Other Sports

[Smallville22]

Olympic Games - Madrid mayor rules out 2024 bid

The mayor of Madrid has ruled out a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games after the Spanish capital's dismal failure last week to win the right to host the 2020 edition.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) members meeting in Buenos Aires eliminated Madrid, bidding for the third time in a row, from the first round of voting and awarded the Games to Tokyo over Istanbul.
Madrid's presentation to the IOC has been widely ridiculed, with Mayor Ana Botella, the wife of former conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, bearing the brunt of the criticism after she mangled comments in English at a news conference.
"I think that for the moment the Olympic race has given us all the benefits we can expect from it in the next few years," Botella said.
"I believe, therefore, that Madrid should not seek to host the 2024 Games," she added.
As well as the disappointing presentation, various other theories have been put forward as to why Madrid failed, including their decision to present their bid as the "austerity option" and a perception that Spain is soft on doping.
Madrid's failed bid was the Spanish capital's fourth in total after the city also lost out to Munich for the right to host the 1972 Games.

 

[Smallville22]

America's Cup - USA draft in Ainslie to rescue campaign

British Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie will try to rescue Oracle Team USA's floundering campaign on Thursday, as a crew member on the Team's 72 foot catamaran in two planned heats against Emirates Team New Zealand.
The America's Cup holders replaced its tactician John Kostecki in an attempt to reverse its slipping chances of keeping the trophy in San Francisco, after losing four of the first five races to a strong New Zealand challenger.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Don't switch to marathon, Gebrselassie tells Farah

Athletics great Haile Gebrselassie warned Britain's double Olympic and world champion Mo Farah on Friday not to make a premature switch from the track to the marathon.
Farah added the world distance double to the one he achieved at the 2012 London Olympics when he won the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the recent world championships in Moscow.
He is only the second man, after Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, to hold all four titles simultaneously.
Farah's track future, however, is uncertain with a first full marathon pencilled in for London next year, having run half the race in the capital earlier this year.
Gebrselassie, a multiple Olympic and world champion over 10,000 metres as well as a former marathon world record holder, cautioned against a switch to the road and said Farah should concentrate instead on breaking records on the track.
"I would like to advise him to stay a little bit longer on the track," the Ethiopian told ITV News London ahead of Sunday's Great North Run where both runners as well as Bekele will compete.
"Very few athletes are successful in this business from track to road. It looks like it is (too soon for him) but I don't know maybe I make a mistake.
"But if I run 3.28 for 1,500 metres why do I need to move to the marathon? I stay at 5,000 and 10,000 because there is a chance to break world records."
Gebrselassie said he made a mistake in switching to the marathon too early in 2002 and immediately returned to the track after one race.
"After one marathon I stopped because I was not that good. The combination, the speed I had, instead of continuing I went back to the track," he explained.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Three Spanish athletes test positive for banned drugs

Tests conducted at the Spanish athletics championships in July returned three "adverse analytical findings", the head of the country's anti-doping agency (AEPSAD) told the lower house of parliament on Thursday.
Tests conducted at the Spanish athletics championships in July returned three "adverse analytical findings", the head of the country's anti-doping agency (AEPSAD) told the lower house of parliament on Thursday.
AEPSAD President Ana Munoz did not reveal the names of the athletes but said their licences have been suspended while the correct procedures are followed.
Two of the substances detected carry lengthy bans according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules and the positive results have been confirmed by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, she added.
The tests were the first conducted by AEPSAD since it was granted wider powers in new anti-doping legislation.
The law was part of Spain's effort to dispel a perception it is soft on doping, seen as one reason for the failure last week of Madrid's bid for the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
The country's image suffered a blow in April when the judge in a high-profile doping trial ordered blood bags that could implicate drug cheats to be destroyed.
The Spanish doctor at the centre of the case, Eufemiano Fuentes, had told the court he had clients in cycling but also in sports including soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing.
Fuentes, who denied doping, was given a one-year prison term for endangering public health but the judge's ruling on the blood bags prompted widespread condemnation.
Anti-doping authorities have appealed her decision and Munoz told parliament the blood bags were still in existence pending the outcome.
"Obviously every time an adverse finding comes to light which could lead to a severe punishment it is a reason for sadness," she said.
"Because it means that there is an athlete who did not want to respect the rules.
"At the same time, it is a sign that work well done ... bears fruit."

