MAY 1999

HILL ABOUT POSSIBLE RETIREMENT
(01/06) Damon Hill has not have a good season so far, but he is ready to be on top as soon as possible, especially as his team mate Frentzen outpaced him very well so far this season. Hill said, 'Those reports are premature and predictable, but I didn't expect anything else. I have got as much motivation about coming to a motor race as I ever have done. That will help me through this period.' The former world champion has vowed to cash in on Jordan's competitiveness and is confident he can turn his season around. 'Things can get a lot better without much difficulty,' he said. 'I had a bit of an up-down start last year as well, and it's not something I am particularly pleased about or proud of, but I won't give up.' 'If I get a sniff of an opportunity to race at the front I will be ready for it. I will be there when it counts.'

ANDRETTI BACK TO VICTORY LANE, MONTOYA BURNS OUT!
(30/05) Michael Andretti outmanoeuvred Brazil's Helio Castro-Neves and Scotland's Dario Franchitti over the last 30 laps to win the Motorola 300 at Gateway, Illinois. The American scored the 38th victory of his career, the most of any active CART racer, and his first in 24 races. 'It was an awesome race,' he said. 'I was driving the hardest I have driven in anything. I was driving on the edge.' Colombia's Juan Montoya, bidding to tie the CART record of four wins in a row, finished 11th but still leads overall.

BRACK BENEFITS FROM GORDON'S BAD LUCK FOR INDY 500 GLORY
(30/05) Kenny Brack of Sweden cruised to a 6.5 second victory after Robby Gordon ran out of fuel with six laps to go in the 83rd running of the Indy 500 race. Gordon took the lead from Brack on lap 171 when Brack made his last pit stop. The American had refuelled on lap 164 but 36 circuits was too far to go on one tank of methanol and he dropped back to fourth on the penultimate lap.
Crew chief Steve Fried is in a "critical" condition in hospital after being struck by a car in the pit lane. Top positions from Indianapolis: 1 K Brack Swe Dall Aurora 2 J Ward US Dall Aurora 3 B Boat USA Dall Aurora 4 R Gordon USA Dall Aurora 5 R McGehee USA Dall Aurora 6 R Buhl USA Dall Aurora 7 B Lazier USA Dall Aurora 8 R Unser USA Dall Aurora 9 T Stewart USA Dall Aurora 10 H Matsuda Jpn Dall Aurora

FOGARTY WITH DOUBLE WIN FROM MONZA
(30/05) Carl Fogarty, triple champion in SBK series scored 53rd victory so far after double win at Monza GP weekend. Colin Edwards was in both races second fastest, with Francesco Chilli third place in both races too. Troy Corser led both races, but then was forced to slow when he felt vibrations coming from his Ducati. "I had to ease the pace or I would have crashed." said the Aussie afterwards. Race 1: 1. C. FOGARTY Ducati 2. C. EDWARDS Honda 3. P. CHILI Suzuki 4. T. CORSER Ducati 5. A. SLIGHT Honda 6. N. HAGA Yamaha 7. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 8. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki Race 2: 1. C. FOGARTY Ducati 2. C. EDWARDS Honda 3. P. CHILI Suzuki 4. T. CORSER Ducati 5. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 6. N. HAGA Yamaha 7. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki 8. A. MEKLAU Ducati

AIELLO SCORED DOUBLE VICTORY
(01/06) Laurent Aiello took a huge stride towards glory in the Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park on Monday. The Frenchman delivered two blistering drives from pole position to take a brace of victories in his Nissan Primera. Having won six of the first ten races, Aiello has established an awesome 48 point lead over his nearest challenger and the BTCC newcomer is still the only driver with more than one success to his name this year. Aiello: "I've won 6 out of 10, but I'm still really surprised to be in this position, even if the car is really strong. I pushed all the way to the flag because you never know what might happen before the end." (BTCC.CO.UK)

BAR IS THERE, CLOSE TO THE TOP, BUT ...
(31/05) British American Racing team was thrilled by Jacques performance in early stage of the race, as Canadian 1997 champion was ahead of both Ferraris after briliant start. "Jacques' unbelievable start we can see that the performance is there too," said Craig Pollock, the team's managing director. He continued by saying: "He was able to withstand the enormous pressure which Michael put him under, especially considering the speed the Ferraris showed when they got past him after the first pitstop," "It was an encouraging race for the team however because we've made real progress, but now I need to get to the end," said Villeneuve.

HAKKINEN LEADS McLAREN ONE - TWO AT BARCELONA
(30/05) Mika Hakkinen led home teammate David Coulthard as McLaren dominated the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya from start to finish. The Finn led from pole, only conceding first place during his pit stop, and eventually finished 6.2 seconds clear of Scot Coulthard and 10.8 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. The German maintained his championship lead, but reigning champion Hakkinen's second win of the season leaves him just six points adrift of Schumacher. Ferrari recovered from two poor starts by Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine, when their drivers finished third and fourth respectively. Ralf Schumacher in a Williams was fifth, with Jano Trulli in a Prost picking up a single point.

TOYOTA READY FOR ENETERING INTO F1 IN 2000
(30/05) "I think it is more than rumour about the entry of Toyota," said Dennis in Barcelona on Saturday. They have made one official statement but irrespective of their Le Mans result I would be surprised if they didn't come up with a decision that they would be coming in next year," he added.

BOBBY LABONTE FROM CHARLOTTE POLE
(27/05) The Bud Pole is the 3rd of the season for Labonte, and the 16th of his career. He'll be joined on the front row Sunday by Jeff Burton. Kenny Wallace, Elliott Sadler and Steve Park rounded out the top-5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make his NASCAR Winston Cup Series debut after qualifying 8th. And Jeff Gordon, who was aiming for his 6th straight Bud Pole for the Coca-Cola 600, will start 10th. Top times: 1 Bobby Labonte Pontiac 185.230mph 2 Jeff Burton Ford 184.868 3 Kenny Wallace Chevy 184.799 4 Elliott Sadler Ford 184.761 5 Steve Park Chevy 184.634 6 Ken Schrader Chevy 184.483 7 Mark Martin Ford 184.458 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 184.407 9 Jeremy Mayfield Ford 184.388 10 Jeff Gordon Chevy 184.162

SCHMIDT FASTEST ON LAST PRACTICE AHEAD OF INDIANAPOLIS 500
(28/05) Sam Schmidt posted the fastest speed, 222.458 mph, on Thursday during Coors Carburetion Day, the last practice before the 83rd Indianapolis 500. Schmidt said: 'We just went through our checklist, and we kept it off the wall. So, we’re pretty happy. On Race Day, we’re going to have a darned good race car in traffic, and we’re gonna race to be there at the end.' Top starting spots: 1 A Luyendyk Net G Force Aurora 2 minutes 39.87 seconds 2 G Ray USA Dall Aurora 2:39.94 3 B Boat USA Dall Aurora 2:41.09 4 R Gordon USA Dall Aurora 2:41.38 5 M Dismore USA Dall Aurora 2:41.52 6 S Sharp USA Dall Aurora 2:41.60

AGAIN HAKKINEN ON FIFTH STRAIGHT POLE AT BARCELONA
(29/05) Mika Hakkinen continued with great qualifying run this season as he clinched his fifth pole of '99 season. Second fastest was Eddie Irvine for Ferrari team, third fastest Coulthard in second McLaren car. Only fourth fastest was Schumacher in second Ferrari car. Jean Alesi was surprisengly fifth fastest after great first lap made early in the qualifying session. He was almost 2/3 of qualifying session on pole position, but was unable to better his early time. Sixth fastest was again very impressive Jacques Villeneuve for BAR, only seventh fastest Barrichello for Stewart team, eight Frentzen for Jordan and reasonably good ninth Trulli for Prost team. Qualifying times: 1. M. HAKKINEN McLaren 1:22,088 2. E. IRVINE Ferrari + 0,131 3. D. COULTHARD McLaren 0,156 4. M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari 0,189 5. J. ALESI Sauber 0,300 6. J. VILLENEUVE BAR 0,615 7. R. BARRICHELLO Stewart 0,832 8. H.-H. FRENTZEN Jordan 0,850 9. J. TRULLI Prost 1,106 10. R. SCHUMACHER Williams 1,215 11. D. HILL Jordan 1,229 12. P. DINIZ Sauber 1,243 13. G. FISICHELLA Benetton 1,245 14. J. HERBERT Stewart 1,417 15. O. PANIS Prost 1,471

POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE
(29/05) Q. Congratulations, Mika, this makes five pole positions in a row for you. What's your reaction? Mika Hakkinen: It would be good if we could be getting a world championship point for pole position. That would help me a lot. Q. You only did one really fast run today ... MH: That's all you need, at the end of the day. But again it was a very difficult, very challenging qualifying session, like they have all been so far this season. The times are very close and the cars are very competitive. So qualifying is down to getting the lap right, getting on to the circuit at the right time and getting the setup right. That's what it's all about. It was our engineers, working together, with David and with the whole team, who managed to get the best out of the car. And I was able to take the pole. Q. Does the balance feel good? MH: It's definitely improving. I think we have done good work since yesterday in improving the balance. But there is still some more to come, and more work to be done on the car, to achieve the balance in the chassis that David and I would prefer to have. We are going to maximise it this weekend. Q. Has there been a moment during the two days when you felt it wasn't going well for you? MH: When I was in the press conference here on Thursday, one of the questions that was asked was about this being a McLaren circuit and us being able to go flat out. But I said to hold on, it isn't as simple as that. I didn't believe we should think that way -- and I was right. The competition and the lap times are very close. OK, I am on pole position, but the gaps to the second and third places are extremely small, so it cannot be that straightforward. In fact it has been very difficult. Q. So you were never confident? MH: Inside yourself, of course you have confidence in the team. But I am never confident enough to be able to say, yes, I am going to be quickest. But we were quickest ... and it was very positive. Q. Eddie, we saw you sitting on the pit wall when Mika went quickest. You seem to be philosophical not to have kept pole position ... Eddie Irvine: Yes, I was [philosophical]. If anyone had told me before the weekend that I would be starting this race from second place on the grid, I don't think I would have believed it. I am very pleased because for some strange reason the car has been much better this weekend than it was during testing here, when it was a complete disaster. Everywhere we have been this year the car had been really well balanced, but when we came here for the final test last week I was a long way off the pace. I just couldn't drive the car fast then. But when we came here yesterday the car felt good straightaway. Today pole position was a definite possibility, but I couldn't get the car good both at the start and the finish of the lap, it could only be one or the other. Then on my best lap I made a mistake in the middle. Pole position was there [for me], and there was the potential [for me] to go a little quicker. But I cannot complain. Q. Where does this leave you as far as your team mate Michael Schumacher is concerned? EI: Ahead of him. I hope to be able to beat these two guys away from the start. If I don't beat Mika I will just take him off at the first corner! No ... hopefully I can beat them off the line, then just pull away and win the race. MH: Eddie, you're going to have to catch me first ... Q. We heard yesterday how tricky the cross winds can be here ... EI: The wind is tricky every day, at every circuit, especially here. But you saw it for the first time in Australia, where the wind was behind the tails of all the cars at a certain corner and almost everybody went off the road. This year's cars are hyper-sensitive to the wind now, because of the tyres. Q. How tricky was it in qualifying today with much less wind? EI: As I said, I don't understand it. My car hasn't been affected so much by the wind this weekend. I have an idea why, but I am not about to tell you ... Q. David, this morning you lost part of the session when the suspension broke on your car. What exactly happened? DC: I don't know why it broke in that corner, but the team is taking a close look at the data and the part itself to try to understand why it broke. But there is certainly no concern that we have a problem with that particular part, it seems to have been an isolated failure which could have been caused by any number of things. Q. Was it a very unpleasant moment? DC: Not really. It's only nasty when you hit something. A spin itself, though confusing at the time, is no big problem. And yesterday it happened in time to let me stop and get back into the pit lane. Usually that sort of thing happens to me after the pit lane entrance ... Q. There was one moment out there this afternoon when you were going faster in the first two sectors on your second lap than ever before, but you came into the pits instead of continuing. Why didn't you complete the lap? DC: First of all, I was only intending to do one timed lap on that particular run. And you don't carry extra fuel just for the fun of it ... Q. Eddie, everyone's had a lot of work to do today, and presumably you have taken the opportunity to evaluate both the Soft and Medium Bridgestone tyre. In your estimation, how many pit stops will each involve? EI: It doesn't matter. Either tyre will be good for one stop.

EDWARDS SNATCHED MONZA SUPERPOLE
(29/05) American Colin Edwards blasted his Honda to pole position at the end of a dramatic Superpole shoot-out at Monza today. In blazing heat, Edwards put in a flying lap of 1:46.365, to steal pole from Troy Corser (Ducati) and Pierfrancesco Chili (Suzuki). Doriano Romboni (Ducati) posted the fourth quickest lap of Superpole and takes a front row grid position, but series leader Carl Fogarty – also Ducati mounted – could only manage the sixth fastest lap. Edwards won both races here at Monza last year and is now looking to repeat that double. "I was based nearby for a couple of years, so Monza feels a bit like a home race for me," said Edwards. "And it was the scene of my first ever double victory last year, so it will all be special for me. All I want to do now is to do it all over again." Superpole result: 1. C. EDWARDS Honda 1'46.694 1'46.365 2. T. CORSER Ducati 1'46.733 1'46.664 3. P. CHILI Suzuki 1'46.697 1'46.751 4. D. ROMBONI Ducati 1'47.738 1'46.996 5. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 1'47.086 1'47.265 6. C. FOGARTY Ducati 1'47.014 1'47.304 7. N. HAGA Yamaha 1'48.522 1'47.661 8. K. FUJIWARA Suzuki 1'47.868 1'48.032 9. A. SLIGHT Honda 1'47.191 1'48.201 10. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki 1'48.064 1'48.223

FIRST COMMENTS AFTER FRIDAY'S FREE PRACTICE
(28/05) RUBENS BARRICHELLO: "I'm not entirely unhappy but we do have some work to do to understand the track conditions a little more if they stay the way they are. Still tomorrow is another day and I'm sure we will find the right balance in time for qualifying. The track today is a lot different to how it was during last week's test which explains why we didn't get the car to work as well."
JOHNNY HERBERT: "I think everybody is struggling a bit because the times seem to be slower than they were during the test. The wind seems to be coming from a unusual direction which is affecting the behaviour of the car but at least we have a base to work from to improve the balance of the car. I only used the one set of tyres so I'm not too concerned with my position at the moment."
ALEX ZANARDI: " Of course I am very happy with today's result even if it's thunder in a blue sky. Anyway, we must work hard, but I cannot ask more from the Team, as everyone is working flat out all the time. I am sure that this is the only way to come to a better performing car, because the tradition of the Williams Team, with regards both to the results and the technical expertise, is much better than the today's situation. We don't have to get carried away by this result, but I hope I will maintain my performances at this level."
RALPH SCHUMACHER: " Although we have done many test days here in Barcelona, I am not so happy with the set up of the car. In fact, while in some corners I had understeer problems, in others the rear was quite unstable. We will work hard in order to sort out every problem for tomorrow's qualifying. James Robinson, Senior Operations Engineer Returning here after the test last week we obviously found we required a different balance today from the one we used at the end of the test. We are focusing on trying to achieve this, being aware of different track and weather conditions and tyre life."
JARNO TRULLI: " We have not worked on the car in anything other than race conditions during the whole session and paid great attention to tyres choice ; we have used three sets. There was a lot of wind today on the circuit and the car is very sensitive to this. It is a problem which we have already experienced at this circuit. In the winter testing, I was successful here and produced some very good times, but the conditions were certainly better then with a cold track and little wind."
OLIVIER PANIS: " We have worked very hard on the set-up throughout the session and put into use several of the elements which we tested here on the same circuit last week. We have worked on the set-up of the car for the race and done tyre comparisons."
JACQUES VILLENEUVE: "I'm very happy with the work we did today. We worked on general set-ups, were able to complete our programme, and I managed to set some reasonable times, so I'm confident that we'll have a good qualifying on Saturday."
MIKA SALO: "It was rather a disappointing morning for me as I was not able to complete a timed lap before I had the engine problem, but my mechanics did an absolutely fantastic job to change it in an hour and a quarter, so I was able to do some runs in the afternoon session. I only completed 11 laps altogether but fortunately we were testing at Catalunya last week and we were able to get a lot of useful data."
LUCA BADOER: "During the first free practice session I ran over a kerb and the chassis was damaged. I kept running in order to see whether the chassis's damage was not too serious but unfortunately after a few laps I realized that my car's behaviour was strange and we'll definitely change the monocoque for tomorrow's qualifying. I am disappointed because in comparison with last week tests I didn't manage to improve my time. This is probably due to the unfavourable conditions of the track."
MARC GENE: "The track looked slower in the second session due probably to the strong wind. As a matter of fact, there haven't been time improvements since this morning. We were trying different set-ups to the car in order to improve it. While as I was entering the corner I suddenly spun off. It is a shame because it seemed to be the best moment to understand the car's behaviour with new tyres but it was not the case."
HH FRENTZEN: "I am very happy with today's result. The wind was strong and we had to work hard to find the right set up for today's conditions. Ironically, we ended up with exactly the same set up as we had at the end of our test last week, but whereas in the test the balance was not quite right, today it was very good. These narrow track Formula One cars are extremely sensitive to the conditions here in Barcelona. The wind, track temperature and the turbulence from cars under 200 metres ahead can make a big difference to the lap times. So all things considered, we did a good job today, and will hopefully be able to get it right again tomorrow."
DAMON HILL: "It was difficult to find the right set up today due to the windy condition and It makes it very hard to read the car and make the right set up changes. But the result at the end of the day was not bad."
EDDIE IRVINE: "The car is performing better than it did at last week's test. It is hard to be sure exactly what the situation is, because of the strong wind. That is what caused me to lose the rear end of the car and spin this morning. The wind problem is worse than last year as the tyres now offer less grip, so we rely more on the aerodynamics. At the end of the session, we made some changes to the set-up, which improved the car in some parts of the track and made it worse in others. We will have to look at that tomorrow. Of course I am happy to be quickest today, but it does not mean much."
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: "We got through a lot of work today and tried many different configurations. The car feels better than at last week's test and its handling has improved. It is a bit difficult to analyse today's times because of the wind, which greatly affects lap times here. To judge our own performance accurately, we must look at the data to see who did what times in what conditions. I am fairly optimistic that we can qualify as well as we did in Monaco. It will be difficult, but not impossible."
MIKA HAKKINEN: "We spent this morning optimising the car for the current conditions which were very hot with changeable winds and they may well be the same in the race.
DAVID COULTHARD: ‘We worked through the usual pattern of set up checks and changes, as we always do on a Friday. Whilst I am not as quick as I would like to be yet, I am certain there is plenty more to come tomorrow morning.'

