D1GP USA
Round 4, September 5
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, New Jersey
Daigo Saito in the Fnatz Pro Garage Toyota Chaser stormed to his third victory of the four-event D1 Grand Prix USA pro drift season last Saturday afternoon at Raceway Park, clinching the series' first American championship. The 2008 D1 Japan champ beat out runner up Toshiki Yoshioka and his Drift Speed Nissan S15 Silvia in the contest final, while Steve Angerman in his S13 dispatched Takahiro Ueno's Vertex Toyota Soarer to grab the third-place podium spot.
Saito and Yoshioka drove two very competitive laps around part of E-Town's road circuit, passes that arguably could have gone either way, and in the end judges awarded the deciding round to Saito. Indeed, throughout the entire competition there were hardly any calls for One-More-Time tiebreakers, which seemed to make the event move much more smoothly.
Ahead of the 2009 finale at Raceway Park, Saito had the clear advantage in the driver championship points, some 16 markers up on Ken Nomura, 21 ahead of Harri Hokkanen from Finland and 22 past Forrest Wang from the US. Saito positioned himself atop the table with wins at Round 1: Anaheim and Round 2: Miami, and was the odds-on favorite to take the whole thing.
Following the debacle that transpired at the previous D1 USA contest in Chicago last month (urbanracer.com/articles/anmviewer.asp?a=3923&z=1), the Englishtown proceedings went off almost without a hitch, but with some notable absentees. Team Orange - Kazuhiro Tanaka in the Subaru GD Impreza WRX and Nobushige Kumakubo in his GC8 Impreza - was not among the challengers, nor did promised judge Keiichi "Drift King" Tsuchiya make the event.
Thus ends the 2009 D1 GP USA season. There is still no indication yet if the series will make a return in 2010, but we will stay on the situation and deliver any news when it breaks (MFL photography provided by Dan Jenkins)
D1GP USA Round 4 Podium
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
1st: Daigo Saito, Fnatz Pro Garage Toyota Chaser
2nd: Toshiki Yoshioka, Drift Speed Nissan S15 Silvia
3rd: Steve Angerman, Nissan S13 240SX
www.d1gp.com
World Rally Championship
Repco Rally Australia, September 4-6
Northern Rivers, New South Wales, Australia
In a surprising development late Sunday night, BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Mikko Hirvonen was named the new winner of Repco Rally Australia after Stewards handed Sebastien Loeb, Dani Sordo and Sebastien Ogier time penalties for a technical infringement.
Earlier in the day, Citroen Total team leader Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena had claimed victory after a three-way fight on the event's final and longest day. Loeb completed the brand new rally, round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship, 12.5sec ahead of Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in second. Sordo and co-pilot Marc Marti were third, 4.6sec further back, after losing out in a nail biter with Hirvonen that went right to the wire.
After the time penalty, both Sordo and Ogier maintain their final positions in third and fourth, respectively.
Friday's opening day of Rally Australia concluded with a second visit to Murwillumbah for two night-time passes (run as SS14 and SS15) over the town's all-asphalt street circuit. After SS13, Citroen drivers Ogier and Loeb had begun to doubt their strategy of using worn tires on the afternoon's gravel stages, but their gamble paid off on the Super Special, where they annihilated the opposition.
Once again the locals turned out in force to watch the cars tackle the high-speed straights and tight corners on the same gravel tires they had used on the countryside stages earlier. After keeping the same worn rear tires on their cars for the final group of speed tests, both Sebastiens were able to exploit the increased grip available on the sealed surface.
Junior Team driver Ogier was the star, repeating his Thursday evening performance to take victory on both stages and maintain his 100 percent winning record on the Super Special. Loeb, meanwhile, was Ogiers' closest challenger on both stages and narrowed the gap on rally leaders Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila from 26.7sec to 22.7.
Loeb's speed, combined with two more disappointing Super Special times from Hirvonen, meant the two swapped places, with Loeb moving to third and Hirvonen slipping to fifth. However, with Saturday's running order decided on SS13, Hirvonen remained third on the road for Day 2; there were no other position changes within the top ten after Day 1.
