Rossi falls in Valencia

teamcar - In a dramatic fashion, Nicky Hayden today became the new world champion, finishing in third place on his Repsol Honda, helped by Valentino Rossi's thirteenth place -- due to a fall in the fourth lap of the "Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana". This was the season finale of the FIM Road Racing World Championship (MotoGP), and took place on the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain.

The race was won in convincing fashion by Troy Bayliss on a Marlboro Ducati, who took the lead at the first corner of the race and never looked back. He was followed by his teammate, Loris Capirossi, giving the Italian squad its first-ever one-two MotoGP finish.

When it seemed that Rossi had a fairly easy task to retain his world champion condition, the Italian's problems began with the start itself, as he dropped from the pole position to seventh place on the opening lap, while Hayden jumped from fifth to third, behind Bayliss and Capirossi.

In his need to recover places, Rossi lost his Yamaha on the fifth lap as his front wheel lost traction, taking him to the floor. The seven-time world champion was able to pick up the bike from the gravel trap and continue on the race, but 20th in the classification.

Hayden held the third place until the chequered flag fell, as the Kentucky Kid crossed the finish line after what surely were the longest laps of his life riding a bike.

D1GP Series Grand Final On Nov 4

teamcar - The battle between Malaysia's top drifters to be crowned this year's king will take place at the Shah Alam Stadium car park on Nov 4.The winner of the five-event series launched early this year will represent Malaysia at the D1GP World Event in the United States from Dec 16 to 17.

This will be the first time Malaysian drivers will be represented at this top event.Leading the pack is Tengku Djan Ley, who won Round 4 in Penang in August, Round 3 at Shah Alam in July and Round 2 at Johor Baharu in April.

Tengku Djan is the favourite to win the series after leading with 76 points while 2nd and 3rd places will see a tussle between Zero Lim Kim Ling (54), Lim Zee King (48), Jenson Tan (44) and Lim Kim Wan (36).

Amprex Motor Sports president Genji Hashimoto said the grand final would be an exciting one as one of the highlights would be the presence of two top Japanese drifters -- Youchi Imaruma and Tsuyoshi Tezeka.

"Drift racing is gaining popularity worldwide and also in Malaysia where spectators are thrilled by the skills of local drivers who often exceed the 120mph speed and also the presence of Japanese champion drifters," he said in a statement today.

Imaruma and Tezeka are judges of the event. They will also demonstrate their driving skills

So long and farewell

teamcar - The 2006 Formula One season is finally over and by and large it was a good one. There were close fought battles for both titles and it was never certain which way it was going to go, there were some great races and some not-so-great controversies and now, at the end of it all, it's time so say so long and farewell to some names and faces.

Of course, there's always a chance that people will return to the sport in one way or another but for the moment there are a few departures. Michael Schumacher's retirement from racing is arguably the absence that will be most felt. The seven-time champion is the most successful driver in F1's history and that kind of legacy won't be easily forgotten.

Schumacher will perhaps be remembered as much for his controversies as for his record-breaking career but no matter how one feels about the German, he made a huge contribution to the sport. He may not have gone out with a win or that eighth title but his performance at Interlagos was a reminder of just why he was so successful for so long.

"People ask me what I will miss but it is still too early to consider that," he said after Brazil. "For now all I need is peace and quiet, something that is a novelty for me. I am well aware of the unforgettable moments I have had in Formula One and of the fans' support. It is always comforting knowing that someone is supporting you in difficult times. This feeling has always been with me and I hope, in my own way, to have given the fans something to cheer."

Michelin has made its name well-known over its years in F1. The French tyre manufacturer competed in 216 Grands Prix since 1977 and notched up nine world championship titles with its partner teams. Since last year's US Grand Prix controversy Michelin's future involvement in F1 and its relationship with the FIA looked decidedly rocky.

Michelin's reasons for quitting at the end of this season focused on the constant changing of tyre rules and the FIA's intention to have a single tyre supplier from 2008, which the manufacturer did not agree with. Michelin previously left F1 in the mid-eighties and returned in 2001 and while the sport is not in its foreseeable future, another return is possible.

Massa wins Brazilian GP, Alonso is champion

teamcar - Ferrari's Felipe Massa became the first Brazilian since Ayrton Senna in 1993 to win his home race when he took the chequered flag at Interlagos for his second victory of the season. Massa led the Brazilian Grand Prix from pole to flag and Renault's Fernando Alonso became the youngest back-to-back world champion with second place. Renault also claimed the constructors' title for the second consecutive year.

Honda's Jenson Button had a strong drive from 14th on the grid to come home in third, while Michael Schumacher's final race was an eventful one. An early puncture dropped the German way down the field but he fought back in superb fashion, his determination taking him over the line in fourth place. Less than he had hoped for, perhaps, but Schumacher's performance was a memorable one to end his career.