MONTOYA WILL START FROM MOTOROLA 300 POLE
(28/05) Colombian rookie Juan Montoya claimed pole position in the Motorola 300 at Gateway, Illinois, where he bids for a fourth straight record-equalling win. Montoya took his Honda-powered Reynard around the 1.27 mile circuit in 25.01 seconds and said: 'It feels good to win. Why not keep it going?' He came to the CART series as European F3 champion and part-time Williams test driver. Another win will match the feat of Al Unser in 1990 and Alex Zanardi - the man Montoya replaced - in 1998. Top times: 1 J Montoya Col Honda-Reynard 25.0 seconds 2 P Tracy Can Honda-Rey 25.09 3 H C-Neves Brz Merc-Lola 25.10 4 P Carpentier Can Merc-Rey 25.18 5 D Franchitti GB Honda-Rey 25.19 6 G Moore Can Merc-Rey 25.19 7 A Fernandez Mex Ford-Rey 25.22 8 C Fittipaldi Brz Ford-Swift 25.23 9 R Gordon USA Toyota-Swift 25.24 10 J Vasser USA Honda-Rey 25.35

COLIN EDWARDS FASTEST ON FRIDAY AT MONZA
(28/05) American Colin Edwards (Honda) led the pack at the end of the first day of qualifying for the fifth round of the World Superbike Championship at Monza today. Edwards posted a lap of 1:46.812, just over one hundredth of a second quicker then Australian Troy Corser (Ducati). Third quickest today is series leader Carl Fogarty (Ducati), with home hero Pierfrancesco Chili (Suzuki) fourth fastest. Edwards won both races here last year and is looking to repeat the double, as the Honda versus Ducati battle rages on. Slovene Igor Jerman made great run on Privater's Kawasaki motorbike while posting eight fastest time, ahead of many factory motorbikes. Top times: 1. C. EDWARDS Honda 1'46.812 194,472 2. T. CORSER Ducati 1'46.828 194,443 3. C. FOGARTY Ducati 1'47.014 194,105 4. P. CHILI Suzuki 1'47.053 194,034 5. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 1'47.086 193,974 6. A. SLIGHT Honda 1'47.191 193,784 7. K. FUJIWARA Suzuki 1'47.868 192,568 8. I. JERMAN Kawasaki 1'48.254 191,882 9. D. ROMBONI Ducati 1'48.348 191,715 10. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki 1'48.420 191,588

IRVINE TOPPED FRIDAY'S TIMES AT SPAIN
(28/05) Irish driver Eddie Irvine survived his spun and topped Friday's free practice times ahead of very bouyant H.H. Frentzen in Jordan car. Thid fastest was Schumacher in second Ferrari car, just ahead of Finn Mika Hakkinen in McLaren. Alex Zanardi completed good day with fifth fastest time in Williams car, just ahead of Briton Damon Hill in second Jordan car. Top times: 1 E.Irvine IRL Ferrari 1'23"577 2 H.H.Frentzen GER Jordan 1'23"790 3 M.Schumacher GER Ferrari 1'23"895 4 M.Hakkinen FIN McLaren 1'23"982 5 A.Zanardi ITA Williams 1'24"312 6 D.Hill GB Jordan 1'24"318 7 D.Coulthard SCO McLaren 1'24"339 8 R.Barrichello BRA Stewart 1'24"347 9 J.Villeneuve CAN BAR 1'24"458 10 R.Schumacher GER Williams 1'24"559

NEW BMW-WILLIAMS CHASSIS
(28/05) BMW will be supplying engines for the Williams team in the 2000 season and in accordance with this the company confirmed that they are to start the first preparations to build a new Williams-BMW chassis. The chassis will be manufactured at BMW's facilities in Grove.

CART - IRL MERGE IN NEAR FUTURE
(27/05) Secret talks have taken place between CART and Indy Racing League (IRL) officials about ending the four-year schism in the North American sport. CART chief Andrew Craig has spoken with Tony George, founder of the rival IRL, about reuniting as soon as next year. "I can confirm that there have been some very informal talks with Tony George," said Andrew Craig, president and CEO of Championship Auto Racing Teams. "However, I am not prepared to comment on any of the details."

PENSKE CONTINUES WITH LOLA AS GOOD PARTNER
(27/05) Unser first tried the Lola on Tuesday after which it was agreed he would race the car at this weekend's race in St Louis. Unser said, 'We had a good test. I like the Lola and we'll be running it at St Louis. 'We're going to get to know it. We've still got a lot to learn about the Lola, but I think we'll be more competitive at St Louis and Milwaukee.' Tarso Marques will be in Penske's other car, the PC27Bs, and is expected to race a few more times in the car, while Unser devotes time to the Lola.

LUYENDYK RETIRES ON OWN TERMS
(26/05) Dutchman Arie Luyendyk, who will be in pole position at this weekend's Indy 500, is retiring on his own terms at the track that has given him his greatest success, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 'I've expected to be as competitive as I have been,' the two-time Indy 500 winner said. 'I'm real happy with the way things have been going.' He should be happy. He has won more than $5 million at the Brickyard - more than anyone else.

FERRARI LACKS MORE HORSEPOWER
(25/05) Paolo Martinelli has confirmed that Ferrari's engine development programme will be refocused as they have 10-15bhp deficit compared to McLaren's Mercedes engine. The revised engine development programme will thus focus on cutting as much weight as possible from as many parts, while trying to maintain the same reliability.

SCHUMACHER DISMISED POSIBILITY FOR HAT TRICK
(27/05) Double world champion Michael Schumacher dismised all rumors about his posibility for third consecutive victory this season as he beleive that McLaren is to quickon high speed Barcelona circuit. But there is all time only about but ... "It is going to be very difficult for me because there is a clear advantage for McLaren on the circuit. It will be closer than last year, but we are not looking strong enough to win the race."

JORDAN TEAM ALL BEHIND HILL
(27/05) Jordan team is curently third in constructor's standings and their drivers helped a lot to get there. Whole team is ready to provide everything for both drivers Frentzen and Hill to deliver even beter results. On the one hand Frentzen made great work so far for Yellow team, while Hill is still strugling with 1999 Jordan car. After Hill's performance at Monaco, the team's managing director, Trevor Foster said: "We need to sit down and look at it. You can't totally blame the driver if one car is seventh on the grid and the other is 17th. We have to understand why it's happening". Mike Gascoyne, the chief designer, summed it up by saying: "When he was on song, Damon did it for us, and it's up to us to get it back".

I AM NOT A LOOSER - COULTHARD FOR THE PRESS
(27/05) David Coulthard criticised almost everything arround his head as he feels that many people beleive he is uncompetitive driver, but he stressed out that's not any near to the truth. "I'm not saying that I'm the dog's bollocks, but I don't think it should be under question whether I deserve a drive with a top team or not." He also added: "But given the right support I can compete for race wins and championships. I know that I can give more. Some of that will come from me and some from the my environment."

WILLIAMS TEAM READY FOR 400TH START
(27/05) The Spanish Grand Prix sees the Williams team competing in its 400th Grand Prix, and though a win is unlikely, the squad's illustrious history suggests they will be back at the front before long.

BRAIN-STORMING SESSION PLANNED
(26/05) Senior officials Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley are to sit down with Formula One teams for a 24-hour meeting next month to thrash out the future of the sport. The idea is for the group to work out how F1 will develop over the next decade and determine what would happen if the sport was reinvented. 'It's the first time this has ever been done,' said a source. 'Some have done it informally before, but never everyone at the same time.'

HONDA READY FOR ONE STEP AHEAD
(26/05) According to the managing director, Takeo Fukui, they have bold ambitions for their return as he explained: "We would like to have a win within three years, but we are a bit quick-tempered, and we have our own internal expectations, which we should not reveal today". Their ambitions were further stressed by the following statement: "Honda's F1 challenge will not be limited to simply supplying engines, but will be a more comprehensive effort, including total machine development, in conjunction with BAR. Honda and BAR will both be involved in racing car chassis development work in new technological fields, including chassis management systems".

McLAREN TEAM READY FOR RAVANGE IN SPAIN
(25/05) McLaren team is ready to bounce back from Monaco disappointment in best way at Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona this weekend. Ron Dennis said the following about the upcoming race: "It would be difficult to find a clearer contrast between Grand Prix circuits than the claustrophobic streets of Monte Carlo and wide-open nature of the Circuit de Catalunya. It is important, however, for the West McLaren Mercedes team to be able to adapt to such dramatic variations in championship circuits while remaining competitive". David Coulthard is equally enthusiastic of the "chance to stretch the legs of the Mercedes engine". Team mate Mika Hakkinen added that he normally goes well on the technical circuit and said that he is hoping to repeat his performance of the 1998 season. Mika Hakkinen added: "Our testing went well at Barcelona last week and I am confident we will be very competitive in qualifying and the race itself this weekend. This is a very good technical circuit where I always seem to go well and, hopefully, I can repeat my performance of last year."

FERRARI WITH SAME PACKAGE TO BARCELONA
(23/05) Ferrari goes into the fifth round of the F1 world championship in the lead of both the driver's and the constructors' championship and aren't prepared to take any chances. In accordance with this they have indicated that both T-cars will be on hand at the Spanish GP in a week's time. They have furthermore indicated that no new engine specification will be introduced, but admitted that they will be making use of a different aerodynamic configuration at the GP weekend. GORDON READY FOR POLE NO. 6 AT CHARLOTTE
(26/05) Three-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will attempt to collect his 6th consecutive Bud Pole today for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. If successful, Gordon will break the tie he has with David Pearson for the most consecutive poles for the sport's longest event. (NASCAR.COM)

GORDON NOT DISAPPOINTED BY CHARLOTTE WEEKEND
(25/05) It's too bad for Jeff Gordon that The Winston at Lowe's Motor Speedway isn't a points-paying event. If it were, at least he might have taken home the 10 bonus points for leading the most laps.

MARLIN AND GREEN SWAP POSITIONS
(25/05) Jeff Green and Sterling Marlin will "switch leagues" and drive limited schedules in 1999 in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division, respectively.

MONTOYA SECOND TIME ON TOP OF ESPN LIST
(25/05) For the second time, the vote was unanimous. But this time, the RPM 2Night staff agreed that Juan Montoya should be No. 1. It was a decisive end to Jeff Burton's reign atop the weekly Top 15. Montoya, winner of three straight CART FedEx Series races as a rookie, received every first-place vote to easily claim the top spot for the first time. (ESPN.COM)

KANKUNNEN DELIVERED FIRST '99 VICTORY FOR SUBARU TEAM
(26/05) Juha Kankkunen snatched a dramatic victory on the last stage of Rally Argentina. The veteran Finn went into the final 21 km stage just 1.2 seconds adrift of his team mate Richard Burns, but his time over the dusty gravel track was 3.6 seconds faster. This is Kankkunen's first victory since the Rally of Portugal in 1994 and his 22nd World Championhip rally success. Similar dramas saw Tommi Makinen snatch fourth place from Carlos Sainz on the penultimate stage. This fourth place means that the reigning World Champion retains a share of the lead in the World series with another seven events to run. Auriols third puts him on equal points with Makinen.
"We didn't come here for a fourth place - I wanted to win again," said Makinen at the finish. "But I am pleased that we salvaged fourth and at least I have a share of the Championship lead with Didier (Auriol)."
"I feel really good now," said a delighted Radstrom at the finish. "We came here to Argentina to learn about the rally, learn about the roads and learn about the car and I think we've done all of those things quite well. It's superb for me to finish in the points after so long away from the driving seat. I'm really looking forward to the next round in Greece now."

CRIVILLE CONTINUES IN DOOHAN'S STYLE
(23/05) Great day for Honda 500ccfactory team was today in France, Paul Ricard circuit as their leading man Alex Criville build up 26pts points standings lead over main rival Kenny Roberts from Suzuki. Criville started from low 5th spot but made up many positions in about five laps. He closed the gap to leading Roberts and on lap 16 made move on American. From than on Spaniard Criville was in lead and stayed there till end of French GP. At the end John Kocinski delivered second place for Kanemoto Honda team, while Aprilia team was delighted by third place from Tetsuya Harada on Aprilia Super twin bike. Kenny Roberts has fallen while he was second behind Criville, while Max Biaggi fall on lap three while Italian was leading on Yamaha motorcycle. Biaggi has two fingers displaced, while Roberts seems OK. In 250cc Valentino Rossi lost what seems impossible as he was in lead from lap two, but on last lap his Aprilia cracked. Tohru Ukawa won his first 250cc GP for Honda team. Capirossi, 1998 Champion made spin and broke his arm. In 125cc Roberto Locatelli also won his first ever 125cc race in five year's career.

BRIDGESTONE - SPANISH PRE GP TEST REPORT
(22/05) Almost all of the F1 teams taking part in the three-day (May 19/21) test to prepare for the Spanish GP on May 30 had prior experience of the Circuit de Catalunya. This was perhaps fortunate, for variable weather hit the north of Spain throughout the test, making it difficult to record data under inconsistent conditions. Despite wildly varying temperatures and, on Thursday, heavy rain showers affecting the circuit, lap times fell dramatically. Eventually it was Mika Hakkinen's McLaren which recorded the best time of 1m 21.711s, edging out Michael Schumacher's Ferrari (1m 21.820s). For the race, Bridgestone will offer the same choice of tyre -- Soft or Medium -- to the teams, all of which now have plenty of experience with both types. It is expected that most of them will select the Medium, which is best suited to hot conditions. "The Circuit de Catalunya is regarded by the teams as a track where lap times are often inconsistent, due to wide fluctuations in temperature and wind direction," says Yoshihiko Ichikawa, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport. "The road surface here is also more abrasive than most, which has required us to pay special attention to selecting the two compounds that we will offer the teams for next week's race." For Bridgestone, says Ichikawa, Barcelona presents an additional challenge. "This is the first Grand Prix circuit we have visited this year where the tyres are seriously stressed," he explains. "Not only are the straights quite long by modern standards, which can lead to overheating of the tyre, but they are punctuated by corners which are mainly fast or medium-speed. "The tyres must resist the combination of high speed and lateral g-forces generated in these faster corners," observes Mr Ichikawa, "and extra grip will obviously mean more stress." Bridgestone will bring 2640 tyres to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. They will be divided between the two specs of dry tyre and two choices of wet tyre.

LUYENDYK WILL START FROM INDIANAPOLIS POLE
(23/05) Arie Luyendyk of the Netherlands, who will drive in his 15th and final Indy 500 on 30 may, will start from pole for the third time in his career. The 45-year-old delighted the crowd by pushing his G Force Aurora to the limit, recording a speed of 225.179 mph to edge ahead of Greg Ray who had dominated practice all week. 'I knew I had to drive on the limit. It was pretty uncomfortable out there,' said Luyendyk, who also started on pole in 1993 and 1997, when he won the race. Top times for Indy 500: 1 A Lyundyk Net G Force Aurora 2 minutes 39.87 seconds 2 G Ray USA Dall Aurora 2:39.94 3 B Boat USA Dall Aurora 2:41.09 4 R Gordon USA Dall Aurora 2:41.38 5 M Dismore USA Dall Aurora 2:41.52 6 S Sharp USA Dall Aurora 2:41.60 7 S Schmidt USA G Force Aur 2:41.62 8 K Brack Swe Dall Aurora 2:41.68 9 S Goodyear Can G Force Aur 2:41.88 10 H Matsuda Jpn Dall Aurora 2:42.11

SPANIARD SAINZ WINS PRELIMINARY STAGE
(23/05) Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, in a Toyota Corolla, won the preliminary super special stage in the Argentinian Rally in Cordoba. Sainz covered the 3.97 km course in 3 min 02.8 secs, 1.1 secs in front of Finnish world champion Tommi Makinen, driving Mitsubishi, and Britain's Richard Burns in a Subaru. The second part of the preliminary super special stage will be held in Cordoba on Sunday. Top positions after day one: 1 C Sainz Sp Toyota 3 minutes 02.8 seconds 2 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi + 1.1 sec 3 R Burns GB Subaru + 1.5 4 T Radstrom Swe Ford + 1.8 5 J Kankkunen Fin Subaru + 2.3 6 C McRae GB Ford + 2.5

SECOND 'NON WINSTON POINTS' VICTORY FOR LABONTE
(23/05) Terry Labonte said changing all four tyres instead of two in the final stages was the key to his win at 'The Winston' in Charlotte, North Carolina. Labonte led for the last five laps to beat Tony Stewart by about 15 car lengths and clinch victory in the 70- lap event. Jeff Gordon was third but two crashes in the first 12 laps wiped out seven of the 21 cars in the field. The race does not count in the season-long Winston Cup series. Top positions from Charlotte race: 1 T Labonte Chevrolet 2 T Stewart Pontiac 3 J Gordon Chevrolet 4 D Earnhardt Chevrolet 5 J Mayfield Ford 6 G Bodine Chevrolet 7 S Marlin Chevrolet 8 M Waltrip Chevrolet 9 B Elliott Ford 10 J Andretti Pontiac

ANOTHER AXE FOR SWIFT COMPANY
(21/05) Della Penna Motorsport is to abandon the Swift chassis in favour of a new Reynard 99I. The switch will be made after the next round of the Champ Car series at St.Louis. Della Penna became the first Swift customer team when they switched from Lola in 1998, but driver Richie Hearn has struggled to break out of the midfield this year.

MORENO READY FOR ONE MORE RUN
(20/05) In Rio, Moreno climbed from twenty-third on the grid to an 11th place finish and now he is looking forward to his second CART ace of the season. 'It is a great honour to be chosen by the team, we have a really great package and I'm sure we will be very competitive,' he said. Moreno is keeping busy at the moment, as well as the PacWest drive he has also got a seat for the Indy 500 with the Truscelli team. (AUTOSPORT.COM)

STEWART TEAM WAS TESTING NEW PARTS
(22/05) British based Stewart team is not sleeping at the moment as they already test new parts for near Spanish Grand prix. Included in the modifications were changes to the rear suspension and they also tested a new engine on Friday. At this stage it is unclear how the new engine performed, but if the team is satisfied they will most probably introduce such at the Spanish GP.

RAY FASTEST AS STEWART HITS THE WALL
(22/05) Pole favorites Greg Ray and Tony Stewart had far different fates in practice for the 83rd Indianapolis 500, with Ray leading in speed and Stewart hitting the wall. Ray reached 227.192 mph, the fastest speed of the month at the famed two-and a-half mile (4 km) oval, and made him the man to beat in Saturday's pole qualifying fight for the 30 May race. 'It was a pretty good lap,' Ray said. 'It feels nice to be this consistently quick with this group.'

