Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix today in Melbourne, capping a weekend highlighted by rule changes and a downpour in qualifying.
Fisichella finished 57 laps on the 3.295-mile Albert Park circuit in 1 hour 24 minutes 17.336 seconds in his Renault. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was second, 5.55 seconds back, and Fisichella's teammate, Fernando Alonso, was third.
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• Audio: washingtonpost.com's Mike Snyder reports after Jeff Gordon's tight victory Sunday.
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• Joe Gibbs talks about the parallels between football and NASCAR and the challenges and rewards of both.
• Audio: Gibbs talks about his future in auto racing and pro football. (Jan. 26)
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Michael Schumacher, the German star who won 13 races last year en route to his seventh world championship, crashed out with 15 laps left after starting in the back row.
"It's a great day for me. It's been a fantastic race," Fisichella said. "I was quite conservative and never pushed the limit, until the end when Rubens was catching me I drove a little bit faster. The car was great . . . we're really in very good shape. It's the best start of my career."
With new rules restricting drivers to one engine for two races and one tire setup per race, Fisichella's smooth driving was the difference.
Avoiding heavy rain that drenched the circuit just after he had finished his first qualifying lap yesterday afternoon also helped. He returned for the second qualifying session today and easily maintained his lead, giving him pole position in an all-Italian front row with Toyota's Jarno Trulli.
• NASCAR: Mexico's Jorge Goeters stunned the field and thrilled the hometown fans yesterday by winning the pole for the Busch Series Motorola Mexico 200.
Goeters's run in his No. 66 Ford bumped Nextel Cup veteran Robby Gordon to second-fastest on the 2.518-mile road course.
A roar rose from the stands as Goeters's average time of 103.366 mph was announced, giving him the pole for today's race in Mexico City, which will also be his first NASCAR start.
"It's the happiest day of my life," Goeters said. "I can't tell you what this event means for me and for my country. I've always dreams of running in NASCAR."
NASCAR officials said Gordon will have to drop to the back of the pack because he had to change an engine after practice on Friday.
• IRL: Tomas Scheckter put Panther Racing out front, winning the pole for the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Scheckter got around the 1 1/2-mile oval at 215.115 mph in a Dallara, faster than the 214.317 by runner-up Vitor Meira's Honda-powered Panoz.
Buddy Rice, last year's Indianapolis 500 winner and the favorite to win the championship this year, was fourth at 214.006.
