MOTOR RACING : Senna Wins European Grand Prix

Ayrton Senna went from fifth to first on the opening lap and won the European Grand Prix, his second Formula One victory in a row, at Donington, England, on Sunday.

The three-time former world champion from Brazil got the wet conditions he wanted and nearly lapped the rest of the field in his McLaren Ford.

Only runner-up Damon Hill, in a Williams Renault, stayed on the same lap as Senna. Hill finished 1 minute 23.199 seconds behind.

Senna, who also won in Brazil two weeks ago, leads the drivers’ standings with 26 points. Alain Prost of France, who finished third in a Williams Renault, is second with 14 and Hill third with 12.

“I’m over the moon with this victory, I want to enjoy it the same as in Brazil,” said Senna, whose victory was achieved in a circuit last used for a Grand Prix in 1938.

“I knew we had to go for the maximum in the conditions. Technically, Williams are superior cars, but only in conditions like this can you do something about it.”

Britain’s Johnny Herbert was fourth in a Lotus Ford, veteran Riccardo Patrese fifth in a Benetton Ford and Fabrizio Barbazza sixth in a Minardi Ford.

Michael Andretti’s troubles in Formula One continued.

Watched by father Mario, who won the world title in 1978 before switching to Indy cars, Andretti spun off the circuit on the first lap.

That means that in three Grand Prix starts, the former Indy car driver has completed only four laps, all of them at the first race in South Africa. In Brazil two weeks ago, he crashed on the first bend.

“I was trying to overtake (Karl) Wendlinger, but I realized the guy just couldn’t have seen me,” Andretti said. “I braked hard, but my brakes just locked up and I couldn’t avoid hitting him.”

Senna lost the lead only once, when he pulled in for a tire change that took 16 seconds on lap 34. He regained it when Prost went in for the same reason five laps later and went on to extend it until at one point he had lapped all the other drivers on the track.

Hill described the race as a nightmare.

“I wanted to be out of there. It was driving me crazy,” the son of former world champion Graham Hill said.

“You never knew what was going to happen with the rain. Going around the circuit, some of it seemed to be drying out, but then you could see some spectators sheltering from the rain.

“I don’t know how I came in second,” said Hill, who made six pit stops for tire changes. “I didn’t even know where I was in some parts of the race.”

Prost, who also has won the world title three times, started the race from the pole position for the third time in a row, but was unable to take advantage.

He also was held up by a long pit stop, one of seven he made to change tires.

“My clutch was starting to be difficult and I stalled the engine,” he said. “I lost 30 to 40 seconds because of that stop and then I had bad gearbox trouble. It was a very difficult drive.

“When I was on slicks, the front pressures were not right and that made the car undrivable.”