Motor Racing Roundup : Sullivan Loses Clutch, but Still Wins Race

Danny Sullivan, the 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner, nursed a broken clutch nearly all the way and bumped past Bobby Rahal, this year’s Indy winner, just 26 laps from the end in winning the Chase Meadowlands Grand Prix Indy-car race Sunday at East Rutherford, N.J.

“I lost my clutch on the second lap,” Sullivan said. “It made pit stops a problem.”

On lap 75 Sullivan, attempting to pass Rahal, moved inside on a tight left-hand turn. The two cars bumped hard together, with Rahal’s car bouncing wide before he gathered it back in and continued.

Sullivan said his blown clutch contributed to his bumping Rahal. “At least that’s my excuse,” he said.

Rahal finished third, with Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil passing him for second just nine laps from the end of the 100-lap race at the Meadowlands sports complex.

Fittipaldi finished 10.85 seconds behind Sullivan, who gained his sixth CART-PPG Indy-car victory and first since the 1985 season finale at Miami.

Sullivan might not have won except for an unusual 6 a.m. test session at tiny Wall Stadium, a one-third-mile, high-banked oval about 50 miles south of the Meadowlands in central New Jersey. The unscheduled practice was team owner Roger Penske’s idea. Sullivan’s teammate, Rick Mears, also participated.

Sullivan started the weekend in one of the team’s new Chevrolet-powered Penske PC15 racers. But he switched to the March-Cosworth between the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions. Then both cars had engine changes after the final practice Saturday, which prompted Penske to schedule the dawn practice.

Michael and Mario Andretti, the father and son who started Sunday’s race in the front row, both were out by lap 23. Pole-sitter Michael dominated the early part of the race before blowing an engine. Mario started in the front row with his son and took the lead on the first lap, but dropped out on lap 8 with a broken water line.

Sullivan averaged a race record 92.340 m.p.h., breaking the mark of 90.167 set a year ago by Al Unser Jr. Sullivan won $90,660 from the $700,000 purse.

Pole-sitter Fabrizio Barbazza of Italy outraced Tommy Byrne of Ireland to win the American Racing Series event at East Rutherford, N.J.

Barbazza, who led the first 16 laps and the last six of the 44-lap, 74-mile race, won for the first time in the United States. He averaged 85.831 m.p.h. as he picked up first place money of $20,000.

Three-time Le Mans champion Klaus Ludwig of West Germany drove his Porsche 956C to victory in a 200-mile race for prototype cars at Nuremberg, West Germany.

Finishing second, 7.67 seconds behind, was Eddie Cheever of the United States in his Jaguar XJR-6 and third was Derek Warwick of England, also in a XJR-6. Both are Formula One drivers.

Ludwig completed the race in 1 hour 7 minutes 0.36 seconds, averaging 101 m.p.h. on the Norisring track before 70,000 spectators.

Sam Ermolenko, a 24-year-old from Cypress, won the Overseas Final motorcycle series at Coventry, England, with 14 points. British riders Jeremy Doncaster and Neil Evitts finished second and third. Doncaster scored 12 points and Evitts finished with 11.

The race was the second qualifying round for American riders that ultimately leads to the world championship. Kelly Moran of Huntington Beach advanced along with Ermolenko to the next round, the InterContinental Final on July 20 in Bradford, Great Britain.

Shawn Moran, the favorite to win the race and a strong contender for the world title, crashed and reinjured a broken right ankle in his second race.