The second full day of Rally Australia came to an end with the top three drivers - Sordo, Loeb and Hirvonen - separated by a margin of one-tenth of a second. But while the leader board suggested that all three had roughly the same chance of taking victory on Sunday's final-day showdown, the reality was that the Citroen pair had a strategic advantage over Ford's team leader Hirvonen.
Saturday's competition concluded with two final passes around the Tweed Super Special. Ogier was fastest on both stages (SS24 and SS25) and completed a remarkable clean sweep of wins - setting the fastest time on all six occasions the stage was run.
The main story of Saturday, however, was the thrilling nip-and-tuck battle within a breakaway lead group of five drivers, led initially by the man first in Saturday's running order, Latvala of Ford.
Rain on the day's opening stage limited Latvala's handicap of opening the loose gravel roads, but as the roads soon dried out he struggled to keep the chasing pack behind, eventually losing the lead to Citroen C4 driver Loeb on the day's sixth test.
The turning point in Saturday's competition came two stages later, on SS23, when Loeb decided to give up an 11-second rally lead in favor of a better start position on Sunday. A tactical slow down before the finish gifted the lead to Hirvonen, who had the unenviable position of stage opener and road sweeper for Sunday's decisive, and longest, day.
Sordo and Loeb both edged ahead of Hirvonen on the Super Special stages, leaving out front (just) as rally leader.
On Sunday, Loeb and Elena climbed onto the roof of their C4 WRC at the finish control after SS35 to celebrate the apparent rally win, their first since Rally Argentina in April. It would have been the 53rd win in Loeb's record breaking WRC career and his sixth this season.
Hirvonen had no option but to drive flat out on Sunday to try and overcome his disadvantageous road position. He was helped by damp conditions through the opening rainforest roads, but on the drier sections he couldn't match Loeb's pace and ended up locked in a battle with Sordo that was settled on the final stage.
Then came Sunday evening's post-event scrutineering, where Loeb's Citroen C4 was found to be fitted with a front anti-roll bar link which did not comply with the homologation form of the car. Representatives from the Citroen Total World Rally Team agreed that part of the anti-roll bar link on his car was different to the one on the homologation photograph.
After establishing that the C4s of Sordo and Ogier were fitted with the same part, Stewards levied a one-minute penalty on each of the three cars, as well as reprimanding the Citroen team for using a part which was not homologated. The Citroen team did not appeal the decision, which indicates the amended results are now final.
Victory for Hirvonen means his lead over Loeb in the drivers' championship standings increases to five points. The changes signify that Citroen's advantage over Ford in the manufacturers' series is now 13 points.
The penultimate Rally Catalunya is next for the WRC on October 2-4, based around Salou, Catalonia, in Spain (MFL photography provided by Ford Motor Company and Citroen).
