Chris Atkinson celebrates his second place at the Rally of Argentina Pic courtesy of swrt.com

Following the retirment of his teammate Peta Solberg, Chris Atkinson has finsihed the Rally of Argentina in second Place.  This makes it three podiums from the first four races of the season.

“It’s been such a hard weekend it’s more of a relief to finish!� said Chris Atkinson. “Another podium is fantastic for us and for the team, there’s nothing that motivates the guys more than a great result at the end of all the hard work. The feeling in the car was just so much more consistent this weekend and it was easier to drive so I was able to push without making any big mistakes. It’s clear we’ve taken some good steps forward with the car this year and it’s sort of a surprise for me to be third in the championship at the moment. It’s a real shame about Petter as he was going very well and we should have had two cars on the podium, but it demonstrates that we’re definitely moving in the right direction.�

Atkinson’s second place in Argentina moves him into third overall in the Drivers’ Championship, just three points behind second-placed Hirvonen (Ford). The Subaru World Rally Team emerge from South America in third position overall in the Manufacturers’ Championship, but as a result of the electrical problems lost a potential eight points that would have put them within just three of the lead.

Kiwi Scott Dixon posted a season opening win and the first under the unified series. However the two Aussie's in field failed to make the chequered flag.

Will Power was the first to exit when he touched with Justin Wilson at the end of the first yellow. Whilst both cars were forced to the pits, Wilson was able to continue while Power was forced to exit.

Briscoe made it past the half way point and was running a strong race when he was left with no where to go when Milka Duno's spun in front of him.

Sebastien Loeb continued to lead the Rally of Argentina and Petter Solberg got past Chris Atkinson to move into second.

Atkinson admitted that he has now backed off and was focusing on securing his third podium in 4 starts this season "We've backed right off now," he said. "There's no need to take any risks. Second would be nice, but three podiums in the first four rallies of the year is still better than we would have expected."

He is nearly a minute off Solberg but has a lead of 1 minute 14 over 4th placed Dani Sordo.

Ryan Briscoe has qualified 5th fastest at the season opening Homestead Grand Prix. Fellow countrymen Will Power could only manage 21st as the Champ Car teams struggled as expected.

The highest placed Champ Car runner was 15th for Franck Perera with an average speed of 209.230, compared to the Pole Sitter kiwi Scott Dixon who averaged 213.341. Briscoe posted a average lap speed of 213.341 whilst Power could only manage 208.029.

The race will be the first run as a unified series.

Chris Atkinson during shakedown Rally Argentina, courtesy swrt.com

In a continuation of his great start to the season, Chris Atkinson has finished day one in second place behind reigning champion Sebastien Loeb.

Sadly two spins later in the day cost him time and means he will start day 2 some 1 minute 30 seconds behind the leader. Third place is held by his eammate Petter Solberg who is just 8 seconds behind Atkinson.

<p>"I have not mislead Derrick Walker and or Walker Racing in any form," Gore said. "Derrick provided me with an unacceptable budget and costings with nefarious funding schedules to continue in 2008 and he has constantly advised he was moving on with other sponsors if I didn't agree.

<p>"I have not at any time attempted to disband the company or steal drivers or staff. I have never directly or indirectly had any conversations or engagement with staff of GFW. Even during the period where the staff were employed directly by me.

<p>"In fact, Derrick signed Will Power in mid-February without my knowledge or consent to operate independently to GFW - a breach of his duty to both GFW, myself and the parties he was purporting to deal with.

<p>"This was a short term contract in which Derrick failed to fulfil certain criteria - Will was automatically released after the required deadline and then signed to race with Team Australia and KV Racing Technology.

<p>"Once this was disclosed to me I severed all ties with Derrick Walker. I did try to involve him in the new team, but he was not prepared to work for others, or with others and wanted to continue operating as Walker Racing.

<p>"He was not prepared to sell his factory, shut down his team and merge. He was insistent on operating the team from Walker Racing premises and his conditions of funding were ludicrous, fanciful and self-serving to say the least.

<p>"I did not provide Derrick Walker or Walker Racing any commitment moving forward other than to do my best to contribute towards the merging of both series as I thought this was the best outcome for all involved."

