MOTORSPORT: Minardi a winner at last

>> Stoddart's Dutch driver triumphs in Champ Car
For more than 20 years Minardi was the perennial backmarker in Formula 1. It never had a podium finish, let alone a victory. In the last five years of its life as an F1 team, under the ownership of Australian Paul Stoddart, the best Minardi could do was fifth place -- once and famously, on Mark Webber's debut at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix.

After selling Minardi to Red Bull tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz -- who, with Gerhard Berger, has turned it into Scuderia Toro Rosso, while Stoddart retained the Minardi name -- the British-based Aussie aviation entrepreneur bought into a Champ Car team run by another former F1 team operator, Keith Wiggins, who ran the little-known Pacific Grand Prix outfit.

Together they have struck paydirt of sorts in North America, with one of Team Minardi USA's cars in the winner's circle today after the sixth round of the Champ Car series.

The victorious driver is Dutchman Robert Doornbos (pictured), who survived treacherous and inconsistent conditions as well as an intense late battle with triple Champ Car champion Sebastien Bouradais at the Mont-Tremblant circuit in Quebec, Canada, to score the historic win.

Bourdais accused Doornbos of blocking him three times in the closing stages.

"The way Robert drove was not fair," Bourdais says.

"We're not supposed to drive like that in Champ Car."

It was the fifth podium finish in just six starts for Doornbos and he is now joint leader of the series with Frenchman Bourdais on 145 points.

Fourteen points behind them is Australian driver Will Power, who today claimed his third podium of the season, including victory at the opening round in Las Vegas, and the fourth podium of his 18-month Champ Car career.

Simon Pagenaud, Power's Team Australia teammate, although a Frenchman (and protégé of Jean Alesi), finished fourth -- his best result in his rookie Champ Car season.

Power and Pagenaud both stalled on the grid, while Tristan Gommendy -- who shared the front row with Power -- also failed to get away because of an electrical problem.

The Team Australia pair were re-started by the race safety team before charging up through the field, Pagenaud even leading a few laps in the mayhem.

Bourdais and Power both spun off the track before the entire field switched to rain tyres.

"This track is just so ridiculous with the weather -- it's completely dry and sunny in one spot, then you get to the next corner and it's raining," Power says of Mont-Tremblant and its conditions.

Doornboos has taken the least amount of time since Nigel Mansell in 1993 to win a race in the North American-based open-wheeler series.

Mansell, the 1992 F1 world champion, won the opening race of the 1993 series at the Gold Coast, driving for Newman-Haas.

"I knew we could win, but with the changing weather conditions it was very difficult," Doornbos says.

"The circuit was changing so much, and everyone was fighting for positions, but we came out on top in the end and that's all that matters."

Brushing aside Bourdais' ill-feeling, Doornbos adds: "If Sebastien feels that he could have passed me, then he should have done it.

"Nothing can spoil this victory. This win proves that we are a front-running team."

Doornbos inherited the lead on lap 53 and was pulling away before the final full-course yellow caution put Bourdais back to his tail.

That caution set-up a five-lap duel between the pair to the chequered flag.

To Stoddart fifth place for Minardi in Melbourne on Webber's F1 debut felt like a victory, but of the Mont-Tremblant he says: "What a f... race!

"Robert and the team did an absolutely superb job in the trickiest of conditions. Robert drove with his head, and put in a faultless performance for the first of what I'm sure will be many more victories."

Stoddart claimed that his other driver, Englishman Dan Clarke, was on course for a podium too until a drivetrain failure forced him out of the race.

Clarke had climbed from 10th to fifth on the opening lap and was as high as third, running on the same pace as Doornbos, when he retired.

The series now has two more races in Canada -- in Toronto next weekend and then at Edmonton on July 22.

Stoddart joins Craig Gore of Team Australia as a victorious Aussie team owner in the series this season.

West Australians Barry and Kim Green had a lot of success in the CART days, although Barry is now retired and Kim is a partner in a rival Indy Racing League team with Michael Andretti, while Kevin Kalkhoven, originally from Adelaide, is a partner in PKV Racing as well as a co-owner of the Champ Car series.

Champ Car points after six of 16 rounds -- Sebastien Bourdais 145, Robert Doornbos 145, Will Power 131, Justin Wilson 113, Alex Tagliani 112, Simon Pagenaud 97.

>> Pendulum swings back Ferrari's way
Ferrari is back in business in F1, with Kimi Raikkonen's win in the French Grand Prix ahead of Felipe Massa the team's first one-two finish in 15 races.

