Gustav Weder of Switzerland took a comfortable...

Gustav Weder of Switzerland took a comfortable lead over East German Wolfgang Hoppe after the first two runs in the World Bobsled Championships at Cortina, Italy.

Weder, 27, with brakeman Bruno Gerber, mastered the 1,288-meter course with an aggregate time of 1 minute 48.89 seconds for his two runs. His first descent in 54.11 seconds set a course record, almost half a second faster than the 54.55 set by Gary Haydenluck of Canada on Wednesday.

Hoppe, with Bogdan Musiol, was .29 of a second behind in 1:49.18. Olympic champion Janis Kipurs of the Soviet Union was third in 1:49.66. Matt Roy of Lake Placid, N.Y., and brakeman Bryan Leturgez of Cedar Lake, Ind., were 12th in 1:51.25, with Bob Horvath of Youngstown, Ohio, and wide receiver Willie Gault of the Raiders 16th in 1:52.15.