On this day: November 3, 1991 – Ayrton Senna wins shortest F1 race and drivers’ title

Sport360 staff 12:28 03/11/2015
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  • Senna en route to his victory.

    Considered the greatest racing driver of all-time, Ayrton Senna was a dominant force and won his third and final Formula One championship on this day in 1991.

    Senna finished the season in that year’s Australian Grand Prix, which holds the record for the shortest F1 race ever held.

    Due to torrential rain, the race was stopped after 16 of the scheduled 81 laps, with the official results taken from the end of the 14th lap.

    As such, only half the normal points were awarded, but Senna still cruised to the title with a 24-point cushion over second-placed Nigel Mansell.

    Gerhard Berger’s third-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix also clinched the Constructors’ Championship for McLaren.

    1935: Korean Kitei Son runs world record marathon at 2:26:42 in Tokyo.

    1972: Wilt Chamberlain scores 72 points for the San Francisco Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers.

    1981: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first relief pitcher in MLB history to win both the Cy Young and MVP awards.

    2003: Pat LaFontaine, holder of the most points per game among American-born ice hockey players at 1.17, is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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