Rallying: Fontenay caps a triumph for France

JEAN-PIERRE Fontenay, of France, driving a Mitsubishi Pajero, won the Australia Safari Rally, arriving in Darwin almost two hours ahead of the Australian, Andy Stott, in a Nissan Patrol.

French drivers took three of the top four positions, with Jean-Pierre Strugo third and Jean-Pierre Melocco fourth, both in Nissan Terranos.

The eight-day event, which started in Sydney and covered 3,900 miles, mostly over the Australian outback, is the sixth leg of the FIA World Cup cross-country rally series.

AUSTRALIA SAFARI RALLY: 1 J-P Fontenay and B Musmura (Fr) Pajero 50hr 25min 6sec; 2 A Stott and T Conner (Aus) Nissan Patrol; 3 J-P Strugo and J-P Cottret (Fr) Nissan Terrano; 4 J-P Melocco and J-P Humily (Fr) Nissan Terrano; 5 G Pickering and D Brims (Aus) Pajero; 6 T Arai and T Tujii (Japan) Isuzu Bighorn.

Motorcycles: 1 J Hederics (Aus) Honda 41hr 59min 20sec; 2 S Chapman (Aus) Honda; 3 R Yeats (Aus) Honda.