Dominguez takes bizarre victory.

Monsoon-like conditions made a mockery of Sunday's Honda Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise and led to the strangest result of this, or perhaps any other season as rookie Mario Dominguez claimed a bizarre victory for Keith Wiggins' Herdez Competition outfit.

Dominguez won his first ever CART FedEx Series event by virtue of pitting at the right times during a safety car period that lasted from lap ten, right until the completion of the race on lap 40, some 3hrs 40mins after it was due to start.

After three days of glorious weather at the 2.795-mile Surfers Paradise street circuit on Australia's Gold Coast, Sunday's conditions were easily the worst seen by the CART FedEx contenders all year. Driving rain thrashed the previously sun-drenched fans evoking memories of the wet Formula One races in Adelaide in 1989 and 1991

The race was originally halted for more than 90 minutes following a scary, multiple car pile-up on the first lap under green, which resulted in Adrian Fernandez and Tora Takagi taking a trip to a local medical facility.

Following a chaotic morning warm-up session, the decision was made to start what was set to be a 70-lap race on schedule with heavy rain pelting all corners of the eleven-turn track.

With 18, 800-horsepower turbo-charged Champ Cars bearing down on the tight first left-right-left chicane in blind spray, carnage was to be expected. Even though the first half of the field managed to negotiate the first chicane without incident, Fernandez and Jimmy Vasser collided to set of a chaotic series of events that claimed the entire second half of the grid.

As car after car piled into one another, Alex Tagliani vaulted clear over the top of Michael Andretti while Takagi speared directly into the cockpit section of Fernandez' Lola-Honda. Also caught up in the action and suffering damage were Michel Jourdain Jr, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Carpentier and Mario Dominguez.

With the race red flagged, everyone was able to scramble into their spare cars, although Dominguez, Vasser and Tagliani reverted to their previously abandoned primary machines.

Fernandez and Takagi were removed from their crumpled machines and stretchered to the circuit's medical facility and then to a local hospital where both were later released without injury.

When the race was finally restarted more than 90-minutes later, the rain had briefly subsided although the track was still completely soaked. The distance had also been reduced to 50 laps and the decision was made to run the first three laps behind the safety car and then not allow any overtaking until after the second chicane.

The single file start on what was actually lap four allowed polesitter Cristiano da Matta to get a superb jump on fellow front row man Bruno Junqueira. The Newman-Haas driver was able to open out a clear two-second advantage on the first lap as the 16 remaining contenders tip-toed through the puddles thankfully without dramas.

Despite the atrocious spray, Kenny Brack was able to pass Tony Kanaan for third spot and Junqueira began to inch his way back towards da Matta before the rain returned in earnest on lap six.

As conditions worsened yet further, da Matta started to move away from the field at a Schumacher-style rate of knots as 1.5-seconds became 6.5 in three laps. However his progress was halted on lap ten when CART put out the caution flag due to the undriveable nature of the circuit.

Some, including da Matta, but not Junqueira, elected to pit for fuel and tyres and the Target Chip Ganassi driver assumed the lead behind the safety car. Despite the intensifying rain, an attempt was made to restart the race on lap 17, but after just one lap it was abundantly clear that it was far too wet to go racing and the caution flag returned.

In order to classify the race as an official result, 36 laps (half of the original 70) would have to be completed, but with the track showing no signs of improving, a debate about whether or not to stop the event altogether began. The decision was made to run to 41 laps with weather, and light, permitting and as the 20-lap pit window came into play for everybody at least once during what has to be the longest safety car period in CART history, rookie Mario Dominguez was shuffled to the head of the field just at the right moment.

With the visibility worsening by the minute, Dominguez moved into the lead when Christian Fittipaldi pitted on lap 37, and then took one of the biggest upsets in CART history when the chequered flag was finally waved for good on lap 40.

In what was truly a lottery, Patrick Carpentier and Paul Tracy joined a stunned Dominguez on the podium, although unfortunately there were few spectators around left to see the young Mexican driver literally double his career FedEx points total in one fell swoop.

Brack crossed the line in fourth with Kanaan fifth and Tagliani a battered sixth. Dario Franchitti was seventh while da Matta ended up ninth after he spun behind the safety car. Michael Andretti led for a while but had to pit late in the event and fell to ninth with Jourdain Jr tenth, Fittipaldi eleventh despite leading with just four laps to go and Vasser 12th.

Junqueira paid for not pitting along with da Matta on lap eleven and was the last classified finisher in 14th place.

In addition to Fernandez and Takagi, Oriol Servia and New Zealander Scott Dixon did not see the chequered flag after mechanical problems sidelined them while running behind the safety car.