Motor Racing Roundup : Andretti Falters, Al Unser Jr. Wins Grand Prix

Al Unser Jr. took advantage of a controversial bumping incident with Emerson Fittipaldi and late car problems by Mario Andretti to win the Marlboro CART Grand Prix Sunday at East Rutherford, N.J.

Andretti led by about one second when a half-shaft snapped on lap 149 of the 150-lap event. He crawled to the finish line second. Unser passed and went on to win for the second straight week. He won the Molson Indy in Toronto last Sunday.

Fittipaldi, the pole-sitter, was forced out of the race on lap 110 when Unser tried for the lead with an inside move on narrow Turn 5. The cars made contact and Fittipaldi was pushed into the wall, ending his chances.

An angry Fittipaldi said: “Al tried to pass me at an impossible place. When he went inside, I couldn’t believe it.”

Unser averaged 99.35 m.p.h. to win the 182.55-mile race on the 1.217-mile course around Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

Bill Elliott won for the third time in his last six races and gained his second consecutive Winston Cup victory Sunday by winning the $462,000 NASCAR A.C. Spark Plug 500 stock-car race at Pocono International Speedway in Long Pond, Pa. By winning, Elliott narrowed Rusty Wallace’s Winston Cup lead to three points.

Elliott, who ran at an average speed of 122.866 m.p.h., crossed the finish line in his Ford by a comfortable 8.2-second margin over runner-up Ken Schrader.

The Dawsonville, Ga., driver, who won $53,200, took the lead for good on lap 186 after leading much of the last half of the 200-lap race on Pocono’s 2.5-mile tri-oval.

The victory gave Elliott 185 Winston Cup points, moving him to 2,360 and just short of Wallace, who lost 14 laps with early transmission trouble and finished 24th.

Ayrton Senna of Brazil won the West German Grand Prix on a wet track at Hockenheim, and French teammate Alain Prost finished second, continuing McLaren Honda’s dominance in Formula One racing this season.

Senna led from pole to flag in the 185.812 mile race, clocking 1 hour 32 minutes 54.188 seconds. Prost finished in 1:33:07.797 and has 60 world championship points, three more than Senna.

One French racing driver, Regis Lemonnier, 27, was killed instantly and another, Robert Dorangeon, 52, died later from injuries received late Saturday during a rally near Auvillars in northern France.

Two French motorcycle racers, Eric Sabatier, 29, and Patrick Durix, 33, died from injuries suffered late Saturday during trials for the French Grand Prix, officials in Le Castellet, France, said.

Sunday, Eddie Lawson of Upland won the Grand Prix when Australian Wayne Gardner, who was leading, had mechanical problems in the final lap and ended up fourth.