Motorsport

Rossi: pole position and champion in the 100 to the assen

2009-06-29T08:19:00.004+07:00

Valentino Rossi reached yet another milestone in his astounding career as he claimed his 100th victory at grand prix level with a dominant performance in the Assen. “It’s a fantastic achievement. 100 victories is a great number. Thanks to all the guys who have helped me to reach this number –my teams over the past ten years, Jeremy Burgess and especially all my close friends and family for giving me motivation. We hope to win some other races though!” said Rossi after stepping onto the podium with a custom made ‘100’ flag. On the race itself, which he led for almost the entirety after starting from pole, the reigning World Champion commented that: “I had a good feeling and knew that I was very fast on two or three points in the track, so I tried to get out to the front as soon as possible and impose my rhythm. It was a perfect race because any mistakes would have a high cost. I knew that Lorenzo was very strong, so I tried to take an advantage.

World Championship

1 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 131
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 126
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 122
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 69
5 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 67
6 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 67
7 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 56
8 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 55
9 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 53
10 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 51
11 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 39
12 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 31
13 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 27
14 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 27
15 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 26
16 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 12
17 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 12
18 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 9

Rossi : Best of The Best

2009-06-15T05:33:00.008+07:00

Valentino Rossi said his battle for victory with Jorge Lorenzo in the Catalunya Grand Prix was among the hardest fights of his career.

The two Yamaha riders swapped the lead repeatedly on the final lap, before Rossi secured victory with a bold dive at the very last corner of the race.

The reigning champion reckoned the dice out-ranked even his now-legendary dice with Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca last summer.

The Best of Yamaha Team

The Italian star continued, “It was a great race and we know that Lorenzo is very strong, so to try and beat him in the future we have to be at 100%. I’m so happy about today and my 99th GP win. It was so important to take this victory here in Barcelona, more than just the 25 points, because for me, for my team and for the crowd it is just fantastic, so I think the show was unbelievable.”

Rossi admitted he will need some rest before the next race, commenting, “We have to test on Monday, to work hard on the bike and then after I just need to relax. I have a bit of a problem with my neck so I need to stay at home, in my own bed, relaxing and waiting, so I can be ready with the batteries recharged for Assen.

Result

1	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	106
2	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	106
3	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Marlboro Team	106
4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	69
5	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	67
6	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	54
7	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	Hayate Racing Team	50
8	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	49
9	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	42
10	Chris VERMEULEN	AUS	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	42
11	James TOSELAND	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	29
12	Mika KALLIO	FIN	Pramac Racing	26
13	Alex DE ANGELIS	RSM	San Carlo Honda Gresini	25
14	Toni ELIAS	SPA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	23
15	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Marlboro Team	19
16	Niccolo CANEPA	ITA	Pramac Racing	10
17	Sete GIBERNAU	SPA	Grupo Francisco Hernando	9
18	Yuki TAKAHASHI	JPN	Scot Racing Team MotoGP	8

Jorge Lorenzo To Pole in Catalunya

2009-06-14T02:13:00.004+07:00

Catalunya Grand Prix pole-winner Jorge Lorenzo believes the very hot conditions in Spain will make tomorrow's race one of the toughest of the year. The Spaniard is confident that he is fit enough to cope with the weather, but expects the event to be a test of endurance - and extremely close-fought.

Result
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m41.974s
2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m41.987s + 0.013s
3. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m42.426s + 0.452s
4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m42.594s + 0.620s
5. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m43.139s + 1.165s
6. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m43.168s + 1.194s
7. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m43.175s + 1.201s
8. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m43.207s + 1.233s
9. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1m43.233s + 1.259s
10. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m43.336s + 1.362s
11. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m43.365s + 1.391s
12. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m43.411s + 1.437s
13. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m43.414s + 1.440s
14. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 1m43.422s + 1.448s
15. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati 1m43.714s + 1.740s
16. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda 1m43.777s + 1.803s
17. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m43.792s + 1.818s
18. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 1m43.991s + 2.017s 19. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda 1m45.833s + 3.859s

Jenson Button in Turkey

2009-06-08T01:56:00.005+07:00

The race fell into Button's hands on the opening lap. While Vettel stayed in front into the first corner, Barrichello stuttered off the line and tumbled back to 13th place. That removed one of Button's main rivals from contention, and then Vettel ran wide in the Turn 9/10 chicane, allowing Button to take the lead and start charging away with relative ease. The Briton soon had a four-second lead, which he maintained through the first pitstops. But Vettel then came back at him, moving to a three-stop strategy and benefiting from his much lighter fuel lead to charge back up behind the Brawn. There was no way past, though, and after 13 fruitless laps in Button's wake, Vettel had to make his second stop, dropping him to third behind Webber and ought of contention. The race was all about the three of them. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Williams’ Nico Rosberg had a race long battle for fourth which went the Italian’s way, while Felipe Massa’s hopes of a fourth straight victory here in the Ferrari were clearly unrealistic and he had to be satisfied with a distant sixth place ahead of the battling BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica and Toyota’s Timo Glock. Kimi Raikkonen was one of many stars to have an unrewarding afternoon. He brought his Ferrari home ninth ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Renault, the Spaniard separated from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima. Hamilton avoided being lapped only because Button backed off. In a poor day for McLaren Heikki Kovalainen was 14th, a lap down, and led home Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, Renault’s Nelson Piquet, Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Sebastien Bourdais in the second Toro Rosso.

Barrichello had a miserable afternoon which included a spin after a brush with Kovalainen and nose damage after a collision with Sutil, and retired after 47 laps. Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella went out earlier than that with mechanical gremlins, after four laps. Button now has 61 points over Barrichello on 35, Vettel on 29 and Webber on 27.5. Brawn have 96 points to Red Bull’s 56.5.

Stoner Winner in Mugello

2009-06-01T10:17:00.004+07:00

The Winner in Mugello

The race began with the track still damp, and Stoner burst into the lead off the line, but only briefly before wet weather specialist Chris Vermeulen thrust his Suzuki to the front.

This pair and Honda's Andrea Dovizioso proceeded to swap the lead through the opening stages, with Rossi lurking close behind and Marco Melandri revelling in the conditions and charging through towards the top five on the Hayate Kawasaki.

Lorenzo recovered from his pre-race error and wheel-spinning start to soon rejoin this pack on his spare bike while Yamaha worked to repair his original machine in time for the bike changes as the weather improved.

Dovizioso managed to get around both Vermeulen and Stoner on lap three, and as the track began to dry, Rossi and the flying Melandri further demoted the Suzuki and Ducati and lined up to challenge Dovizioso for the lead.

Rossi hit the front for the first time on lap nine, with Melandri following him past Dovizioso and the Honda rider diving into the pits for his slick-shod bike just afterwards.

Melandri's charge was not finished, and he brilliantly passed Rossi to take the lead - from 15th on the grid - before they too switched to slicks at the end of lap 10.

