IRL – POWER SECOND AT LONG BEACH

  Continueing his outstanding form at the Californian circuit, Will Power finished just 3.5 seconds behind Dario Franchitti who took victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. For Franchitti, the win was his first since returning to the IndyCar Series and his ninth career triumph in the series. Will backed up from his champ car here last year to claim pole and finish second despite having to change cars on Saturday, when Helio Castroneves rejoined the team, and having radio problems throughout the race.

  The Target Chip Ganassi team celebrated its 25th victory in the IndyCar Series. "I have lots of Champ-Car street and road course wins, but I haven't had one in the IndyCar Series, so to finally get one feels good for a lot of reasons," the winner said. "Having finished second here twice it is good to be on the other end and get the job done. It also feels good to win in the unified series. Today reminded of the good old days of racing in Long Beach." 

  Regarding his race and the strategy employed, he added, "The guys pitted me early, and that got us track position ahead of Will Power, and after that I did my best to save fuel. My second stint didn't go too well, but on the last restart, the car allowed me to drive it just like I wanted to." 

   Franchitti trailed leaders Will Power and Raphael Matos in the early laps before passing Matos on the 15th circuit. Thereafter, he only lost the lead during pit stops. At the end, he held a solid 3.3 second advantage.

   Will Power, driving without a workable radio, took second place in the Team Verizon Wireless car fielded by Team Penske. "It was a great day," Power said. "We had no radio and no telemetry, so I was doing it off the steering wheel and off the pit board. Second is very good, and I feel happy for the guys, as they put a lot of effort into it. Team Penske has given me a fantastic ride, and I can't thank them enough." 

   Tony Kanaan raced his way into third place from his 11th starting position. Said the Brazilian, "We work better under pressure, I guess. It's a good day for Andretti Green Racing and a great job for my 7-Eleven team. When we have a car to win, we win, and when we don't, we finish on the podium."

    Danica Patrick brought another AGR home fourth ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti with Helio Castroneves finishing his comeback race in seventh. Castroneves had been aquitted at his tax evasion trial on Friday and took over the car that Will Power had been using, relegating Power to the team’s third car.

   Eighth through tenth were Raphael Matos, Robert Doornbos and Alex Tagliani, who picked up one position on the last lap.  

F1 – RED BULL 1-2 IN CHINA

  Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated a very wet Chinese Grand Prix with the German scoring Red Bull’s first ever Grand Prix victory. Due to the weather the race started under the safety car and once Fernando Alonso has pitted and rejoined at the rear of the field, the two Red Bull drivers were never seriously threatened.

  On a much heavier fuel load, championship leader Jenson Button was able to get between the leading pair during the mid race laps and held Webber up enough for Vettel to have a comfortable run to the flag.Webber and Button had a thrilling scrap for a few laps after Mark’s first stop. Webber rejoined behind the Brawn car and after a few laps of pressure Button ran wide at the end of the back straight. Webber nipped through and began to build a lead but then ran wide at the last turn himself, allowing Button back through. As in Malaysia though, Webber was in no mood to sit behind someone he was clearly faster than and he stormed around the outside of Button through turn seven to reclaim the position. Button then had no answer to the Red Bulls' pace and finished a distant third, ahead of his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

   Front row starter Fernando Alonso, who had qualified on a minimal fuel load, had his day ruined when Renault opted to bring him in for refuelling at the end of the caution, allowing Red Bull to run one-two when the race finally got underway.

  Vettel and Webber quickly pulled away from the two Brawn drivers with Barrichello making the better start until he ran wide at the final corner on lap ten. The Brawns were fuelled longer than the Red Bulls, but did not have the pace to capitalise on it before the safety car reappeared on lap 18 when Robert Kubica plowed over the back of Jarno Trulli's Toyota at the final corner. The rear of the Toyota was totally destroyed and it was to everyone’s surprise that Kubica was able to continue after replacing his nose cone.

