F1: Singapore GP: a thrill a minute

The good news was that the humidity level was relatively low at just under 80%. Air pressure, the Met Office reported, was exactly where it should have been: it's sea level so it's one bar.

But a wind of 2 metres per second, which translates to 7.5kph is worrying: the "concrete canyon" effect of the barriers, tunnel and buildings may result in that wind funnelling and causing unwanted and unpredictable handling.

The temperature 30C (air) and 29C (track). This is the usual way around for Europe but it's upside down for races in hot, especially tropical countries.

This means tyre choice will be even more critical. There is no doubt that soft-tyres will give better grip but even Bridgestone appears to be uncomfortable with the likely life of the softer of the two compounds, saying yesterday that they have a tendency to grain on the rear, in particular.

That is probably indicative of the fish-tailing referred to in our qualifying report which creates more lateral wear than is suffered when cars corner more normally.

==

Race Report

There are some who might think that today's race was unexciting: and they have a point. If they don't like wheel to wheel racing, if they don't see technical problems developing and they can't work out how pit stops slot into the overall times that cars run.

The most surprising aspect of the race was that the tight qualifying times did not translate to similar times on the road: at one point, some back markers were running some four seconds slower than the front runners. As various factor shook up the back of the field, some quick cars were bottled up behind slower cars. Eventually, blocked for so many laps that his car was overheating, Sutil hit the back of Alguiersari, spun into the path of Heidfeld. Although he made it back to the pits, Sutil was retired, Heidfeld, three wheels on his car drove away from the crash site but was obviously going no further.

Webber had an interesting day: on the opening lap at Turn 7 he was on the outside of Alonso who drifted wide. Webber kept his foot in and went alongside the Spaniard. Webber had all four wheels off the track: it looked as if Alonso did, too. Webber, however, was instructed to give the place back. Unfortunately, Glock was tucked in behind Alonso - and so dropping back cost Webber two places.

Grosjean, who in qualifying complained that his brakes were not working but had been dismissed by the team, was called in with just four laps gone whilst running last. Bitterly, he complained that the team could not find the fault which was afflicting his car only.

Rosberg's day was ruined by the narrow, tight and slippery exit from the pits: he overcooked it and ran wide over the kerb. Although he pulled it back behind the white line long before the end of the pit lane, the line is sacrosanct for safety reasons and he was awarded a drive-through. That would have been bad enough - except that the incident was right before the Sutil accident and so he had to serve it as the cars were bunched up after the safety car session that resulted.

Sutil's retirement removed what could have been a good day at the office: for much of the race, Liuzzi in the sister Force India sat firmly on the tail of Fisichella, the man who left Force India to take the second seat at Ferrari - and who is now looking increasingly like a temp. as Massa has said he wants to try to make it back into his seat for the last race of the season at Abu Dhabi. But there should not be any criticism of Fisi: his vastly more experienced (in the difficult Ferrari) team mate Raikkonen was only three places ahead of him.

But the real drama of the race was unfolding behind the front wheels. Webber's right front brake developed problems. Despite a quick service in the pits, the brake soon let go, spitting him into one of the few soft padded areas around the track. Despite that, as he walked down the pit lane a few minutes later, he was clearly holding himself awkwardly, although no word has been issued on injuries.

But two laps later, both the Torro Rosso cars were withdrawn over fears for their brakes. Vettel , however, with the prospect of some points, stayed out, but did his best to protect his brakes.

Button, informed of Vettel's brake problems, pushed on as quickly he could. But then his team warned Button that his brakes were also overheating and told him to hold station and nurse the car.

Rubens' team told him to protect his position and look after his brakes, too.

Pit: Look after the car. Jenson has issues with his brakes.

Rubens: Can I catch him?

An almost exasperated pit message was that Jenson was ten seconds ahead and running at the same speed and there were concerns over the brakes on both cars. Rubens did what any good racing driver would do: put the hammer down, to finish 1.8 seconds behind Jenson.

With Vettel finishing fourth, the top three were Alonso, Glock and Hamilton.

And it's because of these latter three that one must have some sympathy with anyone who thought the race was a bit boring. The reason for this is simple: all three were millimetre perfect, on but not over the kerbs, close to but not touching the walls, fast but not so fast that their cars broke or slid around too much.

