Rogerio Barbosa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Sebastian Vettel leading the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Sunday.Sebastian Vettel made easy work of the competition to win Sunday’s Formula One race in Montreal. Vettel’s victory extended his lead in the championship points standings over Kimi Raikkonen, who finished ninth after a trouble-plagued race. Fernando Alonso finished second and also moved ahead of Raikkonen in points. Lewis Hamilton was third.
Hamilton led three early laps, when Vettel made a pit stop. Otherwise, the race was all Vettel.
After the race, it was announced that a course worker had been killed during the event when a recovery vehicle removing a disabled car from the course ran him over.
In other racing news:
• Jimmie Johnson proved unstoppable Sunday in the Nascar Sprint Cup event at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. Greg Biffle said he considered himself fortunate to finish second, 1.2 seconds behind. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third and Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
It was Johnson’s 63rd career victory in the series, and helped him pad his lead in the points standings as he campaigns for a sixth championship. Only Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, with seven championships each, have won more titles.
• Helio Castroneves, known for climbing the fence between the race track and the grandstands after his victories, was up to his old routine again after winning Saturday’s IndyCar series Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway.
It was first victory of the year for Castroneves, but his consistency through the eight races in the series so far this year has him atop the point standings, ahead of Marco Andretti, who came in fifth at Texas.
Ryan Hunter-Reay came in second Saturday, followed by Tony Kanaan and Ed Carpenter.
Jean Francois Monier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro Hybrid driven by Loïc Duval competes during the test day of the 90th Le Mans 24 hours endurance race.• Loïc Duval, driving an Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, was fastest Sunday in a two-segment practice day at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The practice was a major tune-up for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will be held June 22-23.
Duval crashed in the morning session, but came back in the afternoon stint to post a stunningly fast time. He was three seconds faster than the next driver on the time sheets, Lucas di Grassi, who was also driving an Audi. Third quickest was Andre Lotterer in another Audi.
No further on-track activity is scheduled for the entries until the days immediately preceding the classic endurance event, which in 2013 is celebrating its 90th anniversary.
• The noted land speed racing pioneer Walt Arfons, who also developed jet-powered race cars as well as the parachutes needed to stop them, died June 4 at age 96 in an Akron, Ohio, hospital, a family member confirmed last week.
Arfons, who, along with half-brother Art and later with Craig Breedlove, traded many speed records in the 1950s and 1960s, was a self-taught engineer and inventor. His fascination with speed led him purchase a war surplus jet and try to adapt its power to land speed racing. It was a dangerous endeavor that resulted in many crashes, injuries and scrapes with death, but his so-called “Green Monster” cars became racing icons.
His perfection of jet engine use in racing also led him to adopt the now widely used drogue parachutes that safely stop drag racing machines.
Art Arfons, with whom Walt Arfons had a falling-out over safety concerns in their head-to-head duels, died in 2007. Walt’ son, Craig, was killed going for a speed record in a powerboat in 1989.
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