 

[Smallville22]

Berlin Marathon - World record holder Makau pulls out

World record-holder Patrick Makau of Kenya has pulled out of this month's Berlin marathon due to a knee injury, his agent said in a statement on Friday.
"I wanted to compete and I remained highly focused and positive, but after discussing my options with my management team, I've realised that I can't race unless I am healthy and prepared to perform at my very best," Makau said.
"I trust the doctor and I need to focus on recovering from this problem."
Makau, 28, had been planning to attempt to beat the world record of two hours three minutes and 38 seconds which he set in Berlin two years ago.
"I do believe that Patrick's objective at this stage of his career is not just to protect his world record, but to attack it," his agent Zane Branson said.
"Sadly, this now might have to wait until next year."

 

[Smallville22]

Rally Australia - Ogier extends lead on 'perfect' day

Sebastien Ogier continued to build a lead over Citroen's Kris Meeke and Mikko Hirvonen in Friday's round of Rally Australia.
The Frenchman leads the rest of the field by 20 seconds after the final two superspecials around the centre of Coffs Harbour.
The number eight Polo R WRC has only been beaten on one stage today - and that was by his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who won SS10 by a tenth of a second.
"I think it has been perfect today," said Ogier, who can mathematically clinch a first WRC crown this weekend.
"We had no problems at all and the driving has been good. Tomorrow the stages are much faster and wider - I prefer these roads."
Mikko Hirvonen remains Ogier's closest challenger after a trouble-free day in his Citroen.
The Finn's team-mate Kris Meeke had spent much of the day in an impressive third place, but lost out in SS10 when he stalled the DS3 WRC on the line.
Meeke's first and only mistake of the day cost him 10 seconds and third place to Thierry Neuville.
Fortunately for Meeke, he remains behind the Belgian in tomorrow's running order, with the positions decided after the final gravel stage rather than the superspecials.
Latvala's stage win was the highlight of an otherwise tricky day for the Volkswagen man, who spent much of it wrestling with the car's set-up in search of some comfort in the faster sections of the New South Wales stages.
Mads Ostberg, Andreas Mikkelsen and Evgeny Novikov rounded out the top eight.
Ostberg felt his Fiesta was down on power for much of the day. "It's the torque which I think is not the same," he said. "It feels like it's taking too long to build the boost."
Mikkelsen's Polo will also need some overnight attention after he felt something had broken on the car's left-hand side following an eighth-stage impact.

 

[Smallville22]

Sailing - Patience and Glanfield end maiden season with another win

Luke Patience and Joe Glanfield concluded their maiden sailing season with another victory - secured with a day to spare at the Santander City Trophy.
Patience, who won 470 class silver at London 2012, and Glanfield, second with Nick Rogers at the 2008 and 2004 Olympics, have proved a powerful combination in recent months.
And they bettered their rivals with ease at the regatta, which is being staged as a test event for next year's ISAF World Championships in Spain.
"It's been a while since I can remember doing a regatta where you win with a day to spare it's certainly Joe and I's first," said Patience.
"We've had a great year. We came out of the blocks at our first regatta and stood on the podium, and here we are at our final regatta of the year with another gold medal.
"There's plenty to work on. The things that we can be working on going into the next season can be many.
"As ever with these things there's never enough time - the one enemy you have is the ticking clock."
Glanfield took a break from campaigning for the London 2012 in favour of coaching and is encouraged by their performance across the variety of conditions they've faced since his return to competition.
"I thought I'd be more off the pace in terms of what's going on on the racecourse, he said.
"Physically it's been difficult but I'm getting better as we go along and I'm aching less - there's still definitely some gains there.
"One thing that's been pleasing for both of us is that across all conditions we're pretty consistent. We've definitely got things we can improve on in every condition, but we're not a one-trick pony and we are there or thereabouts come rain or shine, wind or no wind.
"That's really good and we've got something solid to build on."

