Motor Racing Roundup : Defending Champions Win Again at Le Mans
A Porsche 962 driven by defending champions Hans-Joachim Stuck of West Germany, Derek Bell of Britain and Al Holbert of the United States won the 55th Le Mans 24 Hours race at Le Mans, France, Sunday in a near-record performance.
Stuck, Bell and Holbert led throughout the night and finished more than 168 miles ahead of the second-place car.
It was the second-largest winning margin in Le Mans history. Only a 217-mile victory in 1927 by a Bentley was larger.
The winning entry completed 354 laps over the 8.41-mile circuit, covering 2,977 miles at an average speed of more than 124 m.p.h.
Porsches have won the race seven years in a row and 12 times overall.
Bell, the world endurance champion, moved into second place among all-time Le Mans winners with five titles. Only former teammate Jacky Ickx of Belgium, with six, has more.
“It’s very sweet; it’s the best one of all,” Bell said. “I was very nervous in the final hour. It was unbelievable how we did against the Jaguars. It was the most vital race for the Porsches and me. We finally broke the Jaguars’ stranglehold.”
Jaguars had won the first four races of the World Sport-Prototype championship this season.
Second place went to a private Porsche 962 driven by Jurgen Lassig of West Germany, Pierre Yver of France and Bernard de Dryer of Belgium.
Pierre-Henri Raphanel, Yves Courage and Herve Regout of France were third in a Cougar with a Porsche engine.
Only 15 of the 48 cars that started the race were running at the end. It was the lowest number of finishers since 13 completed the 1971 race.
The winning Porsche took the lead after the seventh lap, following a battle with the three Jaguars.
One Jaguar left midway through the race in spectacular style. Win Percy of Britain was unhurt when the left rear tire of his car blew out early Sunday.
The other two Jaguars dropped out of contention later Sunday with mechanical problems.
Tim Richmond, showing no signs of a recent battle with double pneumonia, went back to work Sunday for 4 hours and 5 minutes. That’s how long it took him to win the Miller 500 Winston Cup stock car race at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.
Richmond, 32, took the lead for good on the 153rd lap of the 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Richmond, who finished eight car lengths ahead of Bill Elliott, earned $40,325.
Kyle Petty finished third, followed by Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt.
“Everything just went off like clockwork,” Richmond said. “It was just like the last four or six months that I was out didn’t happen.”
Bobby Rahal, taking the lead after mechanical problems eliminated pole winner Roberto Guerrero and Emerson Fittipaldi, raced off to a runaway victory in the Budweiser-GI Joe’s 200 Indy car road race before a crowd of 42,800 at Portland, Ore.
The win was the first of the season for Rahal in the CART-PPG Indy car series and the 15th of his career. Rahal, who led 55 of the last 57 laps, beat second-place Michael Andretti by 6.39 seconds and earned about $75,000. He averaged 108.590 m.p.h.
Rick Mears finished third, two laps behind, followed by rookie Fabrizio Barbazza of Italy, Scott Brayton, Josele Garza of Mexico, Johnny Rutherford and Randy Lewis, the only other drivers on the course at the end.
Rahal earned 21 points, including one for leading the most laps, to move from fifth to second in the season driving standings with 53 points. Michael Andretti has 60.