Though they rejoined in front, Dovizioso's additional lap on dry tyres paid dividends, and he swept into the lead as his countrymen tried to get their rubber up to temperature.

Melandri soon started falling down the order on the dry track, while Rossi - who had taken a hard slick tyre - was unable to get up to speed as quickly as Stoner and Suzuki's Loris Capirossi, who demoted the Yamahas and set off after Dovizioso.

The Italian had led by three seconds, but soon had both Stoner and Capirossi not only on his tail, but slicing past to push him back to third.

Capirossi, in his best ride since joining Suzuki last year, then attacked Stoner and took the lead of his home race for one glorious lap before the Ducati got back ahead and started edging away.

Both Capirossi and Dovizioso then began fading, and as the Yamahas picked up pace in the closing stages, Lorenzo and Rossi charged back through to second and third. The podium spot - which he hung on to despite a late resurgence from Dovizioso - was scant consolation for Rossi as his remarkable home winning streak ended.

Colin Edwards beat his Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate James Toseland to sixth, the Briton having flown up the order after being the first to gamble on slicks.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) took eighth, followed by a breakthrough performance by Pramac Ducati's Niccolo Canepa, another man to make an early bike swap. Vermeulen and Melandri fell back to 10th and 11th in the dry.

There was more bad news for the injury-blighted Dani Pedrosa (Honda), who crashed heavily before half-distance while running in the midfield and required medical assistance. The Spaniard had already been struggling for fitness this weekend after damaging the muscles in his right hip when his body was jarred while catching a slide in practice.

Results World Championship

2009-05-19T19:01:00.000+07:00

Results
World Championship

Pos. Rider Nation Team Points
1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 66
2 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 65
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 65
4 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 57
5 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 43
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 43
7 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 35
8 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 31
9 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 27
10 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 26
11 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 21
12 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 20
13 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 17
14 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 16
15 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 9
16 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 8
17 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 8
18 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 3

Lorenzo The Winner in LEMAN's

2009-05-18T18:20:00.007+07:00

Strategy to make racing tires Jorge Lorenzo perfect. The Fiat Yamaha this claim second victory of the four series of the first MotoGP at Le Mans in 2009 Lorenzo prove very strong prod horse tire iron with the composition of wet and dry. French MotoGP to be practical own. Results Lorenzo ordain this as the first of two grand prix wins in a dramatic, this season.

Rossi Select One Ban

Valentino Rossi believes he will not slip down when taking decisions. The Fiat Yamaha is sorry for not choose when to change tires to dry tires in the French MotoGP World champion failed to print a slip in the points after the beginning of the lap with slicks tires. In fact, the condition of the track in Le Mans is still moist. He was struggling through a wet track because the YZR-M1 is not comfortable after the start the second lap. Rossi thinks faster pit entrance is the right decision. He also can go faster with slick tires. For Lorenzo widen the distance and while Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Melandri are very close behind.

Calender MotoGp 2009

2009-05-16T10:43:00.004+07:00

Rnd Date Race
1. 13 Apr Qatar Results
2. 26 Apr Japan Results
3. 3 May Spain Results
4. 17 May France Result
5. 31 May Italy
6. 14 Jun Catalunya
7. 27 Jun Netherlands
8. 5 Jul USA
9. 19 Jul Germany
10. 26 Jul Great Britain
11. 16 Aug Czech Republic
12. 30 Aug Indianapolis
13. 6 Sep San Marino
14. 4 Oct Portugal
15. 18 Oct Australia
16. 25 Oct Malaysia
17. 8 Nov Valencia

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button

2009-05-12T00:43:00.000+07:00

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button drove a pluperfect two-stop race to take his fourth victory in five races in Sunday afternoon’s Spanish Grand Prix, leading home early leader and three-stopping partner Rubens Barrichello by 13 seconds.

It was a resounding success for Brawn, but Barrichello had Mark Webber right on his tail at the finish as the Australian headed a Red Bull 3-4. His team mate Sebastian Vettel had been trapped behind Felipe Massa’s fast-starting Ferrari from the outset, but finally slipped ahead in the closing stages as the Brazilian was ordered to back off to conserve fuel. On the final lap the red car fell victim to Fernando Alonso’s Renault, as poor Massa was obliged to slow down even further.

The result gives Button 41 points to Barrichello’s 27, Vettel’s 23 and Webber’s 15.5. In the constructors’ stakes, Brawn have 68 to Red Bull’s 38.5.

Nick Heidfeld drove a tough and defensive race to net two points for BMW Sauber with seventh place, and Nico Rosberg completed the points scorers with eighth for Williams.

An accident at the first corner influenced the race. Rosberg eased slow-starting Jarno Trulli off in the second, left-handed corner, and as the Italian’s Toyota spun out of the gravel and back on to the track it collected Adrian Sutil, who had just short-cut the corner over on the left-hand side. In the confusion the two Toro Rosso’s collided, resulting in retirement for all four and a five-lap safety car period.

Barrichello resumed the lead he had taken from Button off the grid when the racing restarted on lap six, but later fell behind his team mate as his three-stop strategy proved inferior.

Lewis Hamilton had a frustrating afternoon for McLaren, finishing ninth ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock, who ran well initially but fell back with an early refuelling stop. BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica led Renault’s Nelson Piquet home for 11th, with Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella rounding out the finishers.

The other retirements were Kimi Raikkonen, whose Ferrari ground to a halt with suspected electrical problems on lap 18, and fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen who fell victim to gearbox gremlins on his McLaren.

Read More Formula1

Ferrari F60

2009-05-08T21:22:00.000+07:00

Ferari F60

MARANELLO - Ferrari prepare a new package at the F60 race in Spain later. Felipe Massa hopes to solve poinnya on the race in Barcelona later.

My main goal this time is to print the points of this year. If able, I will try to reach the victory of this season, "Massa is quoted F1live firm, on Monday (4/5/2009)

Formula 1
1 Jenson Button Brawn Mercedes 31
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn Mercedes 19
3 Sebastian Vettel Renault 18
4 Jarno Trulli Toyota 14
5 Timo Glock Toyota 12
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 9
7 Mark Webber Renault 9
8 Fernando Alonso Renault 5
9 Heikki Kovalainen Mercedes 4
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW 4
11 Nico Rosberg Toyota 3
12 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 3
13 Sebastien Buemi Renault 3
14 Sebastien Bourdais Ferrari 1
15 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 0
16 Robert Kubica BMW 0
17 Kazuki Nakajima Toyota 0
18 Adrian Sutil Ferrari 0
19 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0
20 Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 0

The Winner in JEREZ

2009-05-05T08:39:00.000+07:00

Valentiono Rossi The inner in Jerez 2009

JEREZ - Valentino Rossi winning success in the Jerez circuit for a first victory in the 2009 season. Rossi becomes the fastest time with a record 45:18:557, Sunday (3/5/2009).

Start from the fourth position behind Rossi did not make. Daniel Pedrosa immediately leave quickly when the green light on, followed by Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo. The Doctor is only in fourth position. Slowly but surely, Rossi passing above the three drivers, and led the way since race lap 17 to finish.

