Andretti masters Toronto again

MICHAEL Andretti captured his first victory of 2001 with a charge from last to first at the Molson Indy in Toronto yesterday.

It was Andretti's seventh win in the Canadian street race and helped lift him into second place in the drivers' championship, as well as giving his recently formed Team Motorola its first ever CART victory.

After starting from 13th on the grid, Andretti fell to last when he tangled with rookie Scott Dixon on the opening lap. Although his Honda/Reynard was not damaged, he had to come to a complete stop to avoid hitting the wall in Turn 3.

But hard driving, aggressive pit strategy, some misfortune to his competitors and a little assistance from the CART safety crew enabled the 38-year-old veteran to score one of the most amazing victories of his 17-year career.

"We had a lot of help today but there must be something about Toronto," Andretti said.

"I want to give big credit to the CART crew because they rushed out and pushed me off and got me going again. I was able to beat the pace car and not lose a lap and that helped me win this race.""This was a big one because, naturally, after that first lap you're thinking this race is over. We never gave up and it was a hard-fought race, but this place has been great for me. I can't wait for next year."Andretti led the final 25 laps and beat Canadian Alex Tagliani to the chequered flag by 2.7 seconds to record his 41st career win. It was Tagliani's first CART podium finish and came in front of his home crowd.

The Honda/Reynard/Firestone combination also worked well for Adrian Fernandez, helping the Mexican onto the podium for the first time this season and his best result since forming Fernandez racing at the end of last season.

Alex Zanardi gave Mo Nunn Racing cause to celebrate, notching his best finish since returning to Champ Cars with an aggressive run to fourth place.

Dixon continued the impressive form he has shown throughout his first season to finish fifth, ahead of experienced campaigners Paul Tracy, Mauricio Gugelmin and Max Papis.

"We had a pretty good run today," Dixon said.

"We got into a lot of trouble at the beginning of the race with contact on two different occasions, but we managed to keep the car intact and bring it home safely."Drivers' championship leader Kenny Brack suffered an electrical failure in his Shell Ford-Cosworth/Lola on lap 61 while holding down third place, but caught a break because the four drivers behind him in the standings failed to grab the opportunity to close the points gap.

Marlboro Team Penske's front row qualifying efforts went unrewarded, as Helio Castroneves suffered engine problems mid-way through the race and teammate Gil De Ferran hit from behind by Cristiano da Matta on lap 77, ending his day early.

Brack continues to lead the drivers' championship, but his lead has been reduced to 11 points. Andretti jumped from fifth into second place, ahead of Castroneves and Dario Franchitti, while Dixon moved from ninth up to seventh courtesy of his fifth place finish.

Honda increased its lead over Toyota in the manufacturers' standings, while Ford-Cosworth closed in on the second placed Japanese engine supplier.

RACE RESULTS
1 Michael Andretti (Honda) 1hr59:58.904
2 A Tagliani (Ford-Cosworth) +2.741
3 A Fernandez (Honda) +4.395
4 A Zanardi (Honda) +4.901
5 S Dixon (Toyota) +5.604
6 P Tracy (Honda) +6.893
7 M Gugelmin (Toyota) +8.136
8 M Papis (Ford-Cosworth) +10.383
9 S Nakano (Honda) +15.816
10 T Kanaan (Honda) +1 lapDRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Brack (SWE) 84 points
2 Andretti (USA) 73
3 Castroneves BRA) 70
4 Franchitti (SCO) 65
5 De Ferran (BRA) 58
6 Da Matta (BRA) 55
7 Dixon (NZ) 54
8 Vasser (USA) 50
9 Fittipaldi (BRA) 49
10 Tracy (CAN) 48MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Honda 158
2 Toyota 142
3 Ford-Cosworth 130Next round: Michigan 500, Michigan International Speedway, USA - July 22