 In the race, Schlesser worked his way up to 11th, while Ayrton Senna led from pole position in his McLaren.In the closing stages, the Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto started to catch Senna, and were only a few seconds behind at the start of lap 49, three laps from race end.At that point, Senna came up to lap Schlesser for the second time.