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Strictly Ballroom star Paul
Mercurio took out a highly competitive and incident packed BMW Celebrity
Challenge at the 2000 Qantas Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix on March
12.
TV personality Richard Wilkins
and All-Australian AFL star Garry Lyon filled second and third placings
respectively in the most exciting race in the history of the Challenge.
RAAF Roulette's flying ace
Joanne Mein put her skills to the fore to be the fastest woman in the
race, coming in sixth place and without a scratch to her powerful BMW
Z3.
Mercurio and Wilkins duelled
for the lead throughout the 5-lap race, passing each other on no fewer
than four occasions and exchanging paint before Wilkins spun-out in the
final lap.
Mercurio was never headed
from then on and completed the race with a top speed of 200 Kph.
He put his win down to the
"speed of his feet" from dancing in Strictly Ballroom, as well
as the training he had undertaken during the week with international racing
driver Geoff Brabham and the BMW Driver Training Team.
Comedian Jimeoin kept his cool
and humour to fill fourth place ahead of duel Olympic gold decathelon
star Daley Thompson, Joanne Mein, "Money man" Paul Clitheroe
and former world No.1 tennis star Thomas Muster.
The race was described by the
commentators as the most exciting in the history of the Grand Prix Celebrity
Challenge in Australia with drivers spinning off the track and "sharing
paint" on all five laps of the event, but without any serious incidents.
The official placing of the
26 celebrities were:
1. Paul Mercurio
2. Richard Wilkins
3. Garry Lyon
4. Jimeoin McKeown
5. Daley Thompson
6. Joanne Mein
7. Paul Clitheroe
8. Thomas Muster
9. Tim Smith
10. Amanda Patterson
11. Steve Bedwell
12. Peter Tulloch
13. Russell Gilbert
14. Kristy Hinze
15. Steve Price
16. Bob Dodd
17. Sharyn Ghidella
18. John Stanley
19. Neil Perry
20. Anthony Field
21. Tania Zaetta
22. Jo-Beth Taylor
23. Donna Gubbay
24. Michael Gudinski
25. Livinia Nixon
26. Santo Cilauro
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