Press Snoop: Brazilians roar for Rubinho.

the latest news from around the world, courtesy of press snoop Lynne Huntting

RUBENS BARRICHELLO delighted the excited and excitable Brazilian home town fans when he earned the pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, with a record-breaking lap of 1min 10.646secs. The sold-out crowd went wild! Shouts of 'Rubinho were heard everywhere.

Barrichello said it will be "just a normal day" with being able to go home, play with his son, and sleeping in his own bed. He grew up nearby the track.

Colombian JUAN PABLO MONTOYA was second, which pleased his many fans. KIMI RAIKKONEN was third. Best of the rest was another Brazilian, FELIPE MASSA, which added to the crowd frenzy. JENSON BUTTON was fifth.

The other Brazilian starter, RICARDO ZONTA, will start 15th. Toyota retired OLIVIER PANIS one race early, to allow Zonta to race at his hometown track. As a consolation prize - and thanks for a job well done - he was given his Toyota Formula One race car after the last race.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER survived a hard crash at the end of the second morning practice, straight into the turn six tyre barrier, starting a small engine fire. He used the spare care for qualifying, and was eighth fastest, but will start 18th due to the engine change rule. Small consolation that he was second fastest in that particular practice session, behind his team-mate. It appeared Schumacher lost control on the bumps. ROSS BRAWN, Ferrari technical director, said "Michael made a mistake."

GIANMARIA BRUNI didn't even bother going out and was nowhere to be seen when it came time for his turn, which was second due to his slow lap in pre-qualifying. The Italian's team cited suspension problems on his Minardi-Cosworth.

Times were faster in pre-qualifying than for qualifying, possibly due to running race fuel and tyres. Three of the top ten cars ran Bridgestone tyres, but there were only four Bridgestones in the top 16. Michelin claimed all the other top positions. The ambient temperature was F84 degrees/29C with track temperature recorded at F114/46C. The weather was mostly grey, with some sun; the expected rain did not appear, but the forecast is for heavy rain on race day.

The only other out of the ordinary activity occurred during the first practice session, when not one but two stray dogs got loose, separately, on the circuit. This held up the session for 20 minutes, which were deducted from the 45-minute time limit. The FIA frowns on such breaches, so expect some repercussions.

It appears all but a done deal that there will be an announcement Monday in Mexico regarding the 2006 Cancun Grand Prix. But, as for the rumours regarding a return of Formula One to Long Beach, that would appear to be easier said than done. After a 20-year hiatus, there would be a lot of safety and infrastructure upgrades required. There are no garages, for example, and no Formula One track nowadays gets along without them. That is one reason Formula One left Detroit when it did in the mid-eighties - there was no place to build garages, except perhaps out over the water.

With this weekend being the last one for Jaguar Racing as we know it, the field next year could be reduced by two cars. "The team is up for sale, with no buyers stepping forward so far. It will be up to the signatories of the secret Concorde Agreement to decide among themselves who will field the extra cars to keep the field at its required number. It is not a FIA decision.

It ought to be an interesting off season.