1.   The Golf GTi and its nearest rival.

2.   Jackie Stewart was able to run away with the championship, scoring nearly twice as many points as his nearest rival, Ronnie Peterson.

3.   The world champion finished more than two seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

4.   Choosing a different route out of Hobart to the rest of the fleet, the yacht quickly established a one mile lead over the nearest rival.

5.   Tests by the Severn Trent laboratories proved Coastguard to be three times as effective against viruses as its nearest rival-yet much less expensive.

6.   Bertelsmann A.G. declined to comment Friday on a report that it was joining with America Online Inc. to acquire Compuserve Inc., its nearest rival in on-line computer services.

7.   Fernando Henrique Cardoso all but claimed victory on Thursday in the presidential elections when partial returns gave him more than twice the votes of his nearest rival.

8.   In Chile, Santander is the third largest bank and the largest foreign bank, three times the size of its nearest rival, Citibank.

9.   Muller said the company has a significant lead over its nearest rival, VISX Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., which is also seeking approval.

10.   President Fernando Henrique Cardoso was expected to defeat his nearest rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, easily.