Alonso gets 2nd leg of crown in Le Mans
Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso won the 24 Hours Le Mans in his debut in the classic endurance race on Sunday to move closer to motorsport’s unofficial Triple Crown.
The Spanish driver, together with teammates Kazuki Nakajima of Japan and Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland, completed 388 laps in their Toyota hybrid car, two more than Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez in the other Toyota hybrid.
Alonso is bidding to match British driver Graham Hill’s feat of completing the Triple Crown, including wins at the Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500. Alonso is a two-time winner in Monaco.
It was Toyota’s first victory at the 20th attempt, and the first win for a Japanese manufacturer since Mazda’s success in 1991. ALLGAIER DOMINATES XFINITY RACE >> Justin Allgaier won all three stages and the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway for his second victory of the season. Racing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in JR Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro, Allgaier led 182 of 250 laps and survived an unlucky late caution by winning the restart. Christopher Bell pushed Allgaier throughout the final stage at times closing to within a tenth of a second of taking the lead but finished second. SCHUMACHER WINS IN TOP FUEL IN TENNESSEE >> Tony Schumacher raced to his first Top Fuel victory of the season in the Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. Schumacher had a 3.946-second run at 313.58 mph to edge Mike Salinas in the final round, the 150th final of Schumacher’s career. He has six career victories at Bristol and 84 overall. Ron Capps won the Funny Car event for the second straight year, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. topped the Pro Stock field. LORENZO TAKES CATALONIA GP >> Jorge Lorenzo won the Catalonia Grand Prix after starting from pole position ahead of Moto-GP points leader Marc Marquez in Montmelo, Spain. Marquez crossed second followed by Valentino Rossi at the Barcelona-Catalonia Circuit. It was the Spaniard’s second straight victory after the Italian GP two weeks ago. Those are his only two victories since joining Ducati in 2017.
Golf
LPGA’S RYU BACK ON TRACK >> So Yeon Ryu found her winning touch at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Mich. Ryu won the Meijer LPGA Classic, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Caroline Masson (68). The 29-year-old South Korean player has six LPGA Tour victories, winning twice last year.
Lydia Ko shot a 67 to finish third at 18 under.
Tennis
FEDERER CAPS TRIUMPHANT RETURN >> Roger Federer defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (3) to mark his return from three months off with the Stuttgart (Germany) Open title. The Swiss great is assured of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal today. Federer skipped the entire clay-court season for the second year in a row, but he wrapped up his 18th grass-court title in 1 hour and 18 minutes — his 98th title overall and third of the season after victories at the Australian Open and World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. “It’s a wonderful feeling. I fought hard. When you finally manage it, the joy is even greater,” said Federer, who extended his grasscourt winning streak to 16 matches including his titles at Halle and Wimbledon last year.
BARTY PREVAILS, KONTA STEAMS >> Johanna Konta failed to shake the umpire’s hand after a bad-tempered end to the Nottingham (England) Open final, with Ashleigh Barty winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. After the first two sets were shared, Konta recovered from 4-1 down in the decider to level at 4-4 but got angry with umpire Paula Vieira Souza for not overruling a Barty shot that looked long as the top-seeded Australian held for 5-4. Neither the line judge nor Souza called it out. “It’s an absolute joke,” fourth-seeded Konta told Souza. “You’re making decisions that affect our lives. Do you fully understand that?” The British No. 1 won only one more point as Barty clinched victory with a backhand pass. Konta then walked straight past Souza and off the court. Several minutes passed before she returned for the trophy ceremony, although Konta would not say whether she was complaining about what had happened.