Brazil’s Ribeiro Gets First Indy-Car Win

Rookie Andre Ribeiro of Brazil won his first Indy-car race Sunday, capturing the New England 200 at Loudon, N.H., while Jacques Villeneuve edged closer to the overall championship.

Ribeiro, 29, took the lead from Michael Andretti on lap 100 with a daring inside pass on the first turn. After relinquishing the lead briefly during his final pit stop, Ribeiro regained it and led for the final 73 laps.

His 14.482-second victory margin over Andretti was the second-largest of the season, and only Ribeiro and Andretti were on the lead lap for about the last third of the race.

“I tried to be very, very patient,” Ribeiro said. “I was talking to [team owner] Steve Horne on the radio all the time. He was keeping me cool, but those last laps were really difficult. It’s an incredible moment.”

Ribeiro, who had shattered the qualifying record the day before with a speed of 177.436 m.p.h., set a race record of 134.203 m.p.h. around the four-turn, one-mile oval. He had never finished better than fourth in an Indy-car race.

Al Unser Jr. finished third to keep alive his hopes for the championship.

Villeneuve came away with 168 points and Unser 111, with only two races and 44 points still possible. But Unser also has an appeal pending from the June 25 race at Portland, Ore., when he was disqualified and collected no points.

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Bobby Labonte drove his Chevrolet Monte Carlo to victory in the GM Goodwrench 400 for his second victory in a row at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Labonte won the Miller Genuine Draft 400 on the high-banked, two-mile oval June 18. Labonte has won three NASCAR races--all on superspeedways.

“I never won a race before in my life, and now I’ve won two right here,” said Labonte, who finished 6.8 seconds ahead of his older brother, Terry.

Labonte won with an average speed of 157.739 m.p.h., making it the second-fastest Winston Cup race in MIS history. Davey Allison averaged 160.910 m.p.h. in a 1991 race.

It was the second time this year the Labonte brothers have finished 1-2. Terry also followed Bobby across the finish line in May at the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C. on May 28. *

Italy’s Luca Cadalora beat world champion Michael Doohan of Australia to win his first Grand Prix motorcycle race of the year, at Brno, Czech Republic.

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John Force of Yorba Linda scored his sixth Funny Car victory of the season and his 48th career win at the National Hot Rod Assn. event at Brainerd, Minn.

Mike Dunn, of Mt. Joy, Pa., collected his third Top Fuel victory of the season. Warren Johnson, of Duluth, Ga., won Pro Stock.

Jurisprudence

Five North Carolina State football players were arrested and charged with breaking into the apartment of Wolfpack basketball player Curtis Marshall and assaulting his teammate, Jeremy Hyatt, and a woman identified as Carmela Jackson, said Raeigh, N.C., police

Duan Everett, Mike Harrison, Ricky Bell, Lamont McCauley and James Walker face misdemeanor breaking and entering and assault charges.

Team officials said the incident apparently stemmed from a dispute over Jackson, who was believed to be dating one of the football players.

Soccer

Jorge Campos, who played goalie in the first half, scored two goals and assisted on a third in the second half as Atlante of Mexico defeated Aguila of El Salvador, 3-1, in an exhibition before about 16,000 at the Coliseum.

About 100 people, including 22 policemen, were injured as rival Brazilian fans rioted after the championship final of a junior soccer tournament in Sao Paulo.

The 30-minute free-for-all began after Palmeiras scored five minutes into sudden-death overtime to win the under-19 game, 1-0, over Sao Paulo.

Emmanuel Bentil scored two goals, leading Ghana to a 3-2 victory over Brazil in the final of the Under-17 World Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Abu Iddrisu also scored for Ghana, which won the first U-17 tournament in Italy in 1991.

Swimming and Diving

Ute Wetzig of Germany won the women’s platform diving title at the European Championships in Vienna, and Alexei Akatiev took another gold for Russia in the men’s five-kilometer swimming event.