Fangio Wins Grand Prix Battle, Not War : Auto racing: He is champion at San Diego, but Brabham earns fourth consecutive overall title.

Once again, the winner and not champion here was Juan Manual Fangio II.

In the final race of the International Motor Sports Assn. Camel GT circuit, Fangio--for the second consecutive year--won the Camel Grand Prix of Greater San Diego, leading for most of the second half of the 92-lap race in his Toyota EGL MKIII before a crowd of 35,000.

But for an unprecedented fourth time in a row, Geoff Brabham won the series championship, overcoming serious injuries from an accident seven weeks ago to finish third and earn enough points to edge Nissan teammate Chip Robinson. Robinson entered the race leading by three points but sustained a broken drive shaft and lost six laps while getting repairs.

John Paul Jr. of West Palm Beach, Fla., finished second in a Pontiac Spice and won a $1,000 bonus for being voted the outstanding driver of the race.

Davy Jones of Lake Tahoe, Nev., who was a close third in the points race at the start, had mechanical problems with his Jaguar and finished 13th, running the last part of the race without his tail wing. Jaguar teammate Martin Brundle of Kings Lynn, England, was fourth.

Brabham, of Lantana, Fla., won a $150,000 bonus for winning the series championship. Although he had only one victory all year, Brabham finished with 175 points, to 170 for Robinson and 158 for Jones.

Fangio, a native of Balcarce, Argentina, who finished fifth in points, was hardly feeling like a bridesmaid. His second Del Mar victory was worth at least $130,000.

Fangio said he overcame a broken stick shift that made it painful--and difficult--to switch gears.

“I tell you the truth, it was really, really tough (year) and this is like compensation for that,” he said.

“I was trying to be safe and consistent, the only problem was the shifting. The top of the (stick) shift--wood was coming out and I couldn’t throw it out of the car.”

Nissan won the manufacturers title with three victories and 222 points, while Jaguar was second with six victories and 188 points.

Brabham, who suffered broken ribs and compression fractures in his back in late August, said he was comfortable during the 115-minute race in a special seat and felt like he was in the running for the victory until the last 20 minutes, when he took a pit stop to get oil cleaned off his windshield, and Robinson had the drive shaft problem. Brabham said he drove cautiously after that.

“I came in to get my windshield clean, and after that I just didn’t want to take any chances,” he said. “At that point I realized how tired I was. I felt like the pain really didn’t bother me, it was more strength and stamina. When there’s so much at stake, mentally you turn off the pain.

“(The adrenaline) stopped when Chip went out. I still thought I could win the race, but Chip broke his shaft and I didn’t know if I wanted to push it because we have the same parts. That last 20 minutes felt like an hour.”