Porsche 911 GT1 Gets Airbourne and crashes!

It flies as The Mercedes Benz AMG into the air, at Road Atlanta, USA!

Mercedes Benz AMG 1999 Takeoff!

The Mercedes-Benz AMG Flying at Le Mans

IndyCar Series Tribute to Paul Newman

A tribute to Paul Newman, and his many years of racing, and as team owner.

TC 2000 - Punta del Este - 2008-12-07

Final race of 2008. Martin Basso, a specialist in street circuits makes the checkered flag in Punta del Este, Uruguay, with his Ford Focus and Jose Maria (Pechito) Lopez is crowned champion with Honda.

Results
1. M. Basso
2. G. Ortelli
3. N. Fontana
4. M. Rossi
5. C. Ledesma

Final Standings:
Pos Nr Driver Team Pts
1 37 LOPEZ, JOSE M. H. NEW CIVIC 169.00
2 9 SILVA, JUAN M. H. NEW CIVIC 145.00
3 2 ORTELLI, GUILLERMO R. Mégane 135.00
4 5 LEDESMA, CHRISTIAN C. Astra 123.00
5 1 ROSSI, MATIAS R. Mégane 111.00
6 3 BASSO, MARTIN F. FOCUS 81.00
7 4 P. DE LEON, GABRIEL F. FOCUS 68.00
8 8 PERNIA, Leonel H. NEW CIVIC 58.00
9 13 DI PALMA, JOSE F. FOCUS 57.00
10 11 FONTANA, NORBERTO T. COROLLA 53.00
11 10 OKULOVICH, CARLOS H. NEW CIVIC 51.00
12 33 BUGLIOTTI, Marcelo C. Astra 48.00
13 12 WERNER, MARIANO T.COROLLA 46.00
14 6 RISATTI, RICARDO C. Astra 42.00
15 14 CARDUCCI, LEANDRO F. FOCUS 25.00
16 17 YANNANTUONI, FABIAN C. Astra 13.00
17 38 CACERES, JUAN H. NEW CIVIC 7.00
18 18 CANAPINO, AGUSTIN C. Astra 6.00
19 19 VENTANA, SANTIAGO H. NEW CIVIC 5.00
20 34 CORSA C. Astra 5.00
21 20 FINESCHI, DAMIAN H. CIVIC 2.00
22 41 LLAVER, BERNARDO H. CIVIC 2.00
23 15 COSCIA, FRANCO H. NEW CIVIC 2.00
24 27 BELLI, DANIEL H. CIVIC 2.00
25 39 BENAMO, LUCAS H. NEW CIVIC 2.00

FIA GT figures laud San Luis track

By Matt Beer (Autosport) Monday, November 24th 2008, 11:58 GMT

The FIA GT Championship finale at San LuisFIA GT Championship figures believe the San Luis track used for this year's season finale will become a legendary circuit like Spa-Francorchamps and Bathurst.

The 3.896-mile Potrero de los Funes track is a semi-permanent circuit built around a volcanic lake, and was constructed in under a year. Its fast and undulating layout received lavish praise from drivers during the FIA GT title-decider last weekend.

Series promoter Stephane Ratel believes San Luis will rapidly become a world-renowned venue.

"This circuit will be a landmark in world motorsport," he said.

"The legendary circuits are usually very fast, very challenging, natural circuits, not designed by computers. Circuits like Le Mans, Spa, Bathurst - and now San Luis will be part of these big circuits of the world."

Fabrizio Gollin, who finished second in the race and the championship with co-driver Mike Hezemans, was one of many drivers who lauded the circuit layout, although he admitted that the current level of dust made it treacherous.

"The track is unbelievable," he said. "I think it's one of the best tracks in the world.

"The only thing is it's completely new so there is only one good line. Off-line is very slippery."

Series champion Michael Bartels agreed that the dust had made the race difficult, but was still full of admiration for the San Luis track.

"The track's condition was really difficult and this turned the race - which should have been a stroll in the park - into a sort of lottery in which anything could happen," he said.

"I'd also like to emphasise the great job the San Luis community did in creating this circuit in just nine months."

Ratel was also amazed by what the San Luis authorities had achieved.

"About 18 months ago, I had a very pleasant dinner with Carlos Garcia Remohi (head of Argentine motorsport) in Paris, and we discussed the opportunity to bring international circuit racing back to Argentina," said Ratel.

"We had this discussion and he told me about the project in San Luis. I came here to discover Potrero de los Funes, which was undoubtedly an amazing place to spend a week's vacation. But after the first lap we did together on the small road around the lake, I had to be very inventive to imagine that we could ever do a race here.

"Eighteen months later, I am delighted I took that decision, which sounded a bit crazy at the time, because I am absolutely amazed and I want to thank everybody involved."