<p>"Not at any time did Derrick Walker and or Walker Racing or anyone associated with him provide any permanent funding to the team, the branding of Team Australia or any other form of funding required for the team," he said. "This amounts to more than $20 million (USD) over a three-year period.

<p>"Derrick Walker and Walker Racing used, to its sole benefit, the branding of Team Australia to develop funding for the Champ Car Atlantic programme. I received no benefit from this and I am currently owed $500,000 (USD) for cars and equipment bought by myself to establish this team the previous year. I have never called on or asked for this to be repaid.

<p>"There have been numerous anomalies in accounts over the period amounting to more than $500,000 (USD). I have never called on these to be repaid. I will now call on the funds to be repaid immediately. I will also cause for all accounts to be forensically investigated to ensure there has been no misappropriation of funds provided to the team.

<p>"After three years there is less than $300,000 (USD) owing in the accounts, save for Mr Walker himself, up to and prior to the date I advised him to cease operation. I have paid all budget over-runs including $950,000 (USD) in 2006 which were incurred without my express agreement or prior knowledge.

<p>"At present there is $1.1 million (USD) outstanding in the GFW accounts, of which I have provided Derrick several undertakings to pay. These have been obviously unacceptable and now withdrawn. However, when taking into consideration Mr Walker is the largest creditor (his contribution to our partnership) it was agreed to work harmoniously to resolve these matters in an orderly and appropriate manner."

<p>Gore added that he is not concerned about the prospect of a court case.

<p>"I look forward to any court action Derrick Walker may take," he said. "I relish the opportunity to have my day in court."

<p>Mark Webber believes Formula One wunderkind Lewis Hamilton's "novelty" value will wear off.

<p>The Red Bull racer says Hamilton has a uniqueness in the sport but it has a "shelf life."

<p>Webber has also warned that the British McLaren star, who rocked F1 last year by almost winning the championship in his rookie season, will have to get used to a downside in his career.

<p>Hamilton, 23, finished second to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen last year and leads this year's series after his recent victory in Melbourne and fifth place in last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

<p>"His career has gone off like a rocket ship but it won't always be like that," Webber told The Independent newspaper.

<p>"He's young and he's black which makes him unique in this sport, but that's got a shelf life.

<p>"He won't stop being black but it will stop being a novelty.

<p>"And he'll find that some of the column inches, maybe even this season, are totally negative and totally incorrect.

<p>"That's not easy to deal with."

<p>According to Webber, only the British are obsessed with Hamilton and comparisons with seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher are more than a little premature.

<p>"Look, he's talented, we all know that," he said.

<p>"But he's been in the sport for five minutes. People compare him with Schumacher. There is no comparison.

<p>"When he wins the championship, then he's got six more to win before he can be compared to Schumacher.

<p>"Yeah, he had a great first year. It was extraordinary what he did. But great sports stars are measured by their longevity. Pele, Steffi Graf, whoever."

Mark Webber recorded his first finish of the year and in the process collected his first points with a strong seventh.

“The start wasn’t fantastic, but we knew a lot of people would be on soft tyres at that point of the race. I got a really good run through Turns one and two and came out in fourth position. The first stint went okay, but I struggled a bit during the second stint with poor grip, although we kept trying to chip away at the times. I also got stuck behind Sato at a crucial point in the race and lost around two seconds, when we should have stayed in front of Heidfeld. I’m pleased for everyone at Red Bull to get two points, it’s been a tough start to the year for us and it’s great to get the car to the finish today. A big thanks to Renault too.�

Marcos Ambrose has moved up to 16th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings after finishing 23rd in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee today.

Ambrose qualified 15th in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion at the 1.33-mile speedway and finished three laps down in the midfield.

The Australian’s car was very ‘tight’ (understeer) throughout the race, making it a difficult day. Ambrose and his crew worked hard at getting a more balanced set-up throughout the race, but changes were not able to give the car a better set-up.

With an unusually low number of cautions in today’s race, opportunities for pit stops to tune the car were few, making it a tough day for Ambrose.

Scott Wimmer won today’s Pepsi ahead of series leader Clint Bowyer and defending series champion Carl Edwards.

Ambrose and the JTG Racing team will enjoy a rare weekend off next weekend, before the NASCAR Nationwide Series gets back underway on April 5 with the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We’ve got two weeks now to have a think about things and make some progress,� said Ambrose.

