AC Milan's David Beckham Ends Pepsi Deal

AC Milan midfielder David Beckham has ended his ten-year association with soft drink giant Pepsi.

The 33-year-old announced today that the deal, worth a reputed £2 million a year, will be discontinued at the end of the player's current contract.

Beckham, who will play for Milan until the recommencement of the MLS season in March with LA Galaxy, told the press: "I have nothing but good memories of my association with Pepsi.

"I've played a gladiator, a cowboy, a surfer, and worked alongside Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez as well as some of the biggest names in world football.

"I hope everyone who has seen the work enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it."

-- Peter Staunton

Source:
http://www.goal.com

Ronaldo: I Feel At Home At Manchester

Cristiano Ronaldo has recently bore the brunt of his fair share of criticism. Following a show-stopping 2007-08 and the resulting summer speculation of a world record-breaking move to Real Madrid, the winger's reluctance to declare his intentions one way or another for weeks on end made him an unpopular figure among many a concerned Manchester United fan.

He eventually declared his desire to move to the Spanish champions, only to soon announce his intention to stay at Old Trafford, following a heart-to-heart with manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

There was no chance of the Portuguese possibly replicating last season's superhuman achievements, and indeed, his less-than-incredible start to this campaign, somewhat affected by injury, has in fact drawn criticism. This is just as much due to the player's attitude as it is his performances, with petulant pouts and negative body language leading many to believe he is already regretting his summer U-turn and attempting to pave himself a way to Madrid this summer.

The man himself is prepared to let everybody draw their own conclusions. "There’s always speculation, not just about me, but about the future of players all around the world," he told MUTV. "People were speaking about me this summer but that was normal because of what I did during the season.

"What people are saying now [the recent speculation about an agreement with Real Madrid] is not true. Who says that is a liar because I am happy at the club, I want to stay here. I feel at home here. I feel very happy here."

He went on to reveal that he wasn't even nervous when coming back to play his first game for the club after that unforgettable summer. "I think the people don’t forget quickly what you do for the club," he explained. "When I arrived at the stadium, to play [my first game of this season] against Villarreal, I felt a little bit of pressure. But the fans were very good and this is why I feel the Manchester United supporters are amazing.

"I love the fans because they have been brilliant with me, not just this season but every season. Like I said before, I feel at home in Manchester."

The infamous meeting with Sir Alex that proved to be the turning point in keeping the 23-year-old at the club is something he won't be forgetting in a hurry. He said, "The boss is always important for me, not just last season but every season.

"I am at this club because of him. He saw me in a few games before I played against Manchester United - people think I came here just because I played [well] against United but it’s not true. He’s always helped me and I said to him, 'I want to be part of this club with you. I want to win trophies with you.' He’s very important in my career, Sir Alex Ferguson."

--Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com

Source:
http://www.goal.com

Real Madrid make offer for Inter’s Mancini

Inter’s Brazilian maestro Mancini joined the club less than six months ago during the summer transfer period from Roma in Serie A. He was Jose Mourinho’s first acquisition in his tenure at the club, and he was expected to fit in nicely in his 4-3-3 system.

However, Mancini has had an extremely tough time this term, as he has struggled to rediscover the form that saw him up there with the best players in the competition only a few years ago.

As a result, it seems as if a move away from the club could be in the cards, with Real Madrid looking the most likely to swoop for the unsettled star.

Los Merengues have been busy searching for a winger over the past few weeks to add to the double winter signing of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra from Ajax and Portsmouth respectively.

Mancini has been rumored to be one of the players the “White House” have been tracking and now, according to Tuttomercatoweb, the Spanish club have made a bid for the winger for a reported sum of around €10 million.

The Nerazzurri purchased the 28-year-old from Roma for a fee of around €15 million, and so it may prove to be a cost-efficient deal for Madrid.

The Brazilian would not be eligible to play in the Champions League and with the Blancos keen on purchasing a player who can help them in both their domestic and continental charge, it remains to be seen if there is any truth to these latest reports.

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com

China’s top players leave state-run system

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng Jie is relishing her new freedom after being allowed to leave China’s rigid state-run sporting system and keep more of her earnings, local media said on Wednesday.

“Finally I can have my own schedule. I can control my time now,” the world number 25 told the China Daily.

The paper said Zheng can keep as much as 92 percent of her prize money, after formerly having to part with up to 65 percent, and could for the first time miss winter training camp to enjoy a holiday with parents.

Zheng, who in July became China’s first player to make the last four at Wimbledon, left the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) this month to become a free agent on the international tour along with compatriots Li Na, Peng Shuai and doubles partner Yan Zi.

With most athletes in China still required to join government-sponsored city and provincial teams to be eligible to join the national team and compete in international tournaments, the CTA’s release of its top players marks a watershed for professional Chinese sport.

The move followed several years of conflict between authorities keen to nurture their best talent and players frustrated at strict training regimes and smaller pay packets.

Zheng and her free agent compatriots can still be called up for national duty, according to CTA deputy director Gao Shenyang, and are welcome back in the state fold at any time.

“The players can ask for help any time they want,” the paper quoted Gao as saying. “If they don’t like the new format after trying it for a while, they are free to revert to the old system.”

The players will be giving up a group of 17 coaches, eight doctors, and a team of sports nutritionists, physicians, psychologists and trainers ready to give free consultations at any time, the paper said.

Zheng said she would not be far from the embrace of the state, however: “It is not appropriate to say ‘flying away’, because I never actually left the national team,” she said. (Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Alan Baldwin)

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com

Simpson agrees new Arsenal deal

Arsenal striker Jay Simpson has signed a new long-term deal with the club.

The 20-year-old is yet to feature for the Gunners in the Premier League but scored twice in his three games for them in this season's Carling Cup.

Both goals came in his only first-team start - a 3-0 victory over Wigan - and he has also been an ever-present for the reserves in the current campaign.

