru   1:17.36
 4 D Wood/L Waterfall Subaru   1:20.16
 5 D S'fth/J Dunning  Proton   1:20.18
 6 D Henderson/C T'ly Mit'shi  1:20.21
 7 M Watson/P Pulleyn Ford     1:20.54
 8 V Wetton/J Haigh   Mit'shi  1:21.09
 9 G Kellam/G Morpeth Mit'shi  1:21.21
10 M I'Anson/G Walker Mit'shi  1:23.21
 

CART (Houston):- Rookie Juan Montoya took a huge step toward his first CART title after holding on to pole position. The Colombian, who could wrap up the championship in Sunday's race, was fastest around the 1.527-mile temporary street course. He improved his speed from the provisional qualifying run by nearly two miles per hour. Britain's Dario Franchitti, 28 points behind Montoya in overall standings, improved two places to fourth.

Qualifying times (Sat):      mins secs
 1 J Montoya    Col Honda     0:58.699
 2 B Herta      US  Ford      0:59.086
 3 P Tracy      Can Honda     0:59.106
 4 D Franchitti GB  Honda     0:59.179
 5 M Papis      It  Ford      0:59.192
 6 G de Ferran  Brz Honda     0:59.411
 7 N Hattori    Jpn Honda     0:59.569
 8 T Kanaan     Brz Honda     0:59.649
 9 J Magnussen  Den Mercedes  0:59.727
10 A Fernandez  Mex Toyota    0:59.789
16 M Blundell   GB  Mercedes  1:00.274
 

BRITISH F3 (Spa-Francorchamps):- Brazillian Luciano Burti's win - his fourth of the current campaign - leaves him two points shy of leader Marc Hynes with just two races left in 1999. The early stages of the contest saw the pair battling at high speed for race dominance, but Burti snatched the lead. Initially Jenson Button had pole but lost the pace once the early round safety car departed the circuit. Button's 4th place finish leaves him some 40pts behind overall championship leaders Hynes and Burti.

Round 14 result (Sun):     mins secs
 1 L Burti       Brz       37:50 948
 2 M Hynes       GB        37:51.847
 3 K Kolby       Den       37:55.688
 4 J Button      GB        37:56.299
 5 A Coelho      Brz       37:59.781
 6 Y Olivier     Bel       38:02.703
 7 T Monteiro    Por       38:03.240
 8 J Beltoise    Por       38:04.344
 9 A Kirkaldy    GB        38:05.861
10 T Scheckter   SA        38:06.308
 

F.PALMER AUDI (Oulton Park):- This weekend sees the penultimate round of the Championship at Oulton Park. Six different drivers have won the last six rounds and Richard Tarling leads the standings by three points from Richard Lyons.

Testing times:        mins:secs
1 D Faulkner Ire       1:35.625
2 R Tarling  GB        1:35.713
3 D Hill     US        1:35.996
4 A Booth    NZ        1:36.021
5 D Hayes    GB        1:36.044
6 T Mullen   GB        1:36.104
 
 

F3000 (Nurburgring):- Britain's Jamie Davis secured sixth place and the point that ensured European Formula Racing's participation in next year's championship. His colleague and compatriot Oliver Gavin finished eighth after starting back in 13th on the grid. Davies enthused: "I had a flying start, was quick on the lights and had good traction. I didn't want any incidents that would throw away the vital point." Team boss Paul Stoddart added: "It's a huge relief, he drove a sensible race."

Result after 45 laps:         mins secs
 1 J Watt      Den  Super Nova 1:32.148
 2 N Heidfeld  Ger  WEST Comp   @ 0.502
 3 M Wilson    Brz  Petrobras   @13.964
 4 S Ayari     Fr   Cica Team   @16.179
 5 D Saelens   Bel  Super Nova  @48.370
 6 J Davies    GB   Euro FR     @49.608
 7 K McGarrity GB   Nordic      @54.033
 8 O Gavin     GB   Euro FR     @54.524
 9 F Montagny  Fr   DAMS        @54.875
10 N Fontana   Arg  Fortec      @61.733
 
 

BRITISH GT'S (Spa-Francorchamps):- Richard Dean and Kurt Luby snatched a close win over Julian Bailey and Jamie Campbell-Walter in this 10th round championship race staged in Belgium. Bad weather caused an accident between Andy Purvis's Marcos LM600 and Paul Phillips' Porsche 911GT2, resulting in the early emergence of the safety car. After the pit stops Luby led with Jamie Campbell-Walter close on his tail. In the GT2 Calum Lockie/Cor Eusrer won in their Marcos LM600 home despite having started at the back of the grid.