 

[Smallville22]

Triathlon - Brownlee back in London and looking for winning feeling

Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee is back in London and insists all that has gone before hasn't diminished his desire for more medals.
Brownlee is looking to win the men's world title for the third time and claim his third victory in Hyde Park - where last year he achieved the pinnacle of his career with his memorable Olympic gold.
On paper he should follow the lead of British team-mate Non Stanford, who won Saturday's women's world title, though brother Jonny is second in the overall rankings and Javier Gomez within touching distance in third.
Victories for either Alistair or reigning world champion Jonny would give them the title in the final race of the season and even if Gomez wins, Alistair can still take the overall title by finishing second.
"I've achieved more than I ever set out to achieve or ever dreamed I would when I was an eight-year-old starting triathlon," said Alistair Brownlee.
"That's fantastic but it hasn't altered my motivation at all. It's just made me a bit more content.
"But as soon as I start training or stick me on a start line, I'm still the most competitive person in the world.
"And winning another world title would obviously be wonderfully special and even more so because it's in London.
"Without a doubt it would be the most satisfying one."
Jonathan Brownlee admits defending his title might be tough. Last year he won after his brother missed much of the early season with an Achilles injury and this year his only win over his elder sibling was over the sprint distance.
"Alistair tends to beat me over Olympic distance but he's had a tough year," said Jonathan Brownlee.
"Hopefully he'll be fit but it's going to be hard for him and I can beat him."

 

[Smallville22]

WRC - Ogier continues relentless march as Meeke crashes out

Sebastien Ogier continued to storm away from the field at the end of day two of Rally Australia.
As the World Rally Championship leader reeled off another clean sweep of stage wins to edge himself closer to clinching the title, the big news of Saturday afternoon was Kris Meeke's exit.
On his debut for Citroen's full works team in place of Dani Sordo, the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion had been holding fourth place between Thierry Neuville and Jari-Matti Latvala.
But that impressive run came to an end on the second run of the long Nambucca stage, where Meeke rolled into retirement, to Citroen's frustration.
Citroen team principal Yves Matton said: "I can tell you nothing, because we have not been able to reach them. We don't know anything, nobody has seen the car."
The Northern Irish driver was making his debut with the official Citroen team, replacing Dani Sordo for the Coffs Harbour-based event.
"At service this afternoon I told Kris to keep the pace, to stay not too far from Thierry [Neuville] and we would see tomorrow whether we try to catch him or not," said Matton.
"For sure, I am not happy. He did not do what I asked him. This is just the opposite what I ask him.
"Yes, he did a good job before this, like he did in Finland until 10 kilometres before the end [when he crashed]."
The possibility of Meeke catching Neuville or being caught by Latvala was the main interest of the front group, with Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen, Neuville and Latvala now spread out in the top three positions.
Just 2.5 seconds splits Norwegian pair Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg in fifth and sixth, though, after an excursion on the Valla stage cost Ostberg ground.
Neuville and Ostberg's M-Sport Ford team-mate Evgeny Novikov was already falling away from this group even before a puncture that cost him several minutes.

 

[Smallville22]

Superbikes - Istanbul WSBK: Sykes clinches pole position

Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes clocked the fastest lap of the weekend in the final World Superbike Superpole session to secure his first pole position at the Istanbul Park Circuit.
Sykes raced round the track in one minute and 54.872 seconds to secure pole position ahead of Sylvain Guintoli and Davide Giugliano.
Aprilla’s Guintoli looked on course to topple Sykes from the number one spot on the grid at the chequered flag but his final lap of 1:54.894 was two one-hundredths of a second slower.
His lap did push Althea Racing’s Guigliano down on third on the grid, however.
Guintoli’s team-mate Eugene Laverty could not emulate his fast race pace that he had in the second Superpole outing and his quickest lap of 1:55.340 placed him on the second row, where he is joined by Toni Elias and Jules Cluzel.
Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam joined fellow Brit, GoldBet BMW’s Chaz Davies both line up on the third row, alongside Davies’ Italian colleague Marco Melandri.

Superpole Two

Eugene Laverty 1’54.967
Davide Giugliano 1’55.413
Tom Sykes 1’55.673
Laverty clinched provisional pole in the second superpole outing, with a super quick lap of 1:54.967, the only man to dip under the 1:54.
Last lap dashed from Davies and Guigliano were not enough to see them topple the Irishman and their times could only place them fourth and second respectively, the Italian going to tenths of a second quicker than Sykes, who finished third.
Marco Melandri ran the risk of elimination but moved out of the drop zone in one of his last laps to place just outside the top five and progress to the final session.

