Hill Wins Japanese Race, Clinches Formula One Title

Damon Hill of England won Sunday’s season-ending Japanese Grand Prix to clinch his first Formula One championship.

“I feel as though I am on a rocket which is just about to take off,” said Hill, whose father, Graham, won two Formula One championships. “It’s a tremendous relief to have finally won the championship.”

Jacques Villeneuve, of Canada, the only driver with chance to overtake Hill for the season championship, spun off the track on the 37th lap.

Hill, starting from the second grid, already had overtaken pole-sitter Villeneuve in the first turn.

“Out there up front, I was telling myself, ‘This is all very well, Hill, but now you’ve got to stay calm and see it through to the finish,”’ he said.

After his pit crew messaged Hill that Williams-Renault teammate Villeneuve was out, he went on to beat two-time defending champion Michael Schumacher of Germany by 1.883 seconds. It was his eighth victory this season, and the 21st of his career.

Hill completed the 52 laps around the 3.636-mile Suzuka Circuit in one hour, 32 minutes, 33.791 seconds.

Schumacher finished in 1:32:35.674 in his Ferrari and Finland’s Mika Hakkinen, in a McLaren-Mercedes, was third in 1:32:37.003.

Tennis

Martina Hingis, the 16-year-old Swiss teen-ager who has become one of tennis’ rising stars, won her first WTA tournament title, beating Anke Huber, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the Porsche Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany.

Boris Becker won his first tournament since June, defeating unseeded Dutchman Jan Siemerink, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-3, to take the $800,000 CA Trophy at Vienna.

Greg Rusedski of England beat Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, in the final of the Beijing Open.

Miscellany

Heavyweight boxer Peter McNeeley was listed in stable condition at a hospital in Natick, Mass., with pneumonia after collapsing outside a sandwich shop.

McNeeley, who gained fame from his bout with Mike Tyson last year, which he lost in 89 seconds when his manager jumped in the ring, had been battling flu for about a week, manager Vinny Vecchione said.

Vecchione said he expects McNeeley will take a week off before resuming training for his Dec. 8 fight against Eric (Butterbean) Esch.

Johan Museeuw of Belgium edged Switzerland’s Mauro Gianetti to win the men’s road race at the world cycling championships aty Lugano, Switzerland.

Museeuw covered the 157-mile course in 6 hours, 23 minutes 49 seconds. Gianetti was just one second behind.

Jockey Jose Espinoza has been suspended for seven days by the Belmont Park stewards for careless riding aboard Stage Trick in the second race on Oct. 10.

Stage Trick was disqualified from second position and placed third for causing interference nearing the wire.

New Zealand America’s Cup hero Russell Coutts and his Team Magic crew won the Brut Gold Cup of Bermuda on Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda.

Coutts’ team trailed Australian Peter Gilmour, 2-0, in the best-of-five final before winning three straight.