Home Pole for Massa as Schumacher hits problems

teamcar - The 2006 championship took another turn for the worst this afternoon at Interlagos for Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. After blitzing the lap record in the second 15-minute qualifying session, Schumacher took to the circuit for his final run only for his 248 F1 to hit mechanical problems. While the team has claimed the Pole Position courtesy of Felipe Massa, more mechanical gremlins have fallen Schumacher’s way.

With Schumacher coasting back to the Ferrari pit to effectively retire from the third qualifying session, the top ten battled for position. It was Massa who showed the way in comprehensive style in the second Ferrari, stopping the clocks in a very rapid 1:10.680s best.

Massa, undoubtedly very light on fuel, enjoys a six-tenth of a second advantage over Kimi Raikkonen who once again did a tremendous job in what is final Grand Prix with McLaren Mercedes. Like Ferrari, it was a mixed day for the McLaren team as Pedro de la Rosa again failed to shine and starts 12th. With nothing to lose in either title race, perhaps the team should have taken the opportunity of assessing Lewis Hamilton in race conditions…

Giancarlo Fisichella starts in sixth position in the second Renault – just 0.062s slower than Alonso - and with Michael Schumacher starting at best tenth, depending on what the Ferrari squad decide to do with the 248 F1, Renault will be very confident heading into the 71-lap Brazilian Grand Prix tomorrow afternoon.

Formula 1 Grand Prix - Interlagos, Brazil

No penalty for Alonso engine swap
Alex Wurz sets the Friday pace

Elias wins, Rossi takes championship lead!

teamcar - Valentino Rossi will take an eight-point lead over Nicky Hayden into the final round of the 2006 season after one of the most dramatic races in history ended with a debut victory for Toni Elias.

Fortuna Honda rider Elias - who had looked out of a job at the end of the season - took his first win, and podium, from just eleventh on the grid and after a photo finish between himself and Rossi.

Toni's win cost Rossi five vital points, but he will still take an eight-point championship lead into the Valencia season finale after Dani Pedrosa unforgivably took out then world championship leading team-mate Nicky Hayden, while trying to take third place from the American early on.

As well as Pedrosa and Hayden, Casey Stoner, Sete Gibernau and Shinya Nakano all crashed out early on - helping the new Ilmor SRT team to take a point on its MotoGP debut, despite finishing four laps down after having to pit due to electrical problems.

Rossi takes pole ahead of Edwards and Hayden

teamcar - The MotoGP title chase undertook its latest twist this afternoon in qualifying for the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal, with both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden lining up on the front row for tomorrow's race.

There is also added intrigue provided by the presence of both riders' team-mates in the immediate vicinity, perhaps acting as spoilers as they aim to help their colleagues. Rossi took pole with a storming time of 1'36.200, taking his first ever front spot in Portugal but his fourth of the 2006 season. He lines up alongside Colin Edwards, who has stated that he will be looking to assist his Camel Yamaha colleague in Estoril.

Nicky Hayden joins the two Yamaha M1s on the front row, and knows that a good start will be essential if he is to prevent title rival Rossi from getting away. Carrying his good form over from his free practice performance this morning, the Kentucky Kid wasn't quite able to catch Rossi and Edwards but is still in a good position at the track where he has yet to finish higher than fourth.

Hayden takes the advantage

teamcar - Blessed by favorable conditions, the riders made the most of their final free practice sessions, on Saturday morning, to get themselves in good shape for Sunday's Portuguese GP.

Standings leader Nicky Hayden set the pace on Saturday morning, being the only rider to dip under the 1'37 with a scorching 1'36''846 fastest lap. Unsurprisingly, his closest rival proved to be Camel Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi. Third was Hayden's teammate Dani Pedrosa, ahead of Kenny Roberts Jr and Colin Edwards – Rossi's teammate.

Loris Capirossi found some more pace to make it into the top ten behind Gibernau and Friday's fastest man Casey Stoner. On the contrary, Carlos Checa could not keep up with the leaders and had to content himself with the eleventh fastest time, 1.8s away from Hayden.

The Spaniard edged out Fortuna Honda rider Marco Melandri, back on the saddle after the heavy crash he suffered during Friday's afternoon session.

MOTORSPORT UPDATE :

Schumacher focused on constructors' title
Ferrari fastest again at Jerez
Green light for 2007 Belgian Grand Prix
Renault man says dirty tricks unlikely

MALAYSIA SECURE DOUBLE VICTORY IN BRNO

teamcar - A1 Team Malaysia secured a double victory today in Brno as Alex Yoong added the Feature race spoils to his Sprint race win. A1 Team Czech Republic’s Tomas Enge clinched second position, with Mexican Salvador Duran completing the podium in third.