Superpole One

Tom Sykes 1’55.768
Marco Melandri 1’56.694
Sylvain Guintoli 1’56.908
Sykes left it until the chequered flag before setting the quickest lap of 1:55.768 and knocking Melandri down to a provisional second place start.
The BMW rider initially only completed one lap and then went back to the pits. But he came back out with five minutes remaining to see the pace.
Guintoli had dominated the earlier part of the session and seemed the one to beat before he was out-paced by Melandri, who initially flirted with elimination as he struggled to produce a solid lap.

 

[Smallville22]

Motorcycling - Marquez flies to sixth pole of 2013

Marc Marquez obliterated the Misano lap record to seal the sixth MotoGP pole of his rookie season.
Yamaha pair Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi will share the front row with the Spaniard, with Dani Pedrosa heading Cal Crutchlow and Aspar CRT rider Aleix Espargaro on row two.
Marquez came into the session as favourite after scoring a clean sweep of every practice session, although he had also suffered a fall at Turn 13 in the final session just 15 minutes before qualifying began.
That did nothing to disrupt his momentum however and, after Lorenzo briefly headed the timesheets, he hit the front with a 1m33.404s.
That ultimately would have been enough for pole, but on his final flyer Marquez broke new ground when he became the first MotoGP rider to lap Misano in the 1m32s bracket, shattering Casey Stoner's previous lap record.
Lorenzo had got to within three hundredths of Marquez before that late improvement, but was forced to settle for second, half a second down.
Rossi meanwhile secured his first front row since the Sachsenring in July as he came home third, two tenths up on Pedrosa.
As he did so he also helped tow Espargaro to an incredible sixth, with the Spaniard - the only CRT rider to make it into the pole shootout - beating the satellite Hondas and works Ducatis to sixth.
Stefan Bradl was 0.070s down the road in seventh, leaving him at the head of a third row he will share with Gresini's Alvaro Bautista and Andrea Dovizioso.
Nicky Hayden, Michele Pirro and Andrea Iannone complete an all-Ducati row four.
Crutchlow had been forced to participate in Q1 for the first time this year after struggling during practice, but alongside Pirro was able to escape into Q2 and found sizeable gains to capture fifth.
Tech 3 team-mate Bradley Smith could not do the same and was knocked out in Q1, and will therefore start ahead of Colin Edwards and Hiroshi Aoyama in 13th place.

 

[Smallville22]

Rugby - Humphreys secures narrow victory

A late Ian Humphreys penalty secured a barely-deserved 20-18 victory for London Irish at Worcester.
The Exiles won just once away in the Aviva Premiership last season but some late ill-discipline from the hosts ensured they were able to immediately get off the mark this term on their travels.
Marland Yarde scored a pair of tries but it was Humphreys who was the matchwinner with four minutes left after Ed Shervington was penalised.
David Lemi and Ignacio Mieres scored the Warriors' two tries with the Argentinian adding eight points from his boot.
Worcester were left with only themselves to blame for defeat after they had been the better side but failed to take their chances, especially in the absence of the yellow-carded Chris Hala'ufia.
The Warriors failed to score in his absence at the end of the first half before seeing Yarde touch down to level matters at 10-10 at half-time.
Irish only had two significant chances to score tries in the whole match but Yarde made the most of both to pave the way for a morale-boosting win.
Both sides made changes following last weekend's defeats.
Paul Andrew, Euan Murray and Chris Jones were introduced into the Worcester pack whilst Irish gave Andy Fenby a first start on the wing with number eight Hala'ufia recalled to make his 100th appearance for the club.
Mieres gave Warriors an early lead with a penalty but when Ravai Faitaki was harshly penalised for tackling Yarde without the ball, Humphreys levelled the scores with the resulting penalty.
With the first major attacking movement of the match, Worcester passed the ball sweetly along their three-quarter line for Chris Pennell to produce a splendid offload to create a try for Lemi.
Mieres converted to give the hosts a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Humphreys had a chance to reduce that lead but his long distance penalty attempt sailed wide before Irish suffered a further blow when Hala'ufia was yellow carded for kneeing an opponent in a ruck.
The Warriors should have taken advantage of Hala'ufia's absence when strong runs from Faitaki and Semisi Taulava gained them a position five metres out from the Irish line, but a careless knock on allowed the visitors the chance to relieve the pressure.
Worcester dominated against the 14 men with one magical burst from Lemi threatening the visitors' line but Hala'ufia returned with no damage done to the scoreboard.
Almost immediately, Worcester were made to pay for their wasted chances as Irish again drew level when Eamonn Sheridan created an opportunity for Yarde which the wing took in great style.
Yarde flew past three opponents to race away on a 40-metre run to the line for the try which Humphreys converted for a 10-10 half-time scoreline.
Yarde did take exception to Mieres' challenge as the wing touched down by getting up and appearing to punch his opponent but the referee took no action.
Eight minutes after the restart, Irish were ahead for the first time when neat offloads from Sheridan and Topsy Ojo gave Yarde another chance and once again the wing took it, easily evading Pennell's cover tackle for a try which Humphreys converted.
A second penalty from Mieres saw the visitors' advantage reduced to four points going into the final quarter.
Mieres missed a penalty but following sustained pressure the fly-half put Warriors ahead collecting a clever pass from Josh Matavesi to escape the Irish defence for a try he failed to convert.
With four minutes left, Shervington was penalised with Humphreys making no mistake with his wide-angled kick to give Irish a last-gasp win.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Bekele beats Farah in dramatic Great North Run finale

