Motor racing: Senna 'oversteered'

Damon Hill, the Formula One world champion, told a court yesterday that oversteer might have caused the crash that killed Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

Hill, who was the No 2 driver to Senna in the Williams team at the time of the accident, dismissed prosecution charges that the accident was caused when the three-times world champion's steering column snapped.

Hill was testifying as a prosecution witness at the manslaughter trial of the Williams team chief, Frank Williams, and five other defendants at Imola. Other defendants from the Williams team are the technical director, Patrick Head, and the designer Adrian Newey. None of the accused was in court.

Hill, now with the Arrows Yamaha team, sat impassively throughout his three-and-a-half hour session. His comment on video evidence from Senna's car "that the car seems to oversteer when it crosses the place on the circuit where there are some marks," appeared to support defence claims that Senna's death may have been due to "anomalies in the asphalt" of the track.

Imola course officials Giorgio Poggi, Roland Bruynseraede and Federico Bendinelli are also on trial, charged with allowing the race to take place on a dangerous track.