TC2000 - San Luis - Potrero de los Funes - 2008

Before the FIA-GT race, the Argentine TC2000 inaugurated the wonderful Potrero de los Funes circuit in San Luis. Pechito Lopez won the race. At the end of the video you will hear the broadcaster praising Lopez as the 2008 champion, but the stewards penalized Risatti with 30 sec., so Silva was third postponing the championship's definition for the next race in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 12 December.



Race Results:
1. J.M. López
2. C. Ledesma
3. J.M. Silva
4. L. Pernia
5. M. Rossi

FIA-GT - Potrero de los Funes - 2008 - Last race of the season

FIA-GT - Potrero de los Funes - 2008 - Argentina. New excellent circuit and quite an interesting race under the sun (very hot day).

Vitaphone duo take title in crazy race

By Matt Beer Sunday, November 23rd 2008, 18:26 GMT

Andrea Bertolini, Maserati's Herbert Wester, and Michael Bartels on the San Luis podiumPK Saleen duo Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen ended a miserable season on a high by taking a shock win in the dramatic FIA GT Championship finale in Argentina, as Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini clinched the drivers' title in fifth place.

Fabrizio Gollin and Mike Hezemans (Phoenix Corvette) finished a close second, but their title hopes depended on Vitaphone Maserati duo Bartels and Bertolini finishing outside the top six.

In the event their conservative fifth made Bartels and Bertolini champions for a second time, and gave the team their third straight drivers' crown.

Marcel Fassler and Ricardo Risatti had looked set to take a dominant win for Phoenix at the breathtaking new San Luis track, only for Fassler to crash out of the lead with just 22 minutes remaining - having controlled most of the race.

Pole-winner Fassler was beaten away by Larbre Saleen's Frederic Makowiecki at the start, with the Frenchman - in only his second FIA GT1 appearance and his first since Dubai 2006 - fending off Fassler's pressure over the opening laps before briefly pulling out a three-second lead.

But as the first stops approached, the Corvette calmly closed back onto the Saleen's tail, with Fassler slicing ahead on lap 18.

Mackowiecki stayed in touch, only for his co-driver Roland Berville to end Larbre's hopes of victory when he hit the wall on the first lap of his stint.

That left Fassler and Risatti with an enormous lead over their teammates Gollin and Hezemans, who had moved up from an early sixth place thanks to good pit work and other teams' problems.

They lost second to Kumpen's PK Saleen just before the final stops, but Hezemans was able to re-pass Kumpen's co-driver Longin early in the final stint.

That pass turned out to be for the race lead, as at the same moment Fassler ran wide at the final corner and clouted the wall, costing him and Risatti a comfortable win.

Hezemans therefore picked up the lead, but could not shake off Longin, who slipped back ahead with eight minutes to go and subsequently resisted huge pressure from the Dutchman to claim the victory.

The race then came to a bizarre end when the two leaders tangled amid traffic on the slowing down lap, with the victorious PK Saleen sustaining broken suspension and spinning into the wall. The stewards are investigating both drivers' actions.

With the second Vitaphone Maserati retiring after Alexandre Negrao hit the wall avoiding a GT2 car, Maxime Soulet and Christian Ledesma came through from the back of the grid - having lost their qualifying times due to a tyre infringement - to complete the podium for SRT Corvette.

Fellow back row starters Jose Maria Lopez and Esteban Tuero took fourth. Lopez tore through the field in the ageing ACA Argentina Ferrari in the first stint, getting as high as third before losing time with a slow pit stop.

Local duo Matias Russo and Luis Perez Companc (Advanced Engineering Ferrari, see photo) took a popular home win in GT2, but only after the AF Corse Ferrari slowed dramatically in the flying laps.

Until then, GT2 champions Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander had appeared to be on course to take class victory from the back of the grid following Vilander's qualifying crash. Pole-sitter Russo had pulled away early on, but his co-driver Companc lost the lead to the flying Vilander just before half-distance, only for the AF Corse car's huge lead to disappear in the final moments, allowing Russo and Companc to take the win after all.

Christian Montanari and Thomas Biagi completed the podium in the second AF Corse Ferrari, while Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook's Prospeed Porsche was an early retirement.

Race Results
2008 Final Standings

Argentina's TC2000 - Mendoza 2008-10-31

Great Race in Mendoza with Werner in a Toyota starting out well in front. But finally Gabriel Ponce de Leon with Ford Focus was the winner. It's now 2 races in a row for Ford, that were very worried with their whole year lack of winners, the tide has changed it seems.



