Auto Racing
Pagenaud wins crash-fueled inaugural Indy grand prix
INDIANAPOLIS – Simon Pagenaud won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis by stretching his fuel to the finish on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Frenchman was one of several drivers to gamble on fuel strategy, and made it stick for the final 29 laps Saturday to earn his third career IndyCar victory.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was second and followed by Helio Castroneves, Sebastien Bourdais and Charlie Kimball.
The race began with a violent wreck when pole-sitter Sebastian Saavedra stalled on the standing start. He was hit by multiple cars, and debris struck Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard as he waved the green flag.
Later, James Hinchcliffe was taken from the track on a stretcher after an accident. IndyCar said he was released from the hospital after a CT scan on his head and neck.
Hamilton takes Spain’s pole; Vettel stalls, then penalized
MONTMELO, Spain – Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were in a class of their own again in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday, while former maestro Sebastian Vettel stalled and was demoted on the grid.
Hamilton edged teammate – and main rival – Nico Rosberg with a late lap of 1 minute, 25.232 seconds on the dry and sunny Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for his fourth pole of the Formula One season and 35th in his career.
Rosberg, the overall leader, came in second at 0.16 seconds behind to set up another driving duel. Hamilton has won the last three races right in front of Rosberg, with the rest of the field far behind.
Vettel’s car rolled to a halt during Friday’s first practice session, and it failed him again early in the third period of qualifying. The struggling four-time champion was left 10th in qualification, but he will start from 15th on the grid after Red Bull incurred a five-place penalty for replacing his car’s damaged gearbox. Regulations require gearboxes to be used for at least six consecutive races.
As Vettel’s troubles mounted, new partner Daniel Ricciardo finished with the third fastest time ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean.
Cycling
Kittel sprints to Stage 2 win; Matthews wears the pink
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory in a wet second stage of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday, as Michael Matthews took the overall leader’s pink jersey from Orica-GreenEdge teammate Svein Tuft.
Kittel timed his move to perfection, with 200 meters remaining, to edge Nacer Bouhanni and Giacomo Nizzolo in a bunch sprint at the end of the 135-mile leg, which started and ended in Belfast.
The German cyclist clocked more than five hours to claim his first Giro stage win on the day before his 26th birthday.
Matthews finished three seconds ahead of his Orica teammates and was hoping to still be wearing the maglia rosa when the Giro moves into Italy.
Two cyclists from the Boulder-based Garmin-Sharp team withdrew from the race after a crash in Friday’s opening team time trial: Dan Martin will have surgery later Saturday on a broken collarbone; teammate Koldo Fernandez finished the stage, but tests afterward revealed he also had broken his clavicle.
Hockey
Canada rebounds from loss; USA now is 2-0 at worlds
MINSK, Belarus – Canada rebounded from a stunning loss to France to beat Slovakia 4-1 at the world ice hockey championships Saturday.
Sweden negotiated the first step in its title defense with a 3-0 victory over Denmark, and the United Sates made it two wins in two days by defeating last year’s runner-up, Switzerland, 3-2.
USA beat Belarus 6-1 on Friday.
Tyler Johnson scored the winning goal for the U.S. with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in regulation. Peter Mueller and Craig Smith claimed the other scores for a U.S. team that had to overcame a goal deficit twice.
Associated Press