Pedrosa own position in the second, and followed Stoner. Mischance befall drivers second Fiat Yamaha, Lorenzo, who must drop anchor live races remaining three lap. Randy De Puniet also take advantage of sitting in the fourth position. Motogp

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 65

2 Casey Stoner Ducati 54
3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 41
4 Dani Pedrosa Honda 41
5 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 30
6 Colin Edwards Yamaha 26
7 Randy de Puniet Honda 24
8 Marco Melandri Kawasaki 23
9 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 21
10 Loris Capirossi Suzuki 19
11 Mika Kallio Ducati 16
12 Alex de Angelis Honda 15
13 Toni Ellias Ducati 15
14 James Toseland Yamaha 10
15 Sete Gibernau Ducati 8
16 Nicky Hayden Ducati 5
17 Yuki Takahashi Honda 5
18 Niccolo Canepa Ducati 2
Okezone

MotoGP World Champion in Japan

2009-04-24T09:25:00.000+07:00

Determination of the MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi at the Japanese GP have been rounded later. He would like to reply to a defeat on the Ducati of Casey Stoner in Qatar two weeks ago.
Stay acknowledge that Stoner will be strong opponents in the later Motegi, Rossi remains confident can stick to the strict Aussie. The Doctor is why improving setting Yamaha YZR-M1.
"Still there are some weaknesses on the bike at my GP Qatar yesterday. But, be addressed and everything is ready I would be in the forefront of Motegi," said one of the Italian origin.
"I think Stoner again showing remarkable. Well, so I can go back and duel with narrow gaps," he said.

what is spoken Rossi, Fiat Yamaha manejer davide Brivio also mengku has performed on major renovation motornya. He was sure, with this new settingan Rossi can track back in the wild.
"Tim has been doing renovation. All is working hard in the Japanese GP weekend later, we all want to see Valentino go back to the foremost in Motegi," Brivio demolished.
by:okezone

Brawn BGP001 in Shanghai China

2009-04-17T22:30:00.005+07:00

The same selection was used at March’s Australian race, but many teams struggled with graining on the super-softs around Albert Park. As the surface of China’s Shanghai International Circuit is believed to be rougher than the Melbourne track, concerns have been raised that the issues will only worsen this weekend. Bridgestone, however, stand by their decision.

"We decide the allocations for the races based on many factors including past experience, test information and feedback from the teams,” explained Bridgestone’s director of motorsport tyre development, Hirohide Hamashima. “All teams have a dedicated Bridgestone engineer who works with the drivers and team engineers so we have constant information regarding any tyre issues.

“The teams are made aware of our allocations for races many weeks in advance, so there is plenty of time for feedback. For 2009 we are making a bigger difference between the two compounds and this is in response to requests for this from the FIA and the teams. This gives more of a challenge for the races, and of course any change brings many opinions.

Brawn BGP001
Brawn have a quite different central channel to their diffuser, with the shape of the deformable structure being used to create a sort of double-decker (black arrows) design. However, the most important and controversial aspect is that to work properly this section of the diffuser needs to be fed by air. Highlighted in yellow, you can easily see the hole in the reference plane (red arrow), which actually starts far further forward than is apparent from the drawing, thanks to the small dimensions of the gearbox. The hole increases the speed of airflow as it heads towards the higher rear venturi section, where it expands and creates more downforce. Other teams are arguing that the presence of the hole is against the regulations.
copyright by f1.com

The Stoner vs Rossi in Qatar

2009-04-09T20:36:00.013+07:00

Casey Stoner of death duel against eight-time world champion Valentino Rossi at the bottom of the shaft of thousands of lights in Qatar, April 12, to come. He was ready to confess despite decline when Rossi referred to as the main challenger, this season.

Stoner know Rossi is strong. But, according to him,who can guarantee the other drivers will not ready in a series of MotoGP series this season?
He is also the name of Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen. Create Stoner, the two drivers involved will duel this is frightening.

"Who will be my most powerful rival?
I will know that when the race, "the light of 23 years is cited as Reuters, Thursday (9/4/2009). "If later it is only a rival, I have to face. But when I was a rival of each person, I still have to beat them, "more youth best Nickelodeon Australia's 2008 version.

"My task is the fight with a perfect performance.So, I have to restore the stamina,
understand the motor back and strong as before, "continued the drivers Ducati

Meanwhile, Rossi is also not underestimate Stoner. According to him, other than the established firm, the strategy should be racing Stoner.
However, not only that Stoner will be a challenge. Effect on the global economic recession create a MotoGP race this season will feel tight for anyone.

"In fact, Qatar is not difficult to track which we will skip. Moreover, new rules will give at least different from the previous season, I think, luck factor also later took the role, "said Losail season champion in 2005 and 2006.

Qatar Grand Prix qualifying result:
1 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 1 min 55.286 sec
2 V Rossi (Ita) Fiat Yamaha 1: 55.759
3 J Lorenzo (Spn) Fiat Yamaha 1:55.783
4 A Dovizioso (Ita) Repsol Honda 1:55.977
5 L Capirossi (Ita) Rizla Suzuki 1:56.149
6 C Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:56.194
7 R de Puniet (Fr) LCR Honda 1:56.358
8 C Vermeulen (Aus) Rizla Suzuki 1:56.493
9 A de Angelis (SM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:56.790
10 M Kallio (Fin) Pramac Racing 1:56.852
11 M Melandri (It) Hayate Racing 1:56.962
12 T Elias (Spn) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:57.225
13 J Toseland (GB) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:57.510
14 D Pedrosa (Spn) Repsol Honda 1:57.729
15 S Gibernau (Spn) Grupo Francisco Hernando 1:57.899
16 N Hayden (US) Ducati 1:58.215
17 Y Takahashi (Jpn) Scot Racing 1:58.784
18 N Canepa (It) Pramac Racing 1:58.999

125cc qualifying result:
1 J Simon (Spn) Aprilia 2:06.974 secs
2 B Smith (GB) Aprilia 2:07.107
3 A Iannone (Fr) Aprilia 2:07.588
4 N Terol (Spn) Aprilia 2:07.781
5 S Cortese (Ger) Derbi 2:07.835

Button was Leading

2009-04-05T23:35:00.004+07:00

Button made a poor start and was engulfed by Williams' Nico Rosberg, who made a super getaway. Button tried to run round the outside of him in Turn One and lost out also to Toyota's Jarno Trulli, and Renault's Fernando Alonso got in on the act briefly too before Button snatched back third before the lap was over.

Further back, Rubens Barrichello had sprinted up to fifth in the second Brawn car ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, Red Bull's Mark Webber, Glock, Heidfeld and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

In the second McLaren Heikki Kovalainen went off the road in Turn Five, while Robert Kubica's BMW Sauber was all but left on the grid and expired on the second lap.