Mendoza Results
1. P de León
2. M. Werner
3. J.M. Silva
4. J.M. López
5. C. Okulovich

Formula 1 - Brazil GP 2008 - Hamilton wins the World Championship at the last corner

Felipe Massa won the Brazilian Grand Prix today and was virtual Formula 1 World Champion as he crossed the flag as Hamilton was in 6th place having been overtaken by Sebastian Vettel on the last lap (after both had changed tyres at the pits when rain started again a few laps from the end of the race). But Timo Glock, who had not changed his for rain tyres, slipped back and was easily overtaken by Vettel and then Hamilton at the last corner ruining Massa's chance to claim the championship as Hamilton only needed to be 5th to be the champion, which he did and is now the 2008 F1 World Champion. Just a few minutes before the start a poring rain obliged FIA officials to postpone it for 10 minutes. All teams changed tyres very quickly and the race started under wet conditions though it was not raining at that moment. Massa started well in front and did not lose the lead during the whole race. The battle was then for the second, third and fourth places, with Raikkonen, Alonso, Vettel, Trulli, Kovalainen and Hamilton trying to succeed. In the end Trulli who was second could not stand the pace and almost lost his car at a corner but managed to save it, though was left far behind. After a few laps all cars entered the pits to change their rubber shoes again as the circuit was now almost dry.

Massa kept well ahead. Hamilton did his job right, never risking his car alternating positions to finally arrive 5th. Vettel did an outstanding job fighting with both McLaren's and Toyota's. His Toro Rosso Ferrari was in great shape. Alonso too was outstanding, chasing Raikkonen who he passed after changing tyres at the pits. He never gave up and slowly progressed his way up from fourth place. Of course we must admit that Lewis Hamilton never challenged anyone, even at the starting grid as he had to do a very careful job to arrive in good shape and at least 5th.

Race results

2008 Final Standings

Massa bags Brazilian pole, next stop world title?

Racing series	F1
Date	2008-11-01

By J.K. Thompson - Motorsport.com

Life might not stay that way in the next 24 hours, but for now Felipe Massa is home and dry after pocketing pole position for Sunday's Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix.

Pole winner Felipe Massa celebrates. Photo by xpb.cc.

The Sao Paolo native, buoyed -- almost literally -- by the cheers of his countrymen, followed through on a psych maneuver on chief driving title rival Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes by sticking his Ferrari atop time sheets from the first of qualifying three sessions with a stunning time. Ultimately, Hamilton could only crowd to within a half-second.

Sunday's race will decide the 2008 FIA World Drivers' Championship at the 2.7-mile Interlagos course outside Sao Paolo between the two. Hamilton leads Massa by seven points. The Englishman can win the title by finishing fifth or better if Massa wins; Hamilton needs at least seventh if Massa is second; Massa loses altogether if he places third or lower. In the same situation here a year ago, seven-point leader Hamilton lost the title to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Massa dropped lap times to under 1 minute, 12 seconds in the first qualifying session with a 1:11.858. Despite McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen topping second qualifying with a 1:11.742, when Massa said he made a slight mistake, the mental work was done in favor of the Brazilian, who is at home, surrounded by friends, family and compatriots, at the site of the start of his racing career, the Interlagos go-kart track.

Massa claimed his third successive pole for this race, with a time of 1:12.368, and would be vying for a third successive victory but for his moving aside last year for Raikkonen, whose victory gave the Finn the 2007 driving title ahead of Hamilton and then McLaren-teammate Fernando Alonso, who shared runner-up status.

"It's so nice to be here and making a third pole position in a row in Brazil in front of these fantastic people, (who) are 100 percent emotion(al) about motor racing," Massa said. "It's great for us to come here and see so many people (who) love what we're doing. It's difficult to describe with a single word."

Massa opted for fantastic as a start to his description before turning to less-emotional aspects of qualifying.

"Friday and this morning we show that our car is very competitive around here," he said. "I will try to do my best tomorrow to win the race, and that's the most important thing."

	Jarno Trulli, Toyota F1 Team. Photo by xpb.cc.

Epic effort of qualifying went to Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who pulled himself out of a sickbed to participate. The Italian put a Toyota on the front row of a grid for the first time since Japan 2005. Trulli, whose teammate Timo Glock joined him in the top 10, threw down a 1:12.737.

"I think for the first time I was not going to make it for Friday because Thursday I was feeling really bad," said a pale, drawn and haggard-looking Trulli. "But in this case, after this result, I really have to thank the whole team for the job from the mechanics and the engineers up to the doctor because they really did manage to get me everything I needed to be quick. Even before coming here in Brazil I knew that this was one of those tracks -- technical, difficult -- where I could have been very strong, and my carcould have been very competitive. So I've been preparing for this grand prix I've been waiting for and now here I am. I really played my cards during the qualifying, saving tires and getting ready for the Q3 and in the end put in a pretty good lap.

"I'm really, really happy."

Raikkonen followed in 1:12.825 ahead of Hamilton with 1:12.830.

"I think I did more or less what I'm supposed to do," Raikkonen said. "I'm in a good starting place. I actually prefer to be in third than second. It's been here a pretty good place to start. Hopefully, we'll get a good start and I think we have the car to pull away like we did last year and that would be perfect for the team and that's what we're aiming for."

Leading McLaren by 11 points, Ferrari can lock up the World Constructors' Championship by finishing ahead of the silver cars.

