Press Snoop: Right on RuSPORT!

JUSTIN WILSON/#9 Intel-RuSPORT is on pole for Sunday's season finale race of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez at the Grand Premio Telmex-Tecate presented by Banamex with a lap of 1:26.602/115.813 mph/186.382 kph. This is the second pole for the lanky Brit who came to Champ Car from the Formula One ranks, and the valuable point keeps him in the mirrors of ORIOL SERVIA/#2 PacifiCare-Newman/Haas Racing, who currently is second in the standings. Servia starts seventh.

Starting beside Wilson will be teammate AJ ALLMENDINGER/#10 Western Union-RuSPORT, because of his provisional pole position Friday AJ was faster Saturday, but so were most other drivers. Without his Friday pole consideration, Allmendinger otherwise would have started seventh. This is the third front row start for RuSPORT this season.

Defending race winner and still holder of the qualifying track record, SEBASTIAN BOURDAIS/#1 McDonald's-Newman/Haas Racing, qualified third.

Fourth and fifth starting positions were claimed by PAUL TRACY/#3 Indeck-Forsythe Racing and CRISTIANO da MATTA/#21 Bell Micro/PKV Racing. Da Matta improved the most Saturday, moving up from fourteenth place.

Local favourite, MARIO DOMINGUEZ of Mexico City, starts sixth. The other Mexican drivers, RODOLFO LAVIN/#55 Corona-HVM Racing, and Rookie HOMERO RICHARDS/#50 Nextel-CTE/HVM Racing will start ninth and last, respectively.

Rookie ANDREW RANGER/#27 Mi-Jack/Tide had the most disappointing session in that he fell nine positions after being caught out in someone else's red flag situation just when he was on a flyer lap.

Again rookie CHARLES ZWOLSMAN/#25 Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia Racing lost his fastest lap - this time for a spin, his first this weekend. He stalled in Turn Six, bringing out the Red Flag. This weekend is Zwolsman's first time in a Champ Car.

Another rookie practically new to the car and series, as well as the circuit, is Zwolsman's team-mate, WILL POWELL of Australia. He starts thirteenth in his second race for the team and in the series.

The other rookie newbie, MICHAEL McDOWELL/#31 Rocketsports starts sixteenth. Soon after his qualifying run McDowell started the Rolex Series race from the pole position. It was a long and exciting race, with several lead changes, but in the end McDowell and team-mate MEMO GIDLEY/#19 Make A Wish/Air Force Reserve BMW Riley won their first ever race. But that's another story.

Further information has come out regarding the law suit MARCUS MARSHALL filed against the Champ Car team for whom he raced this season. Marshall applied to the Australian Supreme Court to compel Team Australia owner, WILL PATTON SHAKESPEARE, to "provide a drive for him with Team Australia" in Mexico City.

The application was dismissed, and Marshal was ordered to pay Court Costs to Shakespeare.

Team Australia, co-owned by Shakespeare and CRAIG GORE, terminated the agreement between Marshall and Shakespeare last week "because of certain breaches, serious and substantial" which occurred before the last Champ Car race at Surfers Paradise in Queensland, Australia. Marshall raced in that event, starting thirteenth and finishing eleventh, one lap down.

Marshall is fifteenth out of 27 drivers in the standings, fifth in the Rookie points, and completed 1,124 laps this season out of a possible 1,240 - making him sixth in that category coming into this last race. His best start was tenth at Las Vegas, and best finish was eighth at Edmonton.

Gore's reaction afterwards was disappointed "to have to endure the court process considering the circumstances involved in the action. Obviously it is satisfying to be vindicated and now it's important we get on with the sport of motor racing and go win some races for Australia, which we have wanted to do for sometime and I believe are now in a position to do so.

"I don't want to be drawn any further into this matter and will be making no further comment"

Many of the media aren't happy this weekend with the new location for the Media Centre. It was relocated this year after three years in a convenient one-story location in the Champ Car paddock. It now is across the track up a flight of stairs to a makeshift long narrow cramped room which was cold, drafty and noisy at best. Although it looks down on the pits, it is a long, circuitous hike to the pits/paddock. The Internet access has been problematic throughout the track which has also affected Race Control and other officials.

The decision to move the Media Centre was made by the promoter to save money and was not persuaded by arguments from Media Centre staff who argued against it.

Some enterprising journos have found an alternative. They work in hospitality suites located in the Champ Car paddock, where they have wireless access (when working), flat screen TVs with track feed, food, lockers, table space, warmer weather, quieter surroundings, and immediate access to everyone.

Because it is a "long and difficult process" to gather attendance figures, no crowd count information will be available before Sunday morning.

Sunday's Champ Car race "starts at 2:45pm and will be aired live on SPEED TV. Sunday night Champ Car will celebrate its season with its Awards Banquet, which is not only sold out, it's oversold.