Simpson, who spent last season on loan at Millwall, will join West Brom on loan in the January transfer window.

The London-born frontman scored eight goals in 46 games for the Lions last term.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

F1 teams to reduce engine costs

Formula One teams have agreed to cut the cost of customer engines by more than £12m from 2011, according to Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

The move comes after motorsport boss Max Mosley asked the teams to come up with ways to cut costs in F1.

Montezemolo said that engines sold by manufacturers to teams would be slashed in cost in the future.

"We unanimously decided that by 2011 an engine will cost £4m, compared to the £16m plus they used to cost," he said.

The move will be a huge help to the smaller teams as they try to survive in F1.

Mosley has been concerned that F1 costs are now so high that privateer teams such as Williams, Red Bull and Force India – who do not make their own engines – are effectively unable to compete.

He has demanded all the teams agree ways of keeping costs down – and said he will come up with his own solutions if they fail to do so.

F1 constructors have recently created an organisation called the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) to represent their interests in conversations with governing body the FIA, of which Mosley is the president, and commercial body Formula One Management, run by Bernie Ecclestone.

Di Montezemolo has been nominated the chairman of Fota.

Montezemolo also revealed that he smashed a television set after watching McLaren's Lewis Hamilton snatch the world title from Felipe Massa at the final Grand Prix of the season at Interlagos.

"I broke the television, I must tell the truth," he said.

"When a television breaks it makes a terrible bang. My daughter in the other room was given an awful fright.

"Luckily we had another television so I was able to watch the podium ceremony, which I enjoyed."

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

Alonso would love to join Ferrari one day

Double Formula One champion Fernando Alonso would love to join the Ferrari F1 team one day according to his manager Lius GarcĂ­a Abad. But According to Alonso's manager there are currently no negotiations with the Maranello based team.

Italian media claimed on Monday that Alonso would have signed a contract at Ferrari to join the team as of 2011. Alonso's manager though doesn't want to jump into any conclusions. "We don't have to make a secret out of it that Fernando would love to join a team such as Ferrari one day. But we're not even close to the year 2011 so it's still a bit early to talk about such a possibility," Garcia said. "Formula 1 is in a difficult position at the moment due to the economic situation so it is extremely difficult to look at any long term plans in F1."

Source:
http://f1.gpupdate.net

Toyota give Caldarelli maiden test

By Steven English

Toyota gave a first Formula One test to 18-year-old Italian Andrea Caldarelli in Bahrain this week.

Caldarelli has been a member of the Toyota Young Driver Programme since 2007 and finished third in this season's Formula Renault Eurocup.

He completed 128 laps during Monday and Tuesday in the TF108, finishing with a best time of 1:33.170 - two seconds off Jarno Trulli's qualifying time at the same track earlier this year.

"This has been a great experience for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed it," said Caldarelli. "To get the chance to test a Formula One car when I am still only 18 is such a good opportunity and I was determined to make the most of it.

"Obviously, the TF108 is a big step up compared to my usual car. The power is amazing but so are the brakes, and the grip you have going round corners takes a few laps to adjust to. I think I did a good job considering the circuit is new to me and this is my first full F1 test.

"I would like to thank Panasonic Toyota Racing for giving me the chance. This experience gives me extra motivation to fight as hard as possible to one day race a Formula 1 car."

Timo Glock was also testing this week, analysing the new Bridgestone slick tyres with a low-downforce configuration and working on Toyota's KERS development. The team expect to test their KERS for the first time on track in January.

Glock completed 258 laps during the week with a best time of 1:32.090. The team's test driver Kamui Kobayshi completed the team's annual test mileage by running for 33 laps today.

LG G5300

Specifications
LG G5300
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
106 x 42 x 22 mm (4.17 x 1.65 x 0.87 in)
85 gram
STN, 65K colors
128 x 128 pixels, 8 lines, 1:1 ratio
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
200 x 5 fields, 7 contact groups
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10


Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
v2.1 with A2DP, EDR

microUSB v2.0
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, EMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 1.2.1


Mobile hawk, Crazy Race, Othello


Silver, blue, red

- Mini-SIM
- Blue backlight
- Downloadable wallpapers
- 110 short messages
- 10 voice dial numbers
- Predictive text input
- Organizer
- World clock
- Voice dial
- Nokia Smart Messaging
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Ion 850 mAh
Up to 200 h
Up to 3 h

Image: http://www.welectronics.com

Ex-French Open champ Costa is Spain's new captain

BARCELONA, Spain -- Former French Open champion Albert Costa was named Spain's Davis Cup captain on Thursday, a month after the team beat Argentina for the 2008 title.

The 33-year-old Costa replaces Emilio Sanchez Vicario, who stepped down after leading Spain to its third Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over Argentina in Mar del Plata.

Costa was a member of Spain's first Davis Cup winning team in 2000. He also won 12 ATP singles titles during his playing career, including the 2002 French Open. He is currently coaching Feliciano Lopez.

"I accomplished a lot of my dreams as a player, winning at Roland Garros and now I've managed another one, becoming captain of our Davis Cup team," said Costa, who agreed to lead Spain for one year.

Costa's debut will be a first-round World Group match against Serbia at Benidorm from March 6 to March 8.

"We're very ambitious. We want to keep working really hard and we want to win the Davis Cup again," Costa said.

Sanchez Vicario, who led Spain for three full seasons after taking charge in October 2005, had publicly pushed for the Spanish tennis federation to pick Costa.

Sanchez Vicario announced his retirement after Spain's unlikely victory -- it came with top-ranked Rafael Nadal unavailable due to injury -- against the heavily favored Argentines.

"He did an incredible job and he's kind of left me in a bad spot. It'll be nearly impossible to better what he did," Costa said.