It also denied rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton a third straight GP victory, although the 22-year-old black Englishman went further ahead in the world championship -- 14 points now -- as he finished third and McLaren teammate and world champion of the past two years, Fernando Alonso, was only seventh after gearbox trouble in qualifying saw him start 10th on the grid.

Ferrari boss Jean Todt says the Italian team had a problem with the rolling road -- or metallic "carpet" -- in its wind tunnel at Maranello in April, which may explain why the red cars lagged so far behind the McLarens for most of May and June.

Signs of the Ferrari revival came during a recent three-day test at Silverstone in Britain, where the circus now heads for the British GP this weekend.

Massa was generally quicker than Raikkonen in last night's last French GP at Magny-Cours but had a slightly slower second pit stop and then got caught in traffic.

"I lost so much time (in traffic)," Massa says.

"You lose so much downforce and then you lose speed. When I was alone I had the speed."

The season's four top drivers now have two wins each, but Massa is 17 points behind Hamilton, although only three adrift of Alonso.

Raikkonen, now with 11 GP wins in his career, is 22 points in arrears of Hamilton as this was his first podium since Bahrain.

Remarkably, too, Hamilton's French result was his poorest since his third place on debut in Australia.

Hamilton's amazing record though is eight straight top-three finishes from his first eight starts for two wins, four seconds and two thirds.

However, having qualified alongside pole position man Massa, Hamilton was overtaken by Raikkonen at the start and never regained his position, other than when the Ferraris pitted.

"I don't like being overtaken, but the fact is I finished on the podium again and extended my lead in the championship," Hamilton says.

BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica was an excellent fourth in France on his return after that crash at the Canadian GP three weeks ago.

Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld was fifth, with Giancarlo Fisichella sixth for Renault, then Alonso, with Jenson Button scoring his first point for the season with Honda.

Australia's Mark Webber made it to the finish but in 12th place, a lap and 24 seconds behind Raikkonen, while his Red Bull Racing teammate David Coulthard -- the 36-year-old veteran who reckons he's "driving every bit as well as Lewis Hamilton -- I just don't have the car to show it" -- was a further 4 seconds back.

"Beating your teammate is part of it ... Mark (Webber) is hailed as one of the quickest guys in qualifying, but up against him I do a very good job," says Coulthard, who has shown some spark in a couple of races this year but otherwise could be thought to be hallucinating.

Formula 1 world championship standings: Drivers -- Lewis Hamilton 64 points, Fernando Alonso 50, Felipe Massa 47, Kimi Raikkonen 42, Nick Heidfeld 30, Robert Kubica 17, Giancarlo Fisichella 16, Heikki Kovalainen 12, Alexander Wurz 8, Jarno Trulli 7, Nico Rosberg 5, Takuma Sato 4, David Coulthard 4, Ralf Schumacher 2, Mark Webber 2, Sebastian Vettel 1, Jenson Button 1. Constructors -- McLaren 114 points, Ferrari 89, BMW-Sauber 48, Renault 28, Williams 13, Toyota 9, Red Bull 6, Super Aguri 4, Honda 1.

>> Webber wants more drug testing
Mark Webber has called on the governing Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to do more drug testing in F1.

Six drivers -- Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica, Nico Rosberg, Anthony Davidson, Rubens Barrichello and Vitantonio Liuzzi, -- were asked for urine samples on the first day of the French GP.

But Webber, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, says the FIA should test more often, perhaps at every race.

"We should do a lot of it," Webber told autosport.com

"If we rave on about how awesomely fit the drivers are, why don't we do proper tests like that in every other sport? The FIA says it's too expensive -- but what a load of bullshit! How can it be too expensive in this game? If they can do it for a bloke jumping into a sandpit, how come they can't do it in F1?

"It is different to cycling, I understand that. But it's something that should be looked into. We leave no stone unturned in search for performance in every other area of the sport and dope testing is a part of the jigsaw that should be handled professionally in modern times -- not with a '70s attitude."

>> McLaren-style simulator for Red Bull
Red Bull Racing is to build a McLaren-style state-of-the-art driver simulator like that which is attributed with making Lewis Hamilton's graduation to F1 so smooth and successful.

Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right-hand man, fellow Austrian and former F1 driver Helmut Marko, says Red Bull's simulator should be in use by the end of the year.