BIAGGI TAKES POLE FOR FRENCH GP
Max Biaggi led an Italian Grand Slam by taking pole position for the French Grand Prix at Le Castellet. He clocked 1:20.969 to head the 500 cc qualifying. Valentino Rossi led the 250 cc qualifiers and Lucio Cecchinelli took pole for the 125 cc race. Americans Kenny Roberts and John Kocinski join Biaggi on the front row, along with Spain's Carlos Checa. Yukio Kagayama of Japan was taken to hospital with a suspected ruptured spleen and fractured shoulder after falling. Japan's Yukio Kagayama was taken to hospital after a serious fall at Le Castellet during qualifying for Sunday's French 500cc Grand Prix. Top times: 1 M Biaggi It Yamaha 1:20.969 2 K Roberts USA Suzuki 1:20.986 3 J Kocinski USA Honda 1:20.993 4 C Checa Sp Yamaha 1:21.001 5 A Criville Sp Honda 1:21.231 6 L Cadalora It Muz 1:21.443 7 T Harada Jpn Aprilia 1:21.485 8 T Okada Jpn Honda 1:21.718 9 J Goorbergh Net Muz 1:21.734 10 N Abe Jpn Yamaha 1:21.794

LABONTE FROM TOP SPOT ON SATURDAY'S NIGHT
Bobby Labonte was the quickest when it came to putting together the puzzle that is qualifying for The Winston and will start on the pole for tonight's race. Mike Skinner and Tony Stewart picked up victories in the No Bull 25s, which determine the starting lineup for tonight's Winston Open, which transfers one spot into the main event. Top spots for Saturday's race: 1 Bobby Labonte Pon 146.830mph 2 Jeff Gordon Chv 144.814 3 Mark Martin Frd 143.862 4 Rusty Wallace Frd 143.264 5 Dale Earnhardt Chv 142.847 6 Dale Jarrett Frd 142.772 7 Geoffrey Bodine Chv 142.734 8 Bill Elliott Frd 142.726 9 Michael Waltrip Chv 142.707 10 Bobby Hamilton Chv 142.604

NEW BRITISH AMERICAN HONDA RACING TEAM
(21/05) Not only, that Bar will brake contract with Supeertec, also Honda will stop to deliver best to Jordan team, so BAR's on goog way to be one of top teams in 2000. Everything begins with: "We have been very pleased with the engine," said BAR Managing Director Craig Pollock, "but the deal we had in place with Supertec did not allow us to develop a long-term strategy and we found we could not reach an agreement on this and taking into account the interest and expectations of both parties, we have mutually agreed not to extend the engine supply partnership between Supertec and British American Racing for a second year." One day later, everything was clear. Japanese company Honda will close its own Hoda Project in favout to build up F1 team together with BAR tobbacco company. "It is very exciting news that Honda has decided to return to Grand Prix racing as a partner with British American Racing," said BAR's Managing Director Craig Pollock. "It is a company with an illustrious heritage in motor sport, and you can be sure that together, British American Racing and Honda will be aiming to add more stories of success to the Formula One history books in the years to come." Joss Verstappen, who hoped to get one seat from Honda project team was frustrated and said the following for the press: "It's an enormous disappointment, certainly if we look at the competitive results so far and the great potential we had available. I was therefor very optimistic for the 2000 season, which will not continue with Honda. But fortunately I was able to show during this season's testing that with great material and good co-operation I am able to be competitive within Formula One. Despite everything, it has been a period where I learned a lot and I wish Honda the best of luck in the future". Craig Pollock added: 'Honda and BAR will both be involved in racing car chassis development, with Honda assuming responsibilities for development work in new technological fields. Jordan team will be for sure under Honda Mugen contract for the next two seasons, but those engines might not be on the same level with Honda or they will be? . "This is great news for Jordan Grand Prix," commented Eddie Jordan. "The combined support of Honda and Mugen with an equal status engine supply until 2001 gives the team the stability is requires to mount an even stronger World Championship challenge."

THINGS MIGHT CHANGE QUICKLY AFTER BARCELONA WEEKEND
(20/05) David Coulthard: "Barcelona will be the proving ground. I can't believe we won't be quicker in Barcelona, but if we're not then we've got a big problem." The McLaren team are pinning their hopes on the characteristics of the Barcelona circuit which rely on good aerodynamics so that they can close the lead the Ferrari's have in both the driver's and the constructors' championships. MAKINEN WARY OF MCRAE IN ARGENTINA
(20/05) World champion Tommy Makinen believes Scotland's Colin McRae is the greatest obstacle between the Finn and a fourth consecutive victory in the Rally of Argentina, which begins on 23 May. Makinen leads this year's championship but with Didier Auriol just a point behind, the pressure will be on Makinen to rekindle that winning spirit. 'Argentina always seems to be good for us,' said Makinen. 'I'm looking forward to it but the opposition will be tough. Colin McRae will be my biggest rival.'

FORD TAURUS 2K ON AMERICAN STREETS
(21/05) Ford released an artist's rendering of the new 2000 NASCAR Taurus race car Thursday -- nicknamed "Taurus 2k" -- giving the public its first hints of the car that will make its debut at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 2000.

AKINS MOTORSPORT WITH NEW MANAGER
(18/05) Brad Akins, owner of Akins Motorsports, announced that he has promoted Doug Stringer to the position of General Manager of the Akins Motorsports operation. (NASCAR.COM)

TETSUYA HARADA SURPRISED ALL RIVALS
(21/05) Japan's Tetsuya Harada gave Aprilia a surprise provisional pole position in opening qualifying for the French 500cc Grand Prix in Le Castellet on Sunday. Harada was 0.02 seconds faster than championship leader Alex Criville of Spain. Kenny Roberts, who won the season's first two races, was third.
Top times: 1 T Harada Jpn Aprilia One minute and 21.626 seconds 2 A Criville Sp Honda 1:21.747 3 K Roberts USA Suzuki 1:22.200 4 L Cadalora It Muz Weber 1:22.228 5 J Kocinski USA Honda 1:22.624 6 N Abe Jpn Yamaha 1:22.701 7 T Okada Jpn Honda 1:22.780 8 M Biaggi It Yamaha 1:22.783 9 J-M Bayle Fr Modernas 1:22.838 10 C Checa Sp Yamaha 1:22.966

ZONTA SET FOR CANADA RETURN
(20/05) Brazilian Ricardo Zonta will miss the Spanish Grand Prix at the end of the month but will return in time for the Canadian Grand Prix on 13 June. The BAR team has confirmed that Finland's Mika Salo would continue to fill in for Zonta alongside Jacques Villeneueve at the next race. 'Ricardo was examined at Monte Carlo by (the FIA's medical officer) who felt that his state was such that he did not think he could race in two weeks,' said a BAR spokesman.

GREEN LIGHT FOR TEST SESSIONS
(19/05) Many teams are trying to find some extra speed for more open circuits, like Magny Cours, Barcelona, Silverstone ... On Wednesday the teams started their preparations for the upcoming race and most teams will be testing at the Circuit de Catalunya for the next round of the championship.

BAR IN FINANCIAL TROUBLES?
(19/05) British American Racing team is not into the red, but it could be close at the end of season as expenses for such high classed competition are very high, especially if you want to be on top on every single race. 'It's not because of over-expending,' he said, ' it is just the cost of doing business.' He explained that BAR would not be able to attain its goals of winning races and championships if it did not find the extra funds.' 'It's a bit of a catch 22,' he said. 'The reality is if we don't acquire new partners we will at least have to ensure the team has the short-term funding to compete at that level.' Moser said the perception that BAR is already well funded was making finding the extra sponsorship difficult. 'There is a perception that they are over-funded if you want to call it that,' he said. 'The next three to six months will be critical.' (AUTOSPORT.COM)INDY TO HAVE TETHERED WHEELS
(20/05) Following the lead of Formula One and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), the Indy Racing League will have tethered wheels on cars running in the 83rd Indianapolis 500. Three fans were killed and eight more hurt two weeks ago when a wheel sailed over a safety fence and into the stands during an Indy Racing League race in North Carolina. Three fans were killed in a similar incident last year at a Michigan CART race.

NO CENSORSHIP FROM IRL?
(20/05) The Chicago Tribune will not cover this year's Indianapolis 500 to protest the barring of a Sports Illustrated writer from the event. The Indy Racing League denied credentials for the May 30 race to Ed Hinton, Sports Illustrated's senior auto racing writer. IRL officials were angered by a photo of a sheet-covered body and accompanying story that appeared in SI's May 10 issue after three fans were killed May 1 at the VisionAire 500 in Concord, N.C. Hinton wrote in the article, titled "Fatal Attractions," that such accidents could be avoided. John Cherwa, the Tribune's associate managing editor for sports, said the newspaper would return its credentials because it views the IRL's decision as a form of censorship. "We're not exactly standing with Sports Illustrated," Cherwa said. "But we are standing up against the kind of censorship the IRL is trying to impose -- telling us who is acceptable to them to cover their event. It's wrong and shortsighted and shows a complete lack of understanding of the role of the press." (AP)

CRIVILLE LOOKING TO INCREASE LEAD
(20/05) Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki go to France with equal possibilities of winning the race and leading the championship. After Kenny Roberts’ two opening victories for Suzuki and the titanic battle between Alex Criville (Honda) and Max Biaggi (Yamaha) in Spain, 500 is more open than it has been for a very long time. Spain's Alex Criville has the 500cc world title firmly in his sights as he moves to cash in on the absence of injured defending champion Mick Doohan at the French Grand Prix this weekend. Criville heads the driver's standings this season and with Doohan likely to miss the next six races is determined to become the first European to win the title since Franco Uncini in 1982. 'I enjoy this race because it is close to my home and there are always many Spanish fans who come,' said Criville.

DOOHAN LOOKS TO GERMAN RETURN
(20/05) World 500cc champion Michael Doohan will not make a comeback from his serious injuries before the German Grand Prix on 18 July at the earliest. But the Australian said it is more likely to be the following race in the Czech Republic on 22 August before he returns. Doohan, 33, plans to stay in the United States while he recuperates from extensive surgery from the injuries suffered in a 200kph crash at Jerez in Spain on 7 May. ZANARDI LOOKS FOR HAWAII
(19/05) Alex Zanardi is very interested about comming Hawaii event at the end of 1999 Cart season. 'I would be very interested in doing the race,' said the Italian. 'They have invited Jacques and myself as recent champions, though I don't know who else will be racing. It's up to Frank in the end. Perhaps he will let me race if I let him have some of the money I could win.' Zanardi hopes to line-up for the Chip Ganassi Racing team with whom he took the title last year, but he could be scuppered by his replacement, Juan Pablo Montoya.

DOCTORS SAID NO FOR BLUNDELL!
(18/05) Briton Mark Blundell, PacWest driver will need to wait at least four more weeks for next step into the Champ car according to doctor's words. 'Mark has an injury that is not really seen in any other sport other than racing,' explained Dr Steve Olvey, director of medical affairs for CART. 'He had a large collection of fluid in the low back area as a result of a very high speed impact. Many physicians in the country haven't seen this.' The Briton will be out of racing for another four to six weeks, while the injury heals. 'I'm obviously deeply disappointed to be missing races,' said Blundell. 'In one respect I'm happy because the doctors found the problem. It could have been much worse.'

DALE JARRETT WINS RICHMOND THRILL AND LEADS WINSTON CUP
(16/05) Dale Jarrett led for the final 31 laps to post his opening Winston Cup win of the year in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Jarrett held off Mark Martin by more than half a second on the 3/4 mile track for his first chequered flag in 15 races since winning the Winston 500 at Talladega in October. Running at an average speed of 100.102 mph in his Ford Taurus, Jarrett's win took him to the front of the Winston Cup standings with 1,669 points. Jeff Gordon in Chevy survived another bad race day, as he finished Richmond event way, way down. That was the best the car had been, obviously," Jarrett said of his Ford over the final 56 laps of green-flag racing. "I couldn't have told them anything on that last round of pit stops to make it any better." "Everybody kept saying, 'When are you going to win? When are you going to win?"' Jarrett said. "We were just biding our time. I don't know that a lot of people expected us to pull it out after starting 21st. But the other race we won here, we started 23rd, so maybe that's a key for us."

NEW RULE FOR BACKMARKERS
(18/05) A maximum of three blue flags will be given after which the slower driver must move aside and in the failure to do so, the slower driver will receive a 10 second stop-go penalty. Coulthard was still unhappy about that rule and added: "Hit them in the pocket. By the time they have seen that someone is holding you up and decided on a penalty, it can already have lost you the race".

SALO WILL DRIVE FOR BAR IN BARCELONA TOO!
(17/05) Ricardo Zonta will not yet return into the BAR SuperTec at the Spanish Grand Prix. The team announced today that the Brazilian will not be fit enough to drive in Spain in two weeks time. Zonta had a medical examination by the FIA today but has not yet fully recovered from his accident which he suffered during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Mika Salo will again replace Zonta for this race. (F1TODAY.COM)

TOTAL 'FORZA' FERRARI DOMINATION IN MONACO
(16/05) Fantastic day for Italian Ferrari team in Monaco, fantastic day for Schumacher and Irvine, everything was on Ferrari's side. Race begin with great start from Michael Schumacher who made better start than Hakkinen from pole and took lead into the first corner. Eddie Irvine progressed from fourth spot to third place, Hakkinen dropped to second and Coulthard from third to fourth spot. Barrichello followed on fifth spot, Frentzen on sixth place. Further behind Hill tried impossible move on Ralf Schumacher for 16th place and both colided on lap 3. Hill retired, Ralf escaped.On lap 10 Badoer lost engine, on lap 24 second Minardi driver Gene crashed into the wall. Herbert lost right back tyre on lap 31. Meanwhile Schumacher extended lead over Hakkinen to incredible 30 seconds, Hakkinen was all time in defensive line as he held off Irvine in second Ferrari. Coulthard was still on fourth place. Schumacher in Ferrari increased lead over trio train to impressive 34seconds on lap 33. At that moment Villeneuve retired in his BAR car into the pits. On lap 35 Irvine made his first pit stop, Hakkinen was free of Irvine for a moment. Salo made mistake and also retired on lap 35, just one lap later McLaren of Coulthard retired into the pits due oil leak problems. On the same lap Takagi's Arrows lost engine and huge ammount of oil dropped onto the circuit close to Mirabo corner. Just one lap later Hakkinen lost it on that oil spray and escaped without crash, but Irvine was again right behind Finn, with Finn still without pit stop as Schumacher on first place. Schumacher's lead increased to magic 47sec. Panis on lap 40 retired as Prost car stopped due gearbox selection problems. On that lap Schumacher pitted for the first and last time. Ha was back onto the circuit with over 25sec advantage. Hakkinen few laps later also pitted and dropped to third spot. Irvine came into the pits for the second time, but his advantage over Hakkinen was enough to hold on that spot. In fact, Irvine built up gap over the Finn to 10sec after second pit stop, while Frentzen in Jordan reduced gap behind Hakkinen to 17 seconds. On lap 64 also Trulli lost control and hardly maintained his Prost on the circuit free of barriers. Just as race was close to the end, Barrichello made unexpected error and lost fifth spot, while Frentzen was quietly driving on fourth spot. That means both Benetton drivers progressed to fifth and sixth place. Fisico scored fifth and Wurz sixth place. All positions stay the same till end of race. Ferrari scored double victory, while McLaren survived hard defeat. Jordan team, especially Frentzen completed good run as Benetton with final points inside top six.

HAGA AND EDWARDS HAPPY DUO AFTER ALBACETE WEEK
(16/05) Japanese sensation Noriyuki Haga took the new R7 Yamaha to victory in the first race at Albacete today and was on course for a double when he was sidelined with an engine failure in race two. The second race was won by American Colin Edwards (Honda) after a wheel-to-wheel battle with Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) that lasted half the race distance. Edwards had been in contention for the first race, but then his Honda’s engine cut out and he was forced to pull out.Yanagawa had a good day because he also took runner-up spot in the first race. Third in both races was series leader Carl Fogarty (Ducati) who extends his lead over team mate Troy Corser to thirty-six points. Corser rode with a badly injured shoulder – sustained in practice on Saturday – but still managed to post seventh and sixth places. (SUPERBIKE.IT)

FRENCH PAIR WON BRANDS HATCH ROUND
(16/05) The Marseillaise rang out around Kent this afternoon as French drivers Yvan Muller and Laurent Aiello claimed victory at Brands Hatch in rounds seven and eight of the Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship. Muller, at the wheel of a Vauxhall Vectra, upset the form book to record a stunning success in an astonishing, incident-packed Sprint race that finished with four manufacturers in the top four places. It was a different story in the Feature race, however, Aiello producing an imperious performance to lead home an unprecedented Nissan 1-2-3 to extend his lead at the top of the drivers' championship. (BTCC.CO.UK)

EX F1 DRIVER MOVES TO CART?
(18/05) Indications are that Jan Magnussen, ex Stewart and McLaren driver is lined up for a try-out with Patrick Racing team in June. Rumours are that on the successful completion of the testing session, he might be offered a drive for the 2000 season although it is unclear which one of the present drivers he will replace.

ROOKIE MONTOYA SCORED THIRD CONSECUTIVE VICTORY
(16/05) Juan Montoya edged out Scotsman Dario Franchitti and Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi in the Rio 200 Grand Prix to become the first rookie to win three FedEx Championship races in a row. The 23-year-old Colombian passed Fittipaldi, who was on pole, on the inside at the first turn on lap one of the 107-circuit race in Rio de Janeiro. However, Fittipaldi, after a faster pit -stop when the pair went in on lap 74, regained the lead and Montoya needed to pass him again five laps later to win. "It's a victory for Colombia and for me," Montoya said, attributing the win to teamwork and fast pit stops. "I was saving some fuel and I had enough speed to go by them again." "At the moment, I'm taking it race by race and doing the best I can," Montoya said.