  McLaren had a solid, if not very fast race with Kovalainen coming home in fifth place ahead of his team-mate Hamilton in sixth. Lewis had had a rather wild afternoon with no less than five spins and it was only good luck that he did not hit anything. In contrast poor Adrian Sutil would have finished ahead of Hamilton except for his one spin when he aquaplaned into the barriers with just five laps to go. Will Force India ever get its first points?

  Timo Glock came home in seventh, with Buemi completing the scorers after an excellent drive that saw him run as high as fourth in the opening stint. Had the safety car not handed the one-stopping cars an advantage, the two-stopping Buemi would have been celebrating a top five finish. 

  Ferrari had another shocker with Raikkonen finishing a lowly 10th, struggling with a nervous car and spending most of the race being overtaken. Hamilton overtook Kimi three times. Felipe Massa's car ground to a halt while running third during the second safety car period although his place was only due to others pitting. Ferrari has now had its worst start to a season since 1981, the last time it had failed to score in the first three races of a championship.

.

RESULTS

Pos  Driver                   Team                                        Time

 1.    Vettel                   Red Bull-Renault                      1h57:43.485

 2.    Webber                Red Bull-Renault                      +    10.970

 3.    Button                  Brawn GP-Mercedes               +    44.975

 4.    Barrichello            Brawn GP-Mercedes               +  1:03.704

 5.    Kovalainen           McLaren-Mercedes                 +  1:05.102

 6.    Hamilton               McLaren-Mercedes                 +  1:11.866

 7.    Glock                   Toyota                                     +  1:14.476

 8.    Buemi                   Toro Rosso-Ferrari                  +  1:16.439

 9.   Alonso                  Renault                                     +  1:24.309

10.  Raikkonen             Ferrari                                      +  1:31.750

11.  Bourdais                Toro Rosso-Ferrari                  +  1:34.156

12.  Heidfeld                BMW Sauber                           +  1:35.834

13.  Kubica                  BMW Sauber                           +  1:46.853

14.  Fisichella               Force India-Mercedes              +     1 lap

15.  Rosberg                Williams-Toyota                       +     1 lap

16.  Piquet                    Renault                                    +    2 laps

Not classified/retirements:

Driver                           Team                                        Laps

Sutil                              Force India-Mercedes              51

Nakajima                     Williams-Toyota                       44

Massa                          Ferrari                                      23

Trulli                             Toyota                                     19

 Fastest lap: Barrichello, 1:52.592 

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

Drivers:                                    Constructors:              

1.  Button                    21        1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes          36 

2.  Barrichello              15        2.  Red Bull-Renault                 19.5 

3.  Glock                     10        3.  Toyota                                18.5 

4.  Vettel                     10        4.  McLaren-Mercedes            8 

5.  Webber                  9.5       5.  Renault                                4 

6.  Trulli                       8.5       6.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari             4 

7.  Alonso                   4          7.  BMW Sauber                      4 

8.  Heidfeld                 4          8.  Williams-Toyota                  3.5 

9.  Hamilton                 4      

10.  Kovalainen            4      

11.  Rosberg                3.5      

12.  Buemi                    3      

13.  Bourdais                1      

VALE - GRAHAM WATSON PASSES AWAY AFTER FIGHT WITH CANCER

Formula 3 Australia was today shocked and saddened to hear of the untimely loss of Graham Watson, who passed away last (Tuesday) night after a brief battle with cancer

Graham was born in Palmertson North, New Zealand before moving to Australia in 1970 and is widely regarded in the Australian and New Zealand motorsport industries for being one of the keenest spotters, developers and supporters of young driving talent.

Watson was, for 30 years, most closely associated with the RALT Australia brand with his team helping many young drivers to many wins in the Australian Drivers Championship.

A former Gold-Star winning driver himself, Graham’s unwavering passion for Open wheel racing will be sorely missed, as will his presence in the pit lane at race meetings around Australia and indeed the world.

Though short on stature and quietly spoken, Graham’s keen intellect, massive knowledge of the sport and continued positivity were apparent from the moment one approached him for a chat. His commitment to the sport he loved and the drivers he supported was unwavering; with regular overseas trips to lend at-track support to former RALT drivers racing around the world.