Repco Rally Australia
Northern Rivers, New South Wales, Australia
| Pos |
No |
Driver |
Group Class |
Time |
Penalties |
Total Time |
Diff Next |
Diff 1st |
| 1. |
3 |
M. HIRVONEN |
A8 |
2:53:06.5 |
0 |
2:53:06.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| 2. |
1 |
S. LOEB |
A8 |
2:52:54.0 |
1:00 |
2:53:54.0 |
+47.5 |
+47.5 |
| 3. |
2 |
D. SORDO |
A8 |
2:53:11.1 |
1:00 |
2:54:11.1 |
+17.1 |
+1:04.6 |
| 4. |
4 |
J. LATVALA |
A8 |
2:54:58.5 |
0 |
2:54:58.5 |
+47.4 |
+1:52.0 |
| 5. |
12 |
S. OGIER |
A8 |
2:54:29.8 |
1:00 |
2:55:29.8 |
+31.3 |
+2:23.3 |
| 6. |
5 |
M. WILSON |
A8 |
2:58:32.8 |
0 |
2:58:32.8 |
+3:03.0 |
+5:26.3 |
| 7. |
6 |
H. SOLBERG |
A8 |
3:00:04.3 |
20 |
3:00:24.3 |
+1:51.5 |
+7:17.8 |
| 8. |
9 |
F. VILLAGRA |
A8 |
3:00:45.9 |
0 |
3:00:45.9 |
+21.6 |
+7:39.4 |
| 9. |
62 |
H. PADDON |
N4 |
3:08:42.6 |
0 |
3:08:42.6 |
+7:56.7 |
+15:36.1 |
| 10. |
31 |
M. PROKOP |
N4 |
3:08:51.2 |
0 |
3:08:51.2 |
+8.6 |
+15:44.7 |
| 11. |
50 |
R. MASON |
N4 |
3:09:33.4 |
0 |
3:09:33.4 |
+42.2 |
+16:26.9 |
| 12. |
59 |
C. CROCKER |
N4 |
3:10:26.5 |
0 |
3:10:26.5 |
+53.1 |
+17:20.0 |
| 13. |
39 |
A. ARAUJO |
N4 |
3:12:59.3 |
0 |
3:12:59.3 |
+2:32.8 |
+19:52.8 |
| 14. |
45 |
S. TAYLOR |
N4 |
3:14:30.3 |
0 |
3:14:30.3 |
+1:31.0 |
+21:23.8 |
| 15. |
68 |
M. SELLEY |
N4 |
3:23:54.3 |
0 |
3:23:54.3 |
+9:24.0 |
+30:47.8 |
| 16. |
78 |
J. GOASDOUE |
N4 |
3:23:21.8 |
7:20 |
3:30:41.8 |
+6:47.5 |
+37:35.3 |
| 17. |
72 |
S. TONNA |
A8 |
3:36:52.0 |
2:00 |
3:38:52.0 |
+8:10.2 |
+45:45.5 |
| 18. |
34 |
G. LINARI |
N4 |
3:38:52.8 |
0 |
3:38:52.8 |
+0.8 |
+45:46.3 |
| 19. |
15 |
K. AL QASSIMI |
A8 |
3:39:54.3 |
20 |
3:40:14.3 |
+1:21.5 |
+47:07.8 |
| 20. |
75 |
T. TAYLOR |
N4 |
3:52:33.8 |
2:20 |
3:54:53.8 |
+14:39.5 |
+1:01:47.3 |
| 21. |
66 |
S. REID |
N4 |
3:55:32.9 |
10 |
3:55:42.9 |
+49.1 |
+1:02:36.4 |
| 22. |
69 |
H. HAN |
N4 |
4:01:43.3 |
0 |
4:01:43.3 |
+6:00.4 |
+1:08:36.8 |
| 23. |
54 |
S. SHEPHEARD |
N4 |
4:03:06.7 |
10 |
4:03:16.7 |
+1:33.4 |
+1:10:10.2 |
| 24. |
65 |
G. BRINKMAN |
N4 |
4:02:42.6 |
1:30 |
4:04:12.6 |
+55.9 |
+1:11:06.1 |
| 25. |
76 |
R. HOUGHTON |
N4 |
4:26:59.0 |
4:50 |
4:31:49.0 |
+27:36.4 |
+1:38:42.5 |
 
www.wrc.com
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, September 2-7
O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
It was an incredible day of racing at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis on Monday, as Tony Schumacher won Top Fuel at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals for a class record-tying eighth time; Ashley Force Hood became just the third female Pro winner at Indy by scoring in Funny Car; Pro Stock victor Jeg Coughlin won The Big Go for the fourth time; and Hector Arana scored his first Indy win by capturing Pro Stock Motorcycle.
With all of the last-second Countdown to 1 shuffling - which extended into the semifinals - this year's 55th annual U.S. Nats will be remembered as one of the most dramatic in history.
