Motor Racing: Mansell trusts in teamwork: Britain's IndyCar rookie is top of the class

IN HIS own words his 500-mile victory on the superspeedway oval at Michigan on Sunday was Nigel Mansell's finest hour in racing. 'This stands alone. I've never been in a race like this,' he said. 'It's a new experience especially at the speed we were going. It was exciting and a little bit bewildering. It makes me proud to have won on a circuit like this.'

Mansell, who had to be helped from the car at the end of the race, credited Jim Magee, his team manager, with keeping him focused on what he was doing. 'Jim shouted at me (on the radio) every lap on the last 25 laps. I'd lost all myself on the car. I didn't know what average I was doing or anything. He was giving me split times on Mario, and how many laps to go, and it really helped me concentrate.'

Mansell also praised his Newman-Haas team-mate, Mario Andretti. 'We both ran wheel to wheel,' Mansell said. 'To do that you have to race with an incredibly class driver. You've got to trust them and it just speaks volumes of some of the people in this series, especially Mario.'

Mansell's third win in his rookie season on the IndyCar circuit left Andretti in second place, more than nine seconds behind.

The Englishman also regained the overall points lead in the series. Mansell has 123 points with the Brazilian, Emerson Fittipaldi, another former Formula One world champion, who came in 13th, on 105.

At Michigan, Mansell took the lead from the pole-winner, Andretti, on the 28th lap and led for all but two of the last 221 laps, including the final 167.

With about 50 laps left, Andretti overtook Mansell for the second time to get himself back on the lead lap. To get around and catch Mansell to pass again for the win seemed impossible, but just then the yellow flag came out for a full-course caution, allowing Andretti to close in behind his team-mate.

To many viewers, the yellow flag appeared to be contrived to make a more exciting finish. It is commonly, and mistakenly, believed that a full-course caution is called, at best to make a better show, at worst, to give one team or another an advantage.

Based solely on safety considerations, the decision for a local yellow or a full-course yellow is made almost instantaneously in a co-operative effort between the chief steward, Wally Dallenbach, in race control and the IndyCar safety team out on the track. The yellow at Michigan was for oil on the track.

The IndyCar series moves next Sunday to New Hampshire, another oval track.

THE International Automobile Federation agreed at a meeting in Paris yesterday to solve the dispute over the use of active suspension by Formula One teams. FIA, parent body of the International Motor Sports Federation, will study compromise proposals after an appeal by the Williams, Footwork and McLaren teams against a proposed ban on active suspension.