MOTOR SPORTS ROUNDUP : Senna Is Disqualified in Japan

Italy’s Alessandro Nannini was declared the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday, after defending world champion Ayrton Senna was disqualified because of a crash with teammate Alain Prost six laps from the finish.

The result, if it stands, would make Prost the Formula One champion for the third time.

Prost was running just ahead of Senna, his McLaren-Honda teammate, before the two collided going into a curve in the 47th lap of the course at Suzuka, Japan.

Prost retired after the crash, but Senna limped into the pit without a front wing. When he came out of the pit, he sped past Nannini with only three laps left and held on for the checkered flag.

Provisional results showed Senna winning, but the finish later was disallowed and Nannini was awarded the victory.

Senna was disqualified by race officials for avoiding part of the curve as he moved away from Prost’s car and headed for the pit.

Nannini, driving a Benetton-Ford, completed 53 laps around the Suzuka raceway’s 3.64-mile track in 1 hour 35 minutes 6.277 seconds. Only 10 of the 26 starters finished the race.

Nannini, 30, scoring his first Formula One victory, averaged 121.462 m.p.h. for the 192.527-mile race.

McLaren-Honda manager Ron Dennis said his team would appeal the decision.

“I’m sorry for him (Senna), because it was the last good fight between the two,” Nannini said, aware of the longstanding feud between Senna and Prost. “It’s very sad, but a win is a win.”

Senna needed to win this race and the next Grand Prix, the last of the season, in Australia Nov. 5, to retain the overall title.

Prost leads Senna, 76-60, in the drivers’ standings this season.

“Ayrton Senna came behind me, I didn’t see him come and I couldn’t do anything to avoid him,” Prost said. “I am very sorry to have to finish the championship on such an incident.”

Mark Martin ended nearly seven years of frustration on NASCAR’s Winston Cup circuit, keeping his car under control in a caution-plagued AC Delco 500 at Rockingham, N.C., to take a three-second victory over points leader Rusty Wallace.

Martin drove his Ford Thunderbird into the lead on lap 416 at North Carolina Motor Speedway, and slowly widened the gap on Wallace. He crossed the finish line 3.02 seconds in front, earning $52,800.

Wallace’s second-place finish increased his lead in the overall Winston Cup race to 109 points over Dale Earnhardt, who started Sunday’s race 21 points behind but finished 20th. Wallace raised his total to 3,938 points with two races left. Earnhardt has 3,829 points and Martin has 3,810.

When the last of the race-record 14 caution flags came out on lap 469, it gave Wallace one last chance at his seventh victory of the year. Instead, Martin widened his edge, in part by beating Wallace out of the pits during the caution period.