Female First Motorsport roundup

30 November -0001

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September 4th

Missed a race? Catch up, here, with the weeks events in F1, Rallying and British Superbikes

Formula one
Sunday saw the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It promised to be a fast and eventful race and it didn't disappoint. Raikkonen was fastest in qualifying, but after being forced to change is engine, he was relegated to 11th position, leaving team mate Juan Pablo Montoya to start in pole.
Alonso started second, Button third and Sato in fourth. 20 cars started the race, and 20 finished - Something which is not unheard of - but for it to happen at Monza highlighted the technical brilliance of current Formula One cars

Montoya looked as though he was cantering towards a comfortable win, throughout the race, holding onto the first place he started with. Tyre problems in the last few laps were not enough to give Alonso the first place finish he'd been chasing all race.

Team-mate, Raikkonen was also plagued by tyre problems. McLaren had no choice but to call their driver in for a precautionary change on lap 28 as his tyre started to delaminate. This left Raikkonen stuck where he had started - Behind Villeneuve in the Sauber.

However, thanks to a mistake by the Marshalls, Raikkonen was quickly past Villeneive as the Sauber driver was incorrectly blue flagged. From here, Raikkonen seemed to start feeling the pressure, as he spun off in the closing stages. But he didn't give up, there, quickly catching Trulli, taking fourth place from him.

The drama wasn't over for McLaren after Lap 28, however, as Montoya's tyre started to throw bits of rubber in the closing stages. Stopping would have given the one-two to Renault on a silver platter, along with the constructors championship, so the decision was made to leave the number one driver out. A decision which paid off.

British Driver Jenson Button suffered a bruising race, as fuelling problems and a low down force setup caused him to have a poor race. Despite qualifying third, his prediction that he would struggle in the race proved to be true, dropping back right at the start, to finish in eighth place.

Ferrari suffered a dismal race on their home turf. Reigning Champion Schumacher took one risk too many and dropped back to 10th place, resigning himself to the fact that his 5 year reign as champ is over. Barichello was up for 9th place, but lost it due to tyre problems.

The final places were: 1 JP Montoya (McLaren), 2 F Alonso (Renault), 3 G Fisichella (Renault), 4 K Raikkonen (McLaren), 5 J Trulli (Toyota), 6 R Schumacher (Toyota), 7 A Pizzonia (Williams), 8 J Button (BAR).

Rallying
Rally GB is still almost two weeks away, but the teams are already looking to the Japanese Rally, (30 sept - 2 oct) as organisers have released a bumper 90 car entry for the gravel race. the line up includes a few surprises.
Mitsubishi have nominated Asphalt ace, Giles Panizzi, rather than rising star Galli.
Skoda will enter two cars, team leader Schwarrtz will drive, of course, along with Mikko Hirvonen, a former Subaru driver.
Ford will enter a total for four cars.

But don't worry, they haven't forgotten Rally GB, with many admitting that the Wales races has the potential to be the fastest of the season. Subaru have dominated this event sine the early 1990s, winning the last 3 events at the circuit. But with their former driver McRae back in the running this year, and for a rival team, can they hold onto the rally?

Subaru lead Driver Soldberg said: "The championship needs people like Colin, He's a big star and everybody knows his name because of the computer games"
"Anything that increases the profile of the sport is good, so I hope Colin does well. That will only make things better for everybody."

McRae says that he's got no expectations about how he'll do in the rally. "I'm looking forward to it, but there's no point in making any predictions until we get going."
McRae will be taking part in the Park systems rally in Scotland, as he gears up for the WRC event in Wales, on the 16-18 September

British Superbikes
As the pressure builds for round eleven of the British Superbikes championship, three riders know that nothing less than victory will do.

Just eight points separate Lavilla, Rutter and Kiyonari as they return to Oulton park, on the 11th September.
Lavilla heads up the pack, after his pair for second placings last week gave him a leg up on Kiyonara and Rutter, who both had a disappointing race.

Rutter had a 46 point lead, at one point, but that was slashed, by a few good falls in previous races. Now the pressure is really on him, if he wants to maintain hopes of the championship crown.

Japanese rider Kiyonari has won more races than anyone, this year, taking ten races, but a lack of consistency has meant that he's constantly playing catch up. Nevertheless, he's in the running for a championship win, this year.

They each have their own strategies for getting to the top spot, but the fact that they must not be beaten will be at the back of their minds.

Tommy Hill goes into the action brimming with confidence after enjoying his first ever victory in the championship at Cadwell Park, and also giving the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha team their first victory in 14 months, while Leon Haslam, also a winner there has shown there are no team orders at Airwaves.

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