Alonso heads Renault front row for Chinese GP

teamcar - Renault locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso claiming pole position. In wet conditions the defending champion set a best time of 1:44.360, just under six tenths up on teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. The Hondas of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button took the second row with third and fourth respectively.

Raikkonen and Michael will go from row three with de la Rosa and Heidfeld behind. Kubica and Doornbos complete the line up. Naturally it looks good for Renault with both cars on the front row and one could reasonably expect the team and Alonso to claw back some points from Ferrari and Michael on Sunday.

Michael was the only Bridgestone runner to make the top 10 and will presumably be hoping for a dry race. The McLarens and Hondas should come into play as well and with the unsettled weather, it looks set to be an interesting afternoon tomorrow. Final top ten classification: Alonso, Fisichella, Barrichello, Button, Raikkonen, M. Schumacher, de la Rosa, Heidfeld, Kubica, Doornbos.

McLaren agree to release Montoya

teamcar - Juan Pablo Montoya will shortly begin testing and racing for his NASCAR team, after a deal was reportedly struck between the Chip Ganassi and McLaren squads.

Journalist Bob Margolis, of Yahoo! Sports, said the Colombian, who left Ron Dennis' F1 team earlier in 2006 but remained under contract until the last day of the year, could even test as soon as this week.

Majestic Capirossi wins again

teamcar - MAJESTIC CAPIROSSI WINS AGAIN IN JAPAN. Ducati Team rider Loris Capirossi scored a majestic victory at sun-blessed Motegi this afternoon, beating his 2005 race-winning time by a massive 17 seconds to record his second consecutive Japanese Grand Prix success.

Team-mate Sete Gibernau had a fine ride to fourth, just 1.3 seconds away from scoring his first podium for the team. Capirossi was in breathtaking form, starting from pole position and leading from the first lap to the chequered flag, gradually building an advantage over his closest rivals Marco Melandri and Valentino Rossi.

And when Rossi moved past Melandri into second and tried to make a run on the leader, Capirossi responded in devastating fashion, recording a 1m 47.5s lap with just five laps remaining to put the matter beyond doubt !

He crossed the line a full five seconds ahead of Rossi to move into fourth place in the championship, 31 points down on the series leader with two races to go.

Gibernau rode hard to defend fourth place during the final laps, Shinya Nakano crashing out when he was just a few centimetres behind the Spaniard three corners from the flag.

Capirossi's impressive win was applauded by 600 local Ducati fans in the Ducati grandstand at Motegi - Japan is one of Ducati's most important national markets.

Both Capirossi and Gibernau stay at Motegi tomorrow for an important test of the factory's new 800cc GP7 which the team will race in 2007.

Capirossi on pole for Motegi showdown

teamcar - Victorious at Motegi last year, Loris Capirossi was back at the top of the timesheets this morning, in the third MotoGP free practice session.The Ducati rider also took pole this afternoon for the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan with a storming lap of 1'45.724, as he looks to repeat his 2005 win at Twin Ring Motegi tomorrow.

The Italian followed on from his timesheet-topping performance in the morning free practice session to become one of only two riders to break the 1'46 barrier, with championship contender Valentino Rossi putting on a late charge to take the second spot on the grid.

Rossi had previously emphasised that a good qualifying position in the remaining races would be essential for his title chances, and with series leader Nicky Hayden only able to put himself at the head of row three the charismatic Italian is in the driving seat at Motegi.

Marco Melandri, victorious in Australia a week ago and still including himself in the list of title hopefuls, completes an all-Italian affair on row one, followed by home rider Shinya Nakano and the Spanish duo of Sete Gibernau and Toni Elias.

Hayden's fastest lap was just over half a second slower than Capirossi's, leaving him ahead of Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet, team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Camel Yamaha's Colin Edwards.The session passed largely without incident, with only Australian rookie Casey Stoner running off-track.

Kovalainen tops Silverstone day one

teamcar - Testing resumed on September 19th and Silverstone was where the most of the activity was to be found. Eight drivers from five teams made up the time sheet and Renault tester Heikki Kovalainen was quickest with a best of 1:19.125 while working on tyres. Nelson A. Piquet made his first appearance as a Renault test driver and was fourth fastest as he acclimatized to the team.

"It was a good first day of testing," said Piquet. "There are some similarities with the GP2 car in terms of the clutch and electronics, but I still have a lot to learn, so the main thing for today was to do as much running as possible, and to take everything on-board. It's important I think to learn a lot straight away and to meet the people I am going to work with."