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele won the battle of the distance greats when he held off a late surge from world and Olympic 10,000 and 5,000 metres champion Mo Farah to win the Great North Run half marathon on Sunday.
Bekele, the world record holder over 5,000 and 10,000, won in one hour nine seconds on his debut over the 21.08-km distance from Newcastle to South Shields, with Briton Farah one second behind in wet and windy conditions.
Multiple world and Olympic gold medallist Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia was third in 1:00:41, an over-40 world best, as the three athletes, who between them have won all the Olympic men's 10,000 titles since 1996, raced together for the first time.
Bekele attacked on a downhill section in the final 1.6 km to pull clear of Farah and Gebrselassie and although the Briton, renowned for his pace on the track, chased down his rival over the last 400 metres he found himself crossing the line in the unusual position of second.
Farah, who won the long distance double at the World Championships in Moscow last month having achieved the same feat at the London 2012 Olympics, had mixed feelings.
"It was a great race, a great finish. I thought when Kenenisa went with a mile to go that the pace was just ridiculous, I thought I could come back and close the gap slowly," said Farah.
"I managed to close it a little bit but you can't take away what Kenenisa has, he has great speed and it came down to the last 200m, right to the line.
"I am disappointed to finish second, but I didn't just finish second, I finished second to a great athlete. It was a great race and Haile did most the work."
Farah will now take a well-deserved holiday before turning his attentions onto running the full London Marathon next year, having raced half this year.
And the 30-year-old insists his outing at the Great North Run has definitely proved beneficial as he bids for a successful outing on London's roads.
"It definitely taught me a lot for London. My main preparation this year was the world champs, that was my main focus," he added.
"I only had two to three weeks for prepare for this. I will take my break, go on holiday and get ready for the London Marathon."
London marathon champion Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya won the women's race in 1:05:44, ahead of Ethiopia's world and Olympic distance champions Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba.

 

[Smallville22]

ERC - Rally Poland: Bouffier leads as Kubica hits trouble

Bryan Bouffier picked up where he left off in the FIA European Rally Championship by going after victory in Poland.
After challenging on the Sibiu Rally in July, Bouffier is now fighting at the front of Rally Poland in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000. With fastest times on three of Saturday’s seven stages, the three-time Polish champion leads at the overnight halt in Mikołajki by 16.8s.
“It has been really difficult today, very tricky with the weather conditions and I must say I am a bit fortunate to be here because for the final one and a half kilometres of the last stage I had a driveshaft broken I think,” said Frenchman Bouffier, whose Peugeot uses Michelin tyres.
“For sure the grip has not been good but I am having to push because the gap is not so big.”
But the true drama occurred behind Bouffier when national hero Robert Kubica, who started the day in second overall, retired after tearing the front-right wheel from his Citroën DS3 RRC striking a rock hidden in a cut on a fifth-gear right-hander.
Despite heroically battling to the finish of the stage, albeit with a significant time loss, the damage was too great for Kubica to attempt the road section back to final service.
“I thought we had less damage than we have,” he said.
“I tried to make it to the finish as I thought we had some spare parts but we don’t and it’s a shame. It was in a quick part and I hit a stone on the braking and all the effort went on the front right. I thought at the beginning it was a puncture but in the end it was the wheel.
“I was doing my rally to be honest, not risking anything but it’s kind of part of the rally. I am not sure if we come back tomorrow.”