It was clear that nothing made Graham more proud than witnessing one of ‘his’ drivers succeed at the highest level. The man known as ‘Wattie’ spoke with pride and even emotion after witnessing Scott Dixon - a RALT driver in the 1990s - win last year’s Indianapolis 500-mile race, the most competitive in years.

This year Graham was serving as Team Manager for Tom Tweedie’s debut campaign in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, after introducing the young New South Welshman to the series with a mid-year test in 2008.

Despite having to spend time in hospital during the weekend, Graham stood steadfast at the side of Tweedie as he made a stunning Gold-Star debut at the recent Clipsal 500 Adelaide, finishing third in race one. Again, his commitment and dedication were second-to-none.

 The loss of Graham Watson is a huge blow the community that surrounds the Gold Star championship, and will be felt around Australian Motorsport in general - such was his influence on so many drivers, teams and people working throughout the industry.

Watson was a strong proponent of Wings and Slicks racing in Australia and served on the management committee’s of both the Formula Holden/ F4000 series and Formula 3 Australia. His involvement in the growth and status of this form of motorsport in Australia cannot be ignored.

He will be sorely missed.

All involved in Formula 3 Australia would like to express their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Graham, and offers them support in this difficult time.

Formula 3 Australia’s administration are currently organising a tribute, to recognise Graham Watson’s involvement in the series - and the sport in general - to be held at Wakefield Park in conjunction with the Shannons Nationals on April 24 - 26.

Graham Watson Bio:

 After moving to Australia, Graham worked for Scuderia Veloce Motors, starting a smash repair business for the iconic dealership in 1971. He started his own business in 1974 before selling (in 1986) and taking up a team managers position with Westmark Corporation, based at the former Surfers Paradise International Raceway in Queensland.

A highly accomplished driver, Watson won the 1986 Australian Drivers Championship / Gold Star, Driving a RALT RT4.

Watson would go on to be synonymous with the RALT brand, becoming the Australian agent for RALT cars in 1977, importing more than 30 Formula Atlantic cars to Australia, many of which still race today. The RALT name continued as a racing team in the Australian Drivers Championship, Watson taking drivers like Will Power, Scott Dixon and Daniel Gaunt, to Gold Star success.

Recently the team entered Formula 3 racing, and under the RALT Australia banner prepared a car for Mat Sofi in 2007 and the beginning of ’08.

In 2009 Watson and RALT Australia served as the team manager for Tom Tweedie’s debut in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship and was instrumental in introducing Tweedie to the series via a test in mid-2008.

The list of drivers to have driven for Graham, or have gained so much under his tutelage and support is long and illustrious.

These names include: Larry Perkins, John Smith, Roberto Moreno, Nelson Piquet, Alan Jones, Paul Radisich, John Bowe, David Brabham, Craig Lowndes, Mark Webber, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Matthew Halliday, The late Stewart McColl, Daniel Gaunt, Neil McFadyen, Peter Hackett, Mat Sofi and recently Tom Tweedie.

Thanks to Max Stahl  

MOTOGP - KING CASEY OF QATAR

  Casey Stoner won his third straight Moto GP in Qatar by winning the delayed season-opener ahead of Yamaha pairing Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo after leading from flag to flag on Monday evening at Losail.

 The Ducati Marlboro rider made a perfect start from pole and set a blistering pace that forced the Italian to settle for second in the final third of the race. Loris Capirossi made a great start to leap from fifth to second on the Rizla Suzuki ahead of the Fiat Yamahas of Rossi and Lorenzo. With the two team-mates exchanging positions twice during the first lap Stoner made his escape at the front. 

  Capirossi slowly started dropping back and Rossi, Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso and Lorenzo overtaking him before the former Ducati rider crashed on lap eight.

