The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Liuzzi wins Bahrain finale, Morbidelli takes $500,000 prize Vitantonio Liuzzi won the final race of the Speedcar season in Bahrain but the big winner was Gianni Morbidelli, who beat Johnny Herbert by the slenderest of margins to claim the championship and the $500,000 prize that goes with it. The grid saw the top eight from Saturday lining up in reverse with Thomas Biagi on pole ahead of Damien Pasini, Hasher Al Maktoum, Morbidelli, Christopher Zoechling, Liuzzi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Herbert. Having retired with a spectacular engine failure in the first race, Jean Alesi started 16th and last. However the Frenchman decided he didn't want to stay there for long, and as the cars headed towards the line for the rolling start he put his foot down and passed the whole field, using the grass as he did so. He opened up a huge lead even before he got to Turn One! He claimed later that, from his position at the tail of the field, he had been confused by the lights sequence: 'At the apex I saw the lights off, so I put second and went flat out. Yesterday I was on the second row and we started really slow with first gear.' His flying start probably didn't help the concentration of those behind, and there was drama at the first corner when Herbert was pushed into a spin by Ramez Azzam, while just seconds later Frentzen was hit by Liuzzi. Thus two of the title contenders immediately found themselves in trouble. 'Gianni didn't get a particularly good start,' said Johnny. 'I went to pass him on the outside but then I thought it wasn't worth it, so just decided to stay close to him. Unfortunately I got that tap at the back that sent me round.' At the end of the first lap Alesi led by over 3s from Biagi, Al Maktoum, Morbidelli, Nicholas Navarro and Liuzzi. Herbert was down in 11th, with a lot of work to do. Frentzen's slim hopes of the title were ended when he got involved in another incident on the second lap. Alesi's fun ended on lap 4 when he was inevitably called in for a drive through penalty, which dropped him to the back of the field. That left Biagi in front of Al Maktoum and Liuzzi, who had already been regaining ground. The Force India test driver was on a charge, and after passing Al Maktoum on lap 8 he hunted down Biagi. After briefly getting ahead on lap 12 he finally made the move stick on lap 14, and thereafter he eased away to score his third win of the year, guaranteeing the teams' title for his UP Team. 'I had a clean and controlled race,' said Liuzzi. 'I was trying to save the tyres, because yesterday we had a problem in the last 10 laps. I think we did the best we could do this weekend, with a first and a third. My target was to win the teams' championship. With the bad luck we've had with transmission problems we were unable to fight for the drivers' championship.' Biagi, Al Maktoum and Navarro followed him home, but attention was all on the battle for fifth. Having dropped to 11th Herbert charged through the field and gradually cut the gap to rival Morbidelli - if he could get ahead, the title would be his. After nudging Zoechling out of the way he got up into sixth on lap 15, and had Gianni in his sights. He gradually eased closer and closer, but in the end he didn't quite make it, and Morbidelli crossed the line to claim the title by 55 points to 53. Johnny joined in the celebrations by giving him a friendly nudge at Turn One on the slowing down lap! 'I'm extremely happy because it was hard,' said Morbidelli. 'This weekend we were not very competitive, but we did it, and this is the most important thing. During the race I was sure Johnny was fast, and when I saw him in the mirror I understood that my life was going to get difficult! I just focussed on my race and tried to do as few mistakes as possible.' 'I had the pace and I had a bit of luck with a few contacts,' said Herbert. 'The last race here when I got closer Gianni started making mistakes, and he did again. I made a few because the car was very difficult. I was able to chip away, but I probably needed one more lap. I ran out of time!' The top eight was completed by the recovering Zoechling and Chris Buncombe.
