Weekend review and result round-up
The 2009 Formula 1 championship took yet another surprise twist in Valencia, as Rubens Barrichello hauled himself back into contention with his first race win in nearly five years
The F1 world had been extremely busy during the summer break, with news of Michael Schumacher's abortive return and BMW's exit providing plentiful headlines.
Both stories continued to develop in Valencia, as Mario Theissen worked to rescue his team, and Luca Badoer failed to get to grips with the Ferrari F60 in Schumacher and Felipe Massa's absence.
A new team pull-out story also appeared to be developing, with growing questions over Toyota's commitment.
Away from the F1 paddock, Nico Hulkenberg recovered from a feature race defeat by GP2 title rival Vitaly Petrov to take an important victory in a chaotic sprint race.
The constantly fluctuating IndyCar championship battle also continued to ebb and flow, as a disastrous Sears Point weekend for Scott Dixon allowed Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti to move ahead in the standings again - although the event is likely to be remembered mainly for the vicious practice crash that left Will Power and Nelson Philippe injured.
The F1 sessions
Barrichello fastest in first practice
Alonso tops Valencia second practice
Sutil fastest in final Valencia practice
Hamilton leads all-McLaren front row
Barrichello wins again five years later
The F1 headlines
Todt plans to improve FIA transparency
Vatanen unveils election manifesto
Theissen: Team has offers to consider
Vettel extends contract with Red Bull
McLaren awaits Alonso Ferrari move
Schumacher is 'absolutely frustrated'
Struggling Badoer asks for patience
Toyota unlikely to retain Trulli
Williams seeks early end to Toyota deal
Vettel: I can't afford engine failures
Toyota's F1 future not guaranteed
Vettel vows to fight on for title
Ferrari may replace Badoer after Spa
Button positive on championship lead
The motorsport action
NASCAR Nationwide: Ragan wins Bristol Nationwide
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Busch beats Martin to Bristol win
GP2: Petrov beats Hulkenberg in feature
GP2: Hulkenberg wins chaotic sprint race
IRC: Kopecky takes win in Barum Rally
LMS: Aston dominates Nurburgring 1000km
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