Melandri takes victory from Vermeulen

Teamcar - In what will go down as one of the most unpredictable races in premier class history, Marco Melandri took victory at the GMC Australian Grand Prix. Twenty six laps of breathtaking action saw the first appearance of the new white flag wet weather rule, a Phillip Island finally seeing some of the predicted rainfall at the start of the MotoGP race.

The title fight between Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi saw the Italian gain another 5 points on his rival when he made a last-gasp move on Gibernau to take third from his old adversary and the Kentucky Kid was unable to do the same.

Schumacher focused on the title

Teamcar - While the hordes of Michael Schumacher fans get to grips with the fact that the seven time champion will hang up his helmet at the end of this season, the man himself is firmly focused on taking his tally up to eight titles before he bows out. Schumacher's win at Monza and rival Fernando Alonso scoring no points means the German's goal is tantalisingly close with three races to go.

The gap between them is just two points in Alonso's favour, while Ferrari has now overtaken Renault in the constructors' standings. A lot can happen in three races and this year's championships look set to go right to the end at the final event in Brazil on October 22nd. But before Schumacher rejoins the fight he reflected a little on his decision to retire.

Despite his impending retirement from racing it's not the end of the road for Schumacher and Ferrari. He will continue his relationship with the Scuderia, although in what role we won't know until the end of the season, and with Weber. "My Formula One goodbye, as announced, will not be a goodbye to Ferrari or Willi," he said. "We will work together again in the future and I am happy about this."

For the immediate future, Schumacher only has one thing on his mind. "We still have three races left and we have to take our chance. We have almost made up the gap in the drivers' championship and already overtaken Renault in the constructors' standings. Both titles are within reach. From now on, all that counts for us is the title. Everything else can wait."

Italian GP - Schumi Wins and CALLS IT QUIT

teamcar - Michael Schumacher took an emotional home win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix, while title rival Fernando Alonso lost a big chunk of his championship lead as his Renault engine blew in spectacular fashion and put him out of the race. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen lost the lead in the first round of pit stops and came home second and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica scored his first F1 podium with third.

Ferrari announced immediately after the race that Schumacher will retire at the end of the season.

Raikkonen snatches pole position for Italian GP

Teamcar - Kimi Raikkonen snatched pole position from Michael Schumacher in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix by just two thousandths of a second, turning the cheers of Ferrari's home fans to groans of dismay. The McLaren man clocked 1:21.484 around the Monza circuit and behind Schumacher Nick Heidfeld put in a great lap for BMW Sauber to take third.

Alonso was compromised by his puncture and could well have been further up, while the top five were within a second and Button was only just outside it, so there should be a good scrap for the podium positions. Final top ten classification: Raikkonen, M. Schumacher, Heidfeld, Massa, Alonso, Button, Kubica, de la Rosa, Barrichello, Fisichella.

Renault's Fernando Alonso has been penalised for hampering Ferrari's Felipe Massa in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix and the Spaniard will drop from fifth on the grid to 10th. Alonso was called to a stewards meeting after the session and was stripped of his three best laps and subsequently loses five places.

Vettel fastest on Italian GP Friday

Teamcar - BMW Sauber third driver Sebastian Vettel is making his mark in the Friday practice sessions much the same as Robert Kubica did before him in the same role. Vettel was the fastest man on the first day of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, his time of 1:22.631 six tenths quicker than he was in the morning. The Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa were second and third, Schumacher half a second down on Vettel.

Final top eight classification: Vettel, M. Schumacher, Massa, Wurz, de la Rosa, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Alonso.

Schumacher targets 'crucial' Monza win

Teamcar - Michael Schumacher reckons it will be "crucial" to beat championship rival Fernando Alonso in this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver is 12 points adrift of his Renault rival with four races remaining after Alonso managed to stop Schumacher's run in Turkey.

The German had reduced a 25-point gap to just 10 before the Istanbul race, where Alonso finished second ahead of Schumacher.

"Obviously I look very much forward to this Grand Prix as it is kind of a crucial Grand Prix for us, as all the last four are in terms of the championship," Schumacher told reporters at Monza.

All eyes will be on Schumacher this weekend, with the 37-year-old set to announce his future at some point on Sunday.

The German driver refused to answer questions about his decision, making it clear that only Sunday's statement will reveal if he retires or not.