Round ten, provisional results:
GT1                          mins secs
1 R Dean/K Luby     Sintura  52:06.842
2 J Bailey/J C'bell Lister
2 G Lister/W'linder Porsche
3 T Sugden/O'Rourke McLaren

GT2
1 C Euser/C Lockie     Marcos
2 H Roos               Chr'ler
3 I Astley/C Ellis     Lotus
4 P Hardmanr/Springer  Lister
 

NATIONAL SALOON CUP (Spa-Francorchamps):- Peugeot duo Toni Ruokonen and Dan Eaves recorded an impressive one-two in round 13 in their 306GTi6's. A 3rd lap electrical failure wrecked Simon Harrison's championship winning chances - a win here was all he needed.

Results (Sun):              mins secs
1 Toni Ruokonen    Peugeot  31:02.035
2 Daniel Eaves     Peugeot
3 Ian Griswold     Honda
4 Roger Moen       Honda
5 Dave Allan       Honda
6 Rick Kraemer     Honda
 

MGF CUP (Brands Hatch):- A sudden downpour left drivers cutting grass as they struggled during this the penultimate round of the series. Series champ Warren Hughes managed 2nd place behind winner Kelly who describe the rain soaked track as suicidal.

Results (Sun):              mins secs
1 Matt KELLY      MGF 1.8i  11:29.712
2 Jamie HUNTER    MGF 1.8i  11:33.885
3 Nick CARR       MGF 1.8i  11:35.059
4 Alastair LYALL  MGF 1.8i  11:37.334
5 Warren HUGHES   MGF 1.8i  11:38.049
6 David MASON     MGF 1.8i  12:08.423
 

PORSCHE CUP (Oulton Park):- Pete Chambers clinched the 1999 title in the 12th and penultimate round. Although he finished a measured third behind David and Godfrey Jones on the rain-soaked Cheshire track, he had played his points-doubling joker. Chambers, who had started from pole, becomes the provisional overall champion with one race remaining. He said: "It's been a very hard season. I knew third was good enough and when Godfrey caught up and started ducking and diving behind me, I let him go.
 
 
 
 
 

27.09.99

CART (Houston):- Canada's Paul Tracy benefited from an early crash by championship leader Juan Montoya and to win the race. Colombina rookie led until the 12th lap when he crashed into the car of Brazilian Helio Castro-Neves, who had come to rest after hitting the wall. Tracy controlled the pace thereafter, driving to his second victory of the season and the 15th career. Britain's Dario Franchitti was second and closed the gap on Montoya to 13 points in the overall standings.

Race result (Sun):           hr min sec
 1 P Tracy      Can Honda     1:55.31
 2 D Franchitti GB  Honda     @  0.13
 3 M Andretti   US  Ford      100 laps
 4 M Papis      It  Ford      100 laps
 5 B Herta      US  Ford      100 laps
 6 M Gugelmin   Brz Mercedes  100 laps
 7 C Fittipaldi Brz Ford      100 laps
 8 R Hearn      US  Toyota    100 laps
 9 T Kanaan     Brz Honda     100 laps
10 S Pruett     US  Toyota    100 laps
24 M Blundell   GB  Mercedes   46 laps

Driver standings              Points
1 J Montoya    Col Honda       200
2 D Franchitti GB  Honda       187
3 P Tracy      Can Honda       155
4 M Andretti   US  Ford        141
5 M Papis      It  Ford        117
 

IRL:- Sam Schmidt hit the jackpot in his hometown as he captured his first career Indy Racing League victory. Schmidt passed Sweden's Kenny Brack with two laps to go and drove to the checkered flag for the first time in an Indy car. "This is great, this is awesome, this is unbelievable," Schmidt radioed to his crew. Schmidt defeated Brack by 0.617 seconds with Robbie Buhl third, followed by Scott Sharp and Buzz Calkins.
 

