New team has big day Down Under

The Associated Press

Ryan Hunter-Reay made CART history at Surfers Paradise in Australia in a car fielded by American Spirit Team Johansson.
It was the first time in 20 years an American rookie has won a race and the first time in eight years that a first-year Champ Car team has visited Victory Circle.
The last American-born driver to win a CART event in his first season was John Paul Jr. in the 1983 Michigan 500. Brazilian Andre Ribeiro gave the then-new Tasman Motorsports a win at New Hampshire in 1995.
The 22-year-old Hunter-Reay, whose best finish was third on Aug. 10 at Mid-Ohio before his victory Sunday, is a product of the CART ladder system, and has won at each step along the way.
‘‘I’ve kept my eye on Ryan as he progressed through the ladder system, and it was very clear that he is a special talent,’’ said team owner Stefan Johansson, a former CART and Formula One driver. ‘‘The Champ Cars offer a steep learning curve and Ryan has developed and adapted extremely well.
‘‘Mid-Ohio is known as a difficult road circuit and Surfers is notorious for its tight chicanes and highspeed straights, yet that is where his best results have come. I think its a true testament to his skill and he has a very successful future ahead of him.’’
Teammate Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 CART champion, gave the new team another boost when he drove from 15th to third in the race, which was hampered by heavy rain and pingpong ball size hail that forced a long red flag interruption.

Test drive
Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung, winner of the inaugural Formula BMW Asia championship, has been offered a test drive with the BMW Williams Formula One team.
Driving for Team Meritus, the 20-year-old Tung dominated the new Asia series with 12 poles and 10 wins in 14 races in China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Tung, who comes from Wenzhou, 300 miles south of Shanghai, grew up in the Netherlands and speaks five languages. He began karting at the age of 14 and entered his first car race four years ago.
‘‘Nobody can imagine what this opportunity means to me,’’ Tung said. ‘‘It’s my lifetime dream come true. I can’t be grateful enough and I’m now going to work hard, particularly on my physical fitness, to be well prepared for the test.’’
It won’t be an easy transition for Tung. The Formula BMW car is powered by a 140 horsepower motorcycle engine. The F1 engine output is more than 900 horsepower.

Rookie race
Jamie McMurray solidified his hold on the Rookie of the Year lead with a 15th-place finish Monday in the rain-delayed race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It is the 19th time in 33 races this season and the 10th straight race in which the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing driver has been the highest finishing first-year driver. Going into Sunday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway, McMurray holds a 33-point lead over Greg Biffle in the competition for the rookie title.