Sporting Digest: Motor racing

Scotland's Dario Franchitti won his third race of the CART FedEx season yesterday, capturing the rain-shortened Championship Grand Prix of Houston, which was shortened to 70 laps from 100 because of heavy rain, lightning and thunder. Italy's Alex Zanardi was second, followed by Brazil's Tony Kanaan and Zanardi's Target-Chip Ganassi teammate Jimmy Vasser. The first four cars home were Reynard-Honda's, which clinched the Manufacturers's Championship.

A 35-year-old spectator was killed and six other people were seriously injured after a driver lost control of his car during a weekend rally in southern France and plunged into the crowd, police said yesterday. One of the injured, a five-year-old child, is in a coma. The accident happened on Saturday afternoon at a national motor rally in the Ardeche region. Police did not name the driver.