Alonso is a machine : we have often mentioned his ability to place a car in exactly the same place for lap after lap. And, once more, he did so. Having bashed the kerbs through qualifying, Hamilton stayed on the black stuff for the whole race. And, to be frank, Glock arrived in second, just ten seconds behind Hamilton, by being the invisible man. He did absolutely nothing to draw attention to himself for the whole race. And that's the mark of a real racing driver in the Jackie Stewart mould: drivers should win races at the slowest speed possible, he once, famously, said.

That isn't boring: it's masterful performance. And to be able to wonder at the skill of these these three is a privilege. In fact, trying to think back to someone who had the same kind of car control, who looked boring while making outstanding performances, I've had to think back to Ronnie Peterson. In the dry, Peterson was an oversteer specialist and late braking demon. But when he had a comfortable position, or in the wet, he was simply the smoothest of drivers. Alonso is nowhere near so smooth - but he does have the precision of a metronome. Hamilton has the ability to be smooth, but more often than not chooses not to be. And Glock, he's a mystery. He never seemed to be trying today, demonstrating that, given a car with pace and grip, he can make the Toyota sing and do it with stealth.

Alguersuari, however, was anything but invisible: he faces disciplinary proceedings for a pit lane incident where he shot off when the jacks were let down, without waiting for the lollipop: the fuel hose was still attached and pulled the fuel mechanic down, pinning him under the heavy piping.

And Sutil faces a stewards inquiry into his crash with Heidfeld. At first sight, it did appear as if he was trying to spin the car around regardless of traffic, but on a closer look it appears that he was simply trying to prevent a stall and not making significant - if any - movement into the course of the oncoming cars. The result of both of those will be known later.

Vettel was punished with a drive-through for speeding in the pit lane - which compounded a difficult day: as he came out of the pits on cold tyres, he ran over a kerb, ripping part of the rear-diffuser off his car. But as the only Red Bull / Torro Rosso to finish, and finishing fourth, he hasn't too much to complain about: except that the drive-through cost him approx 20 seconds: an he was less than that behind Hamilton at the end.

One safety car incident lasted for five laps. Had it been longer, the race would have been in grave danger of reaching its limit of two hours, running as it did for a little over 1 hour 52 minutes.

And for those that though it wasn't interesting enough: how many realised that it lasted almost half-an-hour longer than many races on the calendar?

With just three races left this season, Button has slightly extended his lead over his team-mate but Vettel took points out of both of them. Whilst Vettel has some chance of catching Rubens, his prospects of beating Jenson are mathematical rather than realistic.

Singapore GP: Jenson's charmed life continues

Ed Gorman

Another not hugely gripping Singapore Grand Prix underlines how difficult it is to get the setting right in Formula One and the racing at the same time, because this track doesn't produce much in the latter category.

A few bullets to consider

Lewis
The boy absolutely flew off the line as if powered by rocket fuel. When he is in this sort of mood, he looks, as JYS would say, the "complete" driver. Even his most bitter enemies can see that Lewis is a class act, I would imagine, (he writes, looking for his hard hat). I can also imagine that, back at Woking, the McLaren brainstrust will be sweating over next year's car. They know they have the driver, they can't afford not to get it right when it comes to the engineering and the design for a second season in a row. Lewis needs a good car to take on Fernando at Ferrari and Sebastian at Red Bull. Martin Whitmarsh needs a good car from the off to cement his own position as team principal. Enough said.

Nico
A very disappointing drive from the man who has ambitions to join Lewis - there are also rumours he may be heading to Brawn. It is so easy to criticise Formula One drivers but, crossing the pitlane exit limit line, even in slippy conditions and when your blood is up, is a pretty basic error and, as soon as we saw it, we knew what was coming. Nico probably got the red mist because he almost lost the car at Turn 5 just after his second stop as well.

Sebastian
A similar story. He drove well and looked to be giving Lewis a real run for his money in the second stint until he forgot his speed-limiter coming into the pitlane for his second stop. Again a basic error and Sebastian has made one or two of these this year. We can - and he can - put it down to experience. For Red Bull generally this was a poor evening with Mark Webber paying for overtaking Fernando when running wide on the first lap and eventually crashing out when his front right brakes gave way on 46. He is out of the title race and Sebastian is as good as.

