Fifty up!

Mario Andretti’s comfortable victory in the opening round of the CART Indycar World Series at Phoenix, Arizona was the fiftieth win of his career in the United States’ premier single-seater category.

Andretti’s turbocharged Chevrolet V8-engined Lola finished 14 seconds ahead of the Lola-Cosworth of Roberto Guerrero, who was returning form injury.

Al Holbert’s factory-supported Porsche team manged its best CART result to date, a seventh-place finished for Teo Fabi, but March chassis was used after the team’s own car proved off the pace in practice.

Andretti who had not won at the Phoenix oval for 21 years, has claimed more Indycar races than anyone else except AJ Foyt (with 67 wins), who came fourth in Arizona.