For the fourth time in eight years, the Top Fuel final pitted the only two guys to win The Big Go this decade. Schumacher, a seven-time U.S. Nationals winner, was gunning to tie Top Fuel icon "Big Daddy" Don Garlits as the winningest fuel dragster pilot in event history, while Larry Dixon, who won the race in his rookie season in 1995 and two more times since, was gunning for No. 3. In what was a true battle of the class heavyweights, Schumacher ran away from traction-plagued Dixon in the money run, 3.861, 314.17 to 4.20, 228.50.
Schumacher was gunning for his 60th career win in his 93rd career final, the first of which came at this event in 1996 when he was runner-up to Cory McClenathan. Schumacher, the No. 2 qualifier in his Mike Green-tuned U.S. Army dragster, marched past a broken T.J. Zizzo, Rod Fuller, and hard-luck Brandon Bernstein to reach the final, his fifth of the season and collected his fourth win.
Dixon reached the 90th final of his career by driving the Al-Anabi machine of Alan Johnson, who tuned Schumacher to all of his Indy wins this season, past Clay Millican, Morgan Lucas, and Spencer Massey. A solid 3.85 did in Millican, while a 3.87 eked past Lucas. Dixon got a scare in the semifinals against No. 16 qualifier Spencer Massey, as his engine went away on the top end but allowed him to hang on for a 4.16 win.
With all of the drama that this weekend included for the John Force Racing Funny Car team - beginning with Thursday's announcement that hall of fame crew chief Austin Coil was hospitalized with stomach ailments and would not attend, Robert Hight's longshot bid at knocking Cruz Pedregon from the final Countdown berth, and a domination of the top half of the qualifying sheets - it was appropriate that two JFR cars, and the Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers, would meet in the final. In a race that went the distance, Force Hood won a drama-filled race, 4.170, 294.75 to 4.217, 271.19 as Hight's engine expired in a small fireball at the stripe. The win is the third in the class for Force Hood and her second this season.
Force Hood, a winner earlier this year in Houston, was racing in her second U.S. Nationals final but her first in Funny Car. She won the 2004 Big Go in Alcohol Dragster, but got the chance to add a Funny Car win by reaching her sixth final of the season. En route to the money round, her Dean Antonelli- and Ron Douglas-tuned Castrol GTX Mustang defeated Matt Hagan - knocking the rookie from Countdown contention - and then followed with victories against Jeff Arend and Tony Pedregon. The final was her seventh of the season and 12th in the class and a heated top-end discussion between Tony Pedregon and John Force, the subject of which was crystal clear.
Hight had not been to a final this season and had not won since winning this event last year - his second win in three years at Indy (2006, 2008) - and although he didn't win, he still had a career day. After beating Grant Downing and Bob Tasca III in the first two rounds, No. 1 qualifier Hight pushed his Automobile Club of Southern California Mustang past his boss, John Force, in the semifinals to not only reach his fourth straight Indy final (and 23rd overall) but also lock him into - and knock Cruz Pedregon out of - the 10-car Countdown to 1 playoffs field.
The Pro Stock final round between Coughlin and Greg Stanfield was a rematch of the Las Vegas final, which Coughlin won, and a battle between a pair of the few drivers to have won national events in five different classes. Coughlin won again, this time by the narrowest of margins -- .001-second - to collect his fourth Indy win and seventh this season, 6.689, 206.48 to 6.691, 206.35.
Coughlin, who scored his first of three U.S. Nationals titles in 1995 in Super Gas before winning twice in Pro Stock (2002, 2002), entered the final round with a perfect 3-0 score in Indy finals. The yellow and black Chevy reached the money round in a trio of interesting races in wins over Greg Anderson, Rodger Brogdon, and Mike Edwards. The match with fellow Pro Stock season champ Anderson was an unusual first-round duel, while Coughlin got fortunate against Brogdon after shaking the tires hard; fortunately for him, Brogdon already had red-lighted. Paired with low qualifier and event-long performance dominator Mike Edwards, Coughlin scooted through free on Edwards' early -.045 red-light start. The final round was Coughlin's77th in Pro Stock and 95th overall.
