IN Brief : Swiss, Austrian Bobsledders Lead

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Switzerland II and Austria II led the second day of qualifying in the four-man competition of the World Bobsled Championships.

In the first run Tuesday night, Hubert Schoesser drove Austria II to a first-place time of 54.13 seconds on the 1,288-meter course. That mark only was two-hundredths of a second slower than the track record set by Switzerland’s Gustav Weder during two-man competition last Saturday.

Weder, who was edged out by Olympic champion Wolfgang Hoppe of East Germany for the two-man crown, led Switzerland II to a second-place tie with Britain I in Tuesday’s first qualifying run. Both teams posted times of 54.34.

In the second run, Weder drove Switzerland II to a first-place finish with a time of 54.21. Austria I followed with a time of 54.25 while Switzerland I finished third at 54.38. Austria II finished fifth at 54.48.

Qualifying for the four-man competition ends Thursday, with the championships to be held Saturday and Sunday.