Scott Pruett clinches Grand-AM championships with record eighth season win, Dario Franchitti wins in Chicago while Jacques Villeneuve finishes third in NASCAR Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
As the countdown to the Armor All Gold Coast 600 continues, International stars have won races and championships at the weekend.
The October 22-24 event will see 18 international star drivers pair with the local heroes of the V8 Supercar series for the third endurance event of the 2010 calendar, with many of those international racers competing at the weekend.
Scott Pruett - who will compete with Lucas Dumbrell racing - and his Grand-AM team mate Memo Rojas clinched a record-setting eighth win, capping off their dream season and seeing them clinch the Daytona Prototype Championship.
The win was their first at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and sees them head into next month’s season-finale with an insurmountable lead in the championship.
Also racing in Montreal at the weekend was 1997 Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with the racer clinching a NASCAR career best third position at the circuit named after his late father.
At the IndyCar Series race in Chicago, Dario Franchitti, who will compete with Jim Beam Racing in October, claimed his 27th IndyCar win at the weekend.
Franchitti took the win ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti, with fellow Gold Coast bound racers Helio Castroneves (Wilson Security Racing) sixth, Scott Dixon (Jack Daniel’s Racing) eighth, Ryan Briscoe (Toll Holden Racing Team) 11th, Will Power (Ford Performance Racing) 16th and Alex Tagliani (Kelly Racing) 25th.
Despite Power’s unfortunate weekend which saw him surrender second position when a late race splash of fuel was necessitated by a mechanical failure on his previous pit stop, he still leads the IndyCar series championship points, now 23 points ahead of an advancing Franchitti with three oval races remaining.
In the American Le Mans series at Mosport International Raceway in Ontario, Canada, David Brabham (IRWIN Racing) and team-mate Simon Pagenaud clinched second place and maintain their hold on the LMP championship as the ALMS series heads to its final race next month.
The race finished under yellow flag conditions when a heavy crash saw damage to a safety barrier that was estimated to take three hours of repair work.
At the same event Patrick Long (Fujitsu Racing) and team-mate Jörg Bergmeister were GT winners for the fourth time this ALMS season with their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, solidifying their hold on the class championship with a hard-fought victory.
In the Superstars Series at Varano, Gianni Morbidelli took a pair of fourth place finishes to maintain his championship position of fourth. Thomas Biagi and Luca Cappellari shared the wins.
All of the international drivers for the Armor All Gold Coast 600 are set to arrive on the Gold Coast on the Sunday before the event and will be involved in a week of activity, including a full-day test at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday, October 20.
The Armor All Gold Coast 600 will include two 300km races on Saturday and Sunday of the event, with the international drivers required to complete a minimum of 30% of each of the races.
Tickets are now on sale for the Armor All Gold Coast 600, with Friday admission tickets starting from just $49 and three day passes from just $136, with each ticket providing admission to not only the day’s racing but also the same night’s entertainment line-up at 600 Sounds. Visit ticketek.com.au or call 132 849 for more information or to purchase.
International Drivers
Please see below for a full list of the 18 international drivers for the Armor All Gold Coast 600. For the two-car teams with one international driver, expect confirmation of which car the international will compete in following the Bathurst endurance event over October 7-10.
- Sebastien Bourdais – France – Dick Johnson Racing
- David Brabham – Australia – IRWIN Racing
- Ryan Briscoe – Australia – Toll Holden Racing Team
- Helio Castroneves - Brazil - Wilson Security Racing
- Scott Dixon – NZ – Jack Daniel’s Racing
- Dario Franchitti – Scotland – Jim Beam Racing
- Fabrizio Giovanardi – Italy – Brad Jones Racing
- Patrick Long – USA – Fujitsu Racing
- Alain Menu – Switzerland –Brad Jones Racing
- Tiago Monteiro – Portugal – Centaur Racing
- Gianni Morbidelli – Italy – Triple F Racing
- Yvan Muller – France – Paul Morris Motorsport
- Will Power – Australia – Ford Performance Racing
- Andy Priaulx – UK – TeamVodafone
- Scott Pruett – USA – Lucas Dumbrell Racing
- Mika Salo – Finland – Bundaberg Red Racing Team
- Alex Tagliani – Canada – Kelly Racing
- Jacques Villeneuve – Canada – The Bottle-O Racing Team
