Schumacher’s Streak Is Over

Michael Schumacher’s season-opening five-race winning streak ended Sunday with a crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Jarno Trulli drove to his first Formula One victory.

Schumacher was trying to become the first driver to win the season’s first six races, but the six-time world champion’s race ended with a wheel dangling from his damaged red Ferrari, and renewed complaints about his driving from rival Juan Pablo Montoya.

Trulli, the only driver other than Schumacher to win this season, had the pole for the first time and recorded his first victory in 119 Formula One races.

“It’s amazing,” the Renault driver said. “I won in Monaco, the best race probably in the world.”

Schumacher was also hoping to equal the best winning streak in a season. Alberto Ascari won the last six races in 1952 and the first three of the 1953 season.

Schumacher started from the fourth position, his worst grid placing of the season. He quit a race for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix in April 2003, but still leads the standings with 50 points from his five victories.

Schumacher and Montoya touched as they were following the safety car that came out after Renault’s Fernando Alonso crashed on the 42nd lap.

To keep their tires and brakes warm as they waited, both drivers were slowing and accelerating abruptly.

Montoya, who was behind, said Schumacher slammed his brakes. He, too, braked his Williams-BMW to avoid him, but the race leader “came in straight where I was.”

“I tried to avoid him as much as I could,” said Montoya, who has had tense run-ins before with Schumacher. “I put the car against the wall. Where else am I supposed to go? Over the wall, just to let Michael by?”

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said Schumacher was hit by Montoya from behind, which the Williams driver disputed. Stewards spoke to both drivers but took no action.

Trulli, the first Italian to win in Monaco in 22 years, completed 77 laps of the 2.076-mile circuit in 1 hour 45 minutes, 46.601 seconds, averaging 90.665 mph.

He led from the start and held off a late surge from BAR-Honda’s Jenson Button, who finished second. Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello, was third. Barrichello is second in the standings with 38 points.

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Sebastian Bourdais fought off numerous challenges by Bruno Junqueira and made an early lead stand up to win the Champ Car World Series Monterrey Grand Prix.

Bourdais, 25, was the pole-sitter and led most of the race in his Ford-Lola, except for the laps around his pit stops, and beat Junqueira by 3.852 seconds on the tight, winding, 2.104-mile road course at Fundidora Park in Monterrey, Mexico.

With Bourdais ahead by a wide margin after his final pit stop, the last 15 laps turned into a fight for the remaining places on the podium between Junqueira, rookie Justin Wilson and Mario Dominguez. Dominguez finished third, 5.209 seconds behind Bourdais.

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Martin Truex Jr. led for only one lap in the final NASCAR Busch Series race at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, yet still managed his series-leading fourth win of the season.

Truex fought lapped traffic in his Chevrolet and cut underneath Bobby Hamilton Jr. down the backstretch on Lap 200 in a thrilling finish in the Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 200.

“There was no plan,” Truex said of the final laps. “I found a hole and used it for the win.”

Truex started gaining ground on Hamilton in the final 10 laps. Hamilton had dominated in his Ford since taking the lead on Lap 75 and seemed poised to earn his first win of the season. Instead, it was Truex who started chipping away and took advantage of lapped traffic.

The one lap that Truex led was the fewest ever for a winner in a Busch Series race at Nazareth Speedway. He won by only 0.140 seconds with an average speed of 110.616 mph.

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Doug Kalitta made the quickest top fuel pass in NHRA history, and John Force earned his 111th funny car victory at the Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.

Kalitta covered a quarter-mile in 4.420 seconds at 328.22 mph, well ahead of Brandon Bernstein, who made his pass in 5.283 at 182.08.

The front wheels of Bernstein’s dragster lifted off the ground, nearly flipping him over.

Force went 4.752 seconds at 325.30, well ahead of Whit Bazemore, who lost traction and slowed to a run of 8.034 at 115.06.

Jason Line earned the first pro stock victory of his career when teammate and fellow Pontiac Grand Am driver Greg Anderson fouled at the starting line and was disqualified.

Pro Basketball

Becky Hammon scored 10 of her 22 points in the final six minutes to lead the New York Liberty a 68-62 victory over the Houston Comets in a WNBA game in front of 13,357 at Madison Square Garden. Tina Thompson had a career-high 35 points for the Comets.

Chamique Holdsclaw put back a missed shot with 10.7 seconds remaining, leading the Washington Mystics to a 68-67 victory over the Indiana Fever in front of 6,465 in Indianapolis. With no timeouts remaining, the Fever hurried the ball up the court, but Deanna Jackson missed a driving shot, and Kristen Rasmussen missed a 15-footer as time expired.

Miscellany

Lance Armstrong won the final stage of the Languedoc-Roussillon cycling race in France, picking up the pace in his preparations for a July attempt at a sixth straight Tour de France title.

He finished in sixth place in the five-day event, 1 minute 44 seconds behind winner Christophe Moreau of France. Viatcheslav Ekimov, Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service teammate, was second overall.

Misty May and Kerri Walsh won their 80th consecutive beach volleyball match, beating Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, 21-17, 21-13, to win an FIVB World Tour event in Rhodes, Greece.