“Today was not a great day for our team but the potential is certainly there. We’ve just got to put our heads down and work hard on finding more speed.

“We had a really, really tight race car and we just couldn’t get it good enough.

“The boys are all working hard. I’m very confident that we will be back up there very soon.�

After a somewhat troubled start to the weekend for Red Bull, Mark Webber secured eighth position in qualifying. His teammate David Coulthard will start from 12th.

Both cars made it through practice three and qualifying with no further sign of the suspension issue that earlier had cast doubts over their taking part in the event.

Pole went to Felipe Massa from Reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen. For the first time Lewis Hamilton was out qualified by his teammate Heikki Kovalainen and they will start 4th and 3rd respectively.

Following a accident involving the failure of David Coulthard's front suspension, stewards requested information from the team regarding why they should not be excluded from the rest of the event on safety grounds.

Having reviewed the information, just prior to the start of practice 3, the stewards have confirmed the cars can take part in the event but will remain under review.

In effect this means that should either of the teams cars suffer a similar or component related failure during the rest of the weekend, Stewards reserve the right to ban the team.

The enquiry follows the collapse of Coulthard's car in Melbourne in a collision wiht Massa and thoughts the front suspension may not be strong enough given this recent failure.

It seems the closure of Walker racing, following the merger with the IRL, may not have been a mutual decision. Derrick Walker has suggested that money may be owing when Craig Gore withdrew his support. The dispute follows the late decision by Gore to withdraw from the V8 Supercar series in Australia just prior to the season opening Clipsal 500.

In a statement Waker said "I was extremely disappointed by Craig Gore's announcement to take Team Australia, our driver, and sponsors to KV Racing,"

"Contrary to Gore's recent statements, I developed the concept of Team Australia in 2005. Over a three-year period, Team Australia had great success in using motor sports as a marketing tool for Australian companies, including Gore's winery, Aussie Vineyards.

"Despite the success of the team, Gore defaulted on his financial obligations to Team Australia throughout the 2007 season. Walker Racing was forced to loan the team substantial funds in order to continue competing in the Champ Car World Series.

"Walker Racing is still owed in excess of $1,500,000 by Gore and his related entities. I relied upon Gore's repeated assurances that he would fulfill his commitments to the Team Australia program and to me.

"Until Gore's recent announcement to take Team Australia to KV Racing, I was led to believe that we would be moving forward together as a team in 2008.

"I believe that Gore's actions are a serious default of his contractual commitments and fiduciary obligations as a business partner. I have given Gore ample opportunities to resolve these disputes informally. Unfortunately, it appears I will have no choice but to take legal action."

Courtesy of marcosambrose.com

Marcos Ambrose has jumped into the top 20 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings with 19th in a rain-shortened Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee today.

The finish is the best for Ambrose in his four starts at the tough half-mile race track on a day where the Australian ran with the lead pack and showed strong car speed in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion.

The Australian started from 18th in today’s event after Friday’s two practice sessions were cancelled due to rain. Qualifying this morning was replaced with a 90-minute practice session, with the starting order set by 2007 Owner’s Points for the third time this season.

Ambrose was 22nd in practice this morning, boding well for this afternoon’s race.

Ambrose ran strong at the start of the 300-lap event at the intimidating track, running well and progressing into the top 10 approaching the 100-lap mark.

Soon after, Mike Bliss checked up in front of Ambrose and the 31-year-old clipped Bliss, sustaining slight damage to the front of the Kingsford car. The damage was taped up during the second series of pit stops for the day.

After the halfway point Ambrose was making good progress and up to 19th position as the leading duo of Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne put the Australian one lap down. A few laps later rain began to fall on Bristol Motor Speedway and the race was red flagged on lap 171.

Bowyer was declared the winner ahead of Kahne and David Reutimann, as the rain stoppage came after the halfway point in the 300-lap race.

Ambrose will be back in action next weekend on March 22 in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway, race six in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series.

WHAT HE HAD TO SAY …

“I’m pleased because I made it past lap 100 without tearing the fenders off,� said Ambrose.

“I’ve tried hard here in the past, but I haven’t done a very good job of it. We’re really excited about how we went today.

“We wanted this race to restart because we feel like we’ve got something for them. I felt really comfortable in the car today and I think our team is really moving forward.