Malaysian Yoong started the race from pole position, however a lightning start from A1 Team Canada dropped him back to second after the first corner. Rookie James Hinchcliffe belied his relative lack of A1GP experience as he pulled out a five second gap over the next 15 laps.

Yoong however kept in touch and was finally able to seize his chance on lap 32 when Hinchcliffe ran slightly wide through turn eight. As Hinchcliffe was pitched into a spin, Yoong powered up the inside to snatch the lead. Yoong credited his Canadian rookie rival, “James defended quite hard but he was fair. I had a four second gap to him after the pit stop and I knew he was about two tenths of a second per lap faster, so the most important thing was to keep in touch and see what happened. When he ran wide I got through and took the lead. I’m really happy with the weekend’s results, the team did a great job for both races.”

MALAYSIA SEAL SPRINT RACE VICTORY AT BRNO

teamcar - A1 Team Malaysia has secured a comprehensive lights–to–flag victory in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Sprint race at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. Canada, driven consistently by rookie James Hinchcliffe, came an impressive second, one second ahead of 2005/06 champions A1 Team France.

Malaysia’s Alex Yoong edged ahead at the rolling start after polesitter New Zealand and second-placed Germany clashed before the first corner. Nico Hülkenberg roared away from the lights to pull even with Jonny Reid at the end of the pit straight, but Reid jinked to the left to take the racing line and nudged into the German car.

The impact sent Hülkenberg wide onto the grass, into the barriers and retirement, while Reid picked up a left-rear puncture. The black car returned to the pits for inspection, but the damage was too extensive and Reid also retired from the race.

With a clear track ahead Yoong was able to pull out a one second advantage by the end of the first lap over A1 Team Canada, who had leapfrogged ahead of China at the start. France was the big winners away from the lights however, jumping from eighth to third by the second turn. Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre commented, “It was not an easy start, but thankfully I had a good one and was able to keep out of the trouble until the end.”

A1GP, BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC: QUALIFYING RESULTS

teamcar - A1 Team New Zealand has secured pole position for tomorrow’s Sprint race at Brno in dominant style. Kiwi driver Jonny Reid was fastest in all four qualifying segments to secure the first spot on the grid with an aggregate time 0.4secs faster than A1 Team Germany.

New Zealand set the early pace in the first three 15 minute sessions, but a flying lap by Nico Hülkenberg in the final segment looked set to hand the aggregate pole to the Germans. Reid however held his nerve to complete a flying lap just seconds before the chequered flag to seize the top spot, the team’s first-ever A1GP pole position.

A1 Team Malaysia will start the Sprint race from third following Alex Yoong’s flying lap at the end of qualifying. The ex-Formula 1 driver posted a time just 0.187secs slower than Reid in the last segment to jump ahead of A1 Teams Great Britain and China. Yoong was pleased with his team’s progress over the weekend, “The last race was hard for me and we were struggling a bit yesterday too. There are new people on the team, but we are getting there. It’s a great circuit and I enjoy the challenge; it’s unique with so many medium speed corners but hardly any short or long so you have to drive with a different style – very different from Zandvoort.”

Massa pips Schumacher in all Ferrari front-row

teamcar - Felipe Massa saved his best until last as he snatched Pole Position for the Japanese Grand Prix from Michael Schumacher in the very final seconds of qualifying. Ferrari had shown sensational pace all through the three 15-minute qualifying sessions with Michael Schumacher recording a stunning 1:28.954s record best in Q2, but come the final 15-minute run, it was Massa who edged Schumacher off the provisional Pole.

Felipe Massa’s best lap was a 1:29.599s while Schumacher was just 0.122s slower in the sister 248 F1. With an all Ferrari front row and title rival Fernando Alonso starting back in fifth position, Schumacher will not be too unhappy having missed out on his chance to take a record ninth Pole Position at Suzuka. Toyota has made big gains this weekend at their home circuit.

Perhaps running a little lighter on fuel than its immediate rivals Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli qualified third and fourth respectively. Last year of course, Ralf Schumacher claimed the Pole for the team but was a very early stopper for fuel. Still, Bridgestone will be most happy to see four of its cars in the top four for Sunday’s 53-lap Grand Prix.

Fifth position is not what Fernando Alonso would have hoped for. He and team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella just do not seem to have the pace to challenge Ferrari this weekend. Alonso’s fifth fastest lap of 1:30.371s was six-tenths slower than rival Schumacher.

Giancarlo Fisichella is doing a solid job this weekend in the second Renault and until the final laps of qualifying today actually held the upper hand on Alonso.

