Kleinschmidt’s Victory First for a Woman at Dakar Rally
Jutta Kleinschmidt of Germany became the first woman Sunday to win the Dakar Rally, a grueling endurance race of 6,658 miles that began in Paris on New Year’s Day.
Kleinschmidt and co-pilot Andreas Schulz unexpectedly overtook two-time winner Jean-Louis Schlesser. The French driver was given a one-hour penalty in the 20th and final stage for unsportsmanlike conduct.
In the motorcycle class, Fabrizio Meoni of Italy won his first Dakar title.
With the final stage little more than a 16-mile victory lap, Schlesser appeared set for his third consecutive victory after taking a comfortable lead Saturday. But by starting that stage ahead of Japan’s Hiroshi Masuoka, the leader at the time, he was penalized by officials.
Masuoka finished second overall behind teammate Kleinschmidt, giving Mitsubishi a 1-2 finish and its sixth Dakar title.
Schlesser, driving a self-designed buggy, and Jose Maria Servia of Spain tied with the top time in the final stage. Kari Tianen of Finland won the stage in the motorcycle class.
*
Tommi Makinen of Finland won the Monte Carlo rally for the third consecutive year after race leader Colin McRae of Britain dropped out because of accelerator trouble.
Makinen, a four-time world rally champion for Mitsubishi, finished the three-day course over slick, snowy Alpine roads in 4 hours 23 minutes 48.1 seconds. Ford driver Carlos Sainz of Spain followed 67 seconds later.
Winter Sports
Sonja Nef of Switzerland won her fourth consecutive giant slalom to clinch the World Cup title in her event. She was timed in 2 minutes 37.56 seconds on the course at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, nearly a half-second faster than runner-up Allison Forsyth of Canada.
Nef has 576 points in the giant slalom standings. She is 234 points ahead of her closest competitor, last year’s season champion, Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria. Nef, who led after the first run, has won five of the seven giant slalom races this season.
“I feel great and secure in my skiing,” said Nef, who had six operations on her right knee between 1989 and 1996. “Winning the World Cup title in GS was a preseason goal.”
With two World Cup giant slalom races left, and first place worth 100 points, Nef is assured the title. Dorfmeister finished third, finishing in 2:38.41. Kristina Koznick was the best American finisher in 21st place. Austria’s Renate Goetschl and Croatia’s Janica Kostelic, who are vying for first place in the overall standings, both finished out of the top 10 in a discipline neither specializes in.
Benjamin Raich of Austria won his second consecutive World Cup slalom, solidifying his chances of qualifying for next week’s World Alpine Championships in his home country. He went down the course at Kitzbuehel, Austria, in a two-run time of 1 minute 39.79 seconds.
“It’s so good to be on the podium again and be winning again,” said Raich, the winner of five World Cup races. “I feel my confidence is back, I feel more secure, especially ahead of the world championships.”
Slovenia’s Jure Kosir, the 1994 Olympic bronze medalist, was second in 1:40.11, his first top-three finish in two years. Norway’s Hans-Petter Buraas, ninth after the first leg, was third in 1:40.91. Erik Schlopy of Park City, Utah, was the fastest American, finishing ninth, 1.80 seconds behind.
A smaller-than-usual U.S. ski team--and one without Olympic champion Picabo Street--has been picked to compete at the world championships. Street, who has undergone two years of surgery and rehabilitation, has entered the Europa Cup races instead.
The seven-man, six-woman roster includes Daron Rahlves of Sugar Bowl, Calif. Among others selected are Schlopy and Caroline Lalive of Steamboat Springs, Colo., who is 19th in the women’s World Cup overall standings.
Armin Zoeggeler of Italy won a luge race for the third time this season and increased his lead in the World Cup standings. Three-time Olympic champion Georg Hackl of Germany was second and Markus Prock of Austria was third.
Zoeggeler was timed in 1 minute 49.685 seconds at Altenberg, Germany. With 100 points for the victory, Zoeggeler raised his season total to 430 after five races. Hackl, who finished in 1:50.168, has 361 points.
Matthias Benesch led a German sweep of the top three places in a World Cup four-man bobsled event at Koenigssee, Germany. Benesch defeated Christoph Langen by .21 seconds and also clinched the European title, since the event counted as the European Championship.
Benesch posted a 46.64-second first heat that broke his own track record of 46.76 set earlier this year. He added a second run of 46.78 seconds for a total time of 1:33.42.
Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won for the second time in four days at a biathlon World Cup meet in Anterselva, Italy, defeating Germany’s Carsten Heymann and Russia’s Pavel Rostovtsev in a 15-kilometer race.
Corinne Niogret edged French teammate Delphyne Heymann-Burley by 4.3 seconds to win the women’s 12.5-kilometer event.
Miscellany
Gordan Kozulj of Croatia tied the 200-meter backstroke world record at the Arena World Cup, a short course swimming meet at Berlin.
Kozulj was timed in 1 minute 51.62 seconds, equaling the mark set by Matt Welsh of Australia at Melbourne in October. He won a car for the best performance at the meet and a $5,000 bonus for equaling the record.
Mike Aulby won his 27th PBA Tour title, defeating Jason Couch, 257-211, in the final of the Silicon Valley Open at Daly City. Aulby, who earned $19,000, broke a tie with Don Johnson and Dick Weber for fourth place on the career victory list.
Andy Dudish, who played for Georgia in the 1943 Rose Bowl and spent three seasons in the NFL, has died at 82 of complications from pneumonia. He was a halfback, cornerback and punt returner.
The Bulldogs defeated UCLA, 9-0, in the 1943 Rose Bowl. He played for the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bisons and Baltimore Colts, ending his pro career in 1948.
John Lilley had three goals as the Ice Dogs defeated the Phoenix Mustangs, 6-3, in a West Coast Hockey League game in Long Beach. The Ice Dogs had five power-play goals.
Hawaii-born Akebono, 31, the first foreign wrestler to reach the highest rank in Japan’s ancient sport of sumo wrestling, is quitting.
The 6-foot-9, 510-pound Akebono, formerly Chad Rowan, has been troubled by chronic knee problems.