Stanfield earned the right to race for his first U.S. Nationals crown through sheer driving determination, cutting reaction times of .010, .021, and .013 to defeat Steve Spiess, Larry Morgan, and Jason Line. The semifinal bash with Line was won on a holeshot, as Stanfield's light and a 6.672 beat Line's .035-initiated 6.659 by a slim .009-second. The final round was the 10th of Stanfield's career.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle final featured two riders who not only had never won The Big Go, but had never even been to the final round at the tour's biggest event. Arana, who led qualifying most of the event, finished it where he started - on top - after defeating Michael Phillips, 7.026, 189.10 to 7.086, 185.84. Arana, whose starting-line work at this event was somewhat erratic, left first and led wire to wire for his fourth career win.
Arana, winner earlier this year in Gainesville and Brainerd with his Lucas Oil Buell, reached his sixth final of the season from the No. 2 spot, racing past Angie McBride with a 6.97, Karen Stoffer with a 7.00, and Chip Ellis with a 7.050 that earned him lane choice for the final by two-thousandths of a second.
Phillips, runner-up two weeks ago in Reading, Pa., reached his second straight final round with his Dam Sport Suzuki from the No. 4 qualifying spot. After a first-round red-light by Jim Underdahl, Phillips advanced past Shawn Gann and Doug Horne with consistent passes of 7.048 and 7.052.
The Full Throttle Drag Racing series travels next to the zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, for the NHRA Carolinas Nationals, September 17-20 (MFL photography provided by NHRA.com).
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
| Top Fuel |
| W/L |
Driver |
R-Time |
E-Time |
Speed |
| (W) |
Tony Schumacher (U.S. Army Dragster) |
0.063 |
3.861 |
314.17 |
| (L) |
Larry Dixon (Al-Anabi Racing Dragster) |
0.059 |
4.208 |
228.58 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Funny Car |
| (W) |
Ashley Force Hood (Castrol GTX Mustang) |
0.081 |
4.17 |
294.75 |
| (L) |
Robert Hight (AAA of So. Cal Mustang) |
0.100 |
4.217 |
271.19 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Pro Stock |
|
|
|
|
| (W) |
Jeg Coughlin (Jegs.com Cobalt) |
0.024 |
6.689 |
206.48 |
| (L) |
Greg Stanfield (Attitude Apparel GXP) |
0.023 |
6.691 |
206.35 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Pro Stock Motorcycle |
| (W) |
Hector Arana (Lucas Oil Buell) |
0.021 |
7.026 |
189.10 |
| (L) |
Michael Phillips (MPR & DAM Sport Suzuki) |
0.045 |
7.086 |
185.84 |
www.nhra.com
Coming up:
Super Lap Battle Time Attack
Qualifying Round 4 (w/NASA Nationals), September 10-13
Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT
superlapbattle.com
Formula One
Santander Italian Grand Prix, September 11-13
Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy
www.formula1.com
National Guard American Drag Racing League
ADRL Flowmaster Dragstock VI, September 11-12
Rockingham Dragway, Rockingham, NC
www.adrl.us
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
NHRA Carolinas Nationals, September 17-20
zMax Dragway, Concord, NC
www.nhra.com
Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge
KONI Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park, September 18-20
Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT
www.grand-am.com
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Miller Motorsports Park, September 18-19
Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT
www.grand-am.com
IndyCar Series
Indy Japan 300, September 18-19
Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, Japan
www.indycar.com
American Le Mans Series
12th Annual Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6, September 23-26
Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA
www.americanlemans.com
SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship
12th Annual Petit Le Mans, September 23-25
Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA
www.world-challenge.com
Redline: Time Attack! Series
Round 7, September 26-27
Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Pahrump, NV
www.redlinetimeattack.com
Battle of the Imports
Round 5: BOTI Oregon, September 27
Woodburn Dragstrip, Woodburn, OR
www.battleoftheimports.com
World Rally Championship
Rally Catalunya, October 2-4
Salou, Catalonia, Spain
www.wrc.com
Formula DRIFT
Round 7: Judgment Day, October 16-17
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Irwindale, CA
www.formulad.com
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