 

[Smallville22]

Triathlon - Gomez outwits Jonny Brownlee in sprint for world title

Alistair Brownlee put a consoling arm around brother Jonathan after he lost a sprint finish for the world triathlon title - but didn't hold back on giving him a hard time for his second place.
The Olympic champion came into the final stop of the eight race season in London leading the world standings but the ankle injury he has battled all season meant he finished well out of contention.
That left Olympic bronze medallist Jonathan Brownlee, the defending world champion, and Javier Gomez in a straight shoot out for the title - the Spaniard silencing the home crowd by winning a desperate sprint for the line.
"He's thrown a world title away for being a complete tactical numpty," said Alistair Brownlee.
"I saw him make his move with 250m to go and I thought 'what an idiot'
"I'd told him to use his head, if he'd come into the last 100 metres behind Gomez he would have won and he didn't do it.
"I'm not surprised I struggled to be honest. I probably should have pulled out but I've never pulled out of a race in my life and I'm not about to start at the World Championships in London."
Slovakia's Richard Varga took the swim out hard but the Brownlee brothers were in close contention and soon established themselves in a 13-strong lead group on the 40km bike leg.
Gomez was also right in the mix and the Olympic champion didn't hold back in telling his rivals to take their turn at the front as a chase group lurked 30 seconds back.
Alistair Brownlee was the most active rider, pushing the pace to sap the energy of his rivals - a tactic he used to winning effect in Sweden recently.
After wins in Stockholm, Kitzbuehel and San Diego and a second place in his only other start in Hamburg, Alistair Brownlee has been nothing but consistent in 2013, despite his nagging ankle injury.
But the bike leg clearly took too much out of him and, while he tried in vain to battle the pain, he faded to finish a distant 52nd - meaning he also dropped off the podium in the overall world title standings.
That left his brother and Gomez slugging it out for the race and the overall title - a head-to-head that was only decided in the final metres, the Spaniard edging ahead to claim his third world title after wins in 2008 and 2010.
"I'm gutted and it's tough to take, especially with the race here in London," admitted Jonathan Brownlee.
"It's hard losing by that much because you just ask yourself what you could have done differently.
"Second in the world is not too bad but I wanted to win. Perhaps I should have let him make the move on the sprint but I've won sprints like that before, so I don't really know what I could have done."
The Brownlees' sibling rivalry and rock-solid training partnership is based on honesty and Alistair's analysis of the race was delivered with a grin, while his brother later claimed the Olympic champion shouldn't have even been on the start line.
"He was really worried about his ankle and he's not run properly for three weeks," he added.
"All season he's only done about five weeks training and he's only won the races he has because he is so good.
"He's done an eighth of the training of all his rivals and anyone else wouldn't have started this race, I wouldn't have done.
"I knew he couldn't run well, he's been in real pain and to expect to run a 30 minute 10km is just not realistic.
"He only started because of his memories of doing so well last year. He would have expected me to win a sprint finish like that but I tried my best."

 

[Smallville22]

Motorcycling - Moto2: Espargaro closes on Redding with win

Pol Espargaro took a massive chunk out of Scott Redding's Moto2 championship lead with a hard-earned victory at Misano.
Redding managed to salvage sixth on the final lap, but still surrendered 15 of his 38-point advantage to the Spaniard with five races to run.
Takaaki Nakagami finished second for a fourth consecutive race, while Esteve Rabat rounded out the podium trio.
The race was a slow burner, with Nakagami hitting the front early on and stringing out the field as he rapidly pulled away.
Once again though his charge was not perfectly timed, and in the final laps he began to fade, allowing Espargaro and Rabat to close rapidly.
With three laps to run Espargaro gained almost one second to move right onto Nakagami's tail, and duly slipped by the Japanese rider down the main straight.
The latter tried to respond and was able to up his pace, but was ultimately unable to trouble Espargaro and had to settle for second. He dedicated the result to compatriot Shoya Tomizawa, who lost his life at Misano three years ago.
As Espargaro surged, Redding slipped. Having run fourth early on, just behind Espargaro and Rabat, he gradually fell back and was passed by Thomas Luthi, Dominique Aegerter and Johann Zarco.
He stayed seventh until the final lap, when he managed to repass Zarco in the end, claiming an additional point in the process.
His championship challenge was nevertheless dealt a sizeable blow, and he now leads by 23 points heading into the season's five-race run in.

