SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Three-time world champion Ayrton Senna won the Brazilian Grand Prix for the second time Sunday, triumphing on his home track through torrential rain that caused his archrival and pole- sitter Alain Prost to abandon the race after an accident.
Driving a McLaren-Ford, Senna completed 71 laps of the Interlagos circuit in 1 hour, 51 minutes and 15.485 seconds.
Prost had won the season-opening race and the Frenchman was the pre- race favorite for this second event on the circuit. His heated rivalry with Senna has been heavily publicized.
Damon Hill of Britain finished second in a Williams-Renault and Germany's Michael Schumacher was third in a Benetton-Ford.
'It was fantastic,' Senna said after his 37th career victory touched off wild cheering from his home fans.
Senna, the world champion in 1988, '90 and '91 took the lead on lap 41 and held off the challenge from Hill, despite having a problem with the instrument panel on his McLaren.
'I saw that Hill slowed his pace and I could use my advantage,' Senna said. 'But I thought there was an electronic problem with the panel that showed an excess of oil pressure, that made me think I would lose the motor and the gear shift. I made the last six laps praying.'
Senna was mobbed by fans after he crossed the finish line and he was forced to complete his lap of honor in a 'safety' car.
'I could not believe it when I turned off the engine and I saw I was in the middle of a sea of people wanting to touch me,' he said. 'I even received some blows, but if I have togo through that in every race, then I am ready.'
The crucial section of the race came when torrential rain began falling in the 20th lap, flooding parts of the track and forcing drivers to slow down and reconsider strategies.
Senna was the first driver to change to wet weather tires in the 26th lap, when he was in third place and the rain was at its hardest. Inexplicably, Prost, who was leading the field, did not change tires as the storm worsened and gave up his leading spot to Hill.
Seconds later, Prost lost control of his Williams-Renault on the first curve of the 28th lap and the Frenchman slammed into Brazilian driver Christian Fittipaldi, driving a Minardi-Ford. Both drivers were forced to abandon the race.
'I drove over something that was on the water-filled track and I lost control,' said Prost, who won two weeks ago in Kyalami, South Africa, and has won the Brazilian Grand Prix six times. 'There was a serious lack of coordination in the garage to see who was going to change his tires first, Hill or me. But I thought I could make another lap with the tires for dry track.'
With the rain continuing to belt down and with several crashed cars disrupting the race, the pace car was forced to lead the competitors for seven laps until the 37th, when the race began again with Hill in the lead, ahead of Senna and Johnny Herbert of Britain in a Lotus.
When the rain stopped, Senna pulled into the pit to change tires in the 40th lap, one lap before Hill.
Hill, whose tires had not reached the right temperature, could not keep ahead of Senna and the Brazilian took the lead for good on the 41st lap.
A crash on the opening lap between Michael Andretti of the United States in the second McLaren-Ford and Austrian Gerhard Berger in a Ferrari signalled an early exit for both drivers. Andretti was flown to a local hospital, but doctors said he was unharmed.
Senna moves to the top of the world championship standings with 16 points, six points ahead of Prost.
The next race of the season is at Donington, England, April 11.