Johnny wins, Gianni leads Johnny Herbert scored a dominant win in the penultimate round of the Speedcar Series on Saturday morning in Bahrain. Championship leader Gianni Morbidelli finished only fifth, but with only the Sunday morning event still to come the Italian now heads Herbert by a reduced margin of just 51 points to 50. Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished second, and on 44 points he is also still in contention. Herbert improved his title chances by taking pole position in the single session in the JMB car on Friday, although he was just 0.053s clear of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Continental Circus entry. After his two wins in the last round in Dubai Jean Alesi took third, ahead of Tonio Liuzzi, who was handicapped by technical gremlins. Morbidelli, who had a seven point lead going into the weekend, was fifth. The top eight was completed by Damien Pasini, Christopher Zoechling and David Terrien. Hasher Al Maktoum was the top local driver in ninth, ahead of Chris Buncombe. Herbert had no problems holding on to his advantage at the rolling start, pulling over the outside to get a better run into Turn One. Behind him Alesi got away well and outdragged Frentzen to claim second. Liuzzi stayed in third, while Pasini made it by Morbidelli to claim fifth. Herbert knew he had to win to keep his title hopes alive, and he soon opened up a small but useful cushion on Alesi. 'I got a nice start,' said Johnny. 'Luckily I had some breathing space, because you never know what can happen there. Then it was just settling down into a nice pace. I pushed a bit more at the beginning because I had new tyres, and I used those.' Meanwhile Liuzzi began to pressure Frentzen. However as he crossed the line at the end of the fourth lap the Alesi suffered a spectacular engine failure, and pulled over to park next to the pit wall. Having avoided the slowing Alesi just seconds later Liuzzi took a dive down the inside of Frentzen into Turn One. The two cars rubbed paintwork as they entered the corner side-by-side, but Liuzzi locked up, and sailed straight on. He didn't lose too much time, and was soon pushing the German once again for what had now become second place. Behind them Terrien had worked his way up to fourth from eighth, but he had a problem on lap 6, and had to pit. He later re-emerged, only to retire for good. His delay promoted Pasini, who had Zoechling and - after a cautious start - Morbidelli just behind him. Pasini then lost several places when he spun at Turn One at the start of lap 8. Meanwhile Herbert continued his serene progress at the front. By the flag he was 10.3s ahead of Frentzen, and delighted that he had closed the gap to Morbidelli. Liuzzi followed Heinz-Harald home to claim third, while after the earlier problems for Terrien and Pasini a grateful Zoechling moved up to fourth and Morbidelli to fifth. That was just good enough to maintain the championship lead for the Italian, albeit by a single point. Al Maktoum had a good run to sixth, ahead of the recovering Pasini and Thomas Biagi. Nicholas Navarro was ninth on his series debut, ahead of Ramez Azzam. Johnny will start the Sunday finale from eighth place, while title rivals Frentzen and Morbidelli will line up seventh and fourth. Herbert's challenge will be to catch and pass the Italian driver. 'Getting to him is the problem,' said Johnny. 'That was always going to be the key. It's a bit like last year. I had to win today. It's where I expected to be, and now it's down to who races best. Hopefully I've got the pace to get him. I did it last time we came here, and hopefully I can do it again. But it isn't going to be easy!'
Alesi scores sensational double in Dubai Former grand prix winner Jean Alesi charged his way through the pack to win Saturday's Speedcar Series race at Dubai Autodrome, to add to his victory from the previous day. Alesi, who started seventh on the reversed grid, pulled off some trademark stunning passing manoeuvres as he carved through the field. It was a closely-matched race, however, with just seven seconds covering the top four after 40 minutes of racing. Pole-sitter Damien Pasini led from the rolling start, but blatantly jumped the gun as he pulled out a big lead on his pursuers. Not only did he then quickly slip backwards through the pack on the opening lap, he received a drive-through penalty for his troubles. Qatar race-winner Gianni Morbidelli led at the end of the opening lap, ahead of Johnny Herbert, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, David Terrien and Christopher Zoechling. Alesi was sixth at this point, but wouldn't stay there for long. Alesi passed Zoechling for fifth on lap three, after which Zoechling promptly spun and was hit by Vitantonio Liuzzi, putting Liuzzi out with a broken left-front wheel. Alesi rattled off a sequence of fastest laps before passing Terrien for fourth on lap seven. Next in his sights was Frentzen, who he out braked in superb style into Turn 1 on lap nine. Herbert was now in Alesi's sights, and Jean passed him with a brave lunge entering the 'bowl bend'. By this point, Alesi's car was leaking oil, which was making his efforts all the more amazing - and spectacular as smoke was pluming from the rear of his car in the corners. Now the only man between Alesi and a famous double victory was Morbidelli, who was over 2secs up the road. Despite his smoky car Alesi chased him down and took the lead with another great pass at Turn 12 with eight laps remaining. Now the only question was whether his car would blow-up before the finish, but fortunately Jean was able to drive it home for his second win of the weekend. "That was a great race," said Alesi. "Honestly, I have to say Gianni and Johnny and everyone were extremely