Fernando
Gritty drive from the Asturian hero who looked and sounded absolutely done-in afterwards. He more or less indicated that the move to Ferrari is on. He also dedicated his podium to Flav. I noticed that Lewis dedicated his win to God. An interesting choice by both men.

Brawn
It's not spectacular is it? Jenson still looks the most likely but neither man set the pulses racing on the streets of Singapore. Jenson was hampered by the safety car and clearly believed he would have got past Heikki and Rubens through his first stop had it not intervened. Rubens seems to have paid heavily for stalling his car at his second stop. He has made quite a few errors of this type this year.

Weird race
It was strange seeing how the top three stepped away in the first stint, then there was a mid-field group and then there was a completely separate race behind the moving road block that was Jaime Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso who looked like he had strayed from GP 2. The poor chap was miles off the pace and leaked time with every lap. It was almost inevitable that Adrian Sutil was going to have a go at some point. He had to for his own self-respect. When it came, it all went haywire and Nick Heidfeld ended up bringing his "remarkable" 42-race finishing streak to an end.

Ferrari
Not much to say really. Kimi trotted round while Fisi struggled. Even for him it has been very difficult to switch cars mid-season and be competitive.

We are going to Japan - is Suzuka going to be decisive in this shuffling championship finish?

  

Posted by Ed Gorman on September 27, 2009 at 07:01 PM in Singapore GP

Rolling sculpture beats gold as values of collector cars soar

“When you have something they’re not making any more of, the value goes up,” said comedian Jay Leno, host of the Jay Leno Show, who has a collection of 105 cars, including 8 Duesenbergs, and 90 motorcycles. “If you’re knowledgeable, you’ll probably end up making money.”

Prices on collectible cars have gained about 60 per cent since September 2006 according to an index created by David Kinney, publisher of “Hagerty’s Cars That Matter,” a pricing guide and Website. His Blue Chip index of 25 vehicles tracks actual sales and includes automobiles such as the 1960 to 1963 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, which has gained 112 per cent since September 2006, and has a current book value of $4.2 million.

Collectible cars have beaten art, wine, stocks and gold, which is up 30 per cent since September 2006. The Art Market Confidence Index at Artprice.com has fallen 37 per cent from a year ago and is down 69 per cent since September 2006. The WinePrices Fine Wine 100 Index dropped 38 per cent between April 2008 and January 2009, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has declined 24 per cent over the past three years.

“It’s an addiction, a passion,” said Guy Anderson, 56, a Georgia collector. “We all make sacrifices to have these cars. You can’t have just one. Each car does something different.” He rents buildings around his Woodstock, Georgia, home to house his 15-car collection, which includes a 1965 Abarth Simca race car.

A 1953 Aston Martin DB 2/4 Coupe sold at the Gooding & Company auction in Pebble Beach, California, in August for $1.65 million, more than triple some pre-auction appraisals of about $500,000, said Serio, the Massachusetts dealer. The last time the one-of-a-kind vehicle was available, in 2007, it sold for $887,000.

“That car just blew the roof off the market,” Serio said. “Everybody in the car world was looking at each other and saying, ‘Are you kidding me?’”

Television has helped fuel market boom, said Ford Heacock III, president of Heacock Classic, a collector-car insurance company. The Speed Channel, a unit of News Corp, has been expanding coverage of auto auctions since 2002. Bidding under cameras and lights gets people excited, Heacock said. Transactions among private parties are generally priced well below auctions, he said, a flaw most pricing guides don’t account for.

“There’s a lot of glitz and glitter. It’s hard not to get mesmerised. The whole industry is driven by passion,” Heacock said.

Some collectible cars, such as the ‘57 Chevy, have declined, said Richard Lentinello, editor-in-chief of Hemmings Motor News, a collector-car publisher in Bennington, Vermont.

The most-desired cars such as Italian-made Ferraris and Bugattis and have held up very well, Lentinello said. A 1938 Bugatti Type 57C sold at Gooding & Company’s August auction for $1.38 million.

“If you’re reasonably knowledgeable and you know what you like, there’s a good chance other people will like it too,” Leno said.

Cars that were popular 30 or 40 years ago will generally remain popular today, Lentinello said. Collectors are attracted to features such as hand-made bodies, small production runs, certain types of engines, and a racing pedigree.