"Congratulations to Felipe for achieving pole position in front of his home crowd," Hamilton said. "He did a great job today. But tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race. It will be a tough afternoon but I'm comfortable with the fuel strategy we chose. The guys in front are probably on a different strategy. But we're in good position to finish in the same place as we are today, and that's got to be our aim. We don't need to do anything spectacular."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes, MP4-23.Photo by xpb.cc.

Hamilton's intimation that he is heavily fueled and content to run a long stint from the off is strategy that might bag a driving title but possibly not a team gong.

Kovalainen (1:12.917) shares the third row with Renault's Alonso (1:12.967). Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel (1:13.082) and Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber (1:13.297) share the fourth row. Toro Rosso's other half, Sebastien Bourdais (1:14.105), takes the fifth row with Glock (1:14.230).

Spaniard Alonso topped practice time sheets Friday afternoon and again Saturday morning by pulling himself from well down the list to the top in the final moment. He had no such magic for qualifying and starts behind Hamilton, next to Kovalainen.

"We thought it would be close and competitive this afternoon, and we were not mistaken," Alonso said. "We knew that it would be difficult to try and catch the Ferraris and the McLarens, and so I think we have done our maximum this afternoon by qualifying in sixth place."

Form holds that Ferraris and McLarens would qualify in the top 10, and Toyota putting both cars there mark sustained improvement for the factory team. But Scuderia Toro Rosso can celebrate outright at placing both STR3s among the big boys. The German Vettel has carried the team past sister outfit Red Bull Racing this season and qualifying confirms the contribution of his teammate Bourdais.

"Naturally, you want to end the season on a high note and this result is super, to be in Q3 again, for the sixth time," said a Bourdais angling for a decision from team boss Gerhard Berger about the Frenchman's race seat. "Things have been getting better over the past few races, and this performance today confirms that. My lap was probably the best Q3 lap I've done this year, so I'm very happy."

The second half of the field puts Renault's Nelsinho Piquet next to Red Bull'sMark Webber on the sixth row, BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica next to Red Bull's David Coulthard on the seventh, Honda's Rubens Barrichello, F1's most experienced driver, next to Williams rookie Kazuki Nakajima on the eighth, Honda's Jenson Button next to Williams's Nico Rosberg on the ninth, and Giancarlo Fisichella out qualifying his Force India teammate Adrian Sutil on the 10th.

Piquet has stepped up in form in the final third of the season and with solid improvements to the R28 had reasonable expectation of reaching the third qualifying session.

"The car was working well, I was comfortable, and I pushed hard, but that wasn't enough," Piquet said.

Red Bull positioning disappointed Webber but salvaged a moral victory for Coulthard, who squeaked through to second qualifying in the final minutes for the last race of his F1 career.

"This was a disappointing day for us," Webber said. "I did the best I could, but it's simple: If you're not fast enough, you don't go through."

Said Coulthard, "I'm not really happy with that as my last F1 qualifying session. We went reasonably well here last year and got into the top 10, so we came here thinking that might be possible again. But in the end we didn't manage to find enough grip in the middle sector."

Struggle for grip kept Kubica from final qualifying for a second successive race. Both BMW Saubers were late to appear in the sessions but Heidfeld sorted his F1.08 more easily than his teammate.

"Starting from so far behind will make the race difficult for me," Kubica said.

Also possibly starting his final Brazilian Grand Prix, Paulista Barrichello, whose future with Honda remains uncertain, out qualified his English teammate yet again.

"I'm pleased that we were able to make it into the second qualifying session here in Interlagos today," Barrichello said. "We had a perfect lap on my second run in Q1 with the option tires working really well. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the same grip level in Q2 and were really struggling with understeer."

Williams had a dismal qualifying that emphasized a streaky season for the English privateer using Toyota engines. Nakajima cited varying track temperatures for undermining his effort. Rosberg could not get to grips with the softer, option tire compounds.

Fisichella said he struggled through Turns 8 and 10, where he might have found two-tenths but only one place. "We'll look to the strategy to improve tomorrow and try to be flexible to be ready for whatever comes."

What's expected to come is rain, which could scramble everything. Trulli said his Toyota needs a dry surface and warmer temperatures. Massa, whose best results have been gained from pole, needs a fast getaway, a team that will perform his pit stops smoothly, and a crowd to carry him home. Hamilton, of course, needs better luck than last year's.

F1 - Massa - Hamilton Showdown & Qualifying in Brazil GP 2008

Qualifying Results

Formula 1 in Buenos Aires with David Coulthard - 2008-10-25

Formula 1 in the streets of Buenos Aires with David Coulthard, who retires this season, with a Red Bull Toro Rosso. He then gives us his views on Hamilton, Massa and Alonso.

TOP RACE V6 - Paraná - 2008-10-19

Excellent race in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina, with bumpings, crashes, etc.

Race results

Standings after Parana

DTM 2008 - Hockenheimring II: Audi preview

Audi enters DTM finale with head start

Ingolstadt -- It was the most extensive factory programme in AUDI AG motorsport history to date. On

 Sunday, 26 October it could become the most successful ever: If Timo Scheider clinches the DTM title for Audi at Hockenheim, then the brand with the four rings will have won everything there was to win this season.

