$60,000 in New Grand Prix Fines Issued : Week’s Total Hits $130,000 as Controversy Accelerates in Spain

Auto racing’s international governing body fined world champion driver Ayrton Senna $20,000 and officials of the Spanish Grand Prix $40,000 today for a total of $130,000 in fines in the last week.

Senna, from Brazil, was fined for ignoring signals to stop practice, and race organizers were fined for starting today’s prequalifying session 30 minutes late.

Announcement was made as a bitter dispute between Ferrari and McLaren still raged over $50,000 in fines and a suspension from Sunday’s race against Ferrari driver Nigel Mansell of Britain. Two other drivers, Alain Prost of France and Martin Brundle of Britain, were fined $10,000 each.

After last week’s Portuguese Grand Prix, the International Federation of Automobile Sports fined Mansell for ignoring black disqualification flags. Mansell was disqualified for driving in reverse in the pits.

Brundle was penalized for driving too fast in the Estoril pit lane last weekend, and Prost failed to attend a news conference.

Post Position

Despite the fine, Senna was back in business later today, clocking the fastest time in preliminary practice for provisional pole position for Sunday’s race.

Senna’s hopes of recapturing the world championship dimmed after his McLaren-Honda collided with Mansell’s Ferrari in last week’s race. In qualifying for this race, he turned a 2.62-mile lap over the Jerez circuit in 1 minute, 21.855 seconds, or 115.27 m.p.h.

Second-fastest today was the Minardi-Ford of Italy’s Pierluigi Martini in 1:22.243. Austria’s Gerhard Berger had his scarlet Ferrari third fastest in 1:22.276.

Prost was fourth, Nelson Piquet of Brazil was fifth and Ivan Capelli was sixth.

Still, practice was overshadowed by the verbal battle between McLaren-Honda and Ferrari.

McLaren team manager Ron Dennis brusquely denied Mansell’s claims that McLaren mechanics were partly responsible for his disqualification from the Portuguese Grand Prix.

“I just don’t buy this whole thing,” Dennis said.

Mansell said he did not see the black flag and claimed that his view in the lane was blocked by McLaren tires and other equipment.