Costa had an 11-8 career record as a player in 13 Davis Cup series.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com

Kimi Raikkonen

Background:

When Kimi joined the Sauber Formula 1 team in 2001 he was only 21 and had raced in only 23 car races in his life. But he had won more than half of them. He raced go-karts until age 19, and was Finnish champion and he also did well in the international series. He began car racing in 1999, and in 2000 he won the British Formula Renault series. He also raced in three races in European Formula Renault, winning two of them. Michael Schumacher saw him testing in the Sauber in 2000 and said that he had a bright future in Formula 1.

His Career Thus Far:

In his first year in Formula 1 Kimi proved that he had his place in the sport despite having so little experience racing cars. Even so, he finished the championship in ninth position with nine points. But his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, finished in seventh position, with 13 points.

McLaren-Mercedes nevertheless decided that Kimi was a driver for the future, and signed him up for the following year. (This was a blow to Heidfeld, who had been nurtured as a Mercedes driver for years.) In his first year at McLaren, Kimi finished sixth in the series with 24 points, compared to his teammate David Coulthard's fifth place finish in the series and 41 points. That was, however, the last time his teammate would do better than him. Raikkonen won his first race in 2003 and finished second in the championship, missing the title by two points to Schumacher. He won seven races in 2005 and again finished second in the series, but this time to Fernando Alonso. He joined Ferrari in 2007 hoping he would finally win the title at the sport's most successful team.

Raikkonen the World Champion:

The 2007 season was a four-way battle for the drivers' title between the two drivers of the McLaren Mercedes team and the two drivers of the Ferrari team. But from early in the season to the very last race, Lewis Hamilton, the rookie driver at McLaren, created the show. Kimi fell behind his teammate, Felipe Massa, for several races and looked out of the running. With two races left, Lewis spoiled his 17-point lead to score only two points, while Kimi won the two races for a perfect score, to win the drivers' title in the last race. In 2008 he won only twice.

Driving Style:

Although Kimi lost the title mostly because of the unreliability of his car in 2005, he has been publicly accused of driving his cars hard. In fact, Kimi's style is marked by such an apparently superhuman and cool, incisive approach that he developed the nickname of Iceman. He is very fast on a single lap, but is also a master of fighting his way up the pack.

Character:

His cool character, light complexion and icy blue eyes also contributed to his nickname, but Kimi remains the coolest of drivers. Whether he wins a race or his car breaks down and robs him of certain victory, the Finn stays cool and detached, showing little emotion of any kind. That he is in fact human is clear in his private life from his occasional, highly-publicized blowouts at parties.

Photo:
http://newsonf1.net

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher was born on 3 January 1969 in western Germany (in Hurth, near Cologne). As early as four years of age he was notching up his first circuits at the go-kart track nearby where his parents. In the go-kart he was runner-up in the Junior World Championships at the age of sixteen, and two years later he became the European Champion - and go-kart racing remains his great passion to this day. After fifteen years of go-kart racing he switched to racing cars and came out in front in numerous German championships. In 1990, Schumacher became the Mercedes-Benz team driver in the Sports Car World Championship and the German Formula 3 Champion.

In 1991, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher made his debut as a replacement driver for the Formula 1 Jordan team. By the following year he had already won his first Grand Prix, at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, in a Benetton-Ford. After placing third in the World Championship of 1992 and fourth of 1993, he landed the World Title in 1994 and dedicated it to Ayrton Senna - "the man who deserved to get it". In 1995, Schumacher defended his World Championship title in a Benetton-Renault. With a record nine wins out of seventeen Grand Prix races, this was a triumphant season for the German driver.

After four and a half years with Benetton, Schumacher signed a contract with Ferrari, with the objective of bringing the World Championship once again back to Maranello. Under his influence, the Italian team restructured itself. The key positions were occupied by new expert personnel. In 1997 and 1998, he narrowly missed out on the World Title - in each case, in the final race of the season. As early as 1998, he renewed his contract with Ferrari until the year 2002.

The 1999 season was an emotional roller-coaster ride for Schumacher. At Silverstone he suffered the first serious accident of his career. After sustaining a double fracture of the right leg the German driver was forced to withdraw from the Championship for six Grand Prix races. Then in Malaysia he celebrated a glorious come-back and by the end of the season had exerted an appreciable influence on the destiny of the Constructors' World Championship.

In the year 2000 Schumacher done what he promised he would do and brought the driver's title home to Ferrari for the first time in 21 years. Nine race wins in a season dominated by the brilliance of Schumacher was more than enough to secure his 3rd world title. Michael finished the season with 108 points and was the clear winner.

As defending champion in the 2001 season Michael Schumacher simply ran away with the world title his fourth in total and second for Ferrari. Once again Michael won nine races along with eleven pole positions. On his way to a massive winning margin the German re-wrote a number of records along the way, including the highest number of Grand Prix wins, highest number of points scored and the highest number of fastest laps. Schumacher renewed his Ferrari contract until 2004 and looks set to continue winning races and titles for the Maranello team for some time yet.

2002 would see Schumacher further cement his name into the history of the sport. His third successive drivers world championship with Ferrari and his fifth in total was won with commanding performances. Schumacher took 7 pole positions and 11 wins as he cruised to the title, which was won earlier than ever before. Schumacher took the record books apart in a season that saw him finish every race of the season with a lowest position of third! Nothing could stand in the way of his title and he afforded himself the luxury of helping team mate Rubens Barrichello to at least 2 wins.

Schumacher would go on to claim his 6th world title in 2003 but it was not as easy as he had it in 2002. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams took the challenge to Michael and it was a challenge he enjoyed. The new points scoring system had taken the title battle down to the wire in Japan and with perhaps his worst race of the season Schumacher scored 1 point to take the title. Schumacher had once again a great season of reliability and never once retired from a race due to car problems, but other problems including puncture's, pit stop fires and a river in Brazil did cause him some challenging moments, but he emerged victorious once again.

2004 was yet another championship winning year for Schumacher as well as Ferrari as they simply dominated the season from start to finish, mirroring the domination shown back in 2002. Schumacher was never really threatened as he claimed his 7th world title, only team mate Barrichello kept him honest and a slight challenge from the BAR team and Jenson Button, but Schumacher cruised it.