In June Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish scored the third successive victory for the Audi R10 TDI in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner won the American Le Mans Series title with the diesel sportscar, Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller in the European based Le Mans Series.

Audi has also been on the road to success from the very beginning of the 2008 DTM season. The new Audi A4 DTM made a perfect debut in Hockenheim by taking a spectacular one-two-three finish. Since then Audi has not relinquished its hold on the championship lead of the most popular touring car series.

Now, Audi has the chance to successfully defend a DTM title for the second time since 1990/1991. Like Mattias Ekstrom before him, Timo Scheider comes this time to the final race of the year at Hockenheim with a two point advantage. Two different drivers also won the title for Audi at the Hockenheim finale in 1990 and 1991: 1990 with Hans-Joachim Stuck, 1991 with Frank Biela.

This time Audi's hopes rest on the shoulders of Timo Scheider, who already boasts an impressive record this season: He celebrated two victories with his GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM. The 29-year old started four-times from pole position, and mounted the podium seven times. Without a jump start at Mugello and an unfortunate tyre choice at the Nurburgring and at Le Mans the German, who lives on the shores of Lake Constance, would have long been champion.

The fans can look forward to a thrilling finale. Advance tickets sales have exceeded 60,000 and, as a result, last year's record crowd (152,000 spectators throughout the weekend) could even be beaten.

Timo Scheider took pole position at Hockenheim at the start of the season. The championship leader also has good memories of the final race: In 2006 he was the best driver of a year-old car. At the 2007 finale he claimed his first ever DTM podium finish. Now he aims to win his first DTM title and, in front of his home crowd, fend-off Paul di Resta's attack in the Mercedes-Benz.

Timo Scheider has a two point advantage over his rival. This means that di Resta must finish in front of Scheider -- a small but not unimportant psychological advantage for the Audi driver.

As usual ARD broadcasts qualifying and the race live on "Das Erste". Free practice is shown by www.dtm.tv in the Internet. Audi.tv shows the highlights and background reports. Whoever prefers to watch the eagerly awaited finale at the track can still order tickets from the Audi Ticket-Hotline +49 (0)841 / 8947777 or online at www.audi-dtm.de.

Quotes before the DTM finals at Hockenheim

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "At the last race at Le Mans we already had the title in our hands until halfway through the race. Unfortunately, we couldn't fix it. This means there is now a big showdown at Hockenheim. The atmosphere will be fantastic. I'm convinced that the grandstands will be full. We'll do everything to bring the championship home for Audi."

Timo Scheider (GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM #10): "We scored a memorable one-two-three at the start of the season at Hockenheim, and history shows that the final races at Hockenheim have always gone well for me. I've actually always finished my years positively there, which is why I'm particularly pleased that the finale is held at Hockenheim. It definitely won't be plain sailing with just a two point lead over Paul (di Resta), but in fact a battle royal. The many German fans in the stands will certainly act as extra motivation for me."

Mattias Ekstrom (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #1): "I'm really looking forward to the finale. We won at the start of the season at Hockenheim, which also happens to be my goal for the last race."

Martin Tomczyk (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #2): "It's great to finish each season at Hockenheim. The atmosphere is always excellent there. I hope that it stays dry and we will see an exciting championship battle that obviously goes in favour of Audi."

Tom Kristensen (Audi A4 DTM #9): "Without a shadow of a doubt Hockenheim will be very interesting. There'll be hoards of spectators there. The championship battle between Timo (Scheider) and di Resta is very close. I personally hope that I can finish the season with a good result. We were always quick this season. My team always gave me a good car; unfortunately we had more than our fair share of bad luck in the races."

Alexandre Premat (Audi Bank/Shell Helix Audi A4 DTM #14): "It'll be hard for us at Hockenheim because we'll have heaviest 2007 car in the field. I want to do a good job again. We'll see what the weather does. My goal is to take ninth place and therefore be the best driver of a 2007 Audi."

Mike Rockenfeller (S line Audi A4 DTM #18): "A long season comes to an end for me. The weather at Hockenheim can also be very unpredictable. I would like to continue my run of good form that we've seen in the past races, which was particularly good more recently in qualifying."

Markus Winkelhock (Playboy Audi A4 DTM #19): "Hockenheim is a race where there is always loads going on. It is also my home race and Hockenheim is a circuit that really suits me. I hope that we can win the title with Audi there."

Oliver Jarvis (Best Buddies Audi A4 DTM #15): "It's great to be returning to a circuit that I already know. Things ran well for me there at the season opener, I got into the top-eight in qualifying. I hope that I can score a few points."

Christijan Albers (Audi A4 DTM #21): "We'll have a pretty tough time with the 2006 cars at Hockenheim. However, it'll be an exciting final. I hope that Audi can win the title."

