Andretti docked Rio points.

CART veteran Michael Andretti has been stripped of the points he scored at the Rio Champcar event two weeks ago, after injuring one of his pit-crew during a mid-race stop.

The Newman-Haas star, who is already enduring one of his poorest seasons, will forfeit four points and almost $18,000 in prize money after crewman Todd Tice was left with a broken right leg and ankle. Fellow team member John Littlefield also sustained a badly bruised left leg in an incident in the Rio pit-lane which closely mirrored that involving Michael Schumacher at last Sunday's Spanish Formula One race.

The CART series rules insist that any driver involved in a pit-lane incident which results in an injury to a team member has to be pulled out of the race. Although the Newman-Haas outfit neglected to do so, CART chief steward Kirk Russell later explained that there would be no further sanction, as the extent of Tice's injuries were not ascertained until after the chequered flag had dropped.

''After meeting with team representatives, and carrying out a careful review of the facts, I met with the stewards at the first available opportunity,'' Russell revealed, ''As a result of our meeting, we have chosen to remove the points and awards gained by the number six car, thereby having the same effect as exclusion at the time of the event. The [car's] finishing position will remain as part of the event record, and the points and awards will not be redistributed.

''Given the nature and severity of the incident, we would have excluded the number six car from the remainder of the event, but the information available at the time of the event did not support the action. We have to make call based on the best information at the time,'' he added by way of explanation.