MONACO POST RACE COMMENTS FROM DRIVERS
(16/05) GIANCARLO FISICHELLA: "On this circuit I had hoped to finish higher than 5th place, but after such a hard race on such a difficult circuit, I am pretty happy with this result. In the first races of this season I have been in the points three times out of four and this really underlines the reliability of our team. We know where we need to focus to maximise performance, so I am optimistic for the rest of the championship." ALEXANDER WURZ: "I didn't have a great start as I lost a position to Zanardi. He was really slow and held me up for quite a few laps, but then he made a mistake and I was able to overtake him. I am happy with sixth place and overall it is a great result for the team as both Giancarlo and I finished in the points." JARNO TRULLI "Even before the start, I knew I had to make q very good start and to attack throughout the race as if in qualifying as we had decided to go for a two-stop strategy. The start went well, but during the race I had a traction problem on the exit of the corners caused by the diffenetial not working properly. After my second stop, I was in second place and I drove hard for sixth. Coming into Ste Devote, locked up my rear wheels and had to go straight on into the escape area to avoid the rails. I lost again one place to Wurz. It was then that I lost the chance to score my first point this season. " OLIVIER PANIS "When you start in 18th position on the circuit of Monaco, you never know what is going to happen. I made a good start and did not lose any places. I had a good rhythm in the race and we were working with a strategy of two stops for which we took the softer tyres with which it is difficult not to go without making a stop. I think most of the other teams were on hard tyres."ALEX ZANARDI: "The car definitely needs to be improved and we cannot be satisfied with our performance. Furthermore I had another black day, even if it was almost funny. In fact, my seat broke in the very first part of the race and I felt like I was floating in the cockpit! I made several mistakes due to this big problem and I often overshot the corners, because I didn't have any more feel on the brake pedal! Sometimes I couldn't even reach the pedals!" RALF SCHUMACHER: "I had quite an indifferent start. Unfortunately I had an accident with Damon Hill, after the exit of the tunnel, at the braking zone of the chicane he wanted to overtake me on the inside but this wasn't possible. We touched each other and this dropped me back several places. I must say that in general the car was ok and that we didn't have any problem. But right after my pit stop I was driving down to the Loews turn, I lost my car, hit the back against the barriers and my race was over." JACQUES VILLENEUVE: "We decided to start with soft tyres, which proved to be a good choice as the car was running really well. Lap after lap it was getting better and faster. But when I came out of the tunnel and braked, I could feel that something was wrong at the rear and that was the end. It was a leak but I don't know if it was a hydraulic or oil leak. It's tough because you're there fighting ready to attack but you don't reach the end. And it's also the fourth race where I have to go home before the finish." MIKA SALO: "The car felt very good before the start. The start itself was just a normal one, nothing in particular happened, but I started to have brake trouble three laps into the race. I had to back off a little, I couldn't push really hard. I was still fighting with Jean Alesi as I was coming up to the Loews hairpin, and I felt that the pedal had gone completely soft. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do except drive straight into the wall." RUBENS BARRICHELLO: "It's a pity my race ended like it did because Monaco is notoriously difficult for overtaking and I'm sure I would have been able to hold my fifth position until the finish. The car ran reasonably well though I wasn't able to find consistency after my pit stop. I got so close, just five laps from the end, which was a shame." JOHNNY HERBERT: "It would have been nice to finish my first race of the season but unfortunately it wasn't to be. I made a pretty good start, got by Mika Salo and with a bit more drag could have gained two places. As for the accident there was no warning at all. I was coming out of Casino Square and something gave up on the right rear suspension. I just need to get some more mileage under my belt in the test next week and hope for a better race in Barcelona." HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN: "I am very happy with the team and myself. This is another good result. My race was against Rubens and we won that comfortably. The plan had been to keep up with him. I did not expect to be able to overtake him at the start so we just decided that I should stay close and make up time when he made his pit stop. As soon as he pitted I was able to pull away, and the late pit stop allowed me to jump in front of him. I closed the gap to Hakkinen a little, but catching him and overtaking him would have been quite different. The car and engine showed that we are competitive, and reliable." DAMON HILL: "The accident was my fault. I was simply being too ambitious. Starting 17th I had to be very aggressive with my strategy and I decided that after two laps that I just had to try and overtake. Ralf was defending his line so I do not blame him at all. My weekend did not go well - it was not to be!" MIKA HAKKINEN: "Pole position here in Monaco is a real advantage that I worked hard for but unfortunately I was not able to enjoy it. I made a really bad start with too much wheel spin. During the race I suffered with inconsistant handling couple with a very heavy steering load which probably means I had some sort of front end failure. However, I still tried to push hard which saw me have a couple of big moments and in the end I settled for third place points." DAVID COULTHARD: "Not my best start as I didn't get as much traction off the line as the Ferraris. I tried to get a feel for the car with the fuel level and as I got more comfortable with the car I was able to put in what I thought were competitive times. Then I started to have a gear selection problem and the team advised me that the gear box had lost oil pressure and told me pit which of course was the right thing to do because a terminal failure was inevitable." MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: "Ferrari coming first and second in Monaco which is such a unique race on the calendar, is the best thing you can do in Formula 1. Making the best start allowed us to adopt our planned strategy. I had to push hard before my pit stop to build up a big enough gap. After that I was able to take it easy and just bring the car home. My compliments go to all the other drivers who played it fair and square when I came up to pass them. Being a Ferrari driver is special. Winning with Ferrari is extra special and being the most successful Ferrari driver is something I will probably only appreciate when I retire and look back on my career. This circuit might have suited us better than Barcelona, but we have an intensive development programme to work on before the Spanish GP. It is a nice feeling to go to the next race with this cushion in the points table." EDDIE IRVINE: "Qualifying well here is important but having a good car for the race is just as vital and my car was good today. I had to get past Coulthard at the start, otherwise he would have slowed me down. We were so close in qualifying and after the morning warm-up I had an idea I would be able to narrow the gap in the race. For the first 20 laps, my car was doing strange things and wobbling, as if the tyre pressures were wrong. But then, as the fuel load went down, the car got better and better and I was able to attack Mika and pass him in the pit stops. My one mistake came at the chicane and that is the only part of this track where you can make a mistake and get away with it. As for the strategy, we looked at various situations. The two stops went well and I was able to close the gap when we ran into traffic. Now we need to work on the aerodynamics to be more competitive in Barcelona." MARC GENE: "Unfortunately my lack of experience has been fatal for me this weekend. The car was very good even though I hardly managed to keep the rythm due to the continuous overlappings. When I arrived at the Ste Dévote I braked and I felt my car going against the barrier." LUCA BADOER: "Notwithstanding the hard work done in these days, today I experienced again a gearbox concern. I am very disappointed because I was doing a good race. Hopefully this problem will be sorted out before the next Spanish Grand Prix."

FOGGY AND EDWARDS FROM ALBACETE POLE
(15/05) Colin Edwards continued with good form shown in Donington two weeks ago at Spanish Albacete circuit as he posted fastest time for round 1 race, while British ace and current championship leader Carl Fogarty scored very important pole for second round race. Also Slovene Igor Jerman was in good form on Privater's Kawasaki bike as he has qualified 14th and 10th fastest for Sunday's race.
Round One: 1. C. EDWARDS Honda 1'31.326 2. T. CORSER Ducati 1'31.449 3. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 1'31.516 4. C. FOGARTY Ducati 1'31.523 5. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki 1'31.567 6. P. CHILI Suzuki 1'31.702 7. A. SLIGHT Honda 1'31.886 8. N. HAGA Yamaha 1'32.003 9. D. ROMBONI Ducati 1'32.103 10. K. FUJIWARA Suzuki 1'32.251
Round Two: 1. C. FOGARTY Ducati 1'31.457 2. C. EDWARDS Honda 1'31.739 3. N. HAGA Yamaha 1'31.930 4. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 1'31.978 5. P. CHILI Suzuki 1'32.213 6. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki 1'32.275 7. A. SLIGHT Honda 1'32.338 8. T. CORSER Ducati 1'32.876 9. K. FUJIWARA Suzuki 1'32.883 10. I. JERMAN Kawasaki 1'33.144

FORD MONDEOS BACK IN GOOD FORM AT BRANDS HATCH
(15/05) Both Ford drivers, ex BTCC champion Alain Menu and Anthony Ried qualified on front row for Sunday's race, as Laurent Aiello, ex STW champion finished qualifying only third fastest for dominating Nissan Primera so far. Ywan Muller made great show as he qualified on fourth spot Opel Vectra car.
Top times for sprint race: 1 Alain Menu Ford Mondeo 46.812s 2 Anthony Reid Ford Mondeo 46.875s 3 Laurent Aiello Nissan Primera 46.956s 4 Yvan Muller Vauxhall Vectra 46.995s 5 James Thompson Honda Accord 47.093s 6 Rickard Rydell Volvo S40 47.121s 7 Peter Kox Honda Accord 47.154s 8 Vincent Radermecker Volvo S40 47.157s 9 Jean-Christophe Boullion Renault Laguna 47.215s 10 Jason Plato Renault Laguna 47.383s

SCHUMACHER FASTEST IN WARM UP
(16/05) 1. 3 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'23"792 144.658 km/h 2. 4 IRVINE Ferrari 1'24"259 + 0'00"467 3. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'24"268 + 0'00"476 4. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'24"270 + 0'00"478 5. 7 HILL Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'24"764 + 0'00"972 6. 6 R.SCHUMACHER Williams Supertec 1'24"780 + 0'00"988 7. 8 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'25"389 + 0'01"597 8. 16 BARRICHELLO Stewart Ford 1'25"408 + 0'01"616 9. 17 HERBERT Stewart Ford 1'25"485 + 0'01"693 10. 10 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'25"579 + 0'01"787

HAKKINEN HOLDS ON POLE FOR MONACO GP
(15/05) The Stewards of the Meeting decided that the Finn judged the situation at Tabac correctly where yellow flags where being waved for Hill's stopped car. Hakkinen did not clock the fastest sector time there and also indicated by raising his arm that he reacted on the yellow flags. (F1TODAY.COM)

HAKKINEN GRABS MONACO POLE IN DYING MOMENTS
(15/05) Great day for McLaren team, even better for Mika Hakkinen as Finn grabs pole away from Schumacher in last seconds of qualifying session. Finn was all race weekend behind German, but made fantastic last lap to qualify first, ahead of Schumacher and third placed teammate David Coulthard. World champion Mika Hakkinen stole pole position from Michael Schumacher with a superb last lap and take his fourth successive front row start. Ferrari had looked dominant for most of the session with Schumacher in control all the time. But Hakkinen's late effort capped a fightback from Mclaren as teammate David Coulthard snatched third, ahead of the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine. Rubens Barrichello in a Stewart and Heinz-Harald Frentzen driving a Jordan complete the initial grid line-up. Jarno Trulli made best qualifying position for Prost team in '99 as Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 Champion repeated good performance from Imola as Canadian finished on eight spot. Both Benetton drivers have good day as they completed top 10 list. But in contrary, Damon Hill has a disasterous day and finished only 17th fastest, worst ever position for Brit in Jordan team. Also Johnny Herbert continued with bad performance, as he stayed again out of top ten in Stewart car. Both Brits will need to think about their driving performances as Jordan and Stewart are high ranked teams this season, but those two drivers are certainly not in Monaco. Saturday was also bad day for both Sauber drivers, as well as for Frenchman Olivier Panis in second Prost, who finished day one place behind Hill. Minardi also had a terrible qualifying session which saw Gene's car lose a wing. He also had a big accident in the dying seconds of the session, which saw him finish down in 22nd position.
Leading qualifying times: 1 M Hakkinen Fin McLaren One minute and 20.547 seconds 2 M Schumacher Ger Ferrari 1:20.611 3 D Coulthard GB McLaren 1:20.956 4 E Irvine GB Ferrari 1:21.011 5 R Barrichello Brz Stewart 1:21.530 6 H-H Frentzen Ger Jordan 1:21.556 7 J Trulli It Prost 1:21.769 8 J Villeneuve Can BAR 1:21.859 9 G Fisichella It Benetton 1:22.215 10 A Wurz Aut Benetton 1:22.299

COMMENTS AFTER QUALIFYING SESSION
(15/05) Alex Zanardi: "I am reasonably satisfied. Unfortunately the team has qualified in the "hell" of the central part of the Monaco grid. Gaining or losing only a tenth of a second when you are in that position can mean losing or gaining many places. I am disappointed because we could have got something more out of the car but I have to be patient. I am still not driving the car the way I would like. Anyway, every time we go out there, we make a little step forward."
Ralf Schumacher: "I am very disappointed by the 16th position. I expected to be much further up the grid, but we struggled with less grip and therefore could not achieve a better lap. Furthermore, in the last part of the session there were some yellow flags and I could not improve my time. Hopefully, we can set up the car better for the race and do a better job tomorrow."
Michael Schumacher: "It was unfortunate that I damaged my car at the end of the morning session as the spare car wasn't quite as good. But the difference between them was very small as we improved it through the session. I was blocked by another car on my third run and on my fourth run I had to slow down at Tabac corner because of yellow flags."
Eddie Irvine: "We are much closer to our main competitors and we are running at their pace. Usually, I make very good starts, but on this circuit it is difficult to make up any places as the track is so narrow."
Johnny Herbert: "I'm disappointed to end up 13th. My times showed that on my last flying lap I could have clinched eighth spot but I had to back off in the last sector when the yellow flag came out after Damon Hill had his problem."
Giancarlo Fisichella: "We had hoped for better than 9th and 10th place, but we made an important tyre choice for the race and we then decided to make a sacrifice in qualifying."
Rubens Barrichello: "I'm happy with my tyre choice, so if I have a trouble free race I'm looking for a podium finish for the second consecutive race."
Jacques Villeneuve: "I am quite satisfied with eighth place. The car went well, allowed me to push hard and was fun to drive. Unfortunately it is difficult to find the right set up in this circuit."
Alexander Wurz: "Qualifying went OK and I am quite happy with my performance. On my last flying lap there was a yellow flag so I had to slow down which is a pity as I could have improved my position."
David Coulthard: "Third place is not what I came here for but it could have been worse because I was sixth at one stage."
Damon Hill: "Qualifying 17th was not what I wanted. There is not much more I want to say. My shunt this morning was bad and it meant we lost most of the running time, even though my mechanics did a fantastic job to get me out again on the track for some laps."
Luca Badoer: "My car is good balanced for a faster lap now, in comparison with this morning when the set up was still to be found. Generally speaking, I experienced a pretty positive day. And I am confident for tomorrow."
Mika Hakkinen: "But in general for me this was fabulous. It feels so amazing for me but it is difficult to find the right words. I saw the flags and that is why I raised my arm."
Olivier Panis: "The sporting regulations are very hard in this case - the loss of the best time in the session. I find this very severe taking into account the risks that the drivers all take in driving, above all at a circuit like Monaco."
H H Frentzen: "I found this a very exciting qualifying session. It was full of incidents."

GORDON FROM RICHMOND POLE ON EARLY SUNDAY
(15/05) After being postponed from yesterday, Bud Pole Qualifying for the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway is finally in the books. And Jeff Gordon put his name in the Richmond record book, too. Gordon's track-record lap of 21.344 seconds, at 126.499 mph, earned him his 3rd Bud Pole of 1999. The driver of the DuPont Chevrolet will be joined on the front row by Kenny Wallace. Kenny Irwin, Kyle Petty and John Andretti round out the top-5 starters for tonight's event, which is scheduled to get under way at 7:30 p.m. ET, 23:30GMT.
Top qualifying times: 1 J Gordon Chevrolet 126.49 mph 2 K Wallace Chevrolet 126.47 mph 3 K Irwin Ford 126.14 mph 4 K Petty Pontiac 126.00 mph 5 J Andretti Pontiac 125.96 mph 6 R Wallace Ford 125.84 mph 7 M Skinner Chevrolet 125.82 mph 8 B Labonte Pontiac 125.73 mph 9 R Rudd Ford 125.59 mph 10 J Burton Ford 125.51 mph

RICHMOND QUALIFYING POSTPONED AS RAIN CONTINUES
(15/05) Steady rain washed out qualifying for tonight's Pontiac 400 race at Richmond, Virginia. The Winston Cup drivers will now take part in rescheduled time trials about seven hours before the race to determine grid positions. Series points leader Jeff Burton will be in familiar territory. He is a native of South Boston, about 100 miles from the Richmond track.
Free practice times: 1 Rusty Wallace Frd 00:21.379 126.292 2 John Andretti Pon 00:21.431 125.985 3 Mark Martin Frd 00:21.486 125.663 4 Bobby Labonte Pon 00:21.486 125.663 5 Kyle Petty Pon 00:21.491 125.633 6 Ken Schrader Chv 00:21.496 125.604 7 Ernie Irvan Pon 00:21.528 125.418 8 Sterling Marlin Chv 00:21.538 125.359 9 Jeff Burton Frd 00:21.554 125.266 10 Bobby Hamilton Chv 00:21.558 125.243

RAIN DELAYED RIO 200 RACE ON SATURDAY
(15/05) Many Brazilian fans are still waiting for Saturday's race in Rio as rain continued to fall down. But at the moment rain stops to fall, so race might go on very soon. As soon as race begin, we will mention here. Meanwhile, check regularly our Live Broadcast system for live pics and times.

BRAZILIAN FITTIPALDI WILL START FROM RIO 200 POLE
(14/05) KMart Swift-Ford driver for Newman Haas team made perfect lap on Brazilian Oval track to recor his first ever CART pole and it was to be on Cristian Fittipaldi's home soil, on the place of his uncle Emerson. Brazilian is still waiting for his maiden victory, who knows what all can happen. In good form was also Scott Dario Franchitti for KOOL Green team and Rookie Montoya for Target club.
Starting spots for Saturday's race: 1 CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI Kmart/Newman Haas 174.002mph 2 DARIO FRANCHITTI Team KOOL Green 173.962 3 JUAN MONTOYA Target Chip Ganassi Rcg 173.615 4 GIL de FERRAN Valvol/Cummins/Walker 173.467 5 BRYAN HERTA Shell/Team Rahal 173.346 6 JIMMY VASSER Target/Ganassi Racing 172.389 7 TONY KANAAN McDonald's/Forsythe 172.159 8 TARSO MARQUES Marlboro Team Penske 172.031 9 PATRICK CARPENTIER Player's/Forsythe 171.872 10 GREG MOORE Players Indeck/Forsythe 171.249

SCHUMACHER ON TOP ON SATURDAY's FREE
(15/05) Both Ferrari cars topped free practice times at Monaco circuit on Saturday morning ahead of Hakkinen's McLaren, Barrichello in Stewart, Frentzen in Jordan. Villeneuve finished day on sixth spot, very good and just ahead of Williams of Ralf Schumacher. Both Ferrari drivers, fastest Michael Schumacher and second quickest Eddie Irvine look very confident for qualifying session. Most unlucky drivers were David Coulthard and Damon Hill as both crashed out into the barriers. Hill lost the backend of his car, spun around and slammed with the back into the barrier. His car turned around and again slammed with the front into the barrier. The car is heavily damaged. Coulthard did indeed touch the pitwall at the start/finish straight.
Top times from Monaco Saturday's free session: 1. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1'21"249 2. IRVINE Ferrari 1'21"521 3. HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'21"919 4. BARRICHELLO Stewart Ford 1'21"974 5. FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'22"166 6. VILLENEUVE BAR Supertec 1'22"252 7. R.SCHUMACHER Williams Supertec 1'22"372 8. FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'22"599 9. ZANARDI Williams Supertec 1'22"654 10. HERBERT Stewart Ford 1'22"971

WET WEATHER POSSIBLE
(15/05) Fresh weather forecast predicts possible thundertorms and showers for Saturday's qualifying round while weather for Sunday will be clear and cooler.

FERRARI TEST IN FIORANO ON FRIDAY
(14/05) Schumacher completed 15 laps in the car that will be shipped to Monaco this evening to become Eddie Irvine's T-car. The German also did 10 practice starts to test the new system. His best laptime was 1:01.895, only 0.377 down on the 1999 track record for the F399. (F1TODAY.COM)

BRANDS HATCH TO HOST GRAND PRIX
(14/05) The British Grand Prix will switch from Silverstone to Brands Hatch from 2002. Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone used the free day at the Monaco Grand Prix to reveal that Silverstone owners - the British Racing Drivers Club - would not host the race beyond 2001. 'I offered them a chance to renew their contract but they were unable to,' said Ecclestone, who has also bought the Paul Ricard circuit in France. 'I am happy to keep a round of the World Championship in Britain until 2007.'