“All Ferraris aren’t worth $1 million to $2 million,” Lentinello said. “Some are worth only $200,000. You have to do your homework. You can get burned fast.”

Among the traps for buyers: cars that aren’t the advertised model, switched vehicle identification numbers, restamped engines, cars restored with shoddy workmanship, and cars whose most valuable production parts have been removed.

The biggest declines among collectible cars are high- octane muscle cars from Detroit’s so-called golden age: the 1967 Corvette 427 Convertible and the 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible, down 25 per cent last year and 47 per cent over three years, according to Hagerty’s guide.

Bonhams auction house has sold 5 or 6 cars for more than $1 million in the US over the past year, and between 10 and 15 worldwide, said Rupert Banner, director of business development for the firm’s motorcar department in New York.

Cars that were expensive when built tend to be expensive now, he said. A 1933 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Convertible once owned by William Boyd, the actor who played Hopalong Cassidy in US movie Westerns, was sold at a Bonham’s auction in Carmel, California, for $1.44 million in August.

It’s one of a very small number of cars manufactured by the Auburn, Indiana-based company in the 1920s and 1930s. Duesenbergs gained cachet from a 265-horsepower engine with a top speed of 119 miles per hour.

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REACTION: WILLIAMS, FERRARI, FI, TR

Williams:Kazuki Nakajima: "It was a difficult race and I think I did the best job I could, but it was disappointing not to be able to claim any points. There seemed to be a possibility in the last stint as the car in front of me was struggling with its tyres but as much as focus on the car ahead, I also had to defend from behind, so it was tough to find the balance. The car has been good here and hopefully we can carry this with us to Japan."

Nico Rosberg: "Today's outcome was hugely disappointing. I made an unnecessary mistake by braking too late and running over the white line on the pitlane exit. Then the safety car came out at the worst possible moment. It left me with a really horrible feeling, also for the team, knowing that I wouldn't be second when I have served my drive-through penalty and I would have to spend the rest of the race at the back. The team gave me such a good car this weekend having put more effort into development than anyone else, and I am now determined to use this to best advantage in Japan."

FerrariKimi Raikkonen: "I couldn't do any better. The car was sliding everywhere and I had no grip. In the final part, with the softer tyres, the situation improved a bit, but by then it was too late. I closed up to Nakajima and, a few times, I tried to risk a passing move, but here it's really difficult to overtake unless the guy in front makes a mistake. I don't expect the situation to be much different next week in Suzuka: it is a very demanding track for the car, from an aerodynamic point of view and we are lacking in this area. Having said that, I will be trying my hardest."

Giancarlo Fisichella: "It was a very tough race, both physically and mentally. The pace was not up to Ferrari's standard and we have to take that on board. I was struggling to keep the car on track because of a lack of grip. At the end, on the softer tyre, the car's handling improved and I managed to do some good lap times. We brought my first pit stop forward to try and get me out of traffic, given that I was stuck behind Sutil, but then with the safety car the move didn't give the result we'd hoped for. Here, KERS was less of a factor than at Monza: at the start I managed to pass a car and then it was mainly useful to defend my position. Now we go to Suzuka, a real track: given how things have gone this year, with cars being strong in one race and weak the next, it's difficult to make any predictions."

Force India:Tonio Liuzzi: "It has been an ultra difficult weekend and race for us. The conditions are very difficult from the beginning as we were starting on the last row and trying to get some points was always going to be tough. Also having two cars with KERS in front of me didn't help. I couldn't overtake Giancarlo [Fisichella] even though I was quicker on my first two stints. On the third stint we started to have a lot of graining with the rear tyres with the soft compound and I just couldn't catch him. In the end it was a difficult race but we are more optimistic for the next races."

Adrian Sutil: "It was quite frustrating at the start as we knew with the one stop we were very heavy, but Jaime [Alguersuari] was very slow and really fighting with the car. He was holding me up a lot and I tried a few times to pass him but I finally saw a chance. I tried and it wasn't enough - I was a little late on the brakes, spun and that's it. Then Nick came around the corner and hit my front wing as I was stuck in the corner. I didn't see him coming as I was on the move already and couldn't react to it, but I'm sorry for it. It was a race incident. After the accident I then had a problem with the brakes and lost all the rear pressure and I had to stop as it was too dangerous to drive. We should be much better in Suzuka - I really can't wait for it. It's one of my favourite circuits and I have big hopes for a better result."