Rosberg pulled away a little from Trulli, who had his hands full with Button, but after the German stopped on the 15th lap and the Italian on the 17th, Button got the hammer down and was able to concede the lead just to team mate Barrichello before taking it back when Rubens stopped on lap 23.

The biggest gamble of the day came from Ferrari. When Raikkonen pitted on the 18th lap they put him on wets early, and it proved a disastrous decision as he lapped 21s slower than Button. Further back, team mate Felipe Massa struggled with Hamilton as the world champion lost out in fights with the Red Bulls of Webber and Sebastian Vettel, who had been the first to pit, on lap 13.

Just before the rain, the order was Button, six seconds ahead of Rosberg, Trulli and Barrichello. Alonso was fifth from Hamilton (both yet to stop), then came Heidfeld and Massa, Piquet and Nakajima, Webber, Glock and Trulli who had all stopped, Raikkonen, and then the Toro Rossos and Force €ndias.

Then came the wholesale stops on the 22nd lap as the rain came, followed by thunder and lightning and all the drama that had been predicted.

By lap 25 things had stabilised a little as the drivers splashed their way around, and parts of the track became less wet than others. Button was still leading, from Rosberg, Trulli and Barrichello, but Webber was now fifth from Heidfeld after Alonso had briefly fallen off, then came Hamilton, Glock, Massa, Piquet, Nakajima, Vettel (also, like Glock, flying on inters), Alonso, Raikkonen et al. But conditions were still so tricky that many decided to change to inters, only to find, as Button did, that wets were the answer after all.

When the red flag came out on lap 32, the order read: Button, Glock, Heidfeld (a long way behind after a spin), Trulli, Barrichello, Hamilton, Rosberg, Webber, Massa, Bourdais, Alonso, Nakajima, Piquet, Raikkonen, Sutil, Vettel, Buemi and Fisichella (who had spun twice).

That was when the guessing began. Would they restart the race, as the rain eased but the sky became darker with the onset of evening? If not, when would they backdate the result, because of all the pit stops?

At 18.52 the race directors finally called it off. Button had won, it was just a matter of deciding how far they would go back to decide the order behind him. In the end, that was lap 31, giving a race finishing order of:

Button, Heidfeld, Glock; Trulli, Barrichello, Webber, Hamilton and Rosberg as the points scorers. Then: Massa, Bourdais, Alonso, Nakajima, Piquet, Raikkonen, Vettel, Buemi, Sutil and Fisichella.

Since the race had gone past the 50 percent mark but not 75 percent, half points were awarded. But for Button, it was the chance to extend his championship lead from 10 points to 15, with Barrichello next on 10 from Trulli on 8.5. In the constructors' championship, Brawn have 25 to Toyota's 16.5.

Malaysian Grand Prix

2009-04-04T10:31:00.005+07:00

The FIA Safety Car caught in a heavy thunderstorm. Formula One World Championship, Rd 2, Malaysian Grand Prix, Preparations, Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, 2 April 2009

Welcome to the second round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

Heavy rain at the circuit on Thursday has increased fears of mixed weather over the weekend. It will be hot and very humid, with an ambient temperature high of 32 degrees Celsius on Friday, rising to 33 on Saturday and falling slightly to 31 on race day. Drivers are already concerned that frequent scattered thunderstorms which are expected in the region tend to come at 1700 hours (GMT+8), the scheduled time of the start.

The 5.543 kilometre (3.444 mile) circuit is unchanged since Kimi Raikkonen won for Ferrari last year. The race will run over 56 laps or 310.408 kilometres (192.887 miles)

Superstock 1000 FIM Cup

2009-03-31T09:52:00.003+07:00

Italian Claudio Corti will be aiming for a fresh start in this year's Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. After five years, the 21-year-old from Como has decided to leave Yamaha for Suzuki and the Belgian Alstare BRUX team, determined to make the necessary progress forward to arrive at the top categories.

In 2008 things didn't go at all well for Corti but the youngster still has a winning background to his name: 2005 European Superstock 600 champion, runner-up the following year in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup and the Italian Superstock 1000 championship, followed by another second place in the 2007 1000 FIM Cup.

The aim for 2009 is to go for the Superstock title he has come so close to winning, and this year he will be ably assisted by a 2009-spec Suzuki GSX-R 1000 which in pre-season testing proved to be right on the pace. The big test comes next weekend with the opening round of the championship at Valencia in Spain.

"We will come to the season opener on good form", declared Corti. "The bike arrived a bit late but in the last three weeks we've done a lot of work testing at four circuits: Calafat, Almeria, Albacete and Valencia. The results have been positive, we proved to be quick right away even though there's still a lot of work to do, especially on the set-up. I have to do a ‘reboot' after all these years with Yamaha and try and get dialed in to the new bike. I have to say that the team is helping me a lot and the feeling with the bike is improving each time I go out. Clearly the aim this year is to win the title but I know it won't be easy, because there are some good riders out there, starting with Xavier Simeon on the Ducati. But I'm also going to have to watch out for Tommy Bridewell on a Yamaha and Maxime Berger on a Honda, who are really quick riders. For sure it'll be a big fight but I reckon I've got the right package to go for the ‘big one'".

Jenson Button secured a dream debut victory for the Brawn GP team

2009-03-30T06:52:00.004+07:00

The Englishman led throughout and team-mate Rubens Barrichello completed a Brawn one-two after a dramatic finish.

The Brazilian was promoted after Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW's Robert Kubica collided while disputing second place with three laps to go.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli was hit with a 25-second penalty after the race giving Lewis Hamilton an unexpected third.

Clinching an eventual podium finish from 18th on the grid was a superb achievement for the British world champion, given the woeful performance of his McLaren coming into the race.

But all eyes were on Brawn after the chequered flag, with the success of the former Honda team - whose survival was only secured by team boss Ross Brawn in early March - firmly capturing the imagination of the sport as it enters a fresh era under new rules.

Victorious Button secured the second win of his 154-race Formula 1 career after driving coolly throughout, showcasing Brawn's speed to keep Red Bull's Vettel at bay for the vast majority of the race to eventually cruise to a finish behind the safety car.
Jenson Button leads at the start of the Australian Grand Prix
Button leads the field at the start of the race in Melbourne

"This is a fairytale ending for the first race," said Button.

"Some people may say its a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don't care, I won the race and that's all I care about."

Vettel looked set for a brilliant second place but he and Kubica tangled on Turn Three with just three laps remaining.

The Red Bull driver was slow through the first two corners, allowing Kubica to get alongside on the outside.

The Pole gave Vettel room, but the Red Bull's front wheel tagged the rear wheel of the BMW.

That tipped both into a spin, and damaged their front wings.

Both crashed further around the lap, and although Vettel tried to continue on three wheels he was eventually forced to retire.

Along with earning the Red Bull driver a post-race 10-place grid penalty for next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, the crash brought out the safety car for the second time in the race and it stayed at the head of the field until the end.

Brawn's one-two looked unlikely at the start of the race as Barrichello, sat next to Button on the front row, was easily passed by the chasing pack as his anti-stall system kicked in.