   Rossi began his chase of Stoner and the gap between the two decreased to just under two seconds, before Rossi's pace started faltering on lap 11. By the end of the race Stoner had almost eight seconds on Rossi, who could however manage a sizeable lead on third-placed Lorenzo, who took the final podium place.

   Colin Edwards classified his Tech-3 Yamaha in fourth place, ahead of Dovizioso in fifth and Alex de Angelis in sixth. The Gresini rider, however, is under investigation for banging his satellite Honda into Dani Pedrosa's factory entry while taking seventh place.

The Spaniard managed to keep the bike up straight despite the strong collision, just after he was overtaken by Chris Vermeulen's Suzuki for sixth place. Up until then, Pedrosa was having a strong race from 14th on the grid, despite still recovering from a wrist injury.

   Vermeulen classified seventh, ahead of an impressive showing by Pramac Ducati rookie Mika Kallio and Toni Elias on the Honda Gresini. LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet completed the top ten. 

A1GP - Ireland Takes Sprint Victory at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch, Great Britain – A1 Team Ireland and Adam Carroll moved one step closer to the team’s maiden title after taking victory in this morning’s Sprint race at A1GP Brands Hatch, Great Britain.

India’s Narain Karthikeyan finished second with Mexico’s Salvador Duran taking the final podium position.

Irelandgot a good start but Mexico had a better run into Paddock Hill, taking the lead around the outside through the first corner. Ireland settled into second from USA, Portugal, India and Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.

Australia’s John Martin took advantage of a mistake by Switzerland’s Neel Jani to take eighth place before the mandatory pit stop window opened.

Indiamade the decision to pit early alongside Lebanon, Germany and Malaysia.  A lap later Mexico and Ireland made their way into the pits but after an incredibly quick stop by the Irish team, Adam Carroll regained the lead with India taking second.

John R Hildebrand continued his good weekend form in his first race for A1 Team USA today by moving up to third after the pit stops, pushing Mexico down to fourth. Monaco’s Clivio Piccione had problems leaving the pits, rolling to a stop at the pit lane exit.

On lap nine the order was Ireland from India, USA, Mexico, Portugal, Netherlands, Australia and Switzerland. 

Duran was then able to capitalise on a mistake from Hildebrand at the final corner which gave the Mexican a good run to take third into the first corner.

Carroll now had a 3.867-second lead from India but still kept the fans on the edge of their seats kicking up the dust showing no sign of easing off the pace.

On lap 15 Lebanon’s Daniel Morad lost the back end and spun into the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend with New Zealand’s Earl Bamber also going into the gravel to avoid hitting the Lebanese car, leaving both cars out the race.

Carroll took victory with a comfortable 7.230-second margin over India. Mexico’s Duran settled for the final podium position.

A1 Team Brazil did not make the start after being unable to repair the car in time for this morning’s Sprint race. The team is still working hard and hopes to have the car ready in time for this afternoon’s Feature race.

Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque finished fifth with Switzerland’s Jani taking a single point for eighth. Ireland now leads the championship with 97 points from Switzerland (89) and Portugal (86).

Irelandneeds to finish fifth or better in this afternoon’s Feature race to guarantee them the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport title.

“It’s never easy,” said Ireland’s Adam Carroll. “Sprint races are always quite strange, they’re tougher than the Feature race for some reason. I could see Mexico pushing very hard so just let then get on with it and hoped the boys would come up with the goods in the pit stop and they did. It’s a relief for this race to be over and once this afternoon is done we can relax.”

India’sNarain Karthikeyan said: “it was difficult after a small mistake in qualifying as we should have been further up the grid. The car is working well so I think we are looking good for another podium this afternoon.”

Mexico’s Salvador Duran said: “I did a small mistake put still the team did a great job and put me out in a podium position. To achieve a podium is great for us and it’s a developing project for next season.”

Sprint Race Qualifying Result

Fastest lap: A1 Team Ireland set the fastest lap (1m12.276s) of the Sprint race with a speed of 184.4kph on lap 8.

2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points standings       

* Current worst number of points from an event. The final points' standings will be calculated by dropping the worst result.