SCHUMACHER SETS MONACO PACE ON THURSDAY
(13/05) Michael Schumacher set a blistering last gasp lap in his Ferrari to top the leaderboard during the opening practice session Thursday for this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. It had looked as if Finland's Mika Hakkinen in his McLaren would win the opening day's skirmish until, with less than five minutes to go, Schumacher pipped his arch-rival. Frenchman Olivier Panis causued the sensation of the day when he was third fastest in his Prost.
Top times from Monaco opening practice: 1 M Schumacher Ger Ferrari One minute and 22.718 seconds 2 M Hakkinen Fin McLaren 1:22.854 3 O Panis Fr Prost 1:23.318 4 E Irvine GB Ferrari 1:23.396 5 G Fisichella It Benetton 1:23.458 6 D Coulthard GB McLaren 1:23.503 7 R Barrichello Brz Stewart 1:23.545 8 M Salo Fin BAR 1:23.793 9 J Villeneuve Can BAR 1:23.862 10 J Herbert GB Stewart 1:23.865

PENSKE TO RUN WITH LOLA CHASSIS
(13/05) After four races in the 1999 FedEx Championship, Team Penske is again struggling to be competitive with its own chassis. So on Monday, Roger Penske went car shopping and purchased a Lola. The winningest car owner in Championship Auto Racing Teams history watched Al Unser Jr. qualify 23rd out of 24 drivers at Penske's Nazareth Speedway last weekend. Then, he saw the two-time CART and Indy 500 champion crash during the race as he tried to keep from being lapped by eventual winner Juan Montoya. (CART.COM)

MATT NEAL OPTIMISTIC FOR BRANDS HATCH
(13/05) Neal took a pole and a win in the first meeting at Donington, and still lies 4th in the championship with his Team Dynamics Nissan Primera. He ran comfortably in the top three and led the factory Nissans at Brands last year and is looking for a repeat performance. 'We are really looking forward to Brands, having qualified third there last year,' said Neal, 'we should have a full 1999 spec aero kit fitted this weekend, so we have a realistic chance of making another podium finish.' (AUTOSPORT.COM)

HOME STAR LAVILLA FASTEST ON FRIDAY
(14/05) Home favourite Gregorio Lavilla was fastest on his Kawasaki in the first qualifying session for the latest round of the world superbike series in Albacete, Spain on Sunday. Lavilla was closely pursued by Japan's Akira Yanagawa and American Colin Edwards. Lavilla: "I started with a set up similar to Donington and went on from there. I’m really happy to be on pole now, but I’d prefer to be quickest on Sunday. I’m happy for all the Spanish fans and hope they’ll come along and give me some good support. My only concern at the monet, is that I haven’t found the best tyre for the race yet."
Top times from Albacete: 1. G. LAVILLA Kawasaki 1'31.838 138,726 2. A. YANAGAWA Kawasaki 1'31.886 138,654 3. C. EDWARDS Honda 1'32.484 137,757 4. C. FOGARTY Ducati 1'32.561 137,643 5. K. FUJIWARA Suzuki 1'32.643 137,521 6. P. CHILI Suzuki 1'32.720 137,407 7. T. CORSER Ducati 1'32.766 137,339 8. A. SLIGHT Honda 1'33.177 136,733 9. N. HAGA Yamaha 1'33.184 136,723 10. P. GODDARD Aprilia 1'33.343 136,490

COMMENTS FROM MONACO AFTER FREE PRACTICE
(13/05) Mika Hakkinen: "Well, it turned out well after all. In this morning's very first practice we had some serious problems with the car's balance. I was certainly worried because I could not get the car in the directions I wanted it to go. We made modifications for the second practice -- the engineers made some brilliant changes to the suspension -- and I was able to get the grip back at the front and the rear, which made it possible for me to push really hard."
Jean Alesi: "It is true that I have been disappointed. Maybe Pedro [Diniz] and I were expecting to have a better car this year, but we haver to work a lot on many things. The basic problem is that the rear wheels are jumping quite a lot under braking. I have quite a lot of understeer, too, and that means the car is rather slow."
Mika Salo: "I want to do as well as possible. I had a couple of days testing after Imola so I'm much more familiar with it. I know how we can change the balance, and it will be a very good race this time. I just have to keep it between the walls and not hit anything."
Damon Hill: "I had a very good start today. We were competative right up until the end of the session. We know the reason why we ended up down in 11th place so I have every reason to feel optimistic that we will be competative again on Saturday. I am looking forward to the qualifying session."
Heinz Harald Frentzen: "This morning's session went very well and we are looking good on this circuit. Unfortunately I only completed one lap in the second session. I was running close behind a prost when it slowed down and I swerved to avoid it, and lost the car in the process. Luckily the damage is not too bad, but it is a real shame to have lost so much time on the track."
Marc Gene: "A pretty good first day. After the first lap I realized how different this track is in comparison with the others. It looks like a different world. During the first session I managed to cover the maximum of laps on a track which turned out to be also very difficult to learn."
Luca Badoer: "During this morning session everything was going right until the gear box failed at the beginning of the second session. I felt something strange in terms of clutch and gearbox. Unfortunately this problem prevented me from achieving a significant number of laps and there was no time even to change the tyres."
Jacques Villeneuve: "So far this has been our best free practice this season and compared to what I normally achieve at Monaco, this is a positive result. We've done some good testing last week in the narrow circuit of Nogaro so the whole team is very hopeful for this weekend."
Rubens Barrichello: "I'm pleased with today. I struggled with traffic at the end of the second session and spent 95 percent of the time looking for a good race set up. I think we still have a problem with oversteer in medium speed corners but I'm confident we will sort this out before Saturday's qualifying."
Johnny Herbert: "I had no particular problem apart from a lot of understeer this morning. We changed the car for the second session to try and reduce the understeer but actually went too far. The thing with Monaco is that it's all about balance and to be honest we haven't found the perfect set up but we know what we have to do to improve matters before Saturday's qualifying."
Olivier Panis: "We have done a long, but good day's work today. Under the guidance of Alain, I started the free session this morning calmly to get to know the track and then to attack more vigorously in the second part of the day. I began to lap among the fastest times and then I worked on the set-up."
Jarno Trulli: "Overall, I am satisfied with my first day's practice on the Monaco circuit. Despite a transmission problem this morning and using the same tyres throughout the whole session, I was fifth position with only 25 minutes remaining. We had not planned to use another set of tyres and, therefore, to improve my time, I took some risks. Unfortunately, I went off by driving straight on at Ste Devote and so I curtailed my session. "
Tora Takagi: "It was most unfortunate that I had to miss most of the second session when I stalled on the track, after I went off at the escape road. I managed to avoid a barrier at Mirabeau, but stalled the engine when I reversed the car to get back onto the circuit. Despite this I hope to do well during qualifying."
Michael Schumacher: "I think today's order gives us a fairly accurate picture of what we can expect in qualifying. A big compliment to Bridgestone, whose tyres worked really well here. We are quicker than last year in several parts of the circuit."
Eddie Irvine: "I think we are looking quite good and I have nothing to complain about. I spent the whole day getting rid of understeer, because it is the worst complaint to have here: the less I had, the quicker I went. I know what tyres I want to use and now we must concentrate on finding the best qualifying set up. I still have to work on my driving at a couple of corners. On Saturday, the main concern will be traffic, as it was very bad today."
David Coulthard: "A regular first day at a grand prix - trying to find your way round the circuit and going through all the set up procedures. The main focus for me at the moment is some understeer, so that is what I am trying to improve."

JEFF GORDON READY FOR 200 START
(13/05) Can he deliver extra victory, for even grater statistics? My life has been more than blessed," Gordon said. "I don't think it will all totally sink in until someday when I really have time to look back and reflect on it. "Right now, if we win a race it only lasts until the next race when you have to shift all your focus to start all over again with practice, qualifying and fine tuning the car for the next 400 or 500 miles. We have to keep working hard and continue to improve on the things that we're doing."

NEW CREW CHIEF FOR EARNHARDT
(12/05) Steve Park sees Steve Hmiel as the possible glue that will consolidate a potentially solid race team into a consistent contender. The driver of Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet said working with a veteran garage man such as Hmiel, who replaced Phillipe Lopez as crew chief for the team Monday, will shake up the chemistry of the team and hopefully lead to more consistent results. (NASCAR.COM)

BLUNDELL REPLACED BY MORENO
(12/05) Mark Blundell will miss next weekend's FedEx Championship race in Brazil, after suffering from a blood clot at the base of his spine and bad bruising to his body. The injuries were caused by a big accident during testing at Gateway Raceway on May 4. Brazilian Roberto Moreno will drive in his place in Rio. (CART.COM)

ALBACETE IS WAITING FOR MORE MOTORCYCLE ACTION THIS WEEKEND
(13/05) On Sunday the championship moves on to Albacete in Spain, the slowest track of the season. Then, on 30th May, it will be the turn of Monza, the legendary structure which rewards skills at speed and riders' courageousness. By the end of this series of meetings who are the true candidates for this motorcycling title will have become clear and we will also have a firm idea about what technical strengths will characterise the challenge of the summer races - races which even now promise the fiercest competition.

ISC WITH MORE POWER OVER USA CIRCUITS
(12/05) The International Speedway Corporation has won control of four race circuits at California, Michigan, Nazareth and North Carolina. The ISC gained control following a merger with Penske Motorsports Inc, which retains the name International Speedway Corp. but will now include Roger Penske, son Greg Penske and PMI vice-chairman Walt Czarnecki on the new board.

SALLES TO REPLACE HATTORI
(12/05) He replaces Shigeaki Hattori who has been refused permission to race on an oval until he proves his competence to series organiser CART. Salles said, 'The chance came up with Bettenhausen and Payton-Coyne was happy to release me because they thought it would be better to run two rather three cars at Rio this weekend. 'The deal only came about last week. I've had no time for testing, but I thought I'd give it a go.' Salles is hoping for drives with both Bettenhausen and Payton-Coyne for the rest of the season. 'I'm working on a deal with Bettenhausen, but that depends on the situation with Shigeaki. I'm still talking to Payton-Coyne, though.'

AIELLO OPTIMISTIC FOR BRANDS HATCH
(11/05) The Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship makes its first visit of the season to Brands Hatch this weekend (May 15/16), with rounds seven and eight taking place around the tight Indy configuration of the famous Kent circuit. The opening races of the 1999 series have produced some of the closest action seen in the BTCC and with four different winners already this year, competition for the drivers' title is intense. Leading the field to Brands Hatch is BTCC rookie, Laurent Aiello. After two magnificent victories at Thruxton last week, Nissan's French ace is halfway to scooping the jackpot payout of £250,000 offered by series organiser TOCA to the first driver to win four consecutive rounds of the 1999 championship. (BTCC.CO.UK)

WHAT ABOUT JEFF GORDON XS CD GAME
(11/05) Jeff Gordon XS Racing, which takes Jeff Gordon's racing expertise and fuses it with next generation stock car innovations resulting in an action-packed racing game experience, is scheduled for release in May 1999 for PC CD-ROM.

SCHUMACHER SET TO MAKE FERRARI HISTORY
(12/05) Michael Schumacher is on course to make Formula One history this weekend and lay an early claim for his third world title if he wins the Monaco Grand Prix for the fourth time. His next win will be his 16th for the Ferrari team, one more than the record of 15 which he shares with Austrian Niki Lauda from the 1970's. That along with his already-rising confidence could be enough to give him an unstoppable momentum in the title race.

NO BUY-OUT FOR TOYOTA INSIDE MINARDI TEAM?
(12/05) Giancarlo Minrdi, team boss of low budget Italian Minardi team denied all claims that he is close to the deal with Toyota company to sell out his own team in close future. 'There is no truth in it. We don't know Mr Penske,' he said.

MICHAEL SCORED FOR DRIVERS
(12/05) Michael Schumacher was the only F1 driver to have scored a point in the match and he did so in the second half. The F1 drivers' team's second hit came from Massaro, a former AC Milan player. In spite of this they weren't strong enough to beat the All Stars team who won the match 5-2.

MORE COMMENTS ON MONACO GP WEEKEND
(12/05) Johnny Herbert: "For a driver, Monaco is the biggest challenge in Formula One because you are racing between barriers on a street layout which leaves little room for error. You have to try and kiss the barriers to get a good lap and there is always an extra buzz in qualifying because you have to get the best out of the car in a short space of time on a tricky circuit".
Rubens Barrichello: "It will be an emotional time, for sure. My family will be there, but the professional side of me will ensure I treat it like any other race. We proved a lot in Imola but we are still keeping our feet on the ground. I'm delighted that I have a car which I really believe will give me the best chance of winning I have had in the six years I have been in Formula One."
Michael Schumacher said, 'It could be [a race with lots of slides and crashes], because Monaco, in proportion, obviously relies more on tyre grip [than aerodynamic downforce]. 'Bridgestone does a fantastic job in making tyres which conform with the rules. But the limits within which they can work are restricted."
'I think it will be tricky at Monaco," David Coulthard said. "There is less grip there and traction seems to be more difficult for everyone [this season]. Monaco is a lot about traction, so track position will be at a premium.'
Michael Schumacher said' 'Realistically, Ferrari is still a little bit behind McLaren despite our win in Imola. That was a result of better tactics and team work. 'But it's clear we are close. We are about 0.2-0.3s behind, but in Monaco that is not important. The driver can make a difference, so if the car is not quite there it doesn't matter too much.'
Mika Hakkinen: "I consider my win in Monaco last year as one of my best performances. The level of concentration required to race around this tight street circuit is incredibly high - even the slightest mistake here can mean the end of your race."
Eddie Irvine: "It's a circuit where you should never give up trying. Even though you might be delayed by some problem and running at the tail end of the field it pays to keep pushing because by the time the chequered flag comes out a lot can happen and you can be back in the points.

McRAE AGAINST NEW POINTS SYSTEM
(12/05) 'Didier scored more points than me for just 10 minutes work, said Brit Colin McRae. 'I said beforehand it was wrong to give three points to the stage winner and I still believe that.

SKINNER'S SON WITH NEW CAR
(10/05) Mike Skinner: "I'm going to Loudon, N.H., to watch my son Jamie drive the Yellow Freight Systems Chevy in this weekend's NASCAR Busch Series race. The Yellow Freight car I crashed in last week's Busch race at California Speedway was the one Jamie was going to drive this weekend. There was too much damage to fix before having to leave for New Hampshire. But, I'm really proud of David Ridling and the Emerald Performance Group. They found and bought a car that has a similar front-end geometry configuration to the car I crashed." (ESPN.COM)

VIPERS DOMINATED AT SILVERSTONE
(11/05) Karl Wendlinger and Olivier Beretta's dominance of the FIA GT Championship continued as their Oreca Chrysler Viper won at Silverstone. And, just to emphasise their dominance, the second Oreca Viper of Justin Bell, David Donohue and Jean-Philippe Belloc came home in second place. Beretta and Wendlinger lead the drivers' championship with twenty points whilst Oreca have now taken a fearsome maximum 32 points in the team championship.

NEW WING WILL BE USED ON HIGH SPEED OVALS
(10/09) "For the short ovals we will get rid of the diffusers and reduce the size of the underbody exit so the underbody will be essentially the same as we're running at Michigan and Fontana," Russell said. "On the road courses we're going to shorten the cord of the wing from 14 to nine inches. It will be a wing that will generate a moderate level of downforce and will also produce a certain amount of drag that will help stabilize the cars." Russell said the Handford Wing, used successfully last year on the high-banked, 2-mile Michigan and California superspeedways, will be used next year. "That hasn't been ratified yet. But all indications are that the Handford device will continue." Since the Handford Wing works effectively only at speeds in excess of 200 mph, it cannot be applied to the short ovals. (CART.COM)

US GRAND PRIX DATE ANNOUNCED!
(11/05) The inaugural United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Formula One race will take place Sunday, Sept. 24, 2000 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, subject to application of the date from the ACCUS and ratification by the FIA, Speedway and Formula One Administration Limited officials announced today. The United States Grand Prix will take place on a permanent, 2.61-mile (4.20-kilometer) circuit under construction at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, part of the multiyear agreement between the two parties. This event will be the first Formula One race in America since 1991. (ATLASF1.COM)

ABT WINS FIRST EVER STW CHAMPIONSHIP RACE
(09/05) On the first STW Cup race of the 1999 season Audi privater team beat very strong Opel factory team. That was somehow very big sensation for the season opener, as in the past tests Opel was quickest car on all circuits. Christian Abt scored first ever career victory ahead of Uwe Alzen in Opel and third placed Kris Nissen in second Opel Vectra car. Arnd Meier, ex Cart driver finished race at Sachesring on dissapointing 13th place.
Final times from Sachesring: 1 Christian Abt 2 Uwe Alzen 3 Kris Nissen 4 Michael Bartels 5 Tom Kristensen 6 Manuel Reuter 7 Gabriele Tarquini 8 Andrej Studenic 9 Eric Helary 10 Stefano Modena

GUY SMITH CLOSE TO CART RIDE
(08/05) Guy Smith, British driver and ex F3000 driver and now Indy Lights driver is close to sign deal for replacement of injured Japanese driver Hattori. Smith, 24, said, 'It's a great opportunity and I'm really looking forward to driving the car.' Also expected to test Walker's Reynard-Honda at Putnum Park this week are Formula Atlantic race winner Memo Gidley and former Lights star Mark Hotchkis.

CRIVILLE MAKES IT THREE IN A ROW
(09/05) Spain's Alex Criville won his third successive home Grand Prix and moved to the top of the overall standings when he won at the Jerez circuit. The victory is the ninth Grand Prix win of Criville's career. Riding a Honda, he finished ahead of Italian Max Biaggi on a Yamaha, with another Honda rider, Spaniard Sete Gibernau third. Reigning world champion Michael Doohan missed the race after breaking his leg, wrist and collarbone in a crash during practice on Friday.

BELLOC QUICKEST FOR VIPER AT SILVERSTONE
(07/05) The Chrysler Viper Team Oreca car of Jean-Philippe Belloc was fastest in the second practice session of the FIA GT Championship at Silverstone today. Driving in the wet, he set a time of 2:07.043, and afterwards expressed satisfaction of his afternoon's work. 'The car is going well, and the tyres are good. I like driving in the rain,' he said. 'But with the possibility of aqua-planing, it's easy to crash out without making any serious mistakes. So I hope it'll be dry for the race.' (AUTOSPORT.COM)

BUGALSKI SCORED SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY
(09/05) The Citroens of Philippe Bugalski and Jesus Puras finished in first and second places on Tour de Corse, France's round of the World Rally Championship. In conditions which suited the lightweight nimble 2 wheel drive cars Bugalski established a lead on the second stage of this rally, and never looked like losing it, except over the last days stages when Puras closed in on him. Apparently Puras was told to "hold station", the team not risking a last stage battle and disaster. Behind them the World series stars battled to the very finish. "We were very unlucky," explained McRae. "I went to change gear from third to second and the gear jammed in neutral. It was a very tight corner and with no control over the car we went into a half spin. I had to spin the car around before we could continue. Afterwards we kept pushing hard to see if we could make up the time or in case Carlos had a problem, but it wasn't to be."
Corsica Rally result: 1 P Bugalski Fr Citroen Three hours 44 minutes and 35 seconds 2 J Puras Sp Citroen +34.7s 3 C Sainz Sp Toyota +1m 09s 4 C McRae GB Ford +1m 18s 5 D Auriol Fr Toyota +1m 32s 6 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi +2m 50s 7 R Burns GB Subaru +3m 07s 8 F Loix Bel Mitsubishi +5m 52s 9 P Liatti It SEAT +7m 06s 10 T Laukunen Fin Renault +9m 57s

SALO OPTIMISTIC FOR MONACO GP
(10/05) Mika Salo: "For me it was really useful to come here. I only had one day of testing in Jerez and then I went quickly to Imola without working much on the car. Here we had two really good test days and it gave me a good opportunity to play with the car and be more confident with it. The Nogaro circuit is really good to practice for Monaco because it is quite bumpy and there are lots of corners. We tried lots of different things which we think will suit Monaco and now I have a better idea of what I need from the car."