“We’re being aggressive and racy out there and that’s what you’ve got to do at Bristol. You’ve got to grab it by the teeth and not let go.

“I’m way more in control at Bristol now than one year ago. I feel like I’ve got some rhythm here and I’m able to absorb everything that’s going on in some chronological order at least in my head to not get too spun out, and that’s really hard to do here because everything is happening so fast.

“You’ve got to really know what’s important and what’s not. You’ve got to be able to run a really loose race car and ignore it. That’s the way it works.�

Marcos Ambrose has bounced back from a run of early season bad luck to post a strong 11th place finish in the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia today.

Ambrose ran well all day in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, posting his best result for the season so far and his best finish in Atlanta in today’s 198-lap race.

The result lifts Ambrose up five spots in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series into 23rd position, with in 100 points of the top 10 after four of 35 races this season.

Ambrose started from 20th position for today’s race after qualifying was cancelled earlier this morning due to rain and light snowfall. Once the conditions cleared the race began, with the starting order set by 2007 Owner’s Points.

The Australian ran solidly in the first half of the race, with one long run mid-race seeing Ambrose jump up the order into the top 15. Ambrose was as high as third as he waited longer than most to pit, finally stopping for tyres and fuel on lap 104.

Ambrose was running in 14th position when a caution was called after leader Kyle Busch crashed with 20 laps to go. As the cars on the lead lap pitted for fuel and tyres, Ambrose and fellow Ford driver David Ragan both pitted for fuel only. The move meant that Ragan and Ambrose restarted first and second respectively.

With old tyres on their Ford Fusions the two were soon passed at the restart but for Ambrose the calculated gamble paid off, as he maintained a top 10 position for a considerable time and eventually greeted the flag in 11th.

Fellow Ford driver Matt Kenseth won today’s race ahead of 2006 series champion Kevin Harvick and today’s polesitter Jeff Burton.

Ambrose and the NASCAR Nationwide Series field will brave the wild banking of the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend in the Sharpie Mini 300.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We did what we needed to do today,� said Ambrose.

“We had a competitive day out there and got the job done.

“Our car wasn’t the best piece out there today but we managed to do the best we could and come away with a really important result for us.

“This gets us back on track and we can go into Bristol next week with some more confidence and the right frame of mind, not having to worry too much about the owner’s points situation.

“Atlanta is one of the tougher places we race so this result is great.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my guys after today. They did a great job for me all weekend and at the stops during the race.

“A big part of this result has to go to Wally (Walter Giles, crew chief). He had some great strategy calls today from the pit stand and did a great job. We are working very well together and let’s hope that we can start to step it up after this result.�

Marcos Ambrose – Q&A

Q: THIS MUST BE A GREAT RESULT TO GET YOUR TEAM BACK ON TRACK? MA: Well, were out of the bad points (Top 30 Owner’s Points) deal. Today was about walking into this race where we are secure in the points going into Bristol because it it's a bit of a lottery in Bristol.

Now we're fairly safe in points and we'll be going there knowing after the fifth race were in the Top 30 in owner points, which means a lot when you get rainouts and such.

For us, it was a conservative race the whole day. We were just trying to keep out of trouble. There was a lot of give out there from us just to make sure we finished.

Q: PIT STRATEGY SEEMED IMPORTANT TODAY.

MA: Yeah, we got lucky a couple of times. We ran out of tyres and we couldn't stop where we wanted to and we did stop. We had the perfect strategy, really for that car. I don't think we could have done any better with that car today.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Ecclestone said: "The only way the race could stay in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, is if it is staged during the night so that the public in Europe can watch it.

"At the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can't carry on.

"The alternative is to pull the race completely from Australia. I've spoken to (new prime minister) Kevin Rudd and he's told me it would cost too much to re-stage the race, so I guess that's it. We won't be going to Australia for too much longer." It is amazing that it is to much for Europeans to be asked to stay up one night, but the rest of the world can put up with having to do it for nearly every race.

Marcos Ambrose has had a potential top 10 result slip through his fingers on a luckless day for the Australian in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada today.

Marcos Ambrose has had a potential top 10 result slip through his fingers on a luckless day for the Australian in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada today.