 

[Smallville22]

Superbikes - Istanbul WSBK: Laverty takes race one victory

Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty won the first World Superbike race at the Istanbul Park circuit. The Irishman got the better of Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes on lap 12, on the final turn, and led till the very end.
After Laverty got the better of the Yorkshireman he had to contend with a challenge for the victory from GoldBet BMW’s Marco Melandri. The diminutive rider started the race in fourth, but made a move on Aprilia's Sylvain Guintoli on turn eight on lap 14 to put him in third.
The Italian then had Sykes in his sights, then on lap 16 coming out of the opening straight Melandri made a move on Huddersfield’s finest that stuck, and then remained in second till the chequered flag appeared.
Sykes then had to contend the challenge from championship rival, Guintoli. The Frenchman did try and make a move on the Brit on the penultimate lap on turn 15, but Sykes was too strong, and the Aprilia rider finished just outside the podium spots in fourth.
There was an altercation out on track between Red Devils rider Toni Elias and Althea Racing’s Davide Giugliano. The two had been fighting for the fifth place finish from lap 11, and coming out of the last turn the two racers collided with each other and are both under investigation. But it was Giugliano who snatched fifth, as they crossed the finishing line.
GoldBet BMW’s Chaz Davies lost out on seventh to Fixi Crescent Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel. The Welshman did start the race in fifth, but on lap 10 both Elias, Giugliano and Cluzel overtook the Powys resident after he went wide and was never able to get back inside the top five.
Pata Honda team-mate’s Leon Haslam and Jonathan Rea’s stand-in rider Michel Fabrizio were locked in a battle right to the bitter end. They too touched going in to the home straight with the Smalley rider, just edging the Italian to cross the line in ninth, with Fabrizio rounding off the top ten.

 

[Smallville22]

Superbikes - Istanbul WSBK: Sofuoglu edges Lowes in epic Supersport race

Yakhnich Yamaha’s Sam Lowes fought till the bitter end with MAHI Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu in the World Supersport race at the Istanbul Park circuit, but it was the reigning champ who snatched the victory from the Derby man.
The fight for the victory really started on the penultimate lap. Lowes did lead from lap two, but towards the end Sofuoglu closed in and began to challenge for the top spot on the rostrum. On lap 13 the Turkish rider went into the lead, only for Lowes to get to the front seconds later on the straight.
On the final lap the lead changed numerous times, but it was the local lad who made a move on turn 12, and Lowes was unable to get ahead, and missed out on being crowned Supersport champion by two one-hundredths of a second.
Pata Honda’s Michael Van der Mark ended up having quite a lonely race. The Dutchman started off well and in the early stages of the race on lap two was even as high as second after a move on Sofuoglu. But that did not last and the Honda rider ended the day in third, nine seconds behind the leading duo.
There was an epic battle for fourth place, and that was between ParkinGO MV’s Christian Iddon, Kawasaki Intermoto’s Florian Marino, Pata Honda’s Lorenzo Zanetti and Scottish rider DMC-Lorenzini’s Kev Coghlan.
The fourth place changed multiple times through the 16 laps. First it was Marino who went out ahead. Then Stockport rider Iddon made a charge on Perthshire's Coghlan. Both riders were side by side, but on lap 13 Iddon made a pass that placed him in fourth ahead of Marino and fellow Brit, Coghlan.
Iddon did pull away from the trio, but his good form was not to last, as he experienced a technical problem on turn 11 of lap 16, which permanently ended his chances of coming away from the race with some solid points.
In the end it was Zanetti who finished 11 seconds behind team-mate Van der Mark in fourth, followed by the two Robertos of ParkinGO MV’s Rolfo, and Team Lorini’s Tamburini. Marino experienced a problem and on the last lap slipped back to 19th.
Coghlan ended the race in seventh in front of Kawasaki Intermoto’s David Salom and Rivamoto’s Jack Kennedy. The Dubliner did not have the best of starts but clawed his way through the grid from 15th to 10th and crossed the finishing line in ninth. PTR Honda’s Danny Webb ended the race in 18th.

