Race: Papis's miracle win

The Italian didn't pit for fuel or tyres on the penultimate caution and was leading when Servia clipped the back of Mauricio Gugelmin into Turn 2, fortunately without serious injury (see separate story).

After several laps behind the safety car, the field was unleashed to race until the two-hour mark - a cut-off mark designed for TV slots. Papis held off fellow fuel-conserver Memo Gidley for five laps and took his second win of the season by just 0.794s.

"This racing's so unpredictable," said team boss Bobby Rahal, "and we had nothing much to lose. We played an aggressive strategy and it paid off."

Third and adding to his points lead was defending champion Gil de Ferran. The Penske driver, along with team mate Helio Castroneves and PacWest rookie Scott Dixon had dominated the early laps. But like the majority of the field, he was caught out by the late race caution.

De Ferran's consecutive title moves a significant step closer after his title rival Kenny Brack was involved in an opening lap accident with Michael Andretti.

Dario Franchitti's slim title hopes ended after a tap from behind from Christian Fittipaldi's Newman-Haas Lola-Toyota. Prior to that, the Scot had worked his Team Green Reynard-Honda into a top 10 spot after qualifying a perplexed 23rd.

For full race results, click here.