HILL ABOUT HIS FATHER'S VICTORY AT MONACO
(10/05) Damon Hill: "My first recollection of the Monaco Grand Prix was watching it on the television in 1969. I was eight years old (the same age as my second son), and I was playing in the garden when my mum called out to me, 'Come and watch Daddy winning the Monaco Grand Prix.' That was in fact his fifth victory, but the first one that I can remember."

WILLIAMS DUO OPTIMISTIC FOR MONACO RACE WEEKEND
(10/05) Alex Zanardi: "After the first few races it is important for me to have a good race in Monaco. I'm still trying and at least in Imola I almost got there, the car was running well and I am encouraged. If you say 'I want to win just one race all season', you would say Monaco as there is no doubt that, especially in qualifying, the driver capability in putting that lap together is indispensable. In the race, if you don't have traffic in front of you, if you are able to maintain a certain rhythm, you can really make a lot of difference whereas at other circuits you cannot. It's a pleasure for the driver in front but for the others it can be frustrating if you are sitting behind someone in the race as it is almost impossible to get in front." Ralf Schumacher: "It's good because I don't have to travel, can sleep in my own bed and go to work on my scooter. That is not my only reason for liking Monaco though. Year by year, the Monaco Grand Prix offers a great challenge to all the drivers. Generally it is difficult to overtake in Formula One but here it is impossible if the driver in front of you doesn't want to be passed so qualifying is more important here than anywhere else. To make sure we are prepared well we have tested for two days in Nogaro and pushed very hard to find a good set-up for the bumpy and narrow track in Monaco. I am confident that the Winfield WilliamsF1 team will do a good job."

BENEFIT SOCCER GAME IN MONACO
(09/05) Two teams of celebrities will raise money for a fund that helps children in emergency situations in a game of soccer. A team of famous people from various backgrounds and a team of Formula One drivers will play on Tuesday night in Monaco. The game will be broadcasted live by Eurosport. (F1TODAY.COM)

TOYOTA BUYOUT IN MINARDI TEAM
(09/05) Japanese car manufacturer, one of the biggest in the World is close to decide about possible team, that can work for them in near future. All rumors are close that Italian Minardi team is to be bought out in near future. I can confirm that negotiations are going on," said Roger Penske. "I expect that the deal will soon be finalised. The arrival of Toyota will for sure be positive to Formula One," stressed Penske.

TEAM BAR OPTIMISTIC FOR MONACO GP
(08/05) British American Racing secured its best-ever qualifying position at the recent San Marino Grand Prix - Lucky Strike driver Jacques Villeneuve put his car in a stunning fifth position on the grid - and a top-10 finish, with 555 interim driver Mika Salo classified seventh after the chequered flag had fallen. The signs are good, and the team hopes to build on its Imola performance at Monaco. "We showed good potential at the last Grand Prix, although I have to say that the reliability is not quite there," observes Managing Director, Craig Pollock. "If sustained hard work equates to performance, though, we will get the sort of results we are looking for before long. We are testing this week at Nogaro, in France, which is a tight, twisty circuit that provides similar sorts of set-up challenges the team will encounter in Monaco. We are hoping it will give us a flying start to our preparations for the Grand Prix."

MORE TESTING AT CHARLOTTE
(09/05) At the conclusion of the eight-hour General Motors test at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday, one thing was abundantly clear -- the folks at Budweiser couldn't be happier. The two cars they currently sponsor, Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 8 Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports' No. 25 Chevrolet, finished 1st and 3rd, respectively on the speed chart. Bud's newest driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., turned the fastest lap in the 27-team field, rounding the 1.5-mile superspeedway in an unofficial lap of 181.470 mph (29.757 seconds), some two mph faster than Kyle Petty's Hot Wheels Pontiac. Following Petty on the chart was Wally Dallenbach, driver of the No. 25 Budweiser Chevrolet. (NASCAR.COM)

DOOHAN - MY CAREER IS NOT OVER
(09/05) Five-time world champion Michael Doohan refused to admit his glittering career was over after flying to San Francisco for treatment on the injuries sustained in a spectacular crash at Jerez. The 33-year-old Australian broke his right leg, collarbone and left wrist during Friday's practice for Sunday's 500cc Spanish Grand Prix. 'I am definitely not retiring,' said a defiant Doohan. 'If injuries like this were going to put me out of the sport then I would have retired years ago.'

CITROEN'S DUO LEADS ALSO IN THIRD DAY
(09/05) The Citroens of Philippe Bugalski of France and Jesus Puras of Spain led the Corsica Rally after the second day. Between them they took five of the six special stages. Bugalski, who started the day 11.3 second ahead of Francois Delecour, had his advantage trimmed to 6.3 seconds as Puras moved up. The leaders hopes of repeating his victory in Catalunya were hit when he lost half a minute through mechanical trouble on the final stage. RICHARD BURNS: "It was disappointing to spin just towards the close of play today. I am fighting hard to keep those behind at bay, which is significant, bearing in mind who they are! Considering conditions haven't been ideal for us or our tyres, we've done well, and picked up a couple of places in the process""Tomorrow, we will go like hell, whatever the weather" BRUNO THIRY: "Results might not show that much, but I am now so much more confident with the way we are going. I am still determined to achieve more tomorrow, but I am also counting my lucky stars as many others have suffered today in difficult conditions"
Times after day three: 1 P Bugalski Fr Citroen F2 3 hours 18 minutes 19 seconds 2 J Puras Sp Citroen F2 + 13 secs 3 C Sainz Sp Toyota + 1m 05s 4 C McRae GB Ford + 1m 07s 5 D Auriol Fr Toyota + 1m 33s 6 F Delecour Fr Peugeot + 2m 47s 7 T Makinen Fin Mitsubishi + 2m 49s

CRIVILLE SCORED FIRST POLE IN 1999
(08/05) Spain's Alex Criville secured his first pole position of the season at his home 500 cc grand prix in Jerez. He sped round the 4.42 km circuit in one minute 43.674 seconds. The Honda rider, who has won at Jerez for the last two years, produced his best lap when only five minutes of practice remained. Second fastest was Japanese Nobuatsu Aoki, whose time was 1:43.948 on his Suzuki. Kenny Roberts, with two wins behind him, was third best.
Top times for Sunday's race: 1 A Criville Sp Honda one minute 43.674 seconds 2 N Aoki Jpn Suzuki 1:43.948 3 K Roberts USA Suzuki 1:43.980 4 M Biaggi It Yamaha 1:44.056 5 R Laconi Fr Yamaha 1:44.069 6 A Barros Brz Honda 1:44.199

WILLIAMS TEAM HAPPY WITH NOGARO TEST
(08/05) On Friday the Williams team concluded their testing session at the Nogaro circuit and are heading back to their headquarters. The last day of testing took place in rainy conditions with heavy rain until 4pm. Ralf Schumacher "We concentrated on working out a set-up for Monaco and I'm quite confident that we are on the right track. We managed to do a good amount of laps and I feel happy. This morning it was wet but I really enjoyed driving in those conditions. It's the first time I have been out in real wet weather in the FW21." Alex Zanardi "Nogaro is a good circuit technically as it is similar at a lot of points to what we are going to find in Monaco. We have got a lot of set-up work done. We have found a new tyre which is better but unfortunately everybody else will have it too! Other than this it was the normal routine and everything went smoothly."

EARNHARDT jr. WORRIED A LITTLE BIT
(07/05) Dale Earnhardt Jr., the ultra-cool 24-year-old brunette-turned-blond driver, appears fazed by absolutely nothing in the fast-paced world that is NASCAR racing. But don't be too quick to judge him -- what you see can be deceiving. Earnhardt Jr. is to be commended for his maturity at such a tender age. Growing up in the shadow of arguably the greatest driver ever -- his father Dale -- takes patience and gumption, as nearly every move is scrutinized.

BLUNDELL OUT OF HOSPITAL
(08/05) Mark Blundell has been released from hospital after his crash in testing at St.Louis on Tuesday. The PacWest driver spun and hit the wall heavily and the team has confirmed his suspicion that a gear selection problem was to blame. Blundell is report to be ‘bruised, but in good spirits.’ The CART season continues with the Rio 400 on May 15.

McLAREN TEAM ALSO IN ACTION
(08/05) Mika Hakkinen drove the MP4-14 while Heidfeld did his testing in a MP4-13. Mika Hakkinen experienced some engine problems and minor technical snags during his two days of testing but still managed a total of 21 laps on Thursday with a fastest time of 1:18.1. Heidfeld completed 90 laps with a fastest time of 1:17.9. David Coulthard took over the testing duties on Friday from team mate Mika Hakkinen.

SCHUMACHER FOR FERRARI TEAM
(08/05) Michael Schumacher conducted the fourth and last day of testing for the Ferrari team at the Fiorano circuit. He concentrated on fine tuning the F399 for the upcoming race and the team reported that they got through the entire test programme without any problems. He completed a total of 69 laps with a best time of 1:01.919. Luca Badoer will shake down two of the chassis for the Monaco GP on Saturday at Fiorano and is expected to conduct additional development testing.

SALO FASTER THAN VILLENEUVE
(08/05) The BAR driver, who is Ricardo Zonta's replacement for the Monaco Grand Prix, set a time of 1.19.37 this afternoon, beating his team-mate Jacque Villeneuve's morning time of 1.19.79

PROST - PEUGEOT LINK IN DANGER?
(08/05) Alain prost criticized his engine supplier for overwaighted engines comparing to provided HP from Peugeot engine. Contract is to end at 2001, but Alain already talks to Honda for their powerplants. Alain Prost commented on the alleged row and said: "All I'm interested in is the future. We have to do our best with what we have this year. To be competitive, it is an absolute necessity to have a mini-engine". Currently the engine used by Prost weighs 120kg, but it is indicated by Peugeot that they will be testing a new prototype engine in September said to weigh 105kg. Corrado Provera added: "We have the best of the old generation engines, and only Mercedes and Ford have new generation engines".

COULTHARD SEES RED OVER BACK-MARKERS
(07/05) Ferrari's Michael Schumacher can thank the colour of his car for his Formula One success. Schumacher's bright red car makes it easier for back-markers to spot him and give way, saving the German valuable seconds, according to a top motoring consultant. McLaren driver David Coulthard has complained that he was cost victory at last weekend's San Marino Grand Prix because stragglers refused to get out of his way. Schumacher won the race.

TESTING, TESTING, TESTING ...
(07/05) Williams team moved to South France to continue with developing works on FW21 car as Ralf Schumacher clocked fastest time,and Alex third fastest for British based team. On Thursday both drivers were present and they concentrated on set-up and tyre evaluation with Ralf Schumacher clocking the fastest time during the afternoon part of the session. The Nogaro circuit is excellent preparation ground for the Monaco GP as it has similar characteristics namely tight and twisty turns. James Robinson, the senior operations engineer for the team elaborated on the session and said: "We're here to work on our set-up and tyres for Monaco and so far everything is going well."
Michael Schumacher and Luca Badoer was in action on the third day with Luca Badoer concentrating on the development programme and Michael Schumacher on set-up and aerodynamic solutions programme, started by Eddie Irvine.
The Prost team started their testing session on Thursday at Magny-Cours with both drivers present sharing a chassis. They concentrated mechanical set-up and aerodynamic evaluation, but unfortunately their runs were cut short due to a hydraulic problem.

PROST WITH NEW SPONSORS
(07/05) The latest team to sign a deal with a financial institution is Prost and they have done so with First Boston. The biggest involvement will be the development of Prost's international financial strategy. The sponsorship has immediate effect and logos of First Boston will feature on the Prost cars at the next race in Monaco on May 16th.

DOOHAN IN HOSPITAL AFTER CRASH
(07/05) Five-time world 500cc champion Michael Doohan suffered multiple fractures after crashing during a practice run for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. The Australian, who was evacuated by stretcher after falling on a turn during his second lap having posted the fastest time in the first, broke his right leg, collarbone and left wrist. Spaniard Alex Criville returned the fastest practice time at the end of the session, his 1 min 43.970 putting him ahead of Max Biaggi and John Kocinski.
Best times: 1 A Criville Sp Honda one minute 43.970 seconds 2 M Biaggi It Yamaha 1:44.528 3 J Kocinski USA Honda 1:44.682 4 A Barros Brz Honda 1:44.689 5 C Checa Sp Yamaha 1:44.731 6 K Roberts USA Suzuki 1:44.973

JORDAN FULLY SUPPORT BOTH DRIVERS
(06/05) I tust him, they trust me, and we got the result every single race this season mya be the secrect words from Jordan team boss, Eddie Jordan. He denied all rumors about driver's seates, both current are very good and competitive. "I have never spoken to Eddie Irvine about that sort of thing. We must be crazy discussing driver movements when only the first three races have been contested." According to Jordan, he'd much rather pay attention to current drivers as he explained: "We need provide a good car and tangible feelings that will make them better psychologically. It doesn't make any sense to pay attention to stories in the papers."

MONTOYA, NEW RISING STAR
(07/05) Juan Pablo Montoya is optimistic for all road circuits to come this season. He feels very strong and confident for even more victories. "Chip Ganassi has given me a great opportunity here, and the Honda-Firestone combination is the best," he said. "Look at Long Beach. We were 1-2-3." And Montoya feels blessed by his association with Vasser, who in 1996 gave Ganassi the first of his record-tying three straight championships. "Jimmy has helped me out with a lot of stuff," Montoya said. "He's a great teammate on and off the track."

WALLACE LOVES RICHMOND
(06/05) "Richmond is one of my favorite race tracks," said Wallace, who tested at Sears Point Raceway on Tuesday to prepare for the June 27 Save Mart/Kragen 350 at the 1.95-mile road coarse. "I love Bristol, everybody knows that, but I love Richmond, too. Nowadays I like just about all of them (tracks), but every time I go to Richmond it seems like I run good." "I'm further behind than I thought I would be at this point," said Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. "We're worse than I want to be, that's for sure. We've had some bad luck too though, things you have no control over." (NASCAR.COM)

BUGALSKI LEADS CORSICA RALLY
(07/05) French driver Philippe Bugalski carried on where he left off in the Catalunyan Rally last month by keeping all the big names behind him on day one of the Tour of Corsica. The surprise Catalunyan winner won three of the five special stages and the scheduled fifth leg was cancelled because there were too many fans on the road. Bugalski finished 11 seconds ahead of compatriot Francois Delecour, who gave the Peugeot 206 its debut.
Leading positions: 1 P Bugalski Fr Citroen One hour 13 minutes and 41.7 seconds 2 F Delecour Fr Peugeot +11.3 secs 3 J Puras Sp Citroen +12.3 4 C Sainz Sp Toyota +21.1 5 C McRae GB Ford +39.2 6 G Panizzi Fr Peugeot +41.5

ROBERTS BIDDING FOR TRIPLE SUCCESS
(07/05) Kenny Roberts Junior, whose celebrated father won the 500cc world championship three years in a row, is aiming for a hat-trick of his own when the season continues at Spain's Jerez circuit. The Suzuki rider followed up his first 500cc win in the opening round in Malaysia by winning again in Japan and now hopes to make an impact in Europe. But the 206,000 crowd will be hoping it is local favourite Alex Creville who achieves a glorious triple by riding to a third consecutive Spanish victory.

BENETTON - RENAULT COMBINATION IN NEAR FUTURE?
(06/05) Rocco Benetton, Team Benetton boss: "We are a top team with a structure to win. As a customer it is hard become a champion or a winner. Of course, Renault is the real issue. We have a very good relationship with them - for their own problems they had to step out of F1. We are looking forward to having them back officially." On the other hand it doesn't look as if Benetton will easily get rid of Supertec as Flavio Briatore explained: "I have two-year contracts. They will have to pay me anyway, and I would happily stay at home."

IRVINE, BEST CO-DRIVER
(06/05) Eddie Irvine seat was under the threat as he was few times this season in hard talks with Michael Schumacher. It seems really this way, that Irvine and Schumacher are on oposite side, but at the moment that works very good for Ferrari team, as both drivers are curently ontop two spots of the FIA standings. Montezemolo, Ferrari boss: "After three races it is a little bit too early to talk about the future. Our contract with him will expire at the end of the year. At the right moment, we will talk. I've not begun to make a decision today, because I want to talk to Eddie, learn his motivation - every driver has his own. But if we continue with him, I will be pleased because he is one of the best co-drivers we have had."

DOOHAN TO RACE NEW HONDA AT FRENCH GP
(07/05) Five-time world 500cc champion Michael Doohan will race his new Honda in round four of this year's championship in France on 23 May. He plans to test the bike with new chassis and suspension components at Valencia after the Spanish GP in Jerez. 'It's no secret Honda fell behind with their 500cc development programme in the off-season and now we are paying for it,' said Doohan, who trails Suzuki's Kenny Roberts by 17 points after two rounds.

VILLENEUVE BACK FOR HAWAII RACE?
(07/05) Villeneuve, the 1995 CART champion, hopes to secure himself one of the two wild card openings. At this stage it is unconfirmed for which team he would drive for, but sources have indicated that the most likely avenue will be to drive for Gerald Forsythe's team, who is also an investor in the BAR team.

MONTOYA TO MOVE INTO F1 SOON?
(06/05) According to Montoya he wasn't willing to settle for a drive with one of the F1 backmarker teams and thus his decision to switch to the CART series. Sources have indicated that a clause in Montoya's three year contract with Ganassi will allow him to move to Formula One should he win the CART championship in his first year.

SALO IN FOR MONTE CARLO GP
(06/05) It was today announced that Mika Salo will drive for British American Racing at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 16. The 32-year-old Finn will once again stand in for regular 555 World Racing Team driver, Ricardo Zonta, who suffered foot injuries in a heavy crash during practice for last month's Brazilian Grand Prix. Salo will also join regular driver, Jacques Villeneuve, at a test session scheduled for the Nogaro circuit, on May 7-8.

PANIS AGAINST COULTHARD'S WORDS
(05/04) McLaren team was not happy about Prost team last weekend, as they were lapped by Coulthard, but it is about traffic jam! Panis, Prost driver: "Michael arrived behind me far quicker than David. So I let him past straight away. David was not as quick as I expected. He took a long time to come up behind me. I let him past after the second call from the team and then he went off two corners later. I can see why he is annoyed, but it's not my problem. I can't let people past every time." Coulthard, McLaren driver: "People are going to say this was a fantastic strategy from Ferrari and an unbelievable drive from Michael, but it wasn't. There is no way Michael would have beaten us had I not got stuck behind back-markers... I lost one-and-a-half seconds behind the Sauber of Pedro Diniz then I got stuck for four laps behind Olivier Panis' Prost, losing two seconds a lap. The drivers who ignore the rules should be fined - that would concentrate their minds before the next race."

