Best championship deciders

[kals]

Bottom post of the previous page:

2001 BTCC is one of the best finales I've seen. In atrocious conditions, Muller had to finish ahead of Plato to take the championship. Plato was well down the order, so Muller could easily cruise to victory. Muller slid off the track a couple of times, damaging the underside of the car. A fire started underneath the car (despite the very wet conditions!), but Muller was able to continue for a few more laps at competitive speed before finally having to retire.
The drawn out nature of his retirement made it agonizing to watch.

It was a good final. Muller's fire was during a safety car period. Had the race continued at racing speed it's likely the rain water would have stopped the fire igniting.

[EB]

Excuse if this was explained,but could someone give more info about the whole 64 Monza Bandini vs Hill thing?

Bandini kept trying to overtake Hill on the run down to the hairpin. He came close to hitting him on a few occasions. Hill noticed this and even shook his fist at him at one point.

Eventually the inevitable happened and Bandini DID hit Hill, shoving him into the barrier backwards. Hill managed to get back to the pits for repairs (there's a great picture of Hill sat in the pits with a look of thunder on his face that says more than a thousand words), but now out of the running completely.

As Bandini was Surtees' team-mate, the collision was viewed with some suspicion by some, but apparently Lorenzo was quite upset by what had happened.

He later received an LP of driving lessons from Hill as a Christmas present!

[PTRACER]

My edition of Motorsport magazine from 1964, which reports on the race where Surtees won the championship, is actually signed by the great man himself

[Cheeveer]

Monza, 1956. Peter Collins with a good chance of taking the championship hands his car over to Fangio, who retired his car. Fangio finishes the race 2nd behind their common opponent Moss and wins the championship.

Now, if Collins would have finished 2nd without handing the car to Fangio, would he have won the championship then? Was they awarded 3 points each instead of regular 6?

[goose]

The 250cc decider a few years back was one of the most controversial moments I've seen in motorsports. Capirossi, on an Italian bike (the all-conquering Aprilia), against Harada, on the same bike, and arguably the preferred rider amongst some fans (including this one). I had a soft spot for Tetsuya ever since I saw him answer a post-race interview question in Italian more fluent than some of the Italians themselves speak. Anyway, Harada led the entire way in a race he had to win to overtake Capirossi in the final standings. On the last lap, Capirossi punted him - there's no sugar coating it. Tried to "pass" from a good 60 metres behind on a double apex right and hit him side on. Loris continued to finish 2nd, Harada was in the gravel and out, and I can't really recall what the stewards decided to do (if anything), but Loris won the title.

It lost Capirex his Aprilia ride (as they didn't take too kindly to their bike being used as a missile), and Harada ended up in the 500's on a generally useless Aprilia and retired soon after, so not the ideal ending. An interesting sidenote to all this was that Rossi ended up winning the race, but missing out on the title by 4 or 5 points or so, and when you think of the races he threw away trying too hard to go for the win (San Marino on the last corner springs to mind) - what could have been.

[kals]

That's a good one

What about then, Nakano v Jacques a few years ago (2000 I think). Whoever finished ahead would win the 250cc title. The race was awesome, and it came down to the final corner pass. Jacques pipping Nakano at the line.

[Lunatic Armchair]

The 1992 NASCAR decider was pretty good.

[PorscheFanNo1]

The STCC final in 1999 at Mantorp is certainy the most wicked final in Swedish motor racing history. Tommy Rustad just had to cruise around to win the championship, but he was pointless after heat 1. At the start of heat 2, championship contenders Rustad, Fredrik Ekblom and Mattias Ekström collided which caused a very big shunt, taking out most of the field. Rustad couldn't take the restart, and Ekström won the championship for Audi. That would be the catalyst to get him to DTM.

Indeed a great one. I was there that day, sitting in the grandstands. Remember the first start was delayed cause the drivers protested against Ekström getting to keep his starting position (pole?) even tho he qualified against the rules with the headlights turnd off.
With Rustad and both Volvos out it was between Eki and Ekblom for who would win the championship, Ekblom won the race with Eki just a few meters behind and thus winning the championship with the smallest possible margin.
I think it was something like 15 out of 28 cars that took the restart.

(/me goes to check the archive to relive old memories)

[PTRACER]

How many seasons in the "major" series have actually been decided in the very last race?

For F1 in recent years, I can think of 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2007. There's no doubt plenty before that (including 1976) that I haven't bothered looking up.

I've actually bothered researching this and the following seasons in the last 30 years were won in the last race:
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2007.

And the following championships were decided in the penultimate race:
1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2000.

The most dominant seasons in F1 ever were:
2004 (Championship won when 72% complete - 13/18 races)
1992 (Championship won when 68% complete - 11/16 races)
2002 (Championship won when 64% complete - 11/17 races)

So, in championship terms, the most exciting periods should have been between 1980 and 1984, and 1996 to 2000 as all championships were won at the final race, or the penultimate race of the championship.

[futuretiger9]

The latest points scoring system is designed to ensure that we have more last-race championship deciders.

[kals]

What about then, Nakano v Jacques a few years ago (2000 I think). Whoever finished ahead would win the 250cc title. The race was awesome, and it came down to the final corner pass. Jacques pipping Nakano at the line.

Apologies for the mega-bump, but I just stumbled across this and thought I'd share

[Antonov]

always loved the helmet with those eyes

[Everso Biggyballies]

The latest points scoring system is designed to ensure that we have more last-race championship deciders.

And now we have this last round double points 'rule' (its there but can be knocked back by the FIA) is purely to make it more likely to be a last race settler with 50 points for the win. History is not really the best area to discuss what is yet to be a firm factual rule, so hardly appropriate a thread. More a 2014 topic.

What about then, Nakano v Jacques a few years ago (2000 I think). Whoever finished ahead would win the 250cc title. The race was awesome, and it came down to the final corner pass. Jacques pipping Nakano at the line.

A cracker for sure. Phillip Island is a great track for a slipstream finish with the long but very quick corner onto the finish straight, with the line a fair way down the straight. I used to be a bit of an Olivier Jacques fan, but he never really made it at the top level, ending in the fence too often.

[Alonsomania]

Last years Superstars season finale at Enna-Pergusa was incredible:

[Metzo]

world superbike imola 2002

[kals]

world superbike imola 2002

One of my favourites ever.