Fisichella takes the Friday honours

teamcar - The second hour of Friday practice saw a frantic last minute dash as the rains that dominated the morning session cleared away and the 5.807KM circuit dried rapidly. Much of the session was run on the intermediate tyres, but the final ten minutes saw all head out on the grooved slicks to gather some vital data.

With the circuit improving by the lap, it was Giancarlo Fisichella who topped the timesheets for Renault with a best lap of 1.34.337sas the chequered flag flew. Felipe Massa was second fastest in his Ferrari just 0.071s slower than Fisichella while Michael Schumacher took the third fastest time with title rival Fernando Alonso slotting into fourth. Like the championship battle itself, there is again nothing in it at Suzuka.

Davidson fastest in wet practice

teamcar - Anthony Davidson led the way this morning in the rain hit opening practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. With rain falling throughout the 60-minute session, the Honda test driver reeled off a string of laps, the best of which earned him the top spot on a 1:45.349s.

As ever in Friday practice, it was the test drivers that completed the bulk of the running with most of the race drivers simply completing an installation lap and then pitting for good.

In the wet conditions it was Michelin runners to the fore once again with Davidson leading the way from Scott Speed in his Toro Rosso Cosworth while BMW Sauber rookie Sebastian Vettel was third fastest.

CZECH MATE: A1GP HEADS EAST FOR SECOND ROUND OF SEASON

teamcar - Brno - Just five days after the thrilling opening round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Zandvoort, the Netherlands, the field once again roars into action for round two of the 12-event series. This time the championship heads to the east of Europe to the 5.41km Brno track in the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, close to the Austrian border.

Set in a natural amphitheatre in the rolling countryside just outside Brno, the second largest city in the country after the capital Prague, the track winds its way across forested hillsides in a series of swooping downhill bends and challenging 90-degree corners.

Long, fast straights run into tight corners that should produce spectacular overtaking manoeuvres as cars pull out of the slipstream and leave braking to the very last second.

With the race taking place in late autumn, weather conditions could be anything from heavy rain, frost and fog to hazy, warm sunshine, which could produce a re-run of the unpredictable Zandvoort Feature race in which the lead changed eight times over 41 laps.

Twenty-three nations from six continents will take to the track to compete in the only motor racing series to pitch country against country on a level playing field. A1 Team Germany heads to the Czech Republic at the top of the series’ standings following its stunning win in the incident-filled Feature race in Zandvoort and fourth place in the Sprint race.

Rookie driver Nico Hulkenberg relishes the prospect of fighting for the lead once again, “It was a fantastic feeling to win in Zandvoort,” commented the 19-year-old, “it was a very exciting race with the mixed conditions going from dry to wet and then dry again.

The level of competition in A1GP is very high, there are a lot of experienced drivers here, some I’ve raced against before. I’m now looking forward to Brno – I’ve raced here in Formula BMW and I like it quite a bit. It’s like a ‘nature’ track going through the hills and there are more overtaking places than Zandvoort; we could see very good races.”

A1 Team Malaysia Adds New Sponsor

teamcar - A1 Team Malaysia adds a new sponsor for the second season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, with support from Helvetica Wealth Management Partners, a global asset management company.

The Malaysian team enjoyed a strong inaugural season of A1GP finishing fifth in the overall championship standings, and celebrated a victory in the final race at Shanghai.

This high level of performance has attracted the attention of Helvetica, with the company recognising the opportunity that this new motor racing series presents for brand promotion on a global scale.

Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, said of the tie-up, “We’re delighted to welcome Helvetica Wealth Management Partners as a sponsor of A1 Team Malaysia. We look forward to a new season of competition, showcasing the Helvetica brand around the world.”

The Helvetica Wealth Management Partners logo will appear on A1 Team Malaysia team clothing and on the A1GP car, alongside the team’s other sponsors which include Proton Cars.

A1GP - Germany, South Africa win in Zandvoort

teamcar - A1GP raised the curtain on their second season at Zandvoort, a track which was not part of the inaugural campaign. Both Germany and South Africa captured their first wins in competition, South Africa in the morning's sprint race and Germany scoring the victory in the feature race. Drivers Adrian Zaugg (South Africa) and Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) made successful debuts in the events.

There was disappointment for Malaysia's Alex Yoong, who finished 17th in the feature race after damaging his car in a warm-up lap incident. Alex had ended the shorter sprint race earlier in 11th spot.

Alex's race was effectively over even before the start when he knocked into the back of the Swiss car of Sebastian Buemi which stalled at the beginning of the warm-up lap.

“We struggled in the sprint race and in the feature race, we were slow on certain sectors and lost a lot of time. This was certainly not what I was hoping for,” said Alex.

His mishap was just part of a string of incidents in the feature race witnessed by a sell-out crowd of more than 100,000.