Ambrose had strong car speed in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, but an incident in the second half of the race knocked him out of the event and he was classified in 28th place.

Ambrose was seventh fastest in qualifying and started from fifth place as third fastest qualifier Kyle Busch crashed his car on his second qualifying lap and was forced to start in his back-up car from the rear.

The 31-year-old ran as high as fourth in the opening stages of the race and after the first round of pit stops Ambrose sat just outside the top 10, where he ran during the middle stages of the race.

On lap 131 Ambrose went to pass the lapped car of Johnny Borneman while running in 18th position, but the 83 car did not see Ambrose and turned down on him entering turn one.

The two cars touched and Ambrose spun but did a commendable job in managing to avoid hitting the wall. However, the huge amount of lock that Ambrose put into the steering to keep the car from hitting the wall resulted in the steering arm knocking the oil pump belt off of an engine pulley.

Ambrose pitted to fit new tyres immediately after the spin but when the engine problems were realised his race was over. The result scored Ambrose enough points to elevate him up one spot in the driver’s standings to 27th overall.

Mark Martin won today’s race to give JR Motorsports it’s first NASCAR victory, ahead of Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer.

The next race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Ambrose and the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion will be the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We got pinched down there while I was trying to lap some backmarkers,� said Ambrose.

“I saved it, but when I turned full hard right, the steering arm got into the pulley and knocked the oil pump belt off.

“I shouldn’t have got myself in a bad spot anyway and then this just compounds it.

“We had a long day. We were looking good there for a while, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“We had a car that was capable of running in the top 10 today but again we just had no luck. All we can do now is look to Atlanta and try our best there for a good result.� Ambrose had strong car speed in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, but an incident in the second half of the race knocked him out of the event and he was classified in 28th place.

Ambrose was seventh fastest in qualifying and started from fifth place as third fastest qualifier Kyle Busch crashed his car on his second qualifying lap and was forced to start in his back-up car from the rear.

The 31-year-old ran as high as fourth in the opening stages of the race and after the first round of pit stops Ambrose sat just outside the top 10, where he ran during the middle stages of the race.

On lap 131 Ambrose went to pass the lapped car of Johnny Borneman while running in 18th position, but the 83 car did not see Ambrose and turned down on him entering turn one.

The two cars touched and Ambrose spun but did a commendable job in managing to avoid hitting the wall. However, the huge amount of lock that Ambrose put into the steering to keep the car from hitting the wall resulted in the steering arm knocking the oil pump belt off of an engine pulley.

Ambrose pitted to fit new tyres immediately after the spin but when the engine problems were realised his race was over. The result scored Ambrose enough points to elevate him up one spot in the driver’s standings to 27th overall.

Mark Martin won today’s race to give JR Motorsports it’s first NASCAR victory, ahead of Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer.

The next race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Ambrose and the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion will be the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.

Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot completed Rally Mexico in spectacular style, recording their highest ever finish together in a World Rally Championship event with a hard-fought second place. Meanwhile Petter Solberg and Phil Mills pushed hard to clinch the final Manufacturers’ Championship point, keeping the Subaru World Rally Team in second position in the overall standings.

Atkinson’s second podium in three rallies this season jumps him to fourth overall in the Drivers’ Championship, just six points shy of the top of the standings. It’s his best start to a WRC season, and firmly establishes the Australian as a contender for WRC victories. Solberg and Mills lie just behind in fifth in the Championship standings, as the team continue their strong start to 2008 with more solid points.

On a day when the avid local fans were out in force to support the late inclusion of this event into the WRc calendar, spectator numbers overwhelmed stage 18, the 22 kilometre Guanajuato test, and the decision was taken to abandon it. The longest of the day, its cancellation reduced the day’s competitive length by one third.

“Chris did a fantastic job and I firmly believe he can win an event before the end of the year� said Subaru World Rally Team Principal David Richards. “We’ve had a very encouraging start to the year and we’re putting ourselves in a very strong position for when we launch our new car, the WRC2008. Petter did a good job today, and from our performance here in Mexico it is clear to me that we have made some positive steps forward since Sweden, and will continue to do so as we look to Argentina in a few weeks time.�

Atkinson started the final day in second position with a comfortable buffer of over one minute behind him to third. As the Australian promised yesterday, he had a steady day to ensure he did enough to clinch his highest ever WRC finish without taking any unnecessary risks. Opting for two spare wheels as an added safety buffer along the rough and jagged gravel speed tests, the 28 year old was leaving nothing to chance, knowing how easy it is to fall foul of these conditions.