Katherine Legge (Audi A4 DTM #20): "I drove my first DTM race at Hockenheim, which means we'll be able to see just how we have improved during the season. It'll be a great final. The spectators can look forward to a really fantastic race."

Hans-Jurgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): "The DTM will see one of the most exciting final races ever. Travelling to Hockenheim with a two point lead is a small cushion, but not really reassuring. As a team we'll have to try to deliver an absolute top performance. The car can do it. I believe that Timo (Scheider) is also well capable of keeping his cool. It goes without saying that I hope things turn out well for us."

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): "It's a shame that the season is already nearly over again! Our team is extra motivated for Hockenheim after the great result at Le Mans. We'll do everything within our power so that Timo (Scheider) can take the title at the finale and score a few points ourselves as team."

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): "Hockenheim will certainly be very tense for all concerned. I hope that we can help to bring the championship home. Le Mans went a little disappointingly for us as team, which is why we hope to turn the tide at Hockenheim."

-credit: audi

Actual Standings

ALMS - Audi ends 2008 with one-two Laguna Seca finish

Racing series	ALMS
Date	2008-10-18 (Monterey, CA)

By Barret Bumford - Motorsport.com

Audi Sport North America closed out the 2008 racing season by taking the final overall victory in the American Le Mans Series. To top it off, they finished one-two after charging to the front on the final restart. Then the battle began between Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner for the final bragging rights.

Two of the Acura teams finished 3rd and 4th overall, giving the marque a 1-2 in LM P2, however

 Porsche won the manufac- turers' title.

 

#9 Patron Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01B Acura: David Brabham, Scott Sharp leads #66 de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-01B Acura: Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud, #7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder: Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard and #15 Lowe's Fernandez Racing 

The last race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca had everyone talking about Acura, who needed to sweep the podium to win the LM P2 manufacturers' championship. They nearly pulled it off, with Andretti Green Racings's Tony Kanaan crossing the line just 0.054 seconds ahead of rival Acura driver Simon Pagenaud of de Ferran Motorsports. A failed battery left earlier Acura contender Lowe's Fernandez Racing a lap down to finish ninth overall. Driver Adrian Fernandez had set fastest lap with a 1:11.156 (113.23 mph).

The race began with David Brabham in the Highcroft Racing Acura on pole position alongside Fernandez

 Racing's Luis Diaz. By the first turn, Gil de Ferran had sped past the Penske Porsche RS Spyder of Timo Bernhard, locking out the top three spots for the American constructor ahead of the manufacturers' title leaders, Porsche.

A series of yellows interrupted the racing throughout the first two hours, mixing up the field as cars from both the prototype and GT classes ran off into the sand, but the dust finally settled as the sun sank behind the hills of the Monterey Peninsula. Pirro, leading LM P1, led a string of P2 Acuras after Romain Dumas ran wide in turn six in his Penske Porsche RS Spyder. de Ferran Motorsports' Pagenaud harangued the more powerful Audi R10 TDI diesel down the corkscrew and around the legendary 2.238 mile circuit, with the Acuras of Fernandez and Franck Montagny in tow.

After yet another series of back-to-back caution periods, the track went green around the three hour mark, until the then-leading #6 Penske of Sascha Maassen coasted down into the sand at the bottom of the

 Andretti hairpin, bringing out the 11th caution of the race. Kanaan inherited the lead in the for Andretti Green Racing, but the two Audis were right behind.

At the restart, Pirro, in what was his last race in the R10 TDI, wanted to get by race leader Kanaan in his Acura ARX-01b. Kanaan slid to the inside, expecting the faster Audi to pass on the outside, but Pirro surprised him and shoved Kanaan out of the way. Eight tires have more grip than four, and Kanaan slid helplessly toward the outside of turn two as Marco Werner followed his teammate's inside line. "Restarting with the two Audis behind is not fun," Kanaan said. He called the contact "a race pass."

It was at the three hour and 34 minute mark that Werner took the lead from Pirro. "It would have been nice if he could go out with a victory," Werner commented.

#6 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder: Sascha Maassen, Patrick Long

Ten minutes after the Audis swapped places, Pagenaud out-braked Kanaan into turn eleven and took the lead in P2. Kanaan passed him back in traffic up the hill into turn six, and held off a gutsy charge by the determined Pagenaud for the class victory. An unlucky attempt to charge down the outside of the corkscrew was thwarted by lapped traffic. On the last lap, Pagenaud tried to carry a drive out of turn eleven and just missed the P2 class victory by 0.054 sec.

The Penske Porsche RS Spyders of Bernard and Helio Castroneves claimed third and fourth places in P2, securing the class manufacturer's title by a single point, with 214 to Acura's 213.

P1 co-champions Werner and Lucas Luhr claimed the P1 and overall victory ahead of 2nd place teammates Pirro and Christian Albers. Third in the P1 class fell to the Corsa Motorsports team of Johnny Mowlem, Gunnar Jeanette, and Stefan Johansson, whose Zytek 07S put in one of the team's strongest first stints of the season. An unlucky wiring problem during a driver change ended hopes of a top-five overall result.