fair, and respected the fact I had a quicker car than they did. I think it was a superb show." When asked about the smoke, Alesi replied: "I have no idea what it was! I thought, okay, I will carry on until the car stops or I see the chequered flag.'" Second-placed Morbidelli shed some light on the situation, and said: "Jean's car was leaking a lot of oil, and I lost 2-3secs after he passed me. But second place for my championship lead is just great." Herbert hounded Morbidelli to the finish, but admitted: "I was never close enough to pass him. It was to-and-fro between us, and it's a good result for my chances of retaining my Speedcar title. It's going to be one hell of a title fight!" Frentzen finished fourth, despite being punted into a spin by Terrien at Turn 10. Behind Terrien, Thomas Biagi, Marchy Lee and MotoGP star Marco Melandri, who was delayed by a huge first-corner slide, rounded out the point scorers. Alesi has rocketed up to third in the point's standings, nine points behind series leader Morbidelli and just two behind second-placed Herbert. There is just one race weekend remaining until the end of the second season of Speedcar Series. Race 2 Classification
Not Classified:
Fastest Lap - J. Alesi - HPR 1:42.438 on lap 8
Alesi wins close finish in opening Dubai race Jean Alesi held off a charging Christopher Zoechling to win a close race in the opening Speedcar Series race at Dubai Autodrome on Friday afternoon. Alesi grabbed the lead after a spectacular rolling start, over which surprise poleman Zoechling, a 21-year-old Dubai-based Austrian, complained that Jean had jumped ahead of him before the white line that marks the start of the race. Alesi disagreed, saying Zoechling was braking too much. "I was on the power, he braked, so I braked, but I was straight back on the throttle," said Alesi. "It meant I had a bit more speed than him on the run to the first corner." Alesi still had to brake late to dive around the outside of Zoechling at Turn 1, and they were followed by Vitantonio Liuzzi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Johnny Herbert and Gianni Morbidelli. Frentzen passed Liuzzi for third at Turn 12, but had to drive hard to fend him off into the following 'bowl bend'. Liuzzi regained the position a lap later at Turn 10, only to run wide and let Frentzen and an opportunistic Johnny Herbert past. Liuzzi would later suffer a puncture, which put him out of the points. At the front, Alesi pulled out a 3sec lead before Zoechling put in a mid-race attack. By lap 17, Zoechling was just 0.6secs behind, and pushing Alesi hard for the victory. Despite the 30-degree air temperature, which was more like 55-degrees in the cars, the pace at the front was relentless. Despite Zoechling's charging drive, Alesi held him off to the finish, with a winning margin of 0.703secs. "My car developed a little oversteer as the race progressed, but the Michelin tyres were very consistent," said Alesi. "It was very hot in the cockpit though. When I tried to get more cooling, there was nothing more to come." Zoechling was happy with second, and said: "I ran out of time to catch Jean, unfortunately. I'm pleased with the result, but I've never been in such a hot racing car." Frentzen finished a distant third, but suffered a gearbox problem in the closing stages. He lost second gear, but managed to coax his car home just ahead of series returnee David Terrien. "I didn't have as good a pace as I thought I would," said Frentzen. "Although I had the gearbox problem, I could not attack as much as I had planned." Terrien took fourth place at the expense of Johnny Herbert, who he passed with a smart manoeuvre at Turn 12 - just in front of the office building in which Terrien works (he runs the kart track at Dubai Autodrome). Herbert finished fifth, ahead of Hasher Al Maktoum. Morbidelli could only manage seventh after he was hit into a spin on the opening lap. Damien Pasini finished eighth, and will start Saturday's second race from reverse grid pole position. Qatar star Marco Melandri didn't shine quite so brightly at Dubai. He ran eighth early on, but spun down to 13th position at Turn 14. He recovered to finish 10th. Morbidelli still leads the championship by five points, with three races remaining, ahead of Herbert, Frentzen, Liuzzi and Alesi. Race 1 Classification
Fastest Lap - C. Zoechling Continental Circus 1:42.438 on lap 8
Liuzzi wins but Melandri stars MotoGP star Marco Melandri came within four laps of a shock Speedcar Series victory under the lights at Losail in Qatar on Saturday night, but a mechanical failure took him out, handing the victory to Vitantonio Liuzzi, who headed an Italian 1-2-3. Melandri, who started only his second-ever car race from pole position, rocketed away at the start and built up a 7.5sec lead by lap nine, which was when Liuzzi passed Thomas Biagi for second place. Liuzzi got the hammer down, and ate into Melandri's lead initially, but the Italian bike racing star had stabilised the gap, and was on course for a major shock victory, until his car suddenly slowed on lap 15. "I was concentrating on not making any mistakes, but my gear changes were becoming more difficult, which didn't make it easy," said Melandri. "Then, all of a sudden, there were no more gears and I was out." That gifted the lead to Liuzzi, who had been guiding Melandri on his learning curve all weekend, and he stroked home ahead of yesterday's winner Gianni Morbidelli. "It was very lucky for me that Marco went out, and unlucky for him," said Liuzzi. "I had a lot more understeer than in the first race, and Marco was driving really well." Morbidelli said: "I lost too much time in the early laps, so Vitantonio was too far away for me to catch him. Second position is great for my championship lead. That is the main thing for me." Thomas Biagi finished third, although Heinz-Harald Frentzen looked poised to grab the place from him in the closing laps, only to make contact and then get rammed into a spin by Johnny Herbert. Christopher Zoechling finished fourth, ahead of Frentzen and Herbert. Jean Alesi looked strong in the early stages, but was forced to retire from fourth place with a power steering failure. He had been locked in an entertaining battle with Liuzzi early on, in which they passed and repassed each other three times. Race 2 Preliminary Classification