Toro Rosso:Sebastien Buemi: "The start was good for me as I got past Kimi and was going well, but towards the end of the first run, I began to suffer with tyre degradation. The first pit stop went well and I rejoined in P12. After that the Safety Car came out, bunching up the field. I was behind Kimi again and pushing hard until my second pit stop, when we had a big problem as no fuel went in and I had to come in again. Finally, I had an issue with the gearbox which meant I had to stop. I am very disappointed that we had reliability problems in a race where we might have got a good result."

Jaime Alguersuari: "It would have been difficult for me to do better today, as conditions in the race in terms of the track and the heat were very tough. I ran at my own pace and then I was stopped with a brake problem. Now we go to Suzuka where I hope to do better and finish the race with no technical issues."

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The best cars featured recently in Exec Digital

We revisit three of the best vehicles in the past few issues By Ben Lobel

July: 2009 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

This one has been worth waiting for. Described as the most refined and technically advanced convertible Porsche has ever built, the 2009 Turbo Cabriolet is the last word in speed, precision and exhilaration. It combines the performance of the Turbo S Coupe with the versatility of an electric folding roof. The electro-hydraulic operation of the roof means the driver can open or close the top automatically in just 20 seconds. “But that could be 20 seconds of relentless storm!” I hear you scream. Well, you may get a little moisture on your summer power suit, but any adverse weather conditions won’t affect the handling of this ride. It boasts exceptional anti-lock brakes, and even if you did go spinning off into the tempest, the Turbo’s crumple-zone body structure will probably ensure that the injuries you pick up won’t be severe enough not to allow you to jump back behind the wheel to repeat the frivolous experience. The point is, it’s a sports car. Observe: 3.6 litre DOHC 24-valve turbocharged 6-cylinder engine capable of producing 415 bhp. 0-60 in approximately four seconds. As the website gushes, it’s power, it’s torque, it’s acceleration. Aesthetically, aerodynamically, resistance is futile.

Ferrari 599XX

Ferrari revealed something rather special at this year's Geneva motor show - the 599XX. The car is aimed at speed-addicts and uses the latest F1 technology to make this an extreme track car. Modifications to the standard 599, which is the prettiest Ferrari I think I’ve ever had the pleasure driving in, include a boost to maximum revs of 9,000 rpms, which will squeeze all the power possible from the vast V12 700-bhp engine. Due to go on sale at the end of this year, Ferrari will give each lucky buyer the opportunity of participating in a series of dedicated track days around the world. No price as yet, but expect something in excess of £250,000.

Aston Martin Rapide

For the CEO with an Aston back at home that only sees daylight at the weekend, here’s something that will make family life far more exciting. The Aston Martin Rapide was an ambitious project indeed. Aston have looked drop dead gorgeous with two doors for as long as I can remember. But four doors? Can it really work? Well, yes, it’s worked a treat. Described by some as ‘James Bond’s family car’, it looks like a Vantage with two extra ways in. But if your children don’t wipe their feet, you’ll have some serious prioritising to do.

Based on the DB9 and DBS chassis, the newcomer promises a unique blend of performance, space and style. Due to arrive on the roads in 2010, the first versions will be powered by a 6.0-litre V12, developing around 450bhp. However, further down the line, Aston is also hinting at a new hybrid models that will keep the green celebs and their very particular wives and offspring in California happy.

Not so reassuring for true Aston fans is that the Rapide is expected to be the first Aston Martin built outside the UK. The car is set to be assembled at Magna Steyr, in Austria.

Peugeot takes 1-2 as Petit stopped

Sunday, September 27th 2009, 00:11 GMT

Peugeot has scored a one-two victory in the Petit Le Mans after the 2009 race was finally called off three hours after the red flag came out as a torrential downpour set in.

The officials had desperately hoped that conditions would relent enough to allow racing to resume, but they gave up waiting just after 8pm local time and waved the chequered flag on a field that had stood silent in the pitlane for three and a quarter hours.

Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin took the win ahead of Nicolas Minassian and Pedro Lamy, the #08 crew having hit the front just before the stoppage after earlier falling two laps down following a strategic miscue.