"We will make a statement at some stage in Monza and this statement will be Sunday," Schumacher said at the start of his conference.

Title fight goes full throttle to Monza

Teamcar - It's that time of year again when the Formula One teams bring out their customised aero packages and head to the fastest track on the calendar, the temple of speed that is Monza. The Italian Grand Prix is always an important event and this season it could play an even more crucial part than ever with the fights for both titles still so close.

Monza, the last European race of the season, is a unique challenge with its low downforce requirements and bumpy kerbs and as far as power is concerned, the more the better. Engines spend three quarters of the 5.79 km lap at full throttle, hit the highest top speed of the year, approximately 340 kmph, and the average lap speed is over 250 kmph.

"The circuit in the Royal Park is the high-speed track par excellence and demands a great deal of respect from drivers and machinery alike," said BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen. "With the V10 engines the full-throttle percentage was 67, with the less powerful V8 we recorded 77 percent during testing."

Monza will be Michelin's last European race in F1, as the French manufacturer will quit the sport at the end of this season. "

With only two points between Renault and Ferrari in the constructors' standings and 12 between leader Fernando Alonso and challenger Michael Schumacher in the drivers' Monza could be definitive. After Italy there's only three races left, so if Alonso can maintain his advantage it will be a difficult job for Schumacher to catch up.

Of course, Monza is the home race of Ferrari and for this particular Italian GP the anticipation is sky high -- but not necessarily for the on track action. Ferrari is scheduled to make an announcement about its 2007 drivers after the race and the big question is whether Michael is going to retire at the end of this season.

HAYDEN READY TO BRING BACK AMERICAN GLORY DAYS IN MOTOGP

TEAMCAR - With just five rounds remaining and a healthy 25-point advantage over his closest rival, Nicky Hayden is on the verge of bringing back the glory days of of the American legends in the world's premier motocycling event.

With a total haul of 201 points, Hayden goes into Round 13 at the 2006 Marlboro Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang this weekend in search of his third victory of the season and a mission of strengthening his claims of joining the ranks of fellow Americans Kenny Roberts Sr and Kenny Roberts Jr; Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz as champions in the premier class in MotoGP.

"Without doubt, Hayden is currently the top favoruite for the MotoGP world title. A win in Sepang boost his chances to be the world champion by a very long way. Perhaps, more importantly, to neutralise the threat of Valentino Rossi," added Ahmad, who is also the event director for the 2006 Marlboro Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The event starts Friday (September 8) with free practice sessions and Qualifying 1 for the 125cc and 250cc. Saturday (September 9) will feature qualifying for all three categories with the races to be held on Sunday (September 10).

*500cc/MotoGP Malaysian GP Winners*

2001 (Sepang Circuit) - Valentino Rossi (Honda)
2002 (Sepang Circuit) - Max Biaggi (Yamaha)
2003 (Sepang Circuit) - Valentino Rossi (Honda)
2004 (Sepang Circuit) - Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
2005 (Sepang Circuit) - Loris Capirossi (Ducati)

A1 Grand Prix on the offensive

TEAMCAR - The new A1 Grand Prix Series has always made much of the fact that it has no intention to trying to rival Formula 1. It is thus rather odd that the series has just announced plans to upgrade the performance of its cars in 2008 to "a level comparable with Formula 1".

"We are the World Cup of Motorsport," says Tony Texeira, the deputy chairman of A1 Grand Prix. "Formula 1 is Formula 1.

We obviously will always say that we are complimentary to that and they are complimentary to us. We don't want to be quicker than F1 or anything else."

The very fact that A1 is moving in this direction underlines the fact that the two championships are on a path towards conflict over TV coverage, sponsors, drivers and fans.

The intended upgrade of A1 will see Lola making a bigger and more aerodynamically-efficient chassis, while Zytek will look at upgrading the current ZA1348, a 90-degree all-aluminium 3.4-litre V8 that produces around 520hp, but can be be boosted by another 30hp with a boost button in the cockpit, by around 200hp. This will give the cars around 750hp.

The biggest weakness of F1 is that it demands huge sums in fees and virtual all promotional rights from racing circuits. Many F1 tracks survive only because the governments help them. If a sufficient number of important venues decide that A1 Grand Prix make more financial sense (and that depends largely on crowd numbers) F1 may be faced with either having to drop its prices or face losing some of its famous traditional venues.
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