The 2005 season would not be so great for Schumacher, a raft of changes enforced by the FIA ensured the Ferrari teams advantage was nullified, tyre changes at pitstops were outlawed taking away one of Schumacher's best ability's to pump in race winning laps in and around the pitstops. As it was Ferrari suffered with tyre problems for the whole season as Bridgestone found it tough to come to terms with making a race distance tyre. This handed the advantage to the Michelin shod Renault team and Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever world champion. Schumacher's only win came at the highly controversial USGP when only the Bridgestone teams entered the race. The only other real bright spot for Schumacher was a great drive to 2nd place at Imola.

In 2006 Michael Schumacher would say farewell to Formula One as he brought an end to his illustrious career, sadly he was unable to go out with a 8th title but he went out on a high as he took the title battle with Alonso to the last race of the season. Many questioned if he could go on for a few more years but at 37 Michael declared his batteries empty despite putting in some stunning drives throughout the season. He plans to take a well earned rest and have some quality time with his family before deciding what direction his new life without F1 will take.

Careere Stats
World Championships : 7
Grand Prix Starts : 248
Wins : 91
Pole Positions : 68
Fastest Laps : 76
Podium Finishes : 154
Career Points :
1,369

Schumacher's Records
* Most world titles: 7
* Most consecutive titles: 5 (2000-2004)
* Most wins: 91
* Most wins in a single season: 13 (2004)
* Most consecutive wins in single season: 7 (2004)
* Most wins at the same race: 8 (French GP)
* Most wins with one team: 72
* Most wins from pole: 40
* Most pole positions: 68
* Most front-row starts: 115
* Most podium finishes: 154
* Most second place finishes: 43
* Most points scored: 1,369
* Most points finishes: 190
* Most points in a single season: 148
* Most fastest laps: 76
* Most fastest laps in a season: 10
* Most races led: 141
* Most laps led: 5,108
* Most consecutive podiums: 19 (USA 2001-Japan 2002)
* Most consecutive points finishes: 24
* Most consecutive seasons with a win: 15
* Most ‘clean sweeps’ (pole, win, fastest lap): 22
* Largest points gap between champion and runner-up: 67
* Earliest title winner: 2002 (in July, with 6 races remaining)
* Longest spell with one team: 11 seasons
* Only driver to have finished every race on the podium: 2002

Cristiano Ronaldo

Name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Birth date: February 5, 1985
Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height: 184cm
Playing position: Left/right winger, striker
First club: Sporting Lisbon
Career debut: 1999 vs Moreirense
Current club: Manchester United
International team: Portugal
International debut: August 20, 2003 vs
Kazakhstan

Cristiano Ronaldo started playing competitive football at 8-year-old for amateur club Andorinha, and then for local team CD Nacional when he was 10. He then move to one of Portugal’s largest football clubs, Sporting Lisbon in 1996.

Ronaldo trained in the youth team before playing his first senior game for Sporting in 1999 against Moreirense, and scored a double on his debut.

Ronaldo played for Portugal’s youth side in the UEFA U-17 Championships and drew attention internationally. Liverpool under manager GĂ©rard Houllier back then was reported to have interest in signing Ronaldo, but it was Manchester United that made the move in 2003 to fill the void of departed David Beckham.

Ronaldo’s signature came after Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester United 3–1 in a friendly; on the way back to England the United players spoke enthusiastically about the young winger and suggested manager Sir Alex Ferguson to secure his signature, which they did.

Ronaldo made his memorable debut for Manchester United as a substitute against Bolton. His 30 minutes performances created hype with United fans and the English media with his dazzling dribbles.

Ronaldo’s first two seasons at United received mixed reviews; despite praised for his skills, Ronaldo was often being criticized for lack of consistency and poor decision making on the field. However his consistency level has been greatly since the 2006/2007 season, which saw him becoming one of the best player in EPL.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut for Portugal shortly after being signed by United in a match against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has become one of the key players for Portugal since then.

The controversial moment of Ronaldo’s career was in World Cup 2006, where he was alleged to influence referee to send off his Manchester United team mate and England striker Wayne Rooney in their quarter finals clash.

Ronaldo was being used as the scapegoat for England’s defeat in the World Cup and the hatred towards him had prompted his intention to leave England and Manchester United. In the end United managed to keep him, and Ronaldo had a wonderful season in the Premiership against all odds.

Ronaldo won both the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year Award in 2007. He is the first player since 1977 to bag the double in the same season. Ronaldo was also voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association for the same year.

Ronaldo’s performance was crucial to help Manchester United securing their first Premiership title in 4 years in the 2006/2007 season.

Ronaldo was the top 3 finalists for both the FIFA World Player of the Year and European Player of the Year awards in 2007. The eventual winner however went to AC Milan’s Brazilian playmaker, Kaka instead.

Ronaldo continued his fine form in the 2007/2008 season, netted in 40 goals in all competition (31 in Premier League), and was again voted as the PFA Player of The Year and Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. His performance contributed to United’s double for the season; winning the Premiership in succession as well as bringing home the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Source:
http://cristianoronaldo101.com


Biaggi to make Aprilia debut

Max Biaggi will make his debut on the Aprilia RSV4, which he will race in the 2009 World Superbike Championship, during a private test on Tuesday and Wednesday at Valencia.

The Roman has been given permission to test for his future team by current employer Sterilgarda Ducati, but is unable to publically comment on the new V4-powered machine until after the conclusion of the 2008 season, at Portimao on November 2.

"[Tuesday] will be my debut on the Aprilia," Max wrote on his official website. "I want to say thanks to my Sterilgarda Team that has approved this test before the end of the Championship. Thank you!

"I write you these few lines to tell you that I cannot make any declaration regarding the test, so you will have to wait the end of the championship.