But there was huge disappointment for Audi, as Allan McNish and Dindo Capello lost the lead when the Scot spun under yellow shortly before the red flag came out. The result marked the end of Audi's nine-year undefeated run in the event.

The much-delayed #20 Dyson Lola-Mazda of Marino Franchitti, Ben Devlin and Butch Leitzinger won an LMP2 class decimated by attrition, while Risi Ferrari's Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Pierre Kaffer topped GT2 thanks to a brilliant strategy call just before the rain arrived - the team changing to wets under yellow and emerging a lap ahead of its rivals when they all had to pit under green.

The return of the rain that had blighted private testing had been anticipated all week - and it finally came in time for this morning's warm-up. The track remained wet for the start, which saw McNish blast through from third place to pass the front row Peugeot duo at Turn 1. He then stormed away from the field, with team-mate Marco Werner following him through to take second, and the Peugeots steadily losing ground.

The ultimately-victorious #08 car fared worst in the damp, slipping right back to sixth at one stage and then dropping two laps down after Sarrazin stayed on wets at his first stop even though the track was already starting to dry. With the rest of the field all going straight to dry tyres when they pitted shortly afterwards, the #08 had to make an extra stop before the first hour was completed.

While Sarrazin and Montagny swiftly set about making up the lost ground, their team-mates closed in on McNish and Capello on the dry track. But despite trailing Peugeot throughout the build-up, the Audi had enough pace to hold off and sometimes edge away from the 908 in race trim.

Frustratingly for Audi, it was an innocuous spin under yellow by its star driver McNish that cost it a 10th consecutive Petit victory. The drizzle that preceded the downpour had just begun when the Scot rotated while warming his tyres on the exit of Turn 5. He potentially had five hours of racing to make up for that error, but the rain soon started to increase, and the event only went green again fleetingly before lightning overhead and a saturated track saw the red flags come out with the #2 Audi still down in third.

By that time it was the #08 Peugeot that led, having made up one of its lost laps on track and the other thanks to a well-timed safety car, before getting ahead of the #07 at what proved to be the final pitstops.

But it would be over three hours before the French team could celebrate its second major victory of the year after Le Mans. The organisers did their best to try and make the track fit for racing again, hoping that a final sprint under darkness could take place to decide the result under green, but with the weather refusing to co-operate eventually the chequered flag was shown three and a quarter hours after the cars last turned a wheel.

Werner and Lucas Luhr lost touch with the lead battle by spending too long on wets and the start and ended up a lapped fourth, ahead of the quietly consistent ORECA and the Highcroft Acura rebuilt after Scott Sharp's terrifying practice crash.

Sharp and David Brabham now only need a handful of points to secure the American Le Mans Series LMP1 title at Laguna Seca as their rivals at De Ferran Acura had a disastrous race. Gil de Ferran had been fighting for second place with the Peugeots when Intersport driver Jon Field crashed into him early on, forcing a long stop for suspension repairs, and guest driver Scott Dixon then put the car in the Turn 5 barriers later, leaving it ninth in class, 48 laps down.

The Drayson Lola ran in the top six in the opening hours, but was eventually classified at the tail of the field having crashed twice, the first time when a wheel problem put Rob Bell in the barriers.

On paper, the top LMP2 car was the #16 Dyson Lola-Mazda of Guy Smith and Chris Dyson in seventh overall - but as that car was ineligible this weekend due to running on a new bio-butanol fuel that the team hopes to use in 2010, it was actually their team-mates Marino Franchitti, Ben Devlin and Butch Leitzinger who picked up the win, nine laps further back.

The polesitting #20 car had pitted for long repairs just 12 laps into the race when a gearshift actuator problem struck, and then lost more time when Leitzinger spun at a restart. But with the Fernandez Acura severely delayed with steering issues and the Cytosport Porsche needing repeated attention to a electrical glitch, the Dyson crew still emerged victorious.

Cytosport's Klaus Graf had been one of the stars of the race, charging to fifth overall in the wet, passing the eventually victorious #08 Peugeot and lapping the LMP2 field, only to spin off on his first lap on slicks and then struggle to restart.