In the LM GT2 class, Tafel Racing's Dirk Mueller in his Ferrari 430 took the lead from Jamie Melo of Risi Competizione after the midway point, with Dirk Werner and the Farnbacher Loles Porsche following in third. The trio would finish in that order, but Mueller's team was excluded by IMSA for a ride height violation, gifting third place to the Panoz Team PTG and drivers Tommy Milner and Joey Hand.

The LM GT1 Corvettes also swapped places after the three-hour mark, giving the victory to Olivier Bertta and Oliver Gavin ahead of Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell. Corvette will switch to the GT2 class next year following the final running of the C6.R at Le Mans.

A total of 12 caution periods, often coming back-to-back, befell the race. At the post-race press conferences, many drivers complained about the lack of speed of the pace car. The low grip surface of Laguna Seca, and the cold ambient temperatures of the evening race compounded the problem.

Race Results

Porsche race report

FIA-GT Zolder 2008/10/19 - Victory for Bertolini and Bartels

Fourth Team's title for Vitaphone

A close and exciting race around the 4.006 km Zolder circuit today saw Vitaphone Racing Team’s nr 1 Maserati MC 12 of Bartels and Bertolini claim victory; along with a points finish for the nr 2 car, the team has now clinched its fourth consecutive GT1 Teams title.  Coming out ahead after a lighting final pit stop, they finished ahead of their only remaining title rivals, Phoenix Carsport’s duo of Mike Hezemans and Fabrizio Gollin, and the Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 of Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp.  Three different manufacturers finished in the top three, separated by just over 10 seconds.

In GT2, newly crowned Champions Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni celebrated in style with their fifth win of the season in the nr 50 AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT2.  BMS Scuderia Italia drivers Malucelli and Ruberti strengthened their second position in the Championship with second, while the nr 60 Prospeed Competition Porsche claimed its first podium of the season for their home race.

Results remain provisional subject to sporting and technical scrutineering.

Results

Standings after Zolder

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix - 2008-09-28

Formula 1 - Singapore - Alonso's surprise win

Opportunistic Alonso wins the night in Singapore
Racing series F1
Date 2008-09-28
By J.K. Thompson - Motorsport.com

What a difference a night makes. Fernando Alonso's anguished, fuel-starved end to qualifying 23 hours before was wiped from memory Sunday night in East Asia when the two-time world champion cruised to improbable victory in the inaugural FIA Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore. Nico Rosberg was second in a Williams ahead of Lewis Hamilton for McLaren Mercedes.


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Race winner Fernando Alonso celebrates. Photo by xpb.cc.

With Formula One enjoying the Las Vegas Effect -- shiny and bright at night -- the other factor, problematic logistics of a street race, went overlooked. But the show was all Renault. An emphatic crash by Alonso teammate Nelsinho Piquet on Lap 15 -- he said the car was "heavy" -- brought out a safety car and unleashed a pit panic that put Alonso, who had rabbited from his 15th starting spot to 11th, in position to win. That he took the opportunity and triumphed is why the 27-year-old remains the only double world champion active in F1 and -- with the exception of perhaps one team -- the most coveted driver in the paddock.

"First podium of the season and first victory as well, I'm extremely happy," Alonso said. "I cannot believe it right now. I think I need a couple of days to realize. But we won a race this year. It seems impossible."

Alonso, who became the youngest world driving champion twice with Renault, was on target to continue winning championships with McLaren until conflict with rookie teammate Hamilton last year chased the Spaniard out of a three-year deal and back to the French team.

Behind the podium placers came Timo Glock for Toyota, Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber, David Coulthard for Red Bull, and Kazuki Nakajima for Williams in the points. Running thereafter were Jenson Button for Honda, Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren, Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber, Sebastien Bourdais for Toro Rosso, Felipe Massa for Ferrari and Giancarlo Fisichella for Force India. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Adrian Sutil (Force India), and Piquet (Renault), crashed out; Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Mark Webber (Red Bull), and Rubens Barrichello (Honda), suffered mechanical failures.

Piquet's accident determined the race. Immediately affected was Rosberg in the lead Williams, who was heading for refueling when the safety car came out, putting the German afoul of closed pits. Rosberg, assessed a 10-second stop-go penalty, appeared to have lost the hard work of getting around heavily fuelled, one-stop strategist Trulli, accomplished with full brake lockup on Lap 7. Right behind him, fourth-starting Kubica, earned the same penalty. Such is the nature of racing that eighth-starting Rosberg, who managed to lead and pull out a 20-second gap before serving the penalty, had the horses and course placing to come up trumps while Kubica wound up pointless in 11th. The result was Rosberg's best in nearly three full seasons in F1.

