Motorsport: Dixon's hot run grinds to halt

Scott Dixon takes a corner during qualifying for Monday's race. Picture/AP

Kiwi star slips further behind leader after seventh place

Scott Dixon's run of three wins on the spin came to a halt on Monday when he finished seventh at the Mid-Ohio IndyCar races. He followed series leader Helio Castroneves across the line and is now 31 points behind Castroneves, with a 34-point buffer over Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The Kiwi headed to the Lexington, Ohio, circuit as the most successful driver at the track, having won four of the last six events there, but teammate Charlie Kimball scored his first IndyCar win.

The championship remains wide open with nine different winners and four first-time winners in 2013.

Dario Franchitti, Dixon's and Kimball's teammate at Ganassi and the 2010 winner at Mid-Ohio, finished third. Will Power and Hunter-Reay, the pole-sitter and defending champion, rounded out the top five.

"We were unlucky today," said Dixon. "Things didn't quite work out how we wanted and I had to follow Helio home."

It's the fourth race in a row a Ganassi racing team driver has stood on the podium and owner Chip Ganassi took a tumble off the pit wall in his excitement to congratulate his young charge. He's the only licensed IndyCar driver with type one diabetes. The next race is the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, August 25.

Bit of biffo

More revelations have come out about the altercation between V8 Supercars Commission chairman Mark Skaife and Holden Motorsport PR representative Gerald McDornan at a bar after the Texas round.

Fairfax journalist Stephen Ottley wrote that a local police report confirmed Skaife was "punched in the face after he assaulted ... McDornan".

The incident happened at a popular venue called the Blind Pig after Skaife bumped into McDornan while carrying a tray of drinks after the Austin 400 at the Circuit of the Americas.

McDornan reported the incident to police but refused to press charges. Skaife also admitted there was a bit of argy-bargy but called it a "minor kerfuffle".

Red Bull Racing Australia engineer Mark Dutton was cited for jaywalking and Brad Jones Racing mechanic Adam Fisher was arrested for resisting arrest and public intoxication at the event.

Bamber still leads

Kiwi Porsche driver Earl Bamber is back in Asia after a promising drive at the Hungarian round of the Porsche Supercup, finishing 15th.

In South Korea for round nine of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Bamber finished third to retain his championship lead.

Martin Ragginger won the race at the Inje Speedium International Circuit, followed across the line by defending champion Alexandre Imperatori. The Austrian narrowed the gap between him and Bamber on the championship leader board to just 13 points.

With three races to go and 62 points on offer, five drivers remain in contention for overall honours. The next race is at the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, September 20-22.

Lewis wins

New Zealand may have a new motorcycle racing star, Jake Lewis. The Christchurch lad became the first rider to win two races in the PATA European Junior Cup (EJC) after victory at Silverstone over the weekend and leads the championship after five of eight rounds.

Starting from eighth on the grid, the Kiwi was leading at the end of the opening lap before being involved in a battle with 13 other riders over the next six laps. So far this season the EJC races have been close and Silverstone was no exception, with eight different leaders in the opening three laps.

As the riders were halfway around the final lap a collision including several of the leading bunch brought out the red flags, meaning the result would be taken from the previously completed lap.

Lewis' next race is at the Nurburgring, Germany, on September 1.