KEY POINTS:
Suddenly there's a bit of Australia in Scott Dixon.
New Zealander Scott Dixon's Indy 500 motor race win yesterday got its share of attention across the ditch with media there highlighting the fact he was born in Brisbane.
The Melbourne Herald Sun showed the way.
" Scott Dixon has been hailed as one of the best IndyCar drivers of all time after winning yesterday's Indianapolis 500.
"Dixon is the first Australian-born driver to win the 805km race in its 92-year history," the paper said.
In a 348-word article, the paper neatly avoided describing Dixon as a New Zealander.
"The 27-year-old, who was born in Brisbane before moving to New Zealand, dominated after starting from pole position."
The Brisbane Courier Mail did not suppress Dixon's Kiwi heritage.
Under the heading Kiwi flies in 500 the paper said Dixon was the first New Zealander to win the legendary race but made sure the description, "Brisbane-born Aucklander" was included.
The Australian motorsport websites V8 Central and V8X also highlighted Dixon's connection to Brisbane.
The Sydney Morning Herald's (SMH) coverage of the race made no mention of Dixon's birthplace in the pre-race buildup even when he won pole position.
It was no surprise the "Brisbane-born" prefix was used when the boy who grew up in Manurewa won America's greatest oval race.
The SMH preferred to concentrate its coverage of the race on true-blue Australian Ryan Briscoe's pitlane collision with Danica Patrick which put the Indy Racing League's pin-up girl out of the race.
Only a fool will bet against the final round of the IRL series, the Gold Coast Indy 300 on October 26th, being heavily promoted as Dixon's "homecoming" race.
- NZPA