Not Classified
Fastest Lap V. Liuzzi UP Team 2:05.261 on lap 16
Herbert takes his first win in Bahrain Johnny Herbert won the second Speedcar Series race held in Bahrain this afternoon. It was a win that came down to the wire with Gianni Morbidelli in second spot and a surprise podium for new driver Thomas Biagi in third. The reverse grid for Speedcar Series' second race put Giovanni Lavaggi on pole position which he lost almost immediately into the first lap. Biagi took the early lead for the initial lap but was put back to second by Gianni Morbidelli while Johnny Herbert moved in to third after having started sixth on the grid The first three drivers maintained their positions for most of the 40 minute race until Herbert gained a position on Biagi in the 12th lap. Gianni Morbidelli looked strong in the lead but with just 6 minutes to go the Season 1 Champion inched closer to the Itanlian closing the gap to less than a second. All eyes were on the front of the pack just as Morbidelli lost his end in a corner and Herbert squeezed past and took the lead into the final lap. With team mates and fellow Italians Biagi and Morbidelli in the top three, they take Palm Beach into the top spot on the Team Championship standings. Johnny Herbert said of his win, "Sometimes you need a little bit of luck and I think I was lucky today. I stayed out of trouble and it paid off in the end." Gianni Morbidelli who has been on the podium in Bahrain before during the first season commented, "Today's race was close and I made a mistake in the end and I paid for it. However, it was a good clean race and that's what is most important." Further down the pack, several drivers were battling for position. Yesterday's race winner Jean Alesi gained 2 positions off the starting grid and finished sixth while current driver championship leader Heinz Harald Frentzen finished in fourth keeping him the lead with 21 points. However the German is now level with Johnny Herbert and will have to fight for every point from here on in with 4 rounds left to go in the Series. Performing impressively was young French driver Damien Pasini of the JMB team earning points both yesterday and today by finishing in the top 8 positions. He and Johnny Herbert bring their team into second position in the team standings. Another young driver who showed his mettle was Hasher Al Maktoum locked in battle with Jean Alesi for a few laps until the Frenchman came out on top. The UAE driver still finished with points one spot ahead of his team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi, both of whom scored points for their team today. Marchy Lee, Jacques Villeneuve, Christopher Zoechling and Enzo Panacci did not have a very good day and were unable to finish the race. Preliminary Classification Race 2
Alesi wins Race 1 in Bahrain Jean Alesi won the first Speedcar Series race of the weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Frenchman who started second on the grid was joined on the podium by Heinz Harald Frentzen in second position and Johnny Herbert in third. Heinz Harald Frentzen had a bad start and left the door open for Alesi to go through and take the lead. Johnny Herbert and Gianni Morbidelli also took the opportunity to slip past, leaving Frentzen in fourth. Season 1 champion Johnny Herbert was defending his line and position while Gianni Morbidelli stayed on his tail pushing him hard on every turn. In a three way battle Morbidelli was punted out of the way by Frentzen who gained a position to third place. By the 5th lap The German had gained ground on Herbert and with a clever inside move, got the better of him. For the rest of the race, the top 3 positions were maintained by Alesi, Frentzen and Herbert. The Frenchman said, "I'm obviously thrilled at winning my first race of this Season and it's also an experience to share it with two of my good friends from Formula One. I look forward to taking them on again tomorrow." Further down the pack, Vitantonio Liuzzi who was leading the driver championship after winning the first race inDuba, made contact with Marchy Lee sending him into a spin. By the 9th lap, the damage was showing with Liuzzi's car trailing sparks down the circuit. The Italian had to come into the pits to change a punctured tyre before a small fire in his engine while in the pits ended his hopes of finishing the race with points. Another battle ensued in the middle order between Thomas Biagi and Liuzzi's team mate Hasher Al Maktoum who managed to gain on Biagi and finish in 5th place earning vital points for his UP Team and keeping hold of the team championship lead. Newcomer Chris Buncombe who was racing for the first time this afternoon moved up the ranks to ninth position after having started at thirteen. He narrowly missed finishing in eight position and earning a point to Giovanni Lavaggi, also new to the Series. With Speedcar Series' reverse grid for Race 2 to begin tomorrow at 15:00 local time, Lavaggi has the advantage of starting on pole position, followed by Damien Pasini who closed in seventh. Preliminary Classification Race 1
Not Classified
Fastest Lap H. Frentzen Team Lavaggi 2:07.073 on lap 6
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