"We will be on track for two days and then I will come back home waiting for the last GP of the year in Portugal. The tests will immediately continue in Portimao after the race and in particular 4th and 5th of November."

Biaggi sits sixth in the 2008 WSBK standings heading into the season finale. The Italian's 2009 Aprilia team-mate is still to be announced.

Source:
http://www.crash.net

Haslam tests new Honda at Cartagena

Leon Haslam has just completed two days of testing at Cartagena in Spain for the Stiggy Honda team.

Haslam spent the test getting his Honda Fireblade set-up in preparation for the 2009 World Superbike Championship. He and team-mate Roby Rolfo were setting up their newly-tuned ORAL Honda engines and Magneti Marelli electronics before the end of the year.

Haslam said: "After these two days of testing my feelings are only positive. The team works extremely well together and the crew are just great. The atmosphere in the team is fantastic. This test was focused on finding out as much as possible about the engines as well as the electronics. I think we pulled that off pretty well because we improved the bike and our lap times after every pit stop. My bike already feels better than a lot of the bikes I rode in the past."

Rolfo added, "My feeling with the team is really good. It's a very experienced team and I'm very pleased with my crew chief and everybody else. Over the two days we managed to improve the bike and the rideability a lot. Today we worked on the engine characteristics and found out a lot of important information. I have to say the engine feels very powerful and smooth."

Source:
http://www.visordown.com

Max Biaggi

Massimiliano “Max” Biaggi
nationality · Italian
born · 26 June 1971
grand prix dĂ©but · 1991

Also known as “the Roman Emperor,” Max Biaggi is one of the most successful Grand Prix riders of the last ten years, having won an impressive four consecutive 250cc world titles. He has since added eight 500cc race victories and five more in the 990cc four-stroke class, winning at least one GP every year from 1992 to 2004. Although he has not been crowned champion in the leading GP class, Max has been a consistent threat with both Yamaha and Honda, but is now looking forward to his next challenge

1989
Made racing début

1990
Italian 125cc Sports Production Champion
Riding an Aprilia, Max won six times from seven starts
Also finished third in the Italian 125cc championship race at Vallelunga, riding a Honda

1991
European 250cc Champion; World Championship 250cc début
Riding an Aprilia all season, for Team Italia, Max made his first appearance at World level in the eighth round of fourteen, at JĂ¡rama in Spain. Finishing twelfth at Mugello and thirteenth at Paul Ricard, he finished the year in 27th position, with seven points

1992 Telkor Valesi Racing, number 29 Aprilia
In his first full season in the 250 World Championship, Max finished third in rounds five and six, second in rounds seven and eleven, and won the final race, at Kyalami in South Africa. He also sat on pole four times, and this effort netted him fifth position overall, on a score of 78 points

1993 Rothmans Kanemoto Honda, number 5 Honda
Now on a Honda, Biaggi achieved top six results in nine races, with podiums at five venues. Three of these came at Spanish tracks, and included a win in Barcelona. Altogether he scored 142 points, and was fourth in the final table

1994 Chesterfield Aprilia, number 4 Aprilia
1994 was the Roman’s proper breakthrough year, as he finished fourth once, third once, second four times, and was the winner five times. This impressive sequence brought the Aprilia rider his first World title, with a twenty point margin despite three no-scores. His final tally was 234

1995 Chesterfield Aprilia, number 1 Aprilia
Max’s position as the leading 250 rider was strengthened in 1995, when his performances included nine pole positions and eight race wins. He was second three times, and ultimately defeated Tetsuya Harada by 63 points, after scoring an amazing 283. Once again he elected to stay on in the 250cc series for the following season

1996 Chesterfield Aprilia, number 1 Aprilia
Again with twelve top four finishes, this time Biaggi was victorious on nine occasions, and a third title was no surpise. With 274 points taking his overall Grand Prix score up to 1018, it was a shock for the Italian when Aprilia decided to sack him

1997 Marlboro Team Kanemoto Honda, number 1 Honda
Max bounced back by rejoining Erv Kanemoto’s team, where he had to sort his new machine in quick order. Despite a number of handicaps, and some off-track incidents, Biaggi put in a late surge to pip Ralf Waldmann to the title by two points. In the process he won five times and stood on five other podiums. With nothing left to prove in 250s, it was time to move up a step

1998 Marlboro Team Kanemoto, number 6 Honda
Staying with the same team, Biaggi was a revelation as he made his 500cc début, winning first time out and becoming a genuine season-long rival to Mick Doohan. A second victory came in the tenth round, and he was on the podium for the eighth time a race later. At this stage, Max was a few points ahead of both Doohan and Àlex Crivillé, but disqualification in the next event, for a yellow flag offence, put paid to his hopes. He wound up second overall, on 208 points

1999 Marlboro Yamaha Team, number 2 Yamaha
His rookie 500 performance earned Max a works ride in 1999, when he switched over to Yamaha. This time his progress was hindered by adapting to his new mount, and one or two falls resulted. After best finishes of two seconds, a third, two fourths and a fifth in the first twelve races, the Roman was back on track with a win and three seconds in the last four rounds. This strong finish lifted him onto 194 points, good enough for fourth in the final table

2000 Marlboro Yamaha Team, number 4 Yamaha
Biaggi was firmly established with Yamaha by 2000, but the championship seemed rather more open this year. Team-mate Carlos Checa started the season with four second places in six events, making him the early challenger to Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts. Max was eighty points down at this stage, but turned his fortunes around by scoring nine top five results in the last ten races. Best of these were wins in the Czech Republic and Australia, and thirds at ValĂªncia and Motegi, while Checa’s form was fading. The Italian ended up third overall, behind Roberts and Valentino Rossi, scoring 170 points. He had also recorded five pole positions

