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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Double Racing Success for Ford in USA

Staff, Monday July 23, 2001.

Page 1 of 1

Dale Jarrett won the New England 300 to score his 28th career win and gave Ford Taurus its 50th NASCAR Winston Cup victory.

The win keeps Jarrett in equal first in the standings - co-championship leader Jeff Gordon finished second with Robert Yates Racing teammate Ricky Rudd third in the race and the championship.

Taurus made its debut as the first full-time four-door entry in NASCAR at the beginning of the 1998 season and in three years has won two manufacturer's titles (1999 and 2000) and helped Dale Jarrett capture the 1999 points championship.

Besides being win No. 50 for Taurus, it also marked the 520th all-time win for a Ford-branded car - most of any manufacturer in the history of NASCAR Winston Cup racing.

“I can't say enough for this race team, including Ricky's crew” said Jarrett.

“It would be good for the entire Robert Yates organisation and Ford, for the title to go down to where it's between Ricky and myself.”

At the same time Canadian driver Patrick Carpentier inched out Dario Franchitti and Michel Jourdain, Jr., at Michigan International Speedway [MIS] to win his first career CART race.

Carpentier’s victory came in his 79th Champ Car start, and was his fourth career podium appearance and his best finish this season.

Jourdain, who ran with the lead pack all day, finished a strong third to score his first career Champ Car podium finish.

With less than 20 laps to go, CART points leader Kenny Brack made contact with his teammate, Max Papis, and both drivers made contact with the wall, ending their day.

Brack retains the lead in the championship despite a crashing out.

Ford-Cosworth suffered no mechanical failures during the race weekend with five of its seven entries still running at the end of the race (Brack and Papis out with contact).

Patrick Carpentier’s victory was the 25th for Cosworth Racing at the ultra-fast track since it entered Champ Car racing in 1977.

Ford-Cosworth has now won three races from the pole this season (Brack at Milwaukee; Papis at Portland), and each of the last two 500 mile races (Fontana ’00 – Christian Fittipaldi).

“I knew we could lead towards the end because I had a little bit more and I could be flat around the whole racetrack quite easily,” said Carpentier.

“A 500 mile race is always difficult, not necessarily physically but just the length of the race is very long and hard.

“It's a great result for Ford which clearly had a very strong engine this weekend.

Finishing-off a solid weekend for Ford internationally, François Delecour and Daniel Grataloup overcame gruelling driving conditions and inhospitable weather to finish fourth in the World Championship Safari Rally in Kenya.

The three-day event is regarded as the toughest rally in the world and the French duo’s Ford Focus RS World Rally Car survived almost 3000km of competition across the vast East African plains, which proved too tough for over two-thirds of the starters.

Tommi Mäkinen (Mitsubishi) collected his second Safari victory and extended his lead at the head of the championship to ten points over Ford’s Colin McRae, with fellow Focus driver Carlos Sainz four points further back.

Scotland’s McRae and Welsh co-driver Nicky Grist, who had taken the previous three rounds of the WRC in Argentina, Cyprus and Greece, were forced into retirement in Kenya with broken steering on the opening leg while running in third place.

Sainz and Luis Moya were in second place before engine dramas forced the Spaniards into retirement on the second day.

Delecour's result is all the more commendable given that this was his debut on the Safari, eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and widely regarded as the most specialised round of the series as well as the toughest.

Ford Martini team director Malcolm Wilson believes Ford is in a strong position going to the fastest event in the championship, the Rally Finland on 24 - 26 August.

“The rough tracks of Kenya will be replaced by the smooth roads of central Finland, which is famous for its high-speed jumps.

“We proved the Focus RS was the most competitive car with four fastest times but unfortunately speed alone doesn't win rallies in Africa,” said Wilson.

“However, it does bode well for the next rally in Finland where speed is everything," said Wilson.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NASCAR - Round 19 of 36
1. Dale Jarrett (Ford) - 2695 pts, 1. Jeff Gordon - 2695 pts, 3. Ricky Rudd (Ford) - 2667 pts, 4. Tony Stewart - 2421 pts, 5. Sterling Marlin - 2414 pts, 6. Rusty Wallace (Ford) - 2342 pts

CART World Series - Round 12 of 22
Drivers
1. Kenny Brack (Ford) - 84 pts, 2. Dario Franchitti - 81 pts, 3. Helio Castroneves - 75 pts, 4. Michael Andretti - 73 pts, 5. Cristiano da Matta - 67 pts, 6. Gil de Ferran - 58 pts

Manufacturers
1. Honda - 174 pts, Toyota 154 pts, Ford 151 pts

World Rally Championship - Round eight of 14
Drivers
1. T. Mäkinen - 40pts, 2. C. McRae (Ford) - 30pts, 3. C. Sainz (Ford) - 26pts , 4. H. Rovanperä - 20pts, 5. R. Burns - 15pts, 6. F. Delecour (Ford) - 14pts

Manufacturers
1. Mitsubishi - 66pts, 2. Ford - 60pts, 3. Subaru - 28pts, 4. Peugeot - 26pts, 5. Skoda - 15pts, 6. Hyundai - 10pts

For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing
Phone: (03) 9533 4455
Mobile: 0417-262 753
Email: ben@segalmedia.com.au

Howard Marsden
General Manager
Ford Racing
Phone: (03) 9359 8461

Previous Article: News Watch Issue 4, Thursday 19th July 2001
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