The Brazilian also tangled with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen to cause significant damage to his front wing, which had to be replaced during his stop on lap 18.

The frenetic start also saw Red Bull's Mark Webber collide with McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, causing the Finn to retire and putting the Australian to the back for the duration of his home race.

Button built a lead of nearly 4.5 seconds in the first two laps but Vettel stabilised the gap, which stayed at between four and five seconds until the first pit stops.

Kubica - one of several drivers to start the race on the slower, softer tyres in order to get them out of the way early - stayed in the hunt while Hamilton continued to make up good ground after a brilliant first lap that saw him move up to 12th from 18th on the grid.

The first of two safety car periods happened on lap 19, following a crash by Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima.

When it pulled in again, Button again built a five-second lead over a few laps before Vettel held it.

But both - now on the softer, slower tyres - came under pressure late in the race from Kubica, who was now benefiting from the team's decision to use the faster tyres late on.

That pressure on Button was punctured in an instant as the Pole collided with Vettel allowing Jarno Trulli and Hamilton, whose McLaren had woefully underperformed in qualifying by his own admission but was now seemingly capable of giving him a drive, to reap the rewards.

Hamilton received a further boost following the race when he was elevated to third after Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty by the stewards for passing Hamilton under yellow flags following the crash involving Vettel and Kubica, meaning the veteran Italian finished 12th.
Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli

"I can't say how disappointed I am to finish third and have the result questioned," he said.

"I thought he [Hamilton] had a problem so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do."

Team principal Tadashi Yamashina said the Toyota team would appeal the stewards' ruling.

Trulli's team-mate Timo Glock eventually finished fourth in Melbourne ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso and Williams's Nico Rosberg, who suffered a sticking front wheel at a pit stop on lap 15 which scuppered his chance of a podium finish.

Red Bull's Sebastien Buemi made an impressive debut to secure his first F1 points.

And Ferrari finished without scoring in the season opener for the second year running, as Felipe Massa - running in third place - sustained a reliability failure on lap 45, three laps after team-mate Raikkonen had spun out.

Protests After Pre-Event

2009-03-27T01:52:00.005+07:00

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Race stewards rejected a protest Thursday against the bodywork on the cars of three teams racing at this weekend's Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull lodged protests after pre-event inspections approved the cars of Williams, Toyota and Brawn. The protest alleged the teams had broken new aerodynamic laws restricting the size of the rear diffuser.

After hours of hearings late into the night, the race stewards rejected the protest and cleared the three teams to race with "their designs unchanged."

"Following lengthy discussions with the various parties, stewards reiterated their belief that the cars are legal," FIA said in a statement. "That decision is expected to be appealed, which would require a hearing of the FIA's International Court of Appeal. That would be unlikely to take place until after next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix."

Even before the stewards' hearing, the protesting teams had signaled their intention to appeal if the verdict went against them.

Williams, Toyota and race favorites Brawn will compete in Australia and Malaysia with their current bodywork design but with the fear that any points gained may be wiped out if the appeal succeeds.

BMW team principal Mario Thiessen indicated an intention to join Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull in the protest, but the team did not make the deadline to do so.

New F1 regulations limit the size of the diffuser, and the protesting teams say Williams, Toyota and Brawn had bent the rules by using bodywork at the rear of the car that connected with the diffuser and effectively increased its size.

The diffuser at the rear of car's under-tray acts to increase downforce, assisting speed, cornering and smooth performance.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner rejected suggestions that this row, three days ahead of the season's first GP, had already fractured the much-trumpeted cohesion between teams since the creation of the Formula One Teams' Association.

This is a sporting and competitive issue, it has nothing to do with the workings of FOTA. It's nothing personal against the teams, it's simply looking to clarify regulations and our interpretations and others has been different," Horner said. "Our purpose in all of this is to establish the clarity of the regulation, because it has significant impact on how we channel our development."

Toyota team principal John Howett said he had no ill will toward the protesting teams, and was confident the Toyota design would withstand any scrutiny.

"It's part of the sport we're in," Howett said. "We have studied the regulations in detail and are very confident we have interpreted them correctly. We now just wait for what the stewards or a subsequent court decides."

Should the ultimate decision go in favor of Williams, Toyota and Brawn, other teams would be forced to play catch-up to develop their own bodywork to match.

Horner said his team had done preliminary work to develop rear bodywork in similar fashion, but abandoned it to comply with new F1 rules.

"The cost implications are significant, but it depends on how far you want to go with it," Horner said. "We looked at the concept, we looked at it some time ago. We understood it was certainly not within the spirit, or within the regulations. We haven't committed any significant resource to it."

Australian Grand Prix 2009

2009-03-26T04:52:00.005+07:00

When Formula One came to Australia in 1985 it set up home in Adelaide. However, ex-racer-turned-entrepreneur Bob Jane wanted a race in Melbourne. He created a huge "thunderdome" and invented the AUSCAR series, bringing NASCAR action to Australia.

The desire to have a race in Melbourne did not wane. Despite the popular end of season slot for the Adelaide race, pressure was growing from the Melbourne motor sport community, and in 1992 Jeff Kennett was elected the new premier of the State of Victoria. He immediately set about improving Melbourne's profile. First on his list was the Australian Grand Prix.

An agreement was reached with Formula One in 1993, but the contract with Adelaide did not expire until 1995, so Kennett had plenty of time to prepare. A track was developed in Melbourne's beautiful Albert Park, part of it using closed-off public roads, and in 1996 the city held the first round of the World Championship. Since then, the venue has become the home of Formula One's season opener. The race is very popular with drivers and fans alike, and the party atmosphere of Melbourne keeps them coming back year after year.

2009-03-24T21:43:00.004+07:00

THE 2009 SEASON PREVIEW

McLaren, Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Renault all won races in 2008 and at least three of them are confident of winning more in 2009. But they are also aware that this season has all the ingredients for serious surprises - major rule changes, no in-season testing, and some worryingly different interpretations of the technical regs by supposedly ‘junior’ rivals. So do the big guns head to Melbourne with the firepower to stay ahead of the chasing pack? We consider their chances…

McLaren
1 Lewis Hamilton (GB)
2 Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)

That was the verdict after all the testing, especially the latest runs in Barcelona and Jerez, revealed the car to have a rear-end aerodynamic problem that left both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen disappointingly far down the timesheets.

According to one insider, it is a problem that can be fixed in time for Melbourne. “The key is that we know what the problem is,” they said. It remains to be seen, however, what the true scale of the problem is.

New team principal Martin Whitmarsh has taken it on the chin and admitted that the MP4-24’s performance has been disappointing, and McLaren are working flat-out to rectify that. Whitmarsh will be feeling the pressure after saying recently: “I am a competitive person and being team principal adds a little zing this year. I have two overriding concerns in the forefront of my thinking: To win the first race, in Melbourne at the end of the month, and to see Lewis Hamilton retain his world championship title. I don’t want to be the team principal in 12 months’ time who didn’t help him to win the world championship again, so that does add pressure.”