A superbly competitive GT2 race ultimately fell to the crew that had tailed the six-car lead pack for most of the afternoon. The Risi Ferrari managed to stay in touch with the leaders and then vaulted ahead when the team put wets on just before the rain started in earnest, giving Salo a one-lap advantage as his rivals all had to pit under green a few laps later. When that lead was confirmed as a class win, it also brought Melo and Kaffer back into title contention going into the Laguna finale.

The Corvettes had led for most of the way, often with just a few seconds covering them, the Flying Lizard and Farnbacher Loles Porsches, Risi and the Rahal Letterman BMWs. It was the #92 BMW that emerged in second ahead of Farnbacher Loles, with the #4 Corvette and the #45 Flying Lizard car falling to fourth and fifth in the scramble for wets, and the #3 Corvette spinning off in the rain.

The second BMW was delayed early on by an oil leak, while the Robertson Doran Ford and LG Riley Corvette that had stunned in qualifying both ran into trouble in the opening laps. An off-track excursion caused underside damage to the Riley Corvette, while the Doran Ford twice lost a section of rear bodywork.

Pos Drivers Cl Car Time/Gap 1. Sarrazin/Montagny P1 Peugeot 4h48m11.557s 2. Minassian/Lamy P1 Peugeot + 2.011s 3. Capello/McNish P1 Audi + 3.465s 4. Luhr/Werner P1 Audi + 1 laps 5. Panis/Lapierre/Dumas P1 ORECA + 3 laps 6. Brabham/Sharp/Franchitti P1 Acura + 4 laps 7. Dyson/Smith UNC Lola-Mazda + 7 laps 8. Melo/Kaffer/Salo GT2 Ferrari + 14 laps 9. Muller/Milner/Muller GT2 BMW + 15 laps 10. Henzler/Werner GT2 Porsche + 15 laps 11. Beretta/Gavin/Fassler GT2 Corvette + 15 laps 12. Bergmeister/Long/Lieb GT2 Porsche + 15 laps 13. Leitzinger/Franchitti/Devlin P2 Lola-Mazda + 16 laps 14. Magnussen/O'Connell/Garcia GT2 Corvette + 16 laps 15. Law/van Overbeek/Neiman GT2 Porsche + 22 laps 16. Sutherland/Drissi/Bell GT2 Riley Corvette + 27 laps 17. Field/Field P1 Lola + 32 laps 18. Farnbacher/James GT2 Panoz + 32 laps 19. Burgess/McMurry/Willman P1 Lola + 40 laps 20. Murry/Robertson/Robertson GT2 Doran Ford + 42 laps 21. Fernandez/Diaz P2 Acura + 45 laps 22. Pickett/Graf/Maassen P2 Porsche + 48 laps 23. Sellers/Cicero GT2 Porsche + 48 laps 24. De Ferran/Pagenaud/Dixon P1 Acura + 48 laps 25. Hand/Auberlen/Priaulx GT2 BMW + 51 laps 26. Feinberg/Hall GT2 Dodge + 55 laps 27. Drayson/Cocker/Bell P1 Lola + 61 laps

Ferrari looking for change

FERRARI just wanted a change of distributor in Singapore.

That was what its chief executive said when asked why the Italian marque had dropped Hong Seh Motors after 25 years.

'I don't think we can say (we had) problems. We were looking for change,' Mr Amedeo Felisa told The Sunday Times on Saturday at the opening of a new showroom in Leng Kee Road.

Ital Auto, set up by hotelier Ong Beng Seng, was named the new distributor in July.

It is a subsidiary of Komoco Holdings, which also distributes Hyundai and Chrysler cars.

Mr Felisa said Ferrari chose Ital Auto from some half a dozen competitors because it 'liked the partnership'.

Ferrari, part of Italy's Fiat Group, has been asking its dealers worldwide to invest more in the brand. In Britain, Inchcape - one of the world's biggest vehicle retailers - gave up Ferrari and its sister brand Maserati in 2007. In the same year, Ferrari became its own importer and distributor in Japan, its largest Asian market.

Last year, Hong Seh sold 45 Ferraris here, down from 52 in 2007. Its archrival, Lamborghini, sold 49 cars in Singapore last year.

Lamborghini overtook Ferrari in 2006. Its dealer is EuroSports Auto, whose showroom is in Teban Gardens.

Ferrari's Leng Kee showroom is a temporary one.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Sunday Times.