Despite the punishing routes, soaring temperatures and oxygen-thin air over the last three days, his Impreza WRC2007 suffered no significant problems. The Australian felt comfortable with the handling and balance of his car all weekend, and drove a solid rally to be awarded eight points for both himself and the team, the single largest haul of his World Rallying career. image courtesy of swrt.com

“It’s a fantastic result, my best in the WRC!� said Chris Atkinson. “All the team, the guys on my car, Subaru all did a top job. It was good fun to beat Sebastien [Loeb] on the Superspecial at the end there! It’s a great start to the year for me and also for the team, and I hope we can keep building on this. We’re making good steps forward and the car felt really good this weekend. We did some work on the dampers after Sweden and that was a big help – they were good here in the heat which is always a tough test. Now we look to Argentina and to keep this performance going. The sooner I can win the better!�

Solberg and Mills restarted this morning under Superally regulations, and left the morning’s service fighting fit. On the day’s opening stage and with a car the team worked on fervently yesterday afternoon, Solberg felt happy with the balance of his Impreza WRC2007 and was able to push hard to post the second fastest stage time, almost three seconds clear of the rest of field.

Over the final day’s 38 kilometres of stages, Solberg and Mills fought hard to climb to 12th overall, displaying their characteristic grit and determination to the very end to keep the team in second position in the Manufacturers’ Championship and keep himself close enough to fight for a top spot in the Drivers’ Championship as the season develops.

“Today we were ok in the first stage, but with big gaps between everyone at the front people were backing off� said Petter Solberg. “We scored a Manufacturer point which is important, but other than that it’s been a frustrating weekend really. But we keep working and pushing, and Argentina will be better.�

The third day of Rally Mexico brought more of the weather crews had come to expect. Temperatures rose to 28 degrees Celsius by midday, and the dry roads yielded clouds of dust with every passing car. The modified route consisted of just three stages, ended with the final running of the immensely popular Nextel spectator Superspecial stage.

After a day off to have treatment for a trapped nerve, David was back in action and was evidently fit and well, as he was second quickest today. Today was his turn to try the latest aerodynamic updates on RB4 that Mark ran for the first time yesterday.

As for the Australian he concentrated on fine tuning the package and set-up work prior to Melbourne.

“This was the last test session until after the Bahrain GP and in many ways, for those of us on the test team, it feels like the end of a season that has run pretty much non-stop since the end of last year,� commented Chief Test Engineer, Ian Morgan. “The result of all the hard work is that the cars go to Australia having completed a high mileage, showing good reliability and what seems like an encouraging level of performance. Now it’s a case of getting to Melbourne to see where we really are.�

Marcos Ambrose has toughed it out on a trying day to finish 22nd in the Stater Bros 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California today.

Ambrose was never able to get the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion handling well around the 2.0-mile oval but pressed on to record an all important finish and add 97 points to his championship tally.

The Australian driver started the race, which was delayed for two-straight days due to rain, from 18th position after the starting order was set by 2007 owner’s points due to qualifying also being rained out.

In the first half of the race Ambrose went down one lap but soon regained his position on the lead lap when he was the ‘Lucky Dog’ – the first driver one lap down – during a caution period.

From there Ambrose tried his best to tune his race car but the 31-year-old was unable to gain any significant improvements in the handling and he pushed on to finish in 22nd position out of 42 starters. Ambrose allowed race leader Tony Stewart passed on the penultimate lap to give Stewart a clear run to the finish and make Ambrose the first car to finish the race one lap down.

The finish lifted Ambrose nine spots in the points standings to 29th place after two events, with prizemoney of US$79,921 (A$86,120) so far this season.

Stewart won his second-consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series race today at Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) ahead of Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Ambrose will be back in action in four days time when practice begins for the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

"We had a testing day,� said Ambrose.

“We didn't have the practice that we would have liked, but that's the same with everybody. We missed a day and just struggled and struggled.

“We finished and the car is in one piece. It wasn't a great day for us, but we'll take it.