Subsequently, he said: "Initial testing of MP4-24, which first ran with an interim aero package, went in accordance with our early developmental expectations. Then the car ran in Barcelona with an updated aero package, as we had always planned it would, and a performance shortfall has been identified that we are now working hard to resolve."

Clearly the car is not quick enough yet, though there were signs of progress in Jerez, and few doubt that McLaren will get it right and will do so quickly. But whether they can solve the problem quickly enough to stop Ferrari - and other rivals - gaining points advantages in Melbourne and Sepang, is going to be a key factor in the early stages of the 2009 championship battle.

Ferrari
3 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)
4 Felipe Massa (BR)
Ferrari’s testing has almost been low-key in comparison with McLaren’s obvious problem and the upstart speed of the Mercedes-engined Brawn GP car. In the early stages the weather in Spain and Bahrain did its best to stymie the team, but in Jerez and Barcelona there were plenty of signs that the elegant F60 is nicely positioned to do the business. Both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have expressed themselves happy with the car’s speed and overall performance, and that is particularly important for the team after the Finn’s sometimes lacklustre showings last year.

Were it not for the Brawn’s pace, one suspects that Ferrari would be very happy right now, but the Anglo-German car’s speed has certainly raised many eyebrows in the paddock. Without it, Ferrari would be right where they want to be, with a car that handles well, is quick, and is competitive over long and short runs. Now, having seen the Brawn in action, Ferrari have conceded mentally that they are not the fastest.

“We were able to improve our car a lot in every respect,” Massa reported after testing. “We're where we thought we would be before the start at Melbourne. I'm really satisfied with our competitiveness compared to all the others, except obviously the Brawn. They were unreachable for all of us.”

Reliability has been an issue for Ferrari, however, and after Barcelona team principal Stefano Domenicali admitted: "We're satisfied with the level of our car as far as the performance is concerned. It's obvious that we still have some work to do and that we have to concentrate on its reliability. Last year we've seen how important reliability and the smallest details are. We have to work much harder in this direction."

BMW Sauber
5 Robert Kubica (PL)
6 Nick Heidfeld (D)
Like Ferrari, BMW Sauber have had a relatively low-key time during testing, but there is every indication that both speed and reliability are there in the F1.09 and everyone is quietly confident of being able to launch a major challenge for the world championship.

Also in common with Ferrari, both drivers like the car, and Nick Heidfeld has expressed his confidence that he won’t be troubled by the tyre-heating issues that compromised his performance in qualifying at times in 2008.

Reliability has generally been good for the Swiss-German team, and they have an advantage with their KERS system having tested it a great deal last year. Team principal Dr Mario Theissen recently confirmed that they are in a position to race with it from the start of the season, as planned.

"We've got our KERS to the stage where it is race-ready, which means we can use it in Melbourne,” he said. “Now it's just a matter of weighing up the pros and cons. On the positive side, the drivers would have an extra 82 bhp at their disposal for 6.6 seconds per lap. However, the system adds weight to the car and this has an impact on the car's weight distribution and tyre wear. We will make a decision on a driver-by-driver, circuit-by-circuit basis."

Of all the teams, this one may be the darkest horse, and you get the distinct impression that they are playing down their likely performance. This is a key season in their long-term timetable. “In our first year we set out to finish regularly in the points,” Theissen explained. “In year two we wanted to record podium finishes and in our third year we were aiming to notch up our first victory. We achieved all of these ambitious aims. In 2009 we are looking to take the next and most difficult step yet: we want to be fighting for the world championship title.”

Renault
7 Fernando Alonso (E)
8 Nelson Piquet (BR)
If you believe some of the rumours doing the rounds in testing Renault have been in trouble with their R29. The doomsayers suggest that the only time it goes quickly is when Fernando Alonso’s brilliance is brought to bear, and that Nelson Piquet’s lap times are a better indication of where Flavio Briatore’s team sits in the overall scheme of things.

In Jerez, however, the Spaniard was able to better the Brawn’s lap times, and it is clear that progress is being made. And like BMW, Renault say they are ready to go with KERS, which could bring a critical advantage in the opening rounds as other teams play catch-up.

Also on the positive side, the FIA allowed Renault to modify their engine over the winter and to catch up in the horsepower race with other manufacturers who better exploited the various loopholes in the engine freeze regulations. That will give them another 50 bhp. But Briatore remains very unhappy about the ‘grey’ areas regarding the design of diffusers, particularly those on the Toyota and Williams cars. "I wouldn't like it to end up like the frozen engine, which we respected and ended up with less power than the others," he said. "This is the same story."

F1

2009-03-24T18:32:00.005+07:00

F1 set to cut super-licence fee

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, has agreed to reduce the cost of drivers' mandatory super-licences from the start of the 2010 season.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association, which represents the majority of F1 drivers, had expressed its discontent at a hike in fees in 2008.

FIA president Max Mosley met with representatives from GPDA on Monday.

"A reduced fee would reflect the major cost reductions that will be brought into the sport," the FIA stated.

The super-licence is a qualification, issued by the FIA on request, that allows the licence holder to take part in Formula 1 Grands Prix as a driver.

The cost of a super-licence rose by an average £8,700 last year.
An extra charge of 2,100 euros per point earned in 2008, up from 447 euros per point in 2007, means Lewis Hamilton will pay £242,000 for his licence for this season.

The FIA confirmed that it will cut fees but stopped short of revealing what the new cost structure will be.

The decision to reduce the licence cost is a big turnaround for Mosley who, in February, wrote to Formula 1 drivers to suggest they race elsewhere if they were unable to pay for their super-licences.

"Following a very positive meeting between FIA President Max Mosley and representatives of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), a proposal will be made to the World Motor Sport Council to revise super-licence fees for drivers in the 2010 championship," read the FIA statement.

"A number of other issues were discussed and the FIA has agreed to meet representatives of the GPDA on a regular basis to maintain what promises to be a constructive dialogue."

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 0 Chelsea

2009-03-22T15:39:00.004+07:00

Chelsea missed a golden opportunity to cut the gap at the top of the Barclays Premier League as Luka Modric's solitary strike helped Tottenham inflict Guus Hiddink's first defeat since arriving in England.

A suspect vehicle near White Hart Lane delayed kick-off, meaning the visitors kicked off knowing leaders Manchester United were struggling at Fulham, but they failed to take advantage.

Victory would have taken them within a point of United but Hiddink's men were frustrated by a Tottenham side who have been transformed since Harry Redknapp's arrival five months ago, with Modric striking the winner just after the interval.

Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes also played a huge part in the victory, saving from John Terry late on when the away fans thought they were on level terms. Alex also hit the crossbar in stoppage time as Spurs held on.

Redknapp's men were relegation candidates when he took over in October but they are unbeaten in six league games and could be in with a shout for Europe.

On a personal level, Redknapp had not beaten Chelsea in a league game since 1999. More importantly, he feels his side could challenge the traditional top four in their next campaign.