LeMANS 24H PRE-QUALIFYING REPORT
(04/05) Briton Martin Brundle set the fastest time overall in pre-qualifying on Sunday for the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race on June 12. Brundle, in a Toyota GT-One car, recorded a time of three minutes 31.86 seconds to finish the afternoon session one-tenth of a second ahead of the Panoz lead car driven by fellow Briton David Brabham. "I'm fairly pleased with the time I was able to set," said Brundle. "On my quickest lap there was quite a lot of traffic on the track. The car is handling well and I know that there is more to come." The former Formula One driver will co-drive with Emmanuel Collard of France and Italian Vicenzo Sospiri in the gruelling event. (SPORTSWEB.COM)

AIELLO SNATCHED TWO VICTORIES AT THRUXTRON
(04/05) Laurent Aiello had never before raced at Thruxton, Britain’s quickest circuit, but the mercurial Frenchman left the Hampshire track this afternoon (Mon) with a pair of winner’s trophies in his grasp. The Nissan man won not only the Sprint Race, fifth round of the Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship, but also the double-length Feature Race. In so doing the 29-year-old 1998 Le Mans winner accelerates into the joint lead of the BTCC drivers title race, sharing top spot with Honda’s James Thompson. Aiello is the first man so far this season to win more than one round of the country’s premier race series.

ROOKIE MONTOYA SCORED SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY
(02/05) Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya scored second straight victory at Nazareth on Sunday as he successfully fends off strong challenge of Castro Neves who later on crashed into the wall but escaped without injury. Very impressive is the result of PJ Jones, who scored his first podium position for second place, third was Paul Tracy after one season off the podium. Crisitano da Matta, also rookie and Indy Lights 1998 champion scored perfect fourth place for Toyota, best ever place for Japanese engine manufacturer. Top five was completed by Adrian Fernandez. That also means Colombian Montoya takes the overall lead by 45pts from Fernandez (43), after his second straight win in only four rounds so far. Quite remarkable. Al Unser jr. also finished day outside of the track as he crashed into the wall early into the race. There was a little number of retirements, only five cars did not make to the finish line. So much criticized special oval wing made good work, as there was not many of overtaking, but it was anyway very thrilling race in the most deciding moments. Pit stops were crucial for success. Chip Ganassi made great work into the pits for Montoya as well. "To have the points lead is beautiful, but I won the race," Montoya said. "I could do without the spin in the infield," said Jones, who didn't use that as an excuse in his bid for his first career victory. "The only way I was going to get by him was in traffic. "I got around him once, but I couldn't get back to him after that."

FOGGY AND EDWARDS WON EACH ONE ROUND AT DONINGTON
(02/05) Britain's Carl Fogarty won the first of two races at Donington to extend his lead at the top of the riders' table. Foggy led an action-packed race from start to finish to take first place from Aaron Slight. Slight had earlier raced the fastest time ever round the Donington track in practise.
Second race was not to be Foggy's, as Brit must give space on first spot to American Colin Edwards, who finished second race four seconds clear of Fogarty. Need to mention here, that Slovene Igor Jerman finished only first race on 14th place, he retired from second race at Donington.

GORDON - TEAM GAVE ME A CONFIDENCE
(04/05) Jeff Gordon was more than happy after Fontana race weekend, and why? "I've been saying all year our team is better than it's ever been," Gordon said. "All of the things we've been talking about -- great cars, a great engine program, great pit stops -- if we could just get some good fortune and have everything come together. Well, this was it. Jeff Gordon celebrates in Victory Lane after winning his second California 500 in three years. "It's a real special win for us because we wanted to put Texas and Talladega behind us," he added, referring to two events where he crashed and finished near the bottom of the field.

JEFF GORDON BACK ON TOP FORM AT FONTANA
(03/05) Jeff Gordon lead for the most of time at Fontana, California as he held off charging Jeff Burton in Ford Taurus car. It seems like, that WinstonCup leader is capable of leading the cup, but unable to score maiden victory for this season so far. Burton so much wanted his first this season, but it was not to be, thank's to great performance of Jeff Gordon in Chevy car. Third fastest was Bobby Labonte in Pontiac, just ahead of teammate Tony Stewart in second Pontiac. Rookie Tony Stewart's performance caught the eye after he drove a remarkable final 25 laps which saw him climb to fourth having earlier slipped back when driving high on the track. Top five was completed by Dale Jarrett in second Ford. "We've had a little bit of bad luck here lately and when that happens, you say we are all human and we're going to have problems," Gordon said. "But you do wonder if you'll ever come back from them. "And now, we've done that." "I was way too far back to reel him in," Burton said. "He was driving conservatively and I was driving hard to catch him. I was starting to catch him and then he drove harder and got away. So I knew then he was just playing with us." "We never thought we were out of contention," Gordon said of his bid for a fourth championship. "Any time you win the Daytona 500 and put Atlanta and California on it, I don't see how we can have a bad year from here on out. But we do want to be a factor in the championship when it comes to the end of the season."

EDDIE IRVINE - MAN TO BE REPLACED?
(04/05) Irish driver Eddie Irvine is close to left Ferrari team as he is not happy with his position in Italian team so far. He was playing for about four seasons second fiddle and he wants equal status as his curent team mate Michael Schumacher. As result of that, replacement drivers linked with his position include Jarno Trulli, Pedro Diniz, Jean Alesi, Alexander Wurz and Giancarlo Fisichella.

HONDA - WHAT ARE YOU DOING OR YOU HAVE THE EGGS?
(04/05) Honda company is still not fully decided about entery to F1, how it should like ... But it is close to the deal with two teams, BAR and Jordan, to supply works engines and not enter with its own team. That's first time, Ecclestone lost the game. Maybe that's even not to bad, as FIA bosses need to know, they are not only one to decide about high tech motorsport, there are other's too, for example all audience, companies and who knows what else. Ron Dennis: "'I don't think it is the behaviour to be expected from a multinational company". His sentiments were shared by Bernie Ecclestone who described Honda' choice as "not very stylish".

BRIDGESTONE ANNOUNCED TEST DATES
(04/05) The forthcoming F1 tests will be taking place at three different circuits: Nogaro, Fiorano and Magny Cours. All the teams testing this week will have the opportunity to evaluate the Extra Soft compound which will be brought to Monaco together with the Soft option. The Nogaro circuit can be considered as one of the more suitable places to simulate Monte Carlo because it has a similar low average speed. Test actions will begin this week on May 6. In addition the McLaren team will be conducting development for Bridgestone of their dry tyres at the Magny-Cours circuit for only one session.

SCHUEY READY FOR SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY AT MONACO
(04/05) For sure, big German hero, Italian hero and who knows what else, Michael Schumacher is ready to perform as high as at Imola for Monaco in two weeks time. "I am very, very confident about Monaco. It is a drivers' circuit, and everyone knows how well I go there. It has always been a special place for me and with the car I have at the moment I can win that race."

SAUBER'S 100 GP PAID BY ONE POINT
(03/05) Frenchman Jean Alesi delivered for Swiss based Sauber team one and first point this season in right 100 GP for the team. Team came into Formula One competition together with Mercedes company, which later on settled together with McLaren team. Sauber used after that Ford engines, but they lost this deal as well and finished now with Petronas powerplants. But they are already in talks with Toaota company, which might decide to supply engines for Swiss team. In our 100th GP we are happy to take one point, even if luck played a significant part in achieving it," Peter Sauber said. He did however point out that the Swiss based outfit will in future rely less on luck. "For the future we will make renewed efforts to rely less on good fortune," he said.

TRAGIC END OF VISION-AIR 500
(02/05) The VisionAire 500 Pep Boys Indy Racing League event was canceled Saturday night after three spectators suffered fatal injuries when debris from an on-track accident entered the Turn 4 grandstands at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The incident occurred at the fourth-turn terrace section of the course after Stan Wattles and John Paul Jr. crashed and a wheel from Wattles's car cleared the fence and went high into the spectator area. “We extend our sincerest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and injured in the tragic incident during this evening’s race,” said Tony George, Indy Racing League founder. “Our prayers and sympathies are with them during this difficult time.” "My teammates and I are just full of sorrow," 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families. The decision to stop the race was the right one. We all leave Charlotte with extremely heavy hearts." "I think Charlotte's been one of the leaders in protecting and taking care of their spectators," said Leo Mehl, executive director of the IRL. The last time a Pep Boys Indy Racing League event was red-flagged was the 1997 Indianapolis 500, which was stopped after 15 laps due to rain. (INDYRACINGLEAGUE, SPORTSWEB, ESPN)

RYDELL BACK IN TOP FORM AT THRUXTON!
(02/05) Rickard Rydell, Volvo driver and 1998 champion is again very happy after scoring first pole this season. He outpaced Aiello and Leslie for feature race pole, that will begin on Monday. 'We made some changes during the session because I wasn't very happy with the balance on my first run, but I knew there was more time in the car. 'Obviously I'm pleased to be back at the front of the grid and even more so because I did it on my second run with only two new tyres. 'We need to capitalise on our advantage over the Nissans here, because the Volvo is better suited to the high speed corners of Thruxton than to some of the other circuits.'

SCHUMACHER PRAISED TECHNICAL BOSS BRAWN
(02/05) Michael Schumacher knows very well that tactical side can only help Ferrari team to beat McLaren. But person that beat McLaren on Sunday was Ferrar technical director Ross Brawn, well known deciding person from 'Benettons' days. "Ross is the man who always decides on these things and he did a great job," Schumacher said of the strategy. "We went for it and it worked perfectly. It is a team victory. I am glad the fans have this and I hope they can forgive me for two poor races previously this year."

BRIDGESTONE PRESS RELEASE ABOUT IMOLA RACE WEEKEND
(03/05) Schumacher delights Imola as he takes championship lead The Ferrari fans had something to cheer at Imola when Michael Schumacher defeated David Coulthard to win the San Marino GP and take the lead in the drivers' world championship. Michael now has 16 points to the 12 of his team mate Eddie Irvine in 2nd place. It was a race with a high rate of casualties, including both Irvine (engine failure) and early race leader Mika Hakkinen, who crashed out when his McLaren ran off the road. Schumacher owed his success to smart tactics when his engineers decided to accept the daring strategy of making two fuel stops, which gave him better possibilities to overtake and allowed him to hold off a determined Coulthard in the closing laps. Rubens Barrichello, giving the Stewart-Ford team its second ever podium finish, dedicated his third place to the memory of his friend Ayrton Senna, who died at Imola during this race five years ago.
Yoshihiko Ichikawa, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager: "With the weather staying quite hot today, the Soft spec tyre had slightly more degradation than the Medium spec. The drivers using the Soft specification did not have the same consistency as the ones on Medium compound. However, the data collected by our engineers at the end of the race proves that our predictions were correct. We are satisfied with the result obtained with both compounds. Congratulations to Ross Brawn who surprised me with his brilliant unexpected two-stop strategy for Michael. "
Jackie Stewart, Executive Chairman, Stewart Grand Prix: "I am thrilled for the team to be on the podium in only the third race of the season. Having worked hard for so many years, Rubens is finally starting to be recompensed. However, we are sad for Johnny who deserved to finish in the points. With FordOs promising new engine and our still improving chassis, I now hope that we will be able to give him some competitive opportunities. We are now ahead of schedule, because this is the sort of result we thought we could not expect until our fourth year of racing. We had consistent tyres throughout the weekend and the precise technical information from the Bridgestone engineers was fundamental in finding the right strategy."

THRILLING SAN MARINO GP JOY FOR MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
(02/05) Michael Schumacher's superb drive in today's San Marino Grand Prix netted him not only 10 World Championship points and the lead in the Driver's series, but also God-like status among the 100,000 or so adoring Ferrari fans packed into the Circuit Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. So, really great day for Ferrari team, not so good for McLaren as Michael Schumacher wins Sunday's race at Imola with great pit stop tactic. Hakkinen retired from lead as he crashed into tyre wall early into the race. From than on Coulthard was in lead but lost it after only one pit stop and was unable to challenge Schumacher. Schumacher from then only stormed to his 34th career victory and first for Ferrari after 1983 in Imola. Barrcihello and Hill have great fight, but Barrichello finished ahed of Brit on third place, fifth was Fisichella for Benetton and sixth Alesi for Sauber team. Race begins as all expected, both McLarens made good start, Hakkinen was in lead and extended his advantage to 8,5 seconds on lap 18, but than big bang and tifossi begin with celebration. Hakkinen hits into the wall in finishing straight just ahead of McLaren team pits. Coulthard advantage over Schumacher in Ferrar was at that moment around 4,5 seconds, two laps later only 3,5sec and that dropped down to 1,5sec on lap 30. Schumacher pitted first, while he was driving right behind Coulthard. Ferrari team made great pit stop, only 6,7sec long. Schumacher was then out on second place, 24sec behind leading Coulthard. Coulthard faces with traffic and his lead dropped down to 20sec on lap 37. From then on McLaren team goes only way, way down. Coulthard pitted, time of pitting was 8,3sec. David lost to Michael as Scot comes out of the pits just 30 meters behind German star. Schumacher made dozen of fastest laps around 1:28,5. Coulthard face with traffic one's more and his deficit was few laps later about incredible 19sec. David made also one costly mistake while he was trying to lap Fisico for one lap. From than on Schumacher was in good shape and confident for first '99 victory. Irvine was on third spot, but retired due engine blow. Few laps later Frentzen retired from fourth place. Hill moved suddenly to third spot. But Brit was on two pit stop strategy, as Barrichello. Hill last pit stop was a little bit slow and Barrichello promoted to third place with advantage of 5sec. About 16 laps before the end of race Schumacher pitted for the last time. He comes out of the pits five second ahead of Scotish driver. Margin stay the same till the end of San Marino GP. Meanwhile Hill and Barrichello were lapped, but Brit made dozen of great lap times and closed the gap to Barrichello on one second. As there was last lap, everything stays on the same place. Fisichella and Benetton team scored valuable two points, but they stay all day out of troubles and that pays dividends. Last point scored very quick Alesi, but Sauber's team tactic was not good and Frenchman lost a lot of time due bad tactic. Only 11 drivers completed full race distance.

COMMENTS ON SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX
(02/05) "I don't know what happened. I really wanted to finish this race after what happened in the other two," said the ex-champion Jacques Villeneuve, BAR. "When you qualify fifth you think you have a good chance in the race so it is very frustrating not have even started." Mika Hakkinen, McLaren: "What happened was exactly what I didn't want to happen. Coming out of the last chicane I was accelerating, got a rear tyre on the tarmac and it just hit the wall." Rubens Barrichello, Stewart: "I want to dedicate this to my friend Ayrton Senna. This is the place I really wanted to finish on the podium. It was really emotional for me." Michael Schumacher, Ferrari: "This was a team weekend. We knew we were lacking performance in the first two races and we couldn't win the world championship driving like that. We knew we had to turn it around and we did. This makes up for the first two bad races." David Coulthard, McLaren: "I am happy to come away with some points but disappointed because we clearly had the performance to win today. It is difficult to overtake here and the back markers were particularly uncooperative. I was held up by Perdo Diniz, and he is a nice guy but I am surprised at him, then a Benetton [Fisichella] and a Prost [Panis]. I lost something like two seconds a lap for four laps." Damon Hill, Jordan: "Team tactics were great today, they helped me make up a lot of ground on some of my rivals. I think we have really come of age as a team. But I got badly held up by some backmarkers which possibly cost me third place but I am not going to complain because this was a good result for us." Luca Badoer, Minardi: "I'm very happy because I really had hoped to finish the race. I drove my car keeping a good rythm and I fought tooth and nail. Unfortunately I ran the last fifteen laps with only three gears left and that didn't help me. However, I am very satisfied with this result." Giancarlo Fisichella, Benetton: "Considering I started the race in 16th place, this race result is 100 satisfying. We really didn't expect to earn any points at all. We definitely chose the right tyres yesterday." HH Frentzen, Jordan: "I spun on the oil left on the track from Eddie Irvine’s engine. These accidents happen in Formula One and it is just unfortunate that the marshall was not quick enough to react and give me a warning." Marc Gene, Minardi: "To finish among the first ten is a great satisfaction. It was a hard race but everything turned out to be excellent. The car is definitely reliable. A big thanks goes to the crew as all the lads did an excellent job sorting out all the previous problems." Eddie Irvine, Ferrari: "I felt the engine tighten about 100 metres before it failed. It was a pity because this is the second consecutive race where I have missed out on an almost certain podium finish." Ralf Schumacher, Williams: "I was fifth and keeping pace with other drivers and I thought I could score a very good result, finishing once again in the points. But on lap 29, after my first pit stop when almost at half distance, I suddenly felt a dramatic loss of power, saw smoke coming from my car and had to stop on the trackside." Alexander Wurz, Benetton: "I had a collision with De la Rosa. Pedro was in front of me and he slipped wide and I tried to go past on the inside and we collided." Alex Zanardi, Williams: "I was seventh and had only two laps to go when Herbert's engine broke in front of me. I did not expect that much oil to be on the track and when I hit the oil I could not avoid spinning off."

FORD TO SUPPLY ENGINES ONLY FOR STEWART TEAM
(02/05) Ford company denied all rumors that they will provide special customer's engines next season. That means Benetton can not expect Ford engines, neither Minardi team, that currently used underpowered Ford engines. Whitaker also added that Ford would exclusive concentrate on supplying engines only to Stewart.

SKINNER SEEKS VICTORY LANE
(02/05) Mike Skinner has a pair of wins in NASCAR exhibition events in Japan under his belt, but 1999 has truly been his coming out party. He's raced among the leaders all season, sat atop the NASCAR Winston Cup Series standings and made it clear that he will visit Victory Lane this season. (NASCAR.COM)

MONTOYA DESTORYED ALL RIVALS AND SCORED FIRST EVER POLE
(01/05) Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, F3000 champion and race winner of Long Beach GP dominated Saturday's qualifying session as he outpaced all mayor rivals for his first ever Cart pole. For the past two days fastest man, Castro Neves finished day on second place and will lune up on front row with Montoya. Third fastest was Franchitti, fourth fastest his teammate Tracy just ahead of fifth placed Briton Mark Blundell. "The new wing configuration makes it worse for everybody, but obviously it's bothering me less than most of guys here," said Castro-Neves. "Everybody said, 'Wait till you get to Nazareth,"' said Montoya, who came to Cart after winning a championship on the road-course Formula 3000 circuit. "I got here and I like the track." Saturday qualifying was not a good time for Andretti, Herta, Gugelmin, Kanaan, Unser and Ferran, as all finished well outside top ten pack.
Leading times for Sunday's race: 1 J Montoya Honda/RI/F 173.755mph 2 H Castro-Neves Mercedes/LT/F 173.746  3 D Franchitti Honda/RI/F 173.154 4 P Tracy Honda/RI/F 172.935 5 M Blundell Mercedes/RI/F 172.217 6 P Carpentier Mercedes/RI/F 171.636 7 M Papis Ford Cos/RI/F 171.489 8 PJ Jones Ford Cos/SW/F 170.810 9 A Fernandez Ford Cos/RI/F 170.630 10 G Moore Mercedes/RI/F 170.237

RYDELL HOPES FOR TURN AROUND
(02/05) Rickard Rydell, 1998 Champion is sure his team Volvo can produce something specail at Thruxton this week. He was few times in good position but did not finish race, his best result so far is seventh place this season. "The Volvo has a lot of potential," says the Swedish star, "but there will be certain circuits where we go better than others. The Nissans will be strong again, but we were as quick as them when we tested at Thruxton this month, so hopes are high for a good weekend."