2001 Marlboro Yamaha Team, number 3 Yamaha
The 2001 season evolved into a three-way Italian battle, with Biaggi locked in combat against Rossi and Loris Capirossi. A surge from Max across rounds four to nine resulted in three wins, two seconds and a third, keeping him in touch with Rossi on the latest Honda. However, the pressure seemed to get to him after this, and he managed to tumble out on more than one occasion, even with a run of pole positions. Despite a near photo finish with Rossi in Australia, Biaggi was to finish 106 points down at the year’s end, but his 219 kept him ahead of Capirossi’s older Honda for second

2002 Marlboro Yamaha Team, number 3 Yamaha
As the new four-stroke era kicked off, Max found the new YZR-M1 initially lagged behind the Honda RCV, especially in the handling stakes. Development work paid off when the Roman had a run of top four finishes, beginning with the French GP in May, and taking him through to the season’s end. He achieved four poles, finished second in Italy, Britain, Germany and Brazil, and took impressive wins at Brno and Sepang. In the end this was enough to relegate Tohru Ukawa’s works Honda to third position, but left Biaggi trailing serial race winner Rossi

2003 Camel Pramac Pons, number 3 Honda
With Rossi’s 2002 dominance in mind, as well as Marlboro’s switch of support to Ducati, Biaggi opted to join the list of Honda RC211V riders for this season. His front-running experience makes him one of the favourites in a strong and varied field of entrants

2004 Camel Honda, number 3 Honda
Max carried on with the Pramac Pons customer Honda team this year

Photo:
http://www.detiksport.com

Source:
http://www.f1network.net

LG G7030

Specifications
LG G7030
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
85 x 45 x 23 mm (3.35 x 1.77 x 0.91 in)
88 gram
UFB, 65K colors
128 x 160 pixels, 7 lines
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
255 x 3 fields, 7 contact groups
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10




Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, EMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 1.2.1


Othello, Ice Cave


Silver

- Mini-SIM
- Second external OLED 256 color display (96 x 64 pixels)
- Downloadable wallpapers
- 100 short messages
- 3 x 30 sec voice memo
- 20 calendar events
- Predictive text input
- Organizer
- World clock
- Voice memo
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Ion 720 mAh
Up to 200 h
Up to 2 h 30 min

Image: http://www.welectronics.

LG G7050

Specifications
LG G7050
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
94 x 44 x 21 mm (3.70 x 1.73 x 0.83 in)
89 gram
STN, 65K colors
128 x 160 pixels, 6 lines
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
200 x 5 fields, 7 contact groups
20 dialed, received and missed calls
350 KB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10




Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Alert
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, EMS, MMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 2.0/xHTML


Mobile Hawk
VGA

Silver
Yes
- Mini-SIM
- Four way navigation keys
- Wallpapers
- 100 short messages
- 11 message templates
- 20 calendar events
- 10 voice dial slots
- Predictive text input
- Organizer
- World clock
- Voice dial
- Voice memo
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Ion 760 mAh
Up to 200 h
Up to 2 h

Image: http://www.welectronics.

Fernando Alonso

Born on July 29, 1981, in Oviedo, Spain, Fernando Alonso was born to compete. His father, Jos� Luis Alonso, had always longed to be a go-kart driver and tried to pass this passion on to his two children. First, Fernando Alonso built a kart for his 8-year-old daughter Lorena, but she never got into the sport. As a result, the kart was passed on to 3-year-old Fernando, who immediately took to racing. During the first two years of driving the kart, Fernando Alonso and his family thought of it as just a game, something the young boy would do to pass time and amuse himself. At 6 years old, however, Jos� began to notice his son's aptitude for racing, and so he fine-tuned the kart to get it ready for competitions. By 1988, Fernando Alonso had begun dominating the junior kart leagues, going from circuit to circuit on the weekends and after school. By the time he was 12, Fernando's budding career as a kart driver had become so serious that his family could no longer afford to send him to races far away from their home, or even afford the materials required by Fernando's more powerful cars. Thus, the Alonsos sought support and, after Fernando Alonso dominated a race in the Catalan Championship, they found a team willing to take on the young driver.

From then on, Fernando Alonso graduated to more serious racing as IAME -- a famous world karting name -- took charge of his career. Alonso won the Junior Spanish Championship in 1994 and then began traveling throughout Europe, competing in ultra-competitive karting leagues. To offset the cost of his travels (despite the help from IAME), Alonso earned cash as a mechanic for drivers even younger than himself. In 1996, Fernando Alonso became the World Junior Karting champion after taking home several wins, and then won the Spanish and Italian legs of the championship the following year. In the meantime, former Formula 1 driver Adrian Campos had taken notice of Alonso's talents and gave the lad a chance to graduate to Formula 1 racing. By 1998, Fernando got a handle on racing with gear shifting and, in 1999, he graduated to the Formula Nissan circuit. Amazingly, it took no time for Alonso to learn the ropes of Formula Nissan, and he quickly dominated race after race. Fernando Alonso won the league championship in his first year, and his managers decided to elevate him to the next step, Formula 3000, by 2000. With the Astromega team, Fernando Alonso accomplished and learned a lot, though he did not dominate as he had in previous leagues. Still, his performance in 2000 was enough to allow him to move on to Formula 1, the world stage of racing. Debuting with Minardi in 2001, Fernando Alonso became the third-youngest driver in Formula 1 history to start a race when he made his debut at the Australian Grand Prix. Though Alonso did not earn any points during his rookie season, he showed promise, as he occasionally outraced opponents who had the privilege of racing superior cars.

After paying his dues with Minardi, Fernando Alonso moved on to the Renault team. As the French F1 team already had two established drivers in its lineup, Alonso became a test driver in 2002. Renault groomed Alonso to become its top driver, which is what he became the following year. That season, Fernando showed flashes of brilliance, becoming the youngest pole winner ever at the Malaysian Grand Prix and the youngest winner ever at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After reaching the podium four times, Alonso finished an impressive sixth overall at the end of the season. Though he did not win any races in 2004, Alonso one-upped himself by finishing fourth overall in the standings, again reaching four podiums. Renault was poised to improve its overall performance in 2005 and so, with a determined Fernando Alonso leading the way, the team immediately made its imprint on the season as Fernando Alonso emerged victorious in the second and third races of the season. Fans worldwide have recognized Alonso's skills and as such, "Alonsomania" has swept over Spain and other parts of Europe. As Fernando Alonso continues to impress during the 2005 season and is poised to become the youngest champion in F1 history (to date, he has already come in first in the Malaysian Grand Prix, Bahrain Grand Prix, San Marino Grand Prix, European Grand Prix, French Grand Prix, and German Grand Prix), many hope it's a sign of things to come.

