Berger Wins Australian Race

Austria’s Gerhard Berger narrowly won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, edging Michael Schumacher of Germany by about three-quarters of a second.

Nigel Mansell’s hopes for leaving Formula One on a winning note ended in a crash with nemesis Ayrton Senna.

Berger, who started fourth and ran there through most of the early stages of the race, averaged 106.780 m.p.h. for 81 laps of the 2.349-mile street circuit near downtown Adelaide.

Mansell, the Formula One champion who has announced plans to jump to Indy-car racing for the Newman-Haas team next year, was trying to add to his record total of nine victories this season.

Starting from the pole, Mansell took the lead on the first turn. Senna passed later on the lap, but Mansell retook first place immediately. The pair then steadily pulled away from the field, with Mansell taking a slight lead.

But going into a turn on lap 19, Senna bumped Mansell. Both cars slid off the track, and Mansell sat in the car for several seconds, obviously furious.