CHILI DELIVERED POLE POSITION FOR SUZUKI
(01/05) Italian Pierfrancesco Chili (Suzuki) was the sensation of Donington Park today when he stormed to Superpole victory. His time of 1:33.356, was one tenth of a second quicker then local hero Carl Fogarty (Ducati) and two tenths quicker then Superpole master Troy Corser (Ducati). Chili had been in the top three during final day’s practice, but nobody believed that he and the Suzuki would end the day on top. For Chili, Suzuki and the team it was just reward for all their hard work and proof that they can be competitive.Afterwards Chili said, "Before Friday I didn’t believe that I could be on pole, but after the first day I began to think we could do it. Today I told my team manager that I could get Superpole - and I did!"b It's going to be fairly tight up the front," Corser said of Sunday's race.
Top times for Sunday's race2: 1. P. Chili Suzuki 1'33.356 2. C. Fogarty Ducati 1'33.433 3. T. Corser Ducati 1'33.545 4. A. Yanagawa Kawasaki 1'33.683 5. D. Romboni Ducati 1'33.826 6. A. Slight Honda 1'33.839 7. C. Walker Kawasaki 1'33.867 8. J. Haydon Suzuki 1'34.184 9. C. Edwards Honda 1'34.209 10. N. Haga Yamaha 1'34.214

PRACTICE TIMES FROM CALIFORNIA ON SATURDAY
(01/05) Not a qualifying, but only the first serious test was today for all Winston Cup drivers in California as they got first chance to try their cars on dry speedway. Jeff Gordon posted best time and that's already indicate us he finds great setup. Second fastest was Bobby Labont, next to follow were Ward Burton, Mark Martin and Kenny Wallace as those completed top five pack. Winston cup leader Burton finished day on sixth spot.
Practice times: 1 Jeff Gordon Chv 181.364mph 2 Bobby Labonte Pon 180.211 3 Ward Burton Pon 180.112 4 Mark Martin Frd 180.090 5 Kenny Wallace Chv 180.022 6 Jeff Burton Frd 179.851 7 Ken Schrader Chv 179.743 8 Sterling Marlin Chv 179.569 9 Wally Dallenbach Chv 179.492 10 Kenny Irwin Frd 179.412

WARM UP - BOTH McLARENS ON TOP SPOTS
(02/05) David Coulthard was the quickest driver on circuit this morning, second fastest was his team mate and 1998 champion Mika Hakkinen. Third fastest was Michael Schumacher in Ferrari, followed by Edie Irvine in second Ferrari. Trulli and Takagi retired from session due technical problems. Fisico has one frightening moment as he was going very close to tyre wall. Session ended without mayor accident.
Top times: 1 Coulthard McLaren 1:28,642 2 Hakkinen McLaren +0,196sec 3 M Schumacher Ferrari +0,442 4 E Irvine Ferrari +0,463 5 J Herbert Stewart +0,931 5 J Trulli Prost +0,973

POLLOCK HAPPY ABOUT VILLENEUVE'S PERFORMANCE
(02/05) Craig Pollock, British American Racing team boss was more than happy about Villeneuve's fifth starting spot, best ever scored for the new team. He said the following: "The team has been great all weekend and the car looks as if it's getting there. We had a little bit of a worry in first session this morning, but the work of the engineers and the drivers has been exceptional. Reliability is obviously getting better so it is a question of carrying on in the right direction. Mika's situation was very unfortunate. It turned out to be a hydraulics problem which is totally out of our control and he only had one lap in a car that was set-up for Jacques, so considering this, Mika has done a good job."

AFTERNOON WARM UP REPORT
(02/05) Greg Ray continued with great performance today and finished Saturday's warm up as quickest driver. E Cheever jr.: "That speed was one day too late, and we feel like we could have been a little quicker." (About Infiniti engine, smiling and pointing to his number at : "We did not do this (join Infiniti) because of the engine, but what we could work together to make. This is the first step in that direction."   S Goodyear: "The wind is not a factor now. We've got a good race car, and we'll see what happens tonight. Traffic will be a bigger factor than the wind." B Calkins: "That was our best session this weekend. I just we had more time. It is a good race car. Our goal is to keep it consistent all night."
Warm up times: 1 G Ray 221.830mph 2 E Cheever Jr. 220.579 3 B Lazier 220.372 4 S Goodyear 219.825 5 J Hollansworth Jr. 219.753

GREG RAY BOUNCED BACK WITH CHARLOTTE POLE
(01/05) Greg Ray won the PPG Pole for the VisionAire 500 in dramatic fashion Friday night, turning a record lap of 24.320 seconds, 222.039 mph on the 1.5-mile oval at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to deliver the third consecutive pole at this event for Team Menard. Ray, from Plano, Texas, was allowed only one qualifying lap because his Menard-Glidden Dallara/Aurora/Firestone was one-thousandth of an inch too low in pre-qualifying technical inspection. Drivers normally receive two qualifying laps.
Best times for Saturday's race: 1 Greg Ray D/A/F 222.039mph 2 Scott Sharp D/A/G 221.239 3 Scott Goodyear G/A/G 221.067 4 Sam Schmidt G/A/F 220.390 5 Jeff Ward D/A/G 219.736 6 Davey Hamilton D/A/G 219.691 7 Tyce Carlson D/A/F 219.459 8 Mark Dismore D/A/G 219.459 9 Billy Boat D/A/G 219.085 10 Donnie Beechler D/A/F 218.296

STARTING LINES AS POINTS STANDINGS
(01/05) As there was a lot of rain, Nascar oficials can only decide to bring up starting order from points standings. Positions 1-35 in the starting lineup were determined by the owner points standings. Positions 36-43 were determined by the postmarks on the drivers' entry blanks. That means Jeff Burton, the current points leader, and Dale Jarrett will start on the front row. Rounding out the 43-car field in positions 42 and 43, respectively, are Dave Marcis and Derrike Cope. The rain cost Boris Said an opportunity to make his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series oval race in a car owned by Irvan-Simo Racing. NASCAR Winston West Series driver Butch Gilliland also went home, as did rookie Buckshot Jones and Hut Stricklin, who was in Junie Donlavey's Ford. (NASCAR.COM)

VILLENEUVE WITH MEMORIES ON RATZENBERGER
(01/05) Jacques Villeneuve, who qualified fifth fastest for Sunday's race, said he has a lot of respect for lost friend Roland Ratzenberger, for sure he missed very much legend Senna too. "F1 was in shock because Senna died and decided that something had to be done," Villeneuve said. "But they forgot that another person died and I find that annoying." "I didn't know Senna personally, and its difficult to say other than that his death was a big loss to the sport but Ratzenberger was a friend of mine, so his death touched me more than Senna's."

POST QUALIFYING COMMENTS
(01/05) HH Frentzen, Jordan: "I think it would have been possible to go quicker as the car felt very good but we had a small technical problem which interrupted the session. I had a broken pushrod on my third run and so I lost a set of tyres. Things like this happen though, and our position on the grid is not bad. The car feels good and I am not concerned about tomorrow - I think we can do well." D Hill, Jordan: " "The balance of the car was good, but I made a mess of my last run so spoilt any chance of being higher up the grid. It was very close and although we had hoped to do better than this, I am still optimistic we can do well in the race. Our race performance has been stronger than qualifying performance and the reliability and race set up of the car are good." R Barrichello, Stewart: "I was quite aggressive on my last lap which was full of incidents. I hit the kerb quite hard at Rivazza and then the lap was further spoiled by a slower car. The best I could have managed today was a 1.27:3 which would have moved me up one place. Provided I make a good start and we run reliably I expect to be in the points and hopefully finish on the podium." J Herbet, Stewart: "I was not able to reproduce the times I did this morning which is difficult to understand because the car felt fine. I will say though that I know a bit more about the car's characteristics - I guess I just didn't use that information very well this afternoon. I'm expecting a strong race. It's just going to be a little more difficult from the grid position I'm in." M Schumacher, Ferrari: "This is a lot better than Brazil, because being only two tenths behind pole is closer than I had expected. But I am a bit disappointed with my own performance. I did not manage to drive a perfect lap. I could have gone better and pole position was within my reach." E Irvine, Ferrari: "I am quite happy with my position, but less so with my time. I lost half my quick laps because of yellow flags and in those conditions it is difficult to improve. I used the new front wing today and it has made a slight improvement to the car." "It was a really tough session, very tense, but interesting for me and for everyone else watching, I hope," said M Hakkinen, McLaren. "I really feel I am qualifying better now with more conviction than I was following my accident in Australia. "I enjoyed it and I am in a good position and I am not feeling the pressure," said D Coulthard, McLaren. "There is a long way to go this weekend and in the season and I am not worrying about the future. I'm looking forward to it." J Villeneuve, BAR: "It's been a long time since I have had such a good qualifying lap. I am very pleased because this is the first time since the start of the season that we've been able to push the car without having to make many changes. I could always push it harder and harder and the car reacted well because we had a very good set-up." M Gene, Minardi: "I am really happy. I was disappointed due to some problems experienced since yesterday, but today things proved much better. I pushed flat out right in the qualifying session where I needed to improve my time. I regret I didn't run many laps." R Schumacher, Williams: "Today we really worked hard and I am sure we got the best out of the car. We achieved very similar times in the four runs and I am sure we could not do any better. Of course I was expecting a slightly better result after yesterday's times, but nonetheless I am looking forward to putting in a good performance in tomorrow's race and I hope that once again we can score some points as we did in the first two grand prix." A Zanardi, Williams: "I am quite happy, as finally we have had a much better day than since the beginning of the season. Well, to be honest we had a few problems this morning, in the free practice, but the qualifying was quite satisfying." M Salo, BAR: "I am happy for Jacques, but I am disappointed because I had hoped to do as well also and did not expect to qualify in 19th position. We did have a really good car all weekend, but after the first run we had a hydraulic pressure problem and I had to get in the spare car which was set up for Jacques who has a very different driving style to me." T Takagi, Arrows: " During the morning sessions we had a very good traction, but we lost it during qualifying. The Team tried to correct this and traction was improving until I was slowed down by Hill. I had to go wide and I was able to make up some time, until a yellow flag ended my quest for a achieving a better time."

HAKKINEN FROM POLE POSITION AT SAN MARINO
(01/05) McLaren duo holds on and sucesfuly defended top two spots for Sunday's GP. But, it was to be Mika Hakkinen's pole position for Sunday's San Marino GP as David Coulthard finished day again as second quickest, just few inches ahead of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine in Ferraris. Jacques Villeneuve made fantastic run and finished for BAR fifth quickest, well ahead of Rubens Barrichello which finished today's qualifying as sixth fastest for Stewart team. Next to come is Jordan pack of HH Frentzen and Damon Hill. Both drivers were consistently into top 10, on the last flier, five minutes before the end of qualifying Hill made trip into the gravel trap, but rejoined and finished his run. Frentzen completed as last today's qualifying session, but did not improve on his best time. Williams pack is the next to come, Ralf beats his team mate Zanardi. Both were all time into top 10 as well. Need to mention here, that diferences are pretty small, top five, including Villie were in less than one second gap. And top 13 drivers completed within two seconds. Ferrari closed the gap to McLaren, Stewart lost a little bit of advantage, Jordan stays on same positions as in first two GPs, Williams is a little bit stronger, especially Zanardi looks better. Benetton has a dissapointing day, finishing sixteen and seventeen fastest. Both drivers reported about lack of the grip. Salo made his debute for BAR a little bit lower than expected, especially to Ville, he was two seconds off Canadian's time. Herbert again failed to be into top ten, not good sign for second Stewart driver so far. Eddie did great job for Ferrari team and was all day close behind Schumacher's F399. Wurz has a lot of problems with regular car and was able to do some laps at the end of qualifying. Also both Prost drivers have a lot of technical problems. Qualifying session was all the time in green situation as nothing serious happened, but many fans were unhappy about time they lost while thy were waiting for the first car to come out of the pits. Minardi car was first out, but more than 15 minutes into the qualifying session time.
Qualifying times for Sunday's race: 1. Hakkinen McLaren 1'26"362 2. Coulthard McLaren 1'26"384 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1'26"538 4. Irvine Ferrari 1'26"993 5. Villeneuve BAR 1'27"313 6. Barrichello Stewart 1'27"409 7. Frentzen Jordan 1'27"613 8. Hill Jordan 1'27"708 9. R. Schumacher Williams 1'27"770 10. Zanardi Williams 1'28"142 11. Panis Prost 1'28"205 12. Herbert Stewart 1'28"246 13. Alesi Sauber 1'28"253 14. Trulli Prost 1'28"403 15. Diniz Sauber 1'28"599 16. Fisichella Benetton 1'28"750 17. Wurz Benetton 1'28"765 18. De la Rosa Arrows 1'29"293 19. Salo BAR 1'29"451 20. Takagi Arrows 1'29"656 21. Gene Minardi 1'30"035 22. Badoer Minardi 1'30"945

YES - FROM NOW ON JORDAN - ZEPTER
(01/05) The Jordan team made the announcement on Friday at Imola that they have secured themselves a sponsorship with a company formerly a sponsor of the Arrows team. They have signed a deal with Zepter, makers of kitchen equipment.

BTCC COMPETITION HEADS TO THRUXTON
(30/04) The Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship makes its first visit of the season to Thruxton over the Bank Holiday weekend (May 2/3). Rounds five and six of the 1999 series will take place around the daunting Hampshire circuit, the fastest track on the BTCC calendar, to test the mettle of the world’s finest touring car drivers. James Thompson and Jason Plato, currently head the drivers’ championship. As the only drivers to have made more than one trip to the podium this season and each with a race win to their credit, both Thompson and Plato have their sights set on the season’s big prize. 'I think it's a nice track - a lot of fast corners. It's not one of the most interesting circuits for spectators, because so much of the track is a long way from the viewing areas,' said Rydell, defending champion. 'It's a bit different to many of the other circuits; Donington, Silverstone and Brands have better facilities, for example, but it's still nice to go there.' (BTCC.CO.UK)

RAIN WASHES OUT ALL RACE ACTIONS ON FRIDAY
(01/05) Sad but true story so far from California. The place, where we all expected a lot of sunny weather turned around to all us and postponed all activities on Friday due wet weather conditions. Bud Pole Qualifying for the Winston Cup Series California 500 presented by NAPA has been postponed until Saturday.

RATZENBERGER - DO NOT FORGET HIM
(01/05) Fans of Roland Ratzenberger have honoured the driver at the Imola track today. They carried flowers to the Villeneuve corner where Austrian was killed 5 years ago. (F1TODAY.COM)

HAKKINEN ON TOP, BUT SCHUMACHER CLOSED THE GAP
(01/05) McLaren drivers finished today's free practice on top of time sheets, but this time leading man is David Coulthard ahead of Hakkinen, 1998 Champion. Also both Ferrari's were close behind silver duo. Jordan, Stewart and Williams look strong for the next six slots for the qualifying session.
Saturday's free practice: 1. Coulthard McLaren 1'26"509 2. Hakkinen McLaren 1'26"750 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1'26"834 4. Irvine Ferrari 1'27"193 5. Barrichello Stewart 1'27"429 6. Herbert Stewart 1'27"734 7. R.Schumacher Williams 1'27"986 8. Frentzen Jordan 1'28"196 7 9. Hill Jordan 1'28"209 10. Zanardi Williams 1'28"364 11. Trulli Prost 1'28"405 12. Diniz Sauber 1'28"447 13. Alesi Sauber 1'28"468 14. Wurz Benetton 1'28"565 15. Fisichella Benetton 1'28"569 16. Salo BAR 1'28"596 17. Villeneuve BAR 1'28"702 18. Panis Prost 1'28"956 19. Takagi Arrows 1'29"300 + 0'02"791

SENNA - IMOLA - CEREMONY
(01/05) Race officials have indicated that there is no official ceremony planned for the fifth anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death. In spite of this, Ayrton Senna fans are arriving in their thousands to pay respect to their hero. At this stage it couldn't be confirmed whether Senna's sister, Vivienne, would be present at the race.

CASTRO NEVES DOMINATED FRIDAY'S FREE PRACTICE
(01/05) Brazilian Castro Neves topped Friday's times ahead of Briton Mark Blundell and championship leader Greg Moore. Top five was completed by Juan Montoya and Paul Tracy. Three drivers inside top five, including Blundell, Neves and Tracy still need to score any points so far, as all were more or less outpaced by rivals on the first three rounds. OK, Neves was there, but his car did not survived till finish line. Hogan Racing Team again made great choice with Neves, but they did not have much of luck with their car in the past, they were in the history few times into the position for victory, but in cruical moments car just cracked. Can they hold on, Neves is in good form. Another youngster is Montoya, who gradually build up his confidence for oval tracks, that's also very impressive. Tracy is back, let's say this way, Canadian is strong, as for sure Moore, curent championship leader, which it seems this way liked oval tracks very much. Blundell must deliver some good result for strugling PacWest team, as his team mate Gugelmin. Not any good practice positions for Franchitti, Vasser, Herta and Unser. But, there we need to calculate that Unser is back after being out of competition for two rounds due broken leg.
Best times on Friday: 1 Helio Castro-Neves Mercedes 19.759 2 Mark Blundell Mercedes 20.134 3 Greg Moore Mercedes 20.142 4 Juan Montoya Honda 20.172 5 Paul Tracy Honda 20.186 6 Adrian Fernandez Ford 20.225 7 Christian Fittipaldi Ford 20.225 8 Patrick Carpentier Mercedes 20.228 9 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes 20.294 10 Michael Andretti Ford 20.316

FOGGY BACK ON TOP FORM IN BRITAIN
(01/05) Brit Carl Fogarty, seven time SBK champion has a good day ahead of home fans as he snached pole position in dying moments of qualifying session. He outpaced very quick Italian Chili and his main title rival Troy Corser, double winner of Australian round two weeks ago.
Leading times for Sunday's race1: 1. C. Fogarty Ducati 1'33.212 2. P. Chili Suzuki 1'33.228 3. T. Corser Ducati 1'33.366 4. A. Slight Honda 1'33.519 5. C. Edwards Honda 1'33.797 6. C. Walker Kawasaki 1'33.831 7. G. Lavilla Kawasaki 1'33.918 8. N. Haga Yamaha 1'33.954 9. D. Romboni Ducati 1'33.964 10. J. Haydon Suzuki 1'34.133 (SUPERBIKE.IT, SPORTSWEB.COM)