Racing along at 125 mph in challenging race circuits around the world is no piece of cake. Only a select few can handle the physical and mental pressures of being thrust into these situations week after week, and even fewer can sustain the rigors of this high-speed career over a long period. Herein lies the allure of Formula 1 racing and the mystique surrounding its unique cast of characters. Standing out among the interesting, (seemingly) slightly mad F1 drivers is Fernando Alonso. He has injected a youthful energy into an already adrenaline-filled league, assuming one of the top positions in F1 by letting his spectacular ability do all the talking... or driving. Meanwhile, fans worldwide have taken to the young phenom, highlighted by "Alonsomania" in Spain, as the country hails him as one of its most beloved athletes. In terms of character, Fernando Alonso possesses many elements of the Type A personality profile. Hyper-competitive, stubborn and determined to be the best, he fits well into the high-octane world of F1 racing. Refreshingly, however, Fernando Alonso is humble outside the racetrack, claiming to be surprised by his widespread fame and a little uncomfortable in the spotlight. Of course, Alonso owes his quick rise to fame to his skills as a Formula 1 driver. In five short seasons, he has quickly evolved from an aggressive rookie to one of F1's most promising young drivers. Fernando Alonso's quick ascent to the top of F1 means that the global league will be in great hands for some time. To be honest, we would not express jealousy, or surprise, if our girlfriends told us they desired Fernando Alonso. Women always like the rebel, and you don't get much more rebellious than a top racecar driver. When you mix in rugged Spanish good looks and a humble demeanor, there's little wonder that "Alonsomania" affects the ladies as well.

After dominating go-kart and second-tier racing leagues in his teens, Fernando Alonso moved to Formula 1 in 2001. Racing for Minardi, he became the third-youngest rookie in F1 history when he debuted at the Australian Grand Prix, but he failed to score points that season. After spending the entire 2002 season test-driving for the new Renault team, Fernando Alonso let loose in 2003, becoming the youngest driver ever to record the pole position, doing so at the Malaysian Grand Prix. He then topped himself by becoming the youngest winner in F1 history after taking the podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix. At the end of the 2003 season, Alonso finished sixth overall, having won four races. Thanks to his '03 performance, fans were anticipating big things from Alonso in 2004. Though he did not win a race that year -- due in part to Ferrari's dominance -- Alonso finished fourth overall in the standings and was clearly among the league's elite. All this was merely a prelude to an awesome 2005 season, as Fernando Alonso quickly dominated the rest of the pack and emerged as the points leader with less than half a season to go. The Spaniard is poised to overtake longtime F1 dominator Michael Schumacher as league champion and looks to establish a legacy of his own in the seasons to follow.

When you flirt with death every week or two and have the privilege to pilot one of the world's most advanced and fastest cars, you're wicked cool. Not only does Fernando Alonso do this, he does so in style, overtaking all his opponents with his aggressive driving skills. When not wearing Renault's trademark blue and yellow colors at racing events, Fernando Alonso dons an array of fashionable, low-key threads. From simple and stylish Ts to fresh dress shirts and jeans, he always looks cool without blowing anyone away. At the racetrack, Fernando Alonso mixes up the team colors with a sweet pair of shades and lets his cool long hair down for all to see.

Source:
http://www.netglimse.com

Carmaker Toyota braced for bad news

The eyes of the formula one world have flicked nervously to Toyota, not yet three weeks after fellow struggling Japanese carmaker Honda announced it is withdrawing from the sport.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, said in a statement on Monday it expected to record its first ever operating loss, to the tune of $1.7 billion in the year through March.

The projected loss replaces the previous prediction of a $6.7 billion profit, raising serious questions about the manufacturer's commitment to its Cologne based formula one team.

"The environment we're in is extremely tough," president Katsuaki Watanabe told reporters in Nagoya. "We're facing an unprecedented emergency situation. Unfortunately, we can't see the bottom."

In an attempt to cut costs due to the slumping demand for new cars and the stronger yen, Toyota has already cut contract jobs, production and executive pay including board members' bonuses.

Source:
http://newsonf1.net

F1 crisis to impact driver salaries

F1's high-earning race drivers will not be able to avoid the impact of the financial crisis, according to leading team bosses.

Amid the global economic downturn, and Honda's withdrawal from the sport, the teams and the FIA agreed a radical raft of cost-cutting measures that should slash current annual budgets in half by 2010.

Mercedes' Norbert Haug admitted earlier this week that possible cuts in the drivers' wages will be handled internally in compliance with market forces.

Stefano Domenicali tells the Italian magazine Autosprint: "I feel in the current climate the big teams won't have the ability any more to think of offering certain amounts of money that some drivers get.

"So discussions can be held on this issue," the Ferrari team principal said.

The brunt of the global crisis struck late in 2008, after Kimi Raikkonen for example agreed a new contract believed to be in excess of $30m per season.

Domenicali said: "Anything can be modified in life. The important thing is wanting to do it.

"I'm convinced this issue will soon be discussed among all the teams and with every driver."

Source:
http://newsonf1.net

Ferrari doors stay open for Alonso

Luca di Montezemolo will not rule out one day securing the services of Fernando Alonso for Ferrari's formula one team.

Spaniard Alonso, a former double world champion, is regularly linked with the Maranello based outfit, but Ferrari remains committed to Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa for at least the next two years.