"I got a bit of a difficult start, on the dirty side, and dropped behind Jarno," Rosberg said. "He was pretty slow. I suppose he was heavy on fuel. So I absolutely had to get by him. The problem was that my only chance was Turn 1, where I wasn't ever quite close enough, and Turn 7, where on the inside it's so bumpy that it's simply impossible to outbrake someone. I mean it's very, very difficult. So it took some time till I was literally alongside and I could brake on the inside. And even then it was quite a hairy moment because I locked up everything. But I came through. Then I was doing one qualifying lap after another because I knew it was my only chance to break clear of that group, and it worked out well."

Rosberg said he thought it was all over after he was told to pit only to have the safety car come on track. "I was really annoyed," he said. "I thought that was it, that was the end of it." Instead, he pushed open a gap and drove to his best F1 result through it.

Fate similarly tapped Hamilton, front-row starter whose second place fell to pit stops and left him fighting from eighth to third, spending quite a few laps in fourth place behind Red Bull's David Coulthard as the confusion that followed the Lap 15 incident mingled with team strategies to allow all sorts of drivers to cycle through the top positions. A second safety car with 10 of 61 laps left closed all gaps and left Hamilton to choose racing Rosberg or taking points. The Englishman padded his driving championship points lead, extending his lead over Massa from one to seven points, 84-77.

"My pit stop went really well," Hamilton said of the first or safety car round of stops. "To be honest, I had to wait a little bit because there was a few cars coming past, including Felipe and perhaps Nico or something, coming to his stop, so I lost a little bit of time there but it didn't cause me any troubles. We had great pace. Just, unfortunately, I got stuck behind DC. He was a good second slower than me but also a good second slower than anyone else in front of us and it was so difficult to get close to him to overtake, but he drove a fantastic race."

And what of Ferrari? They made the race exciting for all the wrong reasons. What looked like triumph -- and the drivers' title chase lead -- ended in tears when pole sitter Massa, who rocketed off the start and built a five-second lead over Hamilton, pitted in the first safety car frenzy, Lap 17, his third-starting teammate Raikkonen pulling in behind him. In milliseconds that followed, Ferrari did their best to dash the season.

The team's electronic minder system showed green for Massa to go before the fuel rig hose was off the car, and Massa reacted instantly, tearing away the hose, spilling a mechanic, and driving off down pit lane trailing the fuel hose. The Brazilian stopped at the end of the lane -- watching Hamilton's refuelled McLaren pull past, probably wanting to puke -- and waited as mechanics sprinted to him and struggled to remove the now-damaged hose, the engine whining all the while. Massa earned a drive-through penalty for early pit release and spent the rest of the race with backmarkers out of the points, the apparently bulletproof Ferrari engine pulling him to the finish line. The mechanic was stretchered off to the track medical center, found to have no broken bones, then he was taken to a local hospital for further checks.

Through all this, Raikkonen's F2008 was serviced and released without problem. Raikkonen waged a valiant effort until with three laps to go, the Finn bounced over the high curbs on Turn 10 then bounced straight into a wall to take him out of a points position. With bright sides slim pickin's, Raikkonen did set fast lap of the race, his 10th this season.

Alonso said his strategy for starting from the back half of the grid was to gain as many spots on the first lap as possible then count on opportunism because the R28 had pace.

"We thought about a one-stop strategy but we had some concerns with the brakes," he said. "We said one stop is not possible, so we try something very different. We try to make as many places places as possible then try from there. The pace was there."

So was tire strategy. Alonso used the prime or soft Bridgestone tire compound to have the better-wearing tire for the balance of the race. Rosberg and Hamilton were disadvantaged on the soft-soft compound. Alonso said he was able to back off engine revs to finish the race once he had the lead, which he took over from pitting one-stopper Trulli on Lap 34. The Spaniard then took off like un gato escaldo and was never headed, not even when a second safety car bunched things up with 10 laps left when Massa spun at Turn 17 and caught out a surprised Adrian Sutil, who promptly smacked the wall.

"This victory, I think, is well-deserved," Alonso said. "The guys worked extremely hard all through the season. We start far behind, maybe one second behind BMW and now we are the same pace as them or even better and this is thanks to the great job. So we'll keep pushing."

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore called the race "fantastic" but wouldn't be drawn on whether victory might keep his No. 1 driver, who has been linked to BMW Sauber and to Ferrari, despite the scuderia's drivers being signed through 2010. "It's not a victory that changes a situation," the Italian said.

Glock said fourth place let him reach a personal goal of 20 points this season. Vettel called the race one of the toughest of the season because of the city-state's heat and humdity, and the bumpy track surface that required total concentration. Heidfeld called the F1.08 good, but he was unable to show its pace for being stuck in traffic. Coulthard said he was happy to finish in the points even if the conditions were "hot as hell". Nakajima, who made his own scintillatng pass on Trulli, proclaimed the day a great one for the Williams team.

In a singularly ungreat day for Ferrari, the Italian team lost what had been a five-point constructors' title points lead to McLaren, who now lead, 135-134.

A Toyota protest that Toro Rosso released Vettel from his pit box early was disallowed.

Race results

Standings after Singapore GP