Motor Racing: Andretti subdues Penske

Monday 18 July 1994 18:02 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

(First Edition)

THE Penske team's seven-race run of victories came to an end when Michael Andretti won the Toronto Molson IndyCar race. Driving a Reynard-Ford Cosworth, the American beat his compatriot, Bobby Rahal, who was in a Lola-Honda, by 6.801sec, with Emerson Fittipaldi, of Brazil, third in a Penske-Ilmor.

Andretti averaged 96.673mph over the 174.44-mile street circuit to take his 29th IndyCar victory. His father, Mario, driving in his 400th race in his final year on the circuit, was fourth in a Lola Ford-Cosworth.

Al Unser Jr retired on the first lap but retained his lead in the championship standings, with 127 points to Fittipaldi's 100.

Nigel Mansell, the defending champion, led early in the race before retiring on the 66th lap with handling problems.

'I didn't feel anything, so I don't know if I was hit,' Mansell said. 'There's a lot of debris out there and I think that's what caused it.' On the 25th lap his right rear tyre went flat and he limped in his Lola to the pits. That put him one lap behind and all but out of contention.

After Mansell and Robby Gordon, who was on pole, had lost laps due to punctures, Michael Andretti took the lead on lap 25 and was never seriously challenged after that. 'This year has been a strange year,' he said. 'We started on a big high then we've had lows. We've been struggling.

'To come back here and score a win, maybe that will put us back on track' said the 31-year-old Andretti, who returned to IndyCar racing after a poor year in Formula One.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in