“Now we have a finish on the board and a few more points to our name. This is not the kind of result that we were looking for but I am sure we will do better at Las Vegas in a few days time.�

Image:Chris Atkinson during the Mexico shakedown (courtesy of swrt.com)

The Subaru World Rally Team entries of Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot and Petter Solberg/Phil Mills finished the first day of the season’s first gravel rally in third and fourth positions overall after tackling the harsh and unforgiving routes and oxygen-thin air of the Mexican mountains.

The rally on which Subaru has traditionally been strong started in characteristic form as Solberg and Atkinson held the top two spots after Thursday’s shakedown stage. On the first day of gravel-based competition of the season, Atkinson and Prevot held a consistent third position overall. Solberg and Mills experienced early brake troubles that slipped them to sixth, but the duo had a solid afternoon to climb to fourth with two stage wins.

“We’ve again shown that we have the pace to win stages on this event, and despite some problems this morning Chris is on the podium and Petter is close enough to have his sights set on the top three� said Subaru World Rally Team Principal David Richards. “It has been a hard day for the cars and drivers, and it is encouraging to see that Pirelli’s new gravel tyre has worked very well in what have been very tough conditions.�

Today’s roads were a combination of high-altitude dusty gravel stages that reached over 2700 metres above sea level and fast downhill sections, littered with large and jagged rocks. Road cleaning was a big factor in sweeping a lot of the loose material from the surface, leading to smoother roads and more grip for those further down the running order, but the risk of punctures in the sternest test yet for Pirelli’s new Scorpion gravel tyre was ever-present.

Solberg started the day fifth on the road and had a promising start being fastest in the opening section of the first stage. In the last five kilometres however he struck an obstacle in the road, damaging the front end of his car, and, in an unrelated incident, experienced problems with his rear left brakes. This resulted in a loss of braking efficiency for the remainder of the morning until the problem could be rectified at the midday service.

The Norwegian lost a total of 50 seconds over the course of the morning’s three stages and dropped to sixth position overall. Having sorted the problem during the half-hour service interval, Solberg and Mills mimicked their early performance by recording the fastest time on the afternoon’s first speed test. As Ford’s Gigi Galli and Mikko Hirvonen suffered troubles of their own, the SWRT duo climbed to fourth by the end of the day, beating Hirvonen and recording their second stage win in the penultimate head-to-head spectator stage that brought the day to a close.

The afternoon was not without added difficulty as all crews had to avoid the surprise of large rocks in the middle of the road. Solberg chose to go off the road twice to avoid such rocks, losing time as opposed damaging the car, as did Atkinson, who survived with all four tyres intact despite running over one of the rocks with the front right wheel whilst in sixth gear.

“Considering we lost a minute this morning, fourth today is not bad� said Petter Solberg. “We have won two stages, and we are pushing so hard but it will not be easy. We have two tough days left. The rocks in the stages this afternoon were incredible, just right in the middle of the road. They were so big, I don’t know how they got there. If I didn’t go off the road to avoid them, that would have been it. When you’re going flat out, it’s hard to avoid things like that but you still just have to commit.�

Atkinson meanwhile started just behind his team-mate in sixth on the road. The Australian had a consistent day in third position overall, despite driving one of day’s tricky and rocky stages with a malfunctioning intercom, meaning that he couldn’t hear Stephane Prevot’s pace notes and had to drive from memory. He didn’t feel quite as comfortable with the car as he did during yesterday’s shakedown route, but nevertheless recorded five top-three times from today’s eight stages. On the final back-to-back spectator stage, Atkinson beat rival Henning Solberg after the first lap but suffered a spin and a stall on the second lap, losing a few seconds.

“Today has not been bad for us and we’re in a good position to push hard tomorrow. We’ll have to see whether we can close the gap to Sebastien and Jari-Matti as it won’t be easy� said Chris Atkinson. “It was my mistake to spin in the final stage, and giving a few seconds away to these guys isn’t the smartest, but that’s how it goes. It won’t be easy for sure, and I have Petter and Hirvonen behind so we will push hard as always and see.�

The day started at 15 degrees Celsius and rose to a high of 28 degrees. The crews tackled three stages before the midday service, followed by repeat passes of each in the afternoon and two back-to-back passes of the spectator Superspecial stage between Leon and Silao.