F1:- Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo   castigated senior staff at the Formula One team's Maranello headquarters after the fiasco in Sunday's European GP. The Ferrari chief blasted his employees during a stormy meeting after the team misplaced one of Eddie Irvine's wheels during a critical pit-stop. "We've had a good talk and everyone knows we will not have this kind of thing again," he said. "Ferrari's fans are rightfully very upset and we cannot tolerate it again."

Eddie Irvine is still confident he can become world champion despite finishing out of the points in Germany. The Ulsterman's seventh place left him two points adrift of Mika Hakkinen, who rescued fifth place, with the races in Malaysia and Japan left. Irvine's hopes were hit by a woeful pit-stop by his Ferrari crew who could not find his tyres. He said: "The championship is not over yet. I am still just two points behind and that is nothing."
 

CHAMPION SPARK PLUG WORLD RANKING
Driver ratings (September 27)    Points
 1 M Hakkinen    Fin Formula One   894
 2 J Gordon      US  NASCAR        872
 3 D Jarrett     US  NASCAR        841
 4 E Irvine      GB  Formula One   831
 5 N Heidfeld    Ger F3000         823
 6 HH Frentzen   Ger Formula One   786
 7 JP Montoya    Col Champ Cars    775
 8 D Coulthard   GB  Formula One   755
 9 J Burton      US  NASCAR        744
10 D Franchitti  GB  Champ Cars    733
 
 
 
 

29.09.99

F1:- Eddie Irvine's title hopes have been dealt a new blow with the news that the injured Michael Schumacher may not race again for Ferrari this year. Irvine told German newspaper Bild: "I can become world champion but only with Michael's help." Schumacher had hoped to return from a broken leg in Malaysia on October 17. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo said:"His chances of starting stand at about 50 per cent. The pin in his leg is causing him problems."
 

RALLYING:- Richard Burns is still the top UK rally driver in the Sony/Volkswagen rankings. Burns, who was second in the recent rallies in Finland and China, remains ahead of Colin McRae, with the Scot's brother Alister in third spot. Gwyndaf Evans held on to fourth place, ahead of Martin Rowe, Marcus Dodd and John Price. The rankings are compiled from the results of the World, Mobil 1 British, BTRDA Gold and Silver Star, Mintex and Safety Devices Championships.

Leading drivers (September 29):
 1 Richard Burns
 2 Colin McRae
 3 Alister McRae
 4 Gwyndaf Evans
 5 Martin Rowe
 6 Marcus Dodd
 7 John Price
 8 Mark Higgins
 9 David Higgins
10 Neil Wearden
 
 
 
 

30.09.99

F1:- BMW, who will provide engines for Williams next season, will circuit test at the A1 Ring at Zeltweg in Austria for four days from October 8.

Malaysian Grand Prix organisers have stepped up puclicity for the October 17 race because over half the 90,000 tickets remain unsold.
 

CAMBRIAN RALLY:- The final round of the BTRDA series takes place this weekend, with the Conwy Honda Cambrian Rally having attracted over 130 entries. None of the competitors have previously won the event so a new name will appear on the list of honours. All the major titles have still yet to be decided. Mark Meadows and Nik Elsmore are battling it out in Formula Two, while Ian Joel is currently holding off Theo Bengry in the open category.

Leading Gold Star entries:
1 Nik Elsmore        Nissan
2 Martin Meadows     Proton
3 Phil Morgan        Peugeot
4 Miles Johnston     Peugeot
5 Barry Pittaway     Nissan

Leading Silver Star entries:
1 Ian Joel           Ford
2 Theo Bengry        Mitsubishi
3 Brian Bell         Ford
4 Pete Littler       Ford
5 Richard Gough      Mitsubishi
 

EFDA EUROSERIES:- Tomas Scheckter heads to Holland this weekend looking to clinch the championship in style. He has a 19-point lead over Darren Malkin going into the last two events of the 20-round series but there are 42 points still possibly up for grabs. Scheckter said: "Obviously we go to Zandvoort in a good position but if Malkin wins and I do not score it all goes down to the last race. I know I still have to go all out to win both races."
 

TOURING CARS:- Jason Yeomans, Alan Morrison, Rob Collard and Mark Ticehurst were put through their paces in the BTCC race- winning Vauxhall Vectra at Pembrey. The test was the prize for the top three Vectra Challenge drivers at the halfway stage of the season. Ticehurst also joined in after winning three races in the liquid petroleum gas-powered Vectra.