- Malaysia footballer leaves intensive care after acid-attack: official
- Armenia detains demonstrators as protest leader seeks PM's impeachment
- US military aid 'on its way', Blinken tells Ukraine
- Putin to meet Xi in Beijing seeking greater support for war effort
- Repression grips remote Russian region months after shock protests
- Stage 9 winner Kooij pulls out of Giro d'Italia
- Putin to visit Beijing, meet Xi this week
- Anglo American to split group after rejecting BHP bid
- Dutch fine Fortnite maker for 'pressuring' kids with ads
- Putin to visit Beijing this week
- Japan's brother-and-sister act eye more Olympic judo gold
- Foxconn reports sharp rise in first-quarter net profit
- Uber to buy Delivery Hero's Foodpanda in Taiwan for US$950 mn
- Sony net profit dips on-year but beats estimate
- Modi files candidacy for India election in Hindu holy city
- Georgia set to adopt 'foreign influence' bill despite mass protests
- Blinken in Ukraine to assure US support amid new Russian offensive
- Hong Kong leader defends foreign trade offices after UK spying arrests
- New Caledonia counts the cost of overnight riots
- $27.7 million Bacon tops New York art auction sales
- 'Shots fired' at security forces in New Caledonia riots
- Celtics push Cavs to brink of elimination, Thunder pull level with Mavs
- European rights court to make final decision on Semenya
- Greta Gerwig's jury at the Cannes Film Festival
- Meryl Streep: Hollywood's peerless star
- French court to rule in Polanski defamation trial
- French climber dies on Nepal's Mt Makalu
- Taboo to brew: conservative Gulf gets first local beer
- Hollywood heads to Cannes as off-screen drama soars
- Verdict expected in trial of German far-right firebrand
- Students, activists, entertainers: Minecraft's global appeal
- Asian traders bide their time ahead of key US inflation data
- New Caledonia announces curfew after riots over voting reforms
- A 13-year fight for justice in Philippine activist's murder
- Celtics hold off depleted Cavs to take 3-1 NBA series lead
- Indonesia flood death toll rises to 50 with 27 missing
- Tyson says comeback at 57 was 'no-brainer'
- No.1 Scheffler, a new dad, hits Valhalla for PGA Championship
- Anthropic AI assistant 'Claude' arrives in Europe
- Brazil's flooded south paralyzed as rivers swell, again
- Celebrities face digital backlash over Gaza silence
- Former fixer Cohen testifies Trump approved hush money payment
- US authorities demolish part of collapsed Baltimore bridge
- More evacuated as early wildfires sweep western Canada
- Mbappe wins award for France's player of the year
- Duran double salvages draw for Aston Villa against Liverpool
- OpenAI gives ChatGPT new powers to see, hear
- Marsch named as new Canada coach
- Barcelona beat Real Sociedad to move second
- Global stocks tread water ahead of US inflation data
New Zealand's McLaughlin defends Alabama IndyCar crown
New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin, stung as part of a Penske Racing cheating scandal, captured his fifth career IndyCar title on Sunday by winning his second consecutive Alabama Indy Grand Prix.
The 30-year-old Kiwi driver won from the pole by outlasting Australian teammate Will Power and leading 58 of the 90 laps over a 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
McLaughlin said Penske had nothing to prove but was overjoyed at the 1-2 finish alongside Power.
"We just had to keep rolling," said McLaughlin. "We know our job. We know what we needed to do. I'm just super proud of the execution. The Chevy was so good. We just showed our pace."
McLaughlin did call it one of the top wins of his career.
"It's a good one, drove one of our best drives," he said. "Just execution and wanting to knock out the laps and bring it to the checkered flag."
Power, also punished as part of the Penske controversy, was second with Swedish rookie Linus Lundqvist third, Sweden's Felix Rosenqvist fourth and Spain's Alex Palou, the reigning series champion, in fifth.
Power admitted he did not attack McLaughlin as hard as he might have in the final laps to avoid risking a wreck to ruin both their days.
"You don't want two Penske cars out of the race with everything that has been going on," Power said. "We got back to where we needed to be."
American Colton Herta seized the season points lead on 101 to 100 for Power, 98 for Palou and 94 for New Zealand's Scott Dixon with McLaughlin 42 adrift.
McLaughlin forfeited a third-place finish in the season opener at St. Petersburg and US teammate Josef Newgarden forfeited the victory after a Long Beach tech inspection last weekend showed their cars were altered to use overtake power on starts and restarts -- against IndyCar rules.
Penske Racing said the changes were made for a pre-season engine test and mistakenly not changed back before the season began.
McLaughlin said his 1.9 seconds using the extra power came from habit and he had no idea of the car changes. Newgarden also denied knowing of the change and said his 29 seconds pushing the button were because he thought the rule had been changed, an excuse he admitted would be hard for rivals to believe.
Newgarden, a winner in three of the past eight Barber races, said Sunday before the race he had not spoken to any other driver about the matter.
- Pit-stop strategy fight -
McLaughlin grabbed the early lead with front-row neighbor Power in second, but the race soon shifted into a strategy fight.
While most cars planned for three pit stops, Palou was among several drivers adopting a two-stop strategy, hoping fuel mileage and caution flags would allow them to finish in front of McLaughlin and Power.
McLaughlin resumed the lead with 21 laps remaining when his last rival on the opposite strategy pitted, then stretched his lead over fuel-saving Palou to 32 seconds before making his final stop with 16 laps remaining.
McLaughlin and Power both refueled and returned to the track ahead of Palou and stayed 1-2 to the finish line.
The season's fourth race will be May 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course, the final event ahead of the Indianapolis 500 oval classic on May 26.
F.Pavlenko--BTB