The visitors, however, have still not recorded a win over one of their London rivals this season and their task was not made easier by Ricardo Carvalho picking up an ankle injury this week, meaning Alex deputised at centre-back.

Deco's hamstring problem meant Juliano Belletti came in on the right side of a midfield squeezed for space, especially when Spurs skipper Robbie Keane dropped back to help his team-mates.

Hiddink's men were predictably limited to long shots and Michael Essien, back from a serious injury, forced Gomes into a save which he gathered at the second attempt early on.

At the other end, Jermaine Jenas just cleared the angle of crossbar and near post with a fizzing drive.

The hosts got closer in the 18th minute after Alex failed to deal with a long punt forward, with Petr Cech required to beat away Keane's powerful volley.

Cech stopped Keane again after Vedran Corluka had raced down the right and pulled the ball back, although this effort was much closer to the Chelsea goalkeeper.

The visitors were being denied space on the ball, with Nicolas Anelka often dropping into midfield to get involved. That was how the France striker started the move that ended with the ball breaking to him on the edge of the area and Gomes saving at the near post.

Encouraged by Chelsea's limited chances, Spurs attempted to break forward. Cech claimed the ball when Keane cut in and had a shot blocked by Alex and the Chelsea goalkeeper also plucked the ball from under his crossbar from Ledley King's looping header.

King clattered Didier Drogba with his thigh while winning a header and the Chelsea striker looked dazed while receiving treatment and heading down the tunnel, the visitors seeing out the first half with 10 men.

Drogba was fit to start the second half but Chelsea were behind within five minutes of the restart.

Aaron Lennon received the ball on the right, feigned to go down the flank but instead he crossed early, between Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.

Keane could have struck but Modric took control of the situation, crisply finishing from the edge of the area into the bottom corner for his fourth goal of the season.

He almost repeated the trick when he got on the end of another Lennon cross, but this time his effort lacked power.

Hiddink's response was to bring on Ricardo Quaresma for Belletti, moments before Lampard struck the frame of the goal with a header at the far post.

Gomes saved from Drogba at the near post and from Quaresma's long-range effort as Chelsea searched for the equaliser.

Drogba sliced another shot wide, with Hiddink's next move to bring on Florent Malouda for Essien.

Terry forced Gomes into his stunning full-stretch save, then King's block on Anelka was equally important. Alex hit the bar deep in injury-time with a header from a corner but Spurs held on.

Guus Hiddink criticised his Chelsea players for switching off at White Hart Lane and missing their golden opportunity to close the gap in the Barclays Premier League title race.

Luka Modric's 50th-minute winner for Tottenham meant Hiddink's men failed to take advantage of Manchester United losing at Fulham, with the leaders maintaining their four-point advantage despite defeat at Craven Cottage.

It was Hiddink's first defeat since being appointed as Chelsea boss until the end of the season.

"When you're chasing you have to win your games but to lose the goal as we did in the 10 minutes after half-time, with so many professionals and internationals, is bad for us,'' Hiddink said. "You have to know, when there is a fire in the kitchen, when to flood that fire.''

Hiddink added: "We lost a huge opportunity, knowing that United were losing, it was a great chance to really change things. But we missed it due to our start, especially in the second half.

"We talked about that at half-time, we knew they would come at us from the start and we emphasised that but it was very sloppy defending for their goal. The team finally woke up and we took over. We didn't control it but we couldn't and that was disappointing.''

Hiddink knows all about Gomes as he brought him to PSV Eindhoven from Brazil.

"Gomes made one world-class save, and that saved the game, but after that it was over. We had pressure but we were reacting to them,'' Hiddink said.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp hailed the impact of Modric, who struggled at the start of the season but turned his campaign around following the arrival Redknapp in October.

"He's special and has amazing ability,'' Redknapp said. "He's not a lightweight either - I thought he was a bit of an Eyal Berkovic but he's physically stronger. He can mix it with the big boys and he's a top-class player.''

Spurs are three points off seventh place, which could earn a place in Europe.

"That's 18 points from nine games so we're playing as well as anyone,'' Redknapp said.

Redknapp fielded a weakened team when Spurs crashed out of Europe last month - but the Spurs boss feels it is still worth qualifying despite the added matches.

"It wasn't that I disrespected the UEFA Cup - we were in a relegation battle and the Carling Cup final,'' he said. "I had to prioritise, if we had been in the top half we would have gone for it. We'll go for it again this season so let's push on and try and get seventh. We need to start looking upwards.''

EDUCATION SPORT & TRAINING

2009-03-21T05:55:00.005+07:00

1. The Union shall contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and complementing their action. It shall fully respect the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity.

The Union shall contribute to the promotion of European sporting issues, while taking account of its specific nature, its structures based on voluntary activity and its social and educational function.

2. Union action shall be aimed at:
(a) developing the European dimension in education, particularly through the teaching and dissemination of the languages of the Member States;
(b) encouraging mobility of students and teachers, inter alia by encouraging the academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study;
(c) promoting cooperation between educational establishments; (d) developing exchanges of information and experience on issues common to the education systems of the Member States;
(e) encouraging the development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio?educational instructors and encouraging the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe;
(f) encouraging the development of distance education;
(g) developing the European dimension in sport, by promoting fairness and openness in sporting competitions and cooperation between bodies responsible for sports, and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen, especially young sportsmen and sportswomen.

3. The Union and the Member States shall foster cooperation with third countries and the competent international organisations in the field of education and sport, in particular the Council of Europe.

4. In order to contribute to the achievement of the objectives referred to in this Article,
(a) European laws or framework laws shall establish incentive actions, excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States. They shall be adopted after consultation of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee.
(b) the Council of Ministers, on a proposal from the Commission, shall adopt recommendations.uefa Allrights reserved

History

2009-03-16T00:51:00.002+07:00

Manchester United are the most successful Premier League club having won the title 10 times. It all began in 1993 when manager Sir Alex Ferguson ended a 26-year wait to lift the Premier League crown.

The signing of Eric Cantona for £1.2million from Leeds United proved a masterstroke as the Frenchman was instrumental in the title victory, along with the likes of Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Ryan Giggs and Paul Ince.

United retained the trophy in the following campaign and romped to further titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. More silverware was added to the Red Devils' burgeoning trophy cabinet with FA Cup success in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004, plus League Cup victories in 1992 and 2006.

Perhaps the most memorable time in the club's history was the treble-winning season of 1999 when they added the European Champions League trophy to the league title and FA Cup.

Chelsea briefly broke their league dominance with title wins in 2005 and 2006. But in the 2006/07 season, the Red Devils roared back to regain the Barclays Premiership.

They went one better last season, enjoying their most successful campaign since winning the treble. They saw off the challenge of Chelsea and Arsenal to win an exciting Barclays Premier League title race and defeated the Blues on penalties in the Champions League final after a 1-1 draw between the two sides in Moscow.