 

[Smallville22]

WRC - Ogier's world title wait goes on despite Australia win

Sebastien Ogier's wait to replace former team mate Sebastien Loeb as world rally champion will go on for another three weeks despite his victory at the Rally of Australia on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Frenchman's sixth victory of the season for Volkswagen left him just one point shy of an unassailable lead over Ford's Thierry Neuville in the drivers' standings with three rounds of the championship remaining.
Belgian Neuville dramatically snatched second place overall from Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen when the Finn suffered a puncture on Sunday's final stage.
That was just enough to deprive Ogier of the chance to celebrate his first world title at the seaside resort of Coffs Harbour.
Ogier, who had an outside chance of clinching the title at last month's German round only to come off the track and suffer a suspension problem, will now expect to be crowned world champion on home soil at next month's Rally of France.
"We did the job and thought it was okay," Ogier, who won 18 of the rally's 22 stages, said. "Immediately I thought I would miss one point because Mikko had a problem.
"When you do a perfect job like that you expect to make it. I just did my best. We mathematically miss one point, but it's gonna happen soon.
"Still another perfect rally and it's really good for the team because we score a lot of points for the manufacturers championship as well."
Loeb decided to contest only four rounds this season after securing his ninth successive title for Citroen in 2012, leaving the way clear for a different champion for the first time since Norway's Petter Solberg in 2003.
Ogier has grasped the opportunity with both hands in the pacy Volkswagen Polo and, with co-driver Julien Ingrassia, was again dominant on the dusty gravel tracks around the north central coast of New South Wales.
He finished one minute, 32.1 seconds clear of Neuville to win his 13th career rally. Hirvonen finished third ahead of Ogier's Volkswagen team mate Jari-Matti Latvala.

 

[Smallville22]

Superbikes - Istanbul WSBK: Dominant double victory for Laverty

Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty once again out paced Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes to take the World Superbike win, his second victory of the day at the Istanbul Park circuit, and his first double of the season.
Sykes was leading the race and did have a one second advantage over second place Laverty, but that was not to last as the Irishman slowly crept up on the Yorkshireman and by lap 12 he was on the tail of the Kawasaki, and made a move to go into the lead on the last turn.
Laverty pushed on ahead and however hard Sykes tried he could not catch up with the Aprilia machine. But it is not all bad for the Yorkshire rider, as Sykes now leads the championship by eight points from Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli.
The Frenchman did get off to a strong start and immediately placed his bike behind Sykes, but his Monaco-based team-mate was never too far behind and on lap three on turn 15 Laverty made a move on Guintoli that pushed him to third, and that is where the England-based rider finished the race.
GoldBet BMW’s Marco Melandri could not clinch a podium place in the final race of the day. The Italian started the race in fifth behind Red Devils rider Toni Elias. The former MotoGP racers were in a fight for fourth for most of the race, but on lap six on turn 14, Melandri passed Elias and stormed on ahead.
But Elias had another BMW to contend with, and that was Melandri’s Welsh team-mate, Chaz Davies. The Powys rider was never far off the pace of the former Moto2 champ, and made a move that stuck on lap 16. Davies ended up having a nightmare final lap, and made a mistake and Elias was able to go in front, and crossed the finishing line in fifth, with Davies in sixth.
Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam was engrossed in a battle for seventh with Fixi Crescent Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel. The Derbyshire rider did not have the best of starts and was languishing tenth for most of the session.
In a repeat performance of race one he was locked in a battle with stand-in team-mate Michel Fabrizio, but soon Haslam found enough speed to pull away, but he could not out pace the Frenchman. The Honda rider finished in eighth with Althea Racing’s Davide Giugliano and Fabrizio rounding off the top 10.
Ducati Alstare’s Ayrton Badovini was absent. He did make it out for the opening outing earlier on Sunday morning but retired due to a technical problem. The Italian is still suffering from an ankle injury, and was in too much pain to take part in race two.