Marko says that with such equipment a new driver "becomes so acquainted with the car on every circuit beforehand that he can slam in a quickest time on his second real lap",

>> Moss raps Hamilton but Schuey 'not great'
Although he never won a world title, Stirling Moss remains -- at 77 -- an iconic figure in F1.

And not only is Moss glowing about Lewis Hamilton, but he's got a strong point of view on recently-retired Michael Schumacher.

"Lewis is the best thing I've ever seen," Moss says.

"I've been connected with racing for nearly 60 years and there's never been anyone who's come in like that. Never. Not from being nowhere to leading the title. It's difficult to compare drivers of this era, when it's quite safe, with the era of my time, when it wasn't safe, because it's a different mental effect.

"But when one talks talent, I can't think of anybody who has shown that much talent. My all-time great was (Juan Manuel) Fangio, and one of the great things about Fangio, apart from his enormous ability, was the sort of man he was.

"And, I have to say, Lewis is the same sort of person: he is very humble; he is tremendously fast; he has great concentration. Lewis certainly has the qualifications to be up there with Fangio. I don't know how you beat a guy who's as good as that, and doesn't make mistakes.

"You hope that you push them that hard that they make mistakes. And most people do. Michael (Schumacher) made lots, but so far Lewis hasn't.

"Michael did a terrific job getting Ferrari back to where they belonged. But I never felt Michael was that great a driver. He has always been exceptionally good, but not a great, whereas Lewis has shown that he is a great driver already.

"He has done extraordinary things, and I think if Michael had been there he would have beaten him just as easily as he can beat anyone else. The one person who might have been nearest to him was probably (Ayrton) Senna.

"Like Senna, he gets in the car, takes it by the scruff of the neck and does what he wants to do."

>> Malaysia counts the funny F1 figures
Malaysian GP organisers say lighting Kuala Lumpur's Sepang track, as F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone wants them to do so they can run their race at night, will cost them about an extra $7 million.

They say that consideration of whether that cost is worth it is delaying the signing of an extension of their contract for another five years beyond 2010.

Melbourne, which won't have lights in time for next season, is probably facing a similar dilemma.

Malaysia is already spending about $7 million on track improvements.

And the country's Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, has told the country's parliament that Malaysia paid Ecclestone's Formula One Management about $45 million as its race fee this year.

That figure may arouse some interest in Melbourne, where Victoria's fee has always been a closely guarded secret.

>> Crash mars Ambrose's latest race
Australian Marcos Ambrose was involved in the biggest crash in the weekend's round of NASCAR's Busch Series at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Ambrose gained five spots from his 27th starting position but got spun exiting a turn in the short oval early in the race.

The wreckage forced the race to be red-flagged for a while as the rear of Ambrose's Ford Fusion was stuck on the wrecked hood of J.J. Yeley's car.

"I told the guys to give me a push but they didn't want to push me off," Ambrose says.

"If they had lifted the back of the car and given it a shove we would have got away from there."

After Ambrose made the compulsory visit to the track medical centre he rushed back to his pit and eventually rejoined the action seven laps down.

He finished nine laps down in 30th position in the 18th round of the series.

Ambrose drops one spot to eighth in the championship but remains second in the rookie-of-the-year standings

Kevin Harvick won the New Hampshire race ahead of Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.

Harvick had missed three rounds but this win -- his second Busch victory this year and 28th of a career which has seen him champion twice -- moves him up from fifth to third in the points -- 868 behind Edwards, with David Reutimann between them.

Denny Hamlin today won his first Nextel Cup NASCAR race of the season, holding off series leader Jeff Gordon in New Hampshire.

The first eight finishers were driving Chevrolets.

>> Franchitti IRL's Mr Consistency
Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti dominated the Richmond, Virginia, round of the Indy Racing League, leading 242 of the 250 laps, for his third win of the season, his second in two weeks, and the seventh of his IRL career.

Franchitti now has 359 points -- 65 more than second-placed New Zealander Scott Dixon, who finished second at Richmond, with Englishman Dan Wheldon third.

Dixon blamed American Sam Hornish's persistence in trying to regain lost laps on the race's final restart for his failure to pass Franchitti for the lead.

Franchitti has now had eight straight top-five finishes.

Roger Penske's team says it may field Australian Ryan Briscoe at the IRL's season-ending event at Chicagoland Speedway.

Briscoe was fifth in this year's Indy 500 for Penske's son Jay's Luczo Dragon Racing and is racing Porsche sports cars for Penske in the American Le Mans Series.

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