Motor Racing: Zanardi is the pits for Andretti

ONE SECOND extra in the pits cost America's Michael Andretti, who was narrowly beaten by Italy's Alessandro Zanardi at the Gateway 300 St Louis CART Grand Prix at Madison, Illinois, on Saturday.

"That last pit stop, getting me in front of Michael, was the key move of the race," said Zanardi after registering his 10th career victory and and second this year. "I passed Jimmy [Vasser] and Greg [Moore] on the track, but Michael was very strong and it was going to be very difficult to get in front of him."

Zanardi, driving a Reynard Honda, finished just 0.573sec ahead of Andretti's Swift Ford for his second win of the season. Moore, a Canadian, was 1.526 sec behind in third place in a Reynard Mercedes-Benz, while Vasser finished fourth in his Reynard Honda.

Britain's Mark Blundell was 10th in another Reynard Mercedes-Benz.

The next race in the CART series, the seventh of the season, will be held in Milwaukee on 31 May. The focus of open wheel motor racing now shifts to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the Indy 500, sanctioned by the rival Indy Racing League, is scheduled to run on Sunday.