Unser Victorious at Vancouver

Al Unser Jr., making the most of his pit-stop strategy, took the lead from Bobby Rahal two-thirds of the way through the race Sunday and went on to win the Molson Indy Vancouver, his first victory since the 1992 Indianapolis 500.

Unser, who started the day in fifth position in his Galles Lola-Chevrolet C, finished 11.2 seconds ahead of Rahal, the runner-up.

Stefan Johansson of Sweden moved ahead of pole-sitter Scott Goodyear with one lap remaining in the 102-lap event to finish third as Chevrolet engines swept the first three places. Goodyear was fourth on the 10-turn, 1,648-mile temporary road course.

Nigel Mansell of Great Britain managed only a sixth-place finish but still increased his lead in the PPG Cup points race because his nearest competitor, Emerson Fittipaldi, finished seventh.

Paul Tracy, who is third in the points race, had early electrical problem and finished 13th, failing to pick up a point.

Twelve of the 26 cars were knocked out of the race on the rough street circuit on the edge of downtown Vancouver.

There were two lead changes early in the race, with Tracy and Rahal passing Goodyear on the 14th lap and Rahal taking over first place a lap later.

After his first pit stop and a near-collision with Rahal and Fittipaldi coming out of the pits, Unser moved into second and he stayed on the tail of Rahal’s Lola-Chevrolet C through the middle portion of the race, never trailing by much more than a second.

He was a half-second down when Rahal went to the pits on the 64th lap. Unser decided to stay on the track for two more laps.

“Al was able to make some hay and go quickly with some light tanks and with hot tires and no traffic,” Rahal said.

When Unser went to the pits and had a quick stop, he emerged with a 6.45-second lead.

“I couldn’t really pass Bobby on the race track,” Unser said. “All I was trying to do was stay close and let my guys do it.”

Unser had finished no better than fourth in any race this year and there had been rumblings he would leave the Galles team after this season. The victory was the second of the year for Galles. Danny Sullivan won the Detroit Grand Prix.

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Britain’s Damon Hill won his second Formula One race in a row, while teammate Alain Prost took a big step toward his fourth world title at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Hill held off Germany’s Michael Schumacher and helped clinch the constructors world title for Williams-Renault with four races remaining.

Prost extended his lead in the world standings over Brazil’s Ayrton Senna, who finished fourth.

Track and Field

Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic broke his world javelin record with a throw of 313 feet, 10 inches, at the Sheffield International meet in England.

Zelezny eclipsed his previous mark of 313-5, set at Pietersburg, South Africa, April 6.

Linford Christie of Great Britain won the 100 meters in a wind-aided 9.99. Michael Johnson of the United States won the 400.

Colin Jackson of Great Britain won the 110 hurdles in 13.09. Gail Devers of the United States won the women’s 100 hurdles in 12.62.

In the women’s 400 hurdles, world record-holder Sally Gunnell won in 54.25, with heptathlon world champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee fifth in 59.12.

Soccer

The United States lost to Poland, 3-0, in the quarterfinals and was eliminated from the FIFA Under-17 World Soccer Championship at Tokyo.

The quarterfinal elimination was the second-best showing by a U.S. team in five appearances.

Names in the News

David Harris, a former Texas A&M; basketball player, was killed an automobile accident in Strasbourg, France where he had signed to play this season. According to police, Harris lost control of his car on a curve and went into a ditch. . . . Jack Stevenson, a sportswriter for The Associated Press for 36 years before retiring in 1983, died at Arcadia Methodist Hospital of congestive heart failure. He was 71.