Club Heritage

Formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. Six years later they clinched the Division One title, then the FA Cup in 1909, and another title triumph in 1911.

Matt Busby became manager in 1945 and steered United to championship victories in 1952, 1956 and 1957. They became the first English club to compete in the European Cup and reached the semi-final, before going out to Real Madrid. Tragedy struck in 1958 when the plane carrying the team home from a European match crashed, killing eight players.

Busby survived and led his rebuilt team to an FA Cup win in 1963, then league titles in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in 1968 with victory over Benfica in the final - the first English club to do so. When Busby resigned in 1969, his successors failed to continue his glorious triumphs and United were relegated five years later.

They managed to regain their top-flight status at the first attempt and later won the FA Cup in 1977. More FA Cup success followed in 1983 and 1985. But it was United's 1990 FA Cup replay win over Crystal Palace that proved to be the springboard to becoming the force they are today.

It saved under-pressure manager Alex Ferguson from losing his job and he went on to win the European Cup Winners' Cup the season after and began their Premier League dominance with the 1993 title.

Premier League History

1992/93 - Inaugural members of the Premier League
1992/93 - Eric Cantona signs from Leeds United for £1.2million
1992/93 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1993/94 - Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1995/96 - Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1996/97 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1998/99 - Win FA Carling Premiership, European Cup, and FA Cup
1999/00 - Win FA Carling Premiership
2000/01 - Win FA Carling Premiership
2001/02 - Juan Sebastian Veron breaks the British transfer record with a £28million move from Lazio
2002/03 - Win Barclaycard Premiership
2003/04 - Win FA Cup
2005/06 - American Malcolm Glazer takes control of club
2005/06 - Win League Cup
2006/07 - Win Barclays Premiership
2007/08 - Win Barclays Premier League, win European Cup

Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool

2009-03-16T00:46:00.004+07:00

Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool
Liverpool came from behind at Old Trafford to re-ignite the Barclays Premier League title race with a stunning victory.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Manchester United in front from the penalty spot after Pepe Reina had brought down Park Ji-Sung on 23 minutes.

Fernando Torres bustled past Nemanja Vidic to level five minutes later and Steven Gerrard put the Merseysiders in front from the spot a minute before the break after he had been fouled by Patrice Evra.

Andrea Dossena lobbed Edwin van der Sar in the final minute to complete a magnificent victory and cut the lead on the champions to just four points.

Premier League

2009-03-15T01:53:00.000+07:00

There will be an English flavour to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw in Nyon on Friday 20 March after Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC swelled the Premier League contingent to four by eliminating Italian opposition on Wednesday.

Open draw
Holders United, 2-0 winners on the night and on aggregate against FC Internazionale Milano, join Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC in the hat along with an Arsenal side who needed penalties to oust AS Roma after both legs finished 1-0 to the home team. FC Barcelona and east-coast rivals Villarreal CF are also still involved, although fellow Spanish Liga side Club Atlético de Madrid were knocked out by FC Porto on away goals. FC Bayern München, 12-1 aggregate victors against Sporting Clube de Portugal, complete the eight-team lineup. The draw is open and without country protection.

Stadio Olimpico final
The event at UEFA HQ begins from 12.00CET and will be conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and the ambassador for the Rome final, Bruno Conti. The quarter-final first legs will be played on 7/8 April and the return matches the following week. The four winning teams will know who they will meet in the semi-finals – taking place on 28/29 April and 5/6 May – as those pairings will also be decided during the draw ceremony. The final will be played on Wednesday 27 May at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome at 20.45CET.

Manchester United: Goals, Skills and Saves

2009-02-17T11:58:00.000+07:00

When in England, you're likely to discover that Manchester United is to soccer - football to most of the world outside of the United States - what the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox are to baseball in the United States: Manchester United is England's most popular team and the team to beat. A part of soccer's Premier League, Manchester United is far more than just a team when you're talking with British football fans; they are the team that is out there are playing as hard as possible.

In recent years, it seems as though many fans of football in England have suffered some disappointment and wounded pride when it comes to the way British teams have played on the international circuit; Manchester United has been the one ray of light. For many, when it comes to World Cup Soccer and other major international competitions, many see Manchester United as the most likely to prevail (some backers as supporting Manchester United as likely to win the 2009 Champions League final in Rome).

Manchester United Fans, of course, have divided loyalties even amongst themselves - and in many cases, this comes down to the players on the team who they favor. For some, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best of the team. Others will tell you that, when it comes to First Team players, there is no one more vital to Manchester United's centre-forward Dimitar Berbatov who is not only quite talented within the game but who also has a knack for entertaining the fans in the crowd. Still others line their allegiance behind England's own Wayne Rooney who some believe is Manchester United's best player.

Regardless of which Manchester United player the fans of England turn out to see, there is a simple reality: the fans turn out. Not only do they arrive at the stadiums to see Manchester United play, but also they are members of online message boards, they write blogs and they also support Manchester United players when they are looking into players as they are choosing members of their fantasy league teams.

Manchester United fans do more than just participate by watching their team play and by discussing their successes and failures. For them, admiring club trophies, learning more about the history of Manchester United and set out to collect autographs and other souvenirs that showcase their commitment to their team. They also read Inside United - a magazine that is focused on providing in depth information about the Manchester United team - and enroll kids who are interested in learning more about soccer in Manchester United soccer schools.

A loyal following in England and elsewhere has led to Manchester United having a drive for success on the field. Fans this year will find themselves rewarded by the opportunity to see Manchester United participate in the Carling Cup against Middlesbrough. While Manchester United may not always be the best team in soccer, the reality is that, to their loyal fans, there will always be a sense that Manchester United is soccer in England.

Can Manchester United Win The League This Season?

I have just watched another afternoon of top class premiership football. I have to say that I love to not only watch but also play to football and have done so since a very early age. I support a team which was actually relegated from the English premiership last season in Birmingham City but am wondering tonight whether Man United can win the title this season ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal.

Today Manchester United defeated Liverpool by two goals to nil. Paul Scholes scored the first goal on his five hundredth appearance for the club and Rio Ferdinand slammed home the second from six yards. This left United joint top of the table with the same amount of points as Chelsea. Liverpool are now trailing both teams by eleven points and already look out of the title race. Playing a more consistent team instead of changing it each week could in my opinion help the team in a big way but who am I to tell Benitez what to do?

Later in the afternoon Arsenal played away at Reading. On paper this looked like quite a tricky match for the gunners but in the end they ran out easy winners by four goals to nil. Arsenal played the game the way it should be played with some neat and slick passing moves. Thiery Henry scored another two goals and the whole team looked awesome.

Yesterday Chelsea won yet again by beating a good Portsmouth by two goals to one.

So out of these three teams who will end up being crowned champions? I think this season it could go right down to the wire but really think that Manchester United will be once again be victorious. Wayne Rooney is yet to hit top form but the team is still joint top of the table.

I also think that Arsenal will finish second with Chelsea third. Do not stress to much Chelsea supporters as I think you will win the champions league this season.