"I regard Fernando Alonso as a great driver, a genuine team leader and a nice chap," Montezemolo, Ferrari president, is quoted as saying by Spain's AS newspaper.

He revealed that Ferrari came close to signing Alonso before he moved to Renault and achieved back-to-back titles earlier this decade.

"I could have taken him under contract when he was still sitting in the Minardi -- but life is long," the Italian insisted.

Montezemolo said he rates other drivers as well.

"Of course I would like to have a driver like Hamilton, like Alonso. But that will be in another life, because in this life I have Michael (Schumacher), Kimi and Felipe.

"Maybe in two years I will tell you something different, but at the moment I am very, very happy."

Source:
http://newsonf1.net

LG U8100

Specifications
LG U8100
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
UMTS 2100
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
96 x 50 x 22 mm (3.78 x 1.97 x 0.87 in)
120 gram
TFD, 64K colors
176 x 220 pixels, 7 lines
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
500 entries, 7 contact groups
20 dialed, received and missed calls
64 MB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10

384 kbps


Yes
Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, EMS, MMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 2.0/xHTML


Yes
VGA
Yes
Black
Yes
- Mini-SIM
- Second external display, 64x96 pixels
- Four way navigation keys
- Wallpapers
- 10 voice dial numbers
- 20 sec voice memo
- Video-calling
- Predictive text input
- MP3 player
- Voice memo
- Voice dial
- Organizer
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Po 1050 mAh
Up to 200 h
Up to 2 h

Image: https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_u8100-pictures-487.php

LG U8110

Specifications
LG U8110
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
UMTS 2100
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
96 x 50 x 23 mm (3.78 x 1.97 x 0.91 in)
126 gram
TFT, 64K colors
176 x 220 pixels, 7 lines
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
500 entries
20 dialed, received and missed calls
14 MB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10

384 kbps


Yes
Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 2.0/xHTML


Yes
VGA, 180 deg swivel
Yes
Silver
Yes
- Mini-SIM
- Second external monochrome display, 96 x 64 pixels
- Four way navigation keys
- Wallpapers
- Video-calling
- Predictive text input
- MP3/AAC player
- Voice memo
- Voice dial
- Organizer
- Quick Map
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Po 1200 mAh
Up to 120 h
Up to 2 h 20 min

Image: http://www.welectronics.com/gsm/lg/lg

LG U8120

Specifications
LG U8120
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
UMTS 2100
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
96 x 50 x 23 mm (3.78 x 1.97 x 0.91 in)
126 gram
TFT, 64K colors
176 x 220 pixels, 7 lines
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
500 entries
20 dialed, received and missed calls
32 MB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10

384 kbps


Yes
Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 2.0/xHTML


Yes
VGA, 180 deg swivel
Yes
Blue, silver
Yes
- Loudspeaker
- Mini-SIM
- Second external monochrome display, 96 x 64 pixels
- Four way navigation keys
- Wallpapers
- Video-calling
- Predictive text input
- Media player
- Voice memo/dial
- Organizer
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Po 700 mAh
Up to 120 h
Up to 2 h 30 min

Image: http://www.welectronics.com/gsm/lg/lg

LG U8138

Specifications
LG U8138
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
UMTS 2100
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
95.7 x 49.5 x 22.4 mm (3.77 x 1.95 x 0.88 in)
126 gram
TFT, 256K colors
176 x 220 pixels, 7 lines
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
500 entries
20 dialed, received and missed calls
32 MB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Class 10

384 kbps


Yes
Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Alert
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS, MMS, Email
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3, AAC ringtones
WAP 2.0/xHTML


Yes
VGA, 180 deg swivel
QCIF
Silver, Blue
MIDP 2.0
- Loudspeaker
- Mini-SIM
- Second external 65K colors display, 110 x 88 pixels
- Four way navigation keys
- Wallpapers
- Video-calling
- Predictive text input
- MP3/MP4/AAC player
- Voice memo/dial
- Organizer
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh
Up to 120 h
Up to 2 h

Image: http://www.welectronics.co

Valentino Rossi leads prestigious sports poll

By Matthew Birt

MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi is currently leading a poll by the Telegraph newspaper in its search for the most important sports star of 2008.

The Fiat Yamaha rider, who won nine races to reclaim the title he last won in 2005, has currently registered 39 per cent of the vote in the poll in which he is up against nine other of the year’s most successful sport stars.

Rossi is currently 14 per cent ahead of tennis world number one and Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal in second place.

Other stars on the list include youngest ever F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, triple Olympic cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy and sprinting sensation Usain Bolt.

Source:
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/

Wimbledon - Robson claims title for Britain

England's Laura Robson claimed Britain's first Wimbledon girls' singles title in 24 years when she beat Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the final.

The 14-year-old Londoner overcame the 16-year-old Thai third seed in one hour, 34 minutes after an impressive performance on Court One.

Robson follows in the footsteps of 1984 champion Annabel Croft, the last Briton to win the girls' title.

"It was so good today as all the crowd were behind me and it was an overwhelming experience," said Australian-born Robson.

"I didn't feel relaxed and I thought I was going to be sick when I walked on court as there were so many people watching.

"In the second set I went a bit mad but I got it back together and that is how I won."

Left-handed Robson claimed an early advantage when she broke in the second game of the match. She served out for the opener in just 29 minutes to the pleasure of a packed home crowd.

The two players traded breaks at the start of the second set and again in the seventh and eighth games.

From there the Thai took advantage of a string of double faults and unforced errors from her rival to break again in the eighth before serving out for the set.

After three more breaks of serve to start the third set, Robson saved a break point in the fifth game and held her nerve to go ahead 4-1.

She broke again in the sixth game as Lertcheewakarn sent an unforced backhand error wide.

Robson hit another double fault on triple championship point, before wrapping up the victory with a service winner.

Recent Wimbledon junior champions include Martina Hingins, Amelie Mauresmo, Katarina Srebotnik, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.

Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport

Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

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