Indycar Rookie, Worker Die In Crash

Auto racing

In a race cut short by a crash that killed driver Jeff Krosnoff and a course worker, Adrian Fernandez won the Toronto Molson-Indy on Sunday for his first IndyCar win.

Dr. Hugh Scully, the race’s medical director, confirmed Krosnoff and Gary Arvin died instantly.

An unidentified woman worker was taken to a Toronto hospital with a lacerated head and other injuries.

Krosnoff is the second IndyCar driver killed this year. Scott Brayton died in a crash in May at Indianapolis.

Fernandez and Alex Zanardi were battling on lap 92 of the scheduled 95-lap race when rookie Krosnoff made wheel-to-wheel contact with Stefan Johansson on the fastest part of the 1.784-mile, 11-turn temporary road circuit. Krosnoff’s Reynard-Toyota soared above the heads of several workers standing behind the concrete barriers lining the course. His car smashed into the catch-fencing above the wall and spun, with pieces scattering across the course and the battered cockpit stopping against the opposite wall.

Johansson, Andre Ribeiro and Emerson Fittipaldi, all involved in the incident, wound up parked in a runoff area at the end of the Lakeshore Boulevard straightaway. As emergency personnel worked to extricate Krosnoff from his car, officials waved the red and checkered flags, ending the race at the end of the 93rd lap.

Bobby Rahal was third.

Series leader Jimmy Vasser was eighth. Vasser, who came into the race leading Al Unser Jr. by three points and Gil de Ferran by 10, got a break at the start when de Ferran bumped Unser in the rear and damaged both cars, forcing both to pit. Both finished out of the points, and Vasser leads Unser 107-99. De Ferran has 92.

Four people were killed and 23 injured in Alencon, France, when a race car flew into a crowd of spectators.

Jiffy Lube 300

Ernie Irvan put a finishing touch on his miraculous comeback from a near fatal crash almost two years ago by winning the Jiffy Lube 300 at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon.

The popular driver grabbed the lead on the 276th lap and beat teammate Dale Jarrett by 5.5 seconds for his 13th career win and his first since 1994, when he won three times. Pole-sitter Ricky Craven was 26th.

British Grand Prix

Formula One rookie Jacques Villeneuve, overshadowed all season by teammate Damon Hill, won the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England.

It was another bad day for Michael Schumacher and his clunking, fix-it-again Ferrari. The German - the twicedefending world champ who joined the Italian team this season for a record contract - sputtered to a near-stop on the third lap when he said a “five-penny” part gave out. In the French Grand Prix two weeks ago, his car broke down on the warm-up lap after he’d won the pole.

Motorcyclist killed

British racer Lee Pullan and a track official died in a crash during a 24-hour motorcycle race at SpaFrancorchamps, France.

Officials said Pullan struck Charles Lambert after Lambert